Author Archives: Dave Olsson

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The Broadside | Gross Incompetence or Intentional Malfeasance. Either Way, It’s Not Good

I’m still neck deep in a couple of projects so posting will be light this week, and maybe next. But after the assassination attempt on Donald J. Trump and what’s coming to light about the entire situation, I have to jump in.

The more information we get, the worse it becomes. We’re talking either gross incompetence or intentional malfeasance. Either way, heads should be rolling and both parties should be demanding answers. Of course, the anti-American leftists, the Democrats, after a momentary denunciation of violence, have returned to doing what they do best: criticizing anything and everything, including the oversized bandage on Trump’s wounded ear.

I have nothing good to say about any of them so, as my parents taught me, I won’t say anything at all.

But I will go loud and long about the absolute $#!+show that led up to and followed on from those five shots the 20-year-old would-be assassin squeezed off, killing one man, wounding two others, and narrowly missing the skull of president Trump.

How is this even possible?!

Crooks’s parents warned police he was missing and they were worried about what he was up to hours before the shooting.

The would be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was noticed as a “person of interest” hours before Trump took the stage.

He was seen using a rangefinder, a device to zero in the sights on a gun. He had a backpack.

There’s video of Crooks casing the area and looking up at the buildings over an hour before the shooting.

Law enforcement observed Crooks for 30 minutes prior to the attempted assassination.

Law enforcement even took a picture of Crooks before the shooting.

Video shows Crooks was seen climbing on the roof with a gun, positioning himself. Rally goers shouted for police but were ignored.

One police officer peeked over the edge of the roof where Crooks was aiming. Crooks turned his gun toward the officer and the officer immediately dropped off to protect himself. He and the officer holding him up on a ladder alerted others that an armed individual was on the roof moments before Trump was shot.

There were LEOs and / or countersnipers in the same building that Crooks was perched on.

A sniper protecting the president had Crooks “in glass” (watching him through a rifle scope) prior to shots being fired.

The Secret Service was aware of the potential threat 10 minutes before Donald Trump took the stage in Pennsylvania but let Trump go on stage anyway.

Once the shots were fired, Secret Service agents immediately returned fire and killed the shooter. WHY DID THEY WAIT UNTIL HE HAD FIRED? None of that makes any sense.

In my opinion, the team of SS agents looked like a bunch of Keystone Kops. They were yelling “what are we doing?!” and one female officer couldn’t even holster her gun. Watch the video in the embedded X post by Michael Yon and look at how lost they look and how uncoordinated their movements are. None of them were in sync:

There aren’t really many choices here. Sean Davis lists four:

For now, I’m on option (2) but wondering how plausible (3) is. What got me to (2) is the obvious lie that a “sloped roof” was too dangerous for agents according to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.

Finally, remember this from two weeks ago?

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The Broadside | The Unthinkable Happens And Trump Literally Dodges a Bullet

I’ve long warned that we’re on a trajectory toward another civil war and that the failed efforts of the Democrats and the Deep State to “get Trump” were leaving them with the unthinkable: assassination. I never wrote that, of course, not wishing to draw unwanted attention to myself, but I implied it all the same. There have been lots of other people warning that could happen including Tucker Carlson and J.J. Sefton.

Well, now it’s happened, or has been attempted. Since it’s now out in the open, let’s talk about it.

It’s only common sense, given the deeply ingrained Trump Derangement Syndrome that the progressive Left suffers from. Everything from the Russian collusion hoax to the two sham impeachments to the J6 “insurrection” to the “classified documents” raid on Mar-a-lago to the open lawfare on trumped up charges with politically compromised prosecutors, judges and juries, have all failed to stop Trump or his comeback campaign. Now, the ultimate attempt: shooting him dead.

It’s playbook: Destroy his reputation. Doesn’t work? Imprison him. Doesn’t work? Kill him.

Do I believe that the shooter, a twenty-year-old loner, was somehow part of a broader plot to kill Trump? Not in the classic sense of a conspiracy, with him meeting clandestinely with a handler and sitting in smoke-filled rooms plotting his moves. But I think it’s too early to say he acted alone.

