Former FBI Director James Comey responded to a tweet by President Donald Trump on Thursday by posting a GIF of Mariah Carey with the caption, "Why are you so obsessed with me?" Comey's
tweet, likening himself to the "Songbird Supreme," came after Trump
defended his former adviser Roger Stone following Stone's sentencing to
40 months in prison earlier in the day for lying to Congress and witness
tampering. Trump claimed Comey also lied to Congress and should
have received the same treatment -- although, unlike Stone, Comey was
never convicted of a crime. The president, who fired Comey in May 2017, also accused the former FBI boss of leaking "classified information." “They
say Roger Stone lied to Congress.” @CNN OH, I see, but so did Comey
(and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone,
other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and
so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?," Trump tweeted
Thursday morning. The president left open the possibility of
pardoning Stone at some point but suggested he would wait until all of
Stone's legal options are exhausted. Trump added that Stone has a "very
good chance of exoneration." “I want the process to play out. I
think that’s the best thing to do because I would love to see Roger
exonerated," he said. “I'm going to watch the process. I'm going to
watch very closely. … At some point I'll make a determination." Earlier
in the week Trump issued pardons or sentence commutations to a number
of figures, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, former Wall
Street executive Michael Milken and former San Francisco 49ers owner
Edward DeBartolo Jr. The Stone case had worried some about possible presidential interference in the justice system.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson took a
firm stance against Stone during the sentencing, although she didn't
give him the nine years originally sought by federal processors, saying
it was excessive. Stone was also given two years' probation and a $20,000 fine. “This
is NOT campaign hijinks. This was not Roger being Roger. You lied to
Congress,” Jackson told Stone. “The dismay and disgust … at the
defendant’s actions in our polarized climate should transcend
[political] parties.” Stone's
conviction was related to former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's
investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia
during the 2016 presidential election, a probe that Comey originally
led. Trump's firing of Comey sparked their public feud. Fox News' Brooke Singman, Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump blasted Roger Stone's treatment by the criminal justice system, the Justice Department
and the jury forewoman in the GOP operative's trial Thursday in a
blistering address in front of an audience in Las Vegas, saying Stone
has a “very good chance of exoneration.” His remarks, part of a
speech to the organization Hope for Prisoners, came hours after a
federal judge sentenced Stone to over three years in prison. “Roger
Stone has a very good chance of exoneration in my opinion,” Trump told
the crowd of ex-convicts who recently had completed a career training
program and would soon reintegrate into society. Trump also
claimed Stone was “never” involved in his 2016 campaign for the
presidency. “I think long before I announced, he did a little consulting
work or something,” the president said. Trump said that Stone,
though “definitely a character,” was a “very good person,” and that the
jury in his sentencing had been tainted by an anti-Trump activist.
“These people know more about bad juries than anyone else, the sheriff,
the mayor. You're my experts, OK?” he told the room of previously
incarcerated people. He said the jury forewoman “started going a little
wild, was very happy,” when Roger Stone was determined to be guilty of
obstruction last year, and it was later revealed she had a social media account full of anti-Trump posts which she did not disclose to the courts. The jury forewoman, Tomeka Hart, even posted specifically about the Stone case before she was selected to sit on the jury, as she retweeted an argument mocking those who considered Stone's dramatic arrest in a predawn raid by
a federal tactical team to be excessive force. She also suggested Trump
and his supporters were racist and praised the investigation
conducted by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which ultimately led
to Stone's prosecution. ROGER STONE SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS FOR LYING, WITNESS TAMPERING AS CASE ROILS DOJ Justice
Department prosecutors initially had sought a sentence of up to nine
years for Stone, but senior officials at the department later called for
a lesser sentence. Attorney General William Barr’s move to intervene in
Stone’s sentencing led to all four members of the prosecution team
quitting the case. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Thursday also said the initial recommendation was excessive. Her sentence of 40 months in prison was considerably less than that -- yet far more than the probation sought by his defense. Trump
announced to the crowd that he would be considering the program’s
founder, John Ponder, for a full pardon. Ponder, an ex-convict himself,
started the program 11 years ago and Trump said he had a “feeling”
Ponder would get the full pardon. TRUMP COMMUTES SENTENCE OF EX-GOV BLAGOVICH, PARDONS KERIK Trump
talked about previous pardons he had issued, adding that he “loves”
finding those treated unfairly by the criminal justice system and
