Trump rallies supporters in Mississippi after House impeachment probe vote, ahead of tight governor's race

President Trump rallied supporters in Tupelo, Miss., on Friday night in a bid to shore up Republican support ahead of the state's tightest gubernatorial race in nearly a generation.
Trump attacked former vice president and 2020 candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden over their Ukrainian business dealings, accusing the media -- specifically CNN's Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo, who again Trump referred to as "Fredo" -- of covering up potential Biden corruption.
"The press protects him," said the president, who also called Biden "One Percent Joe."
Trump also slammed the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry, calling it a "preposterous hoax" one day after the House voted to formalize the rules of their impeachment process, and accused Democrats of trying to "delegitimatize" the 2016 presidential election.
House committees have held nearly a dozen closed-door depositions from witnesses regarding their knowledge of a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. An anonymous intelligence community whistleblower has alleged that Trump sought to persuade Zelensky to open an investigation into Joe Biden, his son Hunter and their business dealings in Ukraine in exchange for military aid to the Eastern European nation.
"Do you think I would say something improper when I know there are so many people listening?" Trump asked the crowd.
The president also mocked former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, just hours after the Texas Democrat announced his withdrawal from the 2020 presidential election.
Trump called O'Rourke a "poor bastard" and a "poor pathetic guy" who "made a total fool of himself" in the race for the White House.
"Hopefully, we won't be hearing about him for a long time," Trump added.

"Hopefully, we won't be hearing about him for a long time."
— President Trump

Trump also decried Hillary Clinton's recent comments about Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. The former secretary of state didn't mention Gabbard by name, but suggested that Gabbard was being groomed to be a third-party presidential candidate in 2020.
Trump said, "I don't know who Tulsi Gabbard is but I know one thing, she's not an agent for Russia."
Clinton made similar comments about 2016 Green Party candidate Jill Stein, to which Trump responded: "I don't know Jill Stein ... I know she's not an agent of Russia."
The president opened his remarks at Bancorp South Arena by celebrating the U.S. military raid that led to the death of Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, saying it had "ended his wretched life and punched out his ticket to hell."
"We have a great military. It was very very depleted when I came into office ... but it ain't depleted anymore," said Trump, who called Baghdadi "a savage and soulless monster but his reign of terror is over."
Trump lamented the media's coverage of the military's most recent feat, saying that if former President Barack Obama had killed the leader of ISIS, the media would have the story "going on for another seven months."
"Conan the dog got more publicity than me -- and I'm very happy about it," Trump said of the heroic military dog who was injured while pursuing Baghdadi through a tunnel underneath a compound in northwestern Syria.

"Conan the dog got more publicity than me -- and I'm very happy about it."
— President Trump

"While we're creating jobs and killing terrorists, the Democrat Party has gone completely insane," Trump said.
Hundreds of people had waited to see Trump at the rally to support Republican gubernatorial candidate Tate Reeves, who is finishing his second term as Mississippi's lieutenant governor after previously serving two terms as the elected state treasurer.
Reeves briefly joined Trump onstage and accused the "radical liberals" of "disrespecting" Trump by pursuing impeachment against him and urged the crowd to elect "an ally to Donald J. Trump."
"He'll never let you down," Trump said of Reeves. "And don't kid yourself, your Second Amendment is under attack."
Reeves has spent $10.8 million in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Bryant, while his Democratic opponent, state attorney general Jim Hood, has spent $5.2 million. Both are receiving financial support from national governors' groups in their parties.
Reeves has sought to tie Hood as closely as possible to national Democrats, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who are deeply unpopular in a state that voted heavily for Trump in the last presidential election.
Hood has not invited national Democratic figures to Mississippi and is running campaign commercials that show him with his family, his pickup truck and his hunting dog, Buck. In one, Hood unpacks a rifle and says that "Tate Reeves and his out-of-state corporate masters" are spending money on a "bunch of lies."
"You all know me. I've worked for you for years. I do my job and I'm a straight shooter," Hood says. The spot ends with Hood shooting the gun and shattering a bottle.
Hood is also running radio ads designed to appeal to African American voters — including one with an endorsement from former U.S. Rep. Mike Espy, who ran a strong but ultimately unsuccessful race for U.S. Senate in Mississippi last year, and another that mentions Hood leading the successful 2005 prosecution of Ku Klux Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen in the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers.
The outreach reflects the importance of black voters to any possible Hood victory. African Americans make up 38 percent of the state's population, but some say they're irritated by Hood's emphasis on courting rural white voters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Ronan Farrow says Bill Clinton was 'credibly accused of rape,' calls Juanita Broaddrick's case 'overdue for revisiting'

