Zelenskyy ‘Freaking Out’ After McCarthy Expelled as Speaker: Report

Luis Cornelio
-
0
Zelenskyy ‘Freaking Out’ After McCarthy Expelled as Speaker: Report

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Ukrainian officials find themselves in utter dismay after the expulsion of their ally, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from his role as House speaker on Tuesday. 

According to Politico, the Ukrainian government, heavily reliant on McCarthy as a financial supplier, is now grappling with the immediate repercussions of his political downfall, with one Ukrainian lawmaker accusing House Republicans of holding their aid hostage. 

“We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, a Ukrainian MP and the chair of the committee overseeing Ukraine’s integration into the European Union. “We are interested in getting things sorted out so American democracy can function, and so we can restore the bipartisan consensus on supporting their own national interest by supporting Ukraine.” 

Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak went a step further with an unhinged response. “There is nothing good, but, objectively, we have simply become hostages of their internal politics. 

McCarthy’s exit came at a bad time for the eastern European country, which found itself mired in a disturbing corruption scandal implicating high-ranking military officials. Merely two months ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired his top defense chief, Olesksii Reznikov, days before he was set to meet with Pentagon officials. 

“Well, that’s a setup,” one worried lawmaker claimed, while another added, “Honestly, we are watching for now.” 

In a desperate statement to deescalate tensions, the Ukrainian government published a statement on the ongoing battle within the House GOP.

“Until a new speaker is elected, the House cannot vote on laws, but all other work, including in committees, continues,” said Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States. 

McCarthy’s exit came after he refused to remove $300 million of U.S. taxpayer aid to Ukraine from a House GOP spending budget, which also included money for the border wall. 

Instead, McCarthy told staunch conservative Republicans they must vote for the bill before the aid could be removed.

Ultimately, the bill failed, leading McCarthy to settle with a clean spending bill endorsed by both President Joe Biden and the Democratic-led Senate. 

This concession delivered the final blow, with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., successfully submitting a motion to vacate. 

Wyoming Ranchers Accused of Bleaching Penises onto Neighbor’s Cows

Corine Gatti
-
0
Wyoming Ranchers Accused of Bleaching Penises onto Neighbor’s Cows
Editor’s note: Article contains graphic descriptions that may be unsuitable for some audiences.

(Headline USA) A herd of cows and a few bulls were bleached with images of a graphic nature after an ongoing unneighborly feud in the Midwest, leaving much to the imagination. 

A heated battle between Crook County, Wyoming, ranch owners turned to criminal charges after numerous cows had a combination of bleached markings, including images of male genitalia, AGDAILY reported.

The artwork allegedly came from a father-and-son duo, Patrick Sean Carroll, 66, and his son Tucker Kye Carroll, 34, who funneled 189 heifers and six bulls into a chute after Philip Habeck’s cattle continued to drift onto their property over the last few years.

The fed-up ranchers allegedly drew genitalia using a mix of peroxide on the cows in order to mock Habeck for “never [doing] anything to fix the problem,” the news outlet noted. The peroxide mixture is commonly used to mark cattle—a more humane form of branding than the hot irons that were once standard.

The Carrolls didn’t deny that their fence was old but were quick to say that they’re always on the lookout for any issues and promptly address them. Habeck said he had recently rebuilt several gaps in the fence washed out by flooding and that had Carroll watched from his porch.

Nevertheless, in June Habeck filed a police report after discovering a corral of cows with the pornographic bleach prints.

The alleged victim said his heifers were defaced all along their back; some had marks around their face and one had “what appeared to be an attempt at drawing a penis on her ribs.”

According to Habeck, this led to an assessed loss for the cattle of $141,750, and the animals suffered from skin irritation and other damages, the Gillette News Record noted.

The father and son were charged with two counts of property destruction and defacement, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, a $10,000 fine—or possibly both.

According to the alleged bovine pornography creators, the moment called for revenge, and they offered no remorse, the Cowboy State Daily reported.

“This has been coming for three years,” the Carrolls reportedly said according to the affidavit. They did not elaborate on their reasons for using images of male genitalia on the cows.