offering them pardons. “When I learned about the case of Alice Johnson,
it was clear to me that there were injustices in our sentencing laws
that caused people who made small mistakes to pay a huge price,” Trump
said. Alice Johnson was a great-grandmother who had been in jail for
more than 20 years, serving a life sentence for non-violent drug
charges. Johnson walked free in June after Trump commuted her sentence. Earlier
this week, Trump granted clemency not only to political figures like
ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik,
but also incarcerated people such as the three recommended by Johnson
who walked free Tuesday. “We have thousands of people in prison
like Alice Johnson,” Trump said. “I love finding those people, the
thousands of people in prison who shouldn't be there.” Trump boasted of his criminal justice reform package signed in December 2018. Trump said that “people on all sides” were starting to “love” criminal justice reform. “In
order to redress the unfairness of the justice system, one year ago I
passed criminal justice reform. Others tried and failed. They didn't try
too hard because they knew it couldn't be done, I got it done.” Trump told the crowd of 29 graduates, “the best part of your life is just beginning.” “You’re
going to be so successful you’re going to say, ‘I’m going to be more
successful than Trump,’ and I’m going to be happy about it,” Trump told
the room of former convicts. “Today
we declare that you are made by God for a great and noble purpose. You
are valued members of our American family and we are determined to help
you succeed,” the president said. Fox News' Brooke Singman, Bill Mears and Gregg Re contributed to this report.
Tomeka Hart served as the foreperson on the jury that convicted former Trump associate Roger Stone in his trial for lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering related to the 2016 presidential campaign. The
former Memphis City Schools board president and ex-president and CEO of
the Memphis Urban League, garnered national attention in February when
President Trump tweeted that she showed “significant bias” after she
defended four Justice Department prosecutors who abruptly stepped down
when senior Justice Department officials intervened and lowered their
sentencing recommendation for Stone. “Now it looks like the fore
person in the jury, in the Roger Stone case, had significant bias,”
Trump tweeted Feb. 13. “Add that to everything else, and this is not
looking good for the “Justice” Department.” After Stone was
sentenced to 40 months on Feb. 20, President Trump told an audience in
Las Vegas that Stone had a good chance of being exonerated -- and again
criticized Hart. “It’s my strong opinion that the forewoman of the
jury, the woman who was in charge of the jury, is totally tainted,"
Trump said. "When you take a look, how can you have a person like this?
She was an anti-Trump activist. Can you imagine this?”
"It’s my strong opinion that the forewoman of the jury, the woman who was in charge of the jury, is totally tainted." — President Trump
"This
is a woman who was an anti-Trump person, totally," the president said
later. " .. She had a horrible social media account. The things she said
on the account were unbelievable. She didn't reveal that when she was
chosen." TRUMP SAYS ROGER STONE HAS 'VERY GOOD CHANCE OF EXONERATION' IN LAS VEGAS "I
assume they asked her a question, 'Do you have any bias?' She didn't
say that, so is that an undermining of the court? You tell me." Previously,
after the prosecutors in the Stone case stepped down, Hart posted
on Facebook that she couldn’t “keep quiet any longer." "I want to
stand up for Aaron Zelinsky, Adam Jed, Michael Marando, and Jonathan
Kravis -- the prosecutors on the Roger Stone trial," Hart wrote in the
post. "It pains me to see the DOJ now interfere with the hard work of
the prosecutors. They acted with the utmost intelligence, integrity, and
respect for our system of justice." ROGER STONE JURY FOREPERSON'S ANTI-TRUMP SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS SURFACE AFTER SHE DEFENDS DOJ PROSECUTORS
Tomeka Hart, forewoman in the Roger Stone trial, has been a vocal critic of President Trump. (Facebook)
"As foreperson, I made sure we went through every
element, of every charge, matching the evidence presented in the case
that led us to return a conviction of guilty on all 7 counts." Hart's history of anti-Trump social media posts has included calling Trump supporters "racist" and quoting someone who referred to Trump as the “#KlanPresident." Fellow
juror Seth Cousins defended their guilty verdict against Stone and said
Hart was “perhaps the strongest advocate in the room for a rigorous
process for the rights of the defendant and for making sure that we took
it seriously and looked at each charge," according to USA Today. Hart,
now based in Washington, D.C., is a senior program officer for the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation and has donated to Democrats, including
Sen. Kamala Harris and former Obama Cabinet member Julian Castro,
according to Heavy. In 2012, she unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Tennessee as a Democrat. She
is also a former VP of strategic partnerships at the Southern Education
Foundation, VP of African American community partnerships for Teach For
America, and the president/CEO of the Memphis Urban League, according
to her biography. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP She previously worked as a middle and high school teacher and was a former labor lawyer.
