Red Bull Cans US Execs for Attempting to Push Divisive ‘Woke’ Politics

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Red Bull Cans US Execs for Attempting to Push Divisive ‘Woke’ Politics

Get woke, go broke—or get fired, as the case may be.

The Austrian-based parent corporation of the global energy drink company Red Bull isn’t playing around with woke politics in the workplace.

Perhaps setting a standard for others to follow, the firm canned its top North American executives this week for pushing Black Lives Matter politics and radical social justice initiatives in an attempt to reshape Red Bull’s internal culture and outward marketing.

The shake-up included North American CEO Stefan Kozak, as well as president and chief marketing officer Amy Taylor.

The firm also fired Florian Klaass—the global head of music, entertainment, and culture marketing—and dismantled cultural marketing teams in the UK and Canada.

The firings came weeks after Red Bull employees leaked a letter to the company’s Austrian leadership that criticized Red Bull’s “public silence” on Black Lives Matter protests and the so-called anti-racism movement.

The letter also claimed an offensive slide was shown at a company presentation, though it was clearly meant to be funny.

According to Business Insider, an anonymous source said the slide showed a world map that labeled the Middle East and Southeast Asia as “evil doers,” Europe as “p*ssies,” and South America as “coffee comes from here I think.”

Kozak and Taylor had reportedly been pushing “diversity and inclusion” programs throughout the North American branch for years. But their more recent attempt to rebrand the company with Black Lives Matter social radicalism was a step to far.

The company issued a statement to the Wall Street Journal, stating, “We reject racism in every form, we always have, and we always will.”

But it declined to expound further on the firings in specific detail.

“Red Bull has always put people and their dreams and accomplishments at its core and values the contribution of each and every person—no matter who they are,” the statement continued.

Red Bull has a long history of supporting black music and culture, among other forms of content. But that’s apparently not good enough in an age when radical politics are expected to be embraced.

How High Will Silver Go?

Stefan Gleason (MoneyMetals.com News Service)
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How High Will Silver Go?

The torrid rally in the silver market reached a major milestone this morning as prices hit $21/oz.

On Monday, the silver spot price tracked by Money Metals Exchange closed at $20.12 (the futures market price settled at $20.19).

That marks the first above-$20 close for silver since 2016.

The white-hot silver market is busting through some resistance levels that should clear the way for higher highs ahead.

Silver prices traded up Tuesday morning to $21.21 oz.

How high will silver ultimately go?

Silver Price Chart (July 20, 2020)

Technical traders believe that a decisive break above $21 will send silver zooming up to $26 over a relatively short period of time. If silver breaks above $26, then prior highs come into play, including the all-time high around $49.

In terms of U.S. dollars, there is no particular upper limit since the currency is under a continuous devaluation campaign. The value of the dollar might only depreciate at about 2% per year as “targeted” by the Federal Reserve.

Or it could at some point begin to depreciate a much more rapid pace, sending silver and other hard assets much higher in nominal terms.

Silver could, however, become overvalued in real terms – that is, too expensive relative to other assets including gold, copper, real estate, and stocks. It could happen down the road… but not anytime soon.

It was only four months ago that silver was fetching a historically cheap price in real terms. It traded its largest discount to gold on record and its lowest level relative to the stock market in a generation.

Since then, silver has shot up 75% – from just under $12/oz to $21. That near-vertical rate of ascent can’t be sustained in perpetuity. The market will eventually have to pull back and cool off before re-launching into a new upleg.

However, investors who are hoping to be able to accumulate more silver at lower prices won’t necessarily get that opportunity. The market could well spike to $26/oz on momentum buying before suffering any significant retracement.

When silver crossed above $20/oz four years ago, it didn’t stay up there for long. Some additional back-and-forth between bulls and bears could be in the cards before sub-$20 silver is finally a thing of the past.

Silver Bull

The good news for bulls is that there appears to now be strong support within the former resistance zone of $18.50-$19.75/oz.

When that range is viewed from the perspective of downside potential versus a long-term upside target at the former all-time high of $49.50/oz, buying silver in the low $20s still represents a favorable risk/reward opportunity.