Video Shows Dems Cheating against Each Other in Connecticut Vote-Fraud Scandal

Molly Bruns
-
0
Video Shows Dems Cheating against Each Other in Connecticut Vote-Fraud Scandal

(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) A local mayoral race in Connecticut has become a flashpoint for exposing the Left’s hypocrisy and bad faith when it comes to obvious evidence of vote fraud.

Democrats in the affluent blue state already were divided as some sided with mayoral candidate John Gomes of Bridgeport, who recently accused supporters of incumbent candidate Mayor Joe Ganim of stuffing ballot boxes after video emerged that showed one civil servant appearing to do just that.

Although Gomes led on Election Day, Ganim later edged him out narrowly by 251 votes after the mail-in ballots were tallied.

Weeks later, however, an anonymous party has released surveillance tapes revealing Gomes supporters stuffing absentee ballots into drop boxes, adding an unexpected twist to the already messy local election.

The new video, which was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, shows several candidates for different offices and election operatives making several deposits into two different ballot boxes just before the primary election, according to Only in Bridgeport.

Democratic City Council candidates Josue Jorge and Maria Hernandez dropped in multiple ballots. Both candidates lost their races.

City Councilwoman Maria Pereira dropped a single ballot into the box; it was likely her own, as the date on her ballot coincides with the drop date. However, this led investigators to wonder why she neglected to cast her vote at her Hooker School polling headquarters.

The remainder of the clips show people who appeared to be Gomes supporters dropping several ballots into the boxes.

Now, Gomes is simultaneously challenging Ganim’s 251 vote win—accusing him of using illegal ballots—and defending himself against accusations of stuffing boxes.

Handling of absentee or mail-in ballots in Connecticut is legally restricted to close family members, caretakers and police officers—leading to several questions about why candidates and election officials deposited dozens into the boxes.

Superior Court Judge William Clark announced Oct. 12 as the start of the case looking into Ganim’s election win.

Some speculated that Gomes will use the situation to his advantage and rally for a recount.

Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont, meanwhile has said he wants investigators to “leave no stone unturned” looking into the claims of election fraud in Bridgeport but urged voters “not to jump to conclusions.”

At the state level, some Democrats desperately sought to distance themselves from the issue, fearing—and rightfully so—that it would be taken up by Trump-supporting Republicans as evidence that mail-in voting is not to be trusted.

Many Democrat officials had begun the push for greater reliance on mail-in voting even before the pandemic, but went on to use it as the pretense for changing their voting laws, often without legislative approval and in violation of their state constitutions.

In addition, they have relaxed the signature-verification standards, witness requirements and other means of authenticating ballots, all while refusing to update their long outdated voter rolls and importing a massive wave of new noncitizens via the Biden administration’s open-border policies.

In some blue states, those who sign up to receive a driver’s license, including illegal immigrants, are automatically sent a ballot unless they specify their desire to opt out.

FEATURE: Aryan Bank Robber Tied to OKC Bomb Plot is Now a Restaurant Manager

Ken Silva
-
0
FEATURE: Aryan Bank Robber Tied to OKC Bomb Plot is Now a Restaurant Manager

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In the 1990s, Pennsylvania man Scott Stedeford was a member of the Aryan Republican Army, a neo-Nazi group that robbed at least 22 banks with the goal of funding right-wing terrorism.

Initially known as the most prolific gang of bank robbers in the 90s, the ARA has since received much attention for its links to the Oklahoma City bombing. The group was featured earlier this year in Showtime’s Waco: The Aftermath, which chronicled the time from the April 19, 1993, Waco massacre to the OKC bombing exactly two years later—implicating the ARA in the process.

But all that’s apparently ancient history for Stedeford, who was released from prison in 2021 after about 25 years of incarceration.

Stedeford filed a motion last September to terminate his supervised release and make him a free man once and for all. In his motion, Stedeford, who still lives in Pennsylvania, provided an update on what the convicted Aryan bank robber has been doing since his release.