Proof? Nothing yet, but remember: I don’t believe anything the government tells me. Not any more. And neither should you. That goes especially for the CIA, the FBI and the DOJ. Ditto DHS, the Secret Service, the ATF, and the IRS.

I’ve got questions.

I was enjoying some Beethoven on the lawn when reports started to trickle in that shots had been fired at a Trump rally. That turned into reports and photos that showed Trump with blood on the side of his face and confirmation that the shooter was dead and so was one rally-goer.

Of course I watched the replay immediately. Trump speaking, the gunshots, Trump flinches, raises his hand to his ear, ducks below the podium.

Then we see two men in black with rifles on top of the buildings behind Trump firing immediately back toward who we assume is the sniper.

The instant I watched that I said out loud: “How did these guys acquire the shooter and return fire so quickly!?!”

They were already positioned with their guns and were aiming in the direction of the shooter. It did not look like they were caught by surprise.

If you don’t know a shot (or shots) are coming, you don’t know where to look. You hear them, but it will take several seconds to acquire where they originate from. It was easy to see that’s true by the security officers standing in front of the podium looking around and looking lost. It was clear they had NO IDEA what was going on or what they should be doing.

But the team of two on top of the building were already dialed in and returned fire immediately. Lo and behold, they did have the shooter in their sights.

How?

Several citizens attending the rally noticed the shooter up on the roof and getting himself situated. Many of them yelled to call attention to him.

There are even reports that a cop confronted the shooter and yet he backed off. That smells fishy.

And how did the Secret Service allow this to happen in the first place? A 20-year-old non-military-type manages to climb up on a roof in full view, lies down to take aim, and squeezes off eight rounds before he’s taken out?

How?!?

I’m sure the FBI and DHS and DOJ and SS will figure it out. But remember this:

House Democrats have introduced a bill that would strip Secret Service protection from convicted felons sentenced to prison, a move directly targeting former President Trump who is currently on criminal trial in New York City for alleged hush money payments made during the 2016 election campaign and faces several other cases which could land him behind bars.

By the way, the guy that introduced that bill, Rep. Bennie Thompson, had to fire one of his staffers who allegedly posted a comment after the shooting that read in part, “don’t miss next time,” in reference to the shooter. So we know what kind of character he and his staff have.

The good news is that Trump survived the assassination attempt. The bad news is that the anti-American Left has taken the rhetoric and violence to new heights, starting with Trump’s election in 2016.

Brandon tried to “unify” the country last night by telling us that we aren’t enemies. Says the guy who has called Trump a wannabe dictator, a threat to the country, and half the country “ultra-MAGA” semi-fascist right wing white supremacist terrorists.

Too little too late, Jack. How about you start with your own house?

I can’t and won’t have anything to do with the progressive left or with anyone who considers themselves a Democrat. That party, as I’ve been saying for a while now, is evil. There’s no making peace with them.

We’re in a war for the country. More and more people are starting to wake up to the fact.

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The Broadside | Ladies and Gentlemen, I Give You President Putin and Vice President Trump!

OK Big Boys and Big Gurls, are we convinced yet that (10 percent for) the Big Guy can last another four years? Did you watch the Big Boy presser? That’s not me mocking Biden, that’s the press and the White House, who announced a couple of days ago that Resident Biden would be giving a “Big Boy” press conference after the NATO Summit on Thursday.

And Big Boy, did he deliver.

To be fair, he did realize his “vice president Trump” gaffe and tried to pass it off with some lame excuse about thinking too much about Trump. The point is, Biden’s brain is misfiring on all three cylinders that still work and there’s no coming back from that.

Not to mention that he’s been visited at the White House by a doctor (not Dr. Jill Biden!) who specializes in treating Parkinson’s disease. That came to nothing, but the White House didn’t make things easier for itself by not being forthcoming.

Last night’s attempt to reassure the public that Biden has more stamina than George Clooney (!) to fulfill the duties of being president has failed spectacularly again.