President Trump continued
his four-state trip out west Thursday evening with a wild rally in
Colorado Springs, Colo., as he openly celebrated Democrats' intra-party squabbling
at the Las Vegas presidential primary debate -- and took an unexpected
shot at the movie "Parasite," prompting a scathing response from its
U.S.-based distributor. In the wide-ranging event that resembled a casual conversation at points, Trump also assessed that "Mini Mike" Bloomberg "didn't do well last night" and declared Amy Klobuchar's presidential campaign dead because she dejectedly asked Pete Buttigieg at the debate if he was calling her "dumb." Trump
again called Buttigieg "Alfred E. Neuman," after the scrawny fictional
character, and advised Klobuchar, "You don’t say that even if it's
true!" Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White took the stage briefly at
the outset of the rally, saying he wasn't a "very political person"
before adding that he's known Trump for more than 20 years -- and that
Trump has remained a "loyal" and "good friend" even after becoming
president. Trump then mocked the Oscars at length, saying he couldn't believe a foreign film like "Parasite" won Best Picture. "By
the way, how bad were the Academy Awards this year? 'And the winner is a
movie from South Korea,'" Trump said. "What the hell was that all
about? We've got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of
that, they give them the best movie of the year? Was it good? I don't
know. I'm looking for like, let's get 'Gone with the Wind.' Can we get
'Gone with the Wind' back, please? 'Sunset Boulevard'? So many good
movies." (Trump has reportedly previously expressed affinity for Jean-Claude Van Damme action films.) He
continued: "'The winner is from South Korea.' I thought it was best
foreign film. Best foreign movie. No -- did this ever happen before? And
then you have Brad Pitt. I was never a big fan of his. He got up and gave a little wise guy statement." The Democratic National Commitee quickly tweeted as
Trump spoke: "Parasite is a foreign movie about how oblivious the
ultra-rich are about the struggles of the working class, and it requires
two hours of reading subtitles. Of course Trump hates it." The U.S. distribution company for "Parasite," NEON, retorted with its own nod to the film's subtitles: "Understandable, he can't read."
"Understandable, he can't read." — U.S. distributor for "Parasite," responding to Trump
Earlier,
Trump honored three veterans of the battle of Iwo Jima. He
further emphasized his administration's economic successes, including
record-low unemployment and rising wages across the board. "We've
been killing terrorists, creating jobs, raising wages, enacting fair
trade deals, securing our border, and lifting up citizens of every race,
color, religion, and creed!" Trump said, while Democrats pursue failed
"witch hunts."
UFC president Dana White took the mic at President Trump's rally in Colorado Springs. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
"We are in the midst of the great American comeback,"
he said. "That's what we're doing. Our country is stronger today than
ever before! .. We will land the first woman on the Moon and become the
first nation in the world to plant our flag on Mars!" HUNDREDS CAMP OUT OVERNIGHT AHEAD OF COLORADO TRUMP RALLY "Crazy
Bernie" Sanders and Democrats, Trump said, would "demolish" the economy
of Colorado and other key states with their environmentalist policies
that would undermine America's energy independence. Trump joked that, by Democrats' standards, President Obama should have been impeached for falsely and repeatedly claiming that his health care plan would ensure that people could keep their private doctors in all cases. "We've
deported record numbers of gang members ... and we've done more to
secure the border than any other administration in the history of our
country," Trump said.