Of course, many silver bugs are eying triple-digit prices in the bull market ahead. Silver could conceivably hit $100, $150, or even higher levels on fears of physical shortages or a currency crisis.

One thing that is guaranteed in the silver market is volatility. Riding out swings in silver prices is like saddling up on a wild, untamed horse. It will try to throw you off at every turn.

The classic TV series “The Lone Ranger” featured a hero who rode on “the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver.” Famously, the Lone Ranger would intone, “Come on, Silver! Let’s go, big fellow! Hi-yo, Silver! Away!”

Silver investors who are able to hang on to their position – and add to it when opportunities present – will be saying “Hi-yo, Silver!” too as prices move to higher highs.

The Lone Ranger carried actual silver bullets as symbols of his steadfast pursuit of justice against evildoers. Similarly, gold and silver coins are symbols of the justice of sound money against the evils perpetuated by politicians and bankers who control the fiat monetary regime.

Unfortunately, justice in real life is complicated and often elusive. The bad guys aren’t always punished, and the good guys don’t always win.

What will win out ultimately is economic reality. The forces of supply and demand are much like the immutable laws of nature.

They exert pressure on prices regardless of our wishes or moral considerations.

Some investors will benefit while others will get hurt from the price trends ahead. If unprecedented levels of government stimulus and Federal Reserve currency creation begin to produce higher rates of price inflation without generating real economic growth, then stagflation could be a portfolio killer for conventional stock and bond allocations.

If stagflation contributes to rising safe-haven demand for precious metals – which are currently facing supply challenges thanks to COVID-related shutdowns of mines and refineries – then physical silver could prove to be an ideal portfolio diversifier.

We’ve already seen some of silver’s explosive price potential exhibited this year. Even bigger moves are likely still to come.

Stefan GleasonStefan Gleason is President of Money Metals Exchange, a precious metals dealer recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group. A graduate of the University of Florida, Gleason is a seasoned business leader, investor, political strategist, and grassroots activist. Gleason has frequently appeared on national television networks such as CNN, FoxNews, and CNBC and in hundreds of publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The Street, and Seeking Alpha.

Trump to Exclude Those in US Illegally from Reapportionment After Census

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Trump to Exclude Those in US Illegally from Reapportionment After Census

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Tuesday that seeks to bar people in the U.S. illegally from being counted in congressional reapportionment, a move that drew immediate criticism and promises of court challenges.

Trump said that “respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the President’s discretion under the law.”

Reapportionment is the redistribution of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on changes in population found in each decennial census.

The Supreme Court blocked the administration’s effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form, with a majority saying the administration’s rationale for the citizenship question — to help enforce voting rights — appeared to be contrived.

Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said the order would be found unconstitutional by the courts.

“The Constitution requires that everyone in the U.S. be counted in the census,” Ho said. “President Trump can’t pick and choose. He tried to add a citizenship question to the census and lost in the Supreme Court … We will see him in court, and win, again.”

The Census Bureau said last month that more than 90 million households had already responded to the 2020 Census with the majority doing it online. People can still respond on their own online, over the phone or by mail — all without having to meet a census taker. Only this past week, door-knockers started heading out to households in six areas whose residents hadn’t yet answered the questionnaire.

Trump’s efforts to add the citizenship question drew fury and backlash from critics who alleged that it was intended to discourage participation in the survey, not only by people living in the country illegally but also by citizens who fear that participating would expose noncitizen family members to repercussions.

After the Supreme Court blocked the citizenship question from being asked, Trump ordered the Census Bureau to gather citizenship data from the administrative records of federal and state agencies. That order also is being challenged in the courts and the overwhelming majority of states have refused to share information about driver’s licenses and ID cards.

However, four states with with Republican governors are cooperating, with Iowa, South Carolina and South Dakota recently joining Nebraska in agreeing to share state driver’s license information with the U.S. Census Bureau.

‘There used to be a time when you could proudly declare, ’’I am a citizen of the United States. But now, the radical left is trying to erase the existence of this concept and conceal the number of illegal aliens in our country’,” Trump said. “This is all part of a broader left-wing effort to erode the rights of Americans citizens, and I will not stand for it.”

