The 14th Amendment & the Destruction of the United States


Armstrong Economics Blog/Sovereign Debt Crisis Re-Posted May 10, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Interpretation of the Constitution is often caught up in controversy. What is beautiful to one person is average or ugly to another. The best construction regarding law was the cornerstone of Justice Scalia who I regard as probably one of the most brilliant minds that ever sat on the bench. Of course, the left will send me hate mail on that one because they did not like the outcome. But Scalia held to what is known as Strict Construction which requires a judge to apply the text only as it is written. Once the court has a clear meaning of the text, no further investigation is required.

I will give you an example of the “liberal” wing and how they want to interpret the Constitution. They cannot even define what is a WOMAN anymore. I am waiting for them to declare the LGBQT have been so disadvantaged, that they will be exempt from also paying taxes since they are exempt from all social regulations. Since I like women, then I should “identify” as a Lesbian and enjoy all sorts of protection and be exempt from taxation.

This entire WOKE agenda has gone nuts. Just because some guy has a sex change does not justify changing all the definitions of everything and changing all social norms. Women’s sports have been completely destroyed.  What about the girls that hoped to break records and win scholarships? Nothing works anymore. Just because a guy changes his sex does not make him a woman who can have biological children which is different from carrying a child because they now have a uterus. There is still a difference! Why must a woman surrender her identity? The simple solution was there are males and females, and in Thailand, the transgenders simply identify as a ladyboy.

This is precisely the same irrational interpretation they are using to justify the 14th Amendment which will destroy everything and this is far more serious than just suspending debt payments. By invoking this 14th Amendment, there will never be a debt ceiling and then you will have runaway inflation, taxation, and a complete breakdown in all liberty. The executive can then use executive orders to deny Congress even the opportunity to vote on any spending. The head of the EU did that to buy 3 times the number of vaccines from Pfizer than the population of Europe. And Ukraine put out the propaganda that they are fighting to preserve democracy yet refuse to honor the Minsk Agreement to allow the Donbas to vote! Our Western governments have killed democracy long ago and executive order circumvents everything – it is the tool of choice for dictators.

To illustrate the constitutional crisis, Garrett Epps, who was a professor of law at the University of Baltimore until his retirement in June 2020, wrote back on November 22, 2022, claiming that the Constitution’s text bars the federal government from defaulting on the debt  “even a little, even for a short while.” Epps claims that “[t]here’s a case to be made that if Congress decides to default on the debt, the president has the power and the obligation to pay it without congressional permission, even if that requires borrowing more money to do so.” I tried really hard to follow his legal argument and I could not with any Strict  Construction InterpretationQuite frankly, he also probably cannot define what is a woman either.

The “Intent” behind the 14th Amendment has nothing to do with this argument of default. Britain suspended the gold standard and declared a moratorium on debt during the Great Depression – they resumed. The City of Detroit suspended its debt payments in 1937 and resumed in 1963. Yet people insist there was no default. What is the definition of “default”? That traditionally means the abandonment of all obligations on a permanent basis. There is NOTHING in the statutory construction nor in the Constitution that would bar a “suspension” of debt payments. Ukraine suspended its debt until the US paid everything for them so they did not default.

Looking at the 14th Amendment, Section 4 provides that “the validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.” The “intent” of that was that the debt incurred by the North was to be the national debt and the Confederate States would not question having to pay those debts. But it continued and made it clear that it would not honor any debts incurred by the Confederate States to fund their side of the war.

In order to understand what this means, we must turn to Statutory Construction which begins by FIRST looking at the plain language of the Amendment to determine its original intent. We must look at the words to determine the original intent and apply their usual and ordinary meanings. If after looking at the language and the meaning remains unclear, then we must attempt to ascertain what was the intent of the legislature by looking at legislative history and other related sources. Normally, a court must not create an interpretation that would create an absurd result that would be counter to the original Legislature’s intent.

Epps claims that “Shall not be questioned” doesn’t mean “shall be paid most of the time unless you can score political points against the other party by not paying it.” That is creating an absurd result and opening the door to the total collapse of the United States. Article I, Section 8 is pretty clear that borrowing and repaying indebtedness are congressional, not executive, powers! Article I would be nullified if the 14th Amendment granted the power to the president to spend as he wants and to pay all debts when that is expressly the power of Congress.