Supporters of President Trump cheering as he arrived to speak at the rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The line to enter the Broadmoor World Arena started
forming Wednesday morning, with people bringing along tents, space
heaters and sleeping bags, Fox 21 reported. Overnight and early morning temperatures were in the teens -- but Trump supporters, as they did in New Hampshire earlier this month, braved the cold regardless. Ahead
of his second of three rallies in three days, Trump was exuding
reelection confidence Thursday following the Democrats' Vegas prizefight
-- and, especially, the perceived weak debut debate performance from Bloomberg, aides and allies said. At
a rope line at the airport after deplaning Air Force One in Colorado,
Trump asked supporters how they felt Bloomberg did. As the crowd
laughed, Trump remarked, "That wasn't pretty, right?"
President Trump taking the stage in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
When Trump woke up Thursday morning in his gilded Las
Vegas hotel, he tuned in to the post-debate coverage and displayed a
similar glee, as The Associated Press put it. Repurposing one of
Bloomberg's own quotes about the Democrats infighting, Trump tweeted:
"The real winner last night was Donald Trump." He tacked on his own
coda: "I agree!" Speaking in Las Vegas later Thursday, Trump confidently said Stone has a "very good chance of exoneration,"
even though a judge had just sentenced him to over three years in jail
for lying to Congress. Stone was not charged with any criminal
conspiracy with Russia or WikiLeaks, however, and his defense team has
sought a new trial after the jury foreperson was revealed to be a fierce anti-Trump critic.
President Trump arriving to speak at his rally in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The jury forewoman, Tomeka Hart, even posted specifically about the Stone case before she was selected to sit on the jury, as she retweeted an argument mocking people who considered Stone's dramatic arrest in a predawn raid by a federal tactical team to be excessive force. She
also praised the investigation conducted by former Special Counsel
Robert Mueller, which ultimately led to Stone's prosecution.
Trump supporters camping out in advance of the rally in Colorado Springs.
(Fox 21 KXRM)
On Wednesday night, after
an earlier campaign rally in Phoenix, Trump summoned reporters to his
office aboard Air Force One to join him in watching a replay of the
debate on the return flight to Las Vegas. His motorcade jammed up
traffic for over half an hour as it passed the casino that had hosted
the Democrats' debate in the lead-up to the party caucuses in Nevada on
Saturday. WATCH: BLOOMBERG UNDER SIEGE AT DEM DEBATE Even as he campaigned, Trump's preoccupation with the Democrats' scrambled nomination race has been clear throughout the trip. TRUMP SAYS ROGER STONE HAS 'VERY GOOD CHANCE OF EXONERATION' -- IS PARDON COMING? Bloomberg
has been the most disconcerting force in the 2020 race for Trump since
the ultra-billionaire entered the fray in November and spent over $400
million, which rocketed him in the polls in just three months. Trump's
campaign poll numbers have improved since his impeachment trial wrapped
up in January and his campaign has broken fundraising records, raising
$60 million in January and $14 million this week in California alone.
But, Bloomberg's willingness to spend near-unlimited sums to defeat
Trump this fall, and the mocking tone of many of his ads, are said to
have rankled the president deeply.
