kirk4
9 22
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SEE FIVE 1 25 AND SIX 10 25
merri ok not now tbl
SEE 2025 FUNDERS ALEX EPSTEIN
shivved ronna --> gotv = enforcer hit man trumpista?
see ariz fake elector bowyer indicted felony
only poso kirk defend jok on real am voice
see RW radio talk
esca amplify on mandella bs
see ziklag dirty trick on ~ johnson amend C &S evang
punked RT tenet media
hub?! 3 23 see tag
crm regular mma EVERY FREAKIN DAY?!
yikes see teneo hub
see islamophobe
see rfk vaxx covid bs
see xian nat'list
influencer incentive structure? is there an escalator hierarchy in right sphere?
see roadshow conf
SEE RACISM
see misogyny roadshow tradwife bs
see incubator
gen zz
see salem radio
SEE VIOLENCE CIVIL WAR SPIRITUAL WAR 1984 ~ 1776
rww Tags: Charlie Kirk Jack Hibbs Christian Nationalism Turning Point USA
MMA Tags: Charlie Kirk
freq on mma // ben shapiro
bak 3 23
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:==
omg // maui fire BS? MMA
01/09/25 6:21 PM EST
01/09/25 1:46 PM EST
01/09/25
january 9, 2025, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): And when California, in a couple of weeks, comes crawling back for federal assistance, Trump should say, listen, I'm not gonna give you a dime unless you fire the lesbian Kristens. You mandate the proper forest management and stop controlled burns that Newsom has stopped. You cut it out with California's failed diversity, equity, inclusion homeless spending. You require water capture instead of flushing it into the ocean. We're not gonna pay for this anymore. This is your own making.
When Florida gets hurt by a hurricane — hit by a hurricane, FPL, Florida Power and Light, has power coming back in a couple days. They also build their homes in a certain way to be hurricane proof. California, they're so left-wing, they're so liberal, they're so out of touch, they're so earth worshiping, and now entire neighborhoods are gone as if an atomic bomb was dropped. In 2020, Pacific Palisades voted 70% for Joe Biden. So it's 70-30.
This looks like Ukraine, not our own country. Oh, but it's funny you mentioned that. Because Joe Biden and Senate Republicans have sent a lot of money to Ukraine. A lot. In fact, we just we spent $250 billion to Ukraine. This is the current ruling class regime. And just oh, by the way, didn't didn't you know this? The Los Angeles Fire Department just donated surplus supplies to Ukraine.
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01/09/25
January 9, 2025, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): And I do not wish harm on anybody because of their politics. I don't. However, for every person that has advocated, raised money, bundled, and donated to Democrats, you are living in the tragedy of your own making. And you guys were told by The New York Times, The Washington Post, right-wing people like Elon Musk and right-wing people like Charlie Kirk are making it seem like woke ideologies doesn't harm you, and now you don't have a driveway. And now everything you own is gone. We were fearmongering.
We were pouncing. Republicans pounce. We're too divisive. Turns out we were right. It turns out all of you in this audience were right. It turns out that every single one of us. And I gotta be honest though, there's a lot of America First and Patriots that no longer have homes too. I know of fifteen conservative people, some of which that work on our team that I mentioned yesterday, their entire home is gone. And again, I do not take delight in anybody's suffering. I do not take joy in people's misery. But the Democrat Party has been wanting America to commit suicide over the last decade. And now they don't have a home. And I do feel sorry for them.
But I hope some of these Democrats, that now everything they own is gone — look at that. So, and look, I don't wanna overly politicize this. Blake, can you pull up the precinct map of how Pacific Palisades voted? Let's just go straight at the third rail of this whole thing. It's 80-20 Democrat. Am I right? Let get the precinct map. Let's make sure we get it right. I want The New York Times precinct map. No one deserves to suffer because of their politics.
However, if you have voted a certain way, this is what you wanted. This used to be a conservative area back in the 1950s. Eight out of ten of those houses you're seeing are left-wing Democrats. Eight out of ten. And that's a tragedy. They don't deserve it. They're American citizens. They deserve help. But they advocated for this. They donated for to Joe Biden. They raised money for Kamala Harris. And this is why politics matters.
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01/09/25
January 9, 2025, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): So you have this kind of perfect storm of wokeism, and that is what you're seeing. Let's see more b-roll, by the way, of all the burning. What you are seeing right there is a perfect storm of wokeism. We can't take the water because of the Delta smelt. We can't clean up the brush because of the grasshoppers. We can't put out the fire because guess what? When you start to prioritize diversity and sexuality over merit, things tend to not go well. This is exactly what we have been warning about as conservatives.
For, as conservatives, we've been warning about this for years. Hey, when a tragedy strikes, it doesn't matter how many diversity points you have. Remember Pete Buttigieg trying to figure out the flight crisis, that disaster? And what is the response from Gavin Newsom? The same thing that they'll say anytime that there is a police killing.
Oh, systemic racism.
They just say climate change. Define the term, Gavin Newsom. Define the term. What do you mean by climate change exactly? Was it climate change that put the trio of lesbian Kristins in charge of the fire department? Was it climate change that decided not to capture the water and put it into a reservoir? Was it climate change that decided not to clean up the brush? Or no, instead it was the opposite. It was the cult of earth worshiping environmentalism. Your ideology is why your people are suffering. This is a choice. This is not an act of God. It is an act of man.
And Gavin Newsom, you better preserve your documents because I sure hope that Pam Bondi and President Trump open a robust criminal investigation into Gavin Newsom and Mayor Bass. Because in 10 days and 23 hours, you might be facing a very serious federal criminal investigation because you deserve it. This is beyond gross negligence. You might be complicit for the murder and arson of your own citizens. So preserve your documents, Gavin Newsom.
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01/09/25
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01/08/25 2:08 PM EST
01/08/25 mma
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rww
01/08/2025
by
- Katherine Stewart @ Religion News Service: At Turning Point USA's AmFest, Charlie Kirk takes a victory lap for Trump election
How the onetime Christian student organization convinced pastors to turn their flocks into GOP voters.
- Christopher Mathias @ HuffPost: The Far Right Is Having A ‘Coronation Ball’ At The Watergate Hotel To Celebrate Trump’s Inauguration
Major MAGA figures are set to attend the black-tie event, hosted by a publishing house whose marquee author has advocated for a “dictator” to run the U.S.
- Molly Olmstead @ Slate: They Stormed the Capitol. Now They Want Reparations.
I watched the Jan. 6 defendants’ daylong press conference. It revealed an alarming trend.
- Ryan Mac and Ken Bensinger @ The New York Times: As Elon Musk Embraces Far Right, Some of Its Top Figures Reject Him
Mr. Musk has fallen out with prominent right-wing Americans who say they are worried that their agenda may be sidelined in favor of his own — and that he is willing to silence them on X.
- The Throckmorton Initiative: Eric Metaxas Goes Back on the Warpath Against Bonhoeffer's Relatives
Apparently, Eric Metaxas has changed his mind again about the relatives of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Just over two weeks after Metaxas apologized for saying that Bonhoeffer’s descendants were Jew-haters and pro-Hamas, he did it again.
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12 24 conf gaetz homan trump greenland panama canal?
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rww
12/23/2024
by
Dominionist leaders attending the youth-focused Turning Point USA AmericaFest conference in Phoenix over the weekend portrayed Donald Trump’s election as a spiritual warfare victory, and urged Christian-right activists to “occupy” more territory by building a bigger Republican majority in Congress.
The AmericaFest speaker lineup included Trump, other MAGA politicians, right-wing commentators like Tucker Carlson, and dominionists like Lance Wallnau. House Speaker Mike Johnson cancelled a planned appearance after becoming the target of MAGA rage over a bipartisan budget deal that was attacked by Elon Musk.
In recent years, TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk has made a public shift from promoting a kind a snarky, irreverent libertarianism to embracing an aggressive Christian nationalism that characterizes much of the MAGA movement today.
Broadcasting from AmericaFest’s media row on Thursday night was “FlashPoint,” a show launched by televangelist Kenneth Copeland’s Victory Channel in the fall of 2020 that has been a platform for pro-Trump propaganda and prophesying. One panelist was Pastor Rob McCoy, a spiritual mentor to Kirk, who told viewers that he had been at TPUSA’s headquarters on election night, and that when Pennsylvania was called for Trump, Kirk started weeping and said, “All glory to God.”
A recurring theme from the show’s host Gene Bailey and his panelists was that Trump’s victory is no reason for the church to relax. Wallnau said that conservative evangelical Christians are the key to keeping the political pendulum swinging to the right in the midterm elections two years from now:
It’s a spiritual battle…The swing to the right is going to impact the midterms if we seize the moment. And the secret is 40 million evangelical Christians, who know apocalyptically that America is right now in an early phase of an awakening. We have to push that issue, and all we’ve gotta do is flip about 20 seats, and we could see the sustained reformation Trump is attempting for 48 months continuously.
“Advance! Advance! Advance!” urged Wallnau, a promoter of Seven Mountains Dominionism who believes that right-wing Christians are meant to take control of every sphere of influence in society. Leading up to the 2024 election, Wallnau partnered with the America First Policy Institute, a think tank founded by former Trump administration officials, to merge revival-style worship and pro-Trump voter turnout in a “Courage Tour” of key swing-state counties.
One aspect of the increasingly dominionist religious-right movement in America is hostility toward Christians who do not share their religious and political “biblical worldview.” Joining Wallnau and McCoy on FlashPoint was Lucas Miles, senior director for faith at TPUSA. “We’re going to eradicate wokeism from the American pulpit,” Miles vowed. He said TPUSA’s American Pastor Project would pressure pastors to make a commitment to what TPUSA considers “primary historical biblical Christianity doctrine” and encourage congregants to leave churches that don’t sign on. He called it a plan to see “the woke church defunded.”
Joining the conversation was Pastor Keith Craft of Elevate Life Church in Frisco, Texas. Craft said that God told him in advance that Trump would win the election. He quoted a passage from the biblical book of Isaiah that “the government shall be upon his shoulder” and “to the increase of his government there shall be no end.”
Craft said that only 4 percent of Christians have a biblical worldview. The idea that very few evangelicals have an acceptable worldview is promoted by evangelical pollster George Barna, who is affiliated with the Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview. The assertion that most evangelicals and their pastors don’t meet FRC’s standard reveals just how narrowly religious-right leaders define acceptable views of the Bible.
Christian-right podcaster and producer Kylie Jean Tannehill also joined the panel, saying the Holy Spirit is the movement’s “ultimate weapon of warfare that is often underutilized.”
“The Bible is really clear: ‘on Earth as it is in Heaven,’” she said. “That means I don’t just sit around, I get to occupy…I’m not living life on Earth waiting to be in Heaven, I’m bringing Heaven to Earth.”
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mma
December 18, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): We we hosted the president in Atlanta, Georgia, two days before. Then we hosted the president in Vegas. So the president does three events in Georgia, ours being the last one ending at 11 pm. Red eyes all the way to Vegas, does a whole tour out west. Right? Arizona. He goes up to Carson City, ends with us in Vegas.
Wakes up the next morning at 6 am, flies to Austin, does a press conference, does 3 hours sharp with Rogan, flies to Novi, Michigan, three hours late, ends at midnight, and flies down to Mar-a-Lago and holds court on the plane all the way till 3:30 AM eastern, holding court, making phone calls, waking people up, getting things going. Now we could talk endlessly about Donald Trump's life force of energy. People say it's the McDonald's. Honestly, it's hard to disprove.
The deeper question, though, is I love being able to just be able to call the president straight up. It's hard to describe how rare that is because — do you think, PBD, the more layering is a sign of insecurity? Is it a sign of elitism? What is it? Psychoanalyze people that have platoons of handlers and you can't deal direct.
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rww 12 24
12/18/2024
by
LOL. Jason Rapert of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers proudly bestowed upon Charlie Kirk an award "in honor of a lifetime of service to God and country."
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We unraveled the $122 million web of climate denial, political extremism, and Trump ties to Project 2025
Mapped: How 6 Billionaire Family Fortunes Fund Project 2025 - DeSmog
As scrutiny of Project 2025 continues to grow, defenders of the Heritage Foundation-led initiative, which would reshape federal governance and give the next Republican president unprecedented new powers, say it’s the criticism — not the 922-page plan itself — that’s too extreme.
In a piece published last month, Fox News cited prominent conservatives who feel there’s “nothing radical” about the endeavor. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board has accused detractors of “panic-mongering” and tried to reframe Project 2025’s sprawling “Mandate for Leadership” blueprint as more boring than scary — a milquetoast white paper that simply “melds the work of some 400 scholars and analysts from an eclectic mix of center-right groups.” This echoes Heritage’s insistence that Project 2025, while conservative, is anything but fringe.
But the findings from DeSmog’s recent investigation into Project 2025’s funding sources tell a very different story. Our wide-ranging analysis of public financial disclosure forms found that the groups on Project 2025’s advisory board — whose experts largely helped to draft the plan — are heavily funded by just six family fortunes. Since 2020, foundations linked to these billionaire families have contributed over $122 million to Project 2025 groups, including at least 290 individual donations to 49 nonprofits that contributed to the Mandate for Leadership documents or are on the initiative’s advisory board. We’ve mapped the funding ties between the billionaire families and the Project 2025 individuals and organizations in an interactive graphic, below.
Groups that received funds from the six family fortunes are far from the political mainstream, according to DeSmog’s analysis, including entities that actively deny the science of anthropogenic climate change — as well as organizations that have been classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. DeSmog’s review also uncovered additional ties between the six families and the Trump/Vance ticket, though both candidates have tried to distance themselves from the initiative in recent months. Indeed, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein — the billionaire founders of the Uline packaging company, whose charitable donations tie them closely to Project 2025 — are among the former president’s biggest donors.
Project 2025 styles itself as populist, moderate, and far from the politics of Washington. Heritage Foundation President Kevin D. Roberts hails it as a plan for the perennially downtrodden, hard-laboring folks “who shower afterwork instead of before.” Its funding sources — elite, extreme, and closely tied to the Trump campaign — suggest exactly the opposite.
The Donors
Though the Mandate pledges to “prioritize the economic prosperity of ordinary Americans” and pry influence away from “America’s corporate and political elites,” the funding that produced it comes from the upper echelons of the billionaire class.
And not just any billionaires. The six family dynasties providing significant support to Project 2025 — Bradley, Coors, Koch, Scaife, Seid, and Uihlein — all have long histories of fighting for financial and environmental deregulation. Three of the six families have promoted climate denial consistently enough to appear in DeSmog’s Climate Disinformation Database, which tracks the people and organizations doing the most to undermine decarbonization efforts.
They include oil and gas magnate Charles G. Koch and his Koch Family Foundations; the Scaife Family Foundations, which tap vast wealth from the Mellon aluminum, oil, and banking fortune; and chemicals-and-electronics industrialist Barre Seid, whose recent, record-setting $1.6 billion gift to a nonprofit controlled by Federalist Society co-chair Leonard A. Leo has been a major source of Project 2025 money.
While the Heritage Foundation suggests a diverse conservative coalition gave rise to the Mandate for Leadership, the six family fortunes’ giving patterns were remarkably similar. Of the 49 Project 2025 groups, 37 percent received funding from at least three of the six families. 70 percent of the 49 groups received funding from at least two of the families. (In a few cases, the donations were to sister 501(c)4 lobbying arms that share offices and staff.) The average donation was over $420,000.
*Related:See DeSmog’s coverage of Trump Megadonor Tim Dunn’s Plan That’s More Extreme Than Project 2025
Links to Climate Denial
For decades, oil and gas magnate Charles G. Koch and his late brother David fought vigorously for environmental deregulation, including by supporting groups that sow doubt about the science of manmade climate change. Foundations linked to Koch gave at least $9.6 billion to 15 Project 2025 groups since 2020. But four of the lesser-known families — Bradley, Scaife, Seid, and Uihlein — gave even more, and all six family fortunes helped to fund Project 2025 groups that have denied the science of manmade climate change.
Of the 10 groups that the six families funded most heavily, seven are in DeSmog’s Climate Disinformation Database. That includes more than :{$11 million to the Heritage Foundation;
$8.3 million to Turning Point USA, which has provided a platform for well-known climate deniers like Alex Epstein;
and $4.6 million to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which in 2015 published an op-ed claiming warming is “obviously not initiated by the burning of fossil fuels”.}: In total, foundations linked to the six families gave to 15 Project 2025 groups with entries in DeSmog’s Climate Disinformation Database.
That wasn’t the only form of extremism DeSmog uncovered. Four Project 2025 organizations that received donations from the six billionaire fortunes since 2020 are classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a leading civil rights watchdog group. These include the Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-LGBTQ group that received over $1.6 million in donations from Bradley and Koch; The Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-immigrant group that received $650,000 from Scaife; Eagle Forum, an anti-government and anti-immigrant group that received over $100,000 from Koch and Uihlein; and Family Research Council, an anti-abortion group that received $25,000 from Seid.
Of the six billionaire families, only Coors-linked foundations — run by heirs to the Coors brewing fortune — did not donate to at least one SPLC-designated hate group.
Links to the Trump Campaign
For months, Donald J. Trump has publicly disavowed Project 2025, claiming to know nothing about the initiative. That stance conflicts with subsequent media reports, including resurfaced video of the former president and current Republican presidential nominee saying, as a keynote speaker at a 2022 Heritage Foundation event, that Heritage would “lay the groundwork & detail plans for exactly what our movement will do.” The Washington Post reported that Trump flew in a private plane to the event with Heritage President Kevin Roberts.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, has also been the subject of intense scrutiny for numerous ties to Project 2025 — including writing the foreword to Roberts’ forthcoming book. DeSmog’s investigation also uncovered numerous ties between Vance and Project 2025 advisory groups, including a previously unreported 2017 keynote speech at a Heritage event.
But while the candidates continue to downplay any Project 2025 connections, one link is unavoidable: a billionaire family that heavily supports Project 2025 groups is among their campaign’s biggest donors, according to Federal Election Commission data.
In May, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, the founders of the Uline packaging company, each donated $5 million to Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump’s reelection. That’s not including the more than $48 million Richard contributed to Restoration PAC, a pro-Trump political action committee, last quarter alone. Restoration PAC has spent over $12.9 million this year on political advertising, including ads supporting Trump and attacking his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Since 2020, the Ed Uihlein Foundation, which is run by the Uihleins and named in honor of Richard’s father, has donated at least $13.4 million to 13 different Project 2025 groups.
The map below is interactive. Click on a donor to see the groups it funded with dollar amounts, or a nonprofit to see which of the six family fortunes made donations.
[GFX]
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MMA Charlie Kirk warns “primaries are going to be launched” against senators opposing Trump nominees
12/05/24
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note NOT 50% of vote?
WANNABE ENFORCER? or just chest beat on win
Charlie Kirk guest says “there will be Armageddon for any senator who does not step in line” with Trump's appointees
11/19/24
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-guest-says-there-will-be-armageddon-any-senator-who-does-not-step-line)
November 19, 2024 edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): The significance of this is immense. And confirming the cabinet — personnel is policy. Personnel is policy. It's going to require a pressure campaign, and all we have to do is have Republican senators actually listen to their voters. Quite a concept. And to actually fulfill the mandate. Darren, if you had to describe what is the mandate that the voters gave Donald Trump?
DARREN BEATTIE (GUEST): The mandate is to clean up our government and restore legitimacy to our government and set America — I keep saying, the stakes of this are not just a politically successful second term, which I fully expect. The stakes of this are much longer, much deeper, much more powerful. The stakes of this are if we do this right — and we need the right people to do it right — if we do this right, we're setting America up for success and freedom into the end of the century. This is setting America up, which was so close to the bottom of the trash heap.
We've been brought so far down into the sewage pit by people like Biden, by people like Harris, by people like Merrick Garland, and I can go on and on and on, to the point that we're on a trajectory to being worse than a third world country because — it's like we don't even have some of the freedoms of third world countries. We have the squalor, but none of the freedom, worst of both worlds. That's where we were headed. This is a singular opportunity to set America aright, not just for this term, but for the remainder of the century and beyond. That's what's at stake, and that's why it's so critical to have the right people for the job. But you have people like Elon Musk, Vivek, Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, it's actually a possibility. And that's why we need to be a 100% committed. No compromises, not wavering on anything. There will — we need to make it very clear, there will be Armageddon for any senator who does not step in line.
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aha short window for shock and awe smash and grab, recess appt in maj sen; bannon beat chest, to puff up signif of win and his role in it; push advantage/ big mo?
//
Fox News’ Jason Chaffetz threatens Republicans who refuse to confirm Fox & Friends weekend co-host Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense
11/12/24 MMA
Charlie Kirk threatens to remove Sen. John Thune (R-SD) as majority leader
11/13/24
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YIKES TRUMP ADMIN
11/13/24 2:02 PM EST
Charlie Kirk threatens to remove Sen. John Thune (R-SD) as majority leader}:
11/13/24 1:07 PM EST
11/13/24 12:57 PM EST
11/13/24 12:50 PM EST
11/13/24 12:22 PM EST
:{11/13/24
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mma
aha he is getting rich and pol power by libel, add to lawsuit?
trump is losing? this is extension of gt replacement, illegal voters?
note does not cite fox report
September 27, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): The Harris-Biden regime, they are stuffing foreigners in the reddest communities across the country, in small town red America, I think partially as revenge. Blake might not agree with this, but I think that they get, like, off on this sinister, like, we're gonna go send the Haitians into red America.
BLAKE NEFF (CO-HOST): Maybe a bit of that. Maybe a bit of that.
KIRK: I think there's an element there. You can't convince me. I have no evidence of that, but it's just gut instinct. I'm not gonna get into what states can do to resist this yet because I wanna win the election and do this properly through the federal government. If we lose in November, it's gonna get very, very messy. I'm just gonna be honest. Like, it's gonna get messy of states being —
NEFF: Especially if they start packing the courts, then you're you really have to start thinking, like, OK. What are we gonna do about, like, this truly out of control wants it all —
KIRK: Do we have a country at this point?
NEFF: Yeah.
KIRK: And I don't wanna get there yet, Emily. But, Emily, just so we're clear, the Haitians that are in Huntsville that are raping your women and hunting you down at night — it's only gonna get worse if — unless Donald Trump wins. A new report from Fox News shows that across the border, 13,000 people convicted of murder, 15,000 people convicted of rape on the non-detained list — meaning they're currently roaming free around our country. So right now, roaming free on the interior of the United States are 13,000 convicted murderers, 15,000 convicted rapists. And they're just — they're having a field day, and they're coming for your daughter next.
...
KIRK: I want you to understand this. That means that they're coming across the border, they run a background check, or someone knows, and then they say, just have fun. That's what that means. That means that they — we know who they are, and then we just release them into the interior and say —
NEFF: It just shocks me, like, the level of control you can have over media narrative that. Like, you know, The New York Times or whoever can blow this off. 13,000 homicide convictions just roaming the US as an elective policy choice.
KIRK: And the election is close. I mean, the election is close. It's very close. And, it — again, there was a poll that just showed up here. Arizona women voters, favor Kamala Harris 52%, 43%. And that does not include the 2 million gotaways. And since those are the border jumpers who avoid border encounters, it's safe to conclude the proportion of convicted criminals is even higher than that 2 million plus of them. Thank you for being a member, and stay safe in Alabama, and pray Trump wins, or else things are gonna get really bad.@@ They're gonna get even worse. There will be hundreds of thousands of Haitians brought into Alabama, and they will become your masters.
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mma 11 24
Angelo Carusone and Molly Jong-Fast discuss how American discourse is “pickled in misinformation and right-wing rage”
Written by Media Matters Staff
Angelo Carusone Fast Politics excerpt, 11/7/24
November 7, 2024
CitationFrom the November 7, 2024, edition of IHeart's Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast
MOLLY JONG-FAST (HOST) Let's talk about growing power from the fringes. So does that look like McCarthyism?
ANGELO CARUSONE (MEDIA MATTERS): Yeah. But you know what's so different about — and that's one of the reasons why you mentioned McCarthyism as opposed to, say, the John Birch Society. Right? Because McCarthy actually was able to get some power. Right?
And whereas the John Birch Society, they hey. Yeah. They were influential, but they didn't —. Here's the difference, and it gets it, and there's a modern analog to it. The difference is that America has always had fringes, just like any society. We've had a little bit more fringes. In part, that's what makes us a little spicy. Our fringes are kind of a feature in a way, but what we haven't had is the fringes being connected. Right? And so you can't build power unless you connect otherwise disconnected audiences.
That's where McCarthyism comes in. Obviously, McCarthy was a demagogue, so the tool was demagoguery. But what it did was it connected otherwise disconnected audiences, and he used a platform that he had to do that. And what we have now, the modern analog, and, like, to your point about McCarthyism, in a way, it's McCarthyism on steroids because McCarthy still needed to rely on traditional means. And one of the things that we have now is that you have extremely powerful algorithms that connect otherwise disconnected audiences.
:{If you like one piece of QAnon content or two pieces QAnon content, even if you don't intentionally know it's QAnon or not, the algorithms will feed you more and more and more of that and move you down a rabbit hole and move you and intensify or capture you. They will convert you and they will connect you to new people. :{And so that is partly what we're dealing with now is that we are dealing with a McCarthyism that does not need to dilute itself to speak to mass audiences.}:
And believe it, the McCarthy thing strangely enough was diluted. It needed to be diluted in order to reach broader and broader audiences. What happens when you don't need to dilute to have the same reach and saturation because the tools that we're using, the tech platforms, are automatically distributing that content to those individuals. And I just wanna make one point on that because I think it helps tie into the outcomes here.}:
The major platforms had put in place many safeguards since the last election about about about what was recommended, about who they were recommending content to, about not accelerating extremism. And in the last year, most of those safeguards have all been systematically eliminated or reduced as a result of pressure from right-wing influencers. They worked the refs at these platforms. So they knew what they were doing because they knew that in order to scale and execute organizing power on the fringes, you needed the runway and the tools that these tech platforms provided. So I would say it looks like McCarthyism, but strangely enough, a more raw and nondiluted version of McCarthyism.
And I don't think we should joke about the demon thing. When I said that before, it's a joke, but think about it. There's the increase of Christian nationalists, the rise of this evangelical strain, of this intense religious strain, this idea that there are demons among us doing bad things — that is going to be something that they start to name. They're going to start identifying — I'm not even joking. When I talk about Qanon and, like, you know, back in 2018, people, donors, supporters, they really thought I was losing my mind.
And I talk about demons now, not because like, it's a focus point of mine, but I look where they get their information. And it's like they're gonna start screaming that person's a demon. That person's being motivated by demons. And that is a tactic of the same thing that McCarthy is. They will have — they will they will build up new boogeymen, new labels that they can then apply to individuals in order to harass them, persecute them, and all of that is designed to sort of make examples out of people fast so that more and more people duck and cover.
JONG-FAST: Yeah. Let's just keep going with this for a minute. What do we think that we do next? I was on a show this morning. It was on the late-night MSNBC, and we're talking about, like, what went wrong.
CARUSONE: Yeah.
JONG-FAST: Which is what we're gonna be talking about for the next five hundred — until the midterms. And one of the things that, you know, there was a lot of, like, this and that, and this went wrong, this went wrong. But, like, one of the things that I think is that it seems to me like there is a real information problem. Right? Like, we — there are parts of this country that don't have news. The news they're getting is red sludge. Remember how, you know, the thing that Elon shared after Paul Pelosi has been you know what I mean? So what — what's the solve there?
CARUSONE: I would say there are three sort of immediate things, and they — and part of it's you know, a lot of this all starts too with the with the recognition early on that I was describing about how they're organizing and building power. And because that — sort of then is you're working toward countering that.
I think there's sort of three things that are important in terms of the next step here. One is everyone I think a lot of people talk about messaging and say, oh, we need better messaging. I look at it a slightly different way. You know, there's three ways that you can talk to somebody. You can talk to their head, their heart, or their gut. That's it. It doesn't matter what the message is. It's either to their head, their heart, or their gut.
And if you look at the bulk of Republican and conservative and right-wing message you know, messaging, what they're saying, it's almost all to people's gut. Sometimes it'll be to their to their heart, never to their head. If you look at Democratic messaging, it's almost always to people's heads, sometimes their heart, never to their gut. And why that matters is that we live in — we have this information asymmetry, but obviously people say, well, not that many people watch the news or read papers. Sure. But they still live in an information world because they — you get it through word-of-mouth.
You get — you don't get the individual facts or the threads, but you get the narrative. We all live in a narrative or narratives. And when that narrative when the right wing has narrative dominance, and as you noted, that narrative dominance is really just a reflection of right-wing sludge, you're just pickled in misinformation and right-wing rage all the time. Even if you don't consume a drop of it, you're still pickled in it because your friends are, because indirectly you're getting it, it's on the television, you see the chyron when you're picking up your bagel in the morning. You form a narrative. That's what happens. And so I think we need to, 1, think about how it is that we communicate, and communicators need to recognize that we need to rethink about that.
The second, there were two more structural pieces. One is that there's no shortage of creators on our side, but the one thing that the right-wing does, and they've done this for decades and they do it better, is they invest in people.
There's no reason why our content creators should not be getting — have to have other jobs. You know? Some of our best people are you know, it's not their primary position. They're not full-time, you know, you know, video creators or podcasters. It's something they do on the side incidentally, and we've never really made robust investments in them, whereas they have, and they have a pipeline for that.
JONG-FAST: Which they have. Yeah.
KIRK
CARUSONE: You know, there are people on Instagram that got grants from Charlie Kirk years ago that will make their way to or have already made their way to Daily Wire podcasts after a few years. Right? And that's how it works. And so you get the benefits immediately of you balance out the scales because you have your own people out there pushing information, and it's it's authentic. You're not trying to come in and control it, but then you're also building revolving capital in businesses that are designed to build and shape narratives. So unless that challenge is confronted, you know, and liberals are so burned by what they — by Air America. It's like, well, we tried to combat right-wing radio in the ninety you know, in the late nineties and early two thousands and it failed. So let's give up forever. You know? And that's a mistake.
And then the last thing I'll say is — so one is we need to do grapple with that, and that's not no. We'll spend one point five billion dollars on ads that we know don't work, but we won't spend a hundred million dollars to incubate and seed a new generation of creators and talkers and storytellers. That's ridiculous. That's stupid.
And that's a mistake. And then the third thing I'd say is that the tech platforms are going to kill us. They are. And we need to deal with that. And the Democrats you know, Republicans worked the refs in newsrooms, and then they took the same strategy.
JONG-FAST: And it worked.
CARUSONE: And it worked. And it worked. And they did it again here. You know, every time you know, YouTube or another major platform rolled back another election policy as a result of right-wing pressure, there was no Democratic counter-response.
There was no talk of them cheating or yelling and screaming. I wasn't surprised by what happened with Jeff Bezos or what we saw in Silicon Valley as the spring rolled by because those seeds were sown months ago. They were scared from Republican pressure that they were getting. And that needs to be something that Democrats really grapple with. And it's not only because that will help, again, balance out the scales, but it's also that they'll maybe get some insights into that the political landscape is realigning. They need to be more responsive to what is happening, and that political landscape is actually a reflection of what the larger information landscape is.
You know? Obviously, I'm at Media Matters, whenever I talk to them about the media, people say, well, not that many people watch CNN or read The New York Times. Like, sure. But they get a podcast secondarily. They sit online. They get push alerts on their phones. All these things add up.
JONG-FAST: Right, it's downstream.
CARUSONE: Yes. And that's it. And Republicans understand, and Trump in particular, you know, I think we need to internalize the lesson. He's a media creature, and he was able to do a lot because he is a media creature.
And, you know, part of what allowed people to say, oh, he doesn't really mean it is a thing called kayfabe, which exists in WWE. It's a wrestling thing. It's a character. And people sort of— all the stuff that people that really has turned him off to people, they say, oh, but he's just a character. No one thinks the Undertaker really murders their villain in the, you know, their opponent in the ring and brings them underground. It's a joke. And I think a lot of times, what Trump was able to do was not only manipulate the media to have narrative dominance and to coordinate, you know, take advantage of this massive right-wing megaphone that they've had, but also rely on the benefit of the doubt and the sort of the way that consumers engage with those characters and in particular him. And we need to recognize that that is a thing that we're gonna have to grapple with as well because he won't be the last. That's the scary thing.
Tucker will be a rising political force, and we need to accept that as a thing that is true. We will have to accept that, look out the trail, and look who performed in terms of engagement. Very few people cut across right the right-wing landscape in the way that Trump does, and Tucker is one of those few figures. Obviously, Musk as well. That's it.
That's the next step. And it doesn't solve everything, but I don't think circular firing squad or trying to figure out some of the micro things that would have been different are gonna be helpful because what took place here is macro, and we need to think about it at a bigger level.
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rww
11/04/2024
by
Charlie Kirk warns that if Democrats get power "we will have never before seen crusade and jihad against our nation's children." vid]
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an 11 24 gotv fail
Many political strategists, over the years, have argued that as important as messaging is to a political campaign, the things that matters the most in the end is turnout.
With Election Day 2024 only a day away and countless national and battleground state polls showing a very close race, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump are both trying to fire up their parties. But according to the Washington Monthly's Bill Scher, Harris will have the advantage if the race ultimately comes down to turnout.
"Every national and battleground state poll shows a statistical dead heat, with neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump holding a lead outside the margin of error," Scher explains in an article published on November 4. "Many factors could determine the outcome of a race this close. One of those factors is the relative strength of the competing campaigns' get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operations…. In a contest where one or more states may be decided by less than a percentage point, the rational strategic decision is to invest money and talent in an effective turnout operation."
READ MORE:5 ways Trump is planning to thwart election results: report
Scher adds, "All available evidence indicates that Harris did that and Trump did not."
On June 20, the Washington Monthly published an article by Scher headlined, "Donald Trump's Get-Out-The-Vote Plan is Bonkers." Scher detailed the GOP's get-out-the-vote efforts, which were greatly influenced by far-right Turning Point USA and its leader Charlie Kirk.
"The plan was premised on eschewing swing voters in densely populated suburbs and cities in favor of chasing ultra-conservative 'MAGA' types who mainly live in rural areas and don't reliably vote," Scher explains. "Then-Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel gave Turning Point the cold shoulder, and some Republicans warned the plan smelled like a grift. Turning Point's Charlie Kirk fought back and publicly pressed Trump to shiv McDaniel. Trump obliged, and McDaniel quit under pressure in February 2024."
Kirk's get-out-the-vote plan, Scher emphasizes, has not served Trump well.
:{:{READ MORE:Harassing letters threatening biblical hell fire targets Democratic voters in Wisconsin}:
"Doing things the old-fashioned RNC way — with door-knocking efficiently concentrated in more densely populated areas where more swing voters live — meant behaving like a responsible adult," Scher argues. "Following Kirk's strategy of digging up stray MAGA voters in far-flung places allowed Trump to indulge in his darkest impulses."
Scher adds, "We can't say yet who will win. But, almost surely, if Trump wins, it will be despite his GOTV team, not because of it."
READ MORE: Trump spokesman launches unhinged attack on Harris campaign official
2x? feb context
One of Donald Trump's most influential supporters is facing backlash from fellow right-wing activists following his recently successful campaign to push for Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel's ouster, according to an exclusive NBC report.
Speaking with over two dozen Republicans, the news outlet notes, "In recent weeks, at least three people, including McDaniel herself, have privately warned Trump about Kirk’s conduct, seven sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News."
The former RNC leader, NBC reports, insists Kirk is behind the committee's financial problems, alleging his organization, Turning Point USA, "is collecting from donors who would otherwise fund a more robust party effort."
READ MORE:MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk calls MLK 'awful' and deems Civil Rights Act a 'huge mistake'
NBC notes, additionally, "many of Kirk’s critics say his passionate effort to unseat McDaniel had less to do with the party’s lackluster electoral results in recent cycles and more to do with further bolstering Turning Point’s bottom line. The group has steered at least $15 million of its massive haul to companies affiliated with the organization or its associates, the AP reported."
However, in addition to that, the ex- RNC chair and other Republican Trump allies are also criticizing the far-right activist's repeated racist rhetoric.
"I’ve got to say, racism is like the word 'ugly,' Ohio pastor and Trump supporter Darrell Scott told the news outlet. "I can't always describe it, but I know it when I see it. That boy’s a racist right there."
NBC notes "McDaniel also asked Trump if he was aware of comments Kirk made on his popular podcast questioning whether Martin Luther King Jr. deserved a federal holiday and remarking that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the airline industry made him skeptical that Black pilots were qualified. He was not, so she relayed them to him."
READ MORE:A 'MAGA mutiny' is 'causing chaos' for RNC
One GOPer told the news outlet, "Trump is f**ing pissed that Charlie is out causing problems for him in the Black community."
Scott emphasized, "There are a number of others that are not in agreement with Charlie’s bullcrap and that are saying we don’t need this. Every single call I’ve got from some people high up in the Republican Party and people high up in the Trump orbit — they’re all on my side. They’re all saying, 'I’m glad you’re telling him to shut up.'"
NBC reports Donald Trump Jr. — a close friend of Kirk's — "said the idea that Kirk is in anything less than 'great standing with both my father and the entire Trump campaign' is 'nothing more than fiction coming from people jealous of the close relationship Charlie has built with our family.' Frankly, it’s sad that there are some people attempting to increase their own relevancy by manufacturing lies that Charlie is on the outs. Nothing could be further from the truth."
*NBC's full report is availableat this link.
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TUCKER 10 24 TPUSA BIZARRE DADDY SPANK BAD GIRL, BIG CHEERS
CALL COACH GAY
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an 10 24
Churches helping a far-right group get predominantly Republican voters to the polls may be in violation of federal tax laws, according to several experts.
NBC News reported that Turning Point USA (TPUSA) — an Arizona-based group founded by MAGA activist Charlie Kirk — is primarily depending on churches to get out the vote for former President Donald Trump in Tuesday's election. And while churches have traditionally been an important tool for both major parties to spread awareness about upcoming elections, Kirk's clergy partners are engaging in explicitly partisan activity. This risks those churches losing their tax-exempt status with the IRS.
At Restoration Hope Church in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, Pastor David Rose recently allowed TPUSA to host one of its "Super Chase" events. These events involve training members of congregations on "ballot-chasing" apps that pinpoint likely Republican voters for them to target in phone-banking and door-knocking efforts. Likewise, the training sessions train participants to avoid reaching out to members of the "wrong party," meaning Democrats.
READ MORE:Trump advisor laments ground game in key swing state outsourced to 'a bunch of grifters'
Rose insisted that the "Super Chase" session was "not an event hosted by our church nor was it a church related event," though NBC reported that it still "most likely violated tax law." The network reported that Rose was seen posing next to signs that read "Commie Kamala" and Trump's catchphrase, "Make America Great Again."
"It is common for churches to allow other organizations to use their facilities outside of church related events," Rose said.
But some tax law experts told NBC that Rose and other churches that have hosted "Super Chase" events — including in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin — are likely in violation of the Johnson Amendment. That's the 1954 federal law prohibiting tax-exempt organizations from participating in partisan politics.
University of Pittsburgh law professor Philip Hackney, who is also a former IRS employee, told the network that TPUSA's partisan political activity at churches "is at a different level than anything I’ve seen before," particularly given the group's documented ties to both the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
READ MORE:Even Republicans are growing weary of 'toxic' Charlie Kirk's extreme tactics
“The Republican Party, in effect,” Hackney said, “is explicitly using churches through this system in order to get out the vote.”
Notre Dame law professor Lloyd Mayer agreed that Kirk and TPUSA's congregational partners were risking losing their tax-exempt status given their blatantly pro-Republican electioneering. This is despite TPUSA insisting that the "Super Chase" events are perfectly legal.
“They can’t favor a particular candidate or, by implication, a group of candidates, like Republicans versus Democrats,” Mayer said. “This effort is obviously favoring getting out voters who will favor the Republican candidates.”
Click here to read NBC's report in its entirety.
READ MORE:Republicans complain Charlie Kirk is 'causing problems' for Trump campaign: report
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USEFUL IDIOT
oct 16
The fake whistleblower videos started popping up last fall, the work of a small but prolific Russian group that researchers call Storm-1516.
Much remains unknown about Storm-1516 — one prong of Russia’s propaganda operation — but it has produced some of the country’s most far-reaching and influential disinformation.
The Storm-1516 campaigns rely on faked primary sources — audio, video, photos, documents — presented as evidence of the claims’ veracity. They are then laundered through international news sources and influencers to reach their ultimate target: a mainstream Western audience.
...
At least 50 false narratives have been launched this way since last fall, according to a count NBC News assembled with researchers. The narratives aim to diminish Western support for military aid in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, a contentious issue in Congress. The videos also back the re-election of Donald Trump, who has pledged to halt military aid to Ukraine, while painting the former president as a victim of a “deep state.” And they attack Vice President Kamala Harris.
In one fake video, a Ukrainian troll farm operative reveals the machinations behind a CIA plot to defeat Trump.
In another piece of propaganda, a woman says she was paralyzed as a child — by Harris in a hit-and-run accident.
In a third, a “whistleblower” falsely claims Ukraine’s leaders spent U.S. aid money on yachts.
The claims peddled by the actors and false primary sources in these videos fall apart upon basic inspection. Experts quickly identified Olesya, the Ukrainian troll, as an AI-generated fake. The 2011 hit-and-run never happened, according to San Francisco police, and KBSF-TV, the local news station behind the claims, does not exist.
And the companies that own the yachts told reporters they hadn’t been sold. But the story spread anyway, and this time, far — from small-time right-wing influencers to members of Congress, including Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, now the Republican vice presidential nominee.
Vance did not respond to a request for comment.
“It is very purposeful, very systematic, and it's a process that we see over and over,” said Darren Linvill, co-director at Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub, whose team uncovered the Storm-1516 campaign last fall.
Russia is the most active foreign threat to the 2024 election, according to U.S. officials. A pair of indictments unsealed in September alleged an expansion of Russia’s influence operation: from crude, fake social media posts and bot networks in 2016 to more ambitious and successful recent campaigns. That includes laundering propaganda through seemingly independent U.S. actors, according to one of the indictments. It was a scheme that entangled several popular right-wing creators, including Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin and Tim Pool, who all said last month they had been unaware their employer was working with Russia.
“It’s a bigger threat than it ever was,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said of Russia's influence operation at a recent news conference, where federal prosecutors unsealed indictments regarding two alleged state-sponsored propaganda schemes. “Russia has meddled in our society and tried to sow discord for decades. Really what we're seeing is just more tools in the toolbox.”
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
Experts fear Storm-1516 and similar groups have the potential to sway public opinion by undermining the credibility of democratic institutions, influencing U.S. policy and diminishing people’s ability to distinguish fact from fiction.
Russia is increasingly leaning on an advancing technology landscape — including artificial intelligence and more sophisticated bot networks — to spread its falsehoods. But Storm-1516’s most valuable quality is persistence, according to Clint Watts, the general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center.
“The danger comes with just the sheer volume of claims that they make, and it only takes one person, one influencer with outsized influence, to grab onto a video and amplify it in the United States,” Watts said. “They may miss 99 times, but the 100th time they may get it just right.”
The dozens of Storm-1516 storylines examined by NBC News offer a window into the disinformation pipeline: where the most successful false claims originate and how they spread.
Stage 1: The video
In February, a Russian man falsely confesses on YouTube that Ukraine promised him $4,000 to assassinate Tucker Carlson while he was in Moscow. The man says he was caught before he could detonate a bomb in the underground parking lot of the Four Seasons Hotel there.
Stage 2: The placement
Like a criminal gang’s ill-gotten cash, this video — and its manufactured evidence — is laundered through Kremlin-linked platforms and websites in a quest for legitimacy. First in Russian, then in English.
Stage 3: The spread
Russian propagandists pick up the story. The anonymous account MyLordBebo, known to researchers as a spreader of false stories about Ukraine, first posts the video to X, with English subtitles. Then, a Q-Anon influencer, KanekoaTheGreat, shares it. The videos go viral. no lnx
Stage 4: The mainstream
Simon Ateba, the Today News Africa reporter known for disrupting White House press briefings, posts the video. Right-wing creators and pundits leap on the story, using it to ask whether U.S. funding for the war in Ukraine is being weaponized to kill an American citizen.
Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk, podcaster Tim Pool, conservative commentator Benny Johnson and comedian Jimmy Dore share the false story with their millions of U.S. followers.
videos storm 1516 4 stages
cheap video, 1/2 fail but a few hits/viral
2 picked up by russ sites jrnl fake bio
3 launder thru telegram and local sites that look legit eg duggan mtg shared w 3 mil followers
how-foreign-disinformation-makes-its-way-into-the-american-mainstream-221936709542
10/24/2024 rww
by
- David Gilbert @ Wired: ‘Take Back the States’: The Far-Right Sheriffs Ready to Disrupt the Election
Constitutional Sheriffs are duly elected lawmen who believe they answer only to God. They’ve spent the last six months preparing to stop a “stolen” election—by any means necessary.
- Ken Bensinger and David A. Fahrenthold @ The New York Times: The Group at the Center of Trump’s Planning for a Second Term Is One You Haven’t Heard of
America First Policy Institute didn’t even exist four years ago. But it is poised to be more influential than Project 2025.
- Nicholas Liu @ Salon: Tucker Carlson shares Trump fantasy, likening Republican to a "dad" who spanks his "bad little girl"
The former Fox News anchor likened the Republican nominee to an angry dad coming home to beat his children.
- Janna Brancolini @ The Daily Beast: Charlie Kirk Raves That Dems Believe ‘Everything God Hates’ at Trump Rally
Conservative activist and Donald Trump surrogate Charlie Kirk added a new notch to his white Christian nationalist belt on Wednesday when he called on pastors to take to the pulpit and preach against Democrats as “everything God hates.”
- Michael Luciano @ Mediaite: Heritage-Funded Group Publishes ‘Target’ List of ‘Subversive’ Bureaucrats
A group funded by the far-right Heritage Foundation think tank published a list of federal officials it referred to as “targets.” Targets for what? The site, titled “DHS Watchlist,” does not specify.
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SWAMP ESCALATOR
Anti-abortion hecklers interrupted a Kamala Harris rally. Fox News and MAGA media turned them into culture war heroes — and Trump ran with it.
How Fox News manufactured outrage over anti-abortion Harris rally hecklers to smear Democrats as anti-Christian
Written by Helena Hind
Published 10/23/24 MMA
After Vice President Kamala Harris shut down anti-abortion hecklers at a campaign rally, Fox News pundits saw an opportunity to add a new misleading talking point to former President Donald Trump’s arsenal. Within days, the former president used Fox’s talking points as fodder to smear Democrats as anti-Christian on the campaign trail.
- ### Kamala Harris told anti-abortion hecklers they were “at the wrong rally” after they interrupted her
The exchange happened during an October 17 campaign rally, while Harris was speaking about reproductive rights. As she criticized Trump’s role in overturning Roe v. Wade, the vice president was interrupted by hecklers in the crowd.
“Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally,” she retorted. “No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.”
As the moment went viral on social media, another version of the clip gained traction among high-profile MAGA accounts alleging that Harris was specifically responding to a heckler saying “Jesus is Lord.”
“Christians are not welcome in Kamala’s Democrat Party,” claimed TPUSA’s Charlie Kirk. “Vote accordingly.”
The talking point inevitably made its way from Fox News’ airwaves to Trump
The hecklers first appeared on the network during the October 20 edition of Fox & Friends Weekend. “This is our first time taking an interview with anybody,” one of them confirmed to co-host Will Cain, before alleging that he was kicked out of the rally for voicing his Christian beliefs.
Co-host Rachel-Campos Duffy solidified Fox’s version of the story with her question: “Luke said something about Jesus, right? ‘Jesus is King, Jesus is Lord,’ and she said, ‘You’re not welcome here.’ I want to know what you felt in that moment.”
The next day, October 21, Fox & Friends co-hosts Lawrence Jones, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade continued to criticize Harris for supposedly disparaging Christianity. “I was shocked that any politician would put down the number one religion in our country,” Earhardt complained, before re-airing clips of the hecklers’ October 20 interview.
Later that day, host Laura Ingraham said Harris “sent a clear message to Christians: ‘You’re not welcome here.’”
Video
CitationFrom the October 21, 2024, edition of Fox News' The Ingraham Angle
The hecklers themselves also made an appearance in Ingraham’s show, repeating the right-wing media version of the story. A chyron reading “The Left’s anti-Christian rhetoric” briefly aired.
Sean Hannity hosted the hecklers on his radio show on October 22, one of whom alleged Harris was “publicly denouncing the name of the Lord.” The Fox host was happy to agree: “‘Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally because you believe in Jesus?’ I thought Democrats prided themselves in being open-minded.”
By October 22, the story had made its way to the Trump campaign. A video posted to his X account spliced an edited version of the Harris clip with a soundbite from a Trump speech: “While Kamala says that people who believe in Jesus don’t belong to her rallies, in our movement, we love Christians, we welcome believers, and we embrace followers of Jesus.”
This is just another example of the stubborn Fox-Trump feedback loop, which has persisted well into 2024. As Election Day nears, the pundits will likely continue to manufacture outrage, and misleading stories, and jokes for the former president to repeat on the campaign trail.
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MMA
Charlie Kirk on new reporting on Trump: “There was an Atlantic article yesterday, which I just kinda rolled my eyes at”
The Atlantic story mentioned Trump's comments on Vanessa Guillén and also more from Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly on Trump praising Hitler's generals
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published 10/23/24
Video
CitationFrom the October 23, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): So, before I go to — Kash, before, I throw this to you, I want people to understand — expect desperation out of the Democrats right now. Expect AI-doctored footage of Donald Trump allegedly 20 years ago. Fake stories. They are throwing everything they can as Donald Trump's early voting numbers are great, as his odds in the betting markets are ascendant — which, again, is not necessarily my favorite metric, but it definitely gets people worried. Kash, they're gonna throw these fake stories. So here — there's a lot here. There was an Atlantic article yesterday, which I just kinda rolled my eyes at. Kash, what was in the Atlantic article? Tell us the truth. Please take your time. We have plenty of time in the segment.