Now we turn to 31 USC §3101 which some try to claim is UNCONSTITUTIONAL and therefore there should be no debt limit. Up to now, this statute has proved to be a good tool for forcing budgetary reform aimed at debt reduction.

The statute was passed in 1982 and became law. The ORIGINAL intent was to do precisely what it has been used for. The only grounds for it to be unconstitutional is if Congress did not have the power to limit the debt. Looking at Article I, this entire argument that Biden can just pay debt and spend without the approval of Congress is the death knell to the Constitution. This is a direct assault upon the separation of powers between the President (Executive branch) and Congress. Since Article I delegates all questions of debt to Congress, I cannot rationally see where Congress lacked the power to curtail the debt when that was the original intent as well.

The ONLY person who wants those provisions to be UNCONSTITUTIONAL so they can spend whatever is left-wing and they have ZERO intention of EVER paying off the national debt. This is really a fraud on their part because you borrow with only the intent to repay the debt. Lacking that, their actions are totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL and a fraud upon the people of the United States and the world.

Thoughts on Tucker Carlson’s Firing


Posted originally on the CTH on April 24, 2023 | Sundance 

This is a context you won’t find elsewhere {smiles}. The phone has been blowing up….  Context and some details matter.

First, Carlson was being paid about $20 million a year by Murdoch.  He had about 3 years left on his contract and will be paid the full contract amount.  Carlson found out about 10 minutes before Fox Corp made the announcement.  They did not “part ways,” Tucker Carlson was fired.

(Via WSJ) – Mr. Carlson, whose contract was renewed in 2021, will be paid out for the rest of his contract, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Carlson is paid about $20 million a year, one of the people said. Mr. Carlson found out he was being let go about 10 minutes before the network announced his departure, the people said. (link)

For financial context, remember Rupert Murdoch paid Megyn Kelly $15 million (Via Harper Collins) for the 2015/2016 operation against Donald Trump.  Paying $60 to $100 million to get rid of Carlson’s antagonistic voice is small money to Murdoch Inc. in the grand scheme of things. [Murdoch has also paid for Ron DeSantis to oppose Trump]

Carlson will not be asked to sign an NDA, is not bound by a “non-compete” clause following the contract nullification by Fox Corp, and will be free to do anything he wants in any venture.  Additionally, he will be free to say whatever he wants about the issues at Fox and speak freely, or not, without any legal or contractual constraints.  Keep all of that in mind.

Prior to 2021, Tucker Carlson was what you might call a Fox News loyalist.  He was very loyal to the organization.  During the COVID-19 era, Tucker Carlson moved his physical location away from Washington DC to his home in Maine.  Fox built him a studio, and Carlson manifest his own destiny free from most production constraints.

Over the past 18+/- months, viewers have watched Tucker Carlson essentially red pill himself each evening.  As he enjoyed the proximity freedom far away from the Eye of Sauron (DC’s control mechanism), Carlson’s eyes opened further to the reality of the situation that blankets our national consciousness.

Disconnected from the machine, free-range in his abilities, and with the intellectual curiosity of the average person, Tucker Carlson started to see the U.S. system as it is, not as media pretend it to be.  This is the increasing red pill absorption you have noted daily.  Along with that came a more pragmatic and brutally honest production quality to the content he shared.

Carlson’s influence grew as the audience grew; the more truth he spoke, the larger the audience.  That free-range influence became a liability to the system operators that hold power, including Rupert Murdoch who is a part of that control system.  In essence, and in the big picture, that’s what led to this event today.

Timing and Fox Digital.  Fox had just settled a lawsuit with Dominion Systems that has been widely reported.  The decision to fire Carlson had only one aspect connected to the Dominion settlement, financial timing.

Fox Corp is going to take a big hit in second quarter (Q2) earnings as part of the Dominion settlement.  If you are going to take a big financial hit, it’s better to go ahead and clear the decks of all financial hits at the same time.

Paying out Carlson simply gets all the big hits in the same quarter.