President Trump at the podium for his Thursday night rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump's campaign had organized itself around the
strategy that it would be able to paint any rival as an extreme liberal,
a "socialist" or worse, and concerns mounted that strategists would
have to come up with a different plan should Bloomberg win the
nomination. DIRTY JURY POOL? WHY WAS HEAD ROGER STONE JUROR REALLY LAYING INTO TRUMP, PRAISING ROBERT MUELLER? Trump's
team saw the debate as validating his reelection strategy and providing
a fresh opening for Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, to
gain a significant delegate lead on Super Tuesday. The president was
hopeful that panic from more moderate Democrats at Sanders' rise would
fracture their party only further. "We don't care who the hell it is," Trump boasted Wednesday. "We're going to win." Trump
on Thursday placed a round of calls to confidants, echoing the thoughts
he had posted on Twitter — at times with more colorful language — and
opining that Bloomberg did not appear ready for the moment, two
Republicans close to the White House told the AP. Trump told confidants that the debate proved money alone did not lead to his own electoral success. His eldest son echoed the thought as he tweeted during the debate. "Like
a deer in the headlights! Like I said last week Mini, you can’t buy
personality or wit and the whole world just saw it," Donald Trump Jr.
wrote.
Jody Miller of Scottsdale, Ariz., waiting for an appearance by
President Trump at the rally Thursday in Colorado Springs. (AP
Photo/David Zalubowski)
Between three rallies and a pair of high-dollar
fundraisers, Trump sought to use his western swing to highlight
administration policies that delivered on campaign promises and appealed
to key demographics. On Wednesday, he ceremoniously signed new
environmental regulations that eased water restrictions on farmers in
the heavily Republican California Central Valley. On Thursday, Trump
spoke to a graduating class of ex-prisoners in a renewed appeal to
communities of color, as he championed his administration’s work on
criminal justice reform. "Your future does not have to be defined
by the mistakes of your past," Trump told the graduates, before turning
to political topics. Trump
received updates on the debate's opening minutes Wednesday evening
moments before he took the stage at a rally in a packed Phoenix arena
and promptly delivered his first review. "I hear he's getting
pounded tonight — you know he's in a debate," Trump said about the man
he has dubbed "Mini Mike" because of his short stature. "I hear that
pounding. He spent $500 million so far and I think he has 15 points.
Crazy Bernie was at 30." Fox News' Ronn Blitzer, Kelly Chernenkoff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's
brother-in-law, Pastor Rhyan Glezman, slammed the Democratic hopeful
for his comments Tuesday night, when the candidate claimed he doesn't
see "any compatibility" between supporting President Trump and the teachings in Scripture after declaring that God "does not belong to a political party." "Yeah,
in the height of intellectual dishonesty for Pete to make claims that
there's no compatibility with being a Christian and voting for Trump,
[when] Pete, in fact, is the one who is pushing agendas and rhetoric
that is against, clearly against Scripture," Glezman said on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Wednesday. "Just
everything that Pete is pushing is, it's anti-God. I'm just gonna be
honest with you," Glezman said. "Nothing lines up with Scripture for him
to make cases like to say that you cannot be a Christian and vote for
Trump. He's the one that is openly contradicting God's word over and
over." "Do you think that it's impossible to be a Christian and support Trump?" CNN host Erin Burnett had asked Buttigieg during a town hall. "I'm
not going to tell other Christians how to be Christian," Buttigieg
said, "but I will say I cannot find any compatibility between the way
this president conducts himself and anything I find in Scripture." Glezman
also reacted to a clip of Buttigieg on "The View" addressing
partial-birth abortion, in which co-host Meghan McCain asked the
candidate about the topic, saying Democrats -- including pro-life
Democrats -- want to know where his "line is." "But my point is
that it shouldn't be up to a government official to draw the line,"
Buttigieg said on the segment. "It should be up to the woman who's
confronted." "I'm
just in a state of lament when you hear that we have someone running
for commander in chief who can't make a moral decision on whether to
keep a child after it's already been born or to have it killed," Glezman
told Tucker on Wednesday. "What kind of moral suggestions is he going
to be given if he can't come to an understanding of that? It's just,
it's alarming." Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
The presidential candidate debate Wednesday night showed that Democrats simply have no idea how to defeat President Trump in the November election – and their frustration was on full display. Not one of the six Democrats
on stage in Las Vegas even claimed to have a plan to increase economic
growth, create jobs and grow wages – areas in which President Trump has
had great success and benefitted the American people. Democratic
socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former New York City Mayor
Mike Bloomberg; former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Elizabeth Warren
of Massachusetts; former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota all focused on taxing Americans who have
been successful and redistributing that wealth through massive
government-controlled welfare programs. What
separates the candidates is the degree to which they want taxes and
government to grow, and how many job-killing restrictions they want to
put on the private sector. But even the so-called “moderate”
candidates are advocating programs so massive that their most aggressive
tax plans would be wholly insufficient to fund them. The
candidates might as well have told potential voters that they intend to
tax employers to the point where they are unable to invest in their
businesses, create jobs or raise workers’ wages. That’s hardly an
effective campaign slogan. If you listened closely, you also heard
what I believe will cost the Democrats the election: their refusal to
acknowledge the obvious fact that the U.S. economy – and working-class
Americans in particular – are doing quite well. Rather, the candidates
fell all over themselves trying to outdo each other on claims that
Americans are suffering.
