It’s been a great couple of weeks in the news for President Joe Biden and you can just feel it in the air: the country is coming to grips with the fact that while Biden is probably no one’s first choice, it’s going to be a repeat of Biden versus Trump.
And that is okay. Biden may be a not-so-great communicator, and he may be old (just a tad older than Trump, even?!), but he’s done a solid job of leading with the team around him.
And Trump is becoming more unhinged than ever.
I think we’ll see more and more of the public rally behind Biden in the coming weeks and months as people start paying more attention.
And that’s already showing up in the polling and the money being raised.
Did you guys see latest fundraising numbers for Biden? He’s really starting to pull ahead.
Trump campaign outraised by Biden, legal bills a drag
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's fundraising slowed in the last three months of 2023 and he was outraised by his likely general election rival, Democrat Joe Biden, disclosures submitted to the Federal Election Commission showed on Wednesday.
The disclosures also showed the heavy drag Trump's legal expenses have become, with the biggest super PAC supporting the former president sending nearly two-thirds of what it raised in the second half of 2023 to a separate Trump group that has been paying his legal bills.
Trump's election campaign reported raising $19 million during the last three months of 2023, down from under $25 million in the third quarter and well under the $33 million reported by Biden's campaign. Trump did slightly outraise Nikki Haley, his only remaining opponent in the Republican presidential nomination contest, who reported raising $17 million in the fourth quarter.
And the cash on hand for Biden should be even more startling, if you’re pulling for Team Trump.
In my completely honest assessment, I’m not sure ANYONE could win trying to lead the GOP right now. Besides the fact that its primary voters are unhinged with anger and conspiracy thoughts about everything, the abortion issue is just too big.
Even in my home state of Tennessee — the reddest of states — the very SPONSOR of the abortion bill that passed is trying to change it?!
A Tennessee lawmaker helped pass a strict abortion law. He's now trying to loosen it
You really should read that story above.
But here’s just one paragraph from it (reminder, this is from a GOP state senator):
Briggs is preparing to file a bill he's calling the Freedom to Have Children and Family Act. "What, to me, is unacceptable is if you determine that there is a pregnancy that cannot live outside the womb and you're going to force that woman to carry that to term," he says. The senator and his staff are working out the language, but he says his goal is to give more authority to doctors to terminate these kinds of pregnancies and lessen criminal penalties.
And the craziest part of that story is the far-right is ostracizing him over the issue.
I’ve said all along that I’m a moderate. The extremes of both sides drive me absolutely nuts.
Politics is about compromise and trying to improve things for people, while actually accomplishing things.
Half is better than none, on any day of the week.
But just on the off-chance that the GOP hasn’t already driven enough women from its ranks, it’s going all-in on finishing that task.
I’m sure you’ve heard the Taylor Swift stories, but they’re truly reaching conspiracy level for the conspiracy-loving folks in the GOP.
Mike Crispi, a pro-Trump podcast host, claims the NFL "RIGGED" a Chiefs victory. Why? Glad you asked.
"All to spread DEMOCRAT PROPAGANDA. Calling it now: KC wins, goes to Super Bowl, Swift comes out at the halftime show and 'endorses' Joe Biden with Kelce at midfield. It's all been an op since day one," Crispi wrote on X.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential candidate, went even further:
"I wonder who's going to win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there's a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall.”
Ramaswamy is a pro at this conspiracy stuff. He’s pushed debunked conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6th insurrection, the 2020 election, and 9/11, but I’m sure that’s not why Trump is considering him as a potential VP pick… 🤔
I could go on and on, but here are two more big names saying just crazy stuff:
“The Democrats’ Taylor Swift election interference psyop is happening in the open,” said Laura Loomer, a self-described Islamophobe who has been embraced and promoted by Trump. “It’s not a coincidence that current and former Biden admin officials are propping up Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. They are going to use Taylor Swift as the poster child for their pro-abortion GOTV Campaign.”
“Taylor Swift is an op,” wrote Benny Johnson, a right-wing media personality who boasts millions of followers across different social media platforms. “It’s all fake. You’re being played.”
All of this just brings me to this…
Have a great weekend everyone!!
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Love and peace,
Stan R. Mitchell
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Love the graphic showing the surge in fundraising for Biden. For the sake of our democracy, I am working to keep the maga GOP out of office . I have many fears about the "shadow government" reportedly already set up and ready to go with the orange cretin as president. What will happen when he loses again Nov 2024. Red state governors calling out their National Guard to seize power at the Capitol? Is that just crazy for me to have that fear?