The Democrats’ self-inflicted dilemma is delicious to watch, but it’s anybody’s guess how it will end. Rumors abound that Barack Hussein Obama and Nancy Pelosi are working behind the scenes to pressure Joe to step down.

But if this report is anything to anyone, that may be easier imagined than done.

A CEO friend of President Joe Biden reportedly said that there is “no way” the president is dropping out, that he “hates” the party elite, and that he will tell them all to “f*ck off.”

According to Charles Gasparino, senior contributor to Fox Business and columnist for the New York Post, a CEO who knows Joe Biden closely said that the president will stay in the race and that he will not bow down to party elites.

“NO F*CKING WAY he’s dropping out,” the friend reportedly said.

“Joe Biden couldnt care less what the elite in his party thinks, what the elite fundraisers think or anyone else. He really hates them; he’ll take their money but he knows they look down on him as some rube,” the friend reportedly added.

“Plus he thinks he earned the presidency after trying so many times and there’s no way he’s giving it up to go down in history as a loser who dropped out because he isn’t tough enough. He only cares about his wife and family and he will tell everyone else to f*ck off,” the friend reportedly concluded.

Still, the Democrats are vicious and are skeered of losing power. Especially to Trump.

Have a good weekend.

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The Broadside | The Spectacular Implosion of the Democrats Continues

So I have a couple of significant projects that are requiring a lot of attention and time these days. I’ll try to get a couple of Broadsides in today and tomorrow.

In the wake of the debate disaster, not only have Biden’s numbers tanked, but Trump’s numbers are soaring. Since we know that the Democrats are lying liars who lie, I always have to issue the disclaimer to not get cocky because we also know that they are cheaters who will do anything to win. Just look at the 2020 election, the lawfare against Donald J. Trump, or the first Oath Keeper J6 trial.

The latest Emerson College Polling survey finds former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden in a national matchup, 46% to 43%; 11% are undecided. When undecided voters are asked which candidate they lean toward, 50% support Trump and 50% support Biden. 

Trump beats every Democrat candidate he’s matched with, meaning that Joe Biden can credibly claim that only he (and Harris) are in a position to beat Trump (should the undecided break for Biden).

In the same poll, Independents are breaking for Trump.

New election data shows independent voters breaking for former President Donald J. Trump after the 81-year-old incumbent Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27—and the subsequent calls by leading Democrats that he drop out of the 2024 presidential race. The polling by Emerson College shows Trump leading among independents with 42 percent of the vote, compared to Biden’s 38 percent. This is an inversion from last month when Biden led 43 percent to Trump’s 41 percent.

On top of that, voter enthusiasm favors Trump.

In addition, Biden‘s impaired debate performance appears to be dampening Democrat enthusiasm ahead of November’s election. Nearly 80 percent of Republican respondents said they were extremely motivated to vote. Meanwhile, just 65 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independent voters said the same.

As if that weren’t bad enough, a new report says that six states have swung toward Trump.

The Cook Political Report released on Tuesday showed that three states — Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada — have moved from “toss-up” to “lean Republican” while two other states — Minnesota and New Hampshire — have moved from “likely” to “lean Democrat.” Also, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District moved from “likely” to “lean Democrat.”

Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report said the Electoral Map shows that Trump has a “clear advantage” over Biden.

“The notion that the presidential [race] is a Toss Up was a stretch even before the debate,” Wasserman said on X. “Today, Trump has a clear advantage over Biden and a much more plausible path to 270 Electoral votes.”

There is definitely momentum building for Team Trump.

The report also showed that Trump has over a “3-point lead in Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada and Biden has less than a percentage point lead in Wisconsin and Michigan,” per the Washington Examiner, while Trump has a 0.7-point lead in Pennsylvania. Walter said that two-point shift in the race could be monumental.

“For example, if Trump were to win the national popular vote by three points, it would be a seven-point improvement from his 2020 showing,” Walter said. “In other words, any state or district that Biden carried by eight points or less would be competitive.”

