Thursday, July 18, 2024

The Real Reason Trump Chose JD Vance

Why did Donald Trump select JD Vance? Obviously, their current policy views are simpatico, but JD Vance was not supportive back in 2016. He was pretty harsh about Donald Trump the candidate. You know who else was? Me. Dig back through my columns and you’ll see. I was never a Never Trumper. I was always going to vote for the GOP nominee, and I did vote for the nominee. But I was a Ted Cruz guy because I didn’t think Donald Trump was actually going to do the things Donald Trump said he was going to do and I said so. In fact, CNN used to have me on as the conservative Trump-doubter…until I had it with Don Lemon’s nonsense. I was a traditional conservative, and I thought Donald Trump was a NYC liberal and that he would govern like one. But you know what? 

I was wrong.

So, I changed my mind about him. I’m now a ferocious Trump supporter. And so is JD.

Here’s the thing about opinions. You change them when they are proven wrong. I thought Donald Trump was going to govern as a liberal. He did not govern as a liberal. He did about 95 percent of the things I wanted him to do. My concern was never with what Donald Trump was saying. I always liked what he was saying. I just didn’t think he was actually going to do what he said. And then he went and did a lot of it. He probably would’ve done much more if he hadn’t been subject to an unprecedented tsunami of fake scandals and if he had had a Rolodex of reliable people to work with. JD Vance had the same experience. He didn’t think much of Trump at first. Then Trump proved himself. And then JD Vance began to support him.

That’s how this works – remember that the great Ronald Reagan himself started as a Democrat. He learned and changed. I’m not sure why we are supposed to accept the bizarre notion that once you have expressed an opinion, you are locked into it in perpetuity despite evidence that shows you are wrong. I don’t accept that, and JD Vance doesn’t accept that either.

JD Vance is a very interesting VP choice. He was not my first choice to be the nominee for vice-president because I thought that Glenn Youngkin might bring more to the table in terms of building an electoral coalition. JD was, however, my first choice for actually being the vice-president. If and when he wins, I’m going to be thrilled.

But now I’m rethinking my initial assessment of his strengths as a candidate. I may have underestimated them. How? First of all, I have grown to trust Donald Trump’s instincts when it comes to politics. After all, this guy came out of nowhere and beat all the geniuses and professionals in 2016. Worst case, he nearly beat them all in 2020. And right now, according to all the polls, he’s beating that desiccated corrupt old husk. So, he had to have a reason for choosing JD Vance and it was probably a good one. 

Dumb people will say it’s because JD Vance flatters Donald Trump. Again, that wasn’t always true, and Donald Trump has a long memory. But Donald Trump is not interested in flattery this time. He is clearly interested in winning. He has built a strong and effective campaign organization that dominated the primaries – I supported Ron DeSantis because I worried Trump was going to be hard to reelect and he just crushed my guy. Donald Trump has also shown incredible discipline by stepping out of the spotlight while Joe Biden staggered around on the verge of filling up his Depends to overflowing. And, of course, Donald Trump demonstrated his courage in his iconic response to the attempt to murder him. So, there’s no reason to believe Donald Trump picked JD Vance simply out of petty vanity. That’s silly. If you want to underestimate your opponent, feel free. But if you think Donald Trump is playing for anything but keeps this time, you are letting your own biases and prejudices cloud your judgment.

So, what did Donald Trump hope to gain from picking JD Vance? JD Vance is very smart and very effective in debate, but I’m not sure you really need that to beat Kamala Harris. She’s as dumb as a box of Arkansas rocks, no offense to Southern minerals. I think it’s something more. 

Pundits often reflexively opine, by rote, that JD Vance appeals to the working class based on his impoverished upbringing. I think they are onto something, but I don’t think they go deep enough in assessing how this dynamic works. Guys who sweat on the job are not going to vote for JD Vance just because his family was poor. In fact, I’m not sure the goal is to get them to vote for JD at all. Rather, perhaps JD Vance is on the ticket so that they vote against Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the whole elite power structure.

