Team Trump Is Begging Him to Take the Threat of Kamala Seriously

Donald Trump’s Republican allies are worried that he might be underestimating Vice President Kamala Harris.

According to a report from Rolling Stone, several Republicans, including two right-wing lawmakers, have reached out to the convicted felon and former president to warn him about internal GOP polls that show Harris could make key states that Trump needs a lot more difficult to win. They also told him that assurances from his team that Harris was a weak opponent were wrong and that racist and sexist attacks from the right wing could easily backfire.

The report cites three sources, one of whom told the magazine that “when Joe Biden was in the race, we were headed for a Trump landslide.”

“Now that it’s Kamala’s turn, there are some scenarios that make me nervous,” said the source, who has discussed the issue with Trump.

Before Biden withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed Harris, Trump was ahead in national and battleground state polls, particularly after Biden’s poor debate performance. Since Biden’s announcement Sunday, though, Trump has raged on Truth Social and Harris has skyrocketed in popularity, raising record amounts of money. Trump’s supporters are openly panicking, making weak attempts at impeaching Harris in the House and resorting to racist attacks.

Will any of that work in the face of growing enthusiasm for Harris from young people? The boost to the Democrats’ flagging fortunes even has the Trump campaign wondering if J.D. Vance was the wrong choice to be Trump’s running mate. Harris already has hit Trump with some smart attacks in the last couple of days, and Trump seems to be scared of debating her. Harris’s next move would be to pick a good running mate of her own, preferably one who won’t alienate her base while still assuring swing voters.

Donald Trump once said that people with severe disabilities were better off dead, according to his nephew’s forthcoming memoir.

In an excerpt from All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way that was published in Time Wednesday, Fred C. Trump III detailed two disgraceful comments made by the former president, one of which was about Fred’s own son William, who was born with a KCNQ2 mutation. As a result, William suffered from infantile spasms, a seizure disorder that affected his physical and cognitive development.

In May 2020, Fred attended a meeting with Trump at the White House alongside several health advocates, as well as Trump’s former Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Brett Giroir, the former assistant secretary for health. At first, things were going well.

“The meeting I had assumed would be a quick handshake hello with Donald had turned into a 45-minute discussion in the Oval Office,” Fred wrote. “Donald seemed engaged, especially when several people in our group spoke about the heart-wrenching and expensive efforts they’d made to care for their profoundly disabled family members, who were constantly in and out of the hospital and living with complex arrays of challenges.”

After the meeting concluded, however, Trump called his nephew back in to speak with him.

“I thought he had been touched by what the doctor and advocates in the meeting had just shared about their journey with their patients and their own family members,” Fred wrote. “But I was wrong.”

He recalled his uncle’s words to him: “‘Those people …’ Donald said, trailing off. ‘The shape they’re in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die.’” Fred wrote that he hadn’t known how to respond to the former president’s comment, so he quickly left.

But Trump’s callous, inhuman attitude toward Americans with disabilities did not end there. Fred recounted a later interaction with his uncle, where he had called the former president to ask for help buoying the fund that supported his son’s care.

Fred wrote that his uncle didn’t seem convinced. “‘I don’t know,’ he finally said, letting out a sigh. ‘He doesn’t recognize you. Maybe you should just let him die and move down to Florida.’

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear Donald say that. It wasn’t far off from what he’d said that day in the Oval Office after our meeting with the advocates. Only that time, it was other people’s children who should die. This time, it was my son,” Fred wrote.

This time, Fred hit back, he wrote. “‘No, Donald,’ I said. ‘He does recognize me.’”

Some online have compared Trump’s despicable comments to Hitler, who began systematically exterminating children with physical and mental disabilities.

In his new book, Fred also claimed that his uncle repeatedly used the n-word during a racist tirade over some damage to his Cadillac convertible.

On the eve of his address to Congress Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a rude experience during his stay at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Protesters left mealworms and maggots on banquet tables in the hotel, perhaps to bring awareness to maggot infestations afflicting wounded Palestinians in Israel’s brutal war in Gaza. They also set off fire alarms on multiple floors. Activists with the Palestinian Youth Movement and its Washington, D.C.-area chapter took credit for the disruption in a video posted to X and Instagram.

In a statement to The New Republic Wednesday afternoon, the hotel confirmed that an incident took place but refused to comment further because law enforcement is looking into the matter:

We are aware of the social media video circulating on multiple platforms involving The Watergate Hotel and the unfortunate incident that occurred at the property yesterday. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our guests and staff. We took the necessary steps to ensure the property has been sanitized and is now operating as normal. We are cooperating fully with authorities, who are handling the situation. As this is an open case, we are unable to provide any further details at this time.

The effort was part of larger planned protests across the city against Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and address to Congress. On Tuesday, massive protests organized by Jewish Voice for Peace filled the Cannon House Office Building’s rotunda near the Capitol.

