Multiple videos show a protester at a Donald Trump rally in North Carolina being sucker-punched by a Trump supporter.
The videos, which appeared on social media early Thursday and are shot from different perspectives, show an African American with long hair wearing a white T-shirt leaving the Trump rally as the audience boos. He is being led out of the rally by men in uniforms that read “Sheriff’s Office.” The man extends a middle finger to the audience on his way out.
Then, out of nowhere, the man is punched in the face by a pony-tailed man, who appears to be white, in a cowboy hat, black vest and pink shirt as the crowd begins to cheer. The protester stumbles away, and then is detained by a number of the men in uniforms.
“Chill, chill!” an onlooker says. “You don’t gotta grab him like that!”
Rakeem Jones, the man who was hit, said the punch came out of nowhere.
“Boom, he caught me,” Jones told The Washington Post in a telephone interview. “After I get it, before I could even gain my thoughts, I’m on the ground getting escorted out. Now I’m waking up this morning looking at the news and seeing me getting hit again.”
John McGraw, 78, was charged with assault and disorderly conduct in connection with the incident, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sean Swain told The Post on Thursday.
Seig Heil
ORLANDO — As Donald Trump rallied thousands of his supporters in the home state of one of his chief rivals, he did something he not done before: He asked those assembled before him to raise their right hand and pledge that they will vote for him in the Florida Republican primary.
“Can I have a pledge? A swearing?” the presidential candidate said, extending his right hand into the air. “Raise your right hand.”
Trump then began leading them in a pledge: “I do solemnly swear.” The crowd echoed him: “I do solemnly swear.”
Trump continued: “That I — no matter how I feel, no matter what the conditions, if there’s hurricanes or whatever.” The crowd tried repeating that back, but largely failed in doing so. Trump reassured them that they were doing fine: “That’s good enough.”
Trump continued the pledge: “Will vote on or before the 12th for Donald J. Trump for president.” The crowd repeated the pledge and cheered.
Trump continues to have more delusions of grandeur and to get more Hitlerian. For those who are offended by my comparisons or believe the Hitler Principle is being applied….Hell, I am not the one out there raising my hand, pledging allegiance to a jackass. In fact, my father fought a war to get rid of that jackass. I am just noting the very obvious similarities in behavior.
Maybe its time for some of the Americans to wake up and realize what they have on their hands.
The Debate: How tiresome and non-productive
It’s highly questionable whether anyone emerged as the winner in Thursday’s Republican presidential debate in Detroit, though the candidates’ spinmeisters would all quibble with that. There was one clear loser: the Grand Old Party.
The 11th debate of the Republican campaign tested the patience and the limits of viewers and voters. Insults and interruptions overwhelmed sober discussion. The raucous audience, now a staple of the GOP debates, only added to the sense of game-show politics.
Can anyone credibly suggest that the Republicans put their collective best face forward on Thursday night? At a time when the party is in crisis over the possibility that Donald Trump will become the nominee, the debate did next-to-nothing to make Trump or his three remaining candidates look or sound presidential.
Designed to define candidates’ differences, the debates have become tedious and repetitious rather than enlightening or illuminating. No new information was imparted, no truly new arguments advanced. Even the insults were tiresome.
At what point are they going to stop with these debates? The GOP is going to run itself into the ground. The debate was boring, exhausting, and accomplished nothing.
Mitt Romney joins the fray
Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney joined the fray today and made an impassioned speech against Donald Trump. Is Romney the last hope to speak to sane Republicans?
I think most people respect Mitt Romney, even if they don’t agree with his policies. Romney spoke directly and firmly.
Trump’s response was to suggest that when Romney ran, he was all but down on his knees. Given the double entendre of that statement, Trump should be ashamed of himself. That remark was the crowning blow in the land of low-class.
Will Republicans listen to Romney? My guess is his speech will do no good. Those who agree with him already wouldn’t consider voting for Trump. The Trump-followers wouldn’t have voted for Romney in the first place. The angry, the lewd, the bullies, are all right where they want to be and proud of it.
CNN dust up on Super Tuesday night turns into a meltdown
On the night of a primary, CNN is known for its comprehensive coverage of who won what, flashy graphics, stalling for time, and open speculation about what the heck will happen next. Moments of passionate exchange are, perhaps, less common.
Yet, during CNN’s Super Tuesday coverage, such a moment came when former Obama staffer Van Jones took on former Reagan staffer and Donald Trump supporter Jeffrey Lord in a heated debate about race, the Democratic Party and the Ku Klux Klan.
The trouble began when fellow contributor S.E. Cupp, a conservative, accused Trump of “crazy, dog-whistle policy proposals” to curry favor with prejudiced voters.
“Donald Trump has tried to otherize every other candidate in this race,” Cupp said, “… to sort of scare this very small part of the electorate who thinks that all of their problems are the fault of people who don’t look like them.”