Digital is where the action is.  Digital subscriber services is where the future of all content is focused.   Understanding this reality gives you a scale of the darkness in the opposition elements facing our nation.  Fox News digital is Fox Nation.  Tucker Carlson and the show Tucker Carlson Today was the anchor of Fox Nation digital.

Fox Nation was struggling prior to Tucker Carlson’s long show broadcasts.  The entire Fox Corp digital streaming service, Fox Nation, was anchored around the Tucker Carlson Today digital streaming service.   Fox News has just torpedoed their anchor, shot their lead dog, destroyed the digital brand.  That gives you some scale and scope to how the elements viewed the threat of influence that Tucker Carlson had become.

Fox Corp, and Murdoch’s stenographers at the Wall Street Journal (SEE HERE), will try to frame the Carlson firing as something of a palate cleansing.  Claims of adversarial viewpoints, controversial views and conflicts with other Fox loyalists on the inside, will be used to frame the narrative.   However, all of those false frameworks are just that, false.  The source of the issue that led to the firing was 100% ideological.

During Tucker’s red pill absorption phase, he changed views on a variety of subjects from the FBI to the Fourth Branch of Government, to vaccination and COVID-19, to his views on Donald Trump as a disruption to an increasingly admitted corrupt political machine.

Context in the Tucker worldview expanded and he began to frame the conflict in a big picture of Good -vs- Evil.  Unfortunately for Carlson, this view was from inside a multinational corporate system spreading the darkness.   He had to be removed.

This is the reality of the situation as it unfolded.   Accept it or not, it matters not.  This is the Carlson reality.

Carlson was connecting the dots of manipulation beyond media, beyond social battles and constructs, and into the realm of finance, economics and ultimately behind the Potemkin Village of UniParty politics.  Blackrock has an increased stake in Fox Corp.

Talking about what happens behind the false front of the DC village is always a threat.   It is in the research and acceptance of the darkest pretending constructs that you realize how the illusions of choice are presented.

Tucker Carlson was no longer selling the illusions.

There are trillions at stake.

He was removed.

Tucker is free.

Welcome to the rebellion my friend!

Only One Question Remains as Susan Rice, Biden’s Shadow President, Leaves the White House


Posted originally on the CTH on April 24, 2023 | Sundance 

In the game of test-match cricket, a game that can last three days at peak professional level, you have to ‘get out‘ to ‘get in‘.   You have to ‘get out‘ of the clubhouse in order to ‘get in‘ to the game.  The same is true for this story about Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan Rice, leaving the Biden administration.   Rice has to get out of the administration in order to get in to the 2024 game.

Readers here will likely remember all previous discussion about the likely Democrat field for 2024.  Susan Rice and Gavin Newsom are both key players in the DNC big club game.  There is only one question at the core of the dynamic you need to ask, how will they off-ramp Joe Biden?

First, the White House announcement: […] “As the only person to serve as both National Security Advisor and Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan’s record of public service makes history. But what sets her apart as a leader and colleague is the seriousness with which she takes her role and the urgency and tenacity she brings, her bias towards action and results, and the integrity, humility and humor with which she does this work. I thank Susan for her service, her counsel and her friendship. I will miss her.” (link)

Susan Rice is the pliable foot soldier, the protege’ of the Lightbringer, Chicago Jesus.  Rice is the female version of the entire apparatus of the Obama team.  Susan Rice is Barack Obama in female form, and as Ric Grenell said eloquently, Susan Rice is “the shadow president.”

A Newsom/Rice or Rice/Newsom ticket is a no brainer.  Both are foot soldiers for the Lightbringer movement’s fundamental change agenda, although Rice is the apex player and Newsom is the ideological, intellectual and cognitive equivalent of John Fetterman with better style.  Most people still do not understand that Barack Obama is not just a person, he is a complete political construct -a movement in a box- consisting of multiple component groups all working in synergy.

The focus of the Obama movement is domestic and ideological.  The “fundamental change“, as outlined previously by the front man for the group, is domestic – exclusively domestic.  The Lightbringer doesn’t care about foreign policy stuff; all of that angle is sold to the multinationals and highest bidders.