Netanyahu isn’t being given the red carpet treatment that he’s been used to on previous D.C. visits. President Joe Biden has pushed his meeting with the Israeli prime minister to Thursday after it was initially up in the air, and Vice President Kamala Harris skipped his congressional address, instead planning to meet with the Israeli prime minister privately. Netanayahu will be meeting with Trump on Friday at the convicted felon’s Mar-a-Lago estate, perhaps trading notes on their legal issues and attempts to control their countries’ judiciaries.

Israel’s brutal war has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 15,000 children. Netanyahu has ignored calls for a cease-fire, which contributed to Biden’s drop in popularity among young people and communities of color. On Tuesday, seven major labor unions joined forces to demand an end to weapons aid to Israel.

None of this affected Netanyahu’s address to Congress, or America’s policies toward his country and the atrocities it continues to wage as its leader is accused of war crimes. What ought to happen is not a protest of insects and maggots but lawmakers standing up to Israel and ending weapons shipments to the country.

Representative Rashida Tlaib attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress Wednesday and protested from her seat, holding up a sign that read “war criminal” on one side and “guilty of genocide” on the other.

Speaker Mike Johnson warned against protests during Netanyahu’s speech, threatening arrests and claiming there would be an increased police presence. Tlaib was approached by a floor staffer at least twice during Netanyahu’s speech, and put the sign down each time. At one point, Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna came and spoke to her before returning to her seat.

While many seats were empty during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech Wednesday, as about half of congressional Democrats boycotted his address, tech billionaire Elon Musk was in attendance.

Musk attended Netanyahu’s address to Congress as his personal guest, he told reporters. The X (formerly Twitter) owner sat in the Senate gallery among rescued Israeli hostages and behind the prime minister’s wife, according to CNN.

Musk and Netanyahu have spoken several times over the past year, including before the war, discussing artificial intelligence and antisemitism. More recently, during a visit to Israel in November, Musk toured a kibbutz with Netanyahu.

This comes as Musk has continued to boost antisemitism on his platform, even explicitly agreeing with claims that Jewish people push “diabolical hatred against whites.”

Five attendees were arrested at the U.S. Capitol for wearing yellow T-shirts with protest slogans in the House Gallery during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday.

Throughout the beginning of the speech, guests unbuttoned their dress shirts and jackets to reveal yellow T-shirts that read, “Seal the Deal NOW!” They were promptly removed from the room by security, according to Axios. Those wearing the shirts were arrested and charged for disrupting Congress.

Several family members of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza reportedly walked out during Netayahu’s speech, according to The Times of Israel’s Jacob Magid in a post on X.

Democratic California Representative Jared Huffman posted about a meeting he had with the families of hostages Wednesday morning, who “felt abandoned and betrayed by Netanyahu.”

“I join them in calling for Netanyahu to stop playing politics and ‘seal the deal’ for a ceasefire & hostage release,” Huffman wrote.

Netanyahu has received significant criticism from Israelis, as after nearly 10 months of military action in Gaza, he has failed to secure the safe return of hostages. He has also overseen the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, as well as mass displacement and widespread famine.

This story has been updated.

Representative Ilhan Omar tore into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday—and her colleagues’ decision to invite him to speak to Congress.

“It is utterly immoral and cruel to the millions of lives impacted by [Netanyahu’s] catastrophic actions to platform him, let alone give him the honor of addressing Congress,” she wrote in a statement ahead of Netanyahu’s speech. “He is a war criminal who is actively committing genocide against the Palestinian people while putting the lives of the hostages and the stability of the region in jeopardy. I fully agree with the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice that he should be held accountable for his crimes, not addressing Congress.”

“Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are now responsible for the murder of over 38,000 and injuring over 88,000,” she added.

Omar is one of dozens of members of Congress boycotting Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and at least one MAGA Republican.

In her place, she has offered her ticket to family members of an American hostage held in Gaza.

Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie is openly feuding with the pro-Israel lobby ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.

The Republican representative, part of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is the only GOP member who said he would boycott Netanyahu’s Wednesday speech.

“Today Congress will undertake political theater on behalf of the State Department. The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war,” Massie wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending.”

In response, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) quote-tweeted the representative’s post, slamming Massie for “standing with” progressives such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders “against our ally Israel.”

Massie shot back, tweeting, “Call me anything you want. I still won’t be attending your war rally.”

This isn’t the Republican’s representatives first time feuding with AIPAC.

On matters of foreign policy and war, Massie often finds himself siding with House Democrats, which has earned him the scorn of pro-Israel groups. As John Nichols wrote for The Nation, “They recognize that he upends the claim that opposition to pro-Israel policies comes from ‘the extreme left.’”

During the Kentucky Republican primary in May, the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on attack ads against Massie. He responded by addressing the effort head-on, saying that the group “bought $300,000 of ads against me because I am often the lone Republican for freedom of speech, against foreign aid, and opposed to wars in the Middle East.” Massie won his primary with a massive 75 percent of the vote.

