Trump Claims to “Believe in Loyalty.” Not So Fast...
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Trump Claims to “Believe in Loyalty.” Not So Fast...
Plus: Proud Boys Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy
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WILLIAM SALETAN: Trump Claims to “Believe in Loyalty.” Not So Fast....
Donald Trump has strong views about loyalty. He’s offended that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who benefited from Trump’s endorsement in that state’s 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary, is now thinking of competing against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. “I believe in loyalty,” Trump protested on the Full Send podcast two weeks ago. “You just don’t do what he did.”
Trump’s indignation is nakedly hypocritical. He feels no reciprocal loyalty to the Republican party or its candidates. He’s already sabotaging the party’s chances in 2024. And he’s making it clear that if he doesn’t get the GOP’s presidential nomination, he’ll betray whoever does.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
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KIMBERLY WEHLE: Proud Boys Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy.
AFTER A NEARLY FOUR-MONTH TRIAL, a jury on Thursday reached a verdict convicting four out of five defendant members of the right-wing Proud Boys militia group—including its leader, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio—of seditious conspiracy in connection with the bloody attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. (All five were found guilty of lesser charges, as well.) Tarrio had been barred from entering Washington following his arrest for burning a Black Lives Manner flag at a church, but he allegedly directed the January 6th attack from Baltimore.
The verdict is another huge win for the Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has weathered substantial criticism for failing thus far to indict high-level government officials for their roles in the insurrection. At a Thursday press conference, Garland reminded the public that the January 6th investigation is “one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history,” and has produced “more than 600 convictions for a wide range of criminal conduct on January 6th, as well as in the days and weeks leading up to the attack.”
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Harris Pavilion, Manassas, VA— I’m enjoying the first day of good weather this week and the end of the COVID emergency while one of my dogs gets groomed (he needed it!) and working outside at a park in Manassas. It’s also the first day of early voting in Virginia for our summer primaries, so I got that out of the way, too. There’s a nice breeze, a noisy Amtrak train, skateboarders who are ignoring the sign, and a family taking graduation pictures. Hope you have some fun weekend plans in the works!
Read Charlie in The Atlantic! He writes, worryingly: “We wouldn’t let the man babysit our children or even walk the dog. We would definitely not buy a used car from the guy. But we might give him back the nuclear codes and control over the military, the FBI, the CIA, the IRS, and the Department of Justice.”
Vnimaniye, Vnimaniye! Russia prepares to evacuate occupied Berdyansk as Ukraine prepares its spring offensive. Reminds me of the Chernobyl evacuation.
Headline of the day award… Goes to Fmr. Rep. Justin Amash. Bravo.
Leaking Fox’s Proprietary Secret Sauce… The MAGA network sent a lawyer letter to Media Matters for publishing those Tucker videos. Whoever would leak those? I wonder! In a response, MMFA’s president quipped: “Perhaps if I tell them that the footage came from a combination of WikiLeaks and Hunter Biden’s laptop, it will alleviate their concerns.” They say it is “intellectual property” and in a legal sense it is, but in a literal sense, it’s not intellectual at all.
Deseret under fire… For publishing Bethany Mandel advancing Tucker Carlson. (You may remember her for forgetting the definition of “woke” while promoting a book about why that’s bad. Or the grandma killer thing. "There is nothing Carlson or Mandel offer that couldn't be explored using more responsible sources” a Mormon critic observed, and she’s right.
Decisions, decisions… The former President of the United States has the weekend to decide whether or not he wants to testify in a civil rape case. If he does, his lawyer has allegedly threatened to quit. (And I can’t believe I just typed those words.)
“No mention of Ginni…” The hits keep on coming for Justice Thomas and the Thomas family sugar daddies.
If he’s running… DeSantis is gonna skip the exploratory committee. Probably a good thing since his not-running but totally-running thing is working out so well.
The Feds are seeking 24 years… For the January 6th insurrectionist who sprayed police officers trying to escape with chemical spray. They got 14 years. (And he had 38 prior convictions. 38!)
The return of DiFi? Apparently it’s not happening as planned.
Why we should be worried about DeepFakes… An interview with Fake Tom Cruise.
“He will deliver chaos…” Bill Barr, after the fact, telling us what we all know a second Trump term would bring.
The typography of Dulles… Meet the Eero font.
How Jim Clyburn protected his seat… But at the expense of Dems having a good shot at any other district in the state.
LIV. Laugh. Love. Tooning Out The News crashes Saudi Arabia’s PGA Tour.
The GShock at 40… An interview with two of its creators.
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