More from Opinion
Yet,
more people are working than at any time in our nation’s history, the
unemployment rate is near a 50-year low, and wages are rising for all
workers at rates not seen in a decade – higher for low earners than for
high earners. Income inequality is declining and we still have 1 million
more job openings than people unemployed. If you have a job or want
one, life is good. Contrary to what the Democrats on the debate
stage at least claim to believe, the economic future of our country
looks very bright and Americans know it – even if the Democrats running
for president don’t. According to Fidelity Investments’ 2020 New
Year Financial Resolutions Study, 78 percent of Americans believe they
will be better off in 2020 than they were in 2019. A December CNN
poll conducted by SSRS found that 68 percent of Americans expect our
economy to be in good shape a year from now – the best showing in CNN’s
polling since December 2003. In a December poll from Quinnipiac
University, 79 percent of Americans said “they are optimistic about
their own financial future.” Finally,
a Gallup poll released earlier this month found that “74% of Americans
say they will be better off financially in a year.” Those are
really tremendous numbers. And how Americans feel about the economy is a
huge indicator of how they will vote in the presidential election. A
December Gallup found that 84 percent of Americans believe the economy
is an "extremely" or "very" important issue in the upcoming election.
That’s a huge number and was higher than for any other issue. You would
think a presidential debate would spend some significant time discussing
it. The
poll found the least important issues were wealth distribution, climate
change and LGBT rights. You sure wouldn’t know that if you listened to
the Democratic debate. It’s hard to win an election when you’re
unable to figure out how to address the issue that’s most important to
voters. That’s where the Democrats find themselves and that’s why they
will lose in November.
Who won the Democratic debate Wednesday night? That's easy, says U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.: President Trump. “We
now know why they've spent so much time on impeachment because they
don't have a message that will resonate with the American people,”
Meadows said on "Fox News @ Night." He added that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed unprepared for the barrage of attacks by his fellow candidates. “He was just really just blown away,” he said. Meadows said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a self-proclaimed democratic socialist who leads in the polls, is “closer to Karl Marx than he is Carl Icahn.” BLOOMBERG UNDER SIEGE AT CHAOTIC DEBATE DEBUT, AS WARREN ATTACKS FIELD IN BID TO REVIVE CAMPAIGN Sanders’
message, according to Meadows, is, “Let us make sure that we take
everybody else's money and distribute it to those who don't have it. The
only person who's not distributing his money is Bernie Sanders.” “There
were a lot of blows that were given and a lot of shots taken. But
actually, Bernie Sanders seemed to come away unscathed," he added. Meadows said he doesn’t think Sanders is unstoppable but he is the candidate to beat. “He's
the one with the most momentum,” he told Fox News' Mike Emanuel. “And
as we see that Michael Bloomberg is not the one that's going to take him
on. Maybe somebody else on that debate stage tonight. But it just shows
that a billion dollars doesn't make you prepared for primetime because
obviously Michael Bloomberg was not prepared tonight for even the
simplest questions that he should have anticipated.”
"A
billion dollars doesn't make you prepared for primetime because
obviously Michael Bloomberg was not prepared tonight for even the
simplest questions." — Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.