KASH PATEL (GUEST): Thanks so much, Charlie. It's great to be with you. I'm on the team Trump bus tour in Western Pennsylvania. And I'm really looking forward to Turning Point event tomorrow in my hometown in my home town of Las Vegas.
Look, you're right. They're gonna come out of nonstop, especially the president. And just — the authors of this one are the same authors of the bogus January 6th insurrection narrative, Russiagate, 51 intel letter, and everything in between.
But this one is personally disgusting because when I was chief of staff at the Department of Defense and tragically, we lost Vanessa Guillén to a murder on a military base, who was serving our country bravely, President Trump, when we informed him of that in the Oval Office -- when I mean me, meaning and the secretary of defense and, of course, then-chairman Mark Milley, President Trump wanted to assure that family that their daughter did not die in vain and that he would give them full military honors, full financial assistance, and the honor that she deserved after serving our country being tragically murdered. That was his direction in the Oval Office. And he said if the Department of Defense would not pick up the tab because of some government bureaucracy error, he, Donald Trump, would pick up the tab. That's the type of commander-in-chief I've seen in the Oval Office time and time and time again.
And what The Atlantic did was absolutely disgusting. They said President Trump made up vile comments about Mexican-Americans and that it shouldn't cost this much or that much to bury a fallen soldier. Of course, it was Mark Milley who's responsible for this leak just like so many other lies and the Atlantic went and ran with it.
And to further debunk the lie, not that I — put aside the fact that I was there in the Oval, Vanessa Guillén's mother and her sister personally responded to the Atlantic article and said President Trump has been nothing but gracious, and kind, and generous to her family. And that the radical left-wing is using this hit piece, which is made up, for political fodder, and her own family was personally disgusted by it and refuted this story entirely, but The Atlantic-- excuse me, The Atlantic printed it anyway just like they did their wonderful hit piece on me.
But you're right, Charlie. They're never gonna stop. But this one's even low by those standards. They are desecrating the men and women that wear the cloth of our country to defend our nation, and they are desecrating the fallen just like Kamala Harris and Joe Biden did for the brave 13 warriors who they are responsible for their death from the Afghanistan disaster control.
10 24 no docs many
New Jack Smith documents reveal millions spent on Jan. 6 rally - Raw Story
new documents unsealed in Donald Trump's criminal Jan. 6 case disclosed $3 million spent to get people to the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol building.
Among the nearly 2,000 heavily redacted pages of evidence for charges against Trump related to an attempt to steal the 2020 election were documents relating to a budget and trip plan for the day.
The evidence is being considered by Judge Tanya Chutkan before she rules if Trump is immune to criminal charges under a Supreme Court decision. Trump's team opposed the papers being unsealed.
USA Today reported an unnamed organization spent $3 million to bring guests and protesters to D.C., and on ad buys to encourage people to make the trip. The actual costs of the event itself were under $400,000.
"Several versions of the “Confidential – Not To Be Disclosed” document are included, with some redactions, and appear to have been prepared for House Jan. 6 Select Committee investigating the attacks, which disclosed some of the information," reported USA Today.
Read Also:Behind the legal tactics Trump is using to dodge justice for January 6
Among the recipients of the money was the conservative group TurningPointAction, which got $1 million, according to the papers.
chase bank 906 jefferson shorewood Ill
Donald Trump Jr's super PAC, "Save the Senate" got a $500,000 payment.
The Tea Party Express got $400,000 and $200,000 was sent to a redacted name that was recruited "to assist with his organization efforts," the documents say.
There was also a $200,000 donation to the Republican Attorneys Generals (RAGA) Rule of Law Defense. FOR LEGAL SERVICES THEY HAD PROVIDED?!
Meanwhile, "$300,000 was budgeted for speaker fees and travel for VIP speakers and a busing program to bring in rallygoers within a 180-mile radius."
A $100,000 payment was given to a redacted group to cover "the estimated cost of their hotels, private flights, car services and private security for about 10 to 15 of its members.
See some of the screen captures of the documents below or at the link here....
UNREDACTED J6 DOC
GPO-J6-DOC-CTRL0000021632_00010
SEVERAL VERSION 250K TO C3 AND 750k TO TPACTION C4?
200K JONES?!
BLUEBONNET = WREN
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Right-wing media falsely suggest Donald Trump chartered a plane for Nelson Mandela out of the goodness of his heart
Trump’s airline was already up for sale due to financial troubles, and he charged Mandela $130,000 to use one of his jets
Written by Courtney Hagle
Published 10/18/24 mma
In an October 18 interview with Donald Trump, Fox host George “Tyrus” Murdoch praised the former president for chartering a plane for the late South Africa President Nelson Mandela in the 1990s, adding that it’s “hard” for Trump to “talk about the good things you’ve done.” Some others in conservative media joined in, suggesting that Trump assisted Mandela for the sake of generosity and goodwill.
In reality, as Washington Post columnist Glenn Kessler explained, the plane chartered for Mandela was not Trump’s personal private jet but a Boeing 727 from Trump Shuttle, “an airline that Trump briefly owned before it was essentially seized by the banks because he failed to make payments on his loans.” Kessler noted that Mandela was charged $130,000 to use the plane by Trump Shuttle, which was already in financial trouble and was preparing to be sold.
Speaking to Trump in an OutKick vid]
titled “Manhood is under ATTACK!” Tyrus said Mandela “was trying to come to the United States. The United States government wasn’t helping him, no one was helping him. You chartered a 727 plane for the entire trip. … Why is it hard for you to talk about the things you've done?”
Trump responded humbly: “I love doing it. I don't need praise for it.”
“I just like helping people,” he added. “I help a lot of people, and I enjoy doing it, and I never talk about it. … It's not a narrative the press likes to talk about.”
Some right-wing media joined in, lauding Trump’s generosity after the Trump campaign pushed the clip.
Turning Point USA co-founder and podcaster Charlie Kirk claimed that Trump helped Mandela “when the US Government wouldn’t,” adding, “He doesn’t go around bragging about his good deeds, but there are endless such stories.”
Students for Trump Chair Ryan Fournier wrote: “I had no idea Trump chartered a plane for Nelson Mandela to come to the United States when our own government wouldn't even help him. Trump is a good man.”
===
---
10? 24
WASHINGTON (AP) — Turning Point’s representatives have made two things clear in meetings with state and local Republican leaders — Donald Trump has blessed their conservative organization to help lead his get-out-the-vote effort, and local party officials ought to use the group’s new voter mobilization app.
Both prospects terrify fellow Republicans.
Soaring to prominence after Trump’s unexpected 2016 win, Turning Point earned a reputation for hosting glitzy events, cultivating hard-right influencers and raising prodigious sums of money while enriching the group’s leaders. They’ve had far less success helping Republicans win, especially in their adopted home state of Arizona.
Now the organization has leveraged its ties to Trump to expand its influence in a way that could be potentially lucrative. Turning Point has sought to lead an effort to remake the GOP’s get-out-the-vote effort based on the theory that there are thousands of Trump supporters who rarely vote but could be persuaded to in this year’s election. And they are pitching their new mobile app as vital to this effort’s success.
The Associated Press obtained an unvarnished look at how Turning Point is promoting its strategy by obtaining several recordings of presentations made by its representatives to state and local Republican officials. In those presentations, Turning Point operatives honed in on churchgoers and hunters, citing statistics that purport to show how few of each group cast ballots in 2020. Their argument, which is questioned by critics, is if groups like Turning Point target such groups, Republicans will likely sweep the swing states for Trump, the recordings show.
The decision by Trump to rely on untested groups such as Turning Point could have sweeping implications for November’s election. Turning Point says it’s operating statewide in Arizona and Wisconsin, two must win states for Trump. It’s also working in two competitive House districts, one in Michigan and another in Nevada, that could also help tip the balance in the presidential race.
The difference of just a few thousand votes in battleground states could mean victory or defeat for candidates up and down the ballot. It’s also a risky move that dismisses independent voters, a small but significant portion of the electorate.
“Their strategy is bad. They know how to talk MAGA, they know how to message the base,” said Tyler Montague, a Republican strategist from Arizona and a longtime Turning Point critic, referring to the former president’s Make America Great Again movement. “But they literally don’t know what to say to a swing voter. They alienate these people.”
A Turning Point spokesman rebuffed such criticism, saying the group is performing an important role for conservative candidates. “We did this because we knew conservatives need” a way to identify and turn out voters, said spokesman Andrew Kolvet. He added that the effort reflects lessons Turning Point has learned from defeats Republicans suffered in Arizona in 2022 and elsewhere and how Democrats have embraced similar tactics.
From influencers to organizers
Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago over a decade ago by Charlie Kirk, then a recent high school graduate, to nurture the next generation of conservatives. But as its leaders age out of the youth movement, the group’s brand of far-right politics hasn’t been very persuasive to Arizona’s general election voters, who rejected conservative candidates for statewide office in 2022, including gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake.
Turning Point’s leaders showed a degree of introspection after those losses. Not only had they failed to mobilize GOP voters, but Kirk had also amplified Trump’s false claims that voting by mail was rife with fraud, putting Republicans at a strategic disadvantage by discouraging a convenient way to cast a ballot.
They reversed course for the 2024 election and launched a campaign to raise $108 million for a “ballot chasing” operation that would expand beyond Arizona to key presidential swing states, where they are canvasing reliably Republican areas and encouraging low-turnout voters to cast a ballot by mail. Kolvet, Turning Point’s spokesman, said they have so far raised tens of millions of dollars as part of this effort.
Turning Point’s get-out-the-vote work is part of a broader effort to elect Trump that includes 30,000 volunteers recruited by the former president’s campaign, as well as work being done by such outside groups as Elon Musk’s America PAC, which has paid at least $45 million to voter canvasing firms this year.
Musk’s PAC took over as the leader of voter mobilization efforts in Wisconsin, a position that Turning Point had previously held. Turning Point will now play a secondary role in the state, while directing much of their focus to Arizona, a development previously reported by Politico.
A straightforward, if questionable, strategy
The group’s strategy isn’t complicated: Its operatives believe there is a well of untapped conservative voters who have not backed Trump in recent elections. To get Trump back to the White House, they believe the best path is to activate those voters. The strategy appears to mostly ignore independents — or less hardened Republicans — because Turning Point’s brand of hard-right politics is less likely to appeal to them.
In the recordings obtained by the AP, Turning Point’s representatives fully embraced that strategy and believe it would have helped them win past elections and ensure victory in November.
“If we just have an ounce of ballot chasing, just in Arizona,” Republicans would have won all their races, Matthew Martinez, a Turning Point official, said at a June event in Detroit, referring to the practice of convincing people to vote early while reaching out to those who haven’t cast ballots
Martinez added that Republicans faced the same challenges in Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia. In all three states, Martinez said, “Republicans are sincerely disengaged.”
Kirk wrote this month that Turning Point had assigned a full-time staffer or volunteer to chase every low-propensity voter on their target list in Arizona.
Experts in voting patterns are doubtful Turning Point’s efforts to mobilize infrequent Trump-inclined voters will do much to affect the election. Turnout in the past two presidential elections has already drawn a record number of voters to the polls, the experts noted, meaning the pool of voters they are seeking to turn out is small and particularly unlikely to vote.
“You had the highest turnout in Michigan in those presidential election years than you’ve ever had before. It’s doubtful they’re going to get any more,” said Bernie Porn, a nonpartisan pollster who’s worked in the state for more than 30 years.
‘Just download the app’
For over a year, Turning Point has aggressively pitched its new voter mobilization app — a potentially lucrative venture that, if successful, critics believe could strengthen its grasp on key Republican Party machinery. In meetings with state and local Republican leaders, Turning Point operatives lean heavily into their close affiliation with Trump, who is a regular speaker at Turning Point conferences, according to the recordings obtained by theAP.
“We now are an official arm of the Trump campaign,” Turning Point operative Luke Malace told the members of the Monroe County Republican Party in Michigan earlier this year while urging the group to become a paying “client” of the company that made the Turning Point app.
Martinez, at the June event, told attendees concerned about helping Republicans win that the best way to help was to use the app.
“Sir, just download the app – and everybody in here, too, download the app,” said Martinez, a Turning Point official.
The app was designed by Superfeed, a company with direct ties to Turning Point’s leaders. Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point’s chief operating officer, sits on the company’s board and was formerly the company’s chairman, business filings show. Kirk’s mother-in-law also serves on Superfeed’s board.
It’s unclear how much the company has made from apps it designed for Turning Point and over a dozen other GOP and conservative groups, including state parties in Arizona, Nevada and Delaware. Recent state and federal campaign finance disclosures do not show any payments to Superfeed.
In private, a Turning Point representative did not seek to disguise the connection between the app and their group.
“It’s all in-house,” Malace told the county party in Michigan.
Malace did not respond to a request for comment. Superfeed officials also did not respond to a request for comment.
Kolvet, the Turning Point spokesman, said that Malace mischaracterized the organization’s relationship with the app maker. Turning Point does not receive any money earned by Superfeed, and the conservative group isn’t “financially involved” with the app maker, Kolvet said.
“Our relationship with Superfeed is we are a client and they are a vendor,” Kolvet said.
The app and Turning Point’s data plans draw criticism
Some Republicans told the AP that there are major issues with Turning Point’s app, which has minimal protections to secure voters’ personal information.
The platform allows anyone who uses it, including an AP reporter, to quickly gain access to detailed personal information, including voters’ full names, addresses, ages and cellphone numbers. That’s a departure from the security protocols adopted by other such platforms. Such protocols are designed to safeguard personal information and prevent rival parties from stealing data or spying on a campaign’s strategy.
But not everyone is critical of the app.
Matt Brown, chair of the Yakima County Republican Party in Washington, said he learned about the app during a talk at a Turning Point conference in December. Brown was wowed and decided to become a Superfeed client, and began using the app a few months ago. He declined to say how much the party pays Superfeed, but praised Turning Point’s new focus.
“They are doing the work that no one else wants to do and the party is not doing it,” Brown said of the group.
The app is seen by Republican strategists as the latest example of Turning Point becoming more focused on using data as a way to strengthen its Republican role in the future. And those strategists are concerned that Turning Point is not playing by established traditions of sharing data within the Republican ecosystem and is unprepared to do the kind of work needed to elect Republicans in swing states.
“We have had good ground games in the past, really good ground games. And they were run by the RNC,” said Ron Kaufman, a longtime Republican who is so closely associated with the Republican National Committee he has been referred to as “Mr. RNC” in the past. “It doesn’t make sense to turn that operation over to an outside organization that doesn’t have the institutional knowledge that the committee has.”
Turning Point, for example, is not sharing its voter data with Data Trust, a Republican information clearinghouse that allows GOP campaigns and groups to use data collected by groups throughout the party’s ecosystem. Other Republican operatives said Turning Point is not sharing data with key statewide campaigns in the battlegrounds they are prioritizing.
Such data is the “lifeblood” of modern electioneering, said Montague, the Arizona Republican who has been critical of Turning Point.
He said the group’s foray into providing other groups data is further evidence it is attempting “to take over the party at the national level.”
Turning Point’s spokesman denied the charge, saying the group was not seeking to take over the GOP and blaming their lack of sharing with the Data Trust on not having access when they started this work.
“It’s just craziness,” Kolvet said. “We don’t want the job.”
---
used to be neo nazi stuff?
October 14, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): This election is literally about are we allowed to fight back against invading armed hordes. Let me say that again — this entire election is about are we allowed to fight back against an invading armed fighting force and hordes and swarms of people that want to take our stuff, take women, and loot the entire nation. These are landing parties on the United States of America. Donald Trump's campaign is a rejection and a refutation of the Third World conquering America.
mma
// huffpo jan? 2024
right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, leader of the MAGA youth groups Turning Point USA and Students for Trump and the host one of the most listened-to podcasts in the United States, encouraged his listeners this week to take up arms in preparation for an “invasion” of immigrants at the southern border.
“The break-ins, the looting, the murder, the rapes, the arson, it’s — by the way, this is just getting warmed up,” Kirk said Wednesday on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” echoing white supremacist talking points depicting immigrants and asylum seekers as inherently criminal. “You got 15,000 fighting-age males that are getting deployed all across the country. Native-born Americans, you better buy weapons, everybody. Have a lot of guns at your disposal. I would never leave your home without a weapon. It’s the new country we live in. It is ‘Mad Max.’ [President Joe] Biden is creating ‘Mad Max.’ You’re on your own.”
The day before, Tucker Carlson, who had hosted the former Fox News prime-time juggernaut “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” had also suggested it was time for civilians to take matters into their own hands.
“It’s unanimous: Everyone in power, from the White House, to the hedge fund managers, to the Supreme Court of the United States, has decided to destroy the country by allowing it to be invaded,” Carlson told his 11 million followers on X (formerly Twitter). “That leaves the population to defend itself. Where are the men of Texas? Why aren’t they protecting their state and the nation?”
Kirk and Carlson — both of whom have long promoted the “great replacement theory,” falsely suggesting Democrats are bringing migrants into the country to “replace” white people — were responding to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this week that said the federal government could remove dangerous razor wire Texas had installed along its border with Mexico.
In his response to the ruling, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) released a statement Wednesday that used language eerily reminiscent of Southern states’ statements of secession ahead of the Civil War: He threatened to defy the Supreme Court decision, declaring that the “federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States.” The next day, Republican governors from 25 states issued a joint statement supporting Abbott, praising him for “stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country.”
It was the latest, most dramatic escalation between Abbott and President Joe Biden over the situation at the border — an escalation experts say has corresponded with increasingly dangerous rhetoric from prominent conservatives that could encourage violent vigilantism targeting immigrants.
“It does provide a lot of license to vigilantes,” journalist Patrick Strickland, author of the book “The Marauders: Standing Up to Vigilantes in the American Borderlands,” told HuffPost. “This is not an ‘invasion’; it’s desperate people fleeing organized crime or poverty or war or violence. It’s not the same as the organized regiments of a formal army.”
Strickland pointed to the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019, when a white supremacist who wanted to stop the “Hispanic invasion” at the southern border opened fire, killing 22 people in what has been called the deadliest anti-Latino hate crime in American history. Earlier that year, Abbott had published campaign material calling on Texans to “defend” the state and to “take matters into our own hands” when it comes to immigration.
“This is not an ‘invasion’; it’s desperate people fleeing organized crime or poverty or war or violence. It’s not the same as the organized regiments of a formal army.”
Patrick Strickland, author of "The Marauders"}:
Similarly, in 2018, as then-President Donald Trump, with the help of Fox News, manufactured a panic about a “migrant caravan” marching toward the southern border, another white supremacist opened fire inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. The shooter, who had cited antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jews hastening the replacement of white Americans by importing immigrants into the country, killed 11 worshippers.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), who represents the El Paso area, said her “community knows better than any that there are deadly consequences to the hatred and xenophobia the far-right is promoting.”
“A reminder to them that the white supremacist who drove over 10 hours to my community on August 3, 2019 to massacre immigrants and Hispanics used the same language they continue to espouse,” Escobar told HuffPost in a statement. “The normalization of such violent rhetoric and dehumanization led to the murder of innocent people in El Paso, and I fear such hatred and unfounded fear will only perpetuate the next incident.”
Also of concern is the long, menacing history of right-wing paramilitary groups along the U.S.-Mexico border, including in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when white supremacist leaders David Duke, then a grand wizard in the Ku Klux Klan, and Louis Beam, head of the Texas Knights of the KKK, patrolled the border in search of migrants. There was another explosion of right-wing militia activity along the border when Barack Obama was president.
There remains a large coterie of paramilitary groups, often acting with the implicit, or explicit, support of elected lawmakers and law enforcement officials.
“People often think of vigilantes as operating completely separate from the state, completely removed from politics, and that’s actually not the case,” Regina Bateson, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Boulder, told HuffPost. “So it’s very common that there are relationships between people involved in vigilantism and elected officials. It’s a way of pushing political agendas, sometimes trying to sort of force the state into acting where it wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Bateson said the current conservative panic about migrants crossing the border is fostering conditions that could lead to a new period of vigilantism.
First, she said, there are already “pre-existing networks” of militias along the border, and they have all the “relevant skills.” Second, vigilantism is typically carried out by “someone from a more powerful or more privileged group in society, targeting somebody who’s from a more marginalized group” — in this case, predominantly white Americans targeting Latino migrants. This more privileged group, Bateson added, will frame their actions as “defensive,” depicting their targets as a threat, even if they’re the ones “proactively carrying out ‘security patrols,’ or acting in ways that are offensive, like proactively going out and looking for people.” Finally, Stateson said, right-wing vigilantism often thrives when there’s an abundance of harsh, dehumanizing language about the target group.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to defy a Supreme Court decision that allows federal officials to remove razor wire from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Eric Gay/Associated Press
Abbott has used such language. Earlier this month, the governor boasted that “the only thing we’re not doing is shooting people” crossing the border because “the Biden administration would charge us with murder” — seemingly implying he’d condone the extrajudicial killings of asylum seekers if he and other Texans could get away with it.
And last month, Trump said immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of America, words that parallel language Adolf Hitler used about Jews in “Mein Kampf.”
Right-wing figures have also started to invoke the possibility of a new civil war if Biden doesn’t deal with the “invasion” at the border, as reported by Media Matters.
“My thoughts are that the feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground,” Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) wrote on X earlier this week.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt also indulged in fantasies of a hypothetical “force-on-force” conflict between Texas and the Biden administration during an interview this week with Newsmax.
If the Biden administration were to take over control of the Texas National Guard as a way of ending the conflict with Abbott, Stitt said, he’d understand if soldiers started to consider not obeying the president’s orders.
“I think they would be in a difficult situation: to protect their homeland or to follow what Biden’s saying,” Stitt said. “It’s very interesting. But then, you know, then you’ve got Oklahoma and Florida and Tennessee, and you got all these other states that would send our National Guard to help and to support the efforts of Gov. Abbott. Because every state is a border state.”
Matt Walsh, the popular Daily Wire host, said this week that “red-state governors will need to ignore the Supreme Court and do what needs to be done to protect their citizens and the border,” adding, “The last civil war was unimaginable until it wasn’t.”
Tim Pool, a conservative YouTuber with more than a million subscribers, described what’s happening in Texas as a “Fort Sumter-esque type scenario,” referring to the opening battle of the Civil War. “It does feel like it could be escalating to this federal vs. state conflict.”
Kirk also got in on the action. “So someone says right here, ‘Charlie, what would happen if Texas ignores the ruling? Will the government go to war with Texas?’” Kirk asked on his podcast, reading a question a listener had sent in.
===
wapo no lnx
Democracy Dies in Darkness
Conservative media is familiar with Buffalo suspect’s alleged ‘theory’
The scene Sunday morning after the deadly shooting Saturday in Buffalo. (Libby March for The Washington Post)
By Paul Farhi
Updated May 15, 2022 at 4:26 p.m. EDT|Published May 15, 2022
The suspect in Saturday’s killing of 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket allegedly wrote a document endorsing “great replacement theory,” a once-fringe racist idea that became a popular refrain among media figures such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham of Fox News and conservative writer Ann Coulter.
Before the shooting rampage that also left three wounded, the suspect, Payton S. Gendron, 18, allegedly posted a lengthy document invoking the idea that White Americans were at risk of being “replaced” by people of color because of immigration and higher birthrates.
Gendron, who is White, allegedly indicated that he chose a neighborhood with a large number of Black residents for his alleged attack. In the document that Gendron is suspected to have written, he indicated that he was radicalized online. There’s no indication that he watched Carlson’s program.
The theory was once confined to far-right White extremists, who cast immigration as part of a plot by “elites” to take political and economic power away from White people. It has gained broader circulation in recent years as a talking point among prominent conservative media figures.
On Sept. 22, Fox News host Tucker Carlson misrepresented past immigration remarks by President Biden to suggest the existence of the “great replacement theory.” (Video: Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)
Carlson, whose weeknight program is typically the most popular on Fox News, has been an especially avid promoter of the thesis. He has mentioned variations on the idea in more than 400 episodes since 2016, according to a New York Times analysis of his program. In April of last year, he said on Fox News that people from the “Third World” are immigrating to the United States “to replace the current electorate” and “dilute the political power of the people who live there” — language that essentially distills the replacement thesis.
He was more explicit in a video posted on Fox News’s YouTube account in September. Carlson said President Biden was encouraging immigration “to change the racial mix of the country, … to reduce the political power of people whose ancestors lived here, and dramatically increase the proportion of Americans newly arrived from the Third World.”
White nationalists and racists have celebrated Carlson’s endorsement of an idea they have championed for years. At the same time, Carlson’s rhetoric prompted the Anti-Defamation League to call for his firing.
The organization noted that racists have spouted the theory in perpetrating violent attacks, such as the killing of 51 people in mosques in New Zealand in 2019, and the killing of 23 mostly Hispanic shoppers in a Walmart in El Paso the same year.
After he was called out for promoting the theory in April 2021, Carlson said on his show: “I mean, everyone wants to make a racial issue out of it. Oh, you know, the white replacement theory? No, no, no. This is a voting right question.”
A Fox News spokesperson on Sunday afternoon pointed to examples of Carlson speaking against violence on his program but had no further comment.
Other Fox News hosts besides Carlson have picked up the theme, giving it a veneer of respectability, at least within the conservative media ecosystem.
Ingraham, another prime-time Fox News host, told viewers in 2018 that Democrats “want to replace you, the American voters, with newly amnestied citizens and an ever-increasing number of chain migrants.” During a monologue on her program last year, she called immigration an “insurrection [that] seeks to overthrow everything we love about America by defaming it, silencing it, and even prosecuting it. This is an organized mob funded by billionaires, it’s supported by celebrities.”
Fox host Jeanine Pirro has also echoed the tenets of the “replacement” idea during an appearance on a syndicated radio program in 2019. She said liberals and Democrats were pursuing immigration policies that are “a plot to remake America, to replace American citizens with illegals who will vote for the Democrats.”
The same themes have been echoed for years by such prominent conservative media figures as Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and the late Rush Limbaugh.
O’Reilly, who formerly occupied Carlson’s spot on Fox News, told Fox News’s Sean Hannity on his radio show in 2020 that undocumented immigration would cause “traditional America to vanish.” Limbaugh said in 2018 that immigration from Central America was intended to “dilute and eventually eliminate or erase what is known as the distinct or unique American culture. … This is why people call this an invasion.”
Coulter wrote about the alleged threat to American culture posed by immigrants in a book in 2015 titled “Adios, America: The Left’s Plan to Turn Our Country into a Third World Hellhole.”
Charlie Kirk, a conservative pundit who heads Turning Point USA and sometimes appears as a guest on Carlson’s program, defended Carlson’s “replacement” advocacy last year. After playing a clip of Carlson’s comments on Fox News, Kirk commented: “Nothing he said there is controversial. It’s factual and it’s true.” He later added that he was “so proud” of Carlson for promoting the theory.
Last month, Kirk tweeted: “There is an undeniable War on White People in The West.”
Matt Walsh, a contributor to the Daily Wire, also tacitly endorsed the idea during a program he hosted last summer.
“So we’re bringing in a flood of immigrants across the southern border, non-White,” Walsh said in the video. “We’re putting policies in place with the express purpose of having fewer White people in universities and positions of power. And we’re celebrating the reduction in the White population. I mean, it sounds like [liberals] want to replace White people. So this is replacement, is it not? And you’re happy about it?”
===
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10/11/24
===
rww 10 24
Christian nationalist activist and right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk interviewed evangelical pollster George Barna on his podcast yesterday about the upcoming presidential election and was deeply concerned about what Barna had to report.
Barna, who serves as a senior fellow at the Family Research Council's Center for Biblical Worldview, specializes in studying what he calls “SAGE Cons”—Spiritually Active Governance Engaged Conservative Christians—who have traditionally made up the base of the religious-right movement.
According to Barna's latest research, overall enthusiasm about voting in the 2024 election is down, but it is down significantly more among Christians who would be expected to support Trump if they did vote. Tens of millions of Christians, Barna said, simply don't care about politics or dislike the candidates and therefore do not intend to vote.
"In the last election, we had about 61 per cent of voting age adults who turned out," Barna said. "We're projecting that in this election, that's going to drop from 61 to somewhere down to 53 to 55 percent."
"Are evangelicals down more than other voters?" Kirk wondered. "Because if evangelicals decrease in enthusiasm alongside the general population, then it will basically be a wash?"
"That would be the best case scenario at this point," Barna replied. "Right now what we're seeing is that people who are committed Christians—biblical Christians, disciples of Jesus, Evangelicals, SAGE Cons, the spiritually active governance engaged conservative Christians—whichever of those segments you want to look at, what we're finding is anywhere from 10 to 25 percentage point drops in enthusiasm about this election."
"If it were a wash, I wouldn't be as concerned," Barna added. "It's not. We're dropping at greater levels and that's what's raising the alarm."
"If your numbers remain the same and there's no improvement and there's no surge in enthusiasm, is it fair to say that Christians staying at home will hand the White House to Kamala Harris?" Kirk asked.
"Yes," Barna answered. "I believe that's exactly what's gonna happen."
"George Barna is not just some rando that we put on here," Kirk warned. "This guy's been doing it for 40 years. ... How many times do we need to emphasize that there are civilizational defining issues on this? If we lose, it'll be largely because pastors and Christians arrogantly say to God, 'We don't care. We're more religious than Donald Trump.'"
"I hope they enjoy the gulags," Kirk concluded.
---
gotv w/ musk?
10/07/2024
by
- Hemant Mehta @ Friendly Atheist: Ryan Walters wants Oklahoma taxpayers to buy 55,000 Trump bibles for public schools
A new document limits the types of bibles that the state will purchase. Only the Trump Bible appears to meet the criteria.
- Will Neal @ The Daily Beast: Marjorie Taylor Greene Is Now Adding Lasers to Her Hurricane Helene Conspiracy
The MAGA congresswoman’s post comes as FEMA finds itself fighting against fake information about the disaster.
- Dan Merica And Brian Slodysko @ The Associated Press: Turning Point wants to revolutionize how Republicans turn out voters. Some are skeptical
> Turning Point’s representatives have made two things clear in meetings with state and local Republican leaders — Donald Trump has blessed their conservative organization to help lead his get-out-the-vote effort, and local party officials ought to use the group’s new voter mobilization app. Both prospects terrify fellow Republicans.
- Althea Legaspi @ Rolling Stone: Trump Reiterates He Wants To Be a ‘Dictator’ for ‘One Day’ at Wisconsin Rally
Trump didn’t venture far from his typical tropes on Sunday: He fear-mongered about migrants (“the horrible people that we’re allowing into our country that are destroying our country,” he claimed of migrants, saying the issue was the most important of this election); claimed that if he loses, the U.S. is over (“If we lose this election, this country’s finished,” he claimed); kept up his obsession with crowd sizes; and he also inexplicably decided to revisit his unhinged admission that he wants to be dictator for one day.
- Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: With focus on immigration, Trump laments those with ‘bad genes’
A year ago this week, Donald Trump complained about migrants “poisoning the blood of our country.” Now, he's concerned about those with "bad genes," too.
- Alicia Sadowski & Isabella Corrao @ Media Matters: Right-wing media falsely and dishonestly claim that Hurricane Helene survivors are only entitled to $750 in aid
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, right-wing media falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration are ignoring millions of Americans impacted by intense flooding. Media personalities and MAGA influencers have falsely and dishonestly claimed that victims are only entitled to $750 in aid, when in reality that is just the start of federal benefits.
guk
Trump-allied Pac fires canvassing vendor in crucial states weeks before election
Elon Musk’s America Pac replaces voter turnout operations in Arizona and Nevada with fewer than 50 days till election
Hugo Lowell in Washington
Tue 17 Sep 2024
America Pac, one of the largest and the most ambitious of the groups supporting Donald Trump’s campaign, is replacing its ground game operations in the crucial battleground states of Arizona and Nevada, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The political action committee, backed by billionaire Elon Musk, has ended its contract with the September Group and will hire a new company to knock on doors with fewer than 50 days left until the election.
America Pac used non-performance as the stated reason to back out of the contract in the past few days, claiming the September Group was not hitting its door-knocking targets, one of people said.
The shakeup comes at a crunch moment for the Trump campaign, which has outsourced virtually its entire ground game operation to a number of political action committees in this presidential cycle. America Pac is seen as the most ambitious, with a presence in every swing state.
As a result of the shakeup, America Pac has not canvassed any neighborhoods in Arizona and Nevada on behalf of the Trump campaign for the past few days as it resets its operations in the two states.
America Pac hopes the roughly 300 canvassers employed by the September Group will be rehired by its successor but whether that occurs remains uncertain.
To some degree, it would be in America Pac’s interest to rehire the people given the talent pool for knocking on doors in the blazing Arizona and Nevada heat is dramatically reduced this late in the cycle, having already been hired by congressional and other campaigns.
The New York Times reported earlier that America Pac would replace the September Group with a new canvassing vendor. The September Group was paid just under $1.4m for its work since August, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
A Trump campaign spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
The move inside America Pac comes as Republican officials in swing states have raised concern about the Trump campaign’s own formal presence for the get-out-the-vote operation, the Guardian has reported.
The Republican National Committee once envisioned an extensive field operation for the 2024 election, until the Trump campaign scrapped those plans when it took over the party in March, pursuing a twin voter turnout strategy of relying on Pacs and ardent Trump volunteers.
The Trump campaign took the gamble to outsource its ground game, after the Federal Election Commission gave permission for campaigns to coordinate their voter turnout efforts with the Pacs, freeing Trump to spend his war chest on rallies and television advertising.
But the Pacs, which are supposed to bridge the gap, have been slow to spool up, according to people with direct access to the data for groups such as America Pac, Turnout for America, Turning Point Action and America First Works.
They have only started to hire at a rapid clip in recent weeks, the people said, meaning they are reaching Trump supporters late in the cycle when it often takes repeated “voter contacts” to get them to return a ballot.
The situation means that not only is the size of the formal Trump operation particularly small for the 2024 election, but the door-knockers and canvassers recruited by the Pacs might be less effective compared with previous presidential cycles.
===
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ggl 9 24
Top stories
Fox News
Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sexual assault, murder convictions in US: ICE data
2 days ago
Fox News
White House mum amid outrage over data showing how many illegal immigrant criminals are in US
1 day ago
10:12
YouTube · Fox News
Over 13K illegal immigrants convicted of murder have been released into US
Video1 day ago
More news
Anyone who defends illegal criminals crossing the border ...
Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com › video
2 days ago — 'The Five' co-hosts break down reports of thousands of criminals crossing the U.S. southern border.
Missing: 13000 convicted murder, 15000 rape non- detained list
Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) / X
X · BillMelugin_
468.6K+ followers
by ICE, the agency reveals there are currently 13,000+ noncitizens convicted of homicide ... Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sexual assault, homicide ...
Missing: people list
September-2024-Border-Report.pdf
House Committee on Homeland Security (.gov)
https://homeland.house.gov › uploads › 2024/09
Sep 18, 2024 — news/immigration/colombian-convicted-murder-released-ice/. ... Mayorkas' watch, including those guilty of violent offenses like homicide, sexual ...
Illegal Immigrants
Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com › category › immigration › il...
Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sexual assault, murder convictions in US: ICE data ... homicide convictions are currently roaming the United States, ...
Missing: 13000 15000
News
FBI.gov
https://www.fbi.gov › news › RSS
Jun 15, 2023 — ... murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. “We are encouraged by ... Through Operation Not Forgotten and the broader Missing and Murdered ...
The Biden-Harris administration released into the U.S. ...
YouTube · John Lott
3 views · 1 day ago
... convicted of murder and 1845 accused of murder, alongside hundreds of thousands more convicted or facing charges for other crimes, as of recent
Missing: shows across rape list
15000 killers, 20000 sexual assault convicts, 60000 ...
Washington Times
https://www.washingtontimes.com › news › sep › 1500...
2 days ago — 15,000 killers, 20,000 sexual assault convicts ... That included 13,099 people convicted of homicide and 1,845 charged with homicide.
Missing: Fox | Show results with: Fox
"Every State is a Border State: Examining Secretary ...
Congress.gov
https://www.congress.gov › event › house-event › text
Human Rights First has tracked over 13,000 publicly-reported murder ... murders, rapes, and things that are happening in the community. Can you tell ...
===
09/25/24
Charlie Kirk says not voting for Trump will lead to nationalized abortion rights
09/25/24 mma
---
09/09/24 mma
mma 9 24
...
MAGA personalities
Charlie Kirk
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk posted in response to the DOJ election threats task force: “The regime is ramping up its fear campaign ahead of November” and in a separate post, “It's 2016 all over again.” [Twitter/X, 9/4/24, 9/4/24]
TimCast
Timcast co-host Ian Crossland suggested that the situation may be a “psyop within a psyop.” [YouTube, Timcast, 9/4/24]
:{Video:
CitationFrom the September 4, 2024 edition of Timcast IRL
Jack Posobiec
MAGA personality Jack Posobiec wrote, “Crazy how all the Russia collusion stuff reappears the day after Trump says he is going to declass the Epstein client list… Really makes you think.” [Twitter/X, 9/4/24]
Dan Bongino
Right-wing radio host Dan Bongino wrote, “Trust absolutely NOTHING emanating from the DOJ or FBI that even remotely whiffs of politics.” He added, “Especially before an election, where they have a deep and troubled history of election interference in defense of their democrat allies.” [Twitter/X, 9/4/24]
Rogan O'Handley
MAGA commentator Rogan O'Handley, also known as DC Draino, wrote a long post claiming the Justice Department is weaponized against MAGA, writing, “Today’s DOJ indictment mentioning prominent MAGA Youtubers is just a preview of what the weaponized Kamala regime will do to every prominent voice in the Patriot movement.” He added, “The regime knows it’s being rejected by the American people and is desperately lashing out" and “No more distractions, no more purity tests for Trump, no more BS - we ALL have to fight like hell to get him elected or most of us are going to end up targeted by the Deep State.” [Twitter/X, 9/4/24]
...
===
an 9 24
on Wednesday, August 4, arch-conservative former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) announced that she will be "voting for Kamala Harris" for president, attacking GOP nominee Donald Trump as a "danger" to the Constitution. Cheney has been vehemently critical of Trump and the MAGA movement's views on foreign policy and the fondness that many MAGA Republicans have expressed for Russian President Vladimir Putin — and Cheney's Harris endorsement was a major news story when the Daily Beast reported that a Tennessee-based pro-Trump media company, Tenet Media, has "been accused of receiving millions of dollars from two employees of Russian state-backed media company Russia Today (RT) in order to influence American viewers."
The Daily Beast's Owen Levine reports, "According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Russian employees created a $10 million scheme 'to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.' While described as 'U.S. Company 1' in an unsealed indictment Wednesday, clues suggest that it is Tenet Media, which has been named in various reports as the firm in question. The indictment describes how Company-1's website describes itself as a 'network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.' It employs six commentators as its 'talent.'"
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a Never Trump conservative, had a lot to say about the Beast's reporting on Thursday morning, September 5. The former GOP congressman slammed MAGA Republicans who are "knowingly or unknowingly promoting Russian propaganda."
READ MORE:**Walz's pro-Trump brother drops public criticism — thanks to family invention**
Scarborough told viewers, "It's just cynicism…. (They are) always apologizing for Russian, always apologizing for Putin."
Journalist Ken Dilanian, who specializes in national security matters for NBC News and MSNBC, told Scarborough that the Tenet story and Garland's allegations are a disturbing example of the Kremlin trying to influence U.S. politics.
There have been plenty of reactions on X, formerly Twitter, as well.
Legal expert and former federal prosecutor Richard Signorelli tweeted the Beast's report, commenting, "Trump is Putin's shill and rescuer if he wins. Does everyone understand what this election is all about?"
READ MORE:**'Gender chasm': GOP panics over huge Harris lead among women as Trump chases 'bro vote'**
HuffPost journalist Yashar Ali noted, "The US Department of Justice alleges that Tenet Media, which has Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, and Dave Rubin on its roster, received $10 million from the Russian government to publish content as part of a Russian influence operation. Tenet is owned and controlled by Lauren Chen, who is affiliated with Turning Point USA, and her husband Liam Donovan."
Law professor Scott Bassett tweeted, "Can MAGA explain why they hate America so much that they will do Putin's bidding?"
Physics professor Alex Spahn posted, "Evidence from the DOJ includes these 'campaign topics' they pushed. Notice these are essentially that everything MAGA is about. Russia paying (Tenet) Media is just scratching the surface of a long-running effort to undermine/destabilize US politics."
READ MORE:Deep-red states meet 'wall of hostility' in forcing Christian nationalism on public schools
*Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).
===
Lauren Chen is a conservative millennial YouTuber, blogger, political commentator, and TV host. Born in Quebec, Canada, and raised in Hong Kong, Lauren earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a Minor in Middle-Eastern Studies and Arabic. She has starred in popular conservative shows including, Pseudo-Intellectual on Blaze TV and Roaming Millennial: Uncensored on CRTV. Lauren currently stars on her own YouTube channel, Lauren Chen, which has garnered over half a million subscribers and amassed almost 80,000,000 views. She has also appeared on Fox News, One America News, Newsmax, The Daily Wire, Rebel Media, and PragerU.
an 9 24
Several of the speakers who endorsed presidential nominee Kamala Harris at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago were conservative Republicans, including former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois), former Trump White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, ex-Mike Pence national security aide Olivia Troye, and Mesa, Arizona Mayor John Giles.
Like other pro-Harris Republicans,
that former President Donald Trump is fundamentally anti-democracy. And the Mesa mayor is warning that Trump and his MAGA allies will fight the election results if Harris wins in November.
The Guardian's Peter Stone, in an article published on September 3, points to Giles as one of the people who is sounding the alarm about the extremes Trump is willing to go to.
READ MORE:How 'Red Dawn conservatives' have formed anti-Trump alliance with 'educated suburban dads'
If Trump loses, Giles predicts, MAGA Republicans "will throw everything at the wall and see what sticks."
The Mesa mayor warned, "They'll claim everything went wrong if they lose. I'd be surprised if Trump doesn't try to foment insurrection if he loses the election."
Stone cites Turning Point USA and True the Vote as some of the "MAGA stalwarts" who have been "spreading conspiracy theories about election fraud in order to lay the groundwork for charging the election was rigged if Trump loses."
Former Rep. Dave Trott (R-Michigan) told The Guardian, "Trump continues to encourage his supporters like Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA to question the integrity of our elections. He has no evidence or basis for claiming fraud and is only perpetuating these lies so he has a plan B to disrupt democracy in the event he loses."
READ MORE:How the 'antiquated' Electoral College can be reformed to root out 'intrigue and corruption'
David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research is worried as well, telling The Guardian, "A lot of false claims are masquerading as efforts to change policy to improve election integrity when in actuality, they're just designed to sow distrust in our system if Trump loses. This is all designed to manufacture claims that if Trump loses, the election was stolen and to sow discord, chaos and potential violence.”
READ MORE:Legal expert lays out what September could hold for Trump’s criminal cases
*Read The Guardian's full article at this link.
===
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08/29/24 mma
---
see cozy fuentes bowtyer
TPUSA HAS HIJACKED AZ STATE GOP?
=
Charlie Kirk announces upcoming “health-focused summits” in partnership with RFK Jr.
08/26/24
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spoke at rnc 7 24
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8 24
got owned fact checked at dnc weird
claimed victory
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https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/tim-walz-dog-scout-right-wing-conspiracy-1235088197/
Conservatives Have Invented a Conspiracy About Tim Walz’s Dog
Right-wing commentators are once again barking up the wrong tree
August 26, 2024
Gov. Tim Walz holds Scout during a news conference to announce his adoption ohn Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune/AP
Like dogs with a bone, the right won’t drop their efforts to malign Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
On Monday, prominent conservatives circulated an absurd allegation that Walz was faking the identity of his family’s dog Scout.
“This is Tim Walz tweeting about his dog Scout. Only problem is that these are two completely different dogs,” Dustin Grage, a columnist at the right-wing website Town Hall, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The post contrasted two images of Walz. One was of Walz with Scout — a black labrador mix — celebrating the pup’s birthday in June of 2022. The second showed Walz petting a different dog on October 19, 2022. “Couldn’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful fall day than at the dog park. I know Scout enjoyed it,” the governor captioned the image.
The same day, Walz posted a video on Instagram featuring Scout and several other dogs at a dog park. In the video, the governor is sporting the same jacket, beanie, and dog toy seen in the photo, and the dog featured in the X post is also clearly visible. In the clip, Walz jokingly asks Scout if he’s “jealous” of the attention he’s giving other dogs before giving him an affectionate rub. The photo of Walz at the dog park has seemingly been removed from his X account.
Given that Scout has been in Walz’s family since 2019, and recently got his own *Vogue* profile, reasonable bipedal thinkers might assume that Walz was simply posting a photo with a friendly dog he met at a dog park — not concocting an elaborate scheme to trick voters about his family pet.
Nevertheless, the right ran with Grage’s post like a hound who’d just stolen the Thanksgiving turkey off the dining room table.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) quoted Grage’s post with the caption: “Why would Tim Walz do this? It’s Creepy™️ and Weird™️.”
“Tim Walz is an all-time legendary liar,” Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
“Wait so Walz is even lying about his dog? Ruff stuff,” wrote former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is currently engaged to Donald Trump Jr.
---
MSNBC News
Republicans' latest attack line against Tim Walz: His dog?
1 hour ago
Rolling Stone
Conservatives Have Invented a Conspiracy About Tim Walz’s Dog
1 day ago
Salon.com
Republicans invent “desperate” and quickly debunked conspiracy theory about Tim Walz’s dog
24 hours ago
More news
Tim Walz faces backlash as GOP strategist invents ...
Monday, several prominent Republicans launched their latest attack on Tim Walz, this time coming after not his background or his policy, but his dog Scout.
“This is Tim Walz tweeting about his dog Scout. Only problem is that these are two completely different dogs,” right-wing columnist Dustin Grage wrote on X.
He shared two photos Walz had previously posted. One photo is from June 2022 and shows Walz with his dog Scout, who is a black labrador mix, and is captioned: “Sending a special birthday shoutout to our favorite pup, Scout.”
The other photo is from October 2022 and shows Walz petting a different dog at a dog park. “Couldn’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful fall day than at the dog park. I know Scout enjoyed it,” the caption reads.
Republicans falsely claimed the photos showed Walz was lying about the dog he’s very much had since 2019.
Sen. Eric Schmidt, R-Mo., wrote that Walz's dog posts were “creepy” and “weird.”
“Wait so Walz is even lying about his dog?” wrote Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host and the fiancee of Donald Trump Jr.
The rumor was quickly debunked by video of Scout and the other dog pictured running around the dog park together on that same day.
This is just the latest attack from Republicans on Walz. From questioning his military background to his relationship with his son, none of their criticisms have landed, argued MSNBC host Jen Psaki. They’ve now gotten so “desperate” they’ve come after his dog, Psaki said. “Better luck next time, guys."
---
mma 8 234
In a video posted to social media, Charlie Kirk denied that he called for the Civil Rights Act to be overturned. He has a track record of suggesting otherwise.
- ### Democratic content creator Knowa confronts Kirk
For reasons that are not immediately clear, Turning Point USA founder and MAGA personality Charlie Kirk obtained credentials to attend night one of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Kirk promptly posted a video of himself getting mocked by the president of Georgia Young Democrats. But it was another Kirk confrontation that caught my attention, when he answered a question from 13-year-old Democratic content creator Knowa De Baraso:
KNOWA: I have a question.
CHARLIE KIRK: OK. What's your question?
KNOWA: Why did you say that the civil rights bill should be overturned?
KIRK: I didn't say that. I said it was a mistake.
KNOWA: Why? That's crazy.
- ### What Kirk has said about civil rights laws
Kirk earlier this year made viral comments about being afraid to fly with a Black pilot. Kirk frequently discusses quite bizarre racial theories on-air.
It is true that Kirk has called the Civil Rights Act a “mistake.” But he’s also said more than that.
And Kirk has appeared to suggest that the Civil Rights Act should be overturned.
Kirk discussed civil rights laws in October 2023 with Richard Hanania, a Project 2025 contributor who reportedly wrote racist essays for white supremacist websites for years.
The two discussed the Civil Rights Act and its supposed impacts on “wokeism,” with Hanania claiming that “the perversion of the Civil Rights Act and a few laws that came after it” became “something like a state religion.” Kirk readily agreed that it “created this regime” and shifted the discussion to impacts of the law in culture.
Video
CitationFrom the October 18, 2023, edition of Salem's The Charlie Kirk Show
A bit later in the discussion, Kirk even suggested that “not only is it the moral right thing to do, it's actually insanely popular to get rid of these laws, these traditions that discriminate against groups of people, in particular white people.”
Video
CitationFrom the October 18, 2023, edition of Salem's The Charlie Kirk Show
Kirk also railed against the Civil Rights Act in April 2024, claiming “that beast has now turned into an anti-white weapon,” while his guest called to “fundamentally relook at a lot of our civil rights legal regime.”
Video
CitationFrom the April 16, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
Kirk in June 2023 described the Civil Rights Act as “way too broad and largely poorly written.”
Video
CitationFrom the June 30, 2023, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show
Kirk has been so outspoken against the Civil Rights Act that even conservative campaign consultant Raynard Jackson appeared to express alarm while speaking at an event at CPAC earlier this year:
Video
CitationFrom the February 21, 2024 War Room Force Multiplier Academy, streamed on Rumble
RAYNARD JACKSON: Let me say that I have some good sources on the other side — this White House is terrified of the prospect of President Trump tapping into the Black community. But let me tell you what they're also saying. They don't think President Trump, they don't believe, Steve, MAGA is willing to do what is necessary to turn polling data into votes at the voting blocks. And let me tell you what I mean by that. Until conservatives and MAGA deal with the issue of race and the Black community, you're never going to penetrate the Black vote — even people like me.
...
But, Steve, I got to be honest — to have one of our MAGA compatriots go on his podcast and call Martin Luther King a rapist, for a 30-year-old guy to sit up and tell me that the civil rights bill of '64 was bad for America, that makes my job almost impossible.