Foreign policy is not a thing for Teh One true bringer of enlightenment; their focus is USA domestically centered. In her capacity as Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan Rice was the guiding hand behind every element of Biden domestic policy.

The microphone from the Obama basement does not transmit into the earpiece of Biden; it communicates into the two-way radio of Rice.

If Susan Rice is departing, the question becomes how the club removes Biden from the 2024 race?  There are a multitude of approaches and leverages available for the Lightbringer’s team, which includes Deputy AG Lisa Monaco at Main Justice.

The criminal activity of Hunter Biden, and the potential for outcomes – or lack therein, can be leveraged.  The direct connection to the action of the principal, “the big guy” Joe Biden, could be leveraged.

The Biden administration’s interference in any number of related investigations can be leveraged, and… keep in mind…. it is not coincidental the evidence of the interference is manifest by the same team that would remove the principal.  Yeah, think about that for a moment.

Put aside the 2024 contest participants for a moment (ie. the shiny things), and instead focus on what peripheral risks exist to Joe Biden that could be deployed at any moment to push him to a graceful off ramp.

There are many club-installed insurance policies, political landmines all around Joe Biden.  Which one will they show him?

President Trump Reacts to Fox News Firing Tucker Carlson – Full Interview


Posted originally on the CTH on April 25, 2023 | Sundance 

President Trump appears on Newsmax with Greg Kelly {Direct Rumble Link} for an extensive interview.  The first question from Kelly to President Trump is a reaction about Fox News and Tucker Carlson.  Additional questions about current events.  President Trump’s remarks about Ron DeSantis are interesting.  WATCH:

.

“They” Explained


Armstrong Economics Blog/Basic Concepts Re-Posted Apr 25, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

People often ask who I am referencing when I refer to “they.” THEY are the leaders of the pack; the neocons. They are the people who create endless wars and use the people as their toy soldiers for war games—we are the toys.

None of these wars affected our way of life and we had no need to be involved in Ukraine, Vietnam, Afghanistan, you name it. But they will create false flags to bring us into wars. It may be a conspiracy but it is not a theory. They conspire to create these wars and use fake news. There were the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that never existed. The sinking of the Lusitania that propelled us into World War I was intentional. Former President Johnson admitted that Vietnam never attacked us, and leading neocon Robert McNamara admitted before his death that America was wrong for condemning Communist nations. But he died with the guilt of sacrificing 58,000 American lives on the neocon altar of war.

The neocons have a theory that a regime change will save the day. They demonize the head of state and convince themselves that people will cheer once that individual man is overthrown. Saddam, Gaddafi, the list goes on. They think they can overthrow these leaders and simply install a democracy. The problem is that we do not have a democracy; we have a republic. We cannot vote on whether we go to war or if we want to die for the neocons.

They are the aggressors and the ones who created the current conflict. They are on both sides of the political aisle and are installed in positions of power throughout the world. They create division internally to promote civil unrest so that they can elect the person of their choice who will claim to solve the problems they created. They want to create digital currencies to control everything we do while plundering what they allow us to have. They are pushing society as a whole to a breaking point, and unfortunately, their next war game will not end well.

Former CIA Director Admits Biden Created the Russian Disinformation Hoax


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Apr 24, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Biden’s camp completely interfered in the 2020 US Presidential Election by hiding Hunter’s illegal business dealing through bribes and coercion. The House Judiciary Committee released a letter addressed to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that revealed Biden and Blinken deliberately created the story that Hunter’s “laptop from hell” was “Russian disinformation” in order to help him steal the election.

When will the people say that they have had enough? How could they arrest a former president for an affair when the current president and his crime family have actively engaged in countless international criminal activities. CIA director Mike Morell ADMITTED that 51 members of the intelligence community signed a letter declaring the laptop was “Russian disinformation” act the request of the Biden Administration. This propaganda spread to reporters of prominent newspapers, social media platforms, and government officials across the US. The FBI completely dropped their investigation after the laptop was handed over to them and wiped clean from the internet.

The Biden Administration reached out to The Post after they received information that Hunter introduced his dad to his Ukrainian business partners. Morrell said he did it to “help Vice President Biden … because I wanted him to win the election.”