It’s not the first time that an attempt had been made to keep out immigrants living here illegally from the once-a-decade census and the subsequent allocation of congressional seats. In 1979, the Federation for American Immigration Reform and several members of Congress sued, demanding that the 1980 census exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment. The case was dismissed, said Margo Anderson, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

In Alabama, state officials and Republican U.S. Congressman Mo Brooks are suing the Census Bureau to exclude people in the country illegally from being counted when determining congressional seats for each state.

“If illegal aliens are included in the apportionment count, Alabama will likely lose representation in the U.S. House and Electoral College to the benefit of sanctuary states that promote illegal immigration,” Brooks said in a statement. “I’m ecstatic that President Trump stands up for the United States Constitution and Rule of Law.”

Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.

NYTimes Tries to Muzzle Tucker Carlson by Doxing New Home Address

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NYTimes Tries to Muzzle Tucker Carlson by Doxing New Home Address

The New York Times is threatening to “dox” Fox News host Tucker Carlson by publishing a hit-piece, disguised as a news story, about the cable news leader’s new home—address and pictures included.

Doxing is a radical-activist term for broadcasting private, sensitive information about a political target to enable online and physical vigilantism. It’s happened to Carlson before with frightening results.

Carlson has been a national voice of reason and a major source of push-back against the activist left since the Black Lives Matter-related riots took hold in late-May.

He’s been setting historic viewership records during his weeknight prime-time show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, for fearlessly challenging cultural taboos regarding Black Lives Matter, media censorship, the Wuhan coronavirus and anti-American “woke” ideology.

It’s no coincidence the Times is targeting him, he says. Carlson spoke on his show about the coming story on Monday night, which he called an “incitement to violence against my family.”

“Last week, the New York Times began working on a story about where my family and I live,” he said.

“As a matter of journalism, there is no conceivable justification for a story like that,” he continued. “The paper is not alleging we’ve done anything wrong and we haven’t. We pay our taxes. We like our neighbors. We’ve never had a dispute with anyone.”

The only logical motivation by the troubled paper is “to hurt us, to injure my wife and kids so that I will shut up and stop disagreeing with them,” Carlson said.

“They believe in force,” he added. “We’ve learned that.”

In November 2018, the radical left-wing group Antifa—along with an allied, pro-socialism group called Smash Racism DC—doxed Carlson and sent a violent mob to his house.

Carlson was at work, but his wife and children were terrorized.

“They vandalized our home,” Carlson said. “They threatened my wife. She called 911 while hiding in a closet. A few weeks later they showed up again at our house,” he said.

It didn’t stop there.

“For the next year, they sent letters to our home threatening to kill us,” he continued. “We tried to ignore it. It felt cowardly to sell our home and leave. We raised our kids there in the neighborhood and we loved it. But in the end, that’s what we did. We have four children. It just wasn’t worth it.”

Even so, the paper, brazenly disregarding the potential chilling effect that such practices have on its own industry, continues to hound and punish the Carlson family over their prominent patriarch’s dissenting viewpoints.

“The New York Times followed us,” Carlson continued. “The paper has assigned a political activist called Murray Carpenter to write a story about where we are now. They’ve hired a photographer called Tristan Spinski to take pictures. Their story about where we live is slated to run the paper this week.”

Trump to Bring Back Virus Briefings

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Trump to Bring Back Virus Briefings

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump is set to once again take center stage in the government’s coronavirus response after a White House debate over how best to deploy its greatest asset — him.

One week after a campaign shake-up, the plan is for Trump to again become a regular public presence at the podium starting Tuesday as confirmed coronavirus cases spike nationwide.

“I think it’s a great way to get information out to the public,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, saying he hopes to discuss progress on vaccines and therapeutics.

His once-daily turns behind the White House briefing room podium largely ended in late April.

In another sign of recalibration, Trump belatedly tweeted a photo of himself in a face mask Monday, calling it an act of patriotism, after months of resistance to being publicly seen in the coverings — deemed vital to slowing the spread of the virus — as a sign of weakness.