Reporter and Secret service agent scuffle at Trump rally
Here is more detail:
RADFORD — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump got lots of support from people dissatisfied with current government leadership Monday, but he was also interrupted at least seven times by protesters unhappy with what they said was a message of hate.
The biggest disruption during the Trump event at Radford University’s Dedmon Center came from a group of a few dozen, mostly black Radford students chanting “No more hate! No more hate! Let’s be equal, let’s be great!” That group’s protest then touched off an incident between a photographer and a Secret Service agent.
The group locked hands as they were marched out of the Dedmon Center by security to a flurry of boos and cursing.
McConnell to drop Trump like a hot rock
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly told colleagues they will drop GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump “like a hot rock.”
McConnell reassured Republican members of the upper chamber they could run negative ads against Trump if he becomes the nominee and it threatens their re-election, reports The New York Times.
Additionally, McConnell told Republican senators during the members’ weekly lunch that the potential of Trump losing to Hillary Clinton is a given and it is best to describe to voters that a Republican Senate is a necessary check to a Clinton presidency.
So can I safely assume that Mitch McConnell dislikes Donald Trump? Trump will explode over this one.
At some point someone has to point out that the GOP is reaping what it has sown. After taking votes from every extreme group with a chip on its shoulder over something, I think this is what you get.
Is Trump unstoppable? Yes, but only by the Democrats. You just can’t live that much on the outside and expect a majority. It isn’t going to happen.
The Post’s View: on Trump and the GOP
Editorial 2/23/16
Republican leaders’ silence on Trump is inexcusable — and irrational
ON SUNDAY, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus whether the party would back Donald Trump should he win the GOP nomination. “Yes, we will support the nominee,” the Republican chairman replied. “To me, it’s a no-brainer.” Mr. Stephanopoulos asked if a Trump nomination would split the party. “Winning is the antidote to a lot of things,” Mr. Priebus responded.
Winning can quiet many complaints, it is true. But it cannot and will not be an antidote to the moral poison of Mr. Trump’s campaign. Party leaders who support and celebrate his victory will be accomplices to an attack on the fundamental values of American democracy. Winning will not wash away the stain.
Mr. Trump’s campaign is based on suspicion and unreason. He revels in policy proposals that make no sense. He stirs bigotry against Muslims, Hispanics, Jews, people with disabilities and more. He demeans war heroes. His latest turn is indirectly questioning Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) eligibility to be president, a suspicion rooted in pure prejudice.
Mr. Trump appears to have turned illogic into a virtue for his supporters, asking his audiences, “Who’s going to pay for the wall?” The reply is as enthusiastic as it is bizarre: “Mexico!” How might that happen? The answer, or rather the absence of one, is irrelevant to the candidate. How will he respond when, having reached the Oval Office, his simplistic promises proved unachievable, he encounters opposition in the form of legitimate checks and balances from the courts and Congress? Which ethnic group will he pick on to explain away his failures to deliver? What actions would he take to distract people from his lack of substance?
Trump vs. The Pope
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — First was the British prime minister, who called Donald Trump “divisive, stupid and wrong.” Then came Britain’s Parliament, which denounced him with colorful language. The French prime minister, the Turkish president and a Saudi prince also weighed in: The Republican presidential front-runner, they agreed, was a demagogue disgracing the United States.
On Thursday, Pope Francis added the strongest voice yet to a growing chorus of world leaders taking a stand against the celebrity candidate — condemning Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda and suggesting he was not a Christian because of it.
As the pontiff took the rare step of injecting his views into the U.S. campaign, his remarks underscored the anxiety coursing through world capitals about a possible Trump presidency. Francis noted Trump’s promise to deport an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States illegally and make Mexico pay for a wall along the border to keep them out.
“A person who thinks only about building walls — wherever they may be — and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis told reporters Thursday aboard the papal plane as he returned to Rome from a visit to Mexico, according to a translation from the Associated Press.
“This is not in the Gospel,” he added.Trump, not to be admonished by anyone, dissed the Pope.
Who is worse? Trump or Cruz?
By now I am certain everyone is totally sick of the various caucuses. I have lost track of what’s next.
How interesting that the mighty Trump didn’t prevail in Iowa…or is it? Iowa is heavy in the evangelical department and apparently Ted Cruz is popular amongst that subset of voters. (I haven’t figured out why because he appears to be mean as a snake.)
Trump actually took coming in second pretty well for a narcissist. I still want to make Rubio sit at the “little table” at all holidays.
So, who is worse? Worse in what way? Worse for the Republican party might be a place to start. Who would be worse for the country? Trump or Cruz?