I don’t know which polls to trust, since most national polls skew liberal. But the wider the gap they show, the better Trump is doing at overcoming any implicit bias in the polling.

Finally, when you’ve lost Jake Tapper, your humiliation is complete.

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The Broadside | Democrats Try Protecting Their Invasion Investment

As if we didn’t know that Democrats are importing millions of foreigners to create a new class of peasants and criminals who will vote to keep them in power in exchange for handouts funded by the middle class (until they die off or are executed during the eventual purge), the anti-American party made its intentions abundantly clear this week as they whip opposition to a Republican-sponsored bill that will require voters provide proof of citizenship to cast ballots in federal elections.

Republicans are pushing the passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, otherwise known as the SAVE Act, which would amend the National Voter Registration Act, and require states to obtain proof of citizenship from voters for federal elections, as well as purge noncitizens from voter rolls. 

Democratic leadership is urging its House members to vote against the bill in the lead-up to the vote, saying it would place “an extreme burden [on] countless Americans” in order to vote.

Anyone want to guess what that “extreme burden” is? Anyone? Bueller? The article doesn’t say what it is, but it isn’t hard to guess. Democrats use ambiguous terms and emotional language without any detail such as “extreme” and “burden” and “countless” to drive fear and moral outrage.

But we can guess what the problem is because here’s what the bill would require:

[House speaker Mike Johnson] detailed in the X thread that, if passed, the law would: require “state election officials to ask about citizenship before providing voter registration forms”; require “an individual to provide proof of citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections”; allow “state officials to accept a wide variety of documents that will make it easy for CITIZENS to register to vote in federal elections”; provide “states with access to federal agency databases so they can remove noncitizens from voter rolls and confirm citizenship for individuals lacking proof of citizenship,” among other directives. 

Under the legislation, voters would be required to provide proof of citizenship via IDs and documentation such as a passport, a government-issued photo ID showing proof the individual was born in the U.S., military IDs, or a valid photo ID as well as documentation showing proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, the legislation states. 

Democrats don’t want their new voter base to have to provide documentation like photo IDs, passports or birth certificates. Remember, these are “undocumented migrants.” How can they vote if we demand that they provide proof of citizenship?

And why would the hard Leftists oppose such measures if that’s not what the problem is? The vast majority of Americans have “government-issued” photo IDs because of the surveillance state we live in. Who are these “countless Americans” they refer to as being extremely burdened?

Elon Musk waded into the battle on X.

Yep. We’re not stupid. We know exactly what they’re doing.

And patriotic Americans are waking up to it.

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The Broadside | Yawn! Brandon Works 10-4 and Then Goes to Bed by 8:00. So Vigorous and Sharp!

I hope you had a great July 4th holiday! While we’re in dire straits as a nation, there are still millions of us who love the Red, White and Blue and are willing to tell the commies who have infected our national institutions to get bent.

Love this!

The major issue that has our attention these days is what the Democrats are going to do with the poser in the White House. After his poor showing during the first (and probably only) presidential debate on CNN, the Democrats are in full-fledged panic mode. Many have begun demanding that he drop out of the race so that he can be replaced with a candidate who is more viable.

But the dilemma for them is that the person next in line is Kamala Harris, who by rights as the Value Pick should be the unquestioned nominee should Biden bow out. Indeed, the Washington Post already has an article suggesting that they’re already considering her at the top of the ticket.

On a call Wednesday night with House Democratic leadership led by Jeffries, there was a lot of talk about if not Biden, then who. Many names were discussed but there was no real consensus.

“But there was general awareness that it would be difficult for it to be anyone but Harris,” according to a member who participated in the virtual meeting.

Tim Ryan, a former Ohio congressman and presidential candidate, said in an op-ed that while he loves Biden, Harris should be the Democratic nominee for president after Biden stumbled in a high-profile debate performance last week. Some other possible contenders — including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom — probably wouldn’t jump in the race this year and would support Harris if Biden were to remove himself from the ticket, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Democrats’ growing move to rally around Harris as a potential nominee — almost always with the caveat that Biden remains the choice for now — is a sign that they are gaming out a world without Biden as the party’s standard-bearer, even as they try to blunt years of hand-wringing about Harris’s ability to win the White House on her own.