White House aides said the format, venue and frequency of the president’s forthcoming appearances haven’t been finalized. And it wasn’t clear whether he would field questions or share the stage with others, including Vice President Mike Pence and Drs. Deborah Birx or Anthony Fauci.

But it all pointed to an apparent course-reversal. Trump for months had heeded aides who pushed for him to all but ignore the virus and instead focus on the economy and more politically advantageous terrain.

Trump will use the briefings “to speak directly to the American people about the federal government’s coronavirus response and other pertinent issues,” said White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews.

The return to briefings has been championed in the West Wing by senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, who advocated publicly last week that Trump should return to the podium to more clearly highlight steps toward economic recovery but also create a stage to display leadership by addressing Americans’ concerns about COVID-19.

“His approval rating on the pandemic was higher when he was at the podium,” Conway said Friday, in a tacit admission of what is largely unspoken aloud by Trump aides: that he is behind in both public and private surveys. “It was at 51% in March. And I think people want to hear from the president of the United States.”

“It doesn’t have to be daily,” she added. “It doesn’t have to be for two hours. But in my view, it has to be.”

In addition to discussing medical developments, Trump also was expected to focus on his advocacy for schools to reopen for in-person education, following his threat to try to withhold federal funds from those that stick to remote education.

Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.

Missouri AG to Drop Corrupt Prosecutor’s Charges Against Gun-Wielding Patriots

Ben Sellers
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Missouri AG to Drop Corrupt Prosecutor’s Charges Against Gun-Wielding Patriots

After a George Soros-backed prosecutor in St. Louis filed charges Monday against 2nd-Amendment patriots Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the state’s attorney general moved to dismiss them while denouncing the “political prosecution.”

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt confirmed that the pair—both personal injury attorneys—were protected under the state’s Castle Doctrine when rioters broke into their gated community en route to protest the city’s mayor.

“The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine,” Schmitt said in a statement, according to Fox News. “This provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm.”

The law echoes other legal battles waged by anti-gun activists, such as the precursor to what later became Black Lives Matter activism during the Obama era: the prosecution of Florida gun owner George Zimmerman in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

Martin, a black teenager, had been trespassing late at night when he was confronted by Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch designee and legal gun owner.

After a fight ensued, in which Zimmerman shot and killed Martin, he cited the state’s “stand your ground” defense and was ultimately acquitted.

More recently, a gun owner in Albuquerque, New Mexico—Steven Baca—has been harassed by another Soros-backed prosecutor following the shooting of a apparent-knife-wielding assailant during an Antifa-led protest.

Over-reaching Bernalillo County district attorney Raul Torrez was forced to dismiss his initial assault charge after the police investigation pointed to Baca’s likely protection under state self-defense statutes.

At the time of the shooting, video showed, Baca already had been knocked to the ground by a skateboard attack and was being surrounded by several mask-wearing assailants who had made death threats against him.

Like the Albuquerque case—and many other cases nationwide with Soros’s fingerprints on them—the St. Louis authority entrusted to uphold the law, prosecutor Kim Gardner, appears not only to have ignored the law, but possibly to have violated it herself by targeting the McCloskeys for engaging in legal behavior.

In spite of the clear provisions of the state’s Castle Doctrine, which grants citizens the right to defend against intruders in their own home, “Circuit Attorney Gardner filed suit against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety,” Schmitt said in his statement.

“As Missouri’s Chief law enforcement officer, I won’t stand by while Missouri law is being ignored,” he added.

Additionally, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., last week called on Gardner to be investigated by the Justice Department for her apparent abuse of power.

Gardner has a history of making similarly controversial prosecutorial decisions—including a refusal to charge any of those arrested for violence, theft and vandalism during the recent race riots.

In addition to Schmitt’s move to drop the case and Hawley’s call to probe the prosecutor, the McCloskeys have received other support from high places that would ensure, if nothing else, a pardon.

Both Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and President Donald Trump have declared they back the law-abiding citizens over the tyrannical elected official.