Wired also reported on Kirk’s increasing efforts to target civil rights laws.
This is all happening as the Republican National Committee, now co-led by Lara Trump after Kirk assisted in the ouster of Ronna McDaniel, works closer with Kirk’s Turning Point USA and its sister organization Turning Point Action.
Turning Point USA is also an official Project 2025 partner.
---
Charlie Kirk: “Kamala Harris is to blame, partially, for Vladimir Putin deciding to invade Ukraine”
08/13/24 mma
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mma 8 24
republican state officials are investigating ActBlue after right-wing media used inaccurate information to claim the fundraising platform was laundering money
Right-wing media homed in on a Virginia donor, but FEC data shows the vast majority of donations were to WinRed and Republican PACs rather than ActBlue
Written by Kayla Gogarty
Research contributions from Alex Kaplan
:{Published 08/07/24
Amid Kamala Harris’ surging fundraising, right-wing media are alleging that Democratic PAC ActBlue is laundering money through a Virginia donor, claiming there were more than 22,000 donations listed for that individual, totaling over $800,000. But according to data from the Federal Election Commission, the alleged donor actually gave hundreds of thousands to WinRed and other Republican PACs.
Regardless, the claim spread — including to former President Donald Trump — and right-wing media figures called on attorneys general to investigate. At least two Republican attorneys general have announced they are looking into it.
After President Joe Biden announced that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, fundraising for her campaign surged. Amid that surge, right-wing personalities accused ActBlue of engaging in a money laundering scheme.
As part of these accusations, some right-wing media figures and social media accounts amplified data from a website for a tax-exempt organization, Election Watch, reportedly founded by serial election denier Peter Bernegger, which provides “smurfing data by state.” (“Smurf” apparently refers to “an individual whose ID may have been used to launder money into political campaigns.”) Users can click on a state to see the so-called “smurf” donors, which are apparently identified by “numbers and patterns of transactions” in FEC data “that indeed appear to be highly questionable.”
Right-wing media have seemingly latched onto the first Virginia entry, which the website claims made 22,619 transactions, totaling $839,466. According to FEC data for an individual of the same name living in the same zip code (or at the affiliated address), that individual has made nearly 25,000 transactions since 2019, totaling more than $765,000. Nearly half of the transactions were with WinRed — totaling nearly $380,000. Additional hundreds of thousands went to other Republican PACs. Only four transactions were apparently made with ActBlue — totaling just $66. (Previously, Republican donors have reportedly been “steered … into unwitting donations,” unknowingly signing up for weekly recurring contributions when contributing through WinRed.)
Despite the FEC data, right-wing media figures and social media accounts alleged that the Virginia donor data showed “money laundering” through ActBlue, urged others to use Election Watch's data to find more “smurfs,” and called for attorneys general to investigate.
- 03/07/24
Republic PAC the Virginia Project claimed there was a “ghost donor problem” and made an allegation about one Virginia donor.
The Virginia Project, which has an “election integrity program,” posted about a “Ghost donor problem,” specifically citing alleged data from Bernegger’s Election Watch site. The PAC claimed, “One Virginia donor. 22,619 transactions totaling $839,466.00. $37.11 average donation.” Virginia Project, accessed [7/30/24; Twitter/X, 3/7/24]
- 07/23/24
Social media account NoVA_Campaigns amplified the Virginia Project’s claims about the Virginia donor multiple times.
NoVA_Campaigns, a social media account which seemingly pushes right-wing narratives and election conspiracy theories, amplified Virginia Project’s March post multiple times, saying, “Massive @actblue fraud. How @TheDemocrats launder💰in billions,” and specifically claiming that the Virginia donor “made 22,619 Fed donations since ‘19, totaling $839,466 in 592 days.” In a second post, the account repeated the claim about the donations, calling on “AGs like @JasonMiyaresVA 🦗.” Twitter/X, [7/23/24, 7/23/24, 7/23/24, accessed 8/5/24]
- 07/23/24
Bernegger amplified the claims about the Virginia donor and called on his followers to use his organization’s website to find “smurfs.”
Bernegger responded to the Virginia Project’s social media post about the Virginia donor and called on people to “Check your state out” on his organization’s website, telling them to “scroll down to the USA map, click on any state, let it load, listing of Smurfs.” Twitter/X, [7/23/24]
- 07/24/24
Newsmax host Carl Higbie amplified Election Watch’s site on his show and claimed “smurfs” or “money mules” are used to funnel money “through the Democrats’ fundraising platform, called ActBlue.”
During the July 24 edition of his Newsmax show, Higbie claimed that “a bunch of people” found “a bunch of stuff that appears to not add up,” crediting Bernegger’s organization, which he said “compiled millions … of data points from the Federal Election Commission.” According to Higbie, “We were able to find out that in the past few years, over $200 million of political donations have been funneled through the Democrats’ fundraising platform, called ActBlue. … And from our research, it appears that these people, most of them, don't even know these donations are being made in their name. It's not their money. They call these people ‘smurfs’ or ‘money mules.’” Twitter/X, [7/24/24]
- 07/26/24
Right-wing personality Charlie Kirk called on state attorneys general to get involved: “When will one of them take action?”
Kirk alleged that there are “massive, repeated donations to ActBlue that use stolen identities and, quite possibly, stolen credit card,” specifically noting that “one person in Virginia has been named in 22,619 separate donations since 2019, totaling more than $800,000.” Kirk went on to claim that “obviously, she's being exploited for some kind of money-laundering operation,” and he called on state AGs to get involved: “ActBlue raises from all fifty states. We have fifty state AGs. When will one of them take action?” Twitter/X, [7/26/24]
- 07/26/24
Right-wing social media personality DC Draino specifically called out Virginia’s Republican AG Jason Miyares, asking if he will “prosecute this ActBlue money laundering and protect VA’s exploited citizens.”
DC Draino amplified Kirk’s social media post, adding, “Didn’t Virginia elect a Republican AG? Will @JasonMiyaresVA prosecute this ActBlue money laundering and protect VA’s exploited citizens? Or will he be a 1 term politician?” Twitter/X, [7/26/24]
- 07/29/24
On Truth Social, Trump amplified Kirk’s and DC Draino’s allegations about ActBlue and their calls for AGs to investigate.
- 07/29/24
Just over an hour after Trump made his post, Virginia’s Jason Miyares said his office was “looking into” the claims about ActBlue and money laundering.
On social media, Miyares responded to Kirk and said, “My office is aware of these allegations and rest assured, we are looking into it.” The same day, Dan Bishops — the Republican candidate for North Carolina AG — suggested he would take action against ActBlue on “January 1” after being elected. Twitter/X, [7/29/24, 7/29/24]
- 07/30/24
Wyoming Republican Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced an “investigation into ActBlue,” citing “nationwide money laundering and identity theft allegations.”
In a press release, which he posted on social media, Gray encouraged “any Wyoming citizen who has reason to believe a political action committee stole their identity or falsely reported a donation using their name” to report it to his office. Wyoming Secretary of State media release, [7/30/24]
- 08/01/24
Right-wing activist James O’Keefe said he would “personally pay” $3,000 to people who confront potential “smurfs” in their neighborhoods.
O’Keefe, the ousted founder of Project Veritas who is now trying to build up O’Keefe Media Group, posted on social media: “Uncover ActBlue Smurfs and get paid like our Citizen Journalists,” urging people to go to Election Watch’s site, “ choose your state, enter your zip code, and start investigating. Not comfortable going door-to-door? … Submit potential Smurfs and links to your FEC findings through our X DMs or Signal.” The post included a video showing how to use Bernegger’s Election Watch site and instructing people to “knock on these people’s doors,” tell them they “seem to be a victim of a money laundering scheme,” and get bank statements from them. Rolling Stone, [6/20/24; Twitter/X, 8/1/24]
Video
CitationFrom an August 1, 2024, video from James O'Keefe
- 08/02/24
Virginia’s Republican AG, Jason Miyares, posted that he sent a letter to ActBlue “demanding answers.”
Miyares posted the letter on social media and said, “The integrity of our election is at stake.” The letter claims that his office “has become aware of multiple serious allegations that ActBlue, ActBlue Civics, Inc., and ActBlue Charities, Inc. (together ‘ActBlue’) have engaged in fraudulent, deceptive, and/or otherwise illegal activities in the Commonwealth of Virginia and/or aided and abetted others in doing so.” Twitter/X, [8/2/24]
===
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mma 8 24 sorta random grab?
08/06/24 9:49 AM EDT
- ### On MSNBC's Deadline White House, Angelo Carusone discusses MAGA plans to undermine the 2024 election
08/05/24 6:54 PM EDT
08/05/24 6:38 PM EDT
08/05/24 4:34 PM EDT
08/05/24
08/05/24
August 5, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube
CHARLIE KIRK: This economic crisis is a national security issue. Over one trillion dollars a year in interest payments alone. And the current kleptocrats of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker — they could not care less about the damage that's being done to the country because it is the Cloward-Piven strategy.
Kamala Harris wants to see the elimination of the United States of America. The Cloward-Piven strategy is we are communists, number one, who hate America, and number two, we are going to do things to destroy the country. And we do that by mass inflation and mass migration. Mass inflation and mass migration. Ruin the dollar, open the borders. Ruin the dollar, open the borders. And that's what you're seeing on a daily basis.
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08/05/24 10:09 AM EDT
08/05/24
08/05/24
August 2, 2024, edition of The Daily Wire's The Andrew Klavan Show
ANDREW KLAVAN (HOST): Now, last week I talked about the fact that this is a very male/female race. And we're not supposed to talk about that because, obviously, the male and females are exactly the same. In fact, you can change them out. We swap them out. They're so much the same. But here we're not gonna lie, so we're gonna say this is a male-female race.
Trump is a studly guy to the point where he exemplifies both the good and the bad of manhood. He can get a little bit over the top sometimes, and sometimes he just has that incredible courage that he displayed when he was shot at — and when he was shot, actually, I should say — and also when he went before the Black journalists, which was not quite as bad, but also dangerous.
And Kamala has the womanish traits of being a cackling, irrational, and venomous serpent without the womanly traits of, grace, generosity, and tenderness. We miss those in her. But those womanish traits are now in control of our politics. // jdv cat lady
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08/03/24 11:45 PM EDT
08/02/24
08/02/24
08/02/24
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pro pub 7 24
...“There’s a perceived gap of ‘We aren’t getting the support from big-name, big-dollar donors that we deserve and want and need.’”
That’s where Ziklag comes in.
Speaking late last year to an invitation-only gathering of Ziklaggers, as members are known, Charlie Kirk, who leads the pro-Trump Turning Point USA organization, named left-leaning philanthropists who were, in his view, funding the destruction of the nation: MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; billionaire investor and liberal philanthropist George Soros; and the two founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
“Why are secular people giving more generously than Christians?” Kirk asked, according to a recording of his remarks. “It would be a tragedy,” he added, “if people who hate life, hate our country, hate beauty and hate God wanted it more than us.”
“Ziklag is the place,” Kirk told the donors. “Ziklag is the counter.”
...
---
mma
right-wing media’s playbook for attacking Kamala Harris: A flood of misogyny and racism
Right-wing media spared no time in hurling racist and sexist attacks against the likely Democratic presidential candidate
WRITTEN BY PAYTON ARMSTRONG, CHARIS HOARD & EMMA MAE WEBER
PUBLISHED 07/23/24
Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, right-wing media have launched sexist and racist attacks at Harris to try to diminish her qualifications. They’ve claimed that she can’t be president because she doesn’t have biological children, labeled her “the ultimate diversity, equity, and inclusion candidate,” fixated on her laugh, claimed that she promotes "the occult,” and likened her to “Jezebel.”
- ## Biden suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Harris on July 21
- In a statement released on July 21, Biden suspended his presidential campaign after weeks of calls to step down from top Democrats.Weeks after a poor debate performance and amid mounting pressure to step aside, Biden announced he would serve the remainder of his term, and he subsequently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination for president, thanking her for being an “extraordinary partner.” Bloomberg, [7/21/24; The Hill, 7/19/24]
- Harris announced her official bid for the presidency hours after Biden's suspension, with multiple Democratic lawmakers expressing their support.Harris asserted in a statement that “my intention is to earn and win this nomination.” The Associated Press, [7/21/24]
- ## Right-wing media have attacked Harris over her race and gender for years
- Right-wing media have lobbed racist and sexist attacks at Harris for years, calling her a “DEI hire” who “gets more favorable treatment because of her race and gender.” Right-wing figures have also referred to Harris as an example of ”why DEI doesn’t work" and claimed she “launched her political career in [the] bedroom.” Media Matters, [7/3/24, 7/11/24]
- ## Right-wing media sexualized Harris and diminished her accomplishments with sexist attacks
- Infowars host Alex Jones called Harris a “fleshlight.” When speculating about a Hillary Clinton ticket, Jones said, “So don't think they won't try to push Kamala out and put her in, or have Kamala, who's dumber than a box of rocks, she's basically a fleshlight, put Hillary on as her VP. And boy if she does that, she’s gonna get JFK’d.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [7/22/24]
- Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro said that Harris has “never earned anything,” claiming that she got “handed her original post in California state government because she was sleeping with Willie Brown.”Shapiro went on to claim that “she lucked into her job as attorney general of the state and then from there, she really lucked into her job as senator. … Then she proceeded to luck into her job as vice president. Earn and win the nomination. She’s not earning and winning anything. She’s inheriting it.” The Daily Wire, *The Ben Shapiro Show*, [7/21/24]
- Right-wing influencer Dom Lucre shared a photo of Harris and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown with the caption, “How did Kamala Harris become our Vice President? I heard she has always been a suck up to wealthy Democrats.”In a similar post, Lucre also jeered, “Kamala Harris started her career on her knees how can we trust her to stand up for this country?” Twitter/X, [7/22/24, 7/22/24; The New York Times, 1/14/21]
- Trump ally Roger Stone posted: “Kamala Harris campaign now selling official campaign kneepads.” Twitter/X, [7/21/24]
- Rumble host and Trump ally Laura Loomer said that Harris “was once an escort and … she got her career started giving blow jobs to successful, rich, black men,” including Willie Brown and Montel Williams.In a now-unavailable post on X (formerly Twitter), Loomer said that Harris performed a sex act on Brown “while he was a married man in exchange for political power. Here she is ‘dating’’ @Montel_Williams in 2001, who appears to be holding hands with more than one woman at the same time on the red carpet.” The woman who Williams was holding hands with in 2001 was his daughter, and he was separated from his wife when he and Harris dated. The Wrap, [7/22/24; The Associated Press, 7/22/24]
- OutKick host Clay Travis said Kamala Harris “got her start in politics by sex as a mistress of a married man.”He also attacked Kamala for not having kids, saying, “If you're a married woman with kids, if you're a grandma with kids, do you have any respect for the woman who is the mistress of the married man and never even became his second wife and had kids with him on her own?” OutKick, *OutKick The Show with Clay Travis*, [7/22/24]
- ## Right-wing media both called Harris the “DEI candidate” and questioned her Blackness
- Daily Wire host Matt Walsh said Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee would be “a poetic way for us to end this year of reckoning with the madness of DEI.” Walsh then went on to call Harris “sort of Black,” saying she “lacks the IQ and the competence to lead this country” and claiming she has “never earned anything through her own merit.” The Daily Wire, *The Matt Walsh Show*, [7/22/24]
- OutKick host Clay Travis claimed that Harris “failed her way up” and is “the ultimate diversity, equity, and inclusion candidate.” Travis also asserted that ”we just saw what DEI does, at the Secret Service; it nearly gets the president killed," in reference to the attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump last week. Outkick, *Outkick The Show with Clay Travis*, [7/21/24; Media Matters, 7/15/24]
- Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk said Harris was chosen because of “the same criteria of DEI that got Trump shot.”Kirk also said, “You could not have a better example of the worst aspects of the country or the Democrat party. But now — that's where she is. She is a DEI candidate.” Real America’s Voice, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [7/22/24]
- Fixating on Harris’ race and gender, Fox contributor Tammy Bruce warned that the fear of being called racist or sexist will be weaponized by the Democratic Party, claiming their approach is like domestic violence.Bruce said Democrats will turn to “more identity politics. There will be more accusations. There will be accusations that if you don't like Kamala — we’ve already heard it — you are a sexist and you are a racist and you’re everything else. … It’s a way to control you. Where it’s dangerous to speak up, dangerous to contradict the masters of the universe out there, where you will do as you are told or you will be punished. It is very similar to the nature of domestic violence. It is domestic violence writ large.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [7/22/24]
- Right-wing personality Rob Smith, who has been a Turning Point USA contributor, called Harris the “DEI soon-to-be nominee for President.”Twitter/X, [7/22/24; Fox News, accessed 7/22/24]
- Newsmax host Sebastian Gorka said that Harris “very well might be the first DEI president.”Gorka added that Harris “is literally a DEI hire, a woman who laughs about little yellow school buses and Venn diagrams, who cackles like an insane woman.” Newsmax, *Newsmax broadcast*, [7/21/24]
- On Newsmax, guest Chris Kohls mispronounced Harris’ first name and questioned, “Is she Black? Is she Indian? Nobody knows.”Host Sebastian Gorka replied that it’s not racist to mispronounce Harris’ name if we “work out how her slave-owning Jamaican ancestors pronounced that name.” Newsmax, *Rob Schmitt Tonight,* [7/22/24]
- Newsmax guest Joel Gilbert said Harris “has no common experiences with Black Americans.”Gilbert, author of a book that speculates Michelle Obama will run for president, continued, ”She doesn't even bring the African American vote that they've hemorrhaged to Donald Trump because she's not African American. Her mother is from India. Her father's from Jamaica. She grew up in Canada, and she married a white Jewish guy." Newsmax, *Greg Kelly Reports*, [7/21/24]
- YourVoice America's Bill Mitchell: “Kamala Harris never ran as a black woman until 2020.” Twitter/X, [7/22/24]
- ## Right-wing media also claimed that Harris can’t be president because she has no biological children
- Article III Project senior counsel Will Chamberlain asserted that the “really simple, underdiscussed reason why Kamala Harris shouldn’t be President” is because she has “no children.”(While Harris has no biological children, she became the stepmother of Cole and Ella Emhoff when she married second gentleman Doug Emhoff in 2014.) Twitter/X, [7/21/24; Today, 7/19/24]
- Laura Loomer said: “A woman who has no biological children of her own should not be allowed to make decisions in the White House for your children.”Loomer also attacked Harris' passion for reproductive justice, jeering “Republicans need to … ask why a woman with no kids of her own and just a scarred up uterus is so obsessed with wanting to kill your babies." Twitter/X, [7/22/24]
- While listing reasons why Harris shouldn’t be president, OutKick’s Clay Travis noted that Harris “doesn't have any kids of her own.”He also called Harris a “side chick” who “got her start in politics by banging Willie Brown” and said he doesn’t think Harris will “really motivate Black voters very well, particularly Black men.” OutKick, OutKick The Show with Clay Travis, [7/21/24]
- ## Right-wing media fixated on Harris’ laugh, saying she sounds like a “giggling idiot” and a “hyena”
- Fox host Sean Hannity said Harris is facing a “likability crisis” and voters “detest” Harris because of her laugh. He then characterized Harris as “your giggling vice president.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [7/21/24]
- Fox analyst Brit Hume said that “you can argue a great many Americans think Harris is a giggling idiot, there’s no doubt about that.” Fox News, *Fox News Live*, [7/21/24]
- Roger Stone posted an attack ad from Make America Great Again Inc.and wrote, “Lying, hyena-laughing Kamala.”Twitter, [7/21/24]
- ## Right-wing media launched other bizarre attacks, including likening Harris to “Jezebel” and accusing her of promoting “the occult”
- Right-wing commentator and self-described prophet Lance Wallnau said that Harris “represents something which I believe is probably the amalgam of the spirit of Jezebel in a way that will be even more ominous than Hillary because she'll bring a racial component and she's younger.”Twitter/X, [7/22/24; Rolling Stone, 9/29/22]
- Right-wing pundit James Lindsay claimed that Harris’ repetition of the statement “to see what can be, unburdened by what has been” is “occult” and “it's a Marxist and Luciferian incantation.”Twitter/X, [7/21/24]
- On her radio show, former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis endorsed Lindsay’s analysis, declaring that Harris “is advancing not just cultural Marxism, but paganism and the occult.”Ellis complained that “this is who is going to be likely the Democrat nominee. … If we are going to genuinely claim being a Christian nation and advancing policy that is based in and rooted in a biblical worldview or if we are going to elect someone in November that is specifically, intentionally, and obviously pushing for a Luciferian incantation and the occult.” American Family Radio, *Jenna Ellis in the Morning*, [7/22/24]
---
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July 16, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): I mean, you see a guy who gets shot and he then fights his own agents and says fight, fight, fight. Let me be very clear - if you are a man in this country and you don't vote for Donald Trump, you're not a man. I mean, like, who are you? You're like, you're not gonna vote for that? I mean --
VIVEK RAMASWAMY (GUEST): You know what? I actually -- after that incident, I see a lot of women manning up to vote for Donald Trump.
KIRK: Oh, yes --
RAMASWAMY: I mean.
KIRK So whoever you are, if you're still voting for Joe Biden after that, there's something deeply disturbing and wrong with you. I mean, seriously. mma
:
mma 7 24
During the June 27 CNN presidential election debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, Trump made false and misleading claims about immigration and migrants seemingly drawn straight from the right-wing media echo chambers.
Trump falsely claimed that Biden “wants open borders” and “wants our country to … be destroyed,” as migrants are supposedly violent criminals stealing American jobs. He also pushed the “great replacement” theory, saying Biden wants to import migrants to vote Democratic.
Below are some of Trump’s debate claims and recent instances of right-wing media making the same points.
- ## Claim: Biden has opened up the border
- During the debate, Trump claimed that Biden “decided to open up our border, open up our country” and said he wants “open borders.” CNN [6/27/24]
- Numerous debunks have explained that the U.S. border is not open.NPR, [6/28/24; The Nation, 11/22/23; Axios, 10/17/23; Newsweek, 1/24/22]
- Fox News host Sean Hannity claimed that “there are terror cells here because of [Biden’s] wide-open borders — 11 million unvetted people from countries with terrorist ties and our top geopolitical foes.” Hannity also said Biden has “blood on his hands.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [6/24/24]
- After the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed, Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo suggested it could be due to a “wide-open border.” Although she acknowledged that the White House issued a statement “saying that there is no indication of a nefarious intent,” she went on to discuss “the potential for wrongdoing or potential for foul play given the wide-open border.” Fox Business, *Mornings with Maria*, [3/26/24]
- Fox guest T.W. Shannon said that Biden’s “open border” is “poisoning the bloodline in this country because we’re allowing illegals to vote.” Fox News, *The Faulkner Focus*, [4/10/24]
- Fox guest Sheriff Mark Dannels said that we’ve had “three and a half years of leaving the border open.”He continued, “People come into the country that don't respect our cultures, our rule of law, and the people within.” Fox News, *Your World with Neil Cavuto*, [6/21/24]
- The Real America’s Voice X account posted, “Joe Biden and his administration, along with Obama, are using the open border as a tool to allow millions of immigrants and God only knows how many terrorists in to the country.” Twitter/X, [6/19/24]
- Fox News contributor Larry Kudlow penned a Fox News online op-ed titled “Biden's open border is killing innocent Americans.” Kudlow claimed, “Brutal gang warfare has come across the southern border into our sanctuary cities where blue state mayors and governors will not, in most cases, cooperate with border authorities to deport them.” Fox News, [6/18/24]
- ## Claim: Biden wants to import migrants as voters
- At the debate, Trump claimed Biden “wants open borders. He wants our country to either be destroyed or he wants to pick up those people as voters."CBS News, [6/28/24]
- In recent years, right-wing media have been pushing the xenophobic “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which alleges that “elites” encourage illegal immigration to bring nonwhite people into the country to “replace” white voters. This false narrative has led to real-world violence, including mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. Media Matters, [5/15/23, 1/12/24; Southern Poverty Law Center, 5/12/23]
- Fox News contributor Paul Mauro asked, “Does it not seem like we’ve hit a point where somebody in Washington has made a decision that there is an acceptable level of collateral damage in order to get a permanent Democratic voting bloc into this country?”The discussion was around the killing of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray that led to the arrest of two recent Venezuelan migrants. Mauro also suggested that if migrants “were calculated to vote Republican, the [border] wall would be 60 feet high.” Fox News, *Outnumbered*, [6/21/24; The New York Times, 6/25/24]
- Turning Post USA’s Charlie Kirk claimed that “the left” “won't stop until you and your children and your children's children are eliminated.”Kirk also said, “They hate those of you that own land and have guns and believe in a better country, and they have a plan to try and get rid of you.” Real America’s Voice, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [3/1/24]
- Fox host Jesse Watters alleged that the “far left” wants an “illegal alien nation where they can blow up the welfare state and just increase their political power. Same with the corporate class.” Fox News, *The Five*, [6/12/24]
- Pro-Trump troll Laura Loomer claimed that “to the radical left, the replacement of the American core is essential to their ideology and their communist takeover of America.” She went on to say that Biden and the radical left view “traditional America” as something to be “destroyed and relegated to the dustbin of history.” Rumble, *Loomer Unleashed*, [6/6/24]
- ## Claim: Migrants are violent criminals, and millions are coming from jails and mental institutions in South America
- Trump said at the debate, “Because of his [Biden’s] ridiculous, insane and very stupid policies, people are coming in and killing our citizens at a level we’ve never — we call it migrant crime. I’d call it Biden-migrant crime.” The New York Times, [6/27/24]
- Trump also said that Biden “allowed millions of people to come in here from prisons, jails, and mental institutions — to come into our country and destroy our country.” Trump made similar claims on at least three occasions in 2023, according to CNN, which reported that he “claimed the leaders of unnamed South American countries are deliberately emptying their ‘insane asylums’ and ‘mental institutions’ to send the patients to the United States as migrants.” His campaign was unsuccessful in finding evidence for the claim. Trump made a similar claim in February, saying that “jails … throughout the world” are “emptying out” because countries are “dumping” migrants here and that others are coming from “mental institutions and … insane asylums.” The New York Times, [6/27/24; CNN, 4/29/23, 2/29/24]
- Studies show no link between immigration and high levels of crime, and evidence shows immigrants are less likely to commit crime than U.S.-born citizens. According to the Brennan Center, “Numerous studies show that immigration is not linked to higher levels of crime, but rather the opposite. Studies [also show] … immigration is associated with lower crime rates and an increase in structural factors — such as social connection and economic opportunity — that are linked to neighborhood safety.” NPR, [3/8/24; Brennan Center for Justice, 5/29/24]
- Border security expert Adam Isacson told PolitiFact that “‘millions’ would mean one in eight was someone released from a jail or a mental institution, a claim too ridiculous to dignify.”He also said that it “‘strains belief’ … that someone with serious mental illness could navigate the route to the U.S. after release from an institution.” Politifact, [6/6/24]
- Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller claimed on Fox that migrants are “above the law” and “being dumped into this country by the millions as they rape and pillage and murder.”Miller continued, “Joe Biden’s flying them in day after day, busing them in, escorting them in to rape and pillage and murder more Americans.” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [6/21/24]
- Loomer said the migrant “invaders” “just disappear … only to be seen again when their faces are plastered on the news after they commit heinous crimes like murder, rape, human trafficking, assault, and drug dealing.” Loomer also suggested that Democrats embrace immigration because they want “white America” to be “punished by being replaced.” Rumble, *Loomer Unleashed*, [6/7/24]
- Tomi Lahren of Fox’s OutKick said that migrants including men from “Venezuelan gangs” in the U.S. are “preying on young women” and targeting them because they are “the most vulnerable among us.” Fox News, *Outnumbered*, [6/21/24]
- Watters said Biden is “catching and releasing killers and rapists,” saying they’re “serial sexual predators, they’re serial killers, and they don't belong here.These are third world animals.” Watters also claimed, “Biden migrants are exploding all inside our country like IEDs. It feels like a terror attack to me.” Fox News, *The Five,* [6/21/24]
- In a discussion about the killing of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, whose alleged attackers were migrants, Fox news host Lawrence Jones claimed, “They’ve emptied the jails and now we have to deal with it.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [6/26/24]
- Jones also complained that people are calling “the former president crazy for saying they were emptying their jails, and what do you know, Venezuela, crime rate is going down.” While talking about the killing of Rachel Morin, allegedly by an immigrant, Jones continued, “There is actual proof of people that have criminal records, that have committed murders in their country now coming to our country to do the same thing.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends,* [6/21/24]
- Fox News contributor Tyrus claimed,“They are emptying their jails and their psych asylums to America and we don't have asylums for anybody.”He added: “The floodgates are wide open.” Fox News, *Gutfeld!*, [6/24/24]
- ## Claim: Migrants are stealing jobs from Americans
In the debate, Trump claimed that migrants “are taking Black jobs}: and they’re taking Hispanic jobs. And you haven’t seen it yet.” The New York Times, [6/27/24]|
- Research is mixed on the impacts of migrants on jobs, but some research shows that “immigrants raise wages and boost the employment of U.S.-born workers.” Forbes reported on research that looked at 2000-2019, also noting: “Even simulations for the most recent 2019-2022 period suggest small positive effects on wages of non-college natives and no significant crowding out effects on employment.” Additionally, as Brookings senior fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown explained in 2017, “Undocumented workers often work the unpleasant, back-breaking jobs that native-born workers are not willing to do.” The New York Times’ fact check of the debate says that “whether or not immigrants depress wages or displace some workers has been examined by economists for decades, and there is no clear conclusion.” Forbes, [5/1/24; Brookings Institution, 8/24/17; The New York Times, 6/27/24]
- Right-wing media have been lying for at least a decade about migrants stealing jobs from U.S. workers.Media Matters reports from 2013 and 2015 gathered right-wing media commentary claiming migrants steal U.S. worker jobs, countering that “there is no evidence that immigrants crowd out U.S.-born workers in either the short or long run.” Media Matters, [2/1/13, 10/27/15]
- Right-wing influencer Amuse posted that “military aged” Chinese migrants “are here to steal our jobs, our information, our welfare benefits, our elections, and our freedom.” Twitter/X, [2/5/24]
- Fox Business host Sean Duffy said, “The Biden White House keeps bragging about the strong economy, pointing to the job market as evidence, … but a closer look under the hood reveals that all those job gains — they’re going to immigrants.” Duffy’s co-host Dagen McDowell further added: “Why are all the jobs going to these people and not people born here in the United States? Hmm. Is it DEI? Maybe.” Fox Business, *The Bottom Line*, [2/14/24]
- The Center for Immigration Studies’ Steven Camarota wrote a piece for The New York Post complaining that “job gains are going to immigrants, and keeping young US-born men out of the workforce.”Camarota further claimed, “Allowing millions of immigrants into the country to fill lower-wage jobs means we have little incentive to undertake the difficult task of getting more men back into jobs.” The New York Post, [2/13/24]
- Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo said, “When you look at the jobs numbers, they look really strong -- they do -- every month. We seem to have a strong jobs market. But when you peel back the onion, a lot of those jobs are going to noncitizens; a lot of those jobs are part time.” Fox News, *America’s Newsroom*, [6/20/24]
an 6 24
Radio host Charlie Kirk, the far-right founder of Turning Point Action and Turning Point USA, has been an aggressive cheerleader for the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. Like "War Room" host Steve Bannon, Kirk isn't shy about attacking other Republicans as RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) if he believes they aren't MAGA enough.
But in an article published on June 25, The Guardian's Ed Pilkington reports that a growing number of Republicans are worried about Kirk's in-your-face tactics and inflammatory comments and fear that he could be a liability for their party this election year.
"Kirk can talk all he likes about channeling God through (Donald) Trump, but can he cut it where it counts: at the ballot box?" Pilkington writes. "His toughest inquisitors are not the mainstream media, which Kirk routinely disparages, but people from within his own ranks."
READ MORE: 'Scared to death': Historian explains why Trump is more dangerous than ever
Pilkington cites Michigan-based Republican Tudor Dixon as an example.
On her podcast, Dixon — who lost to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by double digits in 2022 — complained, "As a candidate who didn't win, and who was promised that Turning Point would have a big influence in Michigan, it makes you crazy. I gave up a salary for 18 months, sold my car, did everything I could to run for office. And people like (Kirk) are the reason we are not winning."
Pilkington notes that Kirk has "been getting heat too for his stream of unabashed racist comments."
"Kirk has called George Floyd, whose murder by a Minnesota police officer sparked a nationwide reckoning, a 'scumbag'; criticized Martin Luther King as 'awful' and 'not a good person'; and said that whenever he boards a plane with a Black pilot, he worries whether they are qualified," the reporter observes.
The Rev. Darrell Scott, a far-right MAGA Republican and evangelical fundamentalist in Cleveland, has been urging Blacks to vote for Trump. But he fears that Kirk's inflammatory rhetoric is hurting that cause.
READ MORE: MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk calls MLK 'awful' and deems Civil Rights Act a 'huge mistake'
Scott told The Guardian, "Kirk talked all this negative s*** about Black people, and his proximity to President Trump caused people to wonder: Is that what Trump is thinking too? I have publicly refuted Kirk because every vote counts."
Another Kirk critic on the right is Arizona-based GOP strategist Tyler Montague.
Montague told The Guardian, "Turning Point has become toxic in Arizona. They've helped to cement an extreme worldview, creating anger that in turn generates political energy that they harness. That's their game."
According to Montague, the conspiracy theories and election denialism that Kirk favors have been turning Arizona residents away from the GOP.
"They doubled down on angry messages that were not winning messages," Montague told The Guardian. "Winning messages are based in truth; Kirk is dragging us away from that."
READ MORE: Charlie Kirk’s hometown newspaper predicts he could 'destroy' GOP
*Read The Guardian's full report at this link.
sorta ref 2023
Brookings Institution reviewed dozens of top political podcasts and how many lies they air.
Conservative hosts shared by far the most falsehoods, with Steve Bannon on top.
The top 10 podcasts sharing 60% of falsehoods were all right-leaning, the study found.
Bull
A major study reviewing the top US political podcasts found that conservative-leaning shows are vastly more likely to include misinformation — with Steve Bannon's War Room coming way out ahead.
Bannon called it a "badge of honor," according to The New York Times.
The study released by the Brookings Institute this week reviewed more than 36,000 episodes released on Apple Podcasts up to January 2022, by 79 leading podcasters across the political spectrum. They included Bannon, Dan Bongino, Seth Myers, Ben Shapiro, and Trevor Noah.
"Conservative podcasters were 11 times more likely than liberal podcasters to share claims fact-checked as false or unsubstantiated," the study said.
Major topics of misinformation were the 2020 election and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fifty-six of the podcasters reviewed shared false or unsubstantiated claims at some point, the study found. But 10 of those were responsible for a full 60 per cent of the misleading material found. And of those, all were conservative-leaning, the study said.
Related stories
Steve Bannon has to actually go to prison by July 1, Trump-appointed judge says
Clarence Thomas' originalist interpretations go too far, even for fellow conservatives
Right behind Bannon's "War Room" was "The Charlie Kirk Show," "The Rush Limbaugh Show," and "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," all of which shared falsehoods in at least 15 per cent of their episodes, the study said.
The authors worked by comparing transcripts against a list of common fact-checks and keywords. The study noted it had taken the potential for liberal bias in the referenced fact-checks into account.
In total, more than 70% of the podcasts reviewed shared false claims at some point, including those described as "liberal," "moderate," or "unknown." But repeat offenders — podcasts that did this over the course of anything between five and 200 episodes — leaned overwhelmingly to the right.
While conservatives were more willing in general to challenge a false claim, conservative hosts were far more likely to challenge a false claim — almost half the time — if it came from a liberal guest than a fellow conservative — where more than 90% of false claims went unchallenged, the study found.
Ben Shapiro stood out as the host most likely to challenge any false claim, whether it came from his ideological peers or not, it said.
The study noted that it included far more conservative podcasts in its sample as a result of choosing those that are most popular on Apple Podcasts.
The sheer rate of production adds to the issue, it said, with conservative podcasters making longer and more frequent episodes.
While the strongly left-leaning "Pod Save America" puts out its roughly hour-long show about twice a week, Steve Bannon's "War Room" goes out as many as four times a day.
biz insider legit
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rww June 17, 2024
- Stephanie Mencimer @ Mother Jones: MAGA Youth Activist Charlie Kirk’s Big Conservative Shindig Is Full of Old Folks
Judging from the first two days of the event, it would be hard to call this a youth movement. Saturday morning, I attended a breakout session headlined by voter registration activist Scott Presler. There were about 50 or 60 people in the room, virtually all well over 40. When Presler opened the floor for a Q&A, the first questioner said he was 77 years old.
- Tricia Crimmins @ The Daily Dot: ‘Who says romance is dead?’: Right-wing influencers launch campaign to ‘outbreed the left’
Far-right figures Chaya Raichik and Charlie Kirk both said they plan to “outbreed the left” this week by having more children than liberals and raising them to have right-wing views.
- Amanda Marcotte @ Salon: A tradwife drops a racist slur: Why the right’s trolling economy made Lilly Gaddis’ rise inevitable
Cashing in as a “cancel culture” martyr is getting harder, so attention addicts have to get more extreme.
- Kathleen Culliton and David Edwards @ Raw Story: ‘It’s God’s plan’: Mike Lindell intends to ‘deputize’ Trump voters for Election Day
MyPillow CEO and election-denier Mike Lindell told conservatives this weekend he was going to deputize them as part of “God’s plan” for former President Donald Trump’s Election Day victory.
- Eric Hananoki @ Media Matters: Trump-backed House candidate Mark Burns: A wife should be “submissive” and “obey”
Burns made the remarks on a show hosted by Jesse Lee Peterson, who has repeatedly said allowing women to vote was a mistake.
charlie Kirk’s Turning Point connects far-right extremists with the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign
The Turning Point event this past weekend featured a number of extremists, with at least two speakers using the phrase “Christ is king” — an antisemitic dog whistle long favored by the white nationalist “groyper” movement
WRITTEN BY JOHN KNEFEL
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MADELINE PELTZ, SOPHIE LAWTON & ALEX KAPLAN
PUBLISHED 06/18/24
Several right-wing extremist figures spoke at a weekend event organized by conservative radio host Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Action, which is partnering with the Republican National Committee and former President Donald Trump's campaign. At least two speeches included the phrase “Christ is king,” an antisemitic dog whistle long favored by white nationalists.
Speakers at The People’s Convention included right-wing pundit Candace Owens, who has a history of making antisemitic remarks and appears to be associating herself with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes; neo-Nazi collaborator and Pizzagate conspiracy theory peddler Jack Posobiec; and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The presence of these figures is not surprising, given the significant ties Kirk and Turning Point have to right-wing extremists and white nationalists.
The three-day summit illustrated how Turning Point Action and its affiliate Turning Point USA have come to serve as a bridge between official Republican Party institutions and the more openly bigoted and extremist elements of Trump’s movement. Over the weekend, CNN reported that the Trump campaign is working with Turning Point Action. Politico wrote that Turning Point “has become a central player in the party apparatus,” as “part of recent collaborations between the [Trump] campaign, RNC and outside groups.” In May, The Washington Post reported that the RNC was adopting a “leaner” approach and was considering outsourcing much of its voter outreach to TPUSA and other right-wing organizations.
Speaking directly after Kirk on the event’s opening day, Owens opened and closed her speech with the phrase “Christ is king” — a slogan long used by Fuentes’ “groyper” movement that has gained antisemitic connotations through its use in far-right-wing contexts. Last November, Owens used the phrase to troll Ben Shapiro, her then-colleague at The Daily Wire — one flare-up in a monthslong feud between the two. The Daily Wire and Owens “ended their relationship” in March, according to CEO Jeremy Boreing.
“When you do come together and you do start a family, for the love of God, put Christ first,” Owens said, prompting an audience chant of: “Christ is king.”
“Correct, and we’re going to lead out on that chant,” Owens responded.
Owens then claimed that Democrats and liberals are bringing “the full weight of the government” against Trump, but that “Trump is just one step — they’ve always been after Jesus Christ.”
“Christ is king,” Owens said in closing.
Video
CitationFrom the June 14, 2024, Rumble livestream of Turning Point USA's The People's Convention
On the third day of the event, Posobiec echoed Owens.
“We understand this is a war against the demonic, this is a spiritual war!” Posobiec shouted, raising a rosary in his clenched fist. “We can only defeat a spiritual war with Christ as king because Christ is king.”
“Christ is king,” he repeated.
That phrase wasn’t the only example of the groypers’ influence on Turning Point. In 2021, Chet Hanks attempted to manufacture a viral moment for himself by calling for a “white boy summer,” but the phrase was quickly adopted by neo-Nazis and other extremists, including followers of Fuentes. On Sunday, Posobiec took the stage next to a banner reading “WHITE BOY SUMMER” and tossed hats branded with the slogan to the crowd.
Video
CitationFrom a June 16, 2024, Rumble livestream of Turning Point USA's The People's Conference
Posobiec then introduced Jones, appearing fresh off a court order to liquidate his assets in order to pay surviving members of the Sandy Hook massacre whom he’d repeatedly defamed by claiming the shooting was a false flag.
“The answer to 1984 is 1776,” Jones said before attempting to lead the crowd in a “1776” chant — a dog whistle that signifies opposition to the anti-racist 1619 Project.
“Just three or four days ago, the great folks at Turning Point Action invited me on here. I’m very blessed and honored to be here,” Jones said before pushing an election denialist conspiracy theory. “We are in the very center, the TCF Center, where almost four years ago, in the dead of night, they stole the election not just from our amazing president, but from us.”
Later in his speech, Jones repeated another conspiracy theory he’d helped spread in May when he falsely claimed President Joe Biden had hatched a scheme to kill Trump. “They are going to try to assassinate President Trump, make no mistake about that,” Jones said.
Video
CitationFrom a June 16, 2024, Rumble livestream of Turning Point USA's The People's Conference
Posobiec, standing next to Jones, praised his career. “Alex Jones has spent 30 years being the loudest voice for freedom, for liberty, and for anti-war that this world has seen,” Posobiec said.
Other notable speakers included anti-LGBTQ extremist James Lindsay and QAnon conspiracy theory peddler Scott Presler, who was present during the January 6 attempted insurrection and previously worked at anti-Muslim hate group Act for America. In March, RNC co-chair Lara Trump said she was interested in hiring Presler to be “part of the team” to help with “the largest legal ballot harvesting operation in the entire country,” which will be “started by the RNC.”
mma 6 24
What you need to know about the climate deniers speaking at Turning Point Action's annual convention and their affiliated groups
In addition to the marquee names, the conference’s lineup of right-wing speakers includes a smattering of lesser-known but influential figures
Special PROGRAMSCLIMATE & ENERGY
WRITTEN BY ILANA BERGER
PUBLISHED 06/14/24
Right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA's political advocacy arm Turning Point Action is hosting a convention this weekend in Detroit, which will feature an array of seasoned climate deniers and conspiracy theorists as speakers.
The People’s Convention will run from June 14 to June 16.
For his part, TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk has repeatedly claimed that climate change is a hoax and spread false claims about extreme weather and climate change initiatives. He has said that “climate change [as a] political issue” is “the biggest threat to our civilization” and pushed the Great Reset conspiracy theory to his TPUSA audience. Kirk recently lashed out at another conservative organization, the Young America’s Foundation, for taking issue with the GOP's non-existent climate platform.
The headliner at this weekend’s event is former President Donald Trump, who (in addition to withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and rolling back nearly 100 other environmental protection policies during his term) has repeatedly minimized or denied the threat of climate change, most recently saying that sea level rise would be a good thing because it would create more beachfront property. He has also gone after renewable energy, claiming at one rally last September that “windmills are causing whales to die” and “driving them crazy.”
Other speakers at The People’s Convention — such as Candace Owens, Jack Posobiec, and Benny Johnson — have also spread climate denial or made misleading claims about climate change and the policies attempting to address it.
But the conference has some lesser-known speakers — including those who head major right-wing institutions — who have also promoted some outlandish claims about climate change and climate policy.
- ## Aubrey Shines
- Aubrey Shines, a Florida-based minister, falsely claimed in a video posted to his Facebook page that the Democratic National Committee is promoting “climate control,” saying, “They’re going to have to go into third-world countries and make sure abortions are happening on a regular basis.”Shines wrote that the “DNC’s oxymoron agenda all in the name of climate control” is “targeting Blacks in America and Africa.” The rant was in response to comments from then-presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. In reality, Sanders had replied to a question about climate change and “curb[ing] population growth” by expressing his support for reproductive freedom for women who don’t have it. Facebook, [9/12/19; The Washington Post, 9/5/19]
- In a 2015 interview with right-wing radio host Steve Gruber, Shines said incorrectly that the science that establishes man-made climate change “just isn’t there.” He then claimed that “you have a very diverse scientific community that don’t even adhere to and subscribe to this alleged global warming piece.” WJIM, *The Steve Gruber Show*, [8/27/15]
- Shines also has a show on the far-right network Real America’s Voice, and in March, he joined TPUSA as a member of its advisory council. The announcement that Shines would join the council also praised his show, America Shines, which includes episodes such as “Homosexuals tried to create a fraudulent gay holocaust.” Turning Point USA, [3/14/24; Real America’s Voice, America Shines, 6/14/24]
- ## Rebecca Weber
- Rebecca Weber, the CEO of the Association of Mature American Citizens, a right-wing member advocacy group, has attacked climate policy. In a February episode of her podcast, Better for America, titled “The Climate Cartel Running the White House”, Weber spins efforts to update energy efficiency standards for some household appliances as Biden’s “war on your home appliances.” She interviews Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) who also falsely claims that the Biden administration “went after” chocolate milk and hot showers. AMAC, *Better for America*, [2/7/24]
- Weber has repeated the debunked claim that the country is no longer energy independent. Speaking with the president of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, Weber said her members “recognize that under Donald Trump, that America was energy independent, and it was looking good. … It makes no sense that we have a president today who does not want to really get us back to where we — or improve things.” In 2023, the U.S. produced more crude oil than ever. AMAC, *Better for America*, [2/28/24; Media Matters, 3/7/24]
- AMAC regularly pushes climate change denial on its website. One article claims that “experts say ‘climate change’ is a hoax.” Another amplifies a letter from a group of climate deniers claiming that the “assumption that catastrophic global warming follows from the burning of fossil fuel and requires immediate action” is “unsupported.” The website has also featured an article from Fox contributor Tammy Bruce, who wrote that “Democrats are feverishly whipping up hysteria about global warming in an effort to induce a national panic attack and frighten us into surrendering more of our freedoms” while the world was being plagued by extreme heat during the summer of 2023. AMAC, [8/18/23, 12/29/23, 7/28/23; Media Matters, 8/7/23]
- ## Thomas Klingenstein
- Thomas Klingenstein, the Claremont Institute's chairman and a Republican mega-donor, is a major contributor to Club for Growth Action, a right-wing super PAC that has “dabbled in climate denial,” according to The Guardian. Club for Growth has opposed even the most meager climate policy, such as the package that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy put forward in 2020 that included the expansion of a tax credit for carbon capture and storage technologies and the initiation of a global effort to plant 1 trillion trees. Club for Growth was founded by Stephen Moore, a former Trump adviser who publicly pushes climate skepticism and energy misinformation and co-wrote the treasury chapter of Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership. The Guardian, [8/4/23; Politico News 2/13/20; Media Matters, 2/27/24, 9/15/23; Forbes, 3/11/15; DeSmog, accessed 6/14/24; Project 2025, Mandate for Leadership, 2023]
- The Claremont Institute, a California-based think tank, received funding from the Scaife and Bradley foundations, which also fund many other climate denial think tanks. Climate scientist Michael Mann told Observer that Claremont “is a number of these lofty sounding institutions that is essentially a front group for the Koch groups and the Scaife foundations.” Observer, [2/8/19; E&E News, 6/26/20; Rolling Stone, 1/12/22]
- Claremont fellows include climate deniers who have launched bad-faith attacks against climate policy, as well as scientists and activists. Claremont Institute senior fellow Jeremy Carl “accused the environmental movement of a ‘religious fervor’ and said the decision ‘to halt and reverse global warming’ must ‘be considered apart from the research of environmental scientists,’” according to Observer. Former fellow Raheem Kassam is also the former editor-in-chief of Breitbart London and was an adviser to right-wing U.K. politician and climate denier Nigel Farage. Claremont senior fellow Christopher Caldwell complained at length about climate activism delegitimizing climate science and insisted that scientists could not be political activists. “The authority of science wanes in equal measure as the political engagement of the individual scientist deepens,” he wrote. Another Claremont fellow, Joel Kotkin, referenced the idea of climate policies causing a “green Jim Crow.” (In reality, pollution and extreme weather often disproportionately impact communities of color as a result of systemic racism and the legacy of Jim Crow.) The Atlantic, [6/5/17; Observer, 2/8/19; DeSmog, 8/1/19, 6/4/24; The Washington Post, 11/2/21; Claremont Review of Books, accessed 6/13/24; The American Mind, 6/12/24]
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June 5, 2024 rww
- Hemant Mehta @ Friendly Atheist: After saying atheists are unfit for public office, Oregon lawmaker let off the hook
Months after an Oregon lawmaker said that atheists and Muslims shouldn’t hold public office, he’s been absolved of any wrongdoing by a State House committee. It’s an absurd decision that rewards bigotry in the name of Jesus.
- Angry White Men: Elijah Schaffer Guest Praises Hitler And Compares Indians To A Virus
On Friday’s episode of Nightly Offensive, Elijah Schaffer once again spoke with Australian Neo-Nazi Joel Davis. Davis, who recently argued in favor of ethnic cleansing on Schaffer’s program, said Australians need guns to protect themselves from minorities, defended Adolf Hitler, and compared Indian people to a “virus.”