You see, JD Vance did everything right. He did everything we asked within the paradigm of the American Dream. This was a poor but smart kid who worked hard and rose out of poverty. He served his country in the Marine Corps. Then he applied to a prestigious college and he excelled there. He was next accepted into the heart of the elite training grounds, Yale Law School, where once again he excelled. He was the editor of the law review. After graduating, he became a high-tech entrepreneur and did well. He did everything right. With his brains and his sweat and his hard work, he checked all the elite boxes. He beat the elite at their own game.

And yet, they still want to deny him his reward. He’s still not good enough, and maybe it’s because he rejects the ruling class’s ideology and because he’s a man of deep faith and patriotism. Without submitting to their false gods, he’s always going to be one of them. He’s The Other. Even though he earned it through effort, the elite refuses to allow him to be part of their clique. He will always be an outsider because he will not conform. 

The message to the working-class men, and many women, of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota is that no matter what you do and no matter how hard you work, and no matter whether you play by the rules and whether you beat the elite at their own game, you will never be accepted unless you submit and repudiate your roots. You will never be allowed to win if you refuse to sign on to all the weird social pathologies of the left. DEI, trans, anti-Americanism – it’s not enough to pay the price of acceptance with hard work. You have to pay it with your soul.

No, JD Vance was picked not because the working class will necessarily love him but because the contempt rained down on him by the elite and its lapdog regime media will demonstrate that our ruling class will always hate working people who remain true to themselves. JD Vance is proof that the people who feed, fuel and fight for America will never be allowed to succeed. He is proof that they will always be second-class citizens. And that will motivate the people who build, run, and defend this country to vote against the drooling avatar of an elite that hates them.

Maybe I’m overthinking this, but maybe not. The hate that has come crashing down on JD Vance in the wake of his selection is undeniable. The elite cast him out, just as it cast Donald Trump out, for the crime of not bending the knee. Perhaps you can become part of the elite if you give up your self-respect, but the American Dream isn’t about debasing yourself. It’s about earning what’s yours while remaining true to yourself. And as the elites deny JD Vance what he has earned because he thinks for himself, those working-class men and women who will make the difference in the Rustbelt will be watching, and they will be voting.

Follow Kurt on Twitter @KurtSchlichter. Get the newest volume in the Kelly Turnbull People’s Republic series of conservative action novels set in America after a notional national divorce, the bestselling Amazon #1 Military Thriller, Overlord! And get his new novel about terrorism in America, The Attack!

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Nancy Pelosi Reportedly Took the Gloves Off to Push Joe Biden Out of the Race

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly took the gloves to get Joe Biden to drop out of the race. It’s frustrating for Democrats: the ship's captain doesn’t see the iceberg, but the entire passenger manifest can. Congressional Democrats have seen enough polling to know that Joe Biden is a cancer to the ticket who will likely wipe out the party in down-ballot races. They dithered for days since no one had a plan or wanted to be the first to call on Biden to exit, especially given his cantankerous reputation.

JUST IN: In private conversation, Pelosi told Biden polls show he can’t beat Trump, Biden disagreed and Pelosi called an adviser to show him the survey results - CNN

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 18, 2024

The president remains defiant in staying, though his latest COVID diagnosis and the incessant and increasingly louder calls for him to drop out have reportedly pushed Biden to ask his advisers if Kamala Harris could win. Pelosi also showed Biden polling last week clearly showing that the president is losing this election, and the hope of mounting a comeback, given his health concerns and the deepening fractures in the party base, was becoming more remote by the day (via Politico): 

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told President Joe Biden last week that she and other Democratic lawmakers worry that he’s dragging down the party, in an extraordinarily candid confrontation that came amid mounting pressure on Biden to end his reelection campaign. 

Pelosi also warned Biden that some Democratic lawmakers would start to grow louder in their griping about his political weaknesses, according to two people close to Pelosi. She urged the president to make a decision about stepping down soon. 

One Pelosi ally said it was possible she would press Biden publicly to give up his spot atop the Democratic ticket. 

“The speaker does not want to call on him to resign, but she will do everything in her power to make sure it happens,” this person said, referring to Biden quitting the race. 

A second Pelosi ally put her calculus in blunt terms. 