"Catch and Kill" author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow took aim at former President Bill Clinton on Friday night, saying the nation's 42nd chief executive was "credibly" accused of rape and that alleged victim Juanita Broaddrick's claim was "overdue for revisiting."
Stemming from a panel discussion on "Real Time with Bill Maher" about the Katie Hill saga -- in which the California congresswoman resigned after allegations of inappropriate affairs -- host Maher posed a hypothetical about whether Clinton would have been treated differently -- for the Monica Lewinsky affair and other matters -- if he were president in today's political climate.
"Could Bill Clinton, if he had done what he did in 1998, survive today -- or would his own party have thrown him under the bus?" Maher asked.
Later in the conversation, Farrow addressed the question by stressing that the allegations made against Clinton are a "different" situation.
"I think that it is very important to interject that Bill Clinton is a different conversation," Farrow told Maher. "He has been credibly accused of rape. That has nothing to do with gray areas. I think that the Juanita Broaddrick claim has been overdue for revisiting."
Farrow, whose reporting took down disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein and helped propel the #MeToo movement, added that he thought Clinton wouldn't escape scrutiny today, saying society's views on sexual misconduct have "changed."
The U.S. House impeached Clinton in 1998 over the Lewinsky affair but the Senate acquitted him and he went on to complete his second term in January 2001.
In 1999, Broaddrick sued Clinton, seeking documents that might be relevant to her allegations.But a judge dismissed her lawsuit in 2001.

Trump administration to pay $846G to California over failed bid to add citizenship question to census

All because of the Libs.

The Trump administration has agreed to pay $846,000 to the state of California in a settlement over the administration’s efforts to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census, according to a report.
California sued the Trump administration earlier this year over concerns a citizenship question on the census would lead to underrepresentation of minorities.
In June the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the administration’s reasoning for adding the question, calling it “contrived," and calling on the White House to provide other reasons for wanting the data, The Sacramento Bee reported.
In the 5-4 ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with liberal associate justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagen, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer. Opposing the California lawsuit were conservative justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
President Trump later blasted the court's ruling in a Twitter message.
"Seems totally ridiculous that our government, and indeed Country, cannot ask a basic question of Citizenship in a very expensive, detailed and important Census, in this case for 2020," the president wrote. "I have asked the lawyers if they can delay the Census, no matter how long, until the ... United States Supreme Court is given additional information from which it can make a final and decisive decision on this very critical matter."
California had argued it could lose billions in funding if its minority populations are underrepresented.
In the settlement, the administration will pay California the sum for lawyer fees and related costs incurred by the state.
The administration said it would get citizenship information from other sources.
In July, Trump signed an executive order directing executive agencies to provide as much citizenship data allowed under the law to the Commerce Department, The Bee reported.

