Donald Trump turns 78 today and will reportedly celebrate his birthday in the company of his “Club 47” fan organisation in West Palm Beach, Florida, with the guests paying between $35 and $60 for the pleasure of paying court to the presidential candidate.
The Republican was back in Washington DC on Thursday to meet with the House and Senate GOP, who presented him with a cake featuring 47 candles in tribute to his hopes of becoming America’s 47th president.
During his meeting with House representatives, Trump spoke about issues including abortion and immigration but sparked fury by reportedly calling the city of Milwaukee “horrible” a month before it hosts the Republican National Convention.
The former president’s interview with social media celebrity Logan Paul for the Impaulsive podcast also dropped yesterday.
The episode began with questions about Trump’s felony convictions and why he is running again — allowing him to reel off many of his familiar diatribe of falsehoods from his rallies — before moving on to a wide variety of topics from the upcoming debate on CNN to aliens, AI, Taylor Swift and the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
ICYMI: Having survived the McCarthy revenge tour, Nancy Mace must now deal with Trump
South Carolina Rep Nancy Mace is once again the victory of a Republican primary election against an opponent backed by a prominent foe.
The congresswoman won the Republican primary in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district over challengers Catherine Templeton and William Young; as votes came in, Mace pulled to an early lead and was declared the victor early on Tuesday evening.
Her victory comes after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy targeted her as one of the eight Republicans responsible for kicking him out of the speaker’s chair last fall.
John Bowden was following the race:
Trump’s MAGA allies forced to face jeering protesters
Others shouted out “bootlicker” and “don’t drink the Kool-Aid.”
Another protester in a bear costume held up a sign reading “bigger tax breaks, bigger profit.”
Alex Woodward reports on the scene:
What did Trump discuss with GOP House members?
Eric Garcia and Katie Hawkinson report:
Donald Trump met with House Republicans on Thursday, marking his first visit to the Hill since before the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots.
The former president met with members of his party behind closed doors, just weeks ahead of the Republican National Convention — where Trump will be named the party’s presidential nominee — and five months ahead of the 2024 election.
Dueling protesters heckled Republicans as they filed into the Capitol Hill Club, where Republicans often hold their meetings.
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Trump makes bizarre claim Nancy Pelosi’s daughter said the two would be ‘perfect together’
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump told his party’s members that Democrat Nancy Pelosi ‘sdughter said the two would be “perfect together” – a comment that drew the immediate ire of her family.
“Nancy Pelosi’s daughter is a whacko,” Trump allegedly said on Capitol Hill on Thursday while speaking to House Republicans. “Her daughter told me if things were different Nancy and I would be perfect together.”
Kelly Rissman has the story:
‘Trump too small’ can’t be trademarked, Supreme Court rules
A man’s attempt to trademark the phrase “TRUMP TOO SMALL” has run its course after the Supreme Court ruled that the law protecting individuals from having their name trademarked without their consent does not violate the First Amendment.
In a unanimous decision on Thursday, Justice Clarence Thomas said the law restricting the trademarking of names reflects the, “historic rationale of identifying the source of goods” to ensure “customers know the source of a product”.
“A party has no First Amendment right to piggyback off the goodwill another entity has built in its name,” Justice Thomas added.
Ariana Baio reports on the court’s decision:
Kamala Harris joins the Milwaukee discourse
ICYMI: Jimmy Kimmel compares Trump to Hunter Biden
Speaking about the weapon, Kimmel said on his Wednesday show: “That could be a violation of his parole and could be another potential felony.” He then joked: “Who does this guy think he is, Hunter Biden?”
Kelly Rissman has the story:
Liz Cheney reacts to Trump and McConnell making peace
Former Republican Rep Liz Cheney took to X to share her thoughts on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former president Donald Trump making peace having not spoken since December 2020 — prior event to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
She wrote: “Mitch McConnell knows Trump provoked the violent attack on our Capitol and then ‘watched television happily’ as his mob brutally beat police officers and hunted the Vice President.
“He knows Trump refused for hours to tell his mob to leave and ‘even then with police officers bleeding…he kept repeating his election lies and praising the criminals.’
“He knows Trump committed a ‘disgraceful dereliction of duty’ and is a danger to our Republic. Trump and his collaborators will be defeated, and history will remember the shame of people like @LeaderMcConnell who enabled them.”
Cheney was one of two Republicans — alongside Adam Kinzinger — who joined the House select committee that investigated the event of January 6.
Trump gives surprising answer on the existence of UFOs
Josh Marcus reports:
Donald Trump has revealed whether he believes in UFOs during an interview with social media personality Logan Paul released on Thursday.
Trump described meeting with military pilots who had strange encounters with unidentified anomalous phenomena, as the government refers to them.
Trump ‘ready to burn it all down’ as he returns to Capitol Hill, Biden campaign says
The 30-second television spot, called Burn, opens with scenes of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and a narrator stating that Trump “lit a fire in this country” that day before recalling how the riot left 140 police officers with injuries.
Andrew Feinberg reports:
Source: independent.co.uk