“There’s nothing subtle about Nancy,” this person said. “She starts with the question: ‘What’s it take to win?’ Then works backwards.” 

The exchange between Biden and Pelosi underscores a new and increasingly public phase of the push to remove Biden from the Democratic ticket. Senior Democrats had hoped to address this matter privately — Pelosi, herself, certainly advised members to try to do so, at least for a time. 

Pelosi was not alone: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told the same story to Joe. The first move in this game of chess is Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, urging Biden to drop his re-election bid for the good of the party. 

Biden is currently in Delaware after contracting the viral infection, the same day he said he would bow out if a medical episode arose. COVID won’t be the cause of his exit, but it drew attention again to one thing that Biden can’t shake: the rapid decline of his health—mental and now physical.

Trending on Townhall Videos

 

Comer To Subpoena U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle

GOP lawmakers confront Secret Service director at RNC
Jill Biden's Girlfriend.     

House Oversight And Reform Committee Holds Hearing On Waste And Fraud In Federal Pandemic Spending
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 01: U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-KY), Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, delivers remarks during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 01, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee held the hearing to discuss COVID Pandemic Federal Spending. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
House Oversight And Reform Committee Holds Hearing On Waste And Fraud In Federal Pandemic Spending WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 01: U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-KY), Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, delivers remarks during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 01, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee held the hearing to discuss COVID Pandemic Federal Spending.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is set to subpoena U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Director Kimberly Cheatle, urging her testimony on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. 

“While the Secret Service confirmed Director Cheatle was expected to appear for the Committee’s hearing on July 22, to head off any attempt by DHS to backtrack on her appearance, the Chairman will issue a subpoena for her to attend,” a spokesperson for the panel said in a statement. “Director Cheatle must answer to Congress and the American people about the historic failure that occurred on her watch.”

House Republican conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) told The Post that the planned Oversight briefing would have been “the first opportunity” to ask “very important and tough questions.” 

“The American people need 100% transparency — and they need it fast,” Stefanik emphasized. “Once we have that opportunity to ask those questions, then I think the decision will be made.”

The House Homeland Security Committee also confirmed that another hearing will be held July 23rd with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Cheatle.

“The American people want answers on what happened Saturday in Pennsylvania,” Homeland Security chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) demanded in a statement. “Secretary Mayorkas and Director Cheatle are responsible for the department and the agency charged with securing our homeland and protecting our nation’s chief executives and candidates, while Director Wray leads the agency with the vital responsibility of investigating this attempted assassination.”

Mayorkas had stated that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin, should have never had “a direct line of sight like that to the former president.”

Trump was speaking from an outdoor stage in Pennsylvania on Saturday when a bullet from a 20-year-old shooter grazed his ear. Crooks fired multiple rounds into the crowd after scaling to the roof of a building outside the rally’s security perimeter.

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Peter Navarro Receives Warm Welcome At RNC Just Hours After Being Released From Prison

Peter Navarro walks off stage with his fiance on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party’s presidential nomination. The RNC takes place from July 15-18.

Hours after being released from a federal prison in Miami, Peter Navarro, a trade advisor who served in the White House under former President Donald Trump, spoke at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, which prompted tremendous applause.

“This morning, I did walk out of federal prison,” Navarro stated, adding, “If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful. They will come for you.”

Navarro was found guilty of contempt of Congress and reported to prison in March. He purportedly defied a subpoena from the House committee that was tasked with investigating the events leading up to the protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. He was also accused of participating in alleged attempts to rig the 2020 presidential election.

“Here’s how it went,” Navarro said at the RNC. “Here’s how I got in prison. The legislative branch came for me first. Your favorite Democrat Nancy Pelosi created your favorite committee, the sham January 6th committee which demanded that I … violate executive privilege. What did I do? I refused.”

“Here’s the most important thing I’m going to tell you: You may be thinking this couldn’t happen to you,” Navarro added. “Make no mistake, they are already coming for you. Joe and Kamala.”

“I went to prison so you won’t have to,” Navarro continued. “I am your wake up call!”