Joe Biden referenced this signed letter during a debate against Trump on October 22, lying to the American public weeks before the election. Joe insisted he never spoke to Hunter about his business dealings when he was in on it the whole time.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence sent a letter to Blinken letting him know that the investigation is back on.

“We are examining the origins of the infamous public statement signed by 51 former intelligence officials that falsely discredited a New York Post story regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop as supposed Russian disinformation.

Subsequent reporting revealed that the New York Post story was not, as the public statement claimed and then-Vice President Biden parroted, part of a ‘Russian information operation.’

This revelation nearly two years after the fact, however, was little consolation.

The concerted efforts to dismiss the serious allegations in the Post’s reporting and to suppress any discussion of the story played a substantial role in the 2020 election.”

Joe Biden is a liar who will go down in history as the worst president in American history. He deceived the American people countless times and has done everything in his power to ruin our economy, values, and way of life. Arrest all 51 people who signed that letter and throw everyone related to the Biden crime family in jail – let us see how far the corruption goes.

Stoltenberg: Ukraine’s Rightful Place is in NATO


Armstrong Economics Blog/War We-Posted Apr 24, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that there would be a global world war on Friday when he announced that Ukraine will be invited to join NATO. Stoltenberg, who recently took a trip to Ukraine to show his full support, said that Ukraine will be permitted to join after the war ends. Zelensky is begging for NATO to permit Ukraine to join NATO immediately.

At a joint news conference in Kyiv, Zelensky and Stoltenberg spoke on NATO’s unwavering support for Ukraine. “Over the years, NATO Allies have provided training for tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers. And since last February, NATO Allies have delivered more than 150 billion euros of support, including 65 billion euros of military aid,” Stoltenberg said. “Let me be clear: Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. And over time, our support will help you make this possible.” He said their approach will take multiple years to “ensure full interoperability with the Alliance.”

Stoltenberg went on to explain why NATO was helping an unaffiliated nation. He hit on every trick in the book, from it being “morally right” to demonizing the head of state (Putin) as if removing him could solve this crisis:

“I expect the NATO Allies to do so both because it’s the morally right thing to do. A sovereign independent nation in Europe, Ukraine has been attacked, as a victim of a brutal war of aggression and therefore it's Ukraine's right to defend itself and it's our right to support Ukraine in upholding the right of self defense, a right which is enshrined in the UN Charter but it's also in our self-interest. Because if President Putin wins it will make the world more dangerous and us more vulnerable, because then the message is that when authoritarian powers, like Russia, like President Putin uses forces, they get what they want. So it's in our security interest, it's in the security interest of NATO Allies to support Ukraine.”

Zelensky said, per usual, that the efforts of the West have not been enough. “There is not a single objective barrier to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance and now, when most people in NATO countries and the majority of Ukrainians support NATO accession, is the time for the corresponding decisions,” the comedian who is running a country said.

If Ukraine joins NATO, World War III will begin immediately. Stoltenberg is buying time, as they did with the fake Minsk Agreements. NATO is afraid that Hungary and Turkey will turn away from the alliance if Ukraine is openly admitted. The comment section on the video I posted above shows how the public does not understand what is happening. People are cheering and saying Zelensky should win the Nobel PEACE Prize when he has turned down every olive branch Moscow attempted to extend. All these people want is war and they think of nothing else. Ukraine is nothing more than cannon fodder to them and the latest plot for the neocons to conquer Russia.

House Judiciary Committee Releases Evidence of U.S. Intelligence Community Conducting Domestic Political Disinformation Campaign


Posted originally on the CTH on April 21, 2023 | Sundance 

The House Judiciary Committee has released evidence {Letter Here}, gained from a transcribed interview with former Acting CIA Director Mike Morell, showing a coordinated plan by former and current Intelligence Community officials (both parties) to work with the political campaign of Joe Biden in order to influence the 2020 election outcome.

Within the transcribed interview, Mike Morell admits to receiving a phone call from current Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, with a request to create disinformation and protect Joe Biden from scrutiny over the Hunter Biden laptop revelations.  Morell then coordinated with 50 intelligence officials to fabricate a claim that Russians had created the Biden laptop story as a disinformation campaign.  The reality was that Morell organized the U.S. intelligence community to create disinformation on behalf of Joe Biden.