If you support Trump (as I do) then this scenario is only a little less appealing than if Biden stays in the race. Biden is now a (fatally?) weakened incumbant—his poor recall and inability to articulate a full sentence without slurring or mumbling or losing his train of thought is out there for all to see now.

No thanks to the press.

That bodes well for Trump, who looks absolutely vigorous and sharp—you know, those characteristics we were assured that Joey Sponge Brain demonstrated behind the scenes.

Other reports tell us that Brandon only works from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. And that he needs a nap. And now that he will stop scheduling events for after 8:00 pm.

President Joe Biden told Democratic governors during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday that part of his plan going forward is to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so that he can get more sleep, according to three sources briefed on his comments.

The remarks, first reported by The New York Times, came as the 81-year-old Biden sought to reassure a group of more than 20 state leaders about his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump in November and govern effectively for another four years.

Totally vigorous and up to the challenge! Let’s hope nothing happens before 10:00 AM or after 8:00 PM that he needs to be available for.

The press is doing what they can to help Joey Snow Cone make a decision. The New York Times published a report that quoted an anonymous “ally.”

President Biden has told a key ally that he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is up for the job after a disastrous debate performance last week.

via PowerLine

The White House denies the report, but other journalists have confirmed it. Who knows? It’s part of the battle of leaks and lies as the Dems try to figure out what to do.

It’s their own fault. The 2020 race was rigged and full of fraud. Serves them right to face a trainwreck of their own making.

Have a great weekend.

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The Broadside | We’re Awash in Illegal Alien Crime

If there’s one thing I will never understand—and I’m not one to throw absolutes around—I mean, never understand, it’s an American who not only supports, but argues and advocates for foreigners breaking our law and entering our country and thereby becoming illegal aliens.

Yes, yes, I know that most precious snowflakes will shudder in horror at the words “illegal” (“no one is ‘illegal’!” they shriek) and “alien” (“they’re ‘migrants'” they insist), but I literally don’t care. I don’t. The term “illegal alien” is written in our laws for a reason: such persons are present illegally and they aren’t American citizens; therefore, they are “illegal aliens.”

The Left has made it a moral imperative to drop such language because it somehow demonizes a class of people “who are just looking for a better life” (cue the quivering lip and outraged attitude). Apparently, because we are the wealthiest nation in history (Solomonic Israel notwithstanding), we are morally required to allow anyone from anywhere at anytime to come and partake of the world we have created.

It’s the rich paying their fair share, writ large.

But the utopia that progressives imagine happening (actually, I don’t think the ruling class imagines it at all—the poor, uneducated masses from third-world countries are simply a tool to accrue permanent power) is hardly what we’re experiencing as we’re overwhelmed by the invasion over our southern border.

It’s like watching the looters during the Burn Loot Murder riots of 2020. They simply broke into the local Target or CVS and stripped it bare, making off with large-screen TVs and cases of cigarettes or bottles of Tylenol or jugs of Tide detergent to sell on the black market. There was no transaction, no thankfulness, no relief from their poverty. It was criminal thuggery.

That’s what we’re getting in spades with the invasion of foreigners that Joey Waffle Cone has facilitated through the treasonous Alejandro Mayorkas who is anything but a Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

A wave of serious migrant crime continues to sweep across America as President Joe Biden and his surrogates defend the wide-open border policies drawing millions of aliens to cascade unvetted across our borders.

American citizens and their children are being stolen from, beaten, raped, and murdered by illegals in every corner of the country even as millions of illegal migrants gobble up federal and state welfare dollars for free housing, free health care, food, clothing, education, legal services and more.

Here are just a few examples of the crime America wave faces.

I can’t reproduce the whole article here, but I’ll give you some examples the author cites in the areas of retail theft, sexual assault and murder.