Later, during an unscripted moment, he called his fiancĂ©e on stage and gave her a kiss. “We got this,” attendees began yelling, repeating Navarro’s previous statements.

BREAKING: Peter Navarro explains how the January 6th committee tried to get him to betray Trump in the back but he REFUSED

"The January 6th committee demanded that I betray Donald J. Trump to save my own skin, I REFUSED"

God Bless Peter Navarro and Free Steve Bannon pic.twitter.com/1ZCMRAeE9T

— George (@BehizyTweets) July 17, 2024

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024

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JD Vance to Newsmax: Dems 'Trying to Throw Their Nominee Under the Bus'

Vance to Newsmax: GOP 'Really United,' Dems in 'Disarray'

 


In mere hours this weekend, President Joe Biden went from having to talk Democrats into not abandoning him to having to explain his administration's failure to protect his political opponent from a would-be assassin.

But now the contrast between Democrats in "disarray" and a Republican Party "really united" could not be more stark and driving more "momentum" for the Trump-Vance ticket, J.D. Vance told Newsmax in a live on-set interview Night 2 of the GOP convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

"President [Donald] Trump's, I think, roundhouse kick in the first debate is part of the reason why you have Democrats in total disarray right now," Vance said, referring to the June 27 debate between Biden and the former president. "It is really the contrast between Republicans and Democrats.

"Democrats are actively trying to throw their nominee under the bus. This party out here is really united behind President Trump. It's a really good feeling.

"And I think that that momentum is something you can almost reach out and touch. It's so, so powerful. It's so cool."

The GOP unity was on full display at the convention Tuesday night, as GOP primary vitriol gave way to full-throated support for Trump as the nominee.

Former South Carolina GOP Gov. Nikki Haley not only delivered her delegates for Trump on Monday in the nominating vote, but she delivered her full endorsement for Trump in her speech. She spoke to the hearts, minds, and potential votes of former Trump critics, noting how you can "disgree at times" with Trump, but still vote for him against Democrat President Joe Biden.

Also, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis came out firing thereafter noting how the Republican Party must send Biden "back to his basement" and Trump "back to the White House."

But those speeches came after a one-time Trump critic himself, Vance – saying in 2015 the billionaire is at times difficult to "stomach" – is now Trump's leading supporter as his vice presidential running, long coming to the conclusion Trump is the best president for America.

Trump himself has hailed Vance as one that proves he can turn unconvinced minds around as a presidential candidate.

That is where Vance comes in with the key battleground states that have pockets of tepid support for Trump.

Vance noted having the rally Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania; nominating an Ohio running mate; and holding the GOP convention in the key battleground state of Wisconsin show just how important the Rust Belt is for Trump to break the Democrats' proverbial "blue wall" — despite Democrats' tepid support for their 81-year-old candidate.

"Absolutely, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin — obviously, we're here in Milwaukee — are a major, major focus of President Trump's campaign," Vance told Schmitt and Van Susteren. "And, look, it's very simple: Why does Joe Biden want to buy oil from Iran and from [Russian President] Vladimir Putin instead of from Pennsylvania energy workers?

"Why does he want to further weaken the American manufacturing economy that allows us to project power overseas? Why does he constantly pursue the interests of foreign despots over the interests of the American citizen and the American worker?

"That is a case that I think works all over the country. I really think it's an argument that works in Pennsylvania and Michigan, because they have felt the neglect of the consensus in Washington that leaves American workers behind.

"President Trump's going to change that."

Tesla, SpaceX, and X owner Elon Musk sees that, too, Vance added.

"Elon and I know each other a little bit, but Elon is actually a great example of an American entrepreneur who's built a company, but also a company that's employed a lot of good American workers," Vance said, when asked if Musk was a voice pushing for him to be the running mate. "If you think about, you know, Elon Musk is in some ways a throwback to an older generation of American entrepreneur. He builds real things, he builds cars, he builds rockets.

"And that's, I think, the kind of economy that President Trump wants to create."

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Biden’s Disastrous Affirmative Action Administration Has Been an Unparalleled Failure

This past weekend, an assassin’s bullet came just centimeters from taking out the leading candidate for president, quite possibly plunging an already divided nation into chaos.