[House Judiciary] – […] “Based on Morell’s testimony, it is apparent that the Biden campaign played an active role in the origins of the public statement, which had the effect of helping to suppress the Hunter Biden story and preventing American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election. Although the statement’s signatories have an unquestioned right to free speech and free association—which we do not dispute—their reference to their national security credentials lent weight to the story and suggested access to specialized information unavailable to other Americans. This concerted effort to minimize and suppress public dissemination of the serious allegations about the Biden family was a grave disservice to all American citizens’ informed participation in our democracy.” (more)

[SOURCE]

The United States federal police force, the FBI, is politically weaponized against American citizens.

The United States intelligence community is politically weaponized against American citizens.

The United States justice department, the DOJ, is politically weaponized against American citizens.

We need to take down the four pillars that support the Fourth Branch of Government.  The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS), the Dept of Justice National Security Division (DOJ-NSD), and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), all need to be dissolved.

After those four pillars are removed, the Patriot Act needs to be abolished and the FBI placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Marshals service.

.

The Bloom Is Off The Ruse – President Trump Gains Ten More Florida Republican Congressional Endorsements, DeSantis Has One – Rep Greg Steube Explains Why


Posted originally on the CTH on April 19, 2023 | Sundance 

Another three endorsements for President Trump today from the Florida congressional delegation, bringing the total so far to ten with more anticipated.  Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is in Washington DC seeking support.  DeSantis is warmly greeted, but President Trump gets the endorsements.  What’s going on?

Republican Congressman Greg Steube gives an explanation below about the Ron DeSantis Floridians know, but nationally most do not.

DeSantis is an out-of-touch aloof persona, who generally projects himself as better than others.  In person he projects an arrogance and condescending personality trait also carried by his insta-selfie supporters and ‘influencers.’ It comes through the camera lens.  Everything constructed around DeSantis is fake, even the fake blue-collar handshakes that have to be photo-shopped to give a common man impression.

The donors are pouring in hundreds of millions to pay for the fake DeSantis constructs, Top Gov brand imaging and Madison Avenue illusions, but you cannot purchase authenticity, and you cannot rewrite the history of who DeSantis is.  Greg Steube explains:

[I]n a brief interview last night [Steube noted] that DeSantis has never once reached out to him during his five years in Congress nor replied to his multiple attempts to connect. He recalled a recent news conference dealing with damage from Hurricane Ian where the governor’s aides initially invited him to stand alongside DeSantis, only to tell him that he wouldn’t be part of the event when he showed up.

Trump, on the other hand, was the first person Steube remembers calling him in the ICU to wish him well after he was injured in a January tree-trimming accident. “To this day I have not heard from Gov. DeSantis,” he said.

Things suddenly changed last week, Steube said, as Trump started rolling out his Florida congressional backers. ”For the first time ever, I hear from DeSantis’s political person,” he said, referring to aide RYAN TYSON, who reportedly contacted other Florida Republicans about their endorsements.

For Steube, the outreach was too little, too late. And he continues to have sharp words for DeSantis, criticizing him for his robust political travel schedule amid a busy legislative session and just months after winning a new four-year term.  “Floridians want him focused on Florida,” he said, “which is the job they elected him to do.” (read the entire article)

Like I said last year, once people get to see Ron DeSantis up close, his disdain for people just jumps out at you.  He loves standing at the podium telling you what’s wrong with you, and what is brilliant about himself; however, he just doesn’t like people in an authentic or natural way you would expect from executive leadership.

The same disconnected snobbery applies to everyone his team has recruited.

Ken Cuccinelli and Jeff Roe are two of the biggest self-important jackasses in national politics. They don’t carry an ounce of humility or introspection.  They are always right, and the problem is it just takes too long for everyone to come around to admitting how great they are.  This is the character of DeSantis that flows through everyone he associates with.  Here’s an example from one of the ‘influencers” a few days ago.

This Twitter account is connected to both Representative Thomas Massie and DeSantis campaign official Christina Pushaw:

That tweet encapsulates the worldview of the average Ron DeSantis supporter in Florida.