Early this year, authorities in the western suburb of Oak Brook noted an increase of thefts in multiple retail outlets were being perpetrated by illegals who have been traced back to migrant shelters in Chicago.

Other areas in the Chicago region have also reported gangs of illegals engaged in criminal activities.

Nearby Lake County, Illinois, located just north of Chicago, reported that a migrant gang was suspected of operating a theft ring targeting businesses.

[…]

Also in May, an illegal arrested and accused of raping a teenage girl in Prattville, Alabama, was simply released by Biden’s DHS despite the charges by local police that he had raped a girl in the bathroom of a local restaurant.

[…]

The latest outrageous crime was perpetrated against 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray of Houston, Texas, who was abducted, raped, and murdered under a bridge on June 23. Her murderers were two illegals from Venezuela, Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Pena, 26.

But little Jocelyn is just one of a long, long list of Americans whose lives have been snuffed out by Joe Biden’s illegal border crossers.

In Feb. Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old medical student, was murdered by an illegal alien who crossed the southern border in 2022. The murder occurred on the campus of the University of Georgia – Athens and officials arrested 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra for the crime.

In another case, law enforcement officials accused an illegal immigrant of raping and killing Rachel Morin, a mother of five children, in Bel Air, Maryland. An illegal alien from El Salvador, identified as 23-year-old Victor Martinez-Hernandez, was arrested.

[…]

An illegal alien from El Salvador was accused of shooting two Chick-fil-A employees in Irving, Texas, this month. And a Mexican national was arrested and accused of murdering Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

That’s not the half of it. We are being assaulted as a people, as a culture, as a nation.

The people in positions of power have just about destroyed what used to be the United States of America. We’re now a banana republic and, as Doug Wilson says, “we don’t even have the climate for growing bananas.”

I regard anyone who supports illegal immigration as a domestic enemy of our country. I don’t see how it can be any other way, “moral imperative” or not.

Sorry not sorry.

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The Broadside | Supreme Court Rules Trump Partly Immune To Prosecution; Dems Cry Moar

You may have noticed that I changed the title of my post from “Daily” Broadside to “The Broadside.” It’s apparent to me that as much as I want this to be a daily, it’s been a challenge over the last couple of years to figure out the right mix of priorities in life to make it happen, not to mention the unexpected circumstances that sometimes frustrate my intentions.

So I’m conceding to the reality that I can’t easily make it a daily post and relieving myself (and you) of the expectations the title promised. The change gives me the cover to write as often as I can and when I miss—well, it’s not promising to be daily now, is it?

The best news yesterday was that SCOTUS ruled that U.S. presidents have blanket immunity that covers their “core” acts; their “official” acts may or may not be covered; and “unofficial” acts, have no immunity.

From Ace who knows a whole lot more about this than I do:

The Supreme Court did what many expected it would do: It recognized that presidential immunity exists, but only for certain official actions taken by the president.

First of all, the Court notes that previous decisions have held there is no presidential immunity when it comes to subpoenas for evidence. But the Court rules that these precedents are limited to the case of subpeonaeing records, and do not rule out immunity to criminal prosecution.

It broke the scheme of presidential acts into three categories:

“Core” official acts, which I assume are presidential actions taken in furtherance of the president’s specified duties in the Constitution. So a President could never be prosecuted for conducting foreign policy or directing the military.

“Official” acts, which may or may not qualify for immunity. Which acts are “official” and which of those “official” acts will qualify for immunity has to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Finally, “unofficial” acts are those that the president undertakes not in furtherance of a presidential power, but only in his capacity as an individual. These never qualify for immunity.

So what this does is puts it back to the lower court to determine what sort of “acts” Trump is being prosecuted for. Were they “Core” acts? “Official” acts? “Unofficial” or personal acts? And how will such acts be defined?

In any case, this will likely push the window for prosecuting Trump past the November election; it certainly stops Jack Smith’s case dead in its tracks.

The usual suspects were pulling out all stops, including Schmuck Chumer.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized the “MAGA SCOTUS” on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of former President Donald Trump in his case against January 6th prosecutors.