- Robert P. Jones @ Religion Dispatches: Trump the Totem: Like Other Fascist Leaders, Trump has Turned from Man to Symbol — And That’s the Danger
The transformation of Trump from a person to a symbol is the key to understanding the power of the MAGA movement and the internal logic of the upside-down world where a unanimous guilty verdict in a fair trial results in solidified support, record fundraising, and desperate Christian defenses of a convicted felon.
- David Badash @ The New Civil Rights Movement: Trump Just Suggested Jailing His Political Opponents – and MAGA Has a Plan in Place
Donald Trump once again is threatening to jail his political opponents, including President Joe Biden. And unlike his 2016 presidential debate remark to Hillary Clinton, this time there’s an actual plan in place to do just that.
- Daniel Villarreal@ LGBTQ Nation: State GOP tells people to “burn all Pride flags” during June
The Colorado Republican Party called LGBTQ+ people “godless groomers” who want to “harm our children” in a recent email to its members. The party has encouraged its members to burn all Pride flags in June and called queer people “Satanic” and “demonic” via social media.
- J.D. Wolf @ MeidasTouch News: Charlie Kirk Claimed Trump’s Felony Conviction “Equally as Significant” to 9/11
Trump ally Charlie Kirk claimed Trump’s felony conviction is “equally as significant” to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the assignation of John F. Kennedy.
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trump ASSASS bs
Charlie Kirk: The FBI is “doing the work that brown shirts would do. That's how you get Auschwitz.”
05/22/24
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05/10/24
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mma 5 24
right-wing media figures have spent the last year hyping the potential for mass political violence and baselessly asserting the 2024 election will be stolen. In a new interview with Time magazine, former President Donald Trump appeared to give fuel to both of those trends.
In the interview, Trump refused to condemn or discourage any future violent actions by his supporters if he loses the general election in November. When asked by Time whether he was concerned about political violence following the election, Trump responded: “I think we're gonna have a big victory. And I think there will be no violence.” Time later followed up, asking, “What if you don’t win, sir?”
“Well, I do think we're gonna win,” Trump responded, adding, “I don't think they'll be able to do the things that they did the last time, which were horrible.”
“And if we don't win, you know, it depends,” he said. “It always depends on the fairness of an election. I don't believe they'll be able to do the things that they did the last time. I don't think they'll be able to get away with it.”
Trump has long pushed election denialism and is currently facing charges for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including attempting to prevent certification of the results during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. He has also been open in his embrace of street vigilantism, famously instructing far-right extremist gang the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” following large-scale anti-racist demonstrations in the summer of 2020.
Beyond Trump’s own comments, consumers of right-wing media have been fed a steady diet of commentary that normalizes political violence, making it appear inevitable. In one particularly clear example from March, BlazeTV’s Steve Deace said, “I think there will be violence after the election regardless of the outcome,” and wished that “Trump had acted the way we wanted him to in the summer of 2020” by cracking down harder on the left-wing protests, predicting that it “would have rallied people that were either on the fence and sick of all that crap or inspired his own base all the more.”
These right-wing fantasies about large-scale violence often take the form of claiming the United States is headed toward another civil war as a result of left-wing provocation.
Last August, on the same evening that Trump surrendered to authorities in Georgia on charges he’d acted to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin appeared on Newsmax.
“I think those who are conducting this travesty and creating this two-tiered system of justice and I want to ask them, ‘What the heck? Do you want us to be in civil war?’ because that's what's going to happen,” Palin said. “We're not going to keep putting up with this."
Palin agreed with the host that “we need to get angry,” adding, “We do need to rise up and take our country back.”
The same month, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was asked a question about whether right-wing activists should form militias, and responded by warning that “the bad guys are trying to provoke us into a civil war.” He then advised the audience that “you need to have systems and backup plans of self-sovereignty [if], God forbid, our entire society falls apart and/or our government becomes even more tyrannical and authoritarian,” concluding, “That's why we have the Second Amendment."
Trump and right-wing media are in a feedback loop, each feeding the other's fantasies about impending political violence and rigged elections.
In October, Daily Wire host Micheal Knowles argued that a judge’s decision to allow a challenge to Trump’s candidacy based on the 14th Amendment meant that “we are dangerously close to the conditions that we were at in 1860."
“And I'm not one of these catastrophists who says that we're always going to be on the brink of civil war, and we're all gonna — I'm certainly not encouraging civil war by any means,” Knowles said. “But it could happen. … Civil wars happen. And the liberals would appear to be cultivating the conditions to make it much more likely."
January saw right-wing media figures turn the civil war rhetoric on overdrive after the Supreme Court allowed the Biden administration to remove razor wire Texas state authorities had placed along the U.S.-Mexico border.
On his January 23 show, Kirk said that if Texas ignored the ruling, “some people would say, ‘Well, that's the seeds of a civil war,’” adding, “By the way, I'm all on board."
In the same episode, Kirk told his audience: “Native-born Americans, you better buy weapons, everybody. Have a lot of guns at your disposal. I would never leave your home without a weapon. It's the new country we live in. It is Mad Max. Biden is creating Mad Max. You're on your own."
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh argued that “the solution is obvious, which is that red state governors will need to ignore the Supreme Court,” warning ominously that “the last civil war was unimaginable until it wasn't. That was a lesson this country learned in the middle of the 19th century. And if the Biden administration is somehow still in office after this next election, then just as abruptly, we might have to learn it again.”
Walsh’s then-colleague Candace Owens similarly claimed, “We are edging very closely to a civil war."
Even when right-wing figures aren’t normalizing civil war rhetoric or rationalizing mass violence, they extoll the virtues of breaking the law on behalf of the MAGA movement.
In March, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon told attendees at a right-wing activists conference, “You have to be prepared to go to prison” in order “to take on the deep state.” Just days later, Kirk defended a Turning Point USA activist charged in the January 6 Capitol riot, calling the case “typical Soviet-style indictment BS” and promising, “I'm gonna keep on standing behind her.”
“These are modern day hostages that are being held by this regime,” he added.
In the Time interview, Trump said he would “absolutely” consider pardoning the more than 800 people who have been sentenced for their role in January 6, who he has also referred to as “hostages,” “political prisoners,” and “patriots.” (Earlier this month, a group of Proud Boys appeared outside a Trump rally in North Carolina, with one member holding a sign demanding the release of January 6 prisoners.)
Another key aspect of Trump’s Time interview is his false insistence that the 2020 election was fraudulent, and that the only way he could lose in November is also rigged against him.
Here again Trump has myriad allies in right-wing media. In January, Fox News was already casting doubt on the 2024 election, with host Laura Ingraham baseless claiming, “The Democrats are going to stop at nothing” to win, including trying “to game the system or yeah, maybe even cheat.”
Bannon frequently makes the same accusations. Just in the last few months, he’s said that Democrats need “phony fake voters” to win and claimed, “The only way they defeat Trump is they steal it.” In March, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones appeared on Bannon’s podcast and declared, “We know they are publicly trying to steal this election again.”
For his part, Kirk recently hosted an entire conference devoted to election denialism with the expressed purpose of “competing right up against” the Republican National Committee, which was holding a winter meeting in the hotel next door.
All of these comments together create a media environment where consumers of conservative news are prepared to reject the outcome of the November election if Trump loses. Those same audiences have been primed to expect — or potentially engage in — right-wing vigilantism following a Biden victory.
Last July, a poll from The Associated Press found that “only 22% of Republicans have high confidence that votes in the upcoming presidential election will be counted accurately compared to 71% of Democrats, underscoring a partisan divide fueled by a relentless campaign of lies related to the 2020 presidential election.” Separately, a March poll from PBS found that “28% of Republicans strongly agree or agree that Americans may have to resort to violence in order to get the country back on track.” (That number was 12% for Democratic voters.)
Trump and right-wing media are in a feedback loop, each feeding the other's fantasies about impending political violence and rigged elections. The Time interview makes clear that Trump will continue to pour fuel on this fire.
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counts 1-9 = all
Party Presidential Electors: • KELLI WARD (001). WARD (001) was the chair of the Arizona Republican party. She organized the fake electors' vote on December 14, 2020, and voted for Trump-Pence as a fake elector, falsely stating that she was "duly elected and qualified." After voting, WARD (001) declared the Arizona Republican electors as the "true electors." She later urged Pence to accept false electoral votes for Trump-Pence on January 6, 2021. She did not withdraw her vote even though no legal challenge successfully changed the outcome of
Arizona's 2020 Presidential Election. • TYLER BOWYER (002). BOWYER (002) voted for Trump-Pence as a fake elector on December 14, 2020, falsely stating that he was "duly elected and qualified." After voting, BOWYER (002) made statements indicating that he intended to have Pence accept the false electoral votes for Trump-Pence on January 6, 2021. BOWYER (002) did not withdraw his vote even though no legal challenge successfully changed the outcome of Arizona's 2020 Presidential Election ...
Those charged over their roles as false electors include two sitting lawmakers, state senators Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern. The former Arizona Republican party chair Kelli Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, have been charged, as has Tyler Bowyer, a Republican national committeeman and Turning Point USA executive, and Jim Lamon, who ran for US Senate in 2022. The others charged in the fake electors scheme are Nancy Cottle, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Lorraine Pellegrino and Gregory Safsten.
04/30/24
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bradey 4 24
jUDD
last month, Bernie Moreno won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Ohio. Moreno benefited from an early endorsement from Turning Point Action, the far-right activist group founded by Charlie Kirk. On May 10, 2023, Kirk posted on X that he was "proud to support Bernie," and Moreno had Turning Point Action's "full endorsement."
[twt]
In response, Moreno wrote that he was "honored to be endorsed by Charlie Kirk and Turning Point Action." Moreno said that "[f]ew have done more to fight back against the radical left than they have," and he looks "forward to working with them to defend for our America First conservative values in the US Senate."
In 2023, Kirk repeatedly featured Moreno as a guest on his popular podcast and consistently promoted Moreno's candidacy to his 2.9 million followers on X. At the end of 2023, Kirk donated the maximum legal amount of $5,000 to Moreno's campaign through the Turning Point PAC.
At the same time, Kirk, known for his embrace of fringe views and conspiracy theories, launched a sustained attack on Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy. At a December 2023 convention hosted by Turning Point USA, Kirk said that King "was awful" and "not a good person." Kirk's critique extended not just to King himself but to the civil rights movement itself. "We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s," Kirk declared, trashing the legislation that outlawed segregation in public places and many businesses.
In his convention speech, Kirk blasted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an effort to “re-found the county” and “get rid of the First Amendment.” He criticized courts for enforcing the law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. "Federal courts just yield to the Civil Rights Act as if it's the actual American Constitution," Kirk complained.
A spokesperson for Turning Point USA, Andrew Kolvet, defended Kirk's attacks, saying respect for King's legacy was based on "fake history."
Kirk announced he was "gonna tell the truth about MLK Jr" on MLK Day in January 2024. According to Kirk, a podcast episode attacking King and the civil rights movement was being put together by his producer, Blake Neff. In 2020, Neff was forced to resign from Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News after it was revealed Neff was posting racist comments online under a pseudonym.
The episode, titled “The Myth of MLK,” kicks off with Vince Everett Ellison – a right-wing activist who claims that voting for a Democrat will send you to Hell. Ellison describes King as “despicable,” “immoral,” and “perverted.” Kirk repeatedly suggests that King’s legacy has harmed “Black America.” He asks Ellison if the lives of Black Americans have improved “the more that we have worshipped MLK.” Kirk also invites Ellison to talk about how “MLK's narrative and political activism led to the modern welfare state.” Ellison responds by accusing the civil rights community of keeping Black people poor, adding that the devil “rest[s] his head at the DNC” and that the DNC “use[d] MLK and all of those perverts with him.”
:{“I could say declaratively this guy is not worthy of a national holiday. He is not worthy of god-like status. In fact, I think it's really harmful,” Kirk says after the conversation with Ellison ends. Then Kirk, alongside Neff, spends roughly 30 minutes attempting to demonize the Civil Rights Act. According to Neff, the Civil Rights Act is “directly against this colorblind world that conservatives think MLK brought.”
Kirk tells listeners that “in reality the language and the application of the Civil Rights Act…is a color preference act, not a color blindness.” Kirk adds that the Civil Rights Act “is making it harder for us to pursue Excellence as a society” because, as Neff puts it, “you have to discriminate against men, against white people.”}:
On X, Kirk wrote that the "deification of MLK and his proto-DEI ideology marks the exact moment that the progress of black America goes sideways." Kirk suggested that MLK was responsible for the "disintegration" of "their cities," the "collapse" of "their families." Because of MLK, Kirk claims, "they" are "enormously dependent on government support."
Kirk's crusade against King and the civil rights movement did not appear to impact his relationship with Moreno. On March 14, 2024, Turning Point Action donated $100,000 to the Buckeye Values PAC, Moreno's Super PAC.
grf receipts]
buckeye Values PAC is tightly aligned with Moreno's campaign and was responsible for organizing and financing a key rally featuring Trump and Moreno on March 18, the day before the Ohio primary.
The day after his primary victory, on March 20, Moreno appeared again on Kirk's podcast. At the beginning of the interview, Moreno expressed his gratitude for Kirk's support. "Thank you, Charlie," Moreno said. "And thank you for your early endorsement. You were with me from the very beginning."
The Moreno campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Moreno suggested white people should get reparations
Moreno himself has also had controversies involving racial issues. When he launched his campaign for Senate, Moreno floated the idea of reparations for white descendants of Union soldiers that were killed during the Civil War. “They talk about reparations. Where are the reparations for the people, for the North, who died to save the lives of Black people?” Moreno said. “I know it’s not politically correct to say that, but you know what, we’ve got to stop being politically correct.”
"We stand on shoulders of people like John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington… That same group of people later, white people, died to free Black people,” Moreno said. A campaign spokesperson for Moreno told the Cincinnati Enquirer, "Bernie was right when he said political correctness is killing our country, and the crocodile tears from the left expose the Democrat hypocrisy he was referring to in the clip.”
Moreno's companies have “faced multiple lawsuits alleging discrimination against employees in the run-up to the sale of his high-end Cleveland car dealership,” the AP reported. One 2017 lawsuit involved “a Black former service manager” at a dealership owned by Moreno, who “alleged that he was targeted for discipline and then demoted after taking concerns to human resources about white peers and a subordinate being paid the same or more than him.” He “claimed racial discrimination led to his demotion and eventual wrongful termination.” The lawsuit was "settled out of court," and the terms of the settlement "were kept private.”
A campaign spokesperson said that “Moreno is ‘a proud minority businessman’ who based his company 'on the colorblind principles of merit and hard work.'” The statement said that “Bernie has always been committed to giving opportunities to all of his workers, regardless of race, color, gender or creed.”
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WALLNAU
courage tour kirk
Christian Nationalist MAGA Cultists Launch Effort To Put Trump Back In Office
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charlie Kirk’s shadow RNC event highlights centrality of 2020 election lies to the conservative movement
The “Restoring National Confidence” summit trained state and local GOP leadership to fight so-called election fraud, drawing those who “make the party work” closer to Turning Point’s brand of politics
WRITTEN BY BOBBY LEWIS
PUBLISHED 02/02/24
“The RNC meeting is largely a waste of time,” Turning Point co-founder Charlie Kirk began his January 29 podcast. “And we can complain from the outside, or we can create an alternative.”
Kirk was speaking from the first day of a two-day event organized by Turning Point Action, the Restoring National Confidence (aka “RNC”) summit in Las Vegas. He said it was “competing right up against the RNC,” which also held a winter meeting in the hotel next door.
Tapping into what Politico reported as widespread dissatisfaction with the Republican National Committee, Kirk’s shadow summit joined conservative activists and media figures with local GOP chairs and Republican committee members for pro-Trump organizing. This included efforts to “secure” elections amid widespread suggestions that Trump’s second term was stolen from him, making the summit yet another display of the everlasting influence of 2020 election lies.
“The purpose of this meeting is not to shame the RNC or anything like that,” Kirk claimed. “It’s to challenge them and to say why haven’t you done this. Be better. Why haven’t you engaged the grassroots? Why haven’t you secured our elections?”
The longer-term effect of Kirk’s RNC summit will be to pull these activists and officials closer to Kirk’s politics. By organizing the future nuts and bolts of Republican electoral politics, Turning Point and Kirk -- and their worsening records of extremism -- could emerge as an additional center of gravity, alongside Fox News, in influencing the Republican Party.
War Room host Steve Bannon cast Kirk’s event as critical to Trump’s re-election: “If we had had this meeting, of Turning Point and what you’re doing right now, in January of 2020, Donald J. Trump would be starting the fourth year of his second term.”
“Think of what’s happened to our nation because this didn’t take place in January 2020 and we depend upon the RNC, who is too incompetent to assist President Trump’s campaign in closing the deal,” he continued.
“We won in 2020,” Bannon falsely insisted. “We’re going to win again.”
:{:{Video}:
CitationFrom the January 29, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
Kirk’s RNC featured Jenny Beth Martin, a founder of the Tea Party Patriots, promoting her efforts to train “poll watchers” nationwide. The Tea Party Patriots were a sponsor of the pre-insurrection rally on January 6, 2021, acting as a “coalition partner” with the “Stop the Steal” movement.
On Kirk’s show that streamed from the summit, Martin bragged of training poll watchers and cleaning voter rolls, which the Brennan Center for Justice describes as an “often-flawed” process of deleting the names of ineligible voters in specific elections from registration lists that has the potential to “disenfranchise legitimate voters.”
“In 2022,” Martin told Bannon on War Room, “we trained 20,000 people who went on to be part of the 80,000 people that the RNC placed as poll watchers. That is massive.”
The right-wing organizing and poll watcher recruiting that Martin described have previously led to widespread voter intimidation.
The summit also featured another mainstay of election denial media, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who gave two long speeches, according to Politico, about his “Lindell Plan” to stop the Democrats from stealing 2024.
“The biggest applause was we have a plan,” Lindell told Bannon. He explained the plan as such: to get “every county in the United States” to “get rid of the voting machines” from companies like Dominion and Smartmatic, which are suing Lindell for billions in defamation, in favor of “paper ballots, hand-counted, same-day voting.”
“We’ve got probably upwards of 200 counties committed out of the 3,000-some,” Lindell claimed, before being granted the requisite opportunity to sell MyPillow merchandise with Bannon and neo-Nazi collaborator Jack Posobiec.
:{:{Video}:
CitationFrom the January 30, 2024, edition of War Room, streamed on Rumble
According to Bannon, the summit drew “60 or 70” Republican National Committee members, as well as numerous state and county GOP chairs, 75 of whom were flown in on Turning Point Action’s dime.
“That’s a warning shot,” Kirk added, saying he hoped all would leave with “marching orders with great specificity,” especially in battleground states.
For The Charlie Kirk Show, Kirk interviewed three such chairs from three key swing states: Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon, who noted that 17 Georgia county chairmen were present at the event; Waukesha County GOP Chairman Terry Dittrich, who said that, unlike Turning Point, the RNC has not been a helpful data partner; and new Arizona GOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda, who also appeared on Bannon’s War Room to discuss various election lawsuits.
The RNC might take the summit as “an insult” because “they’re very fragile people,” Kirk said of the actual RNC, but he professed to hope that the appetite for his event would make the committee members realize “maybe we aren’t doing a good enough job” to help Trump win in 2024.
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it isn't hard to understand why Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel quit using "Romney" in RNC correspondence.
Her uncle is Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), whose outspoken criticism of former President Donald Trump has infuriated far-right MAGA Republicans. And McDaniel obviously didn't want to remind fellow Republicans that she is a member of the Romney family — especially in light of "War Room" host Steve Bannon, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and other prominent MAGA figures pushing for her to be ousted as RNC chair.
In an opinion column published on January 31, MSNBC's Ja'han Jones describes the "MAGA mutiny" that is "causing chaos" for McDaniel at the RNC.
READ MORE:'Failing miserably': Scathing op-ed hails RNC chair as 'worst employee of the year'
The right-wing Washington Times, on January 26, published an article on the RNC's fundraising woes — and Jones finds the article's timing "curious" in light of the fact that it came "just ahead" of a Turning Point USA gathering in Las Vegas that was billed as a chance to "hold the RNC accountable."
"Charlie Kirk, one of the founders of Turning Point, was among those who opposed McDaniel's reelection in 2023, and his group's conference seemed to have a similar goal of making her life difficult," Jones explains. "It certainly platformed people, like Lindell and Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who have been deeply critical of her."
Jones continues, "McDaniel even theorized, back in 2022, that Kirk and Turning Point want to 'take over the RNC.' By the look of things, it's hard to disagree. But this week, the MAGA movement's pressure on McDaniel hasn't been confined to Kirk's conference."
The MSNBC columnist notes that far-right MAGA Republican Laura Loomer tweeted, on January 29, that a "grassroots ambush" was awaiting McDaniel at the RNC's winter meeting in Las Vegas.
READ MORE:RNC resolution would effectively end GOP primary and launch 'full general election mode'
"Loomer is a conspiracy theorist and self-described Islamophobe, so take her statements with a grain of salt," Jones argues. "But she does seem to be part of a growing chorus of criticism that McDaniel is facing — the MAGA mutiny lives on, evidently. That's not ideal for a political party under any circumstance, and certainly not in an election year."
READ MORE:Karl Rove warns RNC chair 'is in trouble' over 'highly inappropriate' call with Trump, MI electors
*Ja'han Jones' full MSNBC column is available at this link.
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PSY-OP ERRUPTION 1 24 AROUND TAYLOR SWIFT SUPERBOWL TIGHT END PFIZER AD VACCINE
OAN host calls nude AI images of Taylor Swift "another psyop" | Media Matters for America
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January 29, 2024
- Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley @ Rolling Stone: Trump’s Secret Plan to Expand Presidential Immunity to ‘King George’ Levels.
Tired of being criminally prosecuted, Donald Trump and his allies are plotting a way to give presidents a legal shield for life if he wins in 2024.
- Tess A. Owen @ Vice News: ‘Fedsurrection’ Looms Large as ‘Army of God’ Protest Convoy Heads to Border.
Would-be participants are expressing fears that the demonstration could be a “psyop” or “honeypot,” spearheaded by the federal government.
- Igor Derysh @ Salon: “Tax evasion”: Legal experts say court report footnote caught Trump “intentionally” breaking laws.
A court-appointed watchdog alerted Trump’s fraud trial judge to a possible “fake loan.”
- John Knefel and Jack Wheatley @ Media Matters: Charlie Kirk makes false accusations about exonerated “Central Park Five” defendant and NYC Council member Yusef Salaam.
Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk doubled down on Monday on a false accusation that the exonerated “Central Park Five” defendant Yusef Salaam was involved in the assault and rape of a jogger in Manhattan in 1989. Salaam’s conviction was vacated in 2002, following a judge’s ruling and the Manhattan district attorney’s decision not to retry the case.
- William Vaillancourt @ The Daily Beast: Newsmax Airs Alarming Discussion of Civil War With Federal Government.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Newsmax host Carl Higbie mused Thursday about a potential “force-on-force” conflict between Texas and the Biden Administration after the Supreme Court ruled against the state’s Republican governor by declaring that federal agents can remove razor wire laid along the border with Mexico.
- Angry White Men: Elijah Schaffer Extols The Accomplishments Of White People And Defends Patriot Front.
On the Jan. 25, 2024 episode of his show, Slightly Offensive, far-right, racist Internet personality Elijah Schaffer commemorated Australia Day by “celebrat[ing] the accomplishments of white people.” Schaffer and his guests, Jon Miller and Anna Perez, praised white people for creating civilized countries, and suggested that Black and indigenous people are incapable of doing so.
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In response to a recent Supreme Court ruling allowing Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire Texas laid along the border with Mexico, right-wing pundits are claiming the Biden administration has sparked a second American Civil War. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, two members of the court’s conservative block, sided with the three liberal justices in ruling for the federal government.
The issue stems from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to stretch razor wire over dozens of miles along the state’s southern border, a cruel policy that has failed in its stated objective of deterring unauthorized border crossings. The Biden administration opposes the measures, and has ordered the Border Patrol to remove the barriers. The stand-off between Border Patrol and the Texas National Guard escalated earlier this month, with federal officials blaming Abbott for the deaths of a mother and her two children who drowned in the Rio Grande. (Texas authorities dispute this version of events.)
For his part, Gov. Abbott pledged that Texas will “continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration.” Although it may appear that Abbott is in direct defiance of the Supreme Court, the American Immigration Council’s Aaron Reichlin-Melnick explained that the ruling overturned an “order saying Border Patrol COULDN’T remove Texas razor wire to process migrants. It didn’t affirmatively rule that the Border Patrol COULD remove Texas razor wire.” Or, as the New Republic's Matt Ford put it, the Supreme Court “lifted an injunction” on the Department of Homeland Security, so there's “nothing in this case for Texas to obey or defy at the moment.”
This simmering confrontation is the new backdrop for an old story. During election years, conservative media outlets generally ramp up their attacks on immigrants. Separately, over the last year, conservatives have become increasingly comfortable calling for, threatening, or warning about a coming civil war in the country. Responses to the recent court ruling have married these two trends.
As the news broke on January 22, conservative YouTube streamer Tim Pool said it “looks like a Fort Sumter-esque type scenario,” referencing the first battle of the Civil War, adding that “it does feel like it could be escalating to this federal versus state conflict.”
That evening, former Fox News star Tucker Carlson posted on X (formerly Twitter), asking: “Where are the men of Texas? Why aren’t they protecting their state and the nation?”
The same night, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) wrote that “the feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground.”
Then on January 23, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon appeared to favorably reference that post, saying “as Clay Higgins said” there is “kind of a civil war between the federal government and the state of Texas.”
Hours later, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk fantasized about Gov. Abbott openly defying the court’s ruling at the barrel of a gun.
Video CitationFrom the January 23, 2024, edition of Salem Media Group's The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
“So someone says right here, ‘Charlie, what would happen if Texas ignores the ruling? Will the government go to war with Texas?’” he asked.
“The federal government would come in, and some people would say, ‘Well, that's the seeds of a civil war.’ Is that what you want? Where does this end?” Kirk added moments later. “By the way, I'm all on board.”
“If we had an actual governor of Texas that was willing — 100% defy this,” Kirk continued, before advising Abbott on the logistics.
“If you're going to defy, here's how it works: press conference flanked by your most loyal Texas Rangers. ‘I am ignoring the Supreme Court's decision,’” Kirk said, adopting Abbott’s point of view. “‘I will enforce the border of Texas. If you're going to arrest me, you have to go through the Texas Rangers.’”
“If we had more governors on the border, it would be even more powerful,” he added, implicitly invoking the Confederacy. “Get every red state on board. Fly in every Republican governor.”
On Wednesday afternoon Abbott issued a statement invoking “Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself,” which he claimed is “the supreme law of the land.” Throughout the day, at least nine governors backed Abbott on X, even if they fell short of Kirk’s demand that they travel to the border. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp all posted their support for Texas, as did Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
In the same episode, Kirk told his audience that they had “better buy weapons,” and “have a lot of guns at your disposal.”
That afternoon, The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh echoed Kirk. “Red state governors will need to ignore the Supreme Court and do what needs to be done to protect their citizens and the border,” Walsh said. He later added, “The last civil war was unimaginable until it wasn't.”
In the early evening, Bannon returned to the topic with guest Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). “That Supreme Court decision that was made has now put the federal government at war with the state of Texas,” Greene said.
“If they fund a war in Ukraine when Zelensky is raising the white flag, asking for peace talks in Switzerland, and they weaken our border policy while the federal government is at war with Texas, that is truly, possibly the start of a civil war in this country,” she added.
Blaze TV’s Steve Deace also invoked the memory of the Civil War. “Basically, the Supreme Court has told Texas your choices are: be invaded or secede,” Deace said.
Video
CitationFrom the January 23, 2024, edition of BlazeTV's The Steve Deace Show
On January 25, Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade adopted the same framing on Fox & Friends.
Video
CitationFrom the January 25, 2024, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends
“It feels like almost like a soft civil war,” Kilmeade said. “You’ve got all the Republicans saying, ‘Can we secure our borders?’ the Democrats saying, ‘I want this to go away’ and blaming Republicans, the President against the governor of Texas — the most independent state in the union. I mean, this is getting a little crazy.”
Fox News sounded little different than the fringe. “This is a constitutional crisis,” said conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, in a video titled: “Supreme Court Decision Provokes Civil War in Texas.”
The story was the same in the right-wing blogosphere, too, with conservative news site PJ Media asking, “Is Joe Biden Mounting a Civil War at the Border?”
Conservative influencer Jordan Peterson posted: “So is it the case that@TheDemocrats are truly ready to go to war with Texas?”
While right-wing media figures fantasize about a new civil war, their rhetoric has real implications for immigration policy. They are stoking xenophobia and nativism, and endorsing cruel policies that are already injuring and killing some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
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SCOTUS let feds nat guard cut texas barbed razor wire?
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sinclair Smith has used his vast wealth to support a variety of far-right causes. The Baltimore Banner reports that since 2015, Smith, through his family foundation, has donated large sums to Young Americans for Liberty ($581,000), Project Veritas ($536,000), Turning Point USA ($150,000), and Moms for Liberty ($121,000).
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Get a load of this wild Sinclair town hall discussion on “youth & morality”
Sinclair says such discussions are a “significant public interest benefit” for stations it buys
Blog ››› May 22, 2018 ››› PAM VOGEL
Last night, Sinclair Broadcast Group station WJLA hosted a “town hall” discussion on "youth & morality" featuring morally bankrupt media personality Armstrong Williams, young conservative talking heads Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens, a campus carry activist, and a Daily Caller reporter (among others) -- and Sinclair wants you to believe it’s for the public good.
The town hall was branded as both an episode of Sinclair-linked commentator Armstrong Williams’ show and a part of Sinclair’s ongoing town hall discussion series. The town hall does not appear to have yet aired on WJLA and it’s not clear if it has aired or will air on the WJLA-operated local Washington, D.C., cable channel News Channel 8, but it’s posted in full on WJLA’s website.
Sinclair touts its “Your Voice, Your Future” local town halls as a public service and an opportunity to “alert, inform, empower and engage our audience.” Here’s a quick clip to give you an idea of how that went:
For this event, “morality” actually meant Christianity specifically
Though the panel was titled “Youth & Morality,” it was advertised as largely focusing on one study that showed dwindling millennial identification with Christianity, which WJLA characterized as a sign of “unprecedented moral decline.” The panel discussion was filmed at the Museum of the Bible.
Two minutes into the town hall, host Armstrong Williams asked the audience to raise their hands if they believe in God. (Williams also asked for audience members to raise their hands if they were atheist; one person did and panelists grimaced.) Williams’ first question for the panelists followed from there: “Can you be moral and good and not believe in God?” (Most of the panelists agreed that it was possible but not as easy.) Within eight minutes, panelists were equating “objective truth” with a belief in a Christian god and arguing that the inability to identify objective truths was “cultural Marxist.”
At one point during a commercial break, Williams can be heard joking on a live mic, “Don’t fall asleep on me!” The panel returned from that break to listen to Charlie Kirk talk about “the distinction between Christianity and other religions.”
The “morality” panel was hosted by the notoriously morally challenged Armstrong Williams
The town hall was hosted by conservative pundit Armstrong Williams, who has significant ties to Sinclair. Williams hosts a weekly show that airs on the Sinclair-owned News Channel 8 in the D.C. area and is syndicated on other Sinclair local TV stations across the country. Williams also owns several local TV stations through his holding company, Howard Stirk Holdings, which in turn sends business back to Sinclair through operations agreements.
Williams is a close confidante of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ben Carson, even doing public relations work on behalf of Carson while continuing to also work as a media figure. (He also served as a Carson presidential campaign adviser while maintaining his weekly hosting duties.) Recently, Williams has aligned himself with other members of the Trump administration, joining Sinclair CEO David Smith in meeting with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai -- who was then a commissioner -- to advocate for pro-industry policies the day before Trump’s inauguration. About two months later, Williams hosted Pai on his show for a friendly interview.
Back in 2005, Williams used an earlier version of his syndicated show to promote Bush administration education policies, failing to note he was paid $240,000 by the administration to do so. The Government Accountability Office subsequently found that the Bush Department of Education had violated federal laws about covert government propaganda by paying Williams for the promotion.
Williams has also settled at least two sexual harassment suits -- one in 1997 involving reports that he “repeatedly kissed and fondled” a former producer for his now-defunct radio show over the course of nearly two years, and another in 2017 alleging that he groped and sought sexual favors from a former employee and later retaliated against the man.
During the panel, Williams talked about his daily prayer routine and decision not to “use profane language” at work because he is the “moral leader” in his office.
Several participants also seem to struggle with morals
The panel featured eight participants in addition to Williams, the majority of whom were young conservative media figures who fall at various points on the spectrum from extreme or blatantly racist to embarrassing or just boring.
:{:{TPUSA’s Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens both participated in parts of the town hall. Frequent Fox News guest and conservative “boy wonder” Kirk is the founder of TPUSA, a group best known for a misguided 2017 protest in which its members wore adult diapers to “trigger the libs,” but whose stated mission is to “identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.”}:
Kirk, Owens, and TPUSA frequently fearmonger about suppression of conservative speech on college campuses while themselves leading a McCarthyist doxxing effort against liberal professors. Meanwhile, TPUSA has defended at least one professor with ties to a white nationalist group and several of its leading members have been outed for expressing patently racist sentiments, e.g. the group’s former national field director making the statement “I HATE BLACK PEOPLE.”...}:
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After decisions in two states ruled that Donald Trump was disqualified from the presidential ballot because he “engaged in insurrection” on January 6, 2021, right-wing influencers called for Republican officials to retaliate in kind by dropping President Joe Biden from the ballot. It took only days for them to find someone willing to play the part: Jay Ashcroft, Missouri’s secretary of state and a candidate for governor.
Ashcroft said last week that he would enforce “the new legal standard” against Biden in his state if the Supreme Court sustains Trump’s removal in Colorado. He probably won’t be the last to make such a pitch given the incentives GOP officeholders have to follow the lead of the party’s media propagandists.
Colorado’s Supreme Court generated a legal firestorm when it ruled in December that Trump is ineligible for office under the 14th Amendment’s ban on officials who “engaged in insurrection,” for his “overt, voluntary, and direct participation” in the storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows subsequently removed Trump from the primary ballot on similar grounds. Trump has appealed both decisions, and the Supreme Court said Friday it would review the Colorado ruling.
Prominent conservative legal scholars have argued in favor of Trump’s removal on 14th Amendment grounds. As conservative former federal Judge J. Michael Luttig wrote with liberal Harvard Law professor Lawrence Tribe, “any disinterested observer who witnessed that bloody assault on the temple of our democracy, and anyone who learns about the many failed schemes to bloodlessly overturn the election before that” would agree that January 6 was “an insurrection for which Trump bore responsibility.”
But Trumpist propagandists have spent the last three years crafting a bogus alternate narrative of January 6 in which the rioters were victims of a government conspiracy and the then-president who incited them based on lies did nothing wrong. And so they’ve responded to the rulings in Colorado and Maine by urging Republican officials to bump Biden from the ballot in retaliation.
“Due process is not taken into account any more in America in 2023 and certainly going into 2024, so Republicans should say Joe Biden is off the ballot in all the Republican-controlled-AG states because of his links, clearly, to bribery schemes,” Donald Trump Jr. offered on his Triggered podcast on December 28, 2023. “There's far more evidence of that than an actual insurrection.”
“I want to see a secretary of state in the next couple of days just put out the press release,” Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk said Wednesday. “Joe Biden's not going to be on the primary ballot. He's not going to be on the general election ballot.”
Like Trump Jr., Kirk made clear that any explanation for why a secretary of state would do such a thing would be a pretext, saying, “Shot across the bow. Power dynamics. Fight power with power.”
“We need a red state secretary of state to kick Biden off the ballot now,” Daily Wire podcaster Michael Knowles added Friday morning. “And they can come up with some explanation. It will probably be a more credible explanation than the one that the Democrats have come up with for kicking Donald Trump off the ballot.”
Knowles went on to say that a GOP secretary of state could cite a 2020 tweet by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign asking supporters to donate to a Minnesota bail fund to “help post bail for those protesting on the ground” there following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer.
“Certainly we can say Kamala Harris led an insurrection. She personally fundraised for rioters and criminals who were insurrecting against cities around the country during the George Floyd riots,” he explained. “So OK. Make it Kamala Harris, and then Kamala can't appear on the ticket, and you don't even need to go after Joe Biden.”
The incentive structure on the right is such that once major players like Kirk and Knowles start creating a demand for action, Republican officials will supply it. Ashcroft, who is seeking a promotion to governor but faces a competitive GOP primary against candidates including the state’s lieutenant governor, answered the call later on Friday.
“What has happened in Colorado & Maine is disgraceful & undermines our republic,” the Missouri secretary of state wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “While I expect the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for @realDonaldTrump applies equally to @JoeBiden!”
He subsequently used the story to direct people to his campaign website, saying on X, “Its time to stand and be counted. The future depends on it.”
It can be difficult to tell whether GOP officials are acting in response to right-wing media figures or if they’re converging on the same idea independently because they’re all swimming in the same milieu of Republican base voters. But notably, when Ashcroft discussed the potential rationale he would use to remove Biden from the ballot in an interview with NBC News, it sounded an awful lot like Knowles’ idea from earlier in the day:
Asked how he would disqualify Biden from the ballot for insurrection, Ashcroft said that he's “let an invasion unstopped into our country from the border.” Vice President Kamala Harris, he added, “supported people that were rebelling against the U.S. government during the riots in 2020,” referring to racial justice protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
“If this is the standard, does that suddenly mean she's not allowed to run? None of us can say, because there is no standard,” he said.
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In the years since the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which was spurred by then-President Donald Trump’s attempt to retain power, right-wing media figures have repeatedly whitewashed the violent attack, pushed misinformation and conspiracy theories about it, and defended its participants.
As a result, the initial consensus of the horrors of the day has disappeared, with Republicans reportedly “now less likely to believe that Jan. 6 participants were ‘mostly violent,’ less likely to believe Trump bears responsibility for the attack, and … slightly less likely to view Joe Biden’s election as legitimate.”
The following right-wing media personalities have been critical in the push to downplay January 6, and they have continued their apologia for the violent crowd that sought to overturn an election.
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Darren Beattie
Beattie was a speechwriter and policy aide for then-President Trump who was fired in 2018 for attending a white nationalist conference two years before. In 2020, he founded right-wing site Revolver News, with Trump himself praising the outlet’s commentary. Beattie has repeatedly pushed the baseless conspiracy theory that the FBI, in connection with an undercover agent named Ray Epps, helped to incite the January 6 riot.
2021: Beattie spread a conspiracy theory that Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick’s death was not a result of injuries sustained in the attack, calling his claims “the most important story Revolver has ever run.” Fox’s Tucker Carlson also highlighted the story, calling it an “exhaustive and fascinating new analysis.” [Media Matters, 2/12/21]
2022: Beattie and his news outlet, Revolver News, were crucial in pushing the false claim that Capitol rioter Ray Epps was an undercover FBI agent who duped the crowd into entering the Capitol building. Epps has sued Fox News, and his suit describes Beattie as “the principal person driving the false story that Epps was a federal agent planted as a provocateur to trigger the Capitol violence on January 6th.” [Media Matters, 1/19/22; The New York Times, 7/12/23]
2023-present: Beattie has continued to falsely allege that Epps was a federal agent, claiming he was treated leniently for that reason. In posts on X from September, Beattie claimed that “charging Ray Epps now for ‘disorderly conduct’ is not going to make the Feds' credibility problem go away.” Beattie additionally called the government’s case against Epps “a phony charge” that “will only make things worse for the Fed narrative.” He also suggested that the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was a false flag and said that the Justice Department and FBI should “at least do us the courtesy of a high effort cover up like you did with OKC” for January 6. [Media Matters, 9/21/23; Twitter/X, 9/19/23, 9/19/23, 9/19/23, 9/19/23]
DB Tweet Collage
Julie Kelly
Kelly is a prolific conspiracy theorist who has written for a number of conservative outlets, mainly American Greatness, National Review, and The Federalist. Then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave Kelly and former Trump adviser John Solomon special access to security camera footage from the Capitol attack, as she claimed that conservatives were being unjustly persecuted.
2021: Kelly called January 6 Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone a “crisis actor.” [Media Matters, 7/27/21]
2022: On One America News, Kelly pushed a conspiracy theory that the FBI fabricated pipe bombs that were discovered at the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. the night before the January 6 riot. Kelly also published a book where she claimed that the Biden administration is weaponizing January 6 to persecute conservatives and criminalize political protest. [One America News, Tipping Point with Kara McKinney, 2/16/22; Google Books, accessed 1/5/23, Post Hill Press, accessed 1/5/24]
2023-present: Kelly repeatedly spread the Epps conspiracy theory, and when Epps was charged, she questioned why he wasn’t charged with more crimes, posting, “No obstruction felony? No civil disorder charge? Not even a trespassing on restricted grounds misdemeanor?” Kelly also claimed that the Biden’s Justice Department has “successfully criminalized political speech and activity.” In May, then-Speaker McCarthy reportedly gave Kelly special access to security camera footage from the Capitol attack. [Media Matters, 9/21/23, 5/31/23; The Washington Post, 6/6/23; Premiere Networks, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, 3/23/23]
Julie Kelly claims that January 6 prosecutions are a silencing free speech and destroying lives
MARCH 23, 2023
Julie Kelly claims that January 6 prosecutions are a silencing free speech and destroying lives
:{:{Audio}:
CitationFrom the March 23, 2023, edition of Premiere Networks' The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Tucker Carlson
As a Fox prime-time host, Carlson relentlessly downplayed the January 6 insurrection and promoted the conspiracy theory that Ray Epps, whom he posited was a federal agent or FBI informant, incited the riot. Carlson also repeatedly hosted Beattie and Kelly to push misinformation about the attack.
2021: Carlson put out a revisionist January 6-focused series that suggested the attack was a “false flag.” In an interview with Kelly, Carlson said the left used officer Brian Sicknick’s death “as a political weapon” and that his state funeral was “fake.” “Completely fabricated,” agreed Kelly. Carlson also hosted Beattie and cited an article in which he suggested the January 6 attack may have been orchestrated by FBI operatives. [Media Matters, 11/2/21, 11/4/21, 6/16/21, 6/17/21; Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight, 11/1/21]
2022: Carlson defended the rioters as “passionately patriotic Americans” “who genuinely love America” and on the one-year anniversary of January 6 he downplayed the violence as “just barely” a riot. As a guest on Carlson’s show, Beattie also called January 6 “a clear hoax” planned and carried out by “the feds.” [Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight, 6/8/22, 1/6/22, 6/9/22]
Early 2023: Carlson continued to downplay the severity of the January 6 riot, calling the rioters “nonviolent … protesters” and “patriotic Americans.” He also said January 6 was “probably second only to the 2020 election as the biggest scam in my lifetime.” [Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight, 3/21/23, 3/14/23]
April 2023-present: After Carlson was fired in April from Fox, he appeared on a Spaces live chat on X (formerly Twitter) and continued to downplay the insurrection. [Twitter/X, 12/12/23]
:{:{Video}:
CitationFrom a December 12, 2023, X Space
Steve Bannon
Since he left the Trump administration in 2017, Steve Bannon has hosted War Room — a podcast for Real America’s Voice — where he has frequently defended those involved in the insurrection. Bannon has also hosted both Beattie and Kelly to also push conspiracy theories about January 6.
2021: Leading up to the January 6 insurrection, Bannon bragged on his podcast about his role in working to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. [Media Matters, 10/29/21]
2022: Bannon defended the Proud Boys ahead of one of Congress’ January 6 hearings, referring to the organization, whose leaders have since been convicted for their role in the January 6 attack, as a “rag tag beer drinking group.” Bannon also repeatedly made false claims that U.S. Senate sergeant-at-arms Michael Stenger’s death was an intentional homicide, comparing it to older right-wing conspiracy theories around the suicide of Clinton administration official Vince Foster. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 6/9/22; CNN, 9/1/23; Media Matters, 6/29/22]
2023-present: Bannon is still hosting his podcast, War Room, where he has continued to downplay the insurrection, including dismissing Trump's role by stating that Trump was “doing his duty” to “make sure that the 2020 election had been fairly decided” and continuing to insist that the 2020 election was stolen. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 8/2/23]
:{:{Video}:
CitationFrom the August 2, 2023, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room
Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk, who co-founded the right-wing organization Turning Point USA, has repeatedly downplayed the insurrection and accused Ray Epps of being a federal agent.
2021: In the immediate aftermath of January 6, Kirk downplayed the attack, saying that “just because you do something that is regrettable does not mean that you are planning an armed insurrection against the United States government." [Newsweek, 1/12/21]
2022: Kirk pushed the Epps conspiracy theory, posting to X that Epps “texted his nephew ‘I orchestrated it’” and claiming that he is the “only man caught on camera actively calling for people to enter the Capitol and riot.” In another post, Kirk said, “If the FBI knows who Ray Epps is, why haven't they arrested him yet?” [Twitter/X, 1/11/22, 12/30/22]
2023-present: Kirk continues to run Turning Point USA and has repeatedly promoted far-right talking points, including false claims about January 6. On his eponymous show, Kirk has primed his audience to prepare for “another January 6” over Trump’s various indictments and called on a future administration to “get some pardons done” for the January 6 insurrectionists. [Media Matters, 9/22/23, 11/21/23; Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 1/3/24, 12/7/23, 7/28/23, 1/6/23; Twitter/X, 9/19/23]
CHarlie Kirk Epps tweet 1
The Gateway Pundit
The Gateway Pundit, a right-wing website that frequently pushes conspiracy theories and hoaxes, and Editor-in-Chief Jim Hoft have repeatedly claimed that the January 6 insurrection was a false flag operation organized by federal law enforcement.
2021: The Gateway Pundit was reportedly a favorite source for Donald Trump in the lead-up to January 6. According to The Washington Post, “In the weeks before he left office in 2021, Trump brandished printouts of Gateway Pundit articles questioning the results of the election.” In May 2021, a few months after the insurrection, Hoft published an article claiming that someone inside the Capitol unlocked the doors for the rioters, citing an anonymous member of the Oath Keepers — a group with several members who have since been convicted for their roles on January 6. [The Washington Post, 1/3/24; The Gateway Pundit, 5/24/21; Politico, 1/23/23]
2022: Hoft doubled down on the claim that “someone inside the security booth at the US Capitol opened the doors” in a Gateway Pundit article titled “WE WERE RIGHT. ” In another article, Hoft claimed that instead of investigating the Oath Keepers’ involvement in January 6, “the FBI would have better luck if they looked at their trained operatives instead who were leading the charge on the Capitol building.” [Twitter/X, 6/13/22; The Gateway Pundit, 1/29/22, 8/24/22]
2023-present: Hoft and The Gateway Pundit remain a source of conspiracy theories about January 6. Hoft has penned several stories alleging that Ray Epps’ criminal charges and sentencing are proof that he was a federal agent and said President Joe Biden “will use the J6 anniversary to accuse Trump supporters of being white supremacists.” [The Gateway Pundit, 1/2/24, 9/19/23, 1/3/24]
Laura Ingraham
Fox News host Laura Ingraham has used her prime-time platform to repeatedly claim that January 6 was a “false flag operation” orchestrated by “antifa” or federal agents.
2021: Ingraham suggested “antifa sympathizers” were behind the January 6 attack, citing a Washington Times article that was later debunked. [The New York Times, 3/1/21]
2022: Ingraham cited Darren Beattie’s Revolver News on her show on Fox to argue that “Epps may have led the breach team that first entered the Capitol on January 6.” [Media Matters, 1/19/22]
2023-present: Ingraham has used her prime-time slot on Fox News to continuously defend Trump and attack those who are involved in the legal cases against him over his alleged role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. She has also whitewashed the Capitol insurrectionists as “old ladies walking through the halls of Congress taking selfies.” [Media Matters, 11/01/23; Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 10/10/23, 8/7/23, 3/29/23]
:{:{Video}:
CitationFrom the March 29, 2023, edition of Fox News' The Ingraham Angle
Infowars
Prolific conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars co-host Owen Shroyer were part of the crowd on January 6. Shroyer has since celebrated the insurrection while Jones has claimed that any violence that occurred was caused by antifa or federal agents.
2021: Jones responded to the FBI’s investigation into his involvement in the insurrection by claiming that “we know who did it: antifa with some paramilitary groups all together, which are going to turn out to be feds with idiots they provocateured to be part of it, the Q people,” calling it “the modern Reichstag 2.0.” Shroyer stated that “we should have been proud of what happened on January 6.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 1/14/21, 5/17/21]
2022: Jones claimed that when investigated by the January 6 committee, he pleaded the Fifth Amendment “almost 100 times.” [Texas Tribune, 4/28/22]
2023-present: Jones celebrated Tucker Carlson’s revisionist history of the insurrection, claiming the footage Carlson aired showed that “January 6 was an inside job.” In the days before Shroyer was sentenced to two months in prison for leading a portion of the crowd on January 6, Jones claimed that the government was “asking for prison time for a man that did nothing and was there with me trying to stop people going to the Capitol because he still says he thinks the election was stolen.” [Media Matters, 2/28/23; Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 9/6/23; PBS, PBS NewsHour, 9/12/23]
:{:{Video}:
CitationFrom the February 20, 2023, edition of Infowars' The Alex Jones Show
Newsmax’s Greg Kelly
In the wake of January 6, Newsmax prime-time host Greg Kelly has repeatedly whitewashed the violence at the Capitol on his show, claiming that Trump supporters were allowed into the building or set up by federal law enforcement and unfairly prosecuted.
