'I’m not voting for a pastor. I’m voting for someone that leads the country’
The Independent’s Bel Trew is speaking to delegates at the Faith and Freedom conference in Washington, DC ahead of Donald Trump’s remarks at lunchtime today.
In the audience, Renata DaSilva, 49 — a Brazilian-American and host of the “God and Country” podcast — was proudly wearing a cowboy hat emblazoned with a broach reading “Free Trump” in diamanté jewels.
She had flown in from South Carolina especially for the event and to hear Donald Trump speak after meeting him at an event in Detroit earlier this year.
“He’s always a beacon of light. Whenever he comes in he just lights up the room. Trump speaks to people directly. That’s the difference between him and a lot of politicians. He speaks in the way that we understand and we believe him.”
She said under his presidency the economy “was at the highest.”
“I never lived so well. I purchased my home during his presidency.
Right now, with soaring interest rates, when you go to the gas station, the American people see the difference between his presidency when he was governing to what we see now during the Biden presidency.”
She supported Louisiana’s decision earlier this week to become the first state to require the the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom - which has sparked concerns about the separation of church and state, and whether the action could be unconstitutional. Critics of Mr Trump, who enthusiastically showed his support for the move on social media, have pointed out he has been accused of breaking several commandments including adultery with Stormy Daniels and corruption over his felony conviction in New York.
His supporters brushed the criticism aside.
“I’m not voting for a pastor. I’m voting for someone that leads the country,” ” Ms Renata said.
“Like Jesus says, he who is not a sinner let him throw the first stone. So Donald Trump is not perfect. I’m not perfect. I don’t think you are perfect. The problem is we always want to visualize this perfect man. That perfect person does not exist.”
“And that’s why Trump speaks to us, because he’s not perfect.”
Oliver O'Connell22 June 2024 16:00
‘Huge red flags’: Giuliani’s ‘mess’ of finances is slammed in bankruptcy court
Giuliani’s bookkeeping was heavily criticized during a three-hour-long hearing in his high-profile Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Judge Sean Lane also heard heated arguments from Giuliani’s creditors, who want a trustee to seize control of his finances and force the disgraced mayor to file monthly operating reports on time.
“There are reasons to be concerned here,” the bankruptcy court judge declared, conceding that the former mayor’s records appear to be a “mess.”
“At a certain point, a failure to comply with [court] orders means my voice will take on a decided edge,” the judge warned. “If people don’t obey court orders, it’s a profound problem.”
Oliver O'Connell22 June 2024 15:45
Donald Trump’s numerous celebrity obsessions over the years: The good, the bad, and the ‘unusually attractive’
Gustaf Kilander writes:
Celebrities hanging around with US presidents is not a new phenomenon — but when it comes to hating on fellow celebrities no one does it quite like former president Donald Trump.
Other presidents simply befriended celebs — Bill Clinton famously played his saxophone for Arsenio Hall and has been photographed with numerous A-listers, including Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Charlize Theron, among others, both during and after his presidency.
But Trump has been starting fights and insulting other famous people for years — here’s some who’ve caught his attention and wrath.
Read on...
Oliver O'Connell22 June 2024 15:15
In pictures: Delegates pray as Faith & Freedom conference gets underway in Washington, DC
Oliver O'Connell22 June 2024 14:58
Accused adulterer Trump who paid to keep Stormy Daniels affair secret professes ‘love’ for the Ten Commandments
Donald Trump has declared his “love” for the Ten Commandments and has called for them to be displayed in schools and other places in an all-caps, late-night post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Louisiana is the only state in the country with such a requirement however it appears that it is one that the former president would like to expand.
Read more:
Oliver O'Connell22 June 2024 14:45
Trump hits out at Bill Maher in breakfast time rant on Truth Social
Good morning and welcome to today’s live coverage of Donald Trump, his myriad legal woes, and his quest to retake the White House in November’s presidential election.
The former president and convicted felon began his morning in the traditional style — lashing out at someone on Truth Social.
Today’s target is comedian and political panel show host Bill Maher. Here’s what Trump had to say:
Bill Maher, the highly overrated “Star” of the ratings challenged show with the Fake, Loud and Obnoxious laughter pouring out of your set every few seconds, even when nothing was said that was funny (which is most of the time!), suffers from a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as TDS. Republicans should stop using him as a reference point, his show is dead!
Oliver O'Connell22 June 2024 14:15
Judge dismisses criminal charges against Trump’s ‘fake electors’ in Nevada
Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus argued that the case from state prosecutors was filed in the wrong county.
Attorneys for the six defendants argued that the case should have been brought in Carson City, where they approved false certificates certifying Trump’s electors, or in Douglas County, where those documents were mailed.
Nevada’s Attorney General Aaron Ford is expected to appeal the decision.
Alex Woodward22 June 2024 13:00
Miami newspaper runs pro-Trump political ad filled with racial slurs
A newspaper in Miami, Florida is under fire after running several pro-Trump political ads filled with racial slurs.
The quote was taken from a 1985 hearing in which then-Senator Biden quoted racist remarks made by a state legislator during a redistricting process in Louisiana. At the time, Biden was questioning William Bradford Reynolds, a nominee for deputy attorney general, who oversaw the redistricting process.
During the hearing, Biden read verbatim from a memo highlighting racist language used by lawmakers to support the redistricting plan. “We already have a n----- mayor, we don’t need any more n-----big shots!” Biden quoted a lawmaker as saying, before arguing that Reynolds had ignored racist comments by lawmakers and allowed them to gerrymander Louisiana’s congressional districts in a way that underrepresented Black residents.
Martha McHardy22 June 2024 11:00
Trump’s fundraising has massively overtaken Biden’s. What he does with the cash matters more
Former president Donald Trump blew out President Joe Biden in fundraising in May. According to campaign filings, Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised only $85 million in May, while Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $141 million.
Eric Garcia22 June 2024 09:00
Judge Judy calls out Trump trial as ‘nonsense’ and says taxpayer money better spent making NY subways safer
Sheindlin, who is originally from Brooklyn, said that she had not been in favor of Trump’s Manhattan prosecution.
“I would be happier as someone who owns property in Manhattan, if the district attorney of New York County would take care of criminals who are making it impossible for citizens to walk in the streets and use the subway, to use his efforts to keep those people off the street, than to spend 5 million or ten million of taxpayers money trying Donald Trump on this nonsense,” she said.
Katie Hawkinson22 June 2024 07:00