Massie also voted against both resolutions to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, over her comments about the war in Gaza. He helped to kill the initial motion to censure her, but the House passed a second motion a week later.

Massie has since teamed up with progressive House Democrats to condemn Israel’s attack on Iran, and he was accused by the White House of “virulent antisemitism” for an anti-Zionist tweet featuring a Drake meme.

Massie says charges against him of antisemitism are “simply not true” and that he was aiming to squash “open-ended support” for Israel’s war and efforts to shut down free speech.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint session of Congress Wednesday afternoon, he might notice some empty seats. 

From Tea Party and House Freedom Caucus members to progressive Jewish leaders, here is an ongoing list of all the politicians planning to boycott Netanyahu’s speech so far: 

Senate

1. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
2. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
3. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
4. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)
5. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
6. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
7. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
8. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)
9. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)

House

10. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
11. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.)
12. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas)
13. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.)
14. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
15. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
16. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.)
17. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.)
18. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)
19. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.)
20. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.)
21. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.)
22. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)
23. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)
24. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.)
25. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.)
26. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)
27. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
28. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
29. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)
30. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)
31. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)
32. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.)
33. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)
34. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)
35. Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.)
36. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)
37. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.)
38. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.)
39. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.)
40. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.)
41. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.)
42. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.)
43. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
44. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas)
45. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.)
46. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas)

Some politicians, such as Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and 
Vice President Kamala Harris, are missing the event due to previously scheduled commitments. But  both have called for Netanyahu to establish a cease-fire in Palestine and increase humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

Progressive Jewish Representative Becca Balint said that the speech will “serve as a distraction from the prime minister’s failure of leadership.” Her fellow progressive Vermont lawmaker Senator Bernie Sanders went further, calling Netanyahu a “war criminal” presiding over a “right-wing extremist government.”

Representative Jamie Raskin had previously said he would boycott the speech and instead meet with the families of Israeli hostages. He now plans to attend Netanyahu’s speech, but for a good reason. According to a press release, Raskin said he was asked by one of the hostages’ family specifically to attend. 

“As she put it, ‘I don’t want you to boycott his speech, I want you to go and confront his lies. That is how you can help us,’” he explained in his statement. 

Perhaps most surprisingly, Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a House Freedom Caucus member, will also boycott the speech. “Today Congress will undertake political theater on behalf of the State Department,” he wrote on X. 

“The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war. I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending.”

This story has been updated.

Republicans have unleashed a slew of racist remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming that she is a “DEI” candidate, an explicitly racist dog whistle meant to suggest that her position is a result of her being a Black South-Asian woman, not because she’s actually qualified.

Fox News Business host Larry Kudlow went on a heated buzzword-salad rant Tuesday afternoon in which he couldn’t even keep his criticism of Harris straight. The only thing he knew was that Harris was “DEI,” but, ultimately, he didn’t seem sure about what that meant.

“And of course, her whole history is DEI. Diversity, uh exclusion, and equity. I mean, inclusion and equity. I mean, what does that tell you? It’s totally woke, and it’s anti-cops,” Kudlow said.

“So among all the other things, putting the economics aside: more DEI, defund the police, de– eliminate ICE, never even talked to the chiefs of the border patrol. I mean, really? How’s she gonna stand up to that?” A better question might be, how’s she gonna understand the question?

The racist smears against Harris on conservative news coverage began even before Biden had endorsed her as the Democratic nominee. Earlier this month, Sebastian Gorka, Donald Trump’s former deputy assistant, called her a DEI hire, as well as a particularly outdated slur during an appearance on Newsmax.

“She’s a DEI hire, right? She’s a woman! She’s colored. Therefore she’s gotta be good,” Gorka said sarcastically.

Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman also credited Harris’s gender and race for her nomination for the vice presidency, amidst a slew of attacks on Tuesday.

“Well, I think she’s one of the weakest candidates I’ve ever seen in the history of our country,” said Hageman, claiming that Harris was “intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel.”

Hageman went on to criticize Harris’s handling of the border, before explaining what her actual problem with Harris seems to be.

“I think she was a DEI hire, and I think that that’s what we’re seeing. And I just don’t think that they have anybody else,” said Hageman.

On Monday, Representative Tim Burchett called Harris a “DEI hire” with an “abysmal” record, lamenting Biden choosing Harris in 2020. “What about white females? What about any other group? It just, when you go that route, you take mediocrity,” Burchett said.

That’s turning out to be Tennessee Republican’s favorite new insult. That same day, Burchett called former U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle a “DEI horror story,” suggesting that she had been improperly hired due to her gender.

Former United States Representative Adam Kinzingzer slammed Burchett for his racist, sexist remarks—and everyone else pushing the DEI claim—on CNN Tuesday.

DEI “is a disgusting dog whistle; it’s not even a dog whistle anymore, it’s an outright whistle,” Kinzinger said.

“Basically what they’re saying is only white men are deserving of certain positions, and I thought we got past that about 60 years ago in this country.”