You can tell Donald Trump has been stung by the fact that, contrary to what pollsters will tell you, he doesn’t have all that many diehard fans. The proof: He issued call after call for his supposed minions to show up at his trial in New York, and was rewarded with crowds in the single digits. So he put out the call for his real minions, the Republican Party’s office-holders. They responded in droves, showing up outside the courthouse to lend their support. The headline says to show they stand with Trump, but really, it’s to do what Stormy Daniels wouldn’t – suck Trump’s metaphorical dick. Trump even gave them a scripte they dutifully followed. It makes me think that, fittingly for a Russian tool, a lot of Trump’s support in of the Potemkin village variety.
Maryland held its primary elections yesterday. Nikki Haley got her now-typical 20% of the Republican presidential vote. But the important story was on the Democratic ticket, where Total Wine owner David Trone got trounced, 54-42, in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Ben Cardin. Trone spend $60 million of his own money on the race, but saturating voters with ads might have backfired. The Baltimore Sun’s paywalled article says “more than a few voters [said] they got fed up.”
Trump’s offer to oil executives – give me $1 billion and I’ll gut climate regulations – has drawn the attention of Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who’s opening an investigation. His letter to eight oil companies and the American Petroleum Institute in part read:
Media reports raise significant potential ethical, campaign finance, and legal issues that would flow from the effective sale of American energy and regulatory policy to commercial interests in return for large campaign contributions.
Mr. Trump’s unvarnished quid pro quo offer is especially troubling evidence in light of recent accounts that the ‘U.S. oil industry is drawing up ready-to-sign executive orders for Donald Trump aimed at pushing natural gas exports, cutting drilling costs, and increasing offshore oil leases in case he wins a second term,'” he wrote, citing Politico. “These preparatory actions suggest that certain oil and gas companies, which have a track record of using deceitful tactics to undermine effective climate policy, may have already accepted or facilitated Mr. Trump’s explicit corrupt bargain.
In the least surprising result imaginable, a miniature poodle won the Westminster Dog Show. The only more likely outcome would have been yet another win for a wire fox terrier, the only breed that’s won more than the 11 victories by poodles of various sizes. The winner was handled by Kaz Hosaka of Greenwood, a longtime top-flight handler who says this was his last year at Westminster.
The floor’s yours.