Christians Sue Newsom for Bans on At-Home Bible Studies, Singing in Church

Joshua Paladino
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Christians Sue Newsom for Bans on At-Home Bible Studies, Singing in Church

Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit in federal court in support of Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry, which have been prevented from operating due to California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s July 13 executive order.

The lawsuit, which requests a preliminary injunction, alleges that his executive order has arbitrarily violated the Constitutional rights of Christians, Liberty Counsel reported.

A federal District Court said the case requires an expedited hearing, so Newsom must respond to the lawsuit by Aug. 3, Liberty Counsel reported.

The order outlaws all indoor religious gatherings in counties on the “County Monitoring List” and heavily restricts the size of indoor religious gatherings in other counties.

Small-group, at-home Bible studies are now illegal, as well.

In counties where Newsom says he will not punish Christians for gathering, he will persecute them for praising God with songs, hymns or chants.

Ironically, Newsom has encouraged racist, Marxist groups such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter to gather publicly en masse while persecuting Christians who gather, even in their own homes.

“We have seen millions of people lift up their voices in anger, rightfully outraged . . . Every person who has raised their voice should be heard,” Newsom said on May 31 about anti-police protests.

“I want to thank all those . . . who exercised their right to protest peacefully,” he added.

The order states that political protests can be held as long as families stay physically isolated at least 6 feet away from other families.

But in Los Angeles on July 7, the 100,000 people who gathered were not all peaceful.

The rioters and looters did not keep 6 feet apart from each other as they terrorized the city.

Mat Staver, the founder and chairman at Liberty Counsel, noted the hypocritical double-standard in a recent statement.

“There is not two First Amendments—one for protests and one for houses of worship,” Staver said. “This discriminatory treatment is unconstitutional.”

Three churches in Northern California filed a similar lawsuit last week against Newsom.

They challenged the July 6 executive decree’s provision that “[p]laces of worship must therefore discontinue singing and chanting activities.”

Both lawsuits argue that there is no scientific evidence to support the conclusion that a ban on singing or in-person gatherings will protect congregants from the virus.

“The governor is not the High Priest over all religions,” Staver said.

‘Unwoke’ Jobs Board Helps Companies Avoid Hiring Wackjob Political Activists

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‘Unwoke’ Jobs Board Helps Companies Avoid Hiring Wackjob Political Activists

Hire thinkers. Not activists.

That’s the tagline for a new job placement service that intends to connect “courageous, free thinking and freedom loving individuals” in the workplace, as opposed to promoting “ideologues whose only agenda is to weaponize your brand and business to further a radical cause.”

The firm, known as Unwoke, offers opportunities to “find talent,” “find work” and “find companies.” Participants are encouraged to create an online account and upload their resume or CV.

The price? $0.00.

“We believe it’s more important to build freedom-loving workplaces than to make money,” the firm says, adding that the price won’t always be free.

Given the ascent of progressive activism in corporate America, Unwoke may be tapping into a large, potent niche with the potential to out-compete companies that are hellbent on hiring activist workers to satisfy a monolithic, faux-diversity workplace culture.

Wokism is a plague both at work and in society, asserts Unwoke.

“The modern workplace has become a hotpot for unchallenged radical thinking and left-wing ideology. Our mission is to advance society based on a culture of enlightenment, beauty, truth and freedom through free market initiatives. First up – unwoking work,” reads the firm’s About page.

A natural competitive advantage, Unwoke explains, is hiring the best people for jobs rather than prioritizing individuals based on their perceived victimhood and entitlement to special rights stemming from their race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

In a letter to business owners, Unwoke encourages workers and businesses to “let the woke go broke.”

“Don’t interrupt your competition when they are making a mistake. Let them fill their diversity quotas. Let them exhaust their resources, efforts and reputation on being ‘woke.’ Let them posture about their so-called virtues. Let their employees walk on eggshells in their bubble wrapped offices,” the letter states.

“While you base your hiring decisions on seeking out the best, brightest, smartest, and most competent employees you can find. People from all walks of life who above all else value the truth, hard work, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Soros Prosecutor Files Charges Against McCloskeys for Waving Guns

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Soros Prosecutor Files Charges Against McCloskeys for Waving Guns

(Headline USA) St. Louis’ top prosecutor, a radical whose campaign was heavily funded billionaire mega-donor George Soros, charged a white husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns after rioters broke into their gated mansion.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey are both personal injury attorneys in their 60s.

Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner accused them of creating a violent situation during an otherwise nonviolent protest last month.

“It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner — that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis,” Gardner said.

Gardner had previous declined to prosecute any of the rioters arrested during protests in the city who committed acts of violence, theft and vandalism.

An attorney for the couple, Joel Schwartz, in a statement called the decision to charge “disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed.”

Supporters of the McCloskeys said they were legally defending their $1.15 million home.

Gardner is recommending a diversion program such as community service rather than jail time if the McCloskeys are convicted. Typically, class E felonies could result in up to four years in prison.

Several Republican leaders have condemned Gardner’s investigation, including President Donald Trump, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Sen. Josh Hawley.

Hawley urged Attorney General William Barr to undertake a civil rights investigation of Gardner. Parson said in a radio interview Friday that he would likely pardon the couple if they were charged and convicted.

The McCloskeys’ home was initially incidental to the demonstration on June 28. Several hundred people were marching to the home of Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson, a few blocks from the McCloskeys’ home. Krewson had angered activists by reading on Facebook Live the names and addresses of some who had called for defunding police.

The McCloskeys live on a private street called Portland Place. A police report said the couple heard a loud commotion and saw a large group of people break an iron gate marked with “No Trespassing” and “Private Street” signs.

A protest leader claimed the gate was open and that protesters didn’t damage it. However, photographic evidence suggested otherwise.

Mark McCloskey confronted protesters with a semi-automatic rifle, screamed at them and pointed the weapon at them, according to a probable statement from police officer Curtis Burgdorf.

The statement said Patricia McCloskey then emerged with a semi-automatic handgun, yelling at protesters to “go” and pointing the gun at them.

Protesters feared “being injured due to Patricia McCloskey’s finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanor,” the statement said.

No shots were fired.

Photos emerged as memes on both sides of the gun debate.

Trump spoke by phone with Parson last week to criticize Gardner’s investigation. Parson, when he was in the Legislature, co-authored Missouri’s “castle doctrine” law that justifies deadly force for those who are defending their homes from intruders. He has said that the McCloskeys “had every right to protect their property.”

Gardner declined to discuss why she decided the castle doctrine didn’t apply.

Schwartz said the McCloskeys “support the First Amendment right of every citizen to have their voice and opinion heard. This right, however, must be balanced with the Second Amendment and Missouri law, which entitle each of us to protect our home and family from potential threats.”

Kim Gardner
Kim Gardner / Associated Press

Gardner, St. Louis’ first black circuit attorney, has been at odds with some in the St. Louis establishment since her election in 2016.

Most notably, her office charged then-Gov. Eric Greitens with felony invasion of privacy in 2018 for allegedly taking a compromising photo of a woman during an extramarital affair. The charge was eventually dropped, but Greitens resigned in June 2018.

A private investigator Gardner hired to investigate the claims against Greitens was later indicted for perjury for allegedly lying during a deposition. His case is pending.

Gardner also has butted heads with police leaders, especially after she developed an “exclusion list” of more than two dozen officers who were barred from serving as primary witnesses in criminal cases over what Gardner called credibility concerns. The move angered Police Chief John Hayden, who also is black.

In January, Gardner filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city, the police union and others of a coordinated and racist conspiracy aimed at forcing her out of office. The lawsuit also accused “entrenched interests” of intentionally impeding her efforts to change racist practices.

Several black leaders in St. Louis have expressed support for Gardner, including Democratic U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, who has said protesters “should never be subject to the threat of deadly force, whether by individuals or by the police.”

Biden Begs Muslims for Help Beating Trump

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Biden Begs Muslims for Help Beating Trump

(Headline USA) Democrat Joe Biden urged Muslim Americans on Monday to join him in the fight to defeat President Donald Trump as he addressed an online summit hosted by the advocacy organization Emgage Action to mobilize Muslim voters ahead of the presidential election.