2021: Kelly claimed that the insurrection was “a trap to make Trump supporters, the MAGA movement, look bad,” and alleged that police were “not doing anything” and had ushered insurrectionists into the Capitol. Kelly later claimed the insurrection was a “false flag operation” staged by federal law enforcement. [Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 9/16/21, 11/3/21]
2022: Kelly continued to claim that Capitol Police and other federal agents “stood by” and that insurrectionists were “let in” to the Capitol. He also claimed that the rioters who called for Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged were “speaking metaphorically” and downplayed the makeshift gallow that were erected nearby. [Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 6/16/22]
2023-present: Kelly doubled down with the claim that January 6 insurrectionists were invited into the Capitol by police, claiming that it is “actually not true” that rioters violently breached the Capitol. He has also repeatedly defended Trump’s increasingly hostile campaign rhetoric, dismissing comparisons of the former president to Adolf Hitler and saying he is “a madman, and that is a good thing.” [Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 11/17/23, 11/13/23, 10/19/23]
:{:{Video}:
CitationFrom the November 17, 2023, edition of Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports
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CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): Here's what's upsetting to me, Heather, is if I'm dealing with somebody in customer service who's a moronic Black woman, I don't -- I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because affirmative action? It almost creates thought patterns that are not necessarily wholesome. It creates resentment, doesn't it, Heather? This is not a way to design society.
HEATHER MAC DONALD (GUEST): Yeah. We have to stop being scared by the race hustle. We have to stop --
KIRK: Yes --
MAC DONALD: Being called a racist and just say, sorry, the facts are these. You cannot have racial proportionality and excellence at the same time, not because necessarily there's any inherent difference that -- we don't -- we can put that question aside for now, but just because if you look at the fact that 66% of all Black 12th graders do not possess even partial mastery of the most basic math skills defined as doing geometry -- doing arithmetic or reading a graph, 66% of Black 12th graders don't possess even partial mastery of that. It is absurd to think that if you look at a air traffic control room, which depends on being able to do very fast calculations, being able to handle a lot of data on an instantaneous basis. If that isn't, you know, 13% Black, it's because somewhere there's discrimination going on, that is completely fallacious. It is against what is the obvious fact of the world that we live in, and yet I'm just stunned. Like, when is this gonna end?
:{:{So, at some point, it's gonna end -- especially when young white males say we are not gonna be canceled any longer. We know the facts. We know the fact that this is a society now that has done a 180 degree about face from a period where it was, in fact, white supremacy. When it was, in fact, an apartheid state, when it treated Blacks with gratuitous cruelty, heartlessness, heartbreaking nastiness and sadism, that was the reality, but we are not gonna cop to that reality today.}:
We have to stand up against this, Charlie, because white -- there's no other civilization like Western civilization that is engaged in this deliberate self-immolation. No other culture has turned on itself with such fury. You don't see this happening in China. You don't see it happening in Africa. You don't see it happening in India where those cultures are saying, oh, because we have historically been Chinese or African or Indian, we must be a colonialist, oppressive, apartheid state. No. It's only happening in the West out of some perverse instinct that if we get to the heart of it, we would understand much about Western civilization. But right now, it is a totally suicidal instinct.}:
KIRK: It is. And so, about a minute and a half remaining here, Heather. I was having difficulty persuading somebody who is more in the middle over this because they said, yeah, I don't like the woke stuff, but I don't understand why they're doing it. There must be a good reason. Can you just elaborate in about a minute here, Heather? This is suicide. This is I don't want this to exist any longer.
MAC DONALD: There is something about European civilization that is highly susceptible to blackmail. We are now being blackmailed. The reality is Black privilege, not white privilege. It used to be white privilege. I am not denying that. But for some reason, white civilization has decided to engage in the great replacement theory, and to go down without a fight. And I'm gonna fight, you're gonna fight, Charlie.
KIRK: Yes.
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Charlie Kirk calls for Republicans to take Joe Biden off the ballot | Media Matters for America
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January 2, 2024 rww
- White nationalist Vincent James declares that his “views are now mainstream” and soon “people like me are going to be in the Trump administration, in the White House, and in local politics throughout the country.”
- Charlie Kirk says that couples without children are a “bunch of morally bankrupt people who secretly feel guilty for being selfish parasites in a dumb attempt to normalize awful behavior.”
- Ben Zeisloft defends the destruction of a satanic display in the Iowa state capitol
the capitol is “supposed to honor Christ as Lord.” - Anna Perez reveals that she got her start in right-wing media by working with virulent antisemite Jon Miller, which explains a lot.
- Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers had dinner with far-right broadcaster Josh Bernstein over the holidays.
- Finally, Rep. Mary Miller is encouraging right-wing Christians to run for office because “we need people that fear God, that believe they can’t hide from God, and ultimately they’re going to give account to God; those are the best people to hold [elected] positions.”
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After a Minnesota commission unveiled its finalist pick for a new state flag to replace a racially offensive design, right-wing media insisted that the new design resembled one from a state in Somalia. Conservatives used the redesign to promote the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming that Minnesota has been “conquered” by Somali immigrants. Right-wing media claimed the design’s green and white stripes, which a state commission ultimately chose to remove from the final design, resembled Somalia’s flag.
Minnesota’s new flag design incorporates the state's shape, motto, and natural resources, replacing an old “genocidal” design
- The selected flag design incorporates Minnesota’s shape, motto, and natural resources. Minnesota Public Radio reported that the winning entry from a group of finalists includes an eight-point star in the design to reflect the state’s motto “L’etoile du Nord” (“Star of the North”), as well as an “abstract shape of Minnesota at the flag’s left edge.” The Minnesota resident who submitted the winning design also explained to MPR: “Each color was chosen to symbolize a different important aspect of Minnesota and its identity. For the stripes, white represents snow/winter, the green stripe represents our beautiful nature and the importance of agriculture and the light blue stripe represents the several significant meanings of water to our state: as the land of 10,000 lakes, the birth state of the Mississippi River and the origins of our state’s name —which came from the Dakota language— which translates to ‘a place of sky-tinted water.’” A separate report from Axios noted that “various elements, such as colors, the shape of the star and the number of stripes, could still change.” Minnesota Public Radio, [11/28/23; Axios, 12/15/23]
- The final flag design eliminated the white and green stripes. MPR published an updated article describing the final design selected by the State Emblems Redesign Commission: “A new flag with a shape that resembles — well, itself — along with an eight-point North Star and a single, light blue block to the other side.” According to the article, “a pair of designers” recommended eliminating the stripes on the right and limiting colors to shades of blue and white, suggestions which the commission accepted. Minnesota Public Radio, [12/19/23]
- The old Minnesota state flag has white nationalist overtones. MinnPost described Minnesota’s state seal, which is displayed on the current state flag, as including “many images, but the central theme is of a farmer tilling a field with a Native American on horseback riding in the distance.” The article added, “While the pre-statehood-designed seal and flag might be subject to interpretation, a poem written by the wife of the designer says this about the image: ‘We claim his noble heritage/And Minnesota’s land/Must pass with all its untold wealth/To the white man’s grasping hand.’” MinnPost, [6/8/23]
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- The state lawmaker who was the prime sponsor of a bill to replace the Minnesota state flag and seal called them “a cluttered genocidal mess.” MinnPost additionally reported that the currently existing Minnesota state flag ranked close to last in a survey of state flags and “falls into the grouping that populates the bottom of most rankings.” MinnPost, [6/8/23]
- ## Right-wing media claimed that the new flag resembles a Somali flag and that Minnesota has been “conquered” by Somali immigrants
- Conservative radio host Charlie Kirk and guest, former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), ranted that the new Minnesota flag shows that Somali immigrants are “conquering” the state: “It is a great replacement.” Kirk and Bachmann went on a racist rant about Somalis, claiming they have “a fraud culture” and that Muslims are “conquering” Minnesota and want to turn it into ”Minnesota-stan" and an “Islamic state.” Kirk asked, “Why are we allowing ourselves to be replaced by third world Muslim foreigners?” and later said that Democrats will use immigration to “change the body politic. ... It is a great replacement by other means.” Salem Radio Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show,* [12/18/23]
- YouTube streamer Tim Pool alleged that the new flag “looks an awful lot like the flag of Jubaland in Somalia.” Pool added: “When … they make it look like a flag of Somalia, and it’s the state with the largest Somali population, a lot of people are going to feel like you are being subverted, that your cultural values are being taken away from you by minority populations and non-American populations.” *TimCast IRL*, [12/18/23, via Twitter/X]
- Pool posted in response to a post about the flag: “Yall are conquered.” Twitter/X, [12/17/23]
- Antisemitic streamer Stew Peters wrote on X, “Somalia is raising its flag over Minnesota” adding that the state “has officially been conquered by double digit IQ savages.” Twitter/X, [12/18/23]
- Right-wing influencer account End Wokeness wrote on X: “Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the West. Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) is from Puntland. Minnesota just unveiled their new flag. I'm sure this is just a coincidence.” Twitter/X, [12/17/23]
- Right-wing social media personality Amuse suggested on X that “an entire US state had been conquered,” citing the new Minnesota flag design. The account posted: “What if we woke up on day and realized an entire US state had been conquered? Take a look at the new flag Minnesota is considering. It looks a lot like the Somali flag (MN has the highest percentage of Somali refugees thanks to Obama).” Twitter/X, [12/17/23]
- PJ Media published an article declaring that “the new flag’s adoption of Somali flag colors strongly implies that this community of new Minnesotans … is in the driver’s seat.” The article lamented that “instead of expecting the new Somali arrivals in Minnesota to become American … the new flag appears to be signaling that Minnesota has become Somalia,” and “the North Star state is likely to get more and more Somali as the days and years inexorably pass.” PJ Media, [12/18/23]
- Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty said on Wake Up America: “So the new flag, it is very similar to the flag of Somalia. And just so you know, 43,000 Somalians live in Minnesota.” Finnerty continued, “This flag is directly to appeal to the Somalian population in the state of Minnesota. And by the way, something like 60,000 Somalians across the southern border under Joe Biden's time in office.” Newsmax, *Wake Up America*, [12/19/23]
- Newsmax host Rob Schmitt stated that the flag redesigning commission “was a big conglomerate of who can be the wokest. And they said, ‘You know what? Let's get really, really woke and turn Minnesota's flag into the Somalian flag.’” He also used the story to call Somali American Rep. Ilhan Omar an “America-hating refugee.” Newsmax, *Rob Schmitt Tonight*, [12/18/23]
- One America News host Kara McKinney claimed on her show that Minnesota — “the conquered state” — had spent thousands of dollars to “spit on their cultural heritage and to instead seemingly raise a foreign flag above American soil.” McKinney cited a racist X post that suggested that Somali immigrants had “conquered” Minnesota, which the post described as “a state with historic Scandinavian ties … and generous welfare on offer.” McKinney also said the new design reminded her of an incident in which “a gang of migrant youth” reportedly attacked a man dressed as Santa Claus in Germany, before claiming that “large, roving migrant rape gangs preying on young women and girls, no-go zones, and rampant terror attacks” had turned “historically safe parts of Europe into dangerous hellholes.” She added, “Can’t wait to see what Middle East or African-inspired flags their historical flags get morphed into.” One America News, *Tipping Point with Kara McKinney*, [12/18/23]
- Far-right X account Right Angle News Network on the flag design: “We are being replaced and they aren’t even trying to hide it anymore.” The account added: “We must resist guys. It’s not racist to want to exist.” Twitter/X, [12/17/23]
- Conspiracy theory website World Net Daily suggested that “Somalis living in Minnesota … have brought their flag with them.” The article was titled “American state's new official flag looks like one from terror hotbed.” World Net Daily, [12/18/23]
- The Western Journal wrote: “The similarities between it [the proposed flag design] and the state flag for the Somalian state of Puntland are certainly undeniable.” Western Journal, [12/17/23]
- The Gateway Pundit published a story headlined “Revamped Minnesota State Flag Looks a Lot Like the Jubaland Somalian Flag for Some Strange Reason.” The Gateway Pundit, [12/18/23]
- Headline from TheBlaze: “Redesign of Minnesota state flag draws controversy as some say it resembles Somalian state flag: 'Yall are conquered.'” TheBlaze, [12/18/23]
- ## Right-wing media have long record of pushing racist “great replacement” rhetoric
- Right-wing media figures have spent years pushing the “great replacement” theory, which warns of a nefarious plot to erode the political power of white people by replacing them with nonwhite immigrants. The blood-soaked conspiracy theory has inspired a number of horrific events, including: the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017; the 2019 El Paso, Texas, shooting; the 2022 shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and others. Media Matters, [6/30/22]
- Some right-wing figures have echoed the “great replacement” theory in their rhetoric attacking the Somali community in Minnesota. In 2020, the now-defunct right-wing group Project Veritas falsely accused Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and the Somali community in Minnesota of engaging in a “pay-for-votes” scheme. In 2021, former Trump official Ken Cuccinelli said “the Somali experience in Minnesota is not a good one for America.” Media Matters, [10/7/20, 9/16/23]
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On Tuesday, Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)(4) founded by billionaire industrialists Charles and the late David Koch, endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for president. The endorsement, AFP’s first in a Republican primary, comes amid consistent media chatter that Haley has surpassed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the preeminent GOP challenger to former President Donald Trump.
An array of right-wing media voices took the news as an attempt by Haley to buy her way into the Republican nomination, with a GOP establishment funding her campaign in a last attempt to thwart Trump.
These voices claim that Haley may also be attempting to stay in the race until the GOP convention, maintaining just enough support to broker her way into a vice presidential nomination. In this way, they suggest, Haley could secretly “run” the White House as vice president — a Koch network Trojan horse for a second Trump administration.
On Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast Triggered, Steve Bannon, a major Trump ally, put this theory plainly: Fox News and the Republican establishment want to “consolidate that 15% of Republican voters” who are anti-Trump “around a Nikki Haley-type and drive it all the way through the primary process."
“And then in July of 2024, force Nikki Haley onto the ticket as Trump's running mate and allow her to try to run the administration from number two,” Bannon warned. “Now that’s not going to happen, but that’s their plan.”
Claiming that Fox wants to “clear the field for Nikki Haley,” Bannon told Trump’s adult son, “She's absolutely poisonous, and as you know, she's more ambitious than Lucifer.”
“Imagine how much motherfucking would go on if it was Nikki Haley and her team,” Trump Jr. responded, “What they'd be trying to do to Trump behind his back from literally like first second, like to position herself for 2028? Listen, hey, that would be brutal.”
Video
CitationFrom the November 27, 2023, edition of Triggered, streamed on Rumble
After lamenting that “the better of the two” Koch brothers died in 2019, Westwood One radio host Mark Levin said that “Nikki Haley wants to buy her way into the presidency” with Koch money, even though voters won’t support her because she is “George W. Bush in a dress.”
Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk — seeming to make a point of using the Indian-American Haley’s given first name Nimarata — told his audience that “the Koch network has now officially selected their candidate and declared war on many of you.”
“This is a salvo directed at you — at the populist, nationalist, muscular class movement of everyday Americans that want their country back.” The Koch network, he argued, wants “something else, and Nikki Haley is the vessel that they are going to use to do it. … The globalists, they are mounting their last stand.”
Indignant that “these oligarchs are telling you in the grassroots who has a chance to win,” Kirk declared that AFP’s support “has certainly disqualified Haley from becoming vice president.”
“Invade the world, invite the world, neoconservative extraordinaire,” he said, dismissing her candidacy.
Like other candidates previously hyped as Trump alternatives, there are claims that Haley is being pushed on voters by Fox News. “For some reason Fox has anointed her as their next one,” Newsmax host Eric Bolling told DeSantis in an interview. “I think you were the first one out of the box, and they seem to have moved the program to Nikki Haley.”
Bolling also claimed that Haley will no longer appear on his show “because I did call her out for that censorship,” referencing her walked-back support for a hypothetical law banning anonymous social media accounts.
Later, after JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said that Democrats should help Haley in the GOP primary, Bolling said that the quasi-endorsement “kind of blows me,” because “she ain’t going to win.” Bolling, a former commodities trader, added that “Wall Street has gone with the losers,” referencing the finance industry’s support for 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
On Fox News, in a segment discussing a “huge disconnect” between Republican voters who love Trump and Republican donors who have “moved on” from him, former White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley summarized the mood that some in right-wing media hope to encourage.
“The Koch brothers’ endorsement situation, it used to be powerful. Now it's more painful. Amongst the Republican electorate, it's kind of making her a pariah. They don’t embrace that anymore.”
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Charlie Kirk: "Black crime is a major issue in our country" | Media Matters for America
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argentine President-elect Javier Milei is becoming a right-wing media darling in the U.S. due to his austere proposed economic policies and conservative ideology. Right-wing media figures have reacted to Milei’s electoral success by praising him, comparing him to former President Donald Trump, and attacking mainstream media for their critical reporting.}:
- ## Argentina's new far-right president has aligned himself with U.S. right-wing politics
- Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist libertarian,” has aggressively pushed conservative positions on issues such as abortion while also promising to gut government ministries relating to issues like education, diversity, and science. Milei also proposed holding a referendum aimed at overturning Argentina’s right to abortion. Rolling Stone, [11/20/23]
- One of Milei’s defining political positions is “dollarisation,” a form of economic shock treatment, to combat Argentina’s rising inflation and ongoing financial woes.Dollarisation involves getting rid of the Argentine peso and replacing it with the U.S. dollar. Mark Weisbrot, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, has labeled this as a “crazed, economically suicidal approach” which could majorly backfire for Argentine people. The Guardian, [11/20/23]
- Milei’s mirroring of Trump’s right-wing populist messaging — down to “Make Argentina Great Again” hats and preemptive voter fraud conspiracy theories — has led to direct praise from the former president.After Milei’s victory, Trump personally congratulated him on Truth Social, posting, “The whole world was watching! I am very proud of you. You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!" The Guardian, [11/17/23; Rolling Stone, 11/20/23]
- Milei has also been linked to infamous anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist. In 2021, Milei promised the Argentine Taxpayers Association, sister organization to Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, that he would “cut off [his] own arm” if he raised taxes. Norquist has also gotten many Republican politicians to make similar promises by getting them to sign his organization’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge.” The Nation, [7/21/2011; Semafor, 11/21/23; ABC News, 11/26/12]
- Mainstream media have responded to Milei’s election by pointing out his similarities to Trump and the implications his victory could have in neighboring countries.The New York Times referred to his election as “Argentina’s Donald Trump moment.” The Washington Post, [11/19/23; The New York Times, 11/20/23]
- ## Right-wing media reacted to Milei’s victory by praising him, comparing him to Trump, spreading voter fraud conspiracy theories, and attacking mainstream media for their coverage of him
- Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones called Milei “an anti-globalist through and through” and claimed he was an Infowars listener. Jones also praised Milei as “a follower” of former Fox host Tucker Carlson and argued his election was evidence that “people are seeing through the globalist lies at every front.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [11/20/23]
- Newsmax host Rob Schmitt celebrated Milei, praising him for “fighting an ideology that is destroying the world one country at a time.”Schmitt argued Milei was “fighting the same disease that our nation is fighting” and “isn’t afraid to eviscerate the cancerous tumor that is the socialist politician.” Newsmax, *Rob Schmitt Tonight,* [11/20/23]
- Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk claimed that Milei’s victory was a “stimulus of hope” for the chances of Trump winning the presidency in 2024. Kirk portrayed the election as evidence that “the Western world is starting to push back against forced globalism” supposedly orchestrated by “a smaller and smaller radical group of people.” Kirk argued, “If Javier Milei can win by 11 points … Donald Trump can win next November.” Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [11/20/23]
- Fox News contributor Sara Carter posted that she “love[s] Javier Milei.” Carter posted in response to a video of Milei ripping tags off a whiteboard with the names of various governmental departments, including the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. Twitter/X, [11/20/23]
- Right-wing YouTuber Steven Crowder referred to Milei as “the madman geopolitics deserves.” He also called on Milei to “make Argentina great again.” Twitter/X, [11/20/23]
- Fox Business host Charles Payne called Milei’s election “huge and super encouraging on several fronts.” Payne also alleged that “powerful global forces'' tried to prevent Milei’s victory from “happening.” Twitter/X, [11/20/23]
- Right-wing economist Art Laffer argued Milei was “not a kook” or “far-right winger” and bet he would make Argentina “the outstanding, pro-growth economy of Central and South America” as president. Fox host Larry Kudlow concurred, adding that “the socialism they’ve been flirting with almost all over the continent hasn’t worked. … This guy might turn that around.” Fox Business, *Kudlow*, [11/20/23]
- Right-wing X account End Wokeness complained that “Argentina hand-counted all of their ballots in a few hours, but the big blue areas in our swing states take several days with machines?” Twitter/X, [11/20/23]
- Neo-Nazi collaborator Jack Posobiec claimed that the reason Argentina knew “the election result so fast” was because it “banned electronic voting machines.” Posobiec failed to mention that only Buenos Aires City residents were required to use paper ballots, and that was due to “significant delays” during the primary elections because of technical issues with the machines. Twitter/X, [11/20/23; Buenos Aires Herald, 10/21/23]
- Right-wing political operative Roger Stone praised Argentina for voting “with 100% paper ballots unlike, say, Brazil.” Twitter/X, [11/19/23]
- The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro bemoaned the “garbage press” for their coverage of Milei, calling them “international Leftist trash.” Shapiro also touted Milei’s economic policies, claiming Milei is planning to “slash spending and restore fiscal responsibility.” Twitter/X, [11/20/23]
- Conservative blog Red State also decried the press “freak-out” over Milei, claiming mainstream media “love it when far-left socialists take power."The “fairly Libertarian” Milei, the author claimed, could not be compared to Trump, and “the press attempt to tie the two together” was therefore “transparent.” Red State, [11/19/23]
- Stone also posted that it was “really enjoyable watching the elitist pukes at the Washington Post and the New York Times melt down over the election of pro-Freedom Anti-Globalist Javier Milei.” Twitter/X, [11/20/23]
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- ## Police suffered injuries at the hands of the rioters and allowed some movement in an attempt to de-escalate
- The police union has said 140 police officers suffered injuries from January 6.The Washington Post, [1/27/21]
- Police battled to keep rioters out of the Capitol but in some cases stood by because they were outnumbered or engaged politely to try to de-escalate.CNN reported:
The claim that the rioters were invited into the Capitol is false. ... There were hours-long battles between police and rioters near some entrances. CNN obtained footage from police body-worn cameras showing how dozens of officers engaged in hand-to-hand combat with rioters in a desperate effort to keep them out of the building. There are plenty of instances where rioters waltzed into the Capitol without a fight, but only after they had stormed past barricades and, in some cases, even stepped through broken windows. In some areas, police were so outnumbered by the mob that they retreated, stood aside or tried to politely engage with rioters to de-escalate the situation rather than fighting or making arrests, but that is clearly not the same as welcoming rioters into the building. CNN, [1/4/22]
- Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger stated that Capitol Police “did their best to use de-escalation tactics to try to talk rioters into getting each other to leave the building.” In a memo to staff, Manger disputed “outrageous and false” claims that Capitol Police served as “tour guides” for Jacob Chansley, aka the QAnon Shaman. Manger wrote that “Capitol Police were badly outnumbered on Jan. 6” and that “those officers did their best to use de-escalation tactics to try to talk rioters into getting each other to leave the building.” The Washington Post, [3/7/23]
- Capitol Police officers testified to the January 6 Committee that the day was “nothing short of brutal,” that there was “carnage” and it was a “war scene.” The committee also aired body camera footage from the officers that showed rioters shoving officers and pushing down barricades outside the Capitol. NPR, [7/27/21, 6/23/21, The Associated Press, 6/10/22]
- Police onsite were massively outnumbered by rioters, with an estimated 2,000 people entering the Capitol building and under 200 officers at the Capitol building itself. Forbes, [12/16/21, ABC7, 1/6/22]
- ## Right-wing media claim police allowed protestors to enter the Capitol and suggest that means it wasn’t a violent insurrection
- Newsmax host Greg Kelly stated that it is “actually not true” that rioters broke into the Capitol and instead “some people were invited inside, and the police officers seemed to welcome them there.” While showing footage of protestors entering, Kelly also asserted that “this blows open the preferred January 6 narrative.” Newsmax, *Greg Kelly Reports*, [11/17/23]
- Newsmax host Eric Bolling said the footage shows Capitol police “escorting the protestors.” He asked his guest Rudy Giuliani, “I mean, does that look like an overthrow of the United States government to you, sir?” Newsmax, *Eric Bolling The Balance*, [11/17/23]
- Also on Newsmax, host Rob Schmitt claimed that protesters in the Capitol looked like they were taking “a tour,” adding that the “QAnon Shaman was actually escorted into the Capitol by police.” Schmitt acknowledged that there was some violence but nevertheless told his audience, “This is a much different day than it was portrayed by the media and by your members of Congress” and called the footage “an important reminder to always, always question what you are told by your government.” In fact, as The Associated Press reported in March, court documents and video footage from the attack show that the QAnon Shaman “entered the Capitol without permission, was repeatedly asked to leave the building and was not accompanied at all times.” Newsmax, *Rob Schmitt Tonight*, [11/17/23; The Associated Press, 3/7/23]
- Conservative podcast host Kyle Becker called the footage “bizarre” for showing rioters “casually walking the halls.”He posted, “This newly released J6 video is BIZARRE. All of these dangerous ‘insurrectionists’ casually walking the halls... right next to Capitol Police and FBI agents in full riot gear. WHAT is going on here? 👀” Twitter/X, [11/18/23]
- Right-wing personality Liz Wheeler claimed that Capitol police were “directing the insurrectionists” with a “handshake & pat on the back.” She posted, “Capitol police directing the insurrectionists who to insurrection with a handshake & pat on the back. Mark my words, the key to alllll of this lies with Nancy Pelosi.” Twitter/X, [11/17/23]
- Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk asserted that “the J6 Committee’s violent insurrection narrative has crumbled” and called for the immediate release of rioters. He posted, “And just like that the J6 Committee’s violent insurrection narrative has crumbled. The Capitol Police facilitated the protesters passage through the building. The vast majority of J6ers should be immediately released.” Twitter/X, [11/17/23]
- Conservative commentator Benny Johnson noted police “were giving handshakes to protestors” and determined that “this is not an insurrection.” He posted, “Capitol Police were giving handshakes to protesters. Now ask yourselves this; In which ‘insurrection’ or ‘Rebellion’ in history would this have happened in? None — because this is not an ‘insurrection.’” Twitter/X, [11/17/23]
- Conservative commentator Rogan O'Handley, also known as DC Draino, posted, “Wow what an ‘insurrection’! Watch as J6ers slowly walk past Capitol Police who just watch. Democrats said this was worse than 9/11.” X, [11/17/23]
- Right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer dismissed concerns of right-wing violence at the Capitol because Capitol police were “fist-bumping” rioters. She said: “Oh, if these cops are so concerned, and this was really worse than 9/11 and Pearl Harbor combined, and, you know, it's like a modern day Nazi rally in our nation's capital, why is it that the Capitol Police are fist-bumping these people?” Rumble, *Loomer Unleashed*, [11/17/23]
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Right-wing media are pushing the “irresistible,” “electric” Tucker Carlson as Trump’s VP
Charlie Kirk: “Tucker understands the philosophical, intellectual base that motivates the muscular class”
WRITTEN BY BOBBY LEWIS
PUBLISHED 11/16/23
Last week, former President Donald Trump said that “I guess I would” consider former Fox host Tucker Carlson for a vice presidential nomination, setting off a wave of enthusiasm among Trump’s extremely online right-wing media fan base. Carlson, who privately said that he hates Trump “passionately,” has apparently not commented on the trial balloon.
In addition to vocal support for a Vice President Carlson from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA,) Salem radio host and close Trump ally Charlie Kirk has been a fervent proponent of the idea. Calling Carlson “tough,” “principled,” and “electric,” Kirk fantasized about the X vlogger as an “irresistible” pull for young voters and suburban women. Many voices in right-wing media also love the idea -- though some, notably including Donald Trump Jr., just don’t think Carlson would be interested.
“Who is the second most trusted, the second most popular, the second smartest and principled person in the conservative movement?” Kirk asked last week. “If he was still alive, it would have been Rush Limbaugh. I think we all agree with that. It is without a doubt Tucker Carlson.”
Kirk’s enthusiasm could be described as fanboying, and it continued throughout the show.
“Tucker Carlson might be the smartest person in the movement. He is a loyal family man.” “He’s real. He’s honest. He’s a true American.” “He is irresistible online. He’s smart. He’s tough.” Picking Carlson for vice president “would literally be a hack — it would break the matrix.” Sneering with excitement, Kirk asked, “Could you imagine Tucker Carlson at a press gaggle?”
“You’ve got the alpha beast Trump, and you got a VP that is probably the smartest, smoothest, person in the conservative movement that has our trust.”
:{:{Video}:
CitationFrom the November 10, 2023, edition of Salem Radio Network's The Charlie Kirk Show
Kirk came back to the idea on November 13, celebrating the “hundreds of thousands of tweets in favor of it over the weekend,” as well as Trump’s ringside appearance at a UFC fight, with an entourage including Carlson.
“Who else other than Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson can get this kind of hero's welcome at a UFC fight? … What Tucker and Trump present is cultural power and a cultural phenomenon in a political space,” Kirk beamed. “It’s a completely different dynamic. … Tucker understands the philosophical, intellectual base that motivates the muscular class.”
Kirk is not alone in his enthusiasm, which has begun spreading throughout conservative media:
- Sean Davis, a co-founder of The Federalist, told Kirk he loves the idea: “I love it. I love Tucker. I think it’d be great. I think it'd be great for America. He's one of the only people who says all the things that we all think but aren't allowed to citedsay.”
- Podcaster and serial plagiarist Benny Johnson “Elon’s razor” -- a reference to X owner Elon Musk -- “the most entertaining outcome is always the right one” to say that Trump and Carlson are “your ticket right there,” adding that “Tucker Carlson with Secret Service protection … and access to the military” is a “thing I want.”
- Daily Wire host Michael Knowles said that he has “floated this idea for years at this point” and “if I were Tucker, two years ago, I probably wouldn't want this,” but now that Carlson no longer has his Fox News perch and salary, “he’s got less to lose,” and “who else could run with Trump that the base loves? … He represents the Buchanan wing of the party. He represents the conservative wing of the conservative party.”
- On November 14, Johnson asked Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) about this on The Benny Show, to which Nehls responded that he likes the idea and doubts that any of the primary candidates could be Trump’s vice president, “but Tucker Carlson, he really, really could -- he just speaks a lot of truth. And he’s real. And I think the American people love him.”
Despite the excitement from some, other right-wing media voices aren’t so sure Carlson would even join the ticket. On Newsmax’s Chris Plante: The Right Squad*, guest Marc Lotter acknowledged that Carlson is “probably one of the smartest people around” and it would make an “epic” ticket, however fellow panelist and guest Jason Nichols said, “I don’t think that that’s something he wants to do. I think he likes his life.” Co-host Chris Plante agreed that Carlson likely “wouldn’t want any part” of a Trump White House.
Even one of Trump’s own children, Donald Trump Jr., sees a Trump/Carlson ticket as highly unlikely, though he does like the sound of it. Responding to viewer comments on his podcast Triggered, Trump said that “I don’t think he would” accept a vice presidential nomination, because it’s “not his thing.”
However, Trump added, if Carlson would accept, he “would be my first, second, third, fourth, and fifth choice for VP if I could decide right now.”
“He’d be great on a lot of issues,” Trump said, “and it would also drive the other side insane.”
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[Turning Point Action member used QAnon supporter’s podcast to recruit poll workers in Milwaukee | Media Matters for AmericaTurning Point Action member used QAnon supporter’s podcast to recruit poll workers in Milwaukee | Media Matters for AmericaTurning Point Action member used QAnon supporter’s podcast to recruit poll workers in Milwaukee | Media Matters for America](https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/turning-point-action-member-used-qanon-supporters-podcast-recruit-poll)
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Charlie Kirk fumes that pastors who support Black Lives Matter are “introducing an unclean spirit from Satan into the church.”
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Charlie Kirk endorses a total moratorium on legal immigration | Media Matters for America
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mma 1123
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mma10 23
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): Now look, Joe Biden is a traitor, I just think everyone is taking the wrong, I think they're burying the lede here. Like, wow. Okay, yeah, the FBI had informants and they knew that, you know, Joe Biden was super corrupt and all that. Okay. I see it a little bit differently.
I don't like this new standard where all of a sudden the FBI just permanently spies on the people, the individuals holding government positions that the people deem in power.
I don't think that's a good -- that’s a good track record for the country. Now the counterargument is that the FBI is not arresting Biden and they have all of this information and he is a traitor and he was doing these things. And they're not arresting him. That's a fair argument.
What I'm trying to say though is that this story should be, in a legitimate country, a reason for a bipartisan Church and Pike Committee to get the FBI to heel. That's what it should be in a functioning country.
And, we’ll get into this in the next segment, it probably means that the FBI was blackmailing Joe Biden and using the informants as a way to control him. But that's not okay. That's really bad. Again, I'm not a defender of Joe Biden. He should be in Gitmo. He's a traitor to the country.
This is just going to happen to the next president. What's going to say, if Donald Trump wins in a triumphant victory, what’s to say that they won't just blackmail him and they won't just spy on him?
This is how the administrative state rolls. This fourth branch of government is actually running the country, regardless of who is president.
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Since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israelis, Islamophobic rhetoric has thrived in right-wing media spaces}:
- Hamas launched its attack against Israel on October 7, with militants from the Gaza Strip targeting both civilians and Israeli military personnel. Since then, Israel has promised to eradicate Hamas, leading the Israeli military to target Gaza in an ongoing conflict that has left more than 1,400 Israelis and nearly 3,800 Palestinians dead. Al Jazeera, [10/20/23]
- Right-wing media figures fearmongered about a supposed “global day of jihad” transpiring on October 13.The notion of a “day of jihad,” in which Islamic extremists would launch Hamas-inspired attacks around the world, seemed to come in part from the mistranslation of a statement from former Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal. Without a “specific and credible threat” to the U.S., this day failed to materialize. The rhetoric nonetheless sparked increased fears of violence during a time when anti-Muslim violence is already expected to rise. Media Matters, [10/16/23; The Guardian, 10/17/23]
- An Illinois man who “‘listens to conservative talk radio on a regular basis’ and became obsessed with the war between Hamas and Israel” allegedly stabbed his 6-year-old Palestinian tenant to death in what is being investigated as a hate crime. NBC News, [10/16/23]
- ## Radio hosts and guests fearmongered about Islamic extremists attacking the U.S.
- Charlie Kirk told people to carry a gun to defend themselves in case sleeper cells are “activated” in the U.S. The Turning Point USA founder told his audience, “This needs to be a wake up call. They are here, they mean harm to the American homeland and I pray that they are not activated. Make sure you have a gun on you.” Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/11/23]
- According to Kirk, “We have imported the dynamite right into our country.” Kirk claimed that “we have invited some of the most disgusting people on the planet into the West,” including “Third World Muslims,” and now “we shouldn’t be surprised” to see a “global day of jihad.” Media Matters, [10/16/23; Salem Media Group, The Charlie Kirk Show, 10/12/23]
- Kirk claimed that “millions of young, fighting-age Muslim men in America” have the potential to be “activated” as terrorists. Kirk said, “You have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of young, fighting-age Muslim men in America. All it takes is for a couple of them to be activated in this country.” Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/12/23]
- Kirk fearmongered about the potential of Islamic terrorists crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and “shooting up a public place in the name of Allah.” Kirk said, “What's to prevent one of these Muslims that came across the border … from getting their hands on a firearm and going and shooting up a public place in the name of Allah?” Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/10/23]
- Sean Hannity told his audience to take the “global day of jihad” seriously despite a lack of evidence. He proclaimed, “Hamas has now called for their supporters to make tomorrow, Friday the 13, a global day of jihad. Now I care about everyone in my audience. I'm gonna urge all of you: Take this seriously.” He added, “You know, it’s a holy war, and they want it worldwide.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Sean Hannity Show*, [10/12/23]
- Hannity claimed there are terrorist cells in the U.S. that have already entered the country illegally and are planning attacks.He said, “I guarantee you that among the 8 million, by the end of this year, of illegal immigrants, I guarantee you people that have connections to terrorism have entered this country and that there are terror cells plotting, planning, and scheming another attack.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Sean Hannity Show,* [10/17/23]
- On right-wing pundit Eric Metaxas’ show, a guest spread the conspiracy theory that the Biden administration is allowing men from “Muslim countries” into America to be later used to cause chaos. Appearing on The Eric Metaxas Show, The Stream senior editor John Zmirak claimed, “They were letting in thousands of military-age men from Muslim countries and spreading them all over the country. Why? My theory, my conclusion is this is the next army of political police, of political thugs whom the Democrats will send out onto the streets to riot, to burn, to threaten, to intimidate, to pillage the next time it suits their political advantage.” Salem Media Group, *The Eric Metaxas Show*, [10/11/23]
- ## Right-wing radio hosts spread blatant Islamophobia
- Steve Deace claimed that Islam has “no compunction or reservation at all about using women and children as human shields.” “Hey, I lose a wife. I've got seven more,” Deace said, mocking Muslims. “I lose a kid, I'll make another kid with the other seven wives. And that kid, you know, was just welcomed by Allah into heaven as a hero.“ Blaze Radio, *Steve Deace Show*, [10/16/23]
- Charlie Kirk maintained that the “vast majority of Muslims” live “in the 1300s” and hold a “medieval worldview.” Kirk framed the Israel-Hamas conflict as “civilization, aka Western values, versus barbarism.” Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/11/23]
- Kirk claimed Muslims are going to kidnap people “across the world.”According to Kirk, “People are going to start getting kidnapped all across the world if we mishandle this. You’re going to see a string of kidnappings,” Kirk said. “Americans don’t travel internationally nearly as much as Europeans, but we travel internationally a lot, and there's a lot of Muslims out there.” Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/11/23]
- Kirk falsely claimed that Islamic law justifies killing children. “It's perfectly acceptable in Islamic law to go kill kids — perfectly fine,” Kirk said. Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/12/23]
- Shapiro claimed that the United Nations is “despicable and vile” and “filled with Islamist countries that support the death of Jews.” Westwood One, *The Ben Shapiro Show*, [10/10/23]
- ## Right-wing radio hosts dehumanized Palestinians
- Charlie Kirk claimed Palestinians in Gaza are “savage animals.” The TPUSA founder and Salem Media Group radio host stated, “To be clear, they will — they'll take you out of the car and cut your head off and parade you through the streets. They're really nice people we got dealing with here. And I'll never forget — as soon as they see an Israeli license plate, they're savage animals, they’ll come after you.” Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/11/23]
- Mark Levin declared, “The Israelis are up against these animals — they’re not even animals,” before calling Palestinians “subhumans.” On his Westwood One radio show, Levin also questioned why the safety of Palestinian civilians should be considered, “particularly when the enemy wants its own civilians killed.” Westwood One, *The Mark Levin Show*, [10/13/23]
- Levin: “And I'm supposed to, what, shed crocodile tears, for what's going to happen to these people?”Levin also called people in Gaza “barbarians” and said that their deaths are not Israel’s responsibility. Levin continued, “I'm not. Maybe I'm the only one who will voice it, but I'm not. Israel has every right to throw every damn thing it has at barbarians. And if there are innocent people, quote-unquote ‘civilians’ who are killed, then maybe they ought to organize to take out the government they elected, but it's not Israel's responsibility." Westwood One, *The Mark Levin Show*, [10/10/23]
- Levin implied that all Palestinians are evil and said that if “there's collateral damage” when Israel attacks Gaza, “so be it.” According to Levin, “One side is immoral and evil. The other side is moral and good. It's that simple.” Westwood One, *The Mark Levin Show*, [10/17/23]
- Steve Deace claimed that Palestinians are “basically Arab squatters, people who were kicked out of countries like Jordan, who didn't want them.” The Blaze Radio host said, “There’s no such thing as a Palestinian. It’s a people group that does not exist. They’re basically Arab squatters, people who were kicked out of countries like Jordan, who didn’t want them.” Blaze Radio, *The Steve Deace Show*, [10/13/23]
- Blaze Radio producer Aaron McIntire claimed that Palestinian civilians “don’t exist” and also called them “squatters.”McIntire said, “What you do with the Palestinian civilians — that don’t exist — what you do with the people, the squatters, who live in the area known as Gaza Strip: Make Egypt take them, make the Arab nations, Arab neighbors take them.” Blaze Radio, *The Steve Deace Show*, [10/13/23]
- Deace also said, “There is no such thing as a Palestinian people as a people group.”He stated, “The people identifying as Palestinians — and they're not all Muslims, they're not all, you know, Hamas crazies, and every one of them's made in the image of God. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as a Palestinian people as a people group. These are folks from other Arab countries, a lot of them, a legacy like in Jordan that were kicked out of those countries, and there's a reason why these Arab countries like Jordan and Egypt are closing their borders to them now. They don't want them back.” Blaze Radio, *Steve Deace Show*,[10/16/23]
- Charlie Kirk claimed Palestinians are all antisemitic to justify attacking them: “The reality is Hamas and the Arab world, they just hate Jews. They just want Jews dead.” Salem Media Group, T*he Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/12/23]
- ## Right-wing radio figures tried to justify withholding aid to Palestinians
- Sean Hannity said any humanitarian aid to Palestine will help Hamas. Hannity stated, “Any humanitarian aid you want to give the innocent people in Gaza — I don't know what the percentage is because I don't know how deep their indoctrination is — will not go to the civilians. Innocents won't see this aid. It will go to Hamas, and they will build out their terror network.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Sean Hannity Show*, [10/18/23]
- Ben Shapiro said “turning off water and electricity in military areas is normal” and emphasized that Israel is trying to avoid targeting civilians. Westwood One, *The Ben Shapiro Show*, [10/16/23]
- Shapiro claimed that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, a humanitarian organization, allows for “Jew hatred” and should not be supported. According to Shapiro, “The UNRWA, the U.N. refugees administration, which is an agency that is specifically dedicated only to the Palestinians, it’s amazing. It’s a garbage administration run internationally that allows for full indoctrination in Jew hatred at UNRWA schools and the hiding of weaponry beneath UNRWA schools. They admitted yesterday on Twitter, briefly, that Hamas was literally stealing aid and then they deleted it because they’re afraid that Hamas might get mad at them.” Westwood One, T*he Ben Shapiro Show*, [10/17/23]
- On The Mark Levin Show, the president of the Zionist Organization of America declared: “The civilians are not innocent.”ZOA National President Mort Klein said that the U.S. should withhold aid because Palestinian civilians were also guilty for Hamas’ October 7 attack, saying, “In any war, do you do something against the civilians there? Do we do anything for the Vietnam civilians? For the Iraqi civilians? For the German civilians? No. It is a war. And yet strangely enough when it's Israel fighting Hamas Nazis, we want to aid the civilians. And I must add, the civilians are not innocent.” Westwood One, *The Mark Levin Show*, [10/18/23]
- ## Right-wing radio figures defended or downplayed civilian casualties in Gaza
- Mark Levin complained that asking Israel not to bomb schools or cut off food and medication to Gazan civilians constitutes too many “conditions.”Levin said: “Urban battle: It’s going to be very hard. Of course it is, but the Israelis are being told by our government, ‘Make sure your feed the population, make sure you medicate the population, make sure you don’t hit a mosque, a hospital, a school, don’t hit any of those. Now go for it.’ Look at all these conditions. All these conditions.” Westwood One, *The Mark Levin Show*, [10/16/23]
- Brian Kilmeade suggested civilians should not be let out of Gaza because terrorists might escape. According to the Fox News and radio host, “Word is — there’s some word that we are pressuring — the U.S. is pressuring Israel to hold off on the invasion so that more civilians get out. But you know who else gets out? The terrorists! Who are going to plot and plan another day and be treated like heroes when the red carpet comes out with a lot of these evil regimes or the Muslim Brotherhood affiliates around the world around the globe. “ Fox News Radio, *The Brian Kilmeade Show*, [10/16/23]
- Shapiro excused civilian casualties as necessary to achieve Israeli military objectives, saying, “This notion, that it is incumbent on Israel not to achieve its military objectives in order to prevent civilian casualties caused by Hamas, is absurd on its face.” Westwood One, *The Ben Shapiro Show*, [10/17/23]
- Shapiro also said that Palestinian civilians should not be prioritized over “the first rule of war: winning.” According to Shapiro, “Yes, of course, those of moral bent ought to work to minimize civilian casualties. Yes, of course, those of moral bent ought to work to find a place for civilians to escape from the line of fire. But neither of those rules can be prioritized over the first rule of war: winning. War is ugly by nature. Nearly the ugliest thing. As it turns out, there’s only one thing uglier: losing to those who don’t care about morality or decency at all.” Westwood One, *The Ben Shapiro Show*, [10/16/23]
- Sean Hannity claimed Hamas and Iran, not Israel, are to blame for civilian deaths in Gaza. According to the Fox News and radio host, “The people of Palestine — those that have been killed and will be killed — you can only blame one group, and that would be the terrorist group Hamas. Well, you can blame another group too — the No. 1 state sponsor of terror that helped, apparently, organize, foment these attacks against Israel. That would be Iran.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Sean Hannity Show*, [10/16/23]
- Kilmeade said it’s “not Israel’s problem” that civilians are collateral damage in eradicating Hamas.According to Kilmeade, “They say go by the rules of war, and — the best you can — but if Hamas is going to use these people as human shields, prevent them from leaving, or going south, or leaving their building — even though it’s gonna be targeted — that’s not Israel’s problem, it’s their problem.” Fox News Radio, *The Brian Kilmeade Show*, [10/16/23]
- Beck claimed there are “no Israeli war crimes” and said that “every innocent harmed in Gaza is on Hamas.” Beck dismissed the number of casualties caused by Israel, arguing, “Every piece of human suffering in Gaza is on Hamas. Want more peace? Have less Hamas.” Blaze Radio, *The Glenn Beck Program*, [10/17/23]
- ## Right-wing radio figures tried to justify the complete elimination of Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip
- Blaze Radio founder Glenn Beck said Israel should make Gaza into a “parking lot,” claiming the over 2 million Palestinians who live there are simply the tools of “people who just want to kill Jews.”Beck stated, “I think Israel should park their car there. You know what I mean? Park a lot of cars there. It could be, you know, some sort of a parking lot that they make it. … The Palestinian people have been used over and over again by people who just want to kill Jews. That's it. That's — that's been the thing from the very beginning." Blaze Radio, *The Glenn Beck Program*, [10/16/23]
- Salem radio guest: “I’m OK” with an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.During an appearance on Salem Media’s The Charlie Kirk Show, Breitbart writer Joel Pollak stated, “I don’t think it’s going to be something people consider, but it's there. It's a possibility, and frankly I'm OK with it. I say that at the risk of being accused of all kinds of stuff, but, you know, if it comes down to ethnic cleansing, if you want to cleanse my people, I'll cleanse yours first. I mean, that’s where we are.” Salem Media Group, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [10/9/23]
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sunk by trump twit globalist rino? --> voted to reject but then?
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3x 1 day
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-falsely-claims-there-has-been-no-federal-response-maui-wildfires
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-homelessness-they-should-be-mental-institutions-put-them-mental-asylums
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obligatory macho? // gaetz w trump iowa? use force
right cannot rule out violence?
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-responds-audience-question-about-forming-militias-you-needs-have-systems
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see RACISM, MISOGYNY, COASTAL ELITE
see plantation, NOTE GINGRICH DEVIL TERMS POLAR
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-says-democratic-party-coalition-includes-resentful-government-addicted
KIRK (HOST): And so that gives me hope.The ordinary man. The muscular class. Our movement long term is stronger than the Democrats.The Democrats, they are atemporary coalition between permanent, resentful, government addicted minorities and WHITE? people that want government benefits, Xanax and chardonnay wine moms, and resentful college educated white, liberal women who complain about everything with single women, and oligarchs. WORD SALAD? That's the Democrat Party.
Republicans are a multi-racial, small business, parents party, entrepreneurs, Hispanics, Blacks, all across the board. The Republican Party is a healthier party. Not left versus right, but top versus bottom. And that might not, that might not manifest itself this election. I'm just going to be honest. No guarantee. But if the Republican Party keeps this pace up as artificial intelligence starts to displace millions of jobs, as the technocrats try to redesign society, the Democrat coalition is going to shrink and shrink. All they have left is fringe social issues of trans zealots and as we say frequently the Aspen ski lift women who care so much about abortion that's all they vote on. I think it's a Potemkin village. I think it's a house of cards. I think it's an unsustainable political coalition.
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August 15, 2023
- Kandiss Taylor fumes after former President Donald Trump was indicted yet again: “We have a literal witch-hunt going on in GA against innocent men and woman and the man we elected President … Vengeance is [the] Lord’s, and it will come.”
- QAnon conspiracy theorist Dave Hayes is confident that, thanks to Q, Trump is in possession of “all electronic communications” that will conclusively prove election fraud and soon the military will “start cracking skulls and making arrests.”
- Ali Alexander declares that “Trump will be remembered for 1000 years MINIMUM or until Jesus Christ comes back and saves us from ourselves and these retards.”
- Charlie Kirk claims that “the entire book of Deuteronomy is a political book” that tells you “here’s how you set up the government, here’s how you should separate powers, you should have consent of the governed, you should have an independent judiciary.” No, it doesn’t.
- Finally, we are starting to get the impression thatElijah Schaffer and his audience are racist.
Tags: Ali Alexander Charlie Kirk Dave Hayes Donald Trump Elijah Schaffer Kandiss Taylor Leftovers
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// https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-dismisses-donald-trumps-fake-electors-scheme-politics
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https://www.mediamatters.org/one-america-news-network/oan-host-there-are-definitely-forces-unseen-realm-attempting-orchestrate
ALISON STEINBERG (HOST): So you stated in your speech at theTPUSA conference that the Democratic Party used to have loving Americans, but has now been hijacked by Marxist lunatics. You also went on to say that what we have today is not a fight between Republicans and Democrats, but a fight between good and evil, dark and light, and the godly against the godless. And not long ago, you were also criticized for saying that our opponents were demonic, that our opponents were satanic, and then you doubled down in a recent speech and said, quote, "I only said it because they are."And I have to say, Roger, I completely agree. I too feel that we're in this intense spiritual battle and there are definitely forces in the unseen realm attempting to orchestrate the demolition of America and the world as a whole.Could you please expand on this battle against the forces of evil that you touched on in your speech?