Democrat Impeachment Cartoons

Impeachment vote against Trump draws saturation coverage

The speeches, the posturing and the punditry were all predictable, as was the final outcome.
Two hundred and thirty-one House Democrats, with just two defectors, voted yesterday to back the impeachment inquiry against President Trump, while 194 Republicans, with one former party member defecting, voted against the measure.
It was a set-piece ritual of the kind that Washington loves, and for all the bombast and the bloviating, it’s unlikely that a single mind was changed.
This city woke up filled with bipartisan joy after watching the Nationals clinch the World Series shortly before midnight, but within hours, the air was once again thick with polarizing emotions.
It was not a vote to impeach Trump, though it was clearly a test vote toward that outcome. It comes more than two decades after Newt Gingrich’s House voted to impeach Bill Clinton, and four and a half decades after the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Richard Nixon. After the first 180 years of our republic saw only one impeachment, that of Andrew Johnson, the constitutional provision has become more frequently weaponized in modern politics.
But like the party-line drive against Clinton, this one-sided effort seems almost certain to fail in the Senate.
Trump’s reaction was concise: “The Greatest Witch Hunt in American History!”
The White House rushed out a statement: “Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats’ unhinged obsession with this illegitimate impeachment proceeding does not hurt President Trump; it hurts the American people.”
Nancy Pelosi invoked Ben Franklin and the founders, as she does with growing frequency: “What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy.”
Kevin McCarthy reduced it to raw politics: “Democrats are trying to impeach the president because they are scared they cannot defeat him at the ballot box. Why do you not trust the people?”
Steve Scalise had a hammer-and-sickle sign as the GOP argued it’s a “Soviet-style” process.
Everyone is quoting Alexander Hamilton.
It was a day to argue over process, which is what Washington does best, as opposed to substance, to which the town often seems allergic.
Pelosi made the move because the Republican criticism about a closed-door process, with selective leaking of testimony, was starting to sting. She knows she needs to move toward public hearings and to set some rules of the road.
The speaker also must believe that the political winds have shifted. Earlier, she wanted to spare nearly three dozen Democrats in districts won by Trump from having to cast an early impeachment-related vote. Now, after heavily negative coverage of administration witnesses contradicted Trump on Ukraine, and a slight shift in the polls, such a vote appears safe.
What’s more, Pelosi has an eye on the clock. As the private hearings drag on, talk of holding a final impeachment vote by Thanksgiving have faded; now Democrats are hoping to wrap things up by Christmas. That would mean a Senate trial in January, and with more snags, it could spill over into the early February primary voting. Impeachment is already depriving the Democratic candidates of media oxygen; this would be unprecedented, and would pull the likes of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar off the campaign trail.
Despite these uncertainties, the whole impeachment saga has the feel of a scripted process. Pelosi once argued that impeachment could not work without being bipartisan—suddenly that’s off the table. But there’s no stopping this train now.

Trump says he wants to read Ukraine call transcript in televised 'fireside chat'

President Trump said Thursday he may read the transcript of his July 25 telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky aloud to Americans in the style of the famous fireside chats delivered by President Franklin Roosevelt during the 1930s and 1940s.
“This is over a phone call that is a good call,” Trump said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. "At some point, I’m going to sit down, perhaps as a fireside chat on live television, and I will read the transcript of the call, because people have to hear it. When you read it, it’s a straight call.”
Roosevelt delivered a series of informal radio addresses, dubbed fireside chats, meant to garner support for his New Deal policies and update Americans on the course of World War II, among other issues.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Room of the White House Sunday.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A public reading of the call transcript would mark the latest effort by Trump to thwart the impeachment inquiry against him by congressional Democrats. The president has repeatedly denied Democratic claims that he withheld crucial military aid to Kiev in order to press Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
Several witnesses have raised concerns over the call. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who serves as a director on the National Security Council (NSC), testified privately before Congress this week that he was alarmed by Trump's request to Zelensky.
“Everybody knows I did nothing wrong,” Trump told the Examiner. “Bill Clinton did things wrong; Richard Nixon did things wrong. I won’t go back to [Andrew] Johnson because that was a little before my time. But they did things wrong. I did nothing wrong.”
During the interview, Trump said he was being responsible by reviewing aid to Ukraine, a country with a history of endemic corruption.
“We are giving them money, we are giving them weapons,” he said. “We have an obligation to look at corruption.”

Austin school officials OK sex-ed curriculum – but values group says fight not over

School officials in Austin, Texas, have made changes to the sex-education curriculum for middle school students – and a lot of parents are not happy with the results.
Planned Parenthood, one of the backers of the new plan, called it “LGBTQ inclusive, science-based and much needed,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.
A group called Texas Values led the opposition to the plan – and says it intends to fight its passage, which came in a unanimous vote early Tuesday morning after a large crowd gathered Monday night for the school board’s meeting.
The values group claims to have collected petition signatures from 5,000 people who oppose the curriculum – though Austin's KEYE-TV reported that parents can block their children from taking any or all of the lessons.
David Walls, a parent and vice president of Texas Values, told the newspaper that his group believes the plan encourages students to engage in same-sex relationships.
“It’s not appropriate for school,” Walls said. “It’s not appropriate for a government body to encourage students to engage in any kind of sexual activity.”
On Thursday, Texas Values posted a Twitter message mocking the school board’s preference for the gender-neutral term “parent” over “mother” and “father.”
“What’s so scary about mom and dad?” the group wrote, using a Halloween theme.
Community member Barbara Bucklin told Austin radio station KUT that “gender identity” didn’t seem an appropriate topic for young children.
“Should you be suggesting to a 5-year-old or an 8-year-old or a 10-year-old that maybe they’re not a girl?” Bucklin asked.