This is why the overwhelming majority of the Florida Republican delegation, will not endorse him.  These outlooks are toxic and elitist.  Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis did not wear elbow length silk gloves at the noon-time inauguration day event accidentally.  Casey already went shopping with Cindy McCain and has her 2024 tiara picked out.

As I keep saying, there are not enough people who take Instagram pictures of their lunches to make Ron DeSantis a viable candidate. The polo club, cocktail party circuit of people who eat crustless triangle cucumber sandwiches and look down their noses at everyone else, is just not a large enough coalition to win DeSantis the nomination.  It means he will have more money; however, factually, the professional donor class is annoying with the level of self-righteousness and condescension they promote.

WASHINGTON DC – […] In yet another blow to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s not-yet-official presidential bid, two more Republican members of Congress from his own state are gearing to endorse Donald Trump for another term. Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Carlos Gimenez are each planning to announce their support for the former president this week, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell TIME.

Their pledges continue something of a downward spiral for DeSantis, who has been steadily losing ground in the endorsement battle for legislators from his own backyard. The development is even more noteworthy after his political team recently tried to stop the bleeding by asking Florida Republicans to refrain from endorsing Trump.

Bilirakis and Gimenez have also committed to be at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach on Thursday night, as the former President hosts members of the Florida delegation who have already endorsed him, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, and Greg Steube. It’s not clear yet whether Reps. Byron Donalds and John Rutherford, who have also endorsed Trump, will be at the gathering.

Neither Bilirakis nor Gimenez responded to requests for comment. Rep. Brian Mast, another Florida Republican, has also told associates he plans to formally back Trump in the coming days. And on Wednesday, Rep. Vern Buchanan officially thew his weight behind Trump. TIME reported last week that Buchanan was planning to endorse Trump in the coming days.

All of their endorsements will bring Trump’s tally of members of Congress from Florida to ten, whereas DeSantis has just one, Rep. Laurel Lee, who announced her support for the governor on Tuesday. Before winning her House seat last year, Lee served as DeSantis’s first Secretary of State. (read more)

Lance Gooden (R-TX) – “Today, after careful consideration and a positive meeting with Governor DeSantis, I have decided to endorse President @realDonaldTrump for 2024.”

Rolling Stone – […] “Over the past few years, the Florida governor has risen to Trump’s top internal rival without even declaring his candidacy. And part of that rise has been fueled by his pull with the GOP’s megadonor class, who prefer him to Trump because, while he brings a similar set of MAGAfied policies, he has not, to date, attempted a coup. That wellspring of financial support has been instrumental in fueling his rise, but the investments are predicated in large part on a belief that he can take down Donald.

That belief seems to be wavering, as the donor revolt has been brewing since at least last month. And it’s not just skittish donors like Richard Uihlein or Thomas Peterffy, who went public with his complaints last week. Several other top donors to DeSantis were livid about the governor referring to the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute,” with at least one major donor calling DeSantis to urge a walk-back, a source with knowledge of the outreach and another person briefed on it say. “My understanding is that the message was: ‘If we wanted a fucking MAGA candidate, we would donate to Donald Trump,’” the second source says.

[…] Those polling troubles may be giving some megadonors second thoughts. Sources familiar with Schlitz Brewing heir and shipping titan Richard Uihlein’s thinking told NBC News that the “brakes are pumped” with the megadonor’s DeSantis giving after the governor’s lackluster polling has given some “pause” about his viability.

Other conservatives have taken to predicting that DeSantis is potentially the second coming of Scott Walker, another Republican governor and conservative-media darling who many thought would be the favored candidate in a presidential primary — only to flame out before any ballots were cast. (read more)

President Trump Shares New 2024 Campaign Video Against Backdrop of Malicious Legal Persecution


Posted originally on the CTH on April 6, 2023 | Sundance

President Trump shared a new 1-minute campaign style video via Truth Social.  “We have to take back our Country and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Part of the video shows President Trump walking through the street in Manhattan just before reaching the courthouse. A pretty intense ‘the boss is pissed‘ look upon his face. Direct Rumble Link HERE – WATCH: