Ron Filipkowski on Today's UncoveredOn today’s show, we led off talking about Trump’s reprehensible pardons this week of reality TV couple Todd and Julie Chrisley, Sheriff Scott Jenkins, and Paul Walczak - and what each of them did to get the pardons. We also went over Trump’s statements and social media posts over the past few days where he said the quiet part out loud on Vladimir Putin. I talked about Trump and Stephen Miller’s war on higher education, and how Harvard has become the front in that battle. We also talked about Jake Tapper’s book tour, his apology to Lara Trump, and how Jim Jordan is about to weaponize it with hearings where Biden staffers have been subpoenaed. Of course, we had to talk about ex-swimmer/current culture warrior Riley Gaines and her gripe on Fox about Kermit the Frog giving the commencement speech at Maryland. And contrasted that with the “trophy wife” comments Trump made at West Point. I also talked about how Trump and Pete Hegseth’s bumbling incompetence has given Canada tremendous negotiating leverage on tariffs. Lots of other stuff but those we the bigger topics. Link to the show is here. If you missed yesterday’s Today in Politics Bulletin you can find it here. |
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Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Ron Filipkowski on Today's Uncovered
Sunday, February 6, 2022
re: The Former President
I needed to take some time to process the former president’s statements from last weekend. There is no sugarcoating it: his words show just how much our democracy remains at risk. And how big of a fight we have ahead of us.
First, Donald Trump spread his usual conspiracy theories, disinformation, and pure bile at a political rally. Attacking me personally, again, but that was the least of it. Here’s what really mattered — he, blatantly, dangled pardons for those who attacked the Capitol.
Then, later in the weekend, he issued a statement that he had expected Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election. “Unfortunately, he didn’t exercise that power, he could have overturned the election!” Trump made it clear again that he knew he lost and was intent on overturning the results. His only regret about the violent attack on the Capitol appears to be that it did not succeed.
And it’s never been more apparent: We’re not out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot.
It can be said that Trump is saying the quiet part out loud. And that’s true. But he’s never hidden his intentions. Not during the 2016 election. Not during his impeachments. And certainly not now. We ignore him at our peril.
Donald Trump is likely to run for election in 2024, and I fear that our democracy could not take a second Trump presidency. Especially when it barely survived the first. And since then, those who follow him have become even less tethered to reality.
They believe our democracy is a sham. They think our elections are rigged – but only if their side loses. And they believe every word Trump utters. It’s dangerous.
This is the nightmare that will become reality if the GOP wins this November. Because Trump will take that as a green light to run again. We must do everything possible to ensure the GOP does not overtake our razor-thin Blue Majority. If they do, we could see Trump’s goal of overturning an election become reality.
I don’t say this lightly, but our democracy hinges on the results of the election this November as much as it will in November of 2024. Anything you can contribute — anything meaningful to you — can make a big difference. Thanks for being a part of our fight. — Adam |
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Thursday, February 3, 2022
GOP Senator hurls sexist, racist attack at SCOTUS pick
US kills 6 children, 4 women in Syria counterterror raid
Today's Top Stories:
Sen. John Kennedy wants Biden’s Supreme Court nominee to know "a law book from a J. Crew catalog"
The Louisiana Republican managed to combine racism, sexism, and sheer absurdity into one offensive package.
VIDEO OF THE DAY: Trump just shredded ally Lindsey Graham in a stunning attack
This is the guy who Lindsey Graham sold his soul out to.
Top Arizona congressman on PRIMARYING Sinema
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: This could be huge.
"Masked Singer" judges walk out in protest after Rudy Giuliani reveals himself
Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke took a stand after the coup conspirator unmasked himself.
Trump considered blanket pardons for Jan. 6 rioters before he left office
The disgraced ex-president nearly pulled out all the stops to protect his insurrectionist fans.
Bomb threats at HSBCUs linked to six juveniles
The FBI believes there was racist intent behind the attacks, which used sophisticated technology to try to hide their origins.
Labor union accuses hospital chain of massive Medicare fraud
Allegedly inflated hospital admission rates brought in nearly a billion dollars in excess Medicare payments to the for-profit health giant.
CNN president resigns after failing to disclose relationship with key lieutenant
The man who freely promoted candidate Trump to boost his network's ratings is out the door.
Biden sends 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe
Critics worry the "defensive" maneuver could end up being a provocation.
Vindman sues Trump's son and top allies over alleged smear campaign
The viral impeachment witness accused the Trump team of intimidating him before the trial — and of smearing him afterwards.
Jan. 6 select committee subpoenas phone records of Arizona GOP chair
Kelli Ward and her husband both signed documents falsely claiming to be among their state’s presidential electors in the 2020 election in order to try and steal the election for Trump.
Seriously?
Yes. Seriously.
Hope...
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
POLITICO NIGHTLY: Biden’s Ukraine tightrope
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RSN: FOCUS: Robert Reich | Trump and His Enablers Unwittingly Offer Democrats Their Best Hope in the Midterms
A REMINDER:
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The former president and his allies may doom the Republicans by reminding the public of their attempted coup
One hint came at a Houston-area Trump rally Saturday night. “If I run and if I win,” the former guy said, referring to 2024, “we will treat those people from January 6th fairly.” He then added, “and if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.”
Trump went on to demand “the biggest protest we have ever had” if federal prosecutors in Washington or in New York and Atlanta, where cases against him are moving forward, “do anything wrong or illegal”. He then called the federal prosecutors “vicious, horrible people” who are “not after me, they’re after you”.
Trump’s hint of pardons for those who attacked the Capitol could affect the criminal prosecution of hundreds now facing conspiracy, obstruction and assault charges, which carry sentences that could put them away for years. If they think Trump will pardon them, they might be less willing to negotiate with prosecutors and accept plea deals.
His comments could also be interpreted as a call for violence if various legal cases against him lead to indictments.
But if Trump keeps at it – and of course he will – he’ll help the Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections by reminding the public of the attempted coup he and his Republican co-conspirators tried to pull off between the 2020 election and January 6. That would make the midterm election less of a referendum on Biden than on the Republican party. (Don’t get me wrong. I think Biden is doing a good job, given the hand he was dealt. But Republicans are doing an even better job battering him – as his sinking poll numbers show.)
Last week, Newt Gingrich, who served as House speaker from 1995 to 1999, suggested that members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol should face jail time if the Republican party returns to power. “The wolves are gonna find out that they’re now sheep, and they’re the ones who – in fact, I think – face a real risk of jail for the kind of laws they’re breaking,” Gingrich said on Fox News.
Gingrich’s remark prompted Representative Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican and vice-chair of the select committee, to respond: “A former speaker of the House is threatening jail time for members of Congress who are investigating the violent January 6 attack on our Capitol and our constitution. This is what it looks like when the rule of law unravels.”
Trump and Gingrich are complicating the midterm elections prospects for all Republicans running or seeking reelection nine months from now.
Many Republican leaders believe they don’t need to offer the public any agenda for the midterms because of widespread frustration with Biden and the Democrats. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, recently asked what the Republican party’s agenda would be if it recaptured Congress, quipped “I’ll let you know when we take it back.”
But if Republicans fail to offer an agenda, the Republican party’s midterm message is even more likely to be defined by Trump and Trumpers like Gingrich: the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen along with promises to pardon the January 6 defendants, jail members of the select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, and other bonkers claims and promises.
This would spell trouble for the GOP, because most Americans don’t believe the big lie and remain appalled by the attack on the Capitol.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (who phoned Trump during the attack on the Capitol but refuses to cooperate with the House’s January 6 committee investigation) will have a central role in defining the Republican message for the midterms. And whom has McCarthy been consulting with? None other than Newt Gingrich. The two have been friends for years and McCarthy’s chief of staff in his leadership office, Dan Meyer, served in the same role for Gingrich when he was the speaker.
McCarthy knows Gingrich is a master huckster. After all, in 1994 Gingrich delivered a House majority for the Republicans for the first time in 40 years by promising a “contract with America” that amounted to little more than trickle-down economics and state’s rights.
But like most hucksters, Gingrich suffered a spectacular fall. In 1997 House members overwhelmingly voted to reprimand him for flouting federal tax laws and misleading congressional investigators about it – making him the first speaker panned for unethical behavior. The disgraced leader, who admitted to the ethical lapse as part of a deal to quash inquiries into other suspect activities, also had to pay a historic $300,000 penalty. Then, following a surprise loss of Republican House seats in the 1998 midterm election, Gingrich stepped down as speaker. He resigned from Congress in January 1999 and hasn’t held elected office since.
I’ve talked with Gingrich several times since then. I always come away with the impression of a military general in an age where bombast and explosive ideas are more potent than bombs. Since he lost the House, Gingrich has spent most of his time and energy trying to persuade other Republicans that he alone possesses the strategy and the ideas entitling him to be the new general of the Republican right.
Gingrich has no scruples, which is why he has allied himself with Trump and Trump’s big lie – appearing regularly on Fox News to say the 2020 election was rigged and mouth off other Trumpish absurdities (such as last week’s claim that members of the House select committee should be jailed).
Gingrich likes to think of himself as a revolutionary force, but he behaves more like a naughty boy. When he was Speaker, his House office was adorned with figurines of dinosaurs, as you might find in the bedrooms of little boys who dream of becoming huge and powerful. Gingrich can be mean, but his meanness is that of a nasty kid rather than a tyrant. And like all nasty kids, inside is an insecure little fellow who desperately wants attention.
Still, as of now, the best hope for Democrats in the midterms lies with Trump, Gingrich and others who loudly and repeatedly remind the public how utterly contemptible the Republican party has become.
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Sunday, January 30, 2022
RSN: FOCUS: Trump Dangles Pardons for Jan 6 Rioters in Texas Rally Speech
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“If I run, and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly,” the former president on Saturday in Texas, teasing a 2024 run. “And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons”
Near the end of a meandering, 80-plus-minute address to a “Save America” rally crowd in Conroe, Texas, Trump dangled the possibility of pardons for the insurrectionists who participated in a deadly breach of the Capitol aimed at disrupting the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next.
“If I run, and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly,” Trump told a massive crowd, claiming that many people had asked about it.
Trump’s pledge of leniency came at the end of a speech in which he returned to his favorite theme: the dangers posed by undocumented immigrants and the need for harsh treatment of them.
As he has in all of his political campaigns, Trump fixated on illegal immigration, claiming Biden and Democrats had thrown open the United States to an “invasion” and that “countless lives” were being lost thanks to undocumented immigration. (He would, a few minutes later, declare the nation was “moving on” from Covid, which The New York Times reports killed around 3,769 Americans on Friday alone.)
As part of his effort to whip up anti-immigrant fervor, Trump compared undocumented immigrants to snakes, using them as a stand-in for the serpent in his oft-repeated poem about a “tenderhearted woman” who rescues a half-frozen snake only to get fatally bitten. The poem concludes: “‘Shut up, silly woman,’ the reptile said with a grin. ‘You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.’”
“And that’s what’s happening to the United States with immigration,” Trump said as thousands of people cheered.
Railing against undocumented immigrants has been Trump’s go-to message since June 2015, when he simultaneously announced a presidential run and claimed that Mexican immigrants were “bringing drugs, bringing crime” and were “rapists.” (At the time, he was best known as a has-been reality television host who’d kept himself in the public eye by becoming the promoter-in-chief of the lie that the first Black president had actually been born in Africa.)
Some top Republican officials have exhorted Trump to focus on retaking control of Congress in the next election, rather than dwelling on the one he already lost. And in the first hour of his speech on Saturday, Trump largely delivered, blasting Biden while pushing supporters to vote for the state and local officials he has endorsed. But totally eschewing mention of 2020 would require a modicum of discipline, or grace, or civic responsibility. Trump, as per always, possessed none of those in sufficient quantity to counter his overwhelming need to talk about himself. And so as the speech went on, his grievances drifted into the personal.
“The 2020 election was rigged, and everyone knows it,” Trump said. “You know who knows it more than anyone else? The Democrats.”
Trump lost the Electoral College count by 64 votes and the popular tally by more than 7 million.
Focus has never been a hallmark of Trump’s speeches, and his rhetorical meandering touched on all the pleasure centers of the modern MAGA online mind. He bemoaned and smirked at transgender college athletes. He stoked fear about critical race theory. He accused federal prosecutors who are looking into his business dealings of being “sick” and “racist.” He lied about climate change and mocked those who take it seriously. And, broadly, he served up the type of incoherent word salad that would be shocking were it not so utterly familiar.
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Evening Roundup, May 28...plus a special thank you to our Contrarian family
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