ROGER STONE: Sure. I think we're in a spiritual battle. Republican and Democrat -- that's a Hegelian device. That's Kabuki theater. The truth is that there is a ruling global elite. They dominate the leadership of both parties.They despise Donald Trump because his nomination in 2016 was essentially a hostile takeover of the party of Lincoln, restoring it to be the party of Goldwater, the party of Reagan, and now the party of Trump, the party of working people. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, which was once under John F. Kennedy and Harry Truman, a bulwark of anti-communism, that's been taken over by a bunch of radical leftist, Marxist, socialist, lunatics. And the game they play is right out of Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. So when they say that the probe into the Bidens is a distraction from the problems of Donald Trump, it's the exact other way around.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/turning-point-usa/turning-point-usa-influencers-are-playing-loose-ftc-regulations-social-media
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OMG
https://www.mediamatters.org/climate-deniers/15-nonsensical-comments-made-right-wing-media-during-2023s-summer-climate-fueled
15 nonsensical comments made by right-wing media during 2023’s summer of climate-fueled extreme weather events
Special PROGRAMS
CLIMATE & ENERGY
WRITTEN BY ALLISON FISHER
PUBLISHED 08/07/23
July 2023 was the earth’s hottest month on record, punctuated by record-shattering extreme heat events, catastrophic floods, and historic wildfires. While major media outlets sounded the alarm on the climate crisis, climate denial and downplay reached a fever pitch among right-wing media outlets and influencers.
Many in the right-wing media have downplayed the record heat — suggesting that it’s normal summer weather, despite clear evidence that the intensity of this summer’s heat waves would not have been possible without climate change — or dismissed its lethal impact by arguing that more people die of cold than heat. Others have said those linking July’s extreme weather to climate change are weaponizing these events to push a radical climate agenda or call for climate lockdowns.
Here are 15 other examples that illustrate the lengths to which right-wing media are going — often deploying nonsensical arguments or outright lies that attempt to ignore the fact that there is scientific consensus that carbon emissions are heating our planet— to maintain climate denial in the face of climate-fueled catastrophes:
1 in
- response to extreme weather that grounded planes in the Northeast, Fox host Rachel Campos-Duffy said the left is “trying to control the weather” and “trying to be God.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [7/3/23]
- Responding to calls for climate action, Newsmax host Eric Bolling denied that human activity is responsible for warming: “Real scientists, meaning those not purchased by the kings of propaganda, well, they’ll tell you there is actually no such thing as climate change.” Newsmax, Eric Bolling The Balance, [7/11/23]
- Fossil fuel shill Steve Milloy on Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt Tonight: “The Earth is greener than ever before. Have we affected the planet and wildlife? Yeah, sure. But you know, in the end, it's been, I think, positive. The Earth is carrying more life now than ever before thanks to warming, thanks to CO2, thanks to fossil fuel use.” Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, [7/11/23]
- Newsmax host Greg Kelly said that “LGBTQ+IA whatever has been kind of pushed so relentlessly. … I think climate change and the whole phony debate about it has something to do with it,” suggesting the goal is to decrease population in order to reduce climate impacts. Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, [7/11/23]
- Fox host Jesse Watters suggested that U.S. special presidential envoy for climateJohn Kerry made it “impossible” to believe in climate change because according to Watters he lied about using a private plane. Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [7/13/23]
- Conservative radio and Fox News host Mark Levin on his radioshow said climate change is a religion not based on science: “This is a religion. This is an ideology. This isn’t science. ...Don't you see how hot it is in Nevada? In the middle of the damn summer?It's what we have air conditioning for.”Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show, [7/13/23]
- Far-right media host Steven Crowder claims that carbon dioxide is not pollution because plants use it: “Is carbon dioxide the — basically, you know, the neurotoxin atmospheric poison that people make it out to be? Because you just pointed out plants thrive on it.” Rumble, Louder with Crowder, [7/15/23]
- Fox host Greg Gutfeld attempted to downplay the record-breaking heat with bizarre logic: “The problem with using weather — like saying, ‘This place broke records’ — how many states,how many countries didn't break records? Nobody ever provides you the context. They’re going, ‘Three countries had record-breaking heat waves.’ It’s like, well, how many countries are there?” Fox News, The Five, [7/17/23]
- The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh claimed that the record heat is not a result of human activity but the sun: “The sun … that’s what calls the shots on Earth. It determines the temperature. It determines everything in terms of weather. … And until you can figure out a way to literally control the sun, there is basically nothing we can do to intentionally and significantly raise, lower, or otherwise affect the temperature on Earth.” The Daily Wire, The Matt Walsh Show, [7/18/23]
- The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro: “Thank God we have this thing called air conditioning. … You know what’s a great cure for being super-duper hot outside? Being a first world country.” The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, [7/20/23]
- Fox Business host Larry Kudlow on America Reports: “This is not an overly hot July. ... Hot weather happens in some places; cooler weather happens in other places. We do not have a climate catastrophe.” Fox News, America Reports, [7/21/23]
- Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on climate science and why carbon dioxide is not pollution: “The science is not solid. The science is debated. They look at science as if it is religious, irrefutable dogma.” Kirk added, “The built-in premise of the climate hoax is carbon is bad. OK, well, carbon is life, actually. … Don’t plants thrive on carbon dioxide?” :{Real America’s Voice:(style="background-color:#ffff66ff"):}::{, The Charlie Kirk Show, :(style="background-color:#ffffffff"):}:[7/24/23:{]}:
- On The Ingraham Angle, American Majority founder Ned Ryun called climate change a “hoax”: “It is nothing more than an attempt to manipulate people into a state of fear to have them give more control over to a ruling elitewho would take this hoax and enforce it through a whole host of means.” Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, [7/27/23]
- :{:{On America’s Newsroom, fossil fuel shill Daniel Turner deliberately conflated weather with climate}:: “And if you look at the weather forecast for this great city, where I’m born and raised, next Friday is mid-70s. So we are in what's called a heat wave.” :{Fox News, America’s Newsroom:(style="background-color:#6633ffff"):}:, [7/28/23]}:
- Climate denier Marc Morano on Jesse Watters Primetime blamed global wildfires on arsonists, dismissing the role of climate change: “This is a global problem of people starting this. Now, is it climate change? Well, this would be the equivalent of blowing up a dam or sabotaging a dam and allowing a valley to flood and then saying, oh, look, climate change is causing more floods.” Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [7/28/23]
…
Next page
Related
Right-wing media deny climate change in face of deadly and record-breaking extreme weather event
07/20/23
Right-wing media downplay the hottest day in modern history with the help of Twitter’s community notes feature
07/11/23
Only 5% of national TV news segments on the record-shattering heat wave that scorched Texas mentioned climate change
07/03/23
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mma 8 23 no lnx vid
Charlie Kirk hosts white nationalist-approved “Students for Ye” organizer to complain about “white genocidal rhetoric”
The Charlie Kirk Show is produced by a former Fox writer who pushed white supremacist content on Tucker Carlson's show
WRITTEN BY JUSTIN HOROWITZ
PUBLISHED 07/27/23
During the July 27 edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, Kirk hosted right-wing writer and student organizerDaniel Schmidt to complain about “white genocidal rhetoric." In the past, Schmidt has made antisemitic comments on Twitter (now called X) and has been applauded by notorious white nationalists for pushing extremist rhetoric.
Schmidt is a University of Chicago studentwho gained media attention in 2022 for launching an online campaign targeting a professor who was planning to teach a class titled “The Problem of Whiteness” at the university. The professor reportedly received violent threats following Schmidt’s crusade to get the class removed from the course offerings.
During the interview on Kirk’s program, Schmidt discussed the backlash he received from the Fox News hits that he did earlier this month. Schmidt said that Fox removed interviews with him from its YouTube channel in the weeks following his interviews.
:{:{}:
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Schmidt said, “We are entering straight up anti-white genocidal rhetoric” during one of his Fox interviews.
During his conversation with Kirk, Schmidt also complained that “white people are not expected to speak up for white people” and that there is “pure racial hatred toward white people, and it’s everywhere.”
Video
CitationFrom the July 27, 2023, edition of Real America's Voice's The Charlie Kirk Show
Later in the interview, Schmidt complained about “white genocidal rhetoric.”
Video
CitationFrom the July 27, 2023, edition of Real America's Voice's The Charlie Kirk Show
Schmidt formerly organized “Students for Ye,” a grassroots group created to support rapper Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) potential campaign for president following the musician's unhinged pro-Nazi rants during which he denied the Holocaust and praised Nazis and Adolf Hitler.
Schmidt has also made antisemitic remarks on Twitter. Additionally, white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes has repeatedly applauded Schmidt for his far-right commentary, describing him as a “patriot.” Other white nationalists, including Kevin MacDonald and Peter Brimelow, have praised Schmidt's activism.
Daniel Schmidt Tweet 1
CitationScreenshot from Twitter
Last month, Media Matters learned that former Fox News writer Blake Neff, who helped push white nationalist content on former Fox host Tucker Carlson’s show, is Kirk’s new radio producer.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-joe-biden-should-be-put-prison-andor-given-death-penalty-crimes-against
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): I know what you're thinking, we've got to get Joe Biden out of the way so we can run against Kammy. Oh my goodness, is she beatable. It's like Black Hillary on steroids. Is she Black? I guess she says she's Caribbean or whatever. ...
She would be a lot easier to beat than Joe Biden. Joe Biden is a bumbling dementia filled Alzheimer's corrupt tyrant who should honestly be put in prison and/or given the death penalty for his crimes against America.
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rww 7 23
right-wing commentator and youth organizer Charlie Kirk has openly embraced the Christian nationalist worldview and political movement in recent years, and now he appears to have teamed up with self-proclaimed “Christocrat” Rick Scarborough. Their partnership is a reminder that the increasingly aggressive Christian nationalist movement is a threat to LGBTQ equality and to the rights and freedoms of all Americans who do not share their religious worldview and political ideology.
Scarborough has a long history of launching virulent attacks against LGBTQ people, calling them “sodomites” and declaring that AIDS is God’s “judgment as a result of an immoral act,” while insisting in 2015 that “God would probably give us the cure for AIDS today” if the U.S. stopped supporting gay rights.
Scarborough currently runs an organization called Recover America through which he has been leading an effort to take over school boards all across Texas in order to remove “godless educrats” and “expunge this entire state of every immoral book in the library.”
In an email sent out by his organization around the Independence Day holiday, Scarborough announced that Kirk will be headlining a Recover America eventin October and that the two will soon unveil a “Remnant Alliance” effort to mobilize “pastors and Christians across America” heading into the 2024 elections.[vids]
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an ah 7 23
ever since radio host Charlie Kirk, now 29, and the late Tea Party activist Bill Montgomery founded Turning Point USA in 2012, the group has been encouraging young Americans — first Millennials, now Generation Z — to not only vote Republican, but also, to vote for the GOP's most extreme members. TPUSA had strong Tea Party leanings in the beginning and later embraced Donald Trump's presidency and the far-right MAGA movement wholeheartedly.
Fox News and its sister channel Fox Business gave TPUSA plenty of favorable coverage in the past. But according to Daily Beast reporter Justin Baragona, Fox News "appears to have distanced itself" from the group — although not out of the goodness of its heart.
A Fox News insider, presumably interviewed on condition of anonymity, told the Beast, "Fox's relationship with Turning Point is basically over. They don't want their talent associated with them anymore."
READ MORE: 'Panicked' Fox News ousts producer behind 'wannabe dictator' Biden chyron
Baragona describes Turning Point's past events as "Fox-heavy affairs" that featured speeches from Laura Ingraham, Jeanine Pirro, Jesse Watters and other Fox hosts. But Fox News is distancing itself from TPUSA, according to Baragona, because it is "wary about letting its stars appear at conservative events with known election deniers and conspiracy theorists in the wake of Fox's massive $787.5-million settlement" with Dominion Voting Systems. That includes the 2023 Turning Point Action Conference, abbreviated ActCon.
After the 2020 presidential election, Fox News promoted the false, thoroughly debunked claim that Dominion's equipment had been used to help now-President Joe Biden steal the election from then-President Donald Trump. Dominion responded with a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, and Fox News avoided a trial by agreeing to pay the company $787.5 million. Fox News is still facing a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion competitor Smartmatic.
"Further suggesting a link between Dominion and Fox's break-up with TPUSA is the fact that ActCon 2023's keynote speaker is Donald Trump, whose election lies directly led to Fox's Dominion mess," Baragona reports. "Trump will appear this weekend on Fox's air, however, in a more controlled environment, via a sit-down interview with Maria Bartiromo."
The Beast reporter adds, "Other 2020 deniers and January 6 organizers scheduled for ActCon speeches include Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, and Steve Bannon. Furthermore, Kirk himself has been outspoken in his belief that the 2020 vote was 'stolen' from Trump."
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Satan created a “woke mind virus.”
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-figures-prepare-spiritual-war-2024-claiming-their-opponents-are-demonic
no lnx many vid
right-wing media figures prepare for “spiritual war” in 2024 by claiming their opponents are demonic entities
Figures have invoked “demonic portals” and the occult to dehumanize LGBTQ people, perceived political enemies, and others
WRITTEN BY PAYTON ARMSTRONG & NOAH DOWE
PUBLISHED 07/05/23
Right-wing media figures are ramping up apocalyptic political rhetoric that literally demonizes LGBTQ people, perceived political enemies, and progressive causes, with some absurdly suggesting that demons are using portals to enter Earth and wage “spiritual war” against humanity.
Rhetoric about “demonic” influence and an existential, “spiritual” war has become a hallmark of right-wing punditry and Republican politics ahead of the 2024 elections, as Christian nationalism grows in popularity among Republican voters. Language that demonizes and dehumanizes political opponents has been a staple of right-wing commentary for years, but these recent accusations are not simple rhetorical flourishes; a number of media figures have begun to warn their audiences about occult rituals from the left and supposed portals to hell from which demons would enter the Earth. Last year, Trump ally and provocateur Roger Stone even claimed that a “Satanic portal” had opened over the White House after President Joe Biden took office.
This sort of framing, which posits that political enemies are literal “demons” waging a “spiritual war,” stems largely from a right-wing Christian movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation. For years, the NAR movement has reportedly sought “to take dominion over politics, business and culture in preparation for the end times and the return of Jesus.” Rolling Stone described the core NAR belief in spiritual war in a profile of one of the movement’s leading figures, commentator and self-proclaimed prophet Lance Wallnau:
NAR followers like Wallnau believe that America is specially anointed by God to project Christianity across the globe. And the NAR movement’s followers view foes of their quest as satanic. This is not metaphorical. They hold that the physical world is enveloped by a supernatural dimension, featuring warring angels and demons, and are convinced that demons afflict their enemies on behalf of the devil. The movement holds that these spiritual battles are reflected in earthly politics. As the late NAR founder C. Peter Wagner explained in a striking NPR interview in 2011: “I believe there’s a lot of demonic control over Congress … that needs to be dispersed.”
Fiery rhetoric of a spiritual war coupled with demonization of opponents has created an atmosphere in which violence appears permissible and justifiable to followers. For instance, the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was largely undergirded and inspired by boisterous cries of spiritual warfare from prominent figures on the religious right — including Wallnau — who have conditioned their audiences to consider political violence a legitimate tactic.
Over the last two years, right-wing media figures have increasingly adopted the scorched-earth rhetoric of movements like the NAR, setting the stage for a potentially dangerous political atmosphere in 2024. Here are a number of examples:
Right-wing media figures have suggested that demons are entering Earth, with some claiming they are using actual “portals” to hell
On several occasions, prominent right-wing media figures have claimed that demons are using “portals” to attack conservative causes or even fearmongered that Satan created a “woke mind virus.”
Right-wing media gadfly Roger Stone — who observers have noted has increasingly adopted rhetoric around “spiritual war” — claimed on Eric Metaxas’ Salem radio show that “a demonic portal” had been visible above the White House since Biden’s inauguration. Stone suggested that through the “portal,” demons began to “populate the Biden administration,” arguing “you can’t tell whether they are men or women.”
Video
Citation From a December 11, 2022, video posted to Eric Metaxas' Rumble page:
Salem media host Charlie Kirk said that “we’re in the midst of the most consequential spiritual war” in millennia because “there is no other way to explain thecampaign of arson and destruction against our country other than diabolical, spiritually dark influences that are fighting for dominion over this nation.” He also argued that “witchcraft and the occult is a real thing,and there are portals to darkness and you have to be vigilant about this.” Kirk also alleged that Satan had created “the woke mind virus” to destroy America and called on religious leaders to “excommunicate … the demons of the woke.”
Video an episode of Real Life with Jack Hibbs, aired on Fox Business Network on May 6, 2023
Conspiracy theorist and Infowars host Alex Jones warned that the European Council for Nuclear Research had used the Large Hadron Collider for “satanic rituals” which he claimed “definitely has opened up a gate” to hell and let demons into the Earth “like paratroopers.” Jones has also claimed that an “alien offworld force” with demons as its agents is “working against us around the clock because they know we are about to go from our embryonic level to birthing into the next level.” What’s more, in his trial for defamation of the families of the Sandy Hook massacre, Jones attacked the judge and plaintiffs’ lawyers as “committed to occult ideology of the new world order” and implied they were “demonically possessed.”
Video
CitationFrom the April 11, 2022, edition of Infowars' The Alex Jones Show
Daily Wire host Michael Knowles said of reports of interactions with aliens: “Aliens are just demons for liberals who don't want to admit metaphysical reality."
Right-wing media figures have labeled LGBTQ people, gender-affirming care, and abortion “demonic”
Conservative media figures have also revved up their attacks on trans people, LGBTQ Pride month, and abortion by claiming they are inspired by “demons in our society.”
Knowles — who demanded this year that so-called “transgenderism” be “eradicated from public life entirely” — claimed that trans people are “demonic” and that demons are “always trans.”
Video
CitationFrom the March 14, 2023, edition of The Daily Wire's The Michael Knowles Show
On her prime-time Fox News show, Laura Ingraham referred to gender-affirming care as “a demonic campaign to destroy the natural biological order.”
Daily Wire host Candace Owens called trans people “demons in our society” and smeared “any actor, actress, individual that supports this” as “demonic.” Owens has also argued that surrogacy is “deeply demonic.”
Video
CitationFrom the February 7, 2023, edition of The Daily Wire's Candace Owens
On Fox, now-former host Tucker Carlson used the Covenant School shooting in Tennessee to falsely claim that “the trans movement is targeting Christians, including with violence,” and denounced the trans community as part of “a deranged and demonic ideology.”
On YouTube, BlazeTV’s Liz Wheeler said that “if you took the three most disgusting, demonic ideologies that you could possibly think of and put them all in one flag you would get the trans flag.”
Doomsday prophet and repeat Trinity Broadcast Network guest Jonathan Cahn recently declared that Biden had put the United States under “demonic possession” at the hands of an ancient goddess of “sexual immorality” by lighting up the White House in the colors of the rainbow for LGBTQ Pride.
Two days after a shooter killed five people in a Colorado Springs LGBTQ club, Infowars host Owen Shroyer ran footage of drag queens and questioned whether “these people are even human,” ranting: “Demon possession is real. Satanic agendas are real. I don’t know how else to describe any of this.”
Video
CitationFrom the November 22, 2022, edition of Infowars' The Alex Jones Show
BlazeTV host Steve Deace partnered with far-right Christian filmmakers Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon to produce a right-wing movie that argued humanity is engaged in a spiritual war against demonic forces such as abortion and LGBTQ equality. On his podcast, in an episode titled “Hot Take: Demonic or Democrats?” Deace said that people who advertise drag story hours are “literally inhabited by a demon” and are “a manifestation of a demonic presence.”
Salem Radio host Eric Metaxas and his guest John Zmirak proclaimed that Satan himself was behind the LGBTQ rights movement, with Zmirak decrying “blasphemous drag queen rituals, in your church, mocking Christ” and comparing the Pride flag to an inverted pentagram, claiming Satan “wants you to use the pronoun they.” Metaxas then warned his audience that if they did not boycott companies that celebrate Pride Month, they would be comparable to Germans who failed to stop the Holocaust, saying, “The death camps were the result of good people saying, ‘I don’t want to deal with this. Just let me live my life.’”
Christian nationalist pastor Jack Hibbs, whose sermons air on Fox Business Network, declared that transgender people are “satanic,” saying that in “the last days there’s going to be doctrines of demons and deceiving spirits. Wonder what that’s going to be like? You’re in it.” Per Right Wing Watch, Hibbs has also claimed that "demonism” has caused public support for trans rights.
Christian nationalist influencer and repeat Fox guest Sean Feucht has described abortion and the movement for trans rights as demonic, ascribing public support to “demons” and “the demonic spirit.” Feucht is closely associated with prominent NAR movement leaders and “apostles.”
Right-wing radio host Jesse Kelly said that “we have a society so full of demons that baby murder is now popular” and also referred to the LGBTQ community as “the LGTBQ demon mob.”
Lance Wallnau, a contributor for The Victory Channel’s Christian nationalist show FlashPoint, has repeatedly invoked demons while discussing LGBTQ people. In an April show, Wallnau said that transgender people represent “a fundamental deception” and that accepting them has made society “sympathetic with evil.” Wallnau said that demons target people to make them trans, saying, “I believe a demon comes along that enters into that confusion that affirms that they are the opposite gender.” Per Right Wing Watch, Wallnau also claimed that people become trans because "Satan has taken 'em over with crazy talk about them being in the wrong bodies.”
Video
CitationFrom the April 13, 2023, edition of The Victory Channel's Flashpoint
Right-wing media personalities have also warned that Democrats and other perceived enemies are “demonic” and “satanic”
Far-right Christian media figures and prominent right-wing commentators have told their audiences that the left is engaged with “satanic worship” and “demonic forces,” rationalizing ideological opposition as a product of the “demon-possessed.”
Fox prime-time host Jesse Watters claimed that viewers should be afraid of “demonic teachers” interested in “turning their classroom into a drag show.”
Carlson warned on Glenn Beck’s show that there are “spiritual forces surrounding” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), calling him “a force of darkness.”
On a FlashPoint broadcast, contributor and pastor Hank Kunneman told viewers that “we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but principalities, powers, spiritual wickedness in high places — you know, demonic entities.” Earlier in the episode, Wallnau said that tragedies in society such as mass shootings should be understood through a lens where “you don’t deal with current events, you deal with a demonic spin cycle.”
BlazeTV founder and longtime conspiracy theorist Glenn Beck proclaimed that the 2020 election was not contested against Democrats, but against “Satan himself,” which he claimed was prophesied to him in a dream. Beck has an extensive history of linking progressives to “the devil” and warning of “demonic” influence.
Disgraced Trump ally-turned-podcast-host Steve Bannon suggested that Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is “satanic” because he “exudes … pure evil” and “hangs with Satanic Groomers.”
During his Christian nationalist ReAwaken America Tour, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn has frequently asserted that there is a “spiritual war” in America. He has also called former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) a “demon.”
Right-wing podcast host Benny Johnson attacked the grand jury forewoman investigating Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference in Georgia, calling her “borderline demonic” and “demon-possessed.” He has also claimed that “you can see demonic forces at work" in Schiff's district, claiming that the congressman is “on the side of the demons.” Johnson has previously embraced the rhetoric of spiritual warfare, saying, “This rabbit hole goes down so far into the occult … This is a spiritual battle. This is a battle of possession, and there are stages of demonic possession, and we are in the oppression stage right now.”
Far-right pundit Stew Peters fearmongered about “SatanCon,” an event that is hosted by “a progressive church that doesn't worship the devil but instead uses the word to get attention,” claiming it was evidence of “full-blown satanic worship” in America. His guest, Sean Feucht, insisted that we are witnessing “the total unveiling of this demonic realm, this demonic spirit.” Feucht then warned that these alleged forces of Satan were “agitated and upset and trying everything they can do to intimidate Christians.”
On his BlazeTV podcast, Deace called the Democratic Party “a demonic construct, a satanically influenced entity, and a death cult.”
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huh?
bizarroworld: he ignored INDUSTRY concerns
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-suggests-ceo-oceangate-killed-himself-and-his-customers-wokeness
kIRK (HOST):Again, I don’t want overly politicized it. That’s the left’s job. What the left did yesterday was they were saying "Well, OceanGate has a history of donating to Republicans," as if that’s like a super relevant thing, right? There are six people that are running out of oxygen, thirteen thousand to surface, we think, and the Daily Beast sends out a story, but you have to know about their political donations. These people are repugnant, repulsive, and disgusting for publishing an article like that. It is, however, separate to say that, do you get your best in life, do you get excellence, if you care about things that don’t matter?
:{:{}:
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If it is true, this person tragically passes away, the CEO of OceanGate and he says that he was choosing and selecting his personnel based on not wanting to have fifty-year-old white guys, then you could make the argument, albeit rather cruel and blunt, he killed himself and his customers with wokeness.
...
Let this be a warning when we say that, "we want to hire more Black pilots." Hold on, slow down. People could die if you embrace the poison of wokeness
===
mma 6 23
pro school shooter drills?
In addition to skirting Instagram’s policies, Roux is seemingly violating FTC rules by promoting Amend2 without clearly disclosing her material relationship with the brand [pix]
roux stocked up on magazines in an unlabeled May 2023 post promoting Amend2’s monthly magazine subscription service: “Not complaining about my collection of colorful mags from @amend2mags,” Roux wrote. “They have a monthly subscription for specialty mags that sell out FAST and don’t come back. Check out my website or theirs for info.” Roux also promoted AMEND2’s “monthly mag delivery” service in November 2022. Roux did not add disclosures to that post, either.
- Roux tagged Amend2 magazines at the bottom of a May 2023 video, noting that the company provided magazines for a gun training sponsored by the Arizona State University chapter of Turning Point USA. Roux boasted, “60 students, 20 rounds each, no malfunctions.” This appears to violate FTC guidelines, as disclosures must be clear and prominent; followers are more likely to miss disclosures placed at the end of posts, so the FTC directs influencers to place endorsements at the beginning.
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mma 6 23
Blake Neff, a former writer for Fox’s now-defunct Tucker Carlson Tonight who resigned from the show in 2020 following revelations that he made racist and sexist posts in an online forum, has resurfaced on Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s radio show, apparently as a producer.
In July 2020, CNN’s Oliver Darcy reported that Neff, then the top writer for Tucker Carlson’s show, had been anonymously posting racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and other offensive content on an online forum for five years. Neff used racist and homophobic slurs, referred to women in a derogatory manner, and pushed white supremacist content while writing for Carlson’s show. Neff resigned after CNN contacted him for comment.
On the website for The Charlie Kirk Show, Neff is identified as “producer Blake.” In addition to appearing on that show, Neff has also joined Kirk on a new panel show called THOUGHTCRIME.
Neff appeared with Kirk on the first episode of THOUGHTCRIME, a new weekly panel show streamed live exclusively on Kirk’s Rumble channel that’s apparently co-hosted by Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec. Kirk introduced Neff as “very high-IQ Blake,” saying, “And we’re really honored to have Blake on our team — he’s great. And the most, let’s just say, awful people in the world tried to destroy Blake’s life and we’re not going to let that happen.” Later he added, “We love Blake and he does a great job.”
In a prerecorded introduction attached to the audio-only version of the show, Kirk described THOUGHTCRIME as “R-rated,” with “rather graphic elements,” and “not homeschool friendly.”
On June 21, Neff appeared again onSalem Radio Network’s The Charlie Kirk Show to discuss the submersible vessel carrying four tourists and a captain that got lost while diving to the Titanic shipwreck. Kirk described Neff as “our resident submarine expert,” and a chyron identified Neff as “The Charlie Kirk Show Submarine expert.” Neff described the plight of the lost vessel story as “refreshing” as far as news cycles go.
After the break, Kirk referred to Neff as “part of” the new weekly panel show. Neff also said, “I don’t want to say, like, you should not” go on a submersible vessel seemingly operated on a video game controller.[vid]
during THOUGHTCRIME, the panelists repeatedly used an anti-trans slur and discussed the X-rated topic of “glory holes” in response to The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh’s claim on Twitter that “Fox Corp is celebrating Pride by encouraging employees to read about ‘“glory holes.’”
This type of talk stands out coming from Kirk, not only because of the raunchy topic, but also because of how it contrasts with the self-righteous Christian nationalist rhetoric he’s embraced over the last year with the launch of Turning Point USA Faith, an initiative to propagandize young people by setting up Turning Point USA chapters in their churches.
“What is a glory hole?” asked Kirk.
“Oh my sweet summer child,” responded Neff.
Kirk then Googled it live on air.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/turning-point-usa/tpusa-influencers-hawk-weapons-and-ammunition-instagram-followers-circumventing
influencers affiliated with the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA are circumventing Instagram’s ban on branded content that promotes weapons and ammunition.
TPUSA recruited hunting industry influencer Kendall Jones and firearms instructor Paige Roux as part of its larger influencer marketing campaign to sell conservative politics to young Americans. When they’re not promoting TPUSA events like the Young Women’s Leadership Summit to their respective 260,000 and 105,000 Instagram followers, Jones and Roux are engaged in dishonest influencer marketing tactics for weapons and weapon accessories, seemingly in violation of Instagram parent company Meta’s policies.
In 2019, Instagram barred influencers from promoting weapons and weapon parts in branded content, which is defined as “content that features or is influenced by a business partner for an exchange of value, such as monetary payment or free gifts.” Despite the ban, weapons companies still rely on influencers to push their products because they’re effective marketers who can help brands sidestep platform rules.
As brand ambassadors for various weapons industry companies, both Jones and Roux have built relationships with and received material benefits from weapons manufacturers — including free firearm magazines and crossbows. However, Jones and Roux aren’t disclosing their material relationships to these brands in tagged content, effectively dodging Instagram’s ban on weapon promotions in branded content and potentially violating Federal Trade Commission rules.
Instagram and Federal Trade Commission regulations on branded content, explained:
In 2019, Meta introduced regulations that ban influencers from promoting weapons and ammunition — including firearms, firearm parts, silencers, suppressors, and other weapons intended for self-defense — in branded content. Instagram also requires that branded content include paid-partnership labels.
Branded content is subject to even stricter regulations set by the FTC, which has cracked down on influencer marketing in recent years in an attempt to protect consumers from deceptive social media advertising. Under FTC rules, influencers must disclose their material relationship with a brand clearly and in a hard-to-miss place on every image, video, and caption when posting affiliate codes, discounts, advertisements, and tagged content. On Instagram, all content with a material connection to a business partner, such as an affiliate link or discount code, should have a disclosure. This disclosure can take the form of a prominently displayed hashtag (e.g. #ad, #paid, #sponsored) or word of thanks for a free product or service.
Despite the fact that noncompliance can result in restrictions on an Instagram account or hefty fines from the FTC, unlabeled branded content — including advertisements for prohibited goods such as firearms, firearm parts, and other weapons — perpetually plagues Instagram.
TPUSA’s Kendall Jones regularly posts unlabeled branded content promoting guns and crossbows on Instagram
Kendall Jones is a brand partner with Guns.com, one of America’s largest online gun retailers, and TenPoint Crossbow Technologies, a crossbow manufacturer that also sells hunting gear. Jones regularly posts unlabeled branded content promoting Guns.com and TenPoint products, including weapons, in violation of Meta policies.
Jones has added disclosures like “#partner” and “#ad” to promotional posts for Guns.com in the past, but many of her recent posts advertising new guns and gear lack proper disclosures. Guns.com has both affiliate and ambassador programs. Affiliates receive 3% to 8% commission on product sales, and although Guns.com is not transparent about its ambassador perks, it is typical for influencers to receive payments and free gear from sponsors in exchange for reviews, videos, giveaways, contests, and more
[pix]
while the captions themselves can be vague, weapons are the focal point of Jones’ Guns.com promo posts:
- An April 2023 post directed followers to “Check out @gunsdotcom for your one stop shop for all pew pew related wants/needs,” tagging Guns.com in the caption and on the image of Jones shooting a pistol. The post contained no disclaimer.
- A March 2023 post told followers to “head over to @gunsdotcom to find the newest lucky charm to add to your collection.” Jones posed with a pistol sticking out of her concealed-carry leggings. The post contained no disclaimer.
- In a February 2023 post tagging Guns.com, Jones posed with two large semiautomatic rifles, asking followers, “which one you choosin?!” The post contained no disclaimer, but did instruct followers to “let @gunsdotcom help you show your Valentine some love!”
- An August 2022 posttold followers to “check out their certified used guns for BIG savings on great quality products” ahead of “the #LaborDay sales that are going to happen on @gunsdotcom!” Jones paired the caption, which did not include a disclaimer with a video of her shooting a fully automatic rifle at the CMMG gun factory.
Jones also posts unlabeled branded promotions for her partner TenPoint Crossbows, including posts promoting new weapons. TenPoint Crossbows sponsors Jones’ youth hunting program, and Jones has an active affiliate code with the website. While TenPoint is not transparent about its affiliate benefits, Instagram and the FTC’s regulations on affiliate marketing require that Jones disclose her material relationship with TenPoint whenever she promotes the brand to her followers[pix]
- ones encouraged followers to “check out the NEW 2023 @tenpointcrossbows lineup” featured in her Instagram, highlighting TenPoint’s Nitro 505, Stealth 450, Titan Decock, and Viper 430. The February 2023 video seemingly violated Instagram policies banning influencers from promoting weapons in branded content. It also contained no disclosures about Jones’ affiliate relationship with TenPoint — another apparent violation.
- Jones promoted TenPoint’s “new crossbow— the Viper 430” in a tagged Instagram video posted two days before Christmas 2022. Jones did not disclose her relationship with the brand to followers.
- Jones tagged TenPoint Crossbows in several posts from 2022 promoting her TenPoint-sponsored “Pass It On” campaign, which teaches young children about hunting. Jones did not clearly disclose her material relationship with TenPoint.
TPUSA’s Paige Roux regularly posts unlabeled branded content promoting guns and gun parts on Instagram
Amend2 Magazines counts firearms instructor and TPUSA ambassador Paige Roux as one of the “brand ambassadors, friends, and loyal supporters who love pushing our brand and our message.” While Amend2 is not transparent about ambassador benefits, Roux has thankedAmend2 for free magazines on Instagram. The TPUSA influencer regularly promotes Amend2’s products and services to her 105,000 followers in a likely violation of Instagram’s branded content policies and ban on promoting gun parts.
In addition to skirting Instagram’s policies, Roux is seemingly violating FTC rules by promoting Amend2 without clearly disclosing her material relationship with the brand [pix]
roux stocked up on magazines in an unlabeled May 2023 post promoting Amend2’s monthly magazine subscription service: “Not complaining about my collection of colorful mags from @amend2mags,” Roux wrote. “They have a monthly subscription for specialty mags that sell out FAST and don’t come back. Check out my website or theirs for info.” Roux also promoted AMEND2’s “monthly mag delivery” service in November 2022. Roux did not add disclosures to that post, either.
- Roux tagged Amend2 magazines at the bottom of a May 2023 video, noting that the company provided magazines for a gun training sponsored by the Arizona State University chapter of Turning Point USA. Roux boasted, “60 students, 20 rounds each, no malfunctions.” This appears to violate FTC guidelines, as disclosures must be clear and prominent; followers are more likely to miss disclosures placed at the end of posts, so the FTC directs influencers to place endorsements at the beginning.
- Roux plugged Amend2’s magazines in an unlabeled branded video from April 2023. The video showed Roux shooting with Amend2 magazines at a shooting range. She tagged Amend2 in the video and caption, writing, “PS- you can find fun mags at @amend2mags.” To comply with FTC and platform rules, Roux must add disclosures to the video and captions.
- Roux promoted Amend2’s Christmas-themed magazines in another deceptive Instagram video posted two days before Christmas 2022. The text over the unboxing video read, “Christmas came early.” Both the video and caption are missing FTC and Instagram-compliant disclosures.
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https://www.alternet.org/right-wing-media-2661654976/
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mAGA Republicans can be highly disdainful of anything they consider "green," be it wind and solar power, recycling or electric vehicles. Now, some of them are raging against new electric cars for not including AM radio.
The Guardian's Katie Thornton reports that Volkswagen and Mazda are joining Volvo, Tesla, BMW and Audi in excluding AM radio from their electric cars. They view it as a technical matter, while Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and far-right radio host Mark Levin are saying it is a conspiracy against far-right talk radio.
Thornton, in a report for The Guardian published on June 21, notes that some companies "have already dispensed with AM in their electric cars, because AM's already unpolished reception is subject to even more buzz, crackling."
READ MORE: 'That's not appropriate': Fox News host slams Steve Bannon for attacking the right-wing media network
"While some manufacturers have found workarounds for the interference," Thornton explains, "others appear to have decided that it's not worth the engineering expense."
Levin is furious, telling listeners, "They finally figured out how to attack conservative talk radio." Similarly, Kirk, on his radio show, claimed, "Whether they're doing this intentionally or not, the consequence will be.… an all-out attack on AM radio."
Cruz claims, "There's a reason big car companies were open totaking down AM radio.… Let's be clear: big business doesn't like things that are overwhelmingly conservative."
Thornton delves into the history of radio in her article, noting that "in the 1920s, when AM was all there was, listeners would gather around neighborhood and living room radio sets to hear everything from music to boxing matches, soap operas, and presidential speeches." But in the 1960s, she adds, FM — thanks to its superior sound quality — "overtook AM as the band of choice."
READ MORE: 'Fox News in Spanish': The new right-wing media outlet courting Latino voters
"Many music stations deserted AM, leaving it floundering in lo-fi isolation and struggling to secure advertising dollars, until it found its salvation in talk radio,"Thornton observes. "Initially, there was a wide variety of political perspectives on AM, but the deregulation of content and consolidation of ownership of radio during the 1980s edged many minority voices and local owners off the air…. These days, AM radio is somewhat synonymous in the public imagination with conservative blowhards, a place where false claims about the 2020 election, racist notions of a 'Great Replacement' and other conspiracy theories fester and escape into the atmosphere without accountability."
Thornton continues, "Far-right programming is not only ubiquitous, it's monotonous.… But the idea that AM radio is made up of nothing more than conservative talk is a myth that has dangerous implications for the medium."
READ MORE: Revealed: The text that toppled Tucker Carlson
The Guardian's full report is available at this link.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-calls-juneteenth-neo-segregationist-federal-holiday-and-pagan-garbage
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Turning Point's summit for young women:
The Turning Point USA Young Women's Leadership Summit is sponsored by a shady police nonprofit
06/10/23
The weekend of June 9 will bring the Turning Point USA Young Women’s Leadership Summit back to Texas. The three-day event, which promises to be a hotbed of transphobic, staunchly anti-feminist propaganda and fearmongering about contraceptives and trans women, is sponsored in part by a sketchy nonprofit that fundraises off deceptive, pro-police appeals to right-wing media audiences.
Last year’s YWLS event was billed as a “celebration of freedom and femininity” for “cuteservatives,” and speakers told attendees that their mission was to find a conservative husband to settle down and have children with.
This year, the event will be sponsored in part by the National Police Association, a shady nonprofit that seeks to bring “attention to the anti-police efforts challenging effective law enforcement.” But a 2019 investigative report from the IndyStar revealed that the organization does not have the support of local police departments, and local police chiefs call it a “scam.”
The IndyStar reported that the NPA fundraises based on the assumption that donations go directly toward supporting police officers, with letters sent to “vulnerable people” asking for donations to “give our law enforcement officers the crime prevention tools they need.” According to the IndyStar, these donations do not go to police agencies, and the outlet found that “only 25 percent of the group’s spending went to programming.” The letters the NPA sends paint “a dystopian picture of communities and police departments under attack,” even if the picture is plainly false:
The National Police Association's fundraising letters raise different issues depending on the city.
Fundraising letters in Germantown, Wisconsin, last year falsely warned that Germantown is a sanctuary city, a term that refers to states and municipalities that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
“Countless Americans have already been robbed, mugged, raped and even murdered as a direct result of Sanctuary policies of allowing known criminals to remain on the streets,” one copy of a National Police Association letter says, adding, “your gift of $15 is needed to reach citizens like you ... so they realize the kind of risks they're facing because their elected officials have allowed their communities to become sanctuaries for violent criminals.”
Germantown Police Chief Peter Hoell told IndyStar the group “must not have researched the demographics.”
“It’s so far-fetched, especially if you know Germantown,” Hoell said of the sanctuary city claim. “It’s a highly conservative community.”
Hoell told residents to disregard the letter. He also reported the National Police Association to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service over what he considered to be fraudulent mail.
“It’s a scam,” Hoel said. “It’s no different than any other scam — just a different angle.”
The IndyStar reported that the NPA’s three employees were volunteers who were not paid by the organization.According to the report, founder Eddie Hutchison — a full-time fraud investigator for the Indiana attorney general's office — worked just a few hours per week and received no income from the NPA in 2019. This appears to no longer be true, as the group’s 2021 tax filings show thatHutchison was paid $96,000 for an average of 100 hours of work per week. The other two executives listed on the form, Derek Peterson and Brad Shaw, reportedly work an average of 0.24 and 0.12 hours per week and receive $58,113 and $28,000, respectively.
Even the NPA’s website shows that not much of its donation income goes toward helping police departments directly — grants for training or gear, it says, are limited to $1,000 per year.
The NPA’s stances are standard pro-police talking points found across right-wing media. In 2021, the group also came out against the COVID-19 vaccine, even though the illness was the leading cause of police deaths. The same year, the NPA ran a campaign called “Stop Filming & Start Helping” in an effort to refocus attention from police violence to police being “assaulted on the job.” The NPA website also features a “Wall of Shame” with articles about people and policies the group sees as “coddling criminals.”
NPA spokesperson Betsy Brantner Smith, who is scheduled to speak at YWLS, uses her Twitter account primarily to spread awareness about anti-police violence but also to applaud anti-LGBTQ hate from Megyn Kelly and retweet attacks against Kohl’s and Target for selling Pride merch. Smith is a frequent guest on Newsmax, where she agrees with hosts that crime is out of control and that police need to be protected, offering little else.
[vid]
the organization also thrives off of filing lawsuits seemingly intended primarily to generate right-wing media attention for the NPA itself.
In April, the group filed a lawsuit pressing Nashville police to release the manifesto of the Covenant School shooter, which the school and parents filed separate motions to counter, citing safety concerns and asking time to allow surviving students to “finish the school year in peace.” NPA responded by saying the parents’ lawsuit is an “obvious expression of anguish seeking sympathy,” and “they will experience even greater suffering if they obtain a denial of public access that results in more school children being murdered.”
In December 2022, the NPA sued an Ohio homeowners association for telling a resident to take down his “thin blue line” flag, a pro-police symbol that has been increasingly embraced by and associated with white supremacists.
Shortly after the original IndyStar report, the NPA also sued two officers who told the outlet that the organization was a scam.
Ahead of this year’s YWLS, Turning Point USA recently took a hit over another one of its event sponsors, Rightside Up, whose founder is a registered sex offender convicted in 2014 of “attempted ‘coercion and enticement’ after trying to persuade ‘a minor female’ to ‘engage in sexual activity.’”
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Candace Owens to TPUSA's Young Women's Leadership Summit: “Every ill that we are fighting right now in society has been brought forth by women”
06/10/23
Charlie Kirk tells the “Young Women's Leadership Summit”: “Most importantly please become a wife and start a family”
06/10/23
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Count yourself lucky to have missed Turning Point USA'sYoung Women's Leadership Summit, which took place this past weekend, June 9-11, 2023, in Dallas Texas. Billed on its website as the "largest event in the country for female conservatives," it featured keynote speeches by far-right darlings Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kari Lake, Charlie Kirk, Lara Trump, Candace Owens, Laura Ingraham, and more.
TPUSA describes the event:
Turning Point USA's Young Women's Leadership Summit will be held June 9-11th, 2023, in Dallas, TX. Thousands of female student activists between the ages of 15 and 26 will be invited to attend. Students attending this retreat will hear from guest speakers, receive first-class activism and leadership training, and participate in networking events with political leaders and top-tier activist organizations. Following a TPUSA conference, these activists return to their campuses more energized than ever and with the proper tools and training on how to defend conservatism on their campuses. Be part of the largest gathering of young, conservative students!
Below are some highlights, which I compiled from the TPUSA Twitter feed and the Patriot Takes Twitter feed.
Here's Lauren Boebert's transphobic rant against Target. Patriot Takes explains: "Lauren Boebert falsely claimed Target sold 'tuck-friendly swimsuits for tots' during her transphobic stage routine at TPUSA's #YWLS2023. Boebert: 'Ladies, I have one question for Target. What the tuck?'"
Here's Charlie Kirk with some more transphobia, as he encourages the audience to harass trans folks at their schools:
Here's former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines going on a transphobic rant (with audience cheers) about NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas. At least Riley uses Lia's real name, unlike TPUSA, whose tweet uses Lia's deadname.
Here's Kari Lake praising women, saying young women can have both a career and a family, and exclaiming "we're not gender confused!":
Here's Candace Owens discussing the "globalist agenda to enslave humanity":
And here's Candace Owens ranting against "liberal college professors":
Here's Marjorie Taylor Greene saying that Satan hates women because he's jealous—he wanted to be the most beautiful one and wanted to be able to create life, so he's all mad now:
Here's Alex Clark, host of TPUSA's pop culture show, POPlitics (could they have come up with a more awkward name?), claiming that every single person who has had an abortion eventually feels guilt and shame:
This year's summit website also included a link to their official 120-song Spotify playlist, which includes many artists who would, undoubtedly, be horrified to be associated with TPUSA, including ABBA, Cyndi Lauper, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, and Beyonce.
In case you need a primer, here's a quick overview of Turning Point USA. According to the American Association of University Professors:
Turning Point USA is a right-wing nonprofit with the stated mission "to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government."
Turning Point maintains the Professor Watchlist. It claims that the purpose of the watchlist is to identify professors who "discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the class- room," but most entries are not about instances of discrimination or propagandizing in the classroom. Many entries on the Professor Watchlist concern faculty members' social media posts or scholarly publications. In a number of instances, listings have led to campaigns of online harassment against faculty members.
Turning Point's budget of over eight million dollars is funded by donors, many of whom prefer to remain anonymous. However, founder Charlie Kirk admits that donors include those "in the fossil-fuel space"— perhaps why Turning Point has organized campus opposition to calls for schools to divest from fossil-fuel companies.
Turning Point actively recruits and provides financial support to conservative candidates running for stu- dent government positions. At several institutions, Turning Point candidates have dropped out of races after it was discovered that they had violated university spending rules.
Turning Point claims to have "over 300 chapters on college campuses across the country."
Turning Point may have violated federal rules prohibiting 501(c)(3) charities from engaging in political ac- tivity by aiding Republican political campaigns, according to reports in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the New Yorker.
DeSmog also has a great overview of TPUSA.
COMMENTS
ALEX CLARK CANDACE OWENS CHARLIE KIRK DEPLORABLES KARI LAKE LAUREN BOEBERT MAGA MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE RILEY GAINES TPUSA TURNING POINT USA YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
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rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told a group of women Sunday that Satan hated them because they could have babies.
While appearing at Turning Point USA's Young Women's Leadership Conference, Greene told her version of the biblical creation myth.
"Ladies, you have a great enemy," Greene said. "And it hates you because of who you are. Because you're a woman."
"You see, if you pay close attention to scripture, all the way back in Genesis, it talks about the creation of everything we see, know, feel, hear, everything that exists," she continued. "And it talks about the creation of man and woman. And in Genesis, the Bible tells us that God created us, man and woman, in his image he created us."
According to Greene, God created woman because man was "lonely."
"And when God noticed that man was lonely, he took a rib from the man, Adam, and created woman. Now, woman was different than man. Woman was not the same. Human, yes, but different in amazing ways. Woman Eve, she's beautiful, absolutely stunning," she explained.
But Greene claimed Satan was "jealous" of woman.
"Satan, known to be a fallen angel, he was known to be beautiful as well," she opined. "That was the thing about him. And that's what gave him all the pride within himself, is he wanted to be the most beautiful one."
"That's why Satan hates you," Greene added. "There's another reason why Satan hates women, is because women can do something Satan cannot do, and he wants to be able to do... Satan cannot create life, but women can."
Watch the video below from TPUSA.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/turning-point-usas-pastors-summit-featured-christian-nationalist-ideology-and-right
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perry? michael j impersonator hungry homeless asked for help, choked to death, ppl asked him to stop (wet himself?)
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-war-white-people-continues
KIRK (HOST): Helen, great job. The American Conservative. The war on white people continues and we're seeing it play out in this terrible case in New York City where a white marine decided to do the right thing against a Black, mentally ill, criminal and he wasn't looking at things through race, he doesn't have a racist bone in his body, but if it was just two Blacks fighting it would have just been whatever. We know that as a fact. Why do we know that as a fact? Because there are hundreds of Blacks that kill other Blacks every single month in this country and no one cares. But if a white person gets in an altercation with a Black person, everyone loses their mind. And now he's facing 15 years for second-degree manslaughter. Helen, thank you so much. Great work and thank you for your courage to call it out what it is which is an outright war on white people. Thank you.
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turning Point USA’s Danny De Urbina tweeted, “The DOJ indicting Trump under the Espionage Act after they literally spied on him as a private citizen is the ultimate gaslight.”
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-trumps-defense-acknowledging-materials-were-classified-should-be-was-just ME DOING SHOWANSHIP
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-starbucks-now-taking-down-their-pride-flags-well-were-not-going-forget
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https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/worse-than-watergate-how-the-right-uses-disinformation-to-generate-outrage-and-conspiracy-theories/
last week, the right-wing Media Research Center released a report featuring theprovocative title, “How Biden’s DHS Is Weaponizing an Anti-Terror Program Against Christians, Conservatives & the GOP.” As the title suggested, the report claimed that the federal government is “being used to target the entire spectrum of the political right and Christians,” specifically groups like “The Heritage Foundation, Fox News, Christian Broadcasting Network, Turning Point USA, PragerU, the National Rifle Association (NRA), Breitbart News, the American Conservative Union Foundation and the Republican National Committee.”