“Should you be suggesting to a 5-year-old or an 8-year-old or a 10-year-old that maybe they’re not a girl?”
— Barbara Bucklin, opponent of sex-ed curriculum changes

But Michelle Rusnak, the district’s health and physical education supervisor, said the goal of the plan is to represent LGBTQ views fairly, not to impose them.
“It’s about acceptance,” she told the American-Statesman.

“It’s about acceptance.”
— Michelle Rusnak, school district’s health and physical education supervisor

Prior to Tuesday’s vote, school officials had already made changes to the revised curriculum proposal based on parents’ input, according to the newspaper.
For example, officials agreed to delay discussions of sexual orientation and HIV until fifth grade, rather than third grade. They also deleted the term “anal sex” from a lesson about preventing HIV and STDs, although the term is used in a lesson on abstinence, and they canceled a video that included depictions of gay and mixed-race couples.
“There’s no doubt that the topic of sex education in public schools elicits strong reactions,” board member Kristin Ashy told the crowd Monday night. “Tonight offers itself as an example of these reactions.”
Students whose parents approve of the plan will begin learning the new lessons in May, reports said.

Trump makes Florida his primary residence, but says New York will 'have a special place in my heart'

President Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker, announced Thursday that he has changed his permanent residence to Palm Beach, Fla., because of the way politicians in New York City and the state of New York have treated him.
“I cherish New York, and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state. Few have been treated worse,” the president tweeted.
“I hated having to make this decision, but in the end it will be best for all concerned. As President, I will always be there to help New York and the great people of New York. It will always have a special place in my heart!”
The New York Times originally obtained the court documents for Trump’s change of address from Trump Tower in New York City to the location of his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, where he's built a residence. First lady Melania Trump also changed her residence to the same location in an identical document.
“If I maintain another place or places of abode in some other state or states, I hereby declare that my above-described residence and abode in the State of Florida constitutes my predominant and principal home, and I intend to continue it permanently as such,” the Trump file read.
“I formerly resided at 721 Fifth Avenue,” the document said. Trump, raised in the borough of Queens, moved into the skyscraper in midtown Manhattan in 1983.
The document lists Trump’s “other places of abode” as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, aka the White House, and his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J.
Trump has spent 99 days at his Florida resort since becoming president, while he’s spent only 20 days at Trump Tower, according to NBC News.
In response to Trump, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted: "Good riddance. It's not like @realDonaldTrump paid taxes here anyway... He's all yours, Florida."
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren accused the president of making the move so he can shield his tax information from New York authorities.
"Donald Trump doesn't want the state of New York to see his taxes—I wonder why," Warren wrote. "Let's call this out for what it is: Corruption, plain and simple. Under my anti-corruption plan, all presidential candidates would be required to release their tax returns."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who ended his own run for the presidency, echoed Cuomo's remarks.
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out or whatever," de Blasio wrote.
Trump is due to make an appearance in New York City this weekend to attend an MMA fight at Madison Square Garden. He's scheduled to spend Saturday night at Trump Tower.
While Trump said his change of residence was due to poor treatment by New York officials, some have speculated he could be doing so for tax purposes. Florida does not have a state income tax or an inheritance tax and has long been a haven for wealthy former New Yorkers.
In August, Heritage Foundation chief economist Steve Moore appeared on “The Daily Briefing” to say that New Yorkers fleeing to Florida for tax purposes may be the “biggest economic story” in the country.
He said there are four so-called "states of the apocalypse” – New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Illinois – from where residents are fleeing in droves due to high taxes and state budget issues.
Moore said the states benefitting the most from this population movement are Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and North Carolina.