“Within two weeks at his residence, Mr. Stedeford obtained gainful employment at the top-rated restaurant in his area. Just two months later, his employers (all of Asian descent) recognized him for his advancement to the position of team leader,” Stedeford said in his motion, signaling that the one-time neo-Nazi is now fine working in a multicultural environment.

Stedeford added that he was made full-time manager in March.

“In all his official capacity, Mr. Stedeford interacts directly with the public. He has been in charge of the interviewing, hiring, training, and working with many people of all ages, ethnicities, cultures, and disabilities.”

The reason Stedeford is seeking an end to his supervised release, according to his motion, is because his fiancé lives in Phoenix and his sick mother is in Philadelphia.

“The situation is such that Mr. Stedeford now has a need to travel with frequency between the two locations,” he said in his Sept. 2022 motion. “However, probation has made it clear that while under its jurisdiction, it cannot approve any degree of frequent travel.”

In a response last October, the Justice Department opposed Stedeford’s request. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Zauzmer recounted Stedeford’s criminal history in opposing his early release from supervision.

“It is estimated that the [ARA] committed as many as 22 robberies across the United States beginning in November 1992, netting its members more than $250,000 over three years. Stedeford participated in at least seven, which took place between October 25, 1994, and December 19, 1995,” Zauzmer said.

“He acted as one of the gunmen in three of the robberies, and helped organize and acted as a getaway driver in the others.”

A district court denied Stedeford’s motion in June, and he appealed in August. The DOJ has already moved to toss his appeal as “untimely.”

Stedeford responded on Sept. 22, arguing that a paperwork snafu prevented him from filing his appeal in a timely manner. He said his appeal should be allowed to move forward.

The DOJ has yet to reply to Stedeford’s latest filing.

Meanwhile, the ARA’s co-founder, Peter Langan, remains in prison. Langan, who now goes by the first name Donna, made history earlier this year as the first federal prison inmate in American history to receive a sex change—an event first reported by this publication.

Langan has accused the ARA—particularly, ARA member Kevin McCarthy—of being involved in the Oklahoma City bombing.

While Langan is a convicted felon and former neo-Nazi, the accusation is supported by the fact that Stedeford and McCarthy had both spent time at Elohim City—a Christian Identity property where Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was also seen. Additionally, criminologist Mark Hamm has made the case that the ARA was involved in the bombing in his book on the subject, In Bad Company: America’s Terrorist Underground.

Langan’s accusations are further detailed in this story.

Stedeford has also cast suspicion on his former friend, McCarthy.

In an affidavit Stedeford filed in 1998—provided to Headline USA by OKC bombing researcher Richard Booth—he accused McCarthy of ratting on him. Stedeford further accused McCarthy of receiving special treatment from law enforcement, due to his uncle being a Philly police officer with connections to the FBI.

“I recall that McCarthy and I were housed together in the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, for a period of approximately five days. During this period, McCarthy informed me that his uncle, an active Philadelphia police officer, participated in his arrest and accompanied him to the FBI office in downtown Philadelphia,” Stedeford said at the time.

“McCarthy further informed me that his uncle was good friends with an FBI agent in the Philadelphia office and had been summoned by the FBI to help investigate and apprehend McCarthy,” he said.

“Based on information McCarthy was telling me about the case, I suspected that the uncle was funnelling information to him from the FBI’s investigation.”

Stedeford did not respond to a letter from Headline USA.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Kirby Lashes Out over Question about Abortion as Nat’l Security Priority

Molly Bruns
-
0
Kirby Lashes Out over Question about Abortion as Nat’l Security Priority

(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) John Kirby, acting coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council and resident snake-oil salesman, flipped his lid when asked why the Pentagon refused to discontinue taxpayer-funded abortion tourism to their service members, according to Breitbart.

Owen James, White House correspondent for the Catholic-oriented Eternal Word Television Network, asked about the ongoing commitment from Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., to block promotions within the woke military complex until the Department of Defense dropped the policy, which it first implemented in February.

The policy allows female service-members stationed in states where abortion is illegal or restricted to travel to places like California or Michigan—which allow full-term abortions—on the taxpayer dime.

Under the policy, female employees may take three weeks off for their abortion with all travel expenses paid by U.S. taxpayers.