On Tuesday, the Director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, offered up a variety of excuses as to why her agency incompetently allowed the shooter to get off multiple shots that struck Donald Trump and killed one of his supporters.

Her explanations for the worst security breach in decades, happening under her purview, showed a staggering level of ignorance. Her actions leading up to it were equally bungling.

  • Trump’s security team was understaffed and under-resourced.

  • Despite the roof of the building where the shooter camped out being an obvious point of attack, the team opted to protect the building from the inside.

  • The reason she didn’t put anybody on the roof, Cheatle claims, is that it was sloped and created a safety hazard. This, despite the fact that snipers were positioned on another building with a roof sloped at a greater rate.

  • Law enforcement spotted the shooter nearly 30 minutes before the attack, and multiple bystanders pointed out his presence on the roof. And still, they failed to stop him.

Incompetence. Ignorance. Whether willful or not. All under Cheatle’s watch.

Will she resign? Of course not. Nobody resigns, is fired, or is otherwise held accountable under the nation's first affirmative action administration.

Make no mistake, Cheatle, as with nearly all of President Biden’s top administrative-level figureheads, was chosen to direct the Secret Service because she is a woman.

In typical fashion, Biden announced her appointment and was quick – in the first paragraph – to point out she is a woman. As if gender is a necessary attribute to competently run the agency.

When you’re a “diversity hire,” as Rep. Tim Burchett (R-KY) has described Cheatle, you tend to operate under a similar non-merit-based premise.

The Daily Mail, therefore, has described her as a “diversity-obsessed boss” whose hiring was pushed for by Dr. Jill Biden. There is a section dedicated to the department’s commitment to diversity on its website.

“Cheatle talks more about reaching 30 percent female agents by 2030 than she does about protecting those under her agency's tender care,” the Mail writes.

What else would you expect from a president whose administration consistently eschews the "qualifications" section of resumes in favor of key phrases such as “first woman,” “first (insert race here),” or “first gay” person at the highest levels of government?

The affirmative action presidency has been an unmitigated disaster, no matter how you look at it. When you seek to hire based on gender, skin color, and sexuality – an illegal act, by the way – you end up with a badly failed experiment.

The Biden affirmative action administration is just that – a badly failed experiment. An island of diverse but deficient misfit toys. 

Let’s take a look …

Also contributing to the assassination disaster is DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who reportedly ignored “repeated requests” for stronger secret service protection for Trump.

Upon his confirmation back in 2022, Mayorkas was heralded first and foremost for being “the first Latino and immigrant” to serve in the role.

Despite the word "security" being in his department name and title, Mayorkas promptly made the southern border of the United States the most insecure in this nation’s history.

Under his watch, over 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the country, including 1.8 million known “gotaways” who slipped past Border Patrol and into the country. Not to mention the single military-aged males that have streamed into the country and those with specific tangible ties to terror organizations.

Then there is Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. You all know him mainly because he checks off the Biden affirmative action checklist by being “the first openly gay member of a presidential Cabinet.”

When this “historic” figure isn’t taking off two months for paternity leave in the middle of a supply chain crisis, he’s overseeing nearly weekly train derailments, causing chaos at airports, and surveying decaying airplanes with parts that fly off midflight.

Don’t worry, though, he’s investing in female crash dummies to fight gender inequality and heroically addressing racist highways while simultaneously fixing racism on construction sites … or something.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is the pièce de resistance when it comes to Biden’s diversity hires. She checks off several boxes being female, black, and a lesbian.

Unlike the others, Jean-Pierre’s inability to do a passable job is on display nearly daily as she tries unsuccessfully to convey to the American people just how accomplished this administration is.

She is an idiot savant, minus the savant part.

KJP spent years telling the American people how competent and fit President Biden is – even suggesting he runs circles around her physically and mentally — until that House of Cards fell at the presidential debate.

Biden’s first affirmative action hire, Vice President Kamala Harris, was chosen for her role because of the optics she provides. She continues to provide material that would be absolutely hilarious if it weren’t so sad, including a weird fascination with school buses and Venn diagrams.