If you held a gun to my head and told me I had to vote for one or the other, I would vote for Trump. Why? I think Trump is living on borrowed ideology. The power of his belief system could easily be over-ruled by pragmatism. Cruz—not so much. He believes in his cause and his own sense of righteousness, or so it appears. That is why he is more dangerous than Trump.
Don’t get me wrong..a gun would have to be involved and aimed right at my skull.
Guiffré saga continues–fighting the forces of voter fraud???
Reprinted with permission from Jill Palermo
An unauthorized investigation aimed at uncovering possible voter fraud might cost Prince William County Electoral Board Chairman Guy Anthony “Tony” Guiffré his job.
The Virginia State Board of Elections took a rare vote Friday to initiate steps to remove Guiffré from the county electoral board over allegations he compromised voter privacy and might have broken state and federal laws. The allegations stem from his efforts to determine whether absentee ballots were improperly requested for the Nov. 3 election.
The three-member state board, which includes two Democrats and one Republican, voted along party lines during a meeting in Richmond to ask Attorney General Mark Herring (D) to begin the removal proceedings.
Guiffré’s fate will ultimately be decided by the Prince William County Circuit Court.
Planned Parenthood endorses Hillary Clinton
PASADENA, CALIF. — The political arm of Planned Parenthood will endorse Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire on Sunday, a Clinton campaign official confirmed.
The endorsement marks the first time in the organization’s 100-year history that Planned Parenthood Action Fund has endorsed a candidate in a primary. The endorsement was first reported by CBS News.
“Let’s be clear — reproductive rights and health are on the ballot in 2016,” said Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards. “We’re proud to endorse Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.
“No other candidate in our nation’s history has demonstrated such a strong commitment to women or such a clear record on behalf of women’s health and rights,” she added. “This is about so much more than Planned Parenthood. Health care for an entire generation is at stake.”
Planned Parenthood is one of the nation’s leading providers of abortions and reproductive health services. Its early endorsement of Clinton will effectively mobilize supporters — and millions of dollars — nationwide for her candidacy.
Richard is expected to officially announce the endorsement at an event on Sunday in Manchester that kicks off the Action Fund’s efforts in the 2016 election season.
For some of us, there is nothing else to talk about. Done deal.
Virginia Trump supporters sue Va GOP
Washingtonpost.com:
RICHMOND — Three African American pastors who support Donald Trump filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday over a requirement that GOP primary voters sign a statement affirming that they are Republicans — a plan the presidential front-runner has condemned.
The plaintiffs say the loyalty pledge will discourage minority voters and those who are poor from casting ballots in Virginia, where voters do not register by party. Signing the vow will create long lines at the polls, imposes “the burden of fear and backlash” and amounts to a literacy test, according to the lawsuit.
The Virginia Republican Party recently decided voters who want to help choose the Republican presidential nominee must first sign a statement that says: “My signature below indicates I am a Republican.”
The Washington Post continued:
In a statement from Trump’s campaign, the celebrity billionaire said he had nothing to do with the lawsuit but that he supports the pastors’ cause.
“If they don’t stop excluding people, the party is doomed,” Trump said. Democratic presidential candidate “Hillary [Clinton] and the Democrats love this. The Republican Party in Virginia keeps losing. They really need to be smart and win for a change.”
Interesting. I suppose that people can be Republican for a fleeting moment. Why must it be a forever thing? Additionally, I believe the Democratic primary is the same day. The forever pledge just seems like over-kill.
If these pastors win their law suit, how far-reaching will it be? Will it be just for this primary or will it affect how future primaries are run? The outcome of this one might be very interesting on many levels. I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that its black pastors who are suing. Go figure.
The World of Trump
Where do the followers of this kind of thinking come from?
What is the demographic? Are these people crazy?
Is Trump being set up for a Bill Clinton beat-down?
Donald J. TrumpVerified account
@realDonaldTrumpHillary Clinton has announced that she is letting her husband out to campaign but HE’S DEMONSTRATED A PENCHANT FOR SEXISM, so inappropriate!
Trump needs to be very careful about what he wishes for. Has he forgotten who he is messing with? Trump might be smart, or so he wants us to believe. He is, however, no match for Bill Clinton, who might be one of the most intelligent political minds of the past 100 years.
I am almost salivating at the thought. This latest running of the Trump Trash Trap does not serve him well. There is no overlap of base. If nothing else, if Trump keeps rattling, he will energize all the Bill Clinton lovers who might just not be as enthusiastic over Hillary. (yes I will vote for her but must I also be excited about it?) Once they see the old Bill back in action, all those warm fuzzy Bill feelings will come rushing back, despite the baggy eyes and the skinnier body.
Trump will awaken a sleeping giant. There are a lot of people out there who will vote for Hillary just to get Bill back. that even includes Republicans. yes, Hillary does have a magic bullet. Watch out, Trump. You are a foolish, foolish man.
Note: Readers are reminded of the sacred cow list.