Kirby claimed that the Pentagon policy did not violate existing laws prohibiting federal funding for abortions.

Tuberville promised to put a hold on admirals and generals should the Pentagon implement the policy without putting it to a Congressional vote—and he has done so for the past eight months, despite a vicious smear campaign from the left to label the former Auburn football coach as unpatriotic..

On Tuesday, James questioned the Pentagon’s wisdom of holding onto such a policy when the lack of qualified admirals and generals could compromise national security.

“The suggestion is we should just turn our backs on one in five members of the United States military, let alone their family members, just so we can get these officers confirmed,” Kirby snapped.

He continued on his tirade, claiming that because people volunteer for the armed services they have the right to kill their children in the womb.

“The only one impairing national security is Sen. Tuberville, not only because he’s depriving the military of necessary leadership in the field and at sea, but also because he’s willing to deprive female members of the military—20% of the air force—from necessary health care,” Kirby continued.

Tuberville has held up close to 300 high-ranking military officials and vowed to keep fighting against the Pentagon policy.

“What they’re playing now in the White House, it’s communism,” he said. “I’m not gonna allow that to happen.”

Veterans Unable to Book Rooms for Army–Navy Game Due to Foreign Invasion

Jacob Bruns
-
0
Veterans Unable to Book Rooms for Army–Navy Game Due to Foreign Invasion

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) As thousands of Army and Navy alumni and fans attempt to make plans to attend the annual football game in December, our nation’s veterans have had their hotel rooms canceled to make way for immigrants, the Boston Herald reported.

The storied rivalry between West Point and Annapolis is set to take place at the New England Patriots’s Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, Mass., which is 22 miles southwest of downtown Boston and 18 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Island.

But it comes as a wave of illegal immigration from the Biden administration’s open border continues to wreak havoc on blue states including New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts—all of which have begun resorting to drastic measures, such as declaring a state of emergency and deploying the National Guard to address the ongoing crisis.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, has even asked residents to offer up free accommodations to illegals as state officials look for ways to get them off the streets.

A travel agent who works with veterans and their families said that at least 70 of the rooms that he booked for the Dec. 9 Army–Navy game had been canceled suddenly so that the hotels can house illegal immigrants instead.

According to the agent, Mark Mansbach of Hillsdale Travel, he has been able to re-book for some people. However, others will be left out to dry as basic supply-and-demand, paired with the already exhorbitant Bidenflation, make the time-honored tradition economically prohibitive or else otherwise impractical.

“Some people are looking around but pricing is very high,” Mansbach noted. “For many, the issue is safety … they are questioning the safety of remaining hotels located near those that are now filled with migrants.”

In fact, most of the hotels near the stadium do not even know themselves how to handle the immigrant invasion.

“Lots of questions by my clients, and most hotels are scrambling to come up with safety protocols,” Mansbach said.

The big-box hotel managers expressed no regrets about booting the veterans, even using their operation to house illegals as a marketing ploy.

For example, a spokeswoman, Claire Mulholland, vice president of marketing for Giri Hotel Management, bragged that the hotels near the stadium have booted American veterans in favor of “refugees” who recently arrived.

“We are delighted to confirm that we are indeed taking refugees at our hotels,” said Mulholland, whose company oversees the Comfort Inn Foxboro roughly 6 miles from the stadium.

Mulholland claimed the company was doing essential work to save the human race.

“By providing shelter to refugees, we aim to be part of a global community that stands together in support of those in need,” she said. “We look forward to working with local authorities and organizations to ensure a smooth transition for all those who will call our hotels home during their time with us.”

Bombshell Report Confirms FBI is Infiltrating MAGA Groups

Ken Silva
-
0
Bombshell Report Confirms FBI is Infiltrating MAGA Groups

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Newsweek published a bombshell report Wednesday, confirming that the Justice Department is targeting Donald Trump supporters, and that the FBI is infiltrating MAGA groups in anticipation of the 2024 presidential election.

Newsweek’s report stated what many have suspected since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021: that a politicized DOJ is specifically targeting Trump supporters.