Former President Donald Trump is facing charges in Washington, D.C., filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith concerning his actions on January 6, 2021, when rioters stormed the Capitol. Trump contends that he is immune from prosecution for his official duties.

As previously reported, the Court ruled that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts but not for unofficial acts. The case has been sent back to the trial court to determine the distinction between the two.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer led Democrats in expressing outrage over the 6-3 decision, in which the conservative majority was led by Chief Justice John Roberts. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Schumer blamed the three justices appointed by Trump.

Cry moar, Schmuck.

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Daily Broadside | Rematch: Trump says of Biden, “The whole world is blowing up under him.”

I’m going to try doing something I haven’t, which is to watch the debate and react in real time to what I’m seeing and hearing. Things I’m going to be watching for: Tapper and Bash debating Trump instead of letting him speak for himself; Tapper and Bash framing their questions for Trump with hostility instead of a studied detachment; seeing what kind of questions they toss to Biden (hardball or softball? relevant or irrelevant?); watching for Biden to start strong, then start slurring his schpeesh and getting his facts wrong; hoping Trump doesn’t just attack Biden but puts some solid policy solutions out there that will benefit all Americans but especially the white, working middle class that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats care about anymore; and listening for Trump to announce his vice-presidential pick. It better not be Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley.

My notes will be in descending order with some general thoughts at the end.

First question on the economy, and Biden blames Trump for what he “inherited.” Biden is already slurring. He sounds groggy. Trump: we had the greatest economy in the history of the U.S. Got us out of Covid mess; we had a great stock market; inflation is killing us.

Trump slams Biden for taking credit for “bounce back jobs” as proof of a great economy. That’s true; he’s counting jobs that were lost during Covid.

Tax cuts: Trump, with trillion dollar deficits, why should there be tax cuts? “Because tax cuts spur the economy.” “We took in more revenue with less tax.” We have the liquid gold right under our feet, oil and gas.

Biden: Trump had the largest national debt; then he says, “I’m going to fix the tax system.” Biden was in the Senate for 50 years and in the presidency for three and never did anything to fix the tax system. He’s gonna start now?

Biden just choked.

Trump is bashing Biden over immigration. (Trump hammered Biden on the open border all debate.)

Roe v Wade: Trump: I got abortion back to the states. Everybody wanted it back to the states. SCOTUS approved the abortion pill and Trump agrees with the decision. They blocked implementation of Iowa’s ban. Trump believes in exceptions to bans on abortion. We’ve gotten it back to the states.

Trump takes credit for “three great justices”, but that’s not really true; they’re not all “great.” Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh aren’t reliable conservatives. Just look at the censorship decision that ACB wrote this week. It’s an attack on 1A.

Biden: the idea that states should rule on abortion is ridiculous, like turning “civil rights” back to the states. He also complains that it was the law for 51 years. Yes, but it was a terrible decision and SCOTUS can overturn previous decisions.

Seven states have no legal restriction on abortion; does Biden support any restrictions? Biden keeps going to back to Roe v. Wade, which is no longer law. He promises to bring Roe v. Wade back. Biden is scare-mongering about what Trump will do if elected.

Immigration: to Biden: why should voters trust you to solve the crisis? “I’ve changed the law …” You bet he has. He makes it sound like he’s improving things but he wrecked what Trump had in place and opened the border.

Trump: “We had the safest border at the end of my administration. All he had to do was leave it.” Now we have the worst border in history.

You will conduct the largest deportation in history? How? Trump ignores question and hammers Biden on immigration.

Biden refers to his son dying from exposure to burn pits in Iraq. A tired trope.

Trump seems to be triggering Biden. I thought it would be the other way around. Biden is a nasty piece of work.

Russia/Ukraine: Are Putin’s terms acceptable to Trump? Trump hammers Biden on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, refers to Afghanistan and the disaster it was.

Trump: “The whole world is blowing up under him.” Great quote and good for pointing it out.

Putin’s terms are not acceptable to Trump.