The central claim of the report is false, but it has proved irresistible to the right-wing political and media machine that thrives on generating bogus narratives about the supposed political persecution of conservatives.
The report focused on a grant made by the Department of Homeland Security through its “Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program,” which provides funding to local governments, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education “to establish or enhance capabilities to prevent targeted violence and terrorism.”
One of the recipients of a TVTP grant was the University of Dayton, which MRC alleged then used the funding to launch a program known as “PREVENTS-OH,” through which it allegedly held a seminar linking mainstream conservative organizations to neo-Nazi groups.
The University of Dayton used grants from TVTP to create the infamous PREVENTS-OH program, which in turn hosted a series of events that maliciously equated mainstream organizations with neo-nazis and other extremist hate groups.
One of the first PREVENTS-OH events was a seminar called “Extremism, Rhetoric, and Democratic Precarity.” The seminar featured analysis from several so-called extremism experts who recklessly tied conservatives, Christians and Republicans to genocide and terrorism. Among the speakers were DHS Agent Joseph “J.R.” Masztalics a Regional Prevention Coordinator at CP3—who appeared in his official capacity at the event—and University of Cincinnati researcher Michael Loadenthal, a self-proclaimed member of a radical, anti-American
group.
During the seminar, Loadenthal shared an outrageous
” that he claimed depicts the “modern far-right” and extremism in America.
Among the organizations and movements displayed on the pyramid were the Republican Party (RNC), The Heritage Foundation, the American Conservative Union, Fox News, Breitbart News, the National Rifle Association (NRA), PragerUniversity, Tea Party Patriots, the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, the pro-police Blue Lives Matter movement and the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Also on the pyramid, as if somehow comparable to the aforementioned reputable organizations and movements, were rabidly hateful groups like the militant neo-Nazi gang The Base and pro-Nazi publication The Daily Stormer.
Right-wing media outlets immediately seized upon the “outrageous” Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization to allege that the Biden administration is using the TVTP grant program to “target” conservatives.
MRC’s founder and president Brent Bozell appeared on TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk’s podcast last Friday to demand a “criminal investigation” into the grant....[vid]
There has to be, I think, a criminal investigation into what the Department of Homeland Security is doing with federal funds, weaponizing the most radical left-wing government in the history of this nation to shut down anybody who doesn’t toe the narrative with them,” Bozell declared. “That includes the Republican Party, that includes the conservative movement, and that now includes Christians.”
Kirk readily agreed that “this is a smoking gun” and declaring that the supposed scandal is “worse than Watergate.”
Unfortunately for Kirk, Bozell, and the rest of the right-wing movement, the central component of MRC’s report is wrong.
As the links contained in MRC’s own report make clear, the seminar at which the Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization was shown took place in December 2021. The University of Dayton did not receive the TVTP grant until September 2022.
The university then used the grant to launch its PREVENTS-OH program, meaning that MRC’s assertion that “the University of Dayton used grants from TVTP to create the infamous PREVENTS-OH program, which in turn hosted a series of events that maliciously equated mainstream organizations with neo-nazis and other extremist hate groups” could not possibly be true.
Even Fox News essentially debunked MRC’s allegations in an article that nevertheless blindly echoed those claims.
According to DHS, the University of Dayton was not a TVTP grantee at the time of the seminar and received a grant the following year — when the department was already aware of what was presented at the event. A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the award was unrelated to the seminar and rejected the notion that it supports any form of discrimination.
“This seminar was not funded, organized, or hosted by the Department of Homeland Security,” the spokesperson said. “Similarly, the presented chart was not developed, presented, or endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security, and was not part of any successful grant application to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS does not profile, target, or discriminate against any individual for exercising their constitutional rights protected by the First Amendment.”
The University of Dayton similarly described the seminar as being separate from the PREVENTS-OH program.
“The speakers at the programs referred to in the Media Research Center’s report are from the University of Dayton Human Rights Center’s Social Practice of Human Rights Conference in the fall of 2021, which had no affiliation with and predates PREVENTS-OH,” the university told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The University of Dayton Human Rights Center received its PREVENTS-OH grant in the fall of 2022 and, to date, its community awareness events and dialogues have focused on all forms of domestic terrorism, targeted violence, and extremism. As we stated when awarded the grant, ‘We look forward to partnering with Ohioans throughout the Miami Valley across all political and social affiliations and sectors of the community.'”
On top of that, the Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization image has been around since at least 2019, and clearly states that the institutions listed on the lower tiers are mainstream conservative organizations. In fact, the researcher who used the image, Michael Loadenthal,
in his presentation, making clear that his focus was on the dangerous extremist groups “on the top tier."
[vid]
loadenthal likewise explained this to Fox News:
According to Loadenthal, the MRC is “misinterpreting and misrepresenting” the diagram as well as his role with it. He sent Fox News Digital a full copy of the image, which included text underneath the pyramid describing the bottom tier with the GOP, the NRA, and the Heritage Foundation as “mainstream conservatism.”
“The chart is meant to show that what is termed ‘the right’ is not monolithic and that some individuals travel to a path of radicalization, beginning with more mainstream sources,” said Loadenthal. “This point is not controversial nor is it deterministic; it is NOT meant to imply that engaging with level 1 inherently leads to level 4. That would obviously be false.”
When the pyramid was presented at the seminar, the text at the bottom was not visible. However, Loadenthal’s notes visible on the screen of the slideshow to the right of the image provide an abbreviated version of the text.
“So today we’re talking about the modern far-right, which depending on who you ask, can include things as mundane as the Heritage Foundation, all the way up to underground cells of militants,” the on-screen text reads. “I like the use of this 4-part taxonomy, although I disagree with some of the groups’ placements.”
Loadenthal also noted that he did not create the pyramid, telling Fox News Digital that he believes it was authored around 2018 — the upper left corner attributes the image to two scholars, McCauley and Moslalenko. “I found it a helpful conceptual scaffolding and used it,” he said.
Despite the fact that MRC’s report was basically debunked right out of the gate, that hasn’t stopped right-wing activists from using it to spin wild conspiracy theories, During Friday’s episode of her “WrongThink” program, right-wing commentator Anna Perez baselessly alleged that the Biden administration is using the TVTP grant program to “radicalize the youth and turn them into a paramilitary organization” that will attack conservatives. [vid]
"You know what this program is really for?” Perez said. “It’s so that the Biden administration can radicalize the youth and turn them into a paramilitary organization. … He is literally creating more members of antifa by implementing this program, that is why it exists. This program is literally meant to fund antifa.”
This entire saga provides a case study in how the right-wing movement works to generate “controversy” out of thin air, first by misrepresenting basic facts in order to generate outrage, and then using that outrage to gin up wild conspiracy theories. And the fact that the central component of this entire “controversy” is false will not, in any way, stop right-wing activists from continually repeating it in order to generate ever more outrage.
Tags: Anna Perez Brent Bozell Charlie Kirk Media Research Center
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https://www.alternet.org/registered-sex-offender-charlie-kirk/
no lnx
'Beyond hypocritical': Charlie Kirk’s recent Pastors Summit was funded by a 'registered sex offender'
Maya Boddie May 27, 2023
Right-wing host and Turning Point USA Chief Executive Officer Charlie Kirk' second-annual Pastors Summit, held in Nashville, Tennessee, was sponsored by "a registered sex offender," Rolling Stone reports.
Rolling Stone notes Kirk has been outspoken amid conservative-led criticism of Target for selling transgender-inclusive youth apparel, alleging the corporation shows "support for grooming kids."
The publication reports:
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Rolling Stone has learned that one of the TPUSA summit's corporate sponsors is a Christian fashion company that is led by a registered sex offender, Shawn Bergstrand, who served time in federal prison for attempted 'coercion and enticement' after trying to persuade 'a minor female” to 'engage in sexual activity.'
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READ MORE: Charlie Kirk’s attempt to call out left’s hypocrisy goes up in flames
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CEO if Rightside Up — a "Christian 'lifestyle apparel' company" — Bergstrand is "a registered sex offender in North Dakota," after being "convicted in 2014 for attempted 'coercion and enticement.'"
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Per Rolling Stone, "a redacted indictment shows" the CEO "was originally charged with attempting to 'entice and coerce a minor female … to engage in prostitution and sexual activity,'" and "despite facing a maximum of 20 years in jail," he "received a sentence of one year in prison, and five years of supervised release."
However, Bergstrand "was discharged from supervision more than a year early in 2018."
University of North Georgia professor Matthew Boedy revealed the sex offender's connection to TPUSA to Rolling Stone, saying, "I'm all for second chances and paying your debt to society. Even perhaps creating a brand based on how you overcame your own terrible decisions.But for Turning Point and Charlie Kirk to highlight this particular person — whose crime involved a child and attempted sexual acts — while decrying 'groomers' and sending mobs to stores who sell products they don’t like, is beyond hypocritical."
READ MORE: 'Spectacularly obtuse white supremacy': Charlie Kirk lambasted for asking if 'white people' get reparations
The professor added, "It's even more outrageous that this business was promoted to a group of pastors who likely had no idea of this person's story. I can only hope Kirk practices what he preaches and takes responsibility."
Kirk, in response to Rolling Stone's reporting, said during the summit, "First of all, it's not my Turning Point. It's the Lord’s Turning Point. I am both a Christian and a nationalist, but most importantly, I'm a Christian."
READ MORE: 'It's worth it': Charlie Kirk calls school shootings 'a prudent deal' to protect the Second Amendment
Rolling Stone's full report is available at this link (subscription required).
FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES
Watch: Charlie Kirk calls separation of church and state a 'fabrication' ›
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Candace Owens: 'You’re gay or you’re a pervert' if you shop at Target over trans-inclusive wear ›
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May 25, 2023
- Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz @ CNN: Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison for plot to keep Trump in power.
- Tommy Christopher @ Mediaite: Charlie Kirk Incites Viewers to Go After Target Using Financial ‘Force’ Over Pride Merchandise.
- Rebecca Crosby and Tesnim Zekeria @ Popular Info: Tennessee Speaker appoints conspiracy theorist to develop state social studies standards.
- Yonat Shimron @ Religion News Service: In fight against ‘tyranny,’ Michigan board declares itself ‘constitutional county.’
- Ben Jacobs @ Intelligencer: CPAC Is Rocked by a Resignation.
- Nicole Narea and Li Zhou @ Vox: A guide to Ron DeSantis’s most extreme policies in Florida.
- Decca Muldowney and Kelly Weill @ The Daily Beast: Florida Mom Behind Amanda Gorman Book Ban Has Proud Boy Links.
- Media Matters: Daily Wire host: “The Pride flag symbol, we need to make that toxic.”
Tags: Charlie Kirk Laurie Cardoza-Moore Matt Trewhella Michael Knowles Ron DeSantis Stewart Rhodes Round-Up CPAC
===
viral tiktok? vid dad in pink god sep gender rant rainbow (shark?)
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-encourages-his-audience-bankrupt-target-selling-pride-merchandise
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-goes-unhinged-racist-rant-prowling-blacks-go-around-fun-go-target-white
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirks-turning-point-usa-increasingly-leaning-right-wing-christian
mma 4 23
Kirk and his conservative student-oriented organization Turning Point USA have spent the last two years bolstering connections with faith leaders on the religious right and Christian nationalist influencers as part of a “mission” to “restore America’s biblical values.”
As part of this effort, TPUSA is pressuring pastors to push right-wing politics, deepening ties with extremist pastors and groups that push Christian nationalist talking points, and teaching kids Christian fundamentalist curriculums under the guise of more innocuous “patriotic” and “Christian education.”
Christian nationalism, which contends that the U.S. is a fundamentally Christian nation and should be governed by right-wing Christian beliefs, has been on the rise in Republican politics. According to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution, more than half of Republicans support Christian nationalism.
This undercurrent of right-wing religious fundamentalism has helped fuel a torrent of anti-LGBTQ legislation and anti-abortion laws in GOP-led state legislatures across the country. The 2022 midterm elections also saw increased fervor from the religious right on the campaign trail, such as in the candidacy of Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, who experts warned had centered the dangerous Christian nationalist ideology at the heart of his campaign. (Kirk, however, praised Mastriano as "a fabulous person.”)
Turning Point USA, Kirk’s student-oriented youth group which he founded to increase right-wing political influence, has historically focused on college campuses, where its student chapters have a troubling history of racist incidents. Kirk also has espoused virulently anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and lamented supposed Christian persecution.
TPUSA Faith was launched in 2021, with a Turning Point spokesperson saying that “it was a no-brainer to recreate” the TPUSA model of activism for the faith community. Kirk has depicted the country as engaged in a “spiritual battle,”and this latest initiative seeks to win that supposed battle by restoring “America’s biblical values.” After Kirk partnered with extreme pastors and religious right leaders, some observers noted that TPUSA has increasingly grounded its mission in “the theology of Christian nationalism” and religious fundamentalism.
Kirk pushes Christian churches to spread bigotry by separating them into three groups: The cowardly, the courageous, and the complicit
Since co-founding TPUSA Faith with far-right pastor Rob McCoy, who reportedly played a key role in Kirk’s rejection of the principle of the separation between church and state, Kirk has traveled to churches across the country and attacked pastors he deems inadequately political.
At self-described “Christian extremist” Kenneth Copeland’s FlashPoint Live event in 2022, Kirk described what he sees as the three kinds of Christian churches: the “cowardly,” the “courageous,” and the “complicit.” He explained a simple litmus test for a “cowardly pastor” and church: “They didn't say a word after Roe vs. Wadewas overturned. … They should resign from the ministry or find some courage because we just overturned one of the worst demonic decisions in the history of our country.” Kirk elaborated that “We should try to bring the cowardly pastors into the courageous category. We should challenge them.”
During the event, Kirk described Copeland’s audience and church as “the good type of ministry” and “the courageous church that stands boldly and speaks with moral truth.” Kirk downplayed and mocked criticisms of Christian nationalism, telling the audience that critiques of this ideology “means you're starting to care and they're getting scared.” Kirk also suggested that the only true faith that will lead to salvation is Christianity, and he baselessly fearmongered that “young people are being preyed on by government school predators and groomers.”
Kirk described “complicit” churches as going “out of their way for the seal of approval of the world,” ridiculing churches that put the “gay flag outside of their church or the Black Lives Matter flag." Earlier in the speech, he questioned whether the U.S. is a “conquered country” due to the presence of these flags.
Kirk's TPUSA Faith has partnered with groups associated with Christian nationalists
According to TPUSA’s 2021 Investor Prospectus, its TPUSA Faith initiative had a $6.4 million budget, making it one of the largest line items in the organization’s operating budget. TPUSA Faith's budget has seemingly funded a variety of events and programs, often in partnership with groups associated with Christian nationalists.
- TPUSA Faith recently announced a partnership with Christian nationalist pastor and musician Sean Feucht for a “revival” tour in 2023 and 2024 called “Kingdom to the Capitol.” The tour has the intention of “visiting every single state capitol in America.” Feucht, TPUSA's new partner, built a profile during the COVID-19 pandemic with his fierce opposition to public health measures that temporarily closed churches, holding events in defiance that “often fused Christian nationalism with conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccines and globalism.” Feucht recently embraced Christian nationalism overtly, declaring that Christians must “be the ones writing the laws” and that “we want God to be in control of everything.”
- In 2021, Kirk launched TPUSA Faith’s “Saving America Tour” at megachurches around the country. At events, Kirk “melds the political with the spiritual” and frames political issues “as not just earthly policy differences, but part of the spiritual war between good and evil,” as described by The Arizona Republic. At one Saving America event in 2022, Kirk called on men in the audience to confront and physically prevent trans student athletes from competing in sports.
- TPUSA Faith also holds annual pastors summits with right-wing pastors and figures. David Barton, a Christian nationalist activist who has worked for decades to end the separation between church and state, is listed as a speaker at this May’s annual gathering. Last year’s summit featured Mat Staver, who runs the anti-LGBTQ extremist group Liberty Counsel; right-wing pastor Jack Hibbs; and Chad Connelly, the former RNC faith director who worked with Barton during the 2022 midterm elections to activate right-wing Christian voters by spreading debunked talking points about the Bible.
- Starting in 2021, TPUSA Faith partnered with Patriot Academy on courses to teach “biblical citizenship” and other programming denying the separation of church and state. Patriot Academy is an initiative of Barton’s anti-LGBTQ group Wallbuilders that seeks to “train citizens to understand and influence government policy with a Biblical worldview.” TPUSA and Patriot Academy collaborated on “biblical citizenship” courses and a workbook that denies the existence of the separation between church and state. The website also notes that the “biblical citizenship” is critical as “we fulfill the Great Commission and ‘make disciples of all nations.’”
- Through TPUSA Faith, Kirk holds monthly “Freedom Night in America” events at Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, in an “effort to continue fighting America’s culture war … with the intent to call the faith community to action.” The watchdog Right Wing Watch has tracked and sometimes debunked Kirk when he has pushed popular Christian nationalist talking points at Freedom Night events, including claiming that the church is supposed to be the “counselor” to the government. Kirk recently held a Freedom Night event with TPUSA advisory council member and former Rep. Bob McEwen (R-OH), who is the current executive director of the Council for National Policy, a shadowy but influential right-wing networking group that serves as a political nerve center for the religious right. (Kirk is also reportedly a member of the Council for National Policy).
- To further expand its influence in recent years, TPUSA Faith launched Freedom Life Church, a network of TPUSA-aligned congregations. TPUSA Faith also reportedly hired a network of over 30 full-time “faith representatives” to launch faith groups across the country.
Kirk has praised extremist figures in the Christian nationalist movement and endorsed the “Seven Mountain Mandate”
Kirk has closely associated with high-profile members of the Christian nationalist “dominionist” movement, which asserts that Christians have been called to exert God’s will on society. Lance Wallnau, a self-proclaimed “prophet” and “Christian nationalist” who has been dubbed the “father of American Dominionism,” popularized the “quasi-biblical blueprint for theocracy” that is at the heart of dominionism called the “Seven Mountain Mandate.”
The Seven Mountain Mandate demands that Christians impose fundamentalist values on American society by conquering the “seven mountains” of cultural influence in U.S. life: government, education, media, religion, family, business, and entertainment. Wallnau has an extensively documented history of extreme and violent rhetoric. Recently, he called Biden the “antichrist,” referred to LGBTQ people as the “trans taliban,” and warned that God may soon start killing those who are “persecuting” Trump.
In addition to endorsing the Seven Mountain Mandate himself in a 2020 speech, Kirk has interviewed Wallnau multiple times since 2020, including at TPUSA’s 2022 Young Women’s Leadership Summit. In an interview, Kirk
on Wallnau, calling him “one of my all time favorite people.” Kirk has also repeatedly appeared alongside Wallnau in
and at in-person events for Kenneth Copeland’s right-wing Christian network The Victory Channel, where Wallnau serves as a “regular” for its panel show FlashPoint.
Kirk has also aligned TPUSA with the right-wing cellphone company Patriot Mobile. The company is closely associated with the dominionist movement, explicitly defends Christian nationalism on its website, and has become a force in Texas school board politics against LGBTQ inclusion and curriculums that teach about diversity. Patriot Mobile has sponsored a TPUSA Faith event, Kirk’s podcast, and other TPUSA events; held special events with him; and sent a senior leader to speak at a TPUSA conference.
TPUSA’s increasing Christian fundamentalism has led to an increased focus on young kids
TPUSA announced last summer that it would open its first brick and mortar school, Turning Point Academy, in collaboration with Dream City Christian School in Arizona, a K-12 private school that claims the “current political and spiritual climate in the country is in turmoil.” Kirk has said that the “Christian, Classical, conservative, church-based” school is just "the first in a growing network of schools that will launch across the country in the coming years.”
As Media Matters previously reported, Turning Point Academy attempts to
what right-wing figures have labeled as threats to kids, assuring parents that “CRT, postmodernism, ‘Wokeism,’ deconstructionism, queer theory, radical LGBT agendas, and anti-American ideas such as the 1619 project will have no place at our institution."
TPUSA’s expansion into K-12 education also aligns the organization with a long-term goal of the Christian nationalist movement: teaching kids Christian fundamentalist curriculums under the guise of simply “patriotic” and “Christian education.”
===
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mma 4 23
no lnx
Charlie Kirk says government borrowing is “creating the precondition for a massive confiscation of private property”
Kirk: “The amount we're borrowing is going to incentivize the federal government to confiscate more assets”
WRITTEN BY MEDIA MATTERS STAFF
PUBLISHED 04/20/23
Video
CitationFrom the April 20, 2023, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): This is going - the amount we're borrowing is going to incentivize the federal government to confiscate more assets because they'll say okay well in order for us to then be able to balance our books, then let's just say that if you have three homes we're going to take two of them. I am not kidding. They are creating the precondition for a massive confiscation of private property and a mass confiscation of wealth.
When you borrow you can either default on your debt or one of these lunatics is going to say you know, look, why don't we just go pay your fair share and we're going to go confiscate hundreds of billions of dollars from the plutocrats and the oligarchs and by the way if you have a high ESG score you'll be exempt. This is the way they're headed.
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big protests post nashville, he has to spox?
https://www.alternet.org/its-worth-it-charlie-kirk/ for 2a
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirks-conspiratorial-fearmongering-and-retaliatory-fantasies-reach-dangerous
no lnx many vids
Charlie Kirk's conspiratorial fearmongering and retaliatory fantasies reach a dangerous new level
Kirk: "We are living in an enemy-occupied country. They have taken over the government and we have to think as dissidents.”
WRITTEN BY SOPHIE LAWTON & JACK WHEATLEY
PUBLISHED 04/03/23
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In late March, Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk repeatedly told his audience that they must take action against a demonic and tyrannical force that is targeting them for their conservative political views. While Kirk is no stranger to extreme rhetoric, his noticeably more incendiary and alarmist rhetoric is primarily in response to three news stories from the past week — the March 27 school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee; recent reports that the IRS visited the home of journalist Matt Taibbi; and the March 30 indictment of former President Donald Trump by a New York grand jury.
Trump indictment
As reports of Trump’s indictment in New York emerged on March 30, Kirk held a special livestream to speculate about the news and reasoning behind the sealed charges. Kirk claimed that the indictment is a distraction from the shooting in Nashville and is actually a “designed campaign” to goad conservatives into violence. Kirk stated, “They would love nothing more than for people to act uncharacteristic. They need to try to incite you to right-wing violence to justify their mass takeover of the country.”
Kirk also called for retribution against his political opponents, who he claimed are “acting like Stalinists,” and said “we must make them pay a price and a penalty” by indicting Democrats. “They crossed the Rubicon,” Kirk claimed. “They have declared quote-unquote the Roman Civil War.”
Video
CitationFrom the March 30, 2023, edition of Real America's Voice's The Charlie Kirk Show
As a guest on Thursday night’s edition ofThe Ingraham Angleon Fox News, Kirk took to spreading more conspiracy theories following the news of Trump’s indictment. Kirk again insinuated that the left and the “national security state” are “almost trying to incite the American conservative community to act uncharacteristic” and carry out right-wing violence which, in turn, would be used to presuppose the creation of “a Patriot Act 2.0, and that could then further justify their power grab across the country.”
Later on in the segment, Kirk claimed that Trump’s indictment was an act of revenge by those still upset over his election in 2016, saying that “it seems as if there is this bloodthirsty appetite and desire at the highest level of the Democrat eliteto quote-unquote get Trump.” Kirk went on to claim there’s a “kind of Stalinization of the American criminal justice system” that he hopes independent and moderate voters will recognize before the upcoming presidential race. Fox host Laura Ingraham agreed and added, “It’s like Stalin’s purges, right? That’s what we’re seeing.”
Addressing his audience the day following Trump’s indictment, Kirk said the only way to “bring the country together” and “heal” is for conservatives “to win,” then told his listeners that winning will include “a lot of our side going to jail, a lot of their side going to jail.” Kirk reminded his audience to stay peaceful though quickly reverted to inflammatory rhetoric, saying, “The country we grew up in has ended, a new country is born. Who’s going to control it? If we want it, we can win.”
In the same March 31 episode, while introducing an interview withDonald Trump Jr., Kirk told his listeners, “You should be angry today. And this is a time for action, and this a time to realize that the country we love has slipped away and we have to get it back.”
Video From the March 31, 2023, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show
Nashville school shooting
In the wake of the tragic school shooting in Nashville on March 27, Kirk unleashed vile attacks on the LGBTQ community following police reports that the shooter was transgender.
On his March 28 show, Kirk claimed that activists are becoming “trans jihadists” in the name of “this lie of a quote-unquote trans genocide” adding that “people think they’re on kind of a holy crusade.” He said that “there’s a lot of violent fantasies, unfortunately, among the trans radicals,” and went on to specifically blame the transgender community for the tragic attack in Nashville, claiming that they have “a violent undercurrent that tragically manifested in three dead kids and three dead teachers yesterday.” (Labeling all transgender people as violent is a common anti-trans trope.)
In his Tuesday episode with guest and Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, Kirk read a statement from a group called the Trans Resistance Network referencing the shooting in Nashville and claimed the group “is blaming us, is blaming Michael Knowles, blaming Matt Walsh, blaming Jack Posobiec, blaming all of us for the massacre of children.”
After discussing the Nashville shooting again on his March 29 podcast, Kirk told his audience, “The trans movement is almost on a jihad.They have been told that people like us want them deadand I’m afraid they’re on some sort of unholy crusade,” adding, “We have to stop it immediately.”
Supposed IRS targeting
IRS agents reportedly made a recent house call to Substack journalist Matt Taibbi, according to a statement from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Republicans on the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government based on Taibbi’s own claims. Kirk told his audience that the supposed IRS visit to Taibbi was just the beginning of a “targeted campaign to chill speech” and that the government will be visiting “Real America’s Voice listeners and viewers, grassroots conservatives” first. Kirk called the visit “Stalinistic, Maoist behavior from the Biden regime.”
After once again referring to the IRS visiting Taibbi as “the Stalinization of America” during his March 29 show, Kirk called it “full outright Gestapo behavior.” He then told his audience that “we are living in an enemy-occupied country. They have taken over the government and we have to think as dissidents.”
Video From the March 29, 2023, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show
Kirk’s fearmongering about the government targeting “political enemies,” specifically conservatives, included claiming that “the IRS is one of the most dangerous” and “powerful government agencies that is able to ruin your life,” telling his audience that “political force” will be used to “try and crush you.”
Kirk also suggested the government planned the IRS visit to scare Taibbi out of testifying against “the liberal quote-unquote street gang,” claiming, “If you want out, they beat you up, they kill you.” Kirk questioned, “You have to wonder did somebody plan the IRS visit so Matt Taibbi would reveal his sources? Did they do the house call to his front door the day he was going to testify for the purpose that he would break? Was it the equivalent of waking up with a horse’s head in your bed, how the mob used to operate?”
Other extremist comments
On his March 29 podcast with guest Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Kirk defended the Second Amendment by claiming someday Americans may need guns to fight against a “tyrannical, usurpatious government.” Kirk claimed that “the last 100 years shows 150 million people slaughtered because they were disarmed.”
At a Turning Point Faith event that same day, Kirk suggested that conservatives know evil is happening but are afraid to act on it because “the cost is being called something they wish they would not be called. Racist, bigot.” Kirk then said that “racism and bigotry mostly comes from the left,” saying. “We are such a decent, not racist country, that the incentive structure is to fake your own hate crime.”
At the same Turning Point event, Kirk compared the existence of transgender people to “homeless encampments” and said, “We should not have tolerance for public degeneracy or depravity of our streets.”
During an earlier live event on March 28, Kirk went on a rant about how the “woke mind virus” is a product of Satan sent to “destroy the greatest nation ever to exist in the history of the world.”He encouraged American pastors “excommunicate … the demons of the woke,” stating, “Evil should not be tolerated in the American church.”
Video From the March 28, 2023, Turning Point Faith event, livestreamed on YouTube
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At the March 28 Turning Point Faith event, Kirk also attacked universities and academics, claiming their actions are “rooted in anti-whiteness” and that “I think they’re trying to start a race war in this country.” Throughout his seemingly endless stream of extreme comments, Kirk also issued calls to action to his listeners.
At the same event, when asked about critical race theory, Kirk called the educational theory a “tumor” in our schools that happened because “good people have allowed evil to spread.” Kirk then called on the audience to be part of stopping such “evil,” claiming it will ”require good people with courage and boldness to stand up against what seems to be an overwhelming force and to say stop.”
“CRT has spread, andnow it’s time for us to remove the tumor,” Kirk concluded.
Video From a March 28, 2023, Turning Point Faith event streamed live on YouTube
Kirk used the “tumor” metaphor again when discussing a recent Wall Street Journal poll showing a decline in patriotism in America. Kirk claimed this generation of Americans are “the most depressed, most suicidal, most alcohol-addicted, most drug-addicted generation in history.” He then told his listeners, “Sometimes you need to get harsh, honest news and then have a battle plan, a plan of attack to remove the tumor” — implying the need to remove unpatriotic people from the country.
vid From the March 27, 2023, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show
Kirk has not specified what he means when he tells his audience to “stop” transgender people or critical race theory, but he’s also promoted preparing for future events by investing in gold and “buying a lot of bullets.”
Video From a March 28, 2023, Turning Point Faith event livestreamed on YouTube
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rubber invert
https://www.alternet.org/charlie-kirk-twitter-reparations-black/
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https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/turning-point-usa-has-a-groyper-problem/
NO LNX many twt vid
Turning Point USA Has a Groyper Problem
By Kristen Doerer | March 22, 2023
The right-wing get out the vote youth organization TPUSA, led by Charlie Kirk, has long had to fend off the followers of white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who call themselves groypers, from infiltrating their ranks. But they haven’t always been successful at keeping racists and groypers at arm’s length and have at times have even employed them.
A groyper appears to have slipped through the cracks most recently at the University of Alabama. Brandt Wiggins is a follower of Fuentes’ white nationalist America First movement, and this January, the TPUSA chapter at University of Alabama announced that Wiggins had assumed the role of vice president.
Wiggins has peddled the great replacement theory and urged white people to “HAVE WHITE BABIES!!!” He’s advocated for men to beat their wives if they try to obtain a divorce. And he has joined white nationalists as a guest on their show and used antisemitic language.
Right Wing Watch reached out to Wiggins, TPUSA, TPUSA chapter president Judson Christopher, and the chapter’s academic adviser Tuesday. A spokesman for TPUSA responded Tuesday that “Brandt Wiggins is no longer affiliated with TPUSA.”
The chapter’s academic adviser, politics professor George Hawley, replied that he “never personally met Brandt Wiggins and [knows] nothing more about him and his activities than what is available online.” In an email with the chapter’s TPUSA president on March 3, Hawley says he was informed “that they had already gone through the process of formally removing Mr. Wiggins from his position.”
Neither Wiggins nor the chapter president replied to our inquiry by publication. Right Wing Watch will update this story should either provide comment.
Wiggins streams on Cozy.tv, an explicitly “anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-Black, antisemitic” platform founded by Fuentes, under the name Based Brandt. While his videos cannot be seen on there—the platform automatically deletes livestreams after two days—in a livestream captured by an antifascist activist, Wiggins encouraged men to “always make women emotionally dependent on you” and advocated for domestic violence.
:{:{}:
“Do whatever it takes, gaslight, all that. Make them dependent on you unironically. Be a little schemer if you have to,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins went on to discuss marriage, which he called “more of a necessity for the children,” and provided his take on what men should do if their wives want a divorce.
“People are like, ‘Oh if you don’t choose the right one, she might divorce you.’ She might divorce me? Are you kidding me?” Wiggins scoffed. “What if I just don’t let her? What if I gaslight her, what if I make her emotionally dependent? Stop letting your wives be so independent and they won’t divorce you or they can’t even attempt to divorce you. Any discussion of that, and you back hand her. You’re like, ‘No, no, you need me.’ Make her sign the prenup.”}:
Wiggins attended last year’s white nationalist America First Political Action Conference, where speakers like radical conspiracy theorist Stew Peters called for the hanging of their political enemies and the appearances of far-right politicians like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar emboldened the white nationalists in attendance. Wiggins took a photo with Fuentes, publishing it on Twitter with the caption “we can’t be stopped.” He wrote:
I had the absolute pleasure of meeting @realnickjfuentes at AFPAC! He was extremely cordial and even asked me about my content! The energy in the air was ecstatic last night and it goes to show that we can’t be stopped. We have now gone mainstream thanks to backing from politicians and other important political figures.
Fuentes—who made headlines last fall when he dined with former President Donald Trump and Ye—has compared himself to Hitler, said that “We need to go back to burning women alive more,” and called for Christian fascism. He’s also attempted to recruit incels and misogynists to his movement of young, mostly white men and has been accused of running his organization like a cult.
Earlier this month, Wiggins also attended the Conservative Political Action Conference with Fuentes and other groypers. Though Fuentes was kicked out of CPAC, he held an America First white nationalist rally following the conference’s conclusion at which Fuentes called for the eradication of “transgenderism,” feminism, liberalism, democracy, and “Talmudic Judaism” from public life. Wiggins was photographed waiting in line for Fuentes’ rally.
Nick Fuentes and Brandt Wiggins pose for a photo at AFPAC in 2022.
In December 2022, Wiggins participated in a livestream with white nationalist America First influencers Tyler Russell and Dalton Clodfelter, who pronounced his love of Hitler during the stream. When Russell gleefully noted that “every two weeks, antisemitism is up, it’s up,” Wiggins put both thumbs up in response.
The trio also applauded Trump’s dinner with Fuentes and Ye, which followed the rappers’ antisemitic outbursts. After voicing his support for Ye’s campaign for president—which Fuentes was advising—Wiggins said that the older generation of Americans had been “totally zogged” into not believing trans people were a big deal. The term “zog” is an antisemitic term regularly used by white supremacists.
The following month, the “Ye Is Right” campaign came to the University of Alabama. Russell and Clodfelter had organized the “road trip” to hit different college campuses to lift Ye’s 2024 presidential campaign, defend the rapper turned presidential candidate’s antisemitic remarks, and spread Holocaust denial conspiracy theories.
They day before their official arrival on campus, on Jan. 26, someone drew graffiti on the sidewalk that read “YEisRight” and “America First,” alongside references to the date Jan. 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Student organizations, including University of Alabama’s TPUSA chapter, condemned the graffiti. In a post on Instagram, the TPUSA chapter claimed to “stand with the UA Jewish community.” The chapter was, however, following Russell on Instagram and had planned on hosting Russell and another America First activist Kai Schwemmer in October. (The event was later canceled, and the chapter’s Instagram account is now private.) Wiggins had not only appeared on Russell and Clodfelter’s show but also defended their “Ye Is Right” campaign earlier in the month, and he was in a celebratory mood when the campaign arrived at University of Alabama.
The campaign around Ye has always been about pushing the right further to the right, and white nationalists have used Ye as a meme for recruitment to do just that. As Daniel Schmidt, chairman of “Students For Ye,” told Russell in the beginning of January, one of the groups’ top priorities is “taking over” TPUSA chapters all over the country. “If it’s not pro-Ye, we’ll send our guys down there, and we’ll do whatever it takes to put leaders in, put pro-Ye people in,” he told Russell. It would come as no surprise then that Fuentes has aggressively pushed Schmidt and “Students For Ye,” according to Vice News.
Ben Lorber, a researcher at Political Research Associates who was the first to identify Wiggins as a follower of Fuentes, describes Wiggins as “a minor player within the groyper movement, one of the many figures who have emerged from the depths of the Gen-Z far-right internet over the last year or so to hitch their wagon to Fuentes and the America First brand.”
But Wiggins’ ascent to vice president of Alabama’s TPUSA chapter is indicative of one strategy the white nationalist America First movement has taken in respect to TPUSA: using it as fertile recruiting ground.
“America First has long viewed TPUSA as symbolic of the out-of-touch, ineffectual, and politically compromised conservative establishment,” Lorber told Right Wing Watch. “At various points, Fuentes and the groypers have advocated pressuring TPUSA from the outside, infiltrating it from within, or ignoring it entirely and building parallel structures that, they hope, will grow in popularity and come to supplant their competitors.”
And TPUSA, along with the entire conservative movement, has moved further to the right—a shift that Fuentes and groypers have taken credit for. As Kirk and TPUSA have come to embrace Christian nationalists, election denialism, the racist great replacement theory, and fearmongering about Black Lives Matter and critical race theory, groypers have struggled to stay relevant, using ploys like “Ye Is Right” to position themselves as an edgy alternative.
Update: This article has been updated with a clarification from George Hawley about when he was informed Wiggins was removed from his position at the University of Alabama TPUSA chapter.
Tags: Brandt Wiggins Charlie Kirk Dalton Clodfelter Nick Fuentes Tyler Russell America First Political Action Conference groypers white nationalism America First Turning Point USA
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church musician turned political activist Sean Feucht has teamed up with the religious arm of right-wing youth organizing group Turning Point USA for a two-year, 50-state road trip designed to bring Feucht’s mix of worship and hard-right politics to every state capitol.
After a kickoff event attended by seven members of Congress in the U.S. Capitol rotunda March 9, the “Kingdom to the Capitol” tour headed south with a swing through
, Jackson, Mississippi, and
this past weekend. In Alabama, Chief Justice Tom Parker, a longtime ally of the disgraced former Chief Justice Roy Moore, participated in the tour and invited Feucht to pray in the Supreme Court chamber.
Rep. Lauren Boebert was among the members of Congress who joined a small crowd in the U.S. Capitol March 9 to sing along with Feucht as he strummed his guitar. Afterwards, Feucht tweeted, “The Capitol became an Altar…There is ONE KING over America…”
Feucht, a missionary musician associated with controversial Northern California megachurch Bethel, ran for Congress in 2020 in what he said was obedience to a call from God. Despite playing up a Dec. 2019 visit to the Oval Office where he prayed over former President Donald Trump, Feucht did not make it through the primary. But the failed run hooked him on politics, and he formed a political group called Hold the Line in 2020 and ramped up his activism in opposition to public health restrictions on church gatherings that were designed to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Since then, Feucht has held “Let Us Worship” rallies on the National Mall featuring appearances by Sen. Josh Hawley, New Apostolic Reformation leader Ché Ahn, and dominionistLou Engle, as well as video remarks from Trump. He also started a podcast; when Boebert was a guest, Feucht praised her as a “gangster for Jesus.”
While Turning Point USA was founded in 2012 with a libertarian bent, founder Charlie Kirk has since teamed up with Christian nationalists, and endorsed Feucht’s congressional run in 2020. In 2021, Kirk launched TPUSA Faith as a political vehicle for “restoring traditional biblical values in our nation” by pushing conservative pastors to get more active politically. It held its first summit for pastors last year. Kirk regularly makes “Freedom Night” presentations in churches.
Since his failed run for office, Feucht has established a beachhead for spiritual warfare two blocks from the U.S. Capitol in a rowhouse he has dubbed “Camp Elah,” which he says is a biblical reference to the stream where David picked up the stones that he used to slay Goliath.
Feucht and Kirk have both been influenced by Rob McCoy, a California pastor-politician who is allied with Christian Nationalist political operative David Lane. McCoy serves as TPUSA Faith’s co-chair. In an interview on Feucht’s Hold the Line podcast, McCoy acknowledged that his Calvary Chapel church has theological differences with Bethel’s charismatic Pentecostalism, but he praised Feucht’s political activism and his collaboration with TPUSA Faith. “We have an agenda,” Feucht said. “We want the kingdom of God to take over. It’s a clear agenda from heaven.”
Tags: Charlie Kirk Lauren Boebert Rob McCoy Sean Feucht Tom Parker Christian Nationalism Dominionism Election 2024 Hold the Line TPUSA Faith Turning Point USA
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right-wing commentator and youth organizer Charlie Kirk continues to host TPUSA Faith’s monthly Freedom Night in America events at churches around the nation where he consistently spreads historically baseless claims about the Constitution and the founding of this country.
On Wednesday night, Kirk and right-wing radio host Dennis Prager of Prager U appeared at Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, where the duo misrepresented American history in order to promote the Christian nationalist agenda. During his remarks, Prager assured the largely Christian audience that despite their theological differences, they were all on the same side because it is his calling as a Jew to bring Christians “to God, and to the Ten Commandments, and the Bible.”
“I have a love affair with America’s Christians,” Prager said. “It’s reciprocated. I feel very loved by America’s Christians.”
Kirk kicked things off by asking Prager, who is Jewish and who has produced several books and lectures on the Torah, to explain just how vital the Bible was to the founding of this nation.[vid]
"Can you just speak a little bit about America’s founding roots and how the American founders knew the Torah,” Kirk suggested. “Deuteronomy was the most quoted of any book—secular or religious—in the writing of the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the Declaration of Independence. We teach our kids in government schools that America was a secular nation, but in reality, it was the Bible that founded the philosophical tradition of the greatest nation ever to exist in the history of the world.”
The assertion that the Bible, and Deuteronomy in particular, were “the most quoted” sources during the founding era is a claim that Christian nationalists love to make, despite the fact that it is false.
As we have explained before, this claim relies on misrepresenting a 1984 study that examined the writers and sources of ideas that were most often cited in “the political writings of Americans published between 1760 and 1805.” The study found that the Bible was the most frequently cited source solely because many of the pamphlets included in the research were sermons that had been reprinted for mass distribution (and these sermons, predictably, contained frequent references to Deuteronomy). When the sermon pamphlets were excluded, quotes from the Bible appeared no more frequently in the political writings of the era than citations of the classical or common law. In fact, when the study focused solely on the public political writings from 1787 to 1788, when the U.S. Constitution was written and ratified, “the Bible’s prominence disappears” almost completely.
So, contrary to Kirk’s confident assertion, Deuteronomy was not the most quoted of any book—secular or religious—in the writing of the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the Declaration of Independence.
Prager, of course, readily agreed with Kirk that “the founders quoted Deuteronomy more than any other biblical Book and any other secular book,” before adding an irrelevant bit of information designed to bolster Kirk’s false claims.
“The founders knew the Bible—the Torah, in particular—so well that [Thomas] Jefferson and [Benjamin] Franklin suggested that the Great Seal of the United States depict the Jews leaving Egypt,” Prager said. “These two were the least religious. They were not doctrinally Christian. They were God-centered—even Jefferson—but it just shows you how much the Torah meant to the founders of this country.”
While it is true that upon completion of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Jefferson and Franklin recommended the creation of a Great Seal for the new nation that featured an image of Moses, that recommendation was rejected by the Continental Congress. It was not until 1782 that a design featuring an eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch was finally chosen for the Great Seal.
None of these facts, of course, actually matter to Kirk because his goal isn’t to tell the truth or present an accurate view of history, but rather to convince Christian conservatives that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and that they have a biblical obligation to ensure that it remains one. We’ve seen this same strategy used time and time again by pseudo-historian David Barton and other Christian nationalists.
Tags: Charlie Kirk Dennis Prager Christian Nationalism
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-tells-audience-vote-rigged-elections
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https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/charlie-kirk-is-still-spreading-historically-and-biblically-baseless-claims-to-justify-his-christian-nationalism/
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-our-prison-population-probably-not-big-enough
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mma 3 23
As the Biden administration defends the president’s policy of canceling up to $20,000 of student debt for millions of Americans against a Republican-backed challenge before the Supreme Court, some right-wing commentators are going beyond their old arguments against the policy to make truly outrageous claims about it.
When President Joe Biden first announced his administration’s plan in August to address the very real problem of student debt doubling in the past decade, which affects tens of millions of Americans, conservatives tried arguing that the policy was unfair, would raise inflation, would favor the rich, and had no legal basis.
But when arguments about the policy reached the Supreme Court yesterday, some right-wing media figures went far beyond their previous opposition to the policy and levied some egregious new attacks:
- Fox News host Mark Levin called Biden’s student loan cancellation policy “a fascistic act by an out-of-control man” who is “cheered by the Marxists in the country.”
- OutKick founder Clay Travis: “This was a transparent political attempt by Joe Biden to rig in his favor the 2022 election.”
- Travis again portrayed the student debt cancellation policy as a voter turnout scheme: Biden “wanted to drive up young voters’ turnout as much as he could.”
- Fox contributor Liz Peek: “You can't just dole out $400 billion to get votes, which is basically what this is all about.”
- Media Research Center’s Stephanie Hamill said “it’s almost like a bribery” of voters.
- Newsmax host Rob Schmitt said it’s a “vote-buying scheme” to get people “on the narcotic of social welfare.”
- Schmitt later portrayed student debt cancellation as Biden wanting “to dump hundreds of billions of dollars that we don't have on 8-balls, Jack Daniels, and flights to Mexico.”
- Fox contributor Marc Thiessen claimed student debt cancellation is “an act of stolen valor,” and that Biden is “turning millions of Americans into people who are engaged in stolen valor.”
- Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk used student debt cancellation to attack college education in general, claiming he might not be so opposed if colleges were “producing fruit that loved America.” Instead, he said, they’re the “Wuhan Institute of Virology equivalent of idea pathogens in our country” and asked, “Is this a alleged money laundering scheme to pay off colleges for their Marxist indoctrination?”
- Kirk also wrote on Twitter that “college is a scam!”
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kyle m< right-wing commentator and youth organizer Charlie Kirk joined Pastor Jack Hibbs at his Calvary Chapel Chino Hills church Wednesday evening, where Kirk continued his practice of using church platforms to spread historically baseless claims about the Constitution and the founding of this country.
Kirk heads Turning Point USA, a $55 million right-wing youth turnout organization that has more recently begun organizing among right-wing churches. A libertarian-leaning conservative turned Christian nationalist, Kirk today offers a class on “Biblical Citizenship” long with “Patriot Academy” founder Rick Green through TPUSA Faith. (Green is also the co-host of the “WallBuilders Live” radio program, along with Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton and Barton’s son, Tim.) Kirk’s speech at Calvary gives us insights into the type of faulty lessons that class likely teaches.
The title of the discussion between Kirk and Hibbs was 
,” with Kirk and Hibbs asserting that the United States has become a modern-day Tower of Babel that has “made a decision to deny and defy God.”
Kirk asserted that the story in Genesis 11 of an effort to construct “a tower that reaches to the heavens” is not “some sort of fable” but “really happened.” He went on to declare that the Founding Fathers relied on this story to design a system of government that would prevent political power from being consolidated in cities.
“The Torah—the first five books of the Bible—and Thomas Jefferson both hated big cities,” Kirk said. “The American founders read this text [Genesis 11], and they designed a system of government to say, ‘We do not want all this power in cosmopolitan, densely populated, urban areas.'”
“The Founding Fathers were so biblically literate; if you read the Federalist Papers—Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 47, Federalist 51, Federalist 58—they talk time and time again about the heated passions in cities where rancor, rumor, and half-truths reign supreme, where the mobs and the masses are able to get what they want, but reason goes to die,” Kirk continued. “God tried to warn us in Genesis 11, ‘Hey, if you guys build these cities, all of a sudden you’re not going to be governed by your reason, your rationality, or your logic, but it’s going to be the tyranny of the clamoring majority.’ My goodness, you look at federalism, states’ rights, you look at this idea of the local church, all of that is saying, ‘We learned the lesson from Genesis 11, and we’re not going to try to build something central or something big or something strong.'” zzz...we have no idea what Kirk is talking about when he claims that the Torah hates big cities, but it’s probably safe to assume that it’s not true, given that just about everything else he said was false....First of all, Thomas Jefferson at the time the Constitution was written, so he played no direct role in designing our system of government and his supposed hatred of cities is totally irrelevant....>Kirk, of course, provided no evidence that the Founding Fathers relied on Genesis 1 ...Kirk rattled off the line about cities being full of “heated passions,” “rancor,” and “rumor” as if he were quoting from the Federalist Papers, but no such quotes appear in any of the
[The creation of a strong central government was& precisely what was intended by those who crafted, signed, and ratified the Constitution. Having struggled through the American Revolution and the first years of independence with](https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/full-text...
;are%20completely%20meaningless%20since%20all%20of%20those%20essays%20were%20written%20by%20James%20Madison%20and%20said%20literally%20nothing%20about%20the%20supposed%20dangers%20of%20cities.%20%28Essays%2047%20and%2051%20were%20about%20checks%20and%20balances%20and%20the%20separation%20of%20powers,%20and%20essay%2058%20was%20about%20the%20appointment%20of%20representatives%20in%20the%20House%20of%20Representatives.%29)agreed that what was needed was a convention to “render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union.” The Constitution that arose out of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was designed to remedy the weakness and diffusion of powers that hampered the federal government under the Articles of Confederation. ...On top of all of that, the Founding Fathers obviously weren’t particularly concerned about protecting the federal government from the supposed corrupting power of cities, since they in New York City,then, as now, the most populous city in country.
Of course, none of these facts matter to Kirk because his goal isn’t to tell the truth or present an accurate view of history, but rather to convince Christian conservatives that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and that they have a biblical obligation to ensure that it remains one. We’ve seen this same strategy used time and time again by David Barton and other Christian nationalists.
There’s a reason why Right Wing Watch has repeatedly debunked these lies about the founding of our nation. Kirk, Barton, and others have an explicit political goal when they tell them: They want to bolster their Christian nationalist agenda, undermine church-state separation, and reverse progress toward equality by insisting that our laws and policies must coincide with their interpretation of the Bible.
Tags: Charlie Kirk Jack Hibbs Christian Nationalism Turning Point USA
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vs trump dereg
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-suggests-residents-east-palestine-are-being-punished-voting-republican
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February 22, 2023
- Quinn Owen @ ABC News: Proud Boys saw surge in membership after Trump’s debate message, former member testifies.
- David Badash @ The New Civil Rights Movement: Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘Democrat’ Voters Should Be Banned from Voting If They Move to Red States.
- David Edwards @ Raw Story: Charlie Kirk claims ‘witches’ made him ‘sick’ as he attacks Trump grand jury foreperson.
- Joe Jervis: Indicted QAnon Ex-Clerk Runs For Colorado GOP Chair.
- Kate Riga @ Talking Points Memo: With Primary Decided, Stage Is Set For Wisconsin Supreme Court Barnburner.
- Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Isaac Stanley-Becker @ The Washington Post: Arizona’s top prosecutor concealed records debunking election fraud claims.
- Anya Zoledziowski and David Gilbert @ Vice News: The Far Right Is Calling for the Execution of Teachers and Doctors.
Tags: Charlie Kirk Marjorie Taylor Greene Mark Brnovich Tina Peters Round-Up Proud Boys
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-says-ohio-train-derailment-part-war-white-people
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): Not a single member of the Biden regime would dare to go to this portion of Ohio and breathe in the air because they know it's dangerous. They know that it is actively poisoning the citizens of eastern Ohio. So, why is it that they kind of shrug their shoulders and they say, yeah, okay, whatever? It's very simple.It's because the war on white people continues. Why would you care for the white working class voters in eastern Ohio? You haven't cared about them in other reasons or other portions.
And I will prove it to you. If this train derailment happened in downtown Atlanta in the densely populated Black neighborhoods, this would be the number one news story. It would be Flint water crisis 2.0. There would be clamoring and activism and talks for reparations. And Buttigieg, meanwhile, is out there saying, listen -- while this derailment is happening, while the act of poisoning is happening, he's saying, look, the problem is that workers are too white.
...
Buttigieg is out talking about how workers are too white. For the last couple of years, I have been warning about this crusade against white people. And people shrug their shoulders, say, oh, Charlie, why does that matter? I could tell you why it matters -- when there is a crisis now and the leaders hate working class whites, they're not going to scramble to save your life. They'll lie to you and tell you to go back home while you're poisoned.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-and-jack-posobiec-claim-concern-about-equity-reminiscent-apartheid-south
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): And Jack, here's one of the tragedies – it will create more bigotry and more stereotyping. So,
JACK POSOBIEC (GUEST): Of course.
KIRK: So if you areboarding a United Airlines flight and you see a Black pilot, they are conditioning you to think, I don't know if he's there because he's a wonderful pilot, and that's not good. I don't want to live in that country. I don't want to have that kind of lens. But that will be a rational thought that someone will have because of, now, the hiring quotas and because of the way that we are now putting people in positions of authority and power. They are changing medical licensing exams. I hope everyone knows this. They are changing medical licensing exams so that it is pass-fail because different scores were used to award residencies and those were, of course, racist. One minute, Jack.
JACK POSOBIEC (GUEST): You remember this famously came up with Mindy Kaling's brother. So the famous actress Mindy Kaling came out in 2015 and says, I faked being Black, and that's how I got into medical school. This can't be – obvious they're of Indian descent, but he decided to fake being Black, was able to get into medical school, was able to go all the way through and say, there's no way that you can choose – there's no way that you can threaten me.
So, Charlie, I think the way out of this really is for everyone to just go ahead and identify with whatever you feel works for you –
KIRK: That's terrible.
POSOBIEC: If you want to identify as multiracial, as quasi racial, pseudo race, whatever. Go for it. Because who is actually going to question this? How are they going to --
KIRK: I mean --
POSOBIEC: It would be one way to break the system.
KIRK: What they call equity, is they want to create a world where you are in a deficit if you are white. That is that is the world they're trying to create. And it's really cruel to say that. But when they say equity, they're trying to make it where you have a structural disadvantage through hiring –
POSOBIEC: Almost like apartheid.
KIRK: Of course it is.
POSOBIEC: It almost sounds like apartheid.
KIRK: But that is what South Africa did. South Africa took the awful, kind of, immoral approach to apartheid and they just flipped it upside down. They just said, ok, now we're going to extract revenge on the colonizers because now we're in charge. And South Africa is not a functioning country.
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right-wing media weaponize the East Palestine train derailment to claim white conservatives are being persecuted
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mma
turning Point USA’s Alex Clark is on a misinformation campaign against hormonal birth control
02/14/23
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his lane? one up? unfixable?
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-christopher-rufo-says-we-should-make-colleges-better-how-where-has-ever
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- Charlie Kirk has been announced as the keynote speaker at the Zelenko Freedom Foundation’s inaugural gala in March. The organization is named after Vladimi Zelenko, a right-wing COVID-19 skeptic, and is run by QAnon conspiracy theorist Ann Vandersteel.
- Nick Fuentes says that cops and priests will be the cornerstone of his hoped for police state in which people who don’t convert to Catholicism are sent to jail.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-black-studies-always-going-be-politicized
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https://www.alternet.org/charlie-kirk-2659059106/
nfl vax
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/salems-charlie-kirk-compares-trans-people-disastrous-invasion-iraq
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an me 12 22
A new transcript is shedding light on Julia “Julie” Fancelli's intent to offer $3 million to support for those who were involved in the Jan. 6 protests that transpired prior to Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol.
According to HuffPost, documentation of the Publix heir's testimony before the House Select Committee includes details about the donations she was willing to provide.
The report also noted that InfoWars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Stone, Trump aide Roger Stone and Charlie Kirk also benefited from Fancelli's contributions.
READ MORE: At least 3 members of a pro-Roger Stone group are facing charges in connection with Jan. 6 riot
"Extremist conspiracy peddler Alex Jones apparently scored $200,000 from Fancelli, longtime Donald Trump aide Roger Stone was provided a private flight to Washington, D.C., and young Trump disciple Charlie Kirk — head of Turning Point USA — received $1.25 million ostensibly to transport masses of Trump supporters to the capital, according to the transcript of her questioning released by the committee Thursday," the news outlet reports.
Out of Fancelli's donation, Stone was supposed to use a quarter of the $200,000 for the "rally operating budget."
The latest on the transcript follows a previous Washington Post report about Fancelli's contribution. According to that report, she was listed as one of the largest publicly known contributors to former President Donald Trump's January 6 "Stop the Steal" rally.
"The Washington Post earlier reported that Fancelli was the largest publicly known donor to the rally — and had wired $650,000 to groups behind the 'Stop the Steal' organizing," the news outlet reports. "But the transcript of her questioning, which cites wire transfers and various communications, has revealed that her financial role was even greater than previously known. She has told the Post she had no idea the event would become violent."
As reports began circulating about Fancelli's contribution, Publix previously released a statement distancing from her actions. “We are deeply troubled by Ms. Fancelli’s involvement in the events that led to the tragic attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6,” the company said last year when questioned about her role in the rally efforts.
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big lie
https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-we-need-new-election-arizona
12 22
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https://www.alternet.org/tucker-carlson-2658998824/
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On Wednesday, December 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Joe Biden in the White House and gave an English-language speech during a joint session of Congress.
This was Zelenskyy’s first visit to the United States since Russian forces, on orders from President Vladimir Putin, launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine on February 21. During his speech before Congress, Vice President Kamala Harris and outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood behind Zelenskyy while holding up a Ukrainian flag in solidarity with his country.
But some far-right MAGA Republicans were not happy to see Zelenskyy getting a warm reception from Biden, Harris, Pelosi and other Democrats. And libertarian/conservative journalist Cathy Young calls out those MAGA Republicans in a biting article published by The Bulwark on December 22 and headlined, “Putin’s Useful Idiots: Right Wingers Lose It Over Zelenskyy Visit.”
READ MORE: George Will: Why Americans should 'give thanks' for Volodymyr Zelensky’s 'pugnacious individualism'
Young observes, “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s surprise arrival in Washington on Wednesday for a meeting with President Joe Biden and a speech before Congress has unhinged the always-seething anti-Ukraine Trumpian right, triggering a deluge of snark and grievance…. ‘National conservative’ pundit and Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer, who played the ‘obviously, Putin is a thug and Ukraine is the victim here, but….’ game in the early days of the war, went full Putin this time around.”
Hammer, on December 21, tweeted, “Raise your hand if you are personally DONE with the Ukraine gravy train.” And Republican activist Donald Trump Jr., on Twitter, posted, “Zelenskyy is basically an ungrateful international welfare queen.”
“To top it off, Hammer, who shares Zelenskyy’s Jewish heritage, also accused the Ukrainian president of being a bad Jew — unseemly under any circumstances, but all the more so considering that only a few days earlier, Hammer had been spotted at a New York Young Republicans’ Club Gala in the company of various alt-right types with, shall we say, a complicated relationship to antisemitism,” Young writes. “Among them: Rep. Marjorie ‘Jewish Space Lasers’ Taylor Greene, the founders of the white nationalist website VDARE, and erstwhile Jew-baiting troll Jack Posobiec.”
Young notes that the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh said of Zelenskyy, “Get this grifting leech out of our country please,” while Fox News’ Tucker Carlson mocked Zelenskyy as a “Ukrainian strip club manager” and said of his visit to the U.S., “It may be impossible to imagine a more humiliating scenario for the greatest country on Earth.”
MAGA conspiracy theorist Benny Johnson and Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk slammed Zelenskyy for wearing casual attire during his speech before Congress.
Young writes, “A few other right-wing pundits, including career plagiarist-turned-conspiracy-theory-peddler Benny Johnson and Turning Point USA grifting leech Charlie Kirk, homed in on the really important stuff: Zelenskyy’s outfit…. Of course, Zelenskyy’s clothes were meant to visually convey the fact that he’s in the middle of a brutal war. When you’re just back from a visit to the front lines in an area that looks like a ghost warscape from World War I come back to life, you’ve earned the right to make that particular fashion statement — even on a visit to Washington, D.C.”
The libertarian/conservative journalist goes on to offer some reasons why many MAGA Republicans have such intense “hatred” for Zelenskyy.
“The question of why the Trumpian populist right is so consumed with hatred for Ukraine — a hatred that clearly goes beyond concerns about U.S. spending, a very small portion of our military budget, or about the nonexistent involvement of American troops — doesn’t have a simple answer, Young explains. “Partly, it’s simply partisanship: If the libs are for it, we’re against it, and the more offensively the better. And if the pre-Trump Republican establishment is also for it, then we’re even more against it. Partly, it’s the belief that Ukrainian democracy is a Biden/Obama/Hillary Clinton/‘Deep State’ project, all the more suspect because it’s related to Trump’s first impeachment.”
Young continues, “Partly, it’s the ‘national conservative’ distaste for liberalism — not only in its American progressive iteration, but in the more fundamental sense that includes conservatives like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: the outlook based on individual freedom and personal autonomy, equality before the law, limited government, and an international order rooted in those values. Many NatCons are far more sympathetic to Russia’s crusade against secular liberalism than to Ukraine’s desire for integration into liberal, secular Europe. Whatever the reason, the anti-Ukraine animus on the right is quite real and widespread.”
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-calls-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-uppity-foreigner
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an 12 22
Right-wing political activist and neo-Nazi sympathizer Jack Posobiec suggested at a Turning Point USA conference on Tuesday that he and other conservatives are victims and that he is no longer going to "turn the other cheek."
Posobiec is one of many loud, fringe provocateurs that are grooming young people into considering committing acts of violence against the United States government as well as their fellow citizens. A principal gripe among this community is the national shift toward tolerance of individuals whom they view as inferior or threatening to so-called "traditional" values, such as LGBTQ+ Americans, Jews, non-whites, and, especially, liberal voters within the Democratic Party.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon also spoke at the event, but his remarks were aimed at punishing President Joe Biden and other federal officials whom he falsely claims have led a vast, covert conspiracy against ex-President Donald Trump.
READ MORE: Watch: Twice-convicted felon Steve Bannon accuses President Joe Biden of 'selling out this country'
But Posobiec delivered a Christmas message with a notably more sinister tone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, gentlemen and ladies, and also to the deplorables in the audience: I come here before you with a message, a simple message. It is Christmas time, and we are saying 'Merry Christmas' again. That's right. But, but, I'm a Christian. But I'm done turning the other cheek," he said.
"Because now is the time for action. Now is the time for victory. Now is the time to take back our country," Posobiec continued. "And we're doing it. We're taking it all back."
Watch below via Media Matters for America or at this link.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/turning-point-usa-turns-its-attention-elementary-schoolers
biblical citizen?!
mma 12 22
a decade ago, Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA, whose stated intent is playing “offense with a sense of urgency to win America’s culture war” on high school and college campuses. Now, the organization has turned its attention to an even younger demographic, announcing the launch of Turning Point Academy, a supposedly anti-“woke” “educational movement” curriculum which aims to bring conservative values and right-wing talking points into elementary and high school classrooms.
Recent TPUSA campaigns, which feature at least one K-12 school and incentives for young people to attend the organization's annual conference, come amid a broader political landscape in which right-wing media and political figures, including Kirk and others associated withTPUSA, have been lobbing false accusations that Democrats are forcing a “woke” agenda on children that amounts to sexual grooming.
On June 7, TPUSA put out a press release announcing that it would be opening its first “brick and mortar” school, Turning Point Academy, in collaboration with Dream City Christian Schools in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. According to the release, “Dream City Christian, a Turning Point Academy,” is the first in a “growing network of schools” that will incorporate the curriculum and structure designed by TPUSA and Kirk.
This curriculum attempts to what right-wing figures have identified as threats to conservative education. Rather than arguing that this educational project is apolitical, as other right-wing figures have, Turning Point Academy is proud to announce that it is “Christian, Classical, conservative, church-based and cost-affordable.” Turning Point Academy assures parents that “CRT, postmodernism, ‘Wokeism,’ deconstructionism, queer theory, radical LGBT agendas, and anti-American ideas such as the 1619 projectwill have no place at our institution” and promises “to never waver from the truth and to teach self-government and liberty to students.”
Dream City Christian is an existing K-12 private school that claims the “current political and spiritual climate in the country is in turmoil” and that a “well-established biblical worldview is a must for every student.” This combined ethos of Christian education and right-wing politics makes Dream City Christian a clear fit for TPUSA’s particular blend of Christian fundamentalism and Trumpism.
While Dream City Christian provides the institution and the location, TPUSA brings its experience campaigning at colleges and high schools across the country. As Kirk said:
“Having been in the educational world for 10 years, we have access to some of the best educational resources, teachers, academics and curriculums this country has to offer. We can bring those to bear as we relaunch Dream City Christian as the first Turning Point Academy, ensuring it is a model for others to follow as we launch additional Turning Point Academies around the country.”
The “educational resources” TPUSA offers include activism kits, original media, and access to a number of conservative speaking events. Alongside Young America’s Foundation, and its campus organization Young Americans for Freedom, TPUSA is a major conservative influence on campuses around the country.
TPUSA also hosts AmericaFest, a conservative conference that will take place from December 17 to December 20 of this year, featuring speakers including Candace Owens and Matt Walsh. This year’s conference will also include Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who was the subject of a federal probe due to allegations that he violated federal child sex trafficking laws and whose associate, Joel Greenberg, was recently convicted of charges for similar infractions resulting from the investigation.
TPUSA has special provisions in place aimed at attracting conservative minors to the event, including reduced ticket prices, hotel accommodations, and travel stipends. At the same time, the organization will host its Educators’ Summit, an event it has advertised to parents and teachers who may be curious about Turning Point Academy.
[cost perks]
TPUSA’s appeal to the next generation comes while right-wing figures continue to accuse the Democratic Party of indoctrinating students with “woke” curricula and falsely conflate LGBTQ representation in schools with the sexual grooming of young people. In addition to rejecting LGBTQ representation and inclusive curriculum in schools, these conservative influences are often explicitly anti-trans, as in the case of conservative children’s books recently published by Matt Walsh and Steven Crowder. TPUSA, which has long been a conservative influence on college campuses and a pipeline to conservative media outlets across the country, is now highlighting the next frontier of the conservative educational ecosystem: children and minors “15 & under.”
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-bitcoin-some-ways-has-more-integrity-us-dollar
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mma 12 22 amfest 2022 poster he is 1st on Rt (oh it is his)
CHARLIE KIRK: But it is a fact that 200,000 people more or less decided not to show up. OK, 200,000 people said I have something better to do. Now, you might say, Charlie, isn't it fraud? Well, I'm talking about people who didn't show up at all. They didn't check into a voting booth, they didn't even attempt to put a ballot in - there is no record that they came at all whatsoever. Zero. No record.
And you have to wonder, how is that possible? You have the whole country's future hanging in the balance. All you have to do is drive ten or fifteen minutes and vote in person early or go and vote on Election Day, but it did not happen.
Instead, Democrats had a much higher turnout proportional to their 11/8 turnout than Walker did. Democrats wanted it more in Georgia. They ran more ads, they knocked on more doors.
I am not criticizing any of you guys who worked super hard in Georgia. We did our best at Turning Point Action as well. But where we are at is a demoralized Republican Party. Understandably, by the way. But are we going to allow our apprehension of the voting system, how demoralized we are, when it comes to the future of the country, to be an excuse to not go for ten or fifteen moments to go vote? Well, that was the message that came out of Georgia last evening.
…
You have to wonder, are we communicating the election integrity issue correctly? I could go email after email here right now. Last night we got plenty of emails that said Charlie, I proudly did not vote.
Later in the episode, Kirk added, “The MAGA movement is committing suicide in front of our very eyes.”
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https://www.amfest.com/
dec 2022
Phoenix Convention Center:
100 N 3rd Street,
Phoenix, AZ 85004
CHARLIE KIRK
Tucker Carlson
TUCKER CARLSON
Steve Bannon
STEVE BANNON
Candace Owens
CANDACE OWENS
Speaker Newt Gingrich
SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH
Matt Walsh
MATT WALSH
Greg Gutfeld
GREG GUTFELD
Laura Ingraham
LAURA INGRAHAM
Kayleigh McEnany
KAYLEIGH MCENANY
Senator Josh Hawley
SENATOR JOSH HAWLEY
Tim Pool
TIM POOL
Michael Knowles
MICHAEL KNOWLES
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert
U.S. REP. LAUREN BOEBERT
Jack Posobiec
JACK POSOBIEC
Harmeet Dillon
HARMEET DILLON
Allie Stuckey
ALLIE STUCKEY
Benny Johnson
BENNY JOHNSON
Seth Dillon
SETH DILLON
Harriet Hageman
HARRIET HAGEMAN
Mike Lindell
MIKE LINDELL
Eric Metaxas
ERIC METAXAS
Darren Beattie
DARREN BEATTIE
Kash Patel
KASH PATEL
Lauren Chen
LAUREN CHEN
George Farmer
GEORGE FARMER
MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
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2021
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Turning Point USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk. The organization’s mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles
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11 22 mma
email = freedom at charliekirk.com
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): Not enough people. I mean, got to give Blake Masters credit and JD -- and they're in heated campaigns so they got to stay focused. I think Senator Vance will take this on. I do.
ROBBY STARBUCK (GUEST): Oh yeah. I think they will. The new school -- you know, this new right --
KIRK: I agree, yes.
STARBUCK: With people like JD Vance and Blake Masters is so critical to get them in because they will attack this stuff. Now, in terms of current members the only people --
KIRK: Josh Hawley, I know will do something. Yeah, maybe.
STARBUCK: Have been Marjorie and Rand Paul.
KIRK: Yeah. Yeah, and look,I think part of it, though, is, you know, politicians are singing off the song sheet that we provide them. Right? So, when they win, and if we get them into office, we have to have an agenda here, right? We have to have marching orders. And one of them needs to be an all out attack on the administrative state.
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12 22 mma claimed by vincen j
KIRK (TPUSA PRESIDENT): If you would've asked the question six months ago, I was extremely pessimistic about the status of free speech. But Elon has changed the game. I gotta tell you, he has been an unexpected entry into this entire dynamic. Because I used to say, you know, we got to have section 230 reform and have all these different things. I still believe that.
But, man, him spending 44 billion dollars to go purchase a company – to go restore Donald Trump's Twitter account and let all these people back online and all these prisoners of war from the meme wars, I mean it is – it's fair. They're POWs, God bless them. That's a big threat to the regime.
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mma
Fox News correspondent mocks Katie Hobbs after the network calls her win in AZ gubernatorial race
11/15/22 10:21 AM EST
Charlie Kirk and guests discuss recalling Arizona's Governor-elect Katie Hobbs
11/15/22 9:20 AM EST
Fox News hosts Adam Carolla to analyze Arizona gubernatorial election results
11/14/22 10:23 PM EST
Watch Rachel Maddow connect Steve Bannon to potential election denialism in Arizona
11/14/22 9:53 PM EST
---
no lnx
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/04/arizona-gop-turning-point-usa/
Democracy Dies in Darkness
EXCLUSIVE
How a pro-Trump youth group remade the Arizona GOP, testing democracy
Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point network worked to purge officials who affirmed the 2020 election results
By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Isaac Stanley-Becker
November 4, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Tuesday in Chandler, Ariz. (Caitlin O’Hara for The Washington Post)
PHOENIX — The young conservative activist had a plan, and he wanted the veteran Arizona House speaker to push it.
The two men huddled at a barbecue joint in January as the activist — Tyler Bowyer, the chief operating officer of the pro-Trump youth group Turning Point USA — unspooled his demands: Republican legislators, he insisted, should carve up booming and fast-diversifying Maricopa County, diluting the power of Democrats in a state that had helped deliver Joe Biden the presidency.
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But the Republican House speaker, Rusty Bowers, ultimately balked at redrawing the state’s map to seize partisan advantage. As the pair’s political differences grew, the activist, who was half the speaker’s age, vowed revenge.
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“Rusty, I will be working toward ensuring you do not win your election in 2022,” Bowyer warned in a March text message obtained by The Washington Post. “I appreciate your service, I will do whatever it takes to ensure you are retired.”
Soon, the state legislator faced a rush of ridicule on social media and in negative ads as Turning Point’s political arm launched a campaign to “Replace RINO Rusty.” The speaker lost his primary for an open state Senate seat in August to a Turning Point-backed Republican who called the 2020 election a “conspiracy headed up by the Devil himself.”
The takedown of one of the most powerful Republicans in the state illustrates the rise of Turning Point USA and its network of affiliates, which have pushed beyond their core mission of energizing college conservatives to turn Arizona into a laboratory for a new brand of Republican organizing. The decade-old nonprofit organization has helped transform the state GOP, seeking to elevate acolytes of former president Donald Trump and purge old-guard centrists who led in the tradition of the late Republican Sen. John McCain.
The group’s success is reflected in the Republican midterm election slate — nearly every statewide candidate and many of those farther down the ballot have embraced Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. The political career of Kari Lake, the state’s GOP gubernatorial nominee, took off at a Turning Point event last year, and she has filled her campaign staff with former Turning Point employees. Lake has promised, if elected, to overhaul how votes are cast and counted in this pivotal swing state.
“They have a bigger impact than any other Republican group I know,” said Jeff DeWit, a former state treasurer in Arizona who served as chief operating officer for both of Trump’s presidential campaigns. “They’re more powerful than the RNC,” he said, referring to the Republican National Committee.
Tyler Bowyer, a longtime Turning Point leader, speaks in the ear of Austin Smith, a Turning Point Action employee and Republican candidate for the Arizona House, at an October canvassing event in Mesa, Ariz. (Caitlin O’Hara for The Washington Post)
Volunteers at a Turning Point Action get-out-the-vote event in October in Mesa. (Caitlin O'Hara for The Washington Post)
Kathy Pearce, a Republican candidate for Arizona House, speaks at the Mesa event. (Caitlin O'Hara for The Washington Post)]
This account of Turning Point’s quest to remake the Arizona Republican Party is based on audio recordings of private meetings, personal messages and interviews with more than 80 people, including current and former Turning Point employees, public officials and their staffers, political consultants, and state and local party activists who have interacted with the nonprofit’s leaders. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details or avoid professional reprisal.
The Post review found that Turning Point, which forged an early alliance with the pro-Trump movement in 2016, devised an aggressive strategy to enforce discipline and purity in a divided GOP that was struggling to overcome Democratic gains in the state. The group recruited like-minded activists into the party ranks and often used provocative rhetoric online to pressure old-guard Republicans and “barrage the left,” as one internal document put it, while creating a new political action committee to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into statewide and legislative campaigns.
Nationally, Turning Point solidified its identity in the MAGA era. Like Trump, Turning Point’s leaders gravitate toward messages primed to go viral on social media, including a recent call for a “hero” to bail out of jail the man accused of assaulting the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Founder Charlie Kirk, now 29, was the 10th-biggest “superspreader” of misinformation about the 2020 election on Twitter, according to the Election Integrity Partnership, a consortium of researchers. Kirk encouraged his followers to attend the Jan. 6, 2021, rally that preceded the assault on the U.S. Capitol, and a website promoting the rally listed Turning Point Action, the group’s political arm, as a backer.
The Attack: The Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol was neither a spontaneous act nor an isolated event
With more than $65 million in annual revenue, more than 400 employees and a massive network of conservative influencers, Turning Point’s vast network exerts its influence through a dizzying array of mediums, from podcasts to social media to concert-like rallies, funded by GOP megadonors and aimed at younger generations.
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Kirk is a prolific fundraiser, using his connections in Trump’s inner circle to fete donors at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. But it’s Bowyer, 37, who translates that influence and those resources into raw political power in Arizona, a state increasingly setting the tone for the national GOP.
Tyler Bowyer describes his role at Turning Point.
Kirk and Bowyer declined to comment for this report. Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA and its affiliates, said that both men effectively channel conservative interests and that the group’s years-long work in Arizona is “bearing significant fruit in 2022.” Kolvet sought to distance Turning Point from some of Bowyer’s political advocacy, which he said was undertaken in Bowyer’s “capacity as a Republican Party leader.”
In a private meeting with conservative activists this year, Bowyer remarked on his role at Turning Point by calling himself “the guy that basically runs everything,” according to an audio recording obtained by The Post. At another point in the conversation, he boasted of his enthusiasm for political confrontation: “I have giant balls.”
Tyler Bowyer boasts of his political mettle.
An attendee picks up a poster at the Turning Point Action event at Pioneer Park in Mesa in October. (Caitlin O’Hara for The Washington Post)
Forged in the MAGA movement
It was January 2015, and a pivotal presidential election loomed.
Bowyer had just started to work for Turning Point as part of its expansion in Arizona and other parts of the West. He was also elected chair of the Maricopa County GOP, promising to revolutionize the party by recruiting a new generation of volunteers at the lowest levels of the party — a strategy now at the center of pro-Trump organizing.
Bowyer, who touts that his family has lived in Arizona for seven generations, had long chafed at the conventional party apparatus and longed for one more willing to push boundaries. As a student at Arizona State University, he earned the adoration of tea party activists when he ridiculed Gov. Jan Brewer (R) for expanding the state’s Medicaid program.
In the summer of 2015, Bowyer received a call from Trump’s campaign manager, who was trying to schedule a small gathering in Phoenix but was facing pushback from Republican state leaders who had recoiled at Trump’s style and uncompromising approach to immigration, according to a person familiar with the call.
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The young activist and others helped organize and promote a rally that attracted thousands on a sweltering July day. Bowyer warmed up the crowd ahead of Trump’s 90-minute speech.
In the final months of the campaign, Kirk, then 22, took a leave from Turning Point to travel the country with Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., 38 at the time. They focused on events tailored to students and appeared at a Fox News town hall aimed at millennials.
President Donald Trump with Charlie Kirk, founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, in Washington in 2018. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
As they campaigned in the Phoenix area, Bowyer recorded a video of Trump Jr. helping a stranded motorist and pushing a car in triple-digit heat. He posted it on Twitter, writing, “This is why I’m voting Trump!” The message, which has been viewed more than half a million times, made clear to Turning Point leaders the online appetite for pro-Trump content.
Trump went on to win Arizona in 2016, and Republicans swept other races. Turning Point and the Make America Great Again movement fell into a well-defined symbiosis: Kirk and his associates helped amplify Trump’s messages on social media, and the group’s fundraising exploded.
In 2018, Kirk relocated his enterprise from the Chicago suburbs, where he was raised, to a two-story headquarters in a Phoenix office park. The sprawling facility includes a television studio where several live-stream shows are filmed, near a wall decorated with a huge American flag and pennants from dozens of college campuses.
An opening ceremony drew big names from across the Republican Party’s ideological divide, including Gov. Doug Ducey. Bowyer, who recently had been promoted to chief operating officer, addressed the crowd.
“One thing I hope that you take away from today,” he said, “is that you see all of the wonderful things that are happening across the country in the name of conservatism.”
A rival to the GOP mainstream
Within months, Arizona Republicans were in crisis. Democrats had swept the 2018 midterm election, flipping a U.S. Senate seat, the secretary of state’s office and races down the ballot. Arizona had quickly gone from a conservative stronghold to a true swing state. Turning Point leaders and other conservatives saw it as confirmation that the state party needed a dramatically different strategy.
Bowyer viewed the results as affirmation of his long-standing philosophy: “If the Republican Party doesn’t do its job, you know, then the Republican Party has to go,” he said in the private meeting with activists this year, according to audio obtained by The Post.
Bowyer talks to activists about the Republican Party.
Kolvet, the Turning Point spokesman, declined to elaborate on Bowyer’s comments but said, “Turning Point is confident Mr. Bowyer had the best interest of the conservative movement and the organization in mind.”
Tyler Bowyer, chief operating officer at Turning Point Action, speaks at the canvassing event in Mesa. (Caitlin O’Hara for The Washington Post)
In January 2019, party members gathered in a Phoenix church to pick their next leader.
Bowyer threw his support behind Kelli Ward,a former state senator who had unsuccessfully run for U.S. Senate twice and had publicized her disdain for the establishment wing of the party. She pledged to recruit MAGA Republicans as foot soldiers and oversee a transformation of the state party.
Bowyer worked the room that day with help from Jake Hoffman, a Turning Point consultant. Hoffman ran a marketing firm that worked for a PAC that had supported Ward’s failed Senate bids.
Ward prevailed over a McCain ally, and Hoffman helped her transition into the role of party chair. When Republicans wanted to reach Ward, they started with Hoffman, whose businesses have remained key vendors for the state party, according to campaign finance records.
As the state’s top Republicans kept their distance from Ward, Turning Point saw an opportunity. Her title gave Turning Point credibility.
Ward, in a statement, called Hoffman and Bowyer “friends and allies” and “two of the most righteous people I know.”
Hoffman, a former school board member and town councilman, was listed on Turning Point’s staff directory through at least early 2019. In 2020, The Post revealed that he was running a deceptive online operation for Turning Point’s political arm in which teenagers peppered the internet with pro-Trump messaging, some using fake accounts. Hoffman defended the practice at the time.
Over the years, Hoffman has been an administrator for the Facebook pages of Turning Point, Kirk and Trump Jr., according to a person familiar with the setup. Hoffman did not dispute the details of his social media work for Trump Jr. or Turning Point, saying that he was “happy to consult with the organization.”
That fall, Hoffman won a race for the Arizona House, giving Turning Point an ally in the statehouse.
Turning Point was no longer on the GOP’s fringes. It was at the party’s center.
Voters arrive for a Kari Lake event at the Rancho de Tia Rosa restaurant in Mesa in early October. (Caitlin O'Hara for The Washington Post)
Attendees at the Rancho de Tia Rosa event, including Bowyer, center, watch a video before Lake's appearance. (Caitlin O’Hara for The Washington Post)
Attendees at the GOP gubernatorial nominee's event at the Mesa restaurant. (Caitlin O’Hara for The Washington Post)
‘Repercussions could be big’
In 2020, Turning Point told donors its task was activating young voters, registering thousands to vote and delivering Arizona and other swing states to Trump, according to documents obtained by The Post.
The group aimed to capitalize on the electorate’s intensifying distrust of government, media and political parties, the documents show. Opportunities to do so expanded with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kirk argued that the “China Virus” proved the need for Trump’s promised wall on the southern border,and text messages sent by Turning Point Action falsely claimed that the government was “sending goons DOOR-TO-DOOR to make you take a covid-19 vaccine.”
When Trump resumed holding large campaign events, Turning Point Action’s Students for Trump helped pack Phoenix’s Dream City Church for a June 2020 rally. Outside, police in riot gear clashed with protesters. Inside, the megachurch’s cavernous auditorium offered refuge from mask mandates.
Kirk prays at a "Freedom Night in America" event last month at Dream City Church in Phoenix.(Joshua Lott/The Washington Post)
Attendees at the Turning Point event at the Phoenix church last month. The group hosted a major Trump rally at the church in June 2020. (Joshua Lott/The Washington Post)
Ahead of the election, Turning Point Action touted its “round-the-clock Digital War-Room to promote content we create and constantly barrage the left online,” according to a slide deck obtained by The Post. It seized on culture war issues such as how race is taught in public schools, the rights of transgender individuals and illegal immigration.
But Trump lost Arizona — the first time a Republican presidential candidate had ceded the state since 1996. Quickly, Turning Point became a linchpin of Trump’s efforts to deny his defeat and reverse his loss.
Bowyer, elected that year to the Republican National Committee, gathered with Hoffman and Ward at the state party’s headquarters on Dec. 14, 2020, the day the state’s presidential electors met to cast their votes for Biden, according to state party tweets. As part of a seven-state plan, the trio signed paperwork falsely declaring themselves the state’s electors. That plan is now a focus of congressional investigators and prosecutors probing Trump’s quest to stay in power.
On Twitter, the state party asked followers whether they would be willing to die to keep Trump in the White House. Another post proposed “contempt & jail time” for county officials who affirmed Biden’s win.
The posts alarmed Trey Terry, 35, a conservative who lives near a Republican county official who had helped oversee the election and was facing death threats as a result. Terry urged Bowyer to help tone down the messaging in a private exchange over Twitter that was obtained by The Post.
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“His kids and wife can’t go anywhere without being harassed as they go in and out of their house,” Terry wrote, describing the county official’s experience. “That s--- is out of line. So it’s hard for me to ignore.”
Bowyer responded that while he had sympathy for the county official, elected leaders must adhere to the party’s platform and “repercussions could be big for those who aren’t on the same page with the party.”
Terry accused party leaders of “whipping” up activists “based on zero evidence” of widespread fraud. Bowyer did not disagree but suggested that his approach is the reason for Turning Point’s success.
“I didn’t build a 45 million dollar a year organization,” he wrote, by “misunderstanding the base.”
Kirk speaks during at the Dream City Church event last month. (Joshua Lott/The Washington Post)]
Meanwhile, Turning Point Action arranged for seven buses to take 350 activists from several states to D.C. for the Jan. 6, 2021, rally near the White House, according to three people familiar with the rally planning. Bowyer and Kirk have been interviewed by the House committee investigating the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol that followed the rally, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Austin Smith, a Turning Point Action employee, tweeted a photo of himself speaking to “thousands of patriots” at a rally in Washington on Jan. 5.
“Don’t get comfortable,” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “Fight like hell.”
Kolvet, the Turning Point spokesman, said the group’s involvement that day was “isolated to the president’s speech at the Ellipse.”
In the months that followed, Maricopa County became a hotbed of unsupported claims about the election, and Trump allies launched a haphazard review of the results, over the objection of county officials and election experts.
The purge
The next year, Bowyer tried to convince Bowers, the Arizona House speaker, that the party needed to intensify its efforts to maintain power, Bowers said.
With a map in hand, the activist zeroed in on sprawling Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and 60 percent of the state’s voters, and called for breaking it into four counties, one that would concentrate most Democrats and three that would favor Republicans.
Hoffman, the marketing consultant close to Turning Point who was elected to the state House in 2020, introduced legislation to make it happen — but the opposition of legislative leadership ensured its demise.
A few months later, the speaker testified before the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Bowers detailed Trump’s attempts to overturn the election and his own decision to resist, intensifying the attacks from Turning Point influencers.
Alone in Washington, Rusty Bowers tells world what happened in Arizona
Turning Point expanded its political operation this year with a new PAC under Bowyer’s direction. The group has unleashed more than $415,000 in Arizona since July, according to state records, and has reported more than $600,000 in spending to the Federal Election Commission. About half of its spending in Arizona has boosted Lake after a bitter primary that pitted her against the party establishment, including the governor. But the money has also extended to legislative races in which spending is traditionally restrained. Hundreds of thousands of dollars went to Hoffman’s firm, records show.
The PAC helped a crew of far-right candidates win primary contests in state races, including Steve Montenegro, who helped coordinate bombastic election-denying messaging during the review of Maricopa County’s 2020 ballots; Liz Harris, who routinely spreads election falsehoods; and Smith, the Turning Point Action enterprise director who spoke at a D.C. rally the day before the insurrection.
Turning Point has played a wide-ranging role in Lake’s campaign, and former Turning Point staffers have filled key positions on her campaign, including a top adviser and a former press secretary. This summer, Lake said on Twitter that her daughter was involved with the group. In fact, she’s a full-time Turning Point employee, according to two people familiar with the matter.
“Turning Point has been essential in turning … enthusiasm into a tsunami of activists that naturally flock to candidates like Kari Lake,” Caroline Wren, a senior adviser on the Lake campaign, said in a statement.
Election deniers march toward power in key 2024 battlegrounds
Lake’s rise also created new opportunities for Hoffman, whose firm was paid about $2.3 million by a pro-Lake super PAC,according to state records. A complaint about the source of the PAC’s funding is under review by the Maricopa County elections department. Hoffman said his company is “routinely contracted” for such work because it is “one of the leading creative agencies in Arizona.”
Lake, a former television anchor, gained MAGA stardom at a Turning Point Action candidate forum in the summer of 2021, when she urged the crowd not to forget about the 2020 election. When Trump spoke on the same stage and name-checked Lake, the room erupted in applause. He cocked his head and clapped. “This could be a big night for you,” he said.
One year later, Lake won the Republican primary and celebrated at a victory party at a Scottsdale resort. On the lush lawn, young women in semiformal dresses and strappy heels lined up for photos. Music blared from inside a ballroom as partygoers snapped selfies. The scene, reminiscent of a graduation party or school dance, highlighted how Turning Point has thrust young people to the center of the state party’s transformation.
One is Carrera Horan, 18, who attended the Turning Point summit that elevated Lake and watches Kirk’s videos on Instagram. “He tells you what you need to be hearing rather than just what you would want to hear,” she said.
Daniel Fuentes, 25, joined his Christian university’s Turning Point chapter, which offered a ready-made friend group. He tunes in to Kirk’s radio show every day on Spotify.
Fuentes is volunteering for Lake’s campaign, and he attended a recent Turning Point canvassing event at a Mesa park, one of 200 that the group says it has hosted nationally this cycle. With the smell of chicken roasting in barbecue pits wafting through the air, he listened intently as Bowyer spoke of the need to “rebrand the conservative movement and the Republican Party as a hope for a future generation.”
Fuentes argued that “Democrat clubs on college campuses are not doing this. Liberal, woke, feminist clubs, they’re not out there telling people: ‘Let’s go out and knock doors. Let’s go out and, you know, sign up to be a precinct [committeeman].’ ”
Looking to 2024
The midterms will test whether Turning Point can win races or just disrupt them.
After winning the primary, Lake quickly made overtures to the state’s GOP establishment.
When Bowyer learned that Lake was meeting with a former state GOP chairman who had been close to McCain, he erupted at her during a phone call as she traveled on a donor’s plane, warning that the base would turn against her, according to three people who heard about his comments.
Lake was unfazed, these people said. Kolvet said Lake and Bowyer “maintain a great relationship.”
With a growing number of well-placed allies, Turning Point is poised to again push election-related legislation favorable to Republicans ahead of 2024. A preview of that came last week when Lake promoted a legislative proposal from Hoffman to punish media outlets that mistakenly report election results.
The Turning Point strategy, said Kirk Adams, a top Republican operative in the state and Gov. Ducey’s former chief of staff, is “all geared toward 2024,” aimed at elevating GOP officials at every level who could thwart an election outcome unfavorable to the party. “Get a compliant governor,” Adams said, describing the strategy. “Get a compliant secretary of state. Get compliant legislative leadership.”
Turning Point’s leaders are looking ahead to 2024. The group’s political arm has hosted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), widely seen as a possible presidential contender, at rallies aimed at high-stakes races in Arizona and beyond.
Lake has embraced the title of “DeSantis of the West.”Others view her as a potential vice-presidential contender. For the moment, she wants to be governor — and if she wins, it will be with Turning Point’s help.
One week before the election, a Kirk aide — who also works as Lake’s deputy field director — kicked off a rally outside a steakhouse in suburban Chandler by praising both of her bosses. Once onstage, Kirk and Lake embraced.
“Kari’s really special,” Kirk said.
“Thank you for the compliment. I’ll take it,” the candidate said. “… We have to tune in to people like Charlie.”
Jacqueline Alemany, Alice Crites, Josh Dawsey and Beth Reinhard contributed to this report.
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j6 cnp:
rww https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/how-ginni-thomas-and-the-shadowy-council-of-national-policy-advanced-a-disinformation-campaign/
,...Two days before the Jan. 6 rally, CNP member Charlie Kirk, who leads the youth-oriented group Turning Point USA, shared a video from Women for America First’s Kylie Jane Kremeradvertising the rally and told his followers that his organizations, TPUSA and Students for Trump, had funded more than80 buses to attend the rally. “The historic event will likely be one of the largest and most consequential in American history,” Kirk wrote. “The team at @TrumpStudents & Turning Point Action are honored to help make this happen, sending 80+ buses full of patriots to DC to fight for this president,” he said in the since deleted tweet,uncovered by Daily Dot. Kirk’s Students for Trump co-chair is Ryan Fournier, a Stop the Steal organizer who spoke at the Jan. 5 rally on the same stage where speakers advocatedrebellion.
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While a viral claim that Ginni Thomas funded the buses herself appearsto be false, Ginni Thomas has been linked to the group in the recent past, serving on Turning Point USA’s advisory council in 2019, along with fellowCNP members Foster Friess, Adam Brandon, and former Ohio congressman Bob McEwen.
On Jan. 5, speakers took to Freedom Plaza for a Stop the Steal rally designed to prime attendees for the big day. Among the speakers wasPeter Navarro, a fringe right-wing economist whospoke at the May 2019 CNP meeting. and who serves as an assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. On the stage at Freedom Plaza, Navarro peddled voter fraud conspiracy theories and urged activists to stay angry,declaring to the assembled crowd, “We will take this back.”
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11 22 an raw
During a segment on his livestream show, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk slammed news outlets and journalists who say the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband this weekend is a sign that right-wing rhetoric is sparking real-world violence, saying "of course" Republicans should reject Democrats' attempts to link them to the attack.
"Why is the conservative movement to blame for gay schizophrenic nudists that are hemp jewelry maker breaking into someone's home -- or maybe not breaking into someone's home. Why are we to blame for that exactly," Kirk said. "And why is he still in jail? Why has he not been bailed out? And by the way, if someamazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out... bail him out, and then go ask him some questions."
Kirk's claim that Paul Pelosi's attacker, Dave DePape, is gay likely came from an article posted, then deleted, by Elon Musk that claimed without evidence that DePape had previously attended a gay nightclub before the attack.
Reports show that DePape had a long history of believing in and blogging about conspiracy theories. In recent years, his beliefs started to reflect themes that are echoed in right-wing conspiracy theorist circles.
Watch the video below or at this link.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-there-deliberate-and-venomous-anti-white-campaign-our-country
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mma 9 22 https://www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/**carlson-kremlin-feedback-loop
Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s dubious allegation that the United States sabotaged a natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany as part of a sinister “escalation” of Russia’s war with Ukraine echoed the Kremlin’s own propagandists. Carlson’s report is now getting substantial attention from Russian state TV, which is promoting his theory — and his suggestion for how Russia could strike back at U.S. interests in light of the supposed attack.
On Monday, “two powerful underwater explosions” damaged the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. While the former had been shut down by Russia in August and the latter never became operational, both contained pressurized gas which is now leaking into the Baltic Sea. The international consensus is that the pipelines were sabotaged, with U.S. and European Union officials suggesting Russia is behind the explosions.
But the Kremlin, in turn, is suggesting that the U.S. sabotaged the pipelines, latching on to a since-deleted Tuesday tweet from Radek Sikorski, a Polish E.U. parliamentarian, which stated, “Thank you, USA,” alongside a photo of the leak. On social media, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson immediately questioned whether Sikorski’s tweet was an “official statement that this was a terrorist attack,” while another Russian official likewise thanked Sikorski for “making it crystal clear who stands behind this terrorist-style targeting of civilian infrastructure!” Russian state media outlet RT quickly amplified their theorizing under the headline “U.S. praised for Nord Stream explosion.”[twt]
carlson’s coverage of the crisis created by Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine generally aligns with the Kremlin’s preferred narratives, to the point where Russian state media outlets, following their government’s explicit instructions, regularly air clips from his program.
That is what happened following the apparent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.
Just hours after Russian officials floated the narrative that the U.S. was responsible for damaging the pipelines, Carlson adopted it as his own.
Describing the ruptures as an “act of industrial terrorism,” Carlson quickly dispatched with the notion that Russia or its dictator, Vladimir Putin, might be involved. According to Carlson, Putin “would not do that” and would have to be “a suicidal moron to blow up your own energy pipeline.”
Instead, Carlson strongly suggested that the U.S. had sabotaged the pipelines. “If they did this, this will be one of the craziest, most destructive things any American administration has ever done,” he said. “But it would also be totally consistent with what they do. What do they do? They destroy.”
Carlson’s comically weak case revolved around two main pieces of evidence – Sikorski’s tweet, and a February statement from President Joe Biden that if Russia were to invade Ukraine, “there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.” That seems to very obviously reference what happened after Russia invaded – Germany froze the pipeline project, which has yet to become operational. But in Carlson’s typically dishonest translation, Biden “said ‘there won't be a Nord Stream 2. We'll put an end to it. Will take it out. Will blow it up.’”
On that scanty evidence, Carlson suggested that the U.S. had blown up an ally’s energy infrastructure. While on-screen text stated “Today’s escalation will have huge consequences,” Carlson asserted that “we've entered a new phase, one in which the United States is directly at war with the largest nuclear power in the world.” He added: “If we actually blew up the Nord Stream pipelines, why wouldn't Russia sever undersea internet cables? What would happen if they did that?" [vid]
it was inevitable that Carlson’s theory would spread through the right-wing media, given his influential role in that ecosystem. But it isn’t just the likes of Charlie Kirk rushing to follow him in blaming America.
Carlson’s monologue “entered heavy rotation” on Russian state TV, as The Washington Post’s Philip Bump noted on Thursday. Bump highlighted 12 different times that Russia’s Channel One, Russia1, and Russia24 networks had aired clips of Carlson highlighting his theory.
Julia Davis, a Russian media monitor and Daily Beast columnist, compiled and translated some of the segments. She noted that the Russian commentators seemed particularly interested in Carlson’s suggestion for how their state might retaliate for the supposed U.S. attack.[twt nice pix of puny panel and big tucker]
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https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/tpusa-promotes-john-guandolos-call-for-right-wing-activists-to-bully-and-harass-political-opponents/
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a new film produced by the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA spotlights radical right-wing conspiracy theorist John Guandolo urging sheriffs to take the law into their own hands and resist federal authority.
Guandolo is a former FBI agent who resigned in 2009 “before the bureau’s Office of Professional Responsibility could question him about his sexual liaisons” with a star witness in a government corruption case as well as “with women FBI agents,” according to a report from The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
Following his resignation, Guandolo became a radical right-wing conspiracy theorist and anti-Islam activist who now runs an organization called Understanding The Threat through which he trains law enforcement agencies around the country to identify seemingly anyone with dark skin and a beard as an Islamic terrorist. Guandolo is so radical that in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, he praised insurrectionists for showing restraint by not publicly executing lawmakers, most of whom he claimed are “traitors” who should be “swinging from a rope.”
But in “The Enemy Within: FBI Whistleblower,” Turning Point USA portrays Guandolo as a brave “FBI whistleblower” dedicated to exposing the “undiscussed network of jihadists and communists that have worked together to undermine America at its root for decades.”
During the documentary, Guandolo discussed his efforts to train local right-wing activists take over their towns, throw their mayors in jail, and ruin the lives of anyone who dares to oppose them. As part of this effort, Guandolo said that sheriffs and average citizens must work together to physically prevent the FBI or federal government from operating in their towns and to drive uncooperative companies out of business.
“Just recently in Texas, FBI raids a guy’s house, saying he was somehow involved in Jan. 6 and all this nonsense. The local sheriff does nothing,” Guandolo
. “And in response to citizens asking the sheriff, ‘Why didn’t you intervene?’ He’s like, ‘Well, it’s out of my hands. It’s a federal matter.’ The answer is it’s your frickin’ county, it’s your jurisdiction, it’s your responsibility! The fact that you’re unprofessional—and the fact that you’re too scared or cowardly to do your duty—that’s the problem. Citizens have to hold their local officials culpable.”
“Let’s look at what that looks like in reality,” Guandolo continued. “When the FBI shows up at a citizen’s home, whether they’re given a head’s up or [not]—now, if they’re given a head’s up, the sheriff immediately calls local FBI and says, ‘No, you’re not doing that. Before you do anything in my county, I want to see it. And if you show up without notifying me, I’m going to put 20 deputies in front of this guy’s house, and you’re not going in. And we will physically block you because it’s wrong. And we’ll call citizens that we work with in the community, and we’ll have 100 or 200 of them out there because what you’re doing is wrong, and I’m not going to tolerate it. And by the way, I’m the law in this county, not you.'”
“What you’re doing is unjust, and so we’re not going to allow it in our county,” Guandolo added, “You can do that with the banks that are doing financing of these groups. ‘Hey, you want to finance communist China through [Black Lives Matter]? Then your bank will shut down in our county. We’re shutting this branch down, so if you want to operate, then you need to shut this off. You’ve got two hours.’ And there are a lot of ways to do it, a lot of ways to make people unwelcome. And if that makes people listening or viewing what we’re doing right here uncomfortable, then all I would ask is, that’s fine that you’re uncomfortable, get out of the way because there’s a war on, and we don’t need you in the middle if you’re not sure what’s actually going on." [vid]
guandolo echoes talking points put forth by extremists like Richard Mack, the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which teaches that “the power of the sheriff even supersedes the powers of the president” and urges local law enforcement to resist federal authority. This false idea that the sheriff holds supreme authority has increased in popularity among right-wing activists who would like to see sheriffs conduct more audits of the 2020 presidential election and be more involved in future elections.
This film—and Turning Point USA’s heroic portrayal of the extremist Guandolo—is noteworthy for another reason: It shows just how far to the right the youth organization has become.
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