Nikki Haley Delivers Absolutely Savage Burn of Vivek Ramaswamy at GOP Debate

Nikki Haley finally snapped at Vivek Ramaswamy during the Republican debate Wednesday night.

Ramaswamy warned about the dangers of social media but also said he was trying to connect with younger voters through TikTok. Ramaswamy joined TikTok two weeks ago, just days after he referred to the app as “digital fentanyl.”

Haley tore into him for his flip—and for his talking points in general. “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say,” she said.

She described TikTok as “one of the most dangerous social media apps” and called Ramaswamy untrustworthy.

But before you give her too much credit: Haley’s attack on Ramaswamy is particularly ironic considering the highly complimentary blurb she wrote for his book Woke, Inc., which was published in 2021.

Republicans love to hate on TikTok, warning that the Chinese-owned app is a threat to national security and data privacy. But the app is still hugely popular among young people. Restricting TikTok in any way could actually backfire on lawmakers and alienate younger voters.

It’s a big night for DeSantis, and he’s putting on a smile—a creepy facsimile of one, anyway.

At the second Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, Ron Desantis once again tried to smile normally and once again failed.

Viewers watching the debate couldn’t help but notice that when speaking about vetoing “bloating spending bills,” DeSantis plastered a faltering smile on his face, which quickly fell into a disturbed grimace.

DeSantis had the exact same problem during the first Republican debate last month, when his failed attempt to smile quickly became a viral meme.

DeSantis has demonstrated a slew of robotic behavior, from short-circuiting before the press, to seeming like a stock photo model in a series of pictures from 2015 meant to communicate that he was just a regular human man.

At this point, not every viewer is buying that the awkward DeSantis can even hold a conversation.

Joe Biden used Republicans’ own words Wednesday to take aim at their party’s 2024 front-runner.

Trump once again skipped the Republican debate, but his presence was still felt. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally found an ounce of spine and called Trump out for not attending the debate.

“He owes it to you to defend his record, where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation that we have now,” DeSantis said to applause.

Biden had a simple and hilarious response.

Republicans repeatedly blame Biden for the high debt and inflation. They claim that some of his signature policies, such as to provide financial aid during the pandemic or the Build Back Better Act, are the main contributors.

In reality, Republicans raised the debt ceiling multiple times under Trump. And inflation is high in part because Trump made the U.S. economy weaker.

Joe Biden aired an ad on Fox News just 10 minutes before the beginning of Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate.

Just moments before the debate, the pro-Biden political ad targeted what was sure to be a central issue on the debate stage: jobs.

The ad clearly stated all that Trump failed to do for workers and the U.S. economy

“He says he stands with auto workers, but as president, Donald Trump passed tax breaks for his rich friends while automakers shuttered their plants, and Michigan lost manufacturing jobs,” the ad said directly to Republican voters tuning in to watch the debate.

Trump is noticeably absent from the debate.

The ad also highlighted what Biden has done for the economy, including increasing wages, emphasizing that he has followed through on his commitment to support workers. 

“Joe Biden doesn’t just talk, he delivers,” the ad said. On Tuesday, Biden visited striking auto workers on the picket line in Michigan, a first for a sitting president.

Donald Trump argued that he didn’t fraudulently inflate the value of his real estate holdings because he could sell them to Saudi buyers at any price he chooses.

The revelation comes in one small footnote in a ruling Tuesday that Trump and his company had committed business fraud for years. The lawsuit, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Trump had dramatically inflated his net worth, by as much as $3.6 billion in one year. She accused Trump of lying about the value of various real estate assets.

But in a deposition, Trump “seems to imply that the numbers cannot be inflated because he could find a ‘buyer from Saudi Arabia’ to pay any price he suggests,” New York state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in his ruling.

“This statement may suggest influence buying more than savvy investing,” he added in a footnote.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump claimed his Trump Tower apartment in Manhattan was three times its actual size and worth $327 million. No New York City apartment has ever sold for that much, James said.

He also valued Mar-a-Lago at $739 million. In reality, it’s worth about a tenth of that amount. Trump’s valuation was based on the property’s potential for residential development, but the terms of its deed prevent the land from ever being used that way.

Trump and his allies have always had troubling connections with Saudi Arabia. In 2019, Trump administration officials revealed to Congress that they transferred nuclear technology to Riyadh at least twice, after the killing of U.S. resident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. These incidents occurred despite U.S. intelligence concluding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, referred to as MBS, hired the hit men who killed Khashoggi.