He
added that the last couple of weeks have been good for the president
“with a debacle that started in Iowa in the acquittal on impeachment.” “He's
feeling really good. He's feeling positive, mainly because he's
delivering on the promises that he made,” he said. “And he's going to
continue to do that not only for the next nine months but for the next
five years.”
Multibillionaire Michael Bloomberg
landed in Las Vegas like a highly anticipated show on the Strip. But
when he took to the stage with five competitors for the Democratic
presidential nomination Wednesday night, their debate immediately became
an Ultimate Fighting Championship match. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., landed the most blows and won the night. Warren would not be ignored or denied. Warren
flattened Bloomberg out of the gate using his own words against the
former New York City mayor and he never recovered. As a result, voters
got to see the real Warren, who was the front-runner last fall. And they
saw the real Bloomberg, not the filtered one seen on paid TV ads and in
social media. Warren’s strong performance helped her at a time when she needs it most and hurt Bloomberg so badly that he may not recover. If
you are a presidential candidate at this stage of the campaign and you
aren’t helping yourself then you’re hurting yourself and losing ground.
The other candidates on stage didn’t help themselves – and that means
they hurt their prospects.
More from Opinion
There was one winner and five losers at the end of the debate – Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and Bloomberg, who turned out to be the biggest loser of all. BIGGEST WINNER: Sen. Elizabeth Warren With
Bloomberg standing to her right Warren landed a left to the jaw with a
shattering exchange using his own words about women against him. She
then used his nondisclosure agreements, the stop-and-frisk tactic
employed by police primarily against minorities when he was mayor, and
his vast fortune estimated at more than $60 billion against him too. Warren
continued to hit Bloomberg by using his record as a weapon while she
highlighting her own in stark contrast. Bloomberg was unable to respond
effectively and his poor performance can’t be fixed by the hundreds of
millions of dollars in ads he is buying.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,
speaks as during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday,
Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)
But, that was just the start for Warren. She was determined to be heard and make her mark and she did just that. Warren
spent the debate drawing a sharp contrast with her opponents, making
the case for herself for all to see, and laying out her plans. Most of
all, Warren demonstrated once again that she could take on Trump and
that may be the thing that helped her the most. That fiery Elizabeth
Warren has been missing in debates and on the campaign trail of late and
she came roaring back Wednesday night. Warren comes out of this
debate with a lot of momentum. If she can capitalize upon it then the
results of three big contests from this Saturday to Super Tuesday will
reflect it – and will put her back in race as the progressive
capitalist.
BIGGEST LOSER: Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg Bloomberg’s
performance was a disaster. He was not the Bloomberg of his ads in this
debate – and that’s now a big problem for him. Spending hundreds of
millions of dollars on ads has bought Bloomberg name recognition, good
poll numbers and a pole position in the debate – but no amount of money
can guarantee a great debate performance. And that was the case
Wednesday night. Voters will see clips of this performance on TV and
read about it for days, and it will seriously hurt Bloomberg’s standing
in the presidential nomination race.
Democratic presidential candidate, former New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)
Warren exposed the real Michael Bloomberg and it was
not a pretty picture. It was Warren’s relentless challenge to Bloomberg
on a host of issues – including his treatment of women who worked for
him and his refusal to release them from nondisclosure agreements – as
well as his treatment of people of color with his stop-and-frisk policy. Bloomberg’s
attempts to apologize and explain only made the situation worse. His
apology came off as more about convenience than sincerity – and that
will register with voters too. Finally, Bloomberg also sounded a
lot like President Trump when asked about releasing his tax returns,
raising issues about his lack of transparency. Bloomberg leaned on the
fact that he entered the presidential nominating race late, after a
deliberate decision to skip the first four contests that require retail
politics and the vetting he was experiencing during the televised
debate. By the time Bloomberg releases his tax returns, it will
likely be after the Super Tuesday primaries March 3, after a big chunk
of primary votes will have been cast. When you add the issue of his
taxes to his treatment of women and people of color, Bloomberg will seem
a lot more like Trump than the guy who can beat Trump to a lot of
voters following his weak debate performance. LOSER: Sen. Bernie Sanders Sanders
is the front-runner in the polls and in a close second place in the
competition for delegates following the Iowa caucuses and the New
Hampshire primary, but he missed the chance to put this race away with a
strong performance Wednesday night. Instead, the self-described
democratic socialist who represents Vermont was repeatedly questioned
about his lack of transparency regarding his medical records, his recent
heart attack and the cost of his “Medicare-for-all” plan. All this
could hurt him. Clearly, Sanders has decided it is better to take
the heat than release his complete medical records in addition to
letters he has provided from doctors. But the issue of transparency
could hamper Sanders in the remainder of this race.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,
speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb.