Her first job was being tapped as Biden’s border czar. You know how that’s going (see Mayorkas above).

Buttigieg, Harris, Mayorkas, and Jean-Pierre are all borderline incompetent when it comes to handling their jobs. Now Cheatle joins that list.

Each of them was chosen exclusively based on certain characteristics. And they are all failures. None of them would currently be employed based on their track records if they worked at the local Dairy Queen, let alone in the White House.

The affirmative action presidency, the experiment in diversity over competence and capability, has been an undeniable failure. Perhaps the most detrimental All-Star cast of aimlessly wandering dolts this nation has ever endured.

It almost cost former President Trump his life and kicked off a civil war in this country. It actually did cost one man his life.

The experiment must end in November.

 

Motorcycle Officers Who Assisted at Trump Rally and Sustained Injuries Were Not Authorized to Be There

Two Pittsburgh unit supervisors who assisted at the deadly Trump Rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday were moved out of their unit. According to a WPXI exclusive, their superiors claim that the officers were not authorized to work the rally and were supposed to be available for First Lady Jill Biden's motorcade in Pittsburgh that same day. 

Two Pittsburgh motorcycle cops who were assisting with security at the Trump rally and injured by shrapnel when an assassin fired on Trump were transferred away from their unit as punishment, a local Pittsburgh news station is reporting.

Sources told WPXI/11 News in Pittsburgh that officials were mad at the officers for not working security at Jill Biden’s event. 

The plot thickens.

11 Investigates has learned exclusively that two Pittsburgh police motorcycle officers who were injured during the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally over the weekend have been removed from the cycle unit.

That decision has sparked controversy and disagreement inside the department.

Sources told Chief Investigator Rick Earle that those cycle officers were asked to assist with the Former President’s motorcade to that rally in Butler County on Saturday.

According to Earle’s sources, the officers claim they notified the proper personnel with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and received authorization to help, but according to the same sources, the bureau said they didn’t get permission.

Sources told 11 Investigates that the Pennsylvania State Police requested Pittsburgh motorcycle officers to assist with former President Trump’s motorcade Saturday night from the airport in Allegheny County to Butler County and back again.

Pittsburgh sent 10 officers, and four were hit by shrapnel when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, injuring former President Donald Trump, killing firefighter father Corey Comperatore, and injuring others. The Pittsburgh motorcycle officers sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene. One later went to the hospital.

Video from CBS News shows those Pittsburgh officers, just minutes after they were hit with debris, in the stands helping some of the injured, even carrying one to safety.

But two days after their heroic actions, two motorcycle unit supervisors were transferred out of the unit.

Sources told 11 Investigates the bureau claimed they never got permission to assist Trump.

The motorcycle supervisors claim they did get permission, according to sources.

As with the Secret Service involvement (or lack thereof) at the rally, there is much confusion on what should have happened and what actually occurred. According to the WPXI sources, there were also "concerns that some of those officers should have been available to help with the First Lady’s visit to Pittsburgh at the same time." Assistance had to be called in from nearby universities to aid Pittsburgh Police in managing Jill Biden’s motorcade.

The more the investigation unravels, the more interesting it gets. Now it's become a battle of they-said, they-said between the spokesperson for the Pittsburgh brass and the president of the Fraternal Order of Police union.

A Pittsburgh police spokesperson sent a statement to 11 Investigates.

“This was an administrative decision made by the Chief. Per the FOP [union] contract, I am unable to speak to the reasons behind the move as it involves personnel,” said spokesperson Cara Cruz.

The President of the Pittsburgh police officers’ union fired back in a statement to 11 Investigates.

“In a time when we should be honoring the heroics of these officers, we’ve created some petty administrative investigation in the midst of a serious political race,” said Fraternal Order of Police President Bob Swartzwelder.

11 Investigates has also learned there are questions about the overtime hours put in by some of the cycle officers.

In the transfer memo, Police Chief Larry Scirotto did not list a reason for the moves, only stating it was “for the good of the bureau.”

"For the good of the bureau?" Sounds like people above their pay grade are looking to assign blame. As the expression goes, "crap runs downhill." 

 

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