Trump has also hosted LIV Golf tournaments at his clubs. The Saudi-backed golf league is widely seen as an attempt to sportswash the country’s human rights record.

Beyond Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner launched an investment fund after they left the White House. One of the first investments Kushner received was $2 billion from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund. Last week, MBS suggested that money would stay with Kushner if Trump were reelected in 2024.

Mary Trump marked her uncle Donald Trump being found liable for fraud by listing all of his historic accomplishments.

New York state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump had committed business fraud and ordered all his New York business certificates be canceled. This makes it nearly impossible to do business in New York and could effectively kill the Trump Organization as it exists today.

Mary Trump, who has contributed to The New Republic, took to X (formerly Twitter) shortly afterward to point out just how significant the ruling is. Donald Trump is now the first former president to be impeached twice, accused of inciting an insurrection, indicted, found liable for sexual assault, and now found liable for fraud.

“For the victims of Donald, this is finally some vindication. It’s been a long time coming, but after everything Donald has put this country through, WE HAVE PREVAILED,” she wrote.

“Let’s take a minute to celebrate—we’ve all earned it.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Donald Trump and the Trump Organization in September 2022 for business fraud. She is seeking a penalty of $250 million. Engoron issued a partial summary judgment on Tuesday that determined the thrust of James’s case is true and that a trial is not necessary to find Trump liable.

Engoron ruled that the business certificates for “any entity controlled or beneficially owned” by Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, longtime Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, and Trump Organization executive Jeffrey McConney must be canceled.

He gave the men 10 days to come up with three potential independent candidates to handle the dissolution of all related businesses. Engoron also fined Trump’s lawyers $7,500 each for repeating arguments he had previously dismissed.

Donald Trump has denied his business practices were fraudulent and, after being found liable, tried to blame James and Engoron for being politically biased.

“It is a POLITICALLY MOTIVATED WITCH HUNT by a Racist Attorney General, and a Deranged, Trump Hating Judge,” he wrote on Truth Social. “It is ELECTION INTERFERENCE at a level never seen before.”

Says the man indicted on both the state and federal level for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

A Fox News producer had his segment derailed by Seattle residents who challenged the network’s narrative that the city is a “progressive hellscape.”

Johnny Belisario, an associate producer on Jesse Watters Primetime, was openly mocked during a segment about how crime and drugs have become expectations in Democratic cities, and that Seattle had become a dangerous place to live.

“I’ve never seen any crime in Seattle. I’ve never seen any of it. I’ve seen fun and laughter, and laughter and fun,” one interviewee said.

“Crime is a social issue that could be solved by giving people their basic needs,” said another interviewee.

Another woman claimed she had “never heard of anyone getting robbed.”

She went on to question Belisario. “People don’t just come up and try to rob people on the street. Do you walk around everyday just like, ‘Someone’s gonna rob me’ every second?”

“Seattle decriminalized drug use and then they criminalized it again!” Belisario cried in response.

“Who are you getting these facts from?” the interviewee asked incredulously.

Belisario went on to say he’d seen “a lot of people shooting up” on his way to the interview.

“Oh, did you? OK. And were they bothering you?” she responded. When Belisario said he’d actually been in a car, the woman cringed. “Oh no! You were in a car,” she said, feigning distress. “They were hurting you so bad! Oh no!”

Back in the studio, Jeannine Pirro said she was shocked by the “arrogance and ignorance” and called the residents “clueless.” Host Jesse Watters concluded that the residents of Seattle believe that “criminalizing crime is racist.”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used “boy math” to epically troll Kevin McCarthy over the looming Republican-created government shutdown.

“Boy math” is a phrase used on social media to joke about the way heterosexual men stereotypically rationalize or misvalue numbers or prices. Some examples of boy math include “how 5’10” measures 6’,” “having a 70inch tv but no dining table,” and “being afraid of gold diggers when you only have 3 pairs of socks to your name.”

Ocasio-Cortez joined the trend with a hilarious tweet Tuesday night.

Congress is just days away from its September 30 deadline to pass a spending bill—and House Republicans are in shambles. The farthest-right wing of the party is threatening to shut down the government unless federal spending is slashed dramatically. The House failed last week to even begin debating on the Defense Department appropriations bill, when five Republicans broke from their party to block a procedural rule to begin debating the appropriations measure.

The Senate advanced a short-term funding bill late Tuesday that would keep the government open into November. But given the House’s chaos, it’s unclear whether the measure would even pass the second chamber.

This is the second Democratic representative to take hilarious aim at McCarthy over the shutdown. Angie Craig introduced the “My Constituents Cannot Afford Rebellious Tantrums, Handle Your Shutdown Act,” or the “MCCARTHY Shutdown Act,” last week.