19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)
It wasn’t a bad performance by Sanders. He hit
Buttigieg early in the debate – a smart move since Buttigieg is cutting
into Sanders’ support among young voters. Sanders also hit
Bloomberg at points in the second hour of the debate. But that didn’t
make up for the hits Sanders took early in the night. The question
is whether the lack of transparency by Sanders on several fronts takes
hold and hurts him in future contests. We will find out in the next two
weeks. If not, then Sanders could continue to add to his delegate count
and that could give him an insurmountable lead when the results come in
on Super Tuesday. LOSER: Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg Buttigieg
is the leader in delegates at this early stage from his strong finish
in Iowa and New Hampshire. He used the debate to land a few blows on
Sanders, with whom he’s locked in a delegate fight. The former mayor
also hit Klobuchar, who he is competing with for moderate voters.
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg looks on during a
Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las
Vegas. (Associated Press)
While Buttigieg didn’t hurt himself that also means
he didn’t help himself. We will see how that factors into the results of
the Nevada caucuses Saturday, but the debate was a missed opportunity
for him to solidify his status as the early front-runner in the delegate
count. In addition, Buttigieg and Klobuchar had a number of
exchanges in their fight for moderate voters. In fact, Klobuchar cost
Buttigieg a win in New Hampshire and that dynamic is unlikely to change
after Wednesday night’s debate. It was a good but subtle strategy on a
night that called for stronger performance by Buttigieg to accelerate
his momentum in this race. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER LOSER: Sen. Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar’s
last strong debate performance helped her raise $12 million in badly
needed campaign contributions and go from the back of the pack to win
third place in the New Hampshire primary. But the senator from
Minnesota didn’t deliver that kind of performance Wednesday night.
Instead, we saw the Klobuchar of previous debates rather than the star
performer of the last debate that gave her the momentum and most
undecided voters in the last 72 hours of the New Hampshire primary
campaign.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.,
speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb.
19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)
Klobuchar’s challenge will be to convince Nevada voters and a national audience that her performance wasn’t a one-hit-wonder. LOSER: Former Vice President Joe Biden Biden’s
sights may be set on the Feb. 29 South Carolina primary – where he is
counting on strong support from the large number of African-American
voters – but he needed to roll the dice to deliver a strong performance
Wednesday night to look like a winner.
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden
speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb.
19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)
Instead,
Biden did nothing to help himself. He looked like a tourist in Las
Vegas rather than someone who should own the stage. Biden did little if
anything to reassure voters he’s the best one to take on Trump or stem
his slide in the polls. And that’s more bad news for Biden in this race. Nevada
voters began early caucusing this week and when we see results of their
caucuses Saturday we will have a stronger indication of where the
Democratic nomination battle is headed.
Tomeka Hart, forewoman in the Roger Stone trial, has been a vocal critic of President Trump. (Facebook)
UFC president Dana White took the mic at President Trump's rally in Colorado Springs. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Supporters of President Trump cheering as he arrived to speak at the rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Trump taking the stage in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Trump arriving to speak at his rally in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump supporters camping out in advance of the rally in Colorado Springs.
(Fox 21 KXRM)
President Trump at the podium for his Thursday night rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Jody Miller of Scottsdale, Ariz., waiting for an appearance by
President Trump at the rally Thursday in Colorado Springs. (AP
Photo/David Zalubowski)