Citing classified information and more than 12 current or former government officials, Newsweek said the FBI changed its internal definition of anti-government extremism from “furtherance of ideological agendas” to “furtherance of political and/or social agendas.”

“It was a subtle change, little noticed, but a gigantic departure for the Bureau. Trump and his army of supporters were acknowledged as a distinct category of domestic violent extremists, even as the FBI was saying publicly that political views were never part of its criteria to investigate or prevent domestic terrorism,” Newsweek explained.

“Where the FBI sees threats is also plain from the way it categorizes them—a system which on the surface is designed to appear nonpartisan. This shifted subtly days after the events of January 6.”

While many already suspected that the DOJ was targeting Trump supporters—as evidenced by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memo directing investigators to target parents protesting at school boards—the Newsweek disclosed another startling fact: The FBI is infiltrating MAGA groups ahead of the 2024 election.

“Experts agree that as the 2024 election approaches, there will be greater pressure to prevent law-breaking, one that necessitates infiltration of political circles and other controversial government activity,” the article said—not elaborating on what that “other controversial government activity” might consist of.

Newsweek did warn that the DOJ’s tactics could backfire. The article quoted terrorism researcher Brian Michael Jenkins, who questioned whether conceiving of disgruntled Americans as terrorists is even a helpful exercise.

“These are not people who are going underground,” he said. “This is not the ’60s or ’70s, when radical groups, even the civil rights and peace movements, were driven to violence.”

The DOJ’s tactics were even criticized by an anonymous official who works for Biden’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“So we have the president increasing his own inflammatory rhetoric which leads Donald Trump and the Republicans to do the same, which influences the news media, which influences the rhetoric,” he said. “The FBI? It’s just in the middle of this mess, probably heading for trouble but mostly left out on a limb by the anger and indifference of the American public.”

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Report: Capitol Police Gave False Testimony During Oath Keepers Sedition Trial

Ken Silva
-
0
Report: Capitol Police Gave False Testimony During Oath Keepers Sedition Trial

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A Capitol Police Special Agent gave false testimony at the Oath Keepers’ sedition trial last year, according to an analysis of Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill footage by Blaze Media.

Blaze Media reported that the questionable testimony came from Capitol Police Special Agent David Lazarus, who told a jury last year that he witnessed an “antagonistic” standoff between several Oath Keepers and his colleague, Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn.

Lazarus was shown a video at the trial of four Oath Keepers with Dunn inside the Capitol on J6, and was asked by a prosecutor whether he recognized those men—to which Lazarus said, “Yes.”

However, “The problem with Lazarus’ testimony about this significant event is that, according to direct video evidence the jury never saw, it never happened,” Blaze Media said.

Blaze Media then launched into a detailed, step-by-step breakdown of the Capitol Hill CCTV footage that show’s Lazarus’s and Dunn’s movements—finding various contradictions with trial testimony along the way.

“By analyzing the footage from multiple CCTV cameras and comparing the timelines associated with Officer Dunn’s actual interaction on camera with the Oath Keepers, it is clear that Lazarus did not arrive at the bottom of the staircase until three and a half minutes after the last of the Oath Keepers had left the area and were exiting the Capitol Building,” the media outlet said.

“Lazarus emerged from the top of the stairwell just after 3:05 p.m., after tactical units from the ATF and D.C. Metro Police had completely cleared the top of that staircase, the Speaker’s Lobby, and the speaker’s offices of all protesters.”

Blaze further noted that Lazarus’s testimony also contradicts Dunn’s forthcoming book, in which he wrote that he observed Lazarus in a conflict with Oath Keepers—and not the other way around.

Blaze Media touted that its findings show why it’s so crucial that the Jan. 6 CCTV footage be made public. However, Blaze didn’t release the footage that it analyzed for its story.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

New Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry Evicts Pelosi from Private Suite

Jacob Bruns
-
0
New Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry Evicts Pelosi from Private Suite

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.—the interim House Speaker following Tuesday’s ouster of Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.—has used his newfound authority to evict former Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D.-Calif., from her private office suite, Politico reported.

After Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and several other Republicans voted with Democrats to vacate the speakership, McHenry took over as the temporary leader at the request of McCarthy.

In one of his first moves, the new speaker evicted Pelosi from a private suite that she had kept, despite having handed over the gavel nine months ago.

“Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” a Republican aide wrote to Pelosi’s staff. According to the note, the room was to be reassigned “for speaker office use.”

Presumably, it will go to the most recent ex-speaker.

Per the Politico report, there are only enough private offices for a few important members of the House to have one, due to sheer numbers in the deliberative body. Thus it makes perfect sense that the divisive, 83-year-old Democrat, who no longer holds a leadership role within her own party, should relinquish hers.

According to Pelosi, McHenry’s move is just another instance of the lack of civility and proper respect for tradition on the part of Republicans.

She called the move “a sharp departure from tradition,” adding that she had given former Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., “a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished” when she was first elected House speaker in 2007.

Her second ascension to the speakership, in 2019, coincided with the retirement of her predecessor, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.

Pelosi left it to her staff to vacate the office after having missed the vote Tuesday to remove McCarthy from the speakership in order to attend the funeral of recently-deceased Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

“Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time,” she said.

Trump Team Urges RNC to Cancel Debates, ‘Refocus Its Manpower’

Editor 1
-
0
Trump Team Urges RNC to Cancel Debates, ‘Refocus Its Manpower’

(Headline USA) Donald Trump’s campaign is calling on the Republican National Committee to cancel the November debate in Miami and all remaining presidential primary debates, saying the RNC must instead “refocus its manpower” on defeating Joe Biden next year.

In a statement late Monday, top Trump advisers warned that Democrats were working yet again to steal the 2024 election for at least the third election cycle in a row.

“Anything less, along with other reasons not to cancel, are an admission to the grassroots that their concerns about voter integrity are not taken seriously and national Republicans are more concerned about helping Joe Biden than ensuring a safe and secure election,” said senior campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita.

It remains unclear if such efforts were in place prior to the 2020 election, when many blue states used the pandemic as a pretense to shift to widespread mail-in voting while lowering their signature and other verification standards.

While evidence has revealed several instances of fraudulent activity, it has proven difficult to litigate them due to legal technicalities such as laches (the timing of when the case may be presented) and standing (who is allowed to bring a case).

Compounding the issue has been the fact that leftist prosecutors and officials have waged an active lawfare counteroffensive to punish any who dare challenge the outcomes. As a result, Republicans face considerable hurdles going into the election year and will need all hand on deck to rally behind the eventual nominee.

Trump remains the frontrunner by a longshot, although wealthy billionaire donors have floated a last-ditch effort to entice Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to enter the race in hopes that he might pose a challenge where others—most notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—have fallen short.

Trump has skipped the first two debates—as several of his rivals attacked him for not attending—and said he wouldn’t participate in the future.

He is in court this week in New York for a civil fraud trial accusing him of inflating the value of his businesses, a case that he has argued is politically motivated.

The RNC did not respond to requests for comment Monday or Tuesday.

A spokesman for DeSantis rejected the Trump campaign statement about canceling debates, saying the country “needs a president who will fight for them anywhere, in any forum.” DeSantis in the second debate accused Trump of not wanting to defend his record on the national debt.

“Donald Trump should defend his record to the American people and debate Ron DeSantis on their vision and specific plans to stop American decline and restore our country,” said Bryan Griffin, the spokesman. “But Trump knows he can’t defend his record, and he isn’t the fighter he was in 2016.”

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel declined to answer a question last week about Trump’s call to end the debates during a call with reporters on the launch of the committee’s “Bank Your Vote” initiative in New York.

The program, which the GOP is implementing in states across the U.S., encourages Republicans to participate in early and mail-in voting—a practice that Democrats have embraced but some Republicans, including Trump, have criticized.

McDaniel also brushed off Trump’s continued skepticism of early voting, even after he recorded a video to promote the “Bank Your Vote” initiative.

“I think we have to take those fights on, but also understand that once it gets to game day, the rules that are on the field are what we need to play by and President Trump is all in on that,” she said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

1...1,7011,7021,703...3,878Page 1,702 of 3,878