The bill would temporarily block the paychecks of Congress members during a government shutdown. Currently, shutdowns do not affect pay for lawmakers, but they stop pay for all other federal employees.

A New York state Supreme Court judge judge ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump committed business fraud and ordered that all his New York business certificates be canceled. This makes it nearly impossible to do business in New York and could effectively kill the Trump Organization as it exists today.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and the Trump Organization in September 2022 for business fraud. She is seeking a penalty of $250 million. Judge Arthur Engoron issued a partial summary judgment on Tuesday that determined the thrust of James’s case is true and that a trial is not necessary to find Trump liable.

Engoron ruled that the business certificates for “any entity controlled or beneficially owned” by Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, longtime Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, and Trump Organization executive Jeffrey McConney must be canceled.

He gave the men 10 days to come up with three potential independent candidates to handle the dissolution of all related businesses.

Engoron also fined Trump’s lawyers $7,500 each for repeating arguments he had previously dismissed.

“Defendants’ conduct in reiterating these frivolous arguments is egregious,” he said in his ruling. “We are way beyond the point of ‘sophisticated counsel should have known better’; we are at the point of intentional and blatant disregard of controlling authority and law of the case. This Court emphatically rejected these arguments, as did the First Department. Defendants’ repetition of them here is indefensible.”

The case was set to go to trial on Monday. It likely still will, but only so Engoron can determine the extent of the damages that Trump and his co-defendants owe.

Trump’s lawyers had previously asked Engoron to issue a summary judgment in their favor dismissing many of the charges against him. They cited a June appeals court ruling that said some of the claims against Trump might be too old to be tried. Obviously, it didn’t work.

James found that Trump had dramatically inflated his net worth, by as much as $3.6 billion in one year. Her lawsuit accused Trump of lying about the value of various real estate assets, including skyscrapers and golf courses, allowing him and his associates to get benefits such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance premiums.

Trump claimed his Trump Tower apartment in Manhattan was three times its actual size and worth $327 million. No New York City apartment has ever sold for that much, James said.

He also valued Mar-a-Lago at $739 million. In reality, it’s worth about a tenth of that amount. His valuation was based on the property’s potential for residential development, but the terms of its deed prevent the land from ever being used that way.

This is the second lawsuit this month that Trump has lost through a summary judgment. In early September, a federal judge ruled that Trump is liable for defaming E. Jean Carroll in 2019 and owes her monetary damages, which will be set at a trial that begins in January.

This story has been corrected to note the judge’s correct title.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Texas’s drag ban law is unconstitutional, and permanently blocked all state officials from enforcing the measure.

Governor Greg Abbott signed the extreme law in June, making Texas the fourth Republican-led state to enact such a law. The measure was written so broadly that opponents worried it would create a host of unforeseen issues beyond just targeting drag shows.

Judge David Hittner ruled that the law was “unconstitutionally vague,” “unconstitutionally overbroad,” and discriminatory.

“Not all people will like or condone certain performances. This is no different than a person’s opinion on certain comedy or genres of music, but that alone does not strip First Amendment protection,” he said in his ruling.

“However, in addition to the pure entertainment value there are often political, social, and cultural messages involved in drag performances.”

The law criminalized any performances that occurred or could have occurred in front of a minor if they are of a sexual nature. Performers could be charged with a misdemeanor (and face up to one year in jail, a $4,000 fine, or both), while any business that hosted the show would face a $10,000 fine. The bill’s sponsor stripped out any specific references to drag, but opponents argued the vaguely worded legislation was still targeting LGBTQ people.

A group of lawyers previously told The Dallas Morning News that the vague wording could also restrict performances by artists such as Madonna and Miley Cyrus, bachelorette parties, cheerleading, and could even criminalize sexual conduct between consenting 17-year-olds (17 is the age of consent in Texas).

Hittner also referred to a recent federal case that banned a drag performance. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, best known for trying to ban the abortion pill mifepristone, ruled last week that West Texas A&M University had not violated the First Amendment by prohibiting students from hosting a drag show earlier this year.

In a letter to the student body, the university president compared drag shows to “blackface.” “Drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminates against womanhood,” Walter Wendler wrote. “Drag shows are derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent.”

In Tuesday’s ruling, in the politest legalese possible, Hittner told Kacsmaryk he could stuff it: “The president’s sentiment reinforces this Court’s opinion that while some people may find a performance offensive or morally objectionable, it does not mean the performance is not expressive or given First Amendment protection.”