“I want to earn your vote not just because he’s not worthy of being president,” the presumptive presidential nominee told participants.

“I want to work in partnership with you, make sure your voices are included in the decision-making process as we work to rebuild our nation,” he added.

Biden also reiterated a pledge to overturn a Trump administration ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries, calling it “vile.”

Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, said by email that the organization was seeking to maximize Muslim American turnout in key battleground states.

In Michigan alone — one of the states where the organization has chapters and where Trump won in 2016 by fewer than 11,000 votes — he said he believed there are more than 150,000 registered Muslim voters.

Several prominent Muslim American elected officials endorsed Biden for president in a letter organized by Emgage Action ahead of the summit.

Among those who signed the letter are Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Indiana Rep. Andre Carson, all Democrats.

Several of the high-profile leaders in the Islamic-American and black Muslim communities have been met with severe criticism for their openly anti-Semitic statements and refusal to condemn Islamic radicalism and jihadist terrorism.

Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, served as a high-profile surrogate for Bernie Sanders before he exited the presidential race in April — making her support for Biden potentially helpful as the former vice president seeks to mobilize Muslim voters this fall.

“Muslim American voices matter to our communities, to our country,” Biden said. “But we all know that your voice hasn’t always gotten recognized or represented.”

Emgage Action has titled the event “Million Muslim Votes,” underscoring its emphasis on boosting Muslim turnout in November.

“Joe Biden’s presence serves not only to galvanize Muslim Americans to cast their ballots, but to usher in an era of engaging with Muslim American communities under a Biden administration,” Alzayat said by email before the summit.

The pro-Biden letter from Muslim American elected officials decried a number of Trump’s domestic and international policies, including his administration’s travel ban and his pullout from the Iran nuclear deal.

“A Biden administration will move the nation forward on many of the issues we care about,” the letter said, citing racial justice, affordable health care, climate change and immigration.

The Muslim American officials also praised Biden’s agenda for their communities. Among other goals, Biden has vowed to rescind the travel ban affecting Muslims “on Day One” if he’s elected.

In his address, he pledged to include Muslim American voices in his administration, if elected, and to speak out against human rights abuses against Muslim minorities around the world.

“I’ll continue to champion the rights of Palestinians and Israelis to have a state of their own as I have for decades, each of them a state of their own,” he said.

Other state- and local-level Muslim American officials signing onto the pro-Biden letter hail from several states, including Michigan.

“A lot is at stake,” Alzayat said. “The importance of Muslim American voter participation in this upcoming election cycle is greater than it has ever been.”

Trump’s reelection campaign, meanwhile, has included Muslim voters in its faith outreach on behalf of an incumbent who has prioritized religious liberty in his agenda.

“President Trump understands that our faith is what unites us as a nation,” Courtney Parella, deputy national press secretary for the reelection campaign, said in a statement. “He has and will continue to staunchly defend religious freedoms for all Americans.”

Omar’s signature on the endorsement letter expands on her statement last week, via Twitter, that she would vote for Biden.

It was a dramatic about-face from her earlier denunciation of Biden as being the wrong candidate during last year’s Democrat primaries.

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — another member of the quartet of congresswomen of color, often known by the nickname “the Squad,” who have become progressive luminaries since their arrival in Congress — also has said she would vote for Biden in the fall, in spite of her previous statement that she and Biden did not belong in the same party.

Ocasio-Cortez, who served on a task force that helped shape a climate change plan designed to unite Biden and Sanders backers, has yet to issue a full-throated Biden endorsement.

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, another “Squad” member and former backer of Sanders’ presidential bid, was conspicuously absent from the Emgage Action-organized letter.

Farooq Mitha, senior adviser for Muslim engagement with Biden’s campaign, said reaching out to Muslim American voters is a priority for Biden, pointing to his own appointment as an example. The campaign has hosted events with Muslim Americans and met with community leaders over the past months, he said.

“A Biden presidency offers Muslims an opportunity to be engaged with government, rather than being shut out like many other groups that have been alienated and demonized by the Trump administration,” he said in response to emailed questions.

“Muslim communities can have an outsized impact in many states and we are working every day to earn their support,” Mitha said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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