Trump seems to be benefiting from the format. It’s kept him focused and disciplined.

Middle East: Hamas attacks Israel: five Americans held hostage.

Does anyone else notice that Biden’s eyes look almost black?

January 6th: did Trump violate his oath? Trump avoids the question but blames Pelosi for the chaos and points out the recent video of her admitting she was responsible.

Great contrast between Biden and Trump on January 6. Biden thinks all the J6 prisoners deserve what they got.

Is Biden listening to someone? He touches his ear, then writes notes. Watch his eyes.

Biden is hammering Trump with a bunch of lies. Trump doesn’t get rattled … holds up great.

“There are fine people on both sides.” Biden repeats the lie that has been debunked. Even by Snopes.

Biden is losing it. Trump is getting under his skin.

To Biden: black families earn less than white families. What will you do to help? Biden is struggling in his answer. Hard to understand. He just admitted that inflation is hurting black families badly. He’s going to give blacks a $10,000 tax credit when they buy a house.

Trump is hammering Biden on inflation again. Biden: the economy was flat on its back … that’s why there was no inflation when I got it. So he admits there was no inflation when he became president.

All they are doing is hurling accusations at each other.

Climate crisis. “Extreme heat.” Will Trump do anything to combat climate crisis? Trump goes back to police and blacks and Hispanics. Yes, Trump wants “absolutely clean water and air.”

Biden’s repeated words are “damn” and “the idea.” And numbering his points.

Biden goes after the rich to “pay their fair share.” Along with giving blacks a $10,000 tax credit, he’s doing a bang up job dividing us.

Biden is running his sentences together.

Trump accuses Biden of being a liar. He is.

Biden credits “the fastest growing economy in the world” to immigrants. What a doofus.

Trump goes back to immigration and open borders.

Trump blows off making childcare costs more affordable.

Biden says 159 experts voted Trump the worst president in history. Nana-nana-boo-boo.

Trump regularly ignores the questions and speaks to his own topics.

What will Trump do about drug addiction? Close the border to stop drugs and trafficked women. “We need the machines,” to detect fentynal, Joe says. No, we need to close the border, Joe.

Age questions: Biden will be age 86 at end of term. I’ve spent half of my life in politics. Once the youngest, now the oldest. And he’s done nothing good in all that time except enrich himself.

To Trump: you’ll be 82 at the end of your second term. I’m in good health, mentally and physically. He challenges Joe to play golf with him. Biden boasts about being a six handicap.

What the hell did Biden just say about Trump’s health? They’re getting out of control. Only time in the debate the moderators almost lost control.

To Trump: will you accept the outcome of the election? Violence is unacceptable. If the election is fair and free … I wish Biden was a great president because I wouldn’t be here right now. “Stupid decisions” … if it’s a fair and legal election, I’ll absolutely to accept the results.

Biden accuses Trump of being a “whiner.” Biden sounds like a junior high school mean girl taunting the normal girls.

Trump: Biden does nothing. He says things but does nothing. Nobody respects Biden. Trump touts what he did, like “right to try.” We’re a failing nation. It will be great again.

My summary: The moderators get a passing grade. Trump mopped the floor with Biden. Trump demonstrated some verbal discipline. I think Trump benefitted from the format more than did Biden. He was forced to let Biden hang himself. Trump is very believable, unlike Brandon, who trotted out the old and tired talking points of “Charlottesville-fine-people-on-both-sides” (fully debunked), and reference to his son Beau who died of brain cancer after being exposed to burn pits in Iraq (correlation does not equal causation). Biden came off as a poser who fakes his anger and plays the tough guy that nobody believes he is. He slurred his speech, stuttered, mumbled several times. Trump was short on specifics with his policies and boasted here and there about what he would do as president or what would or wouldn’t have happened if he was still president. Trump avoided directly answering several questions. I don’t like that he accepts exceptions for abortion laws, but I can live with it.

A lot of Dems are panicking and there are lots of commentators who believe Biden will be replaced. I’m beginning to believe it myself.

Lots to contemplate this weekend. Have a good one.