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A big warm hello to all my fellow masochists watching the #RNCConvention tonight — this is Roger Sollenberger, staff writer on Salon's news team, here to accompany you through this thing, whatever it will be!
They say bad things come in 3s! And we're off on a wing and a prayer. Literally it appears
Kristi Noem backstage a few min ago IRL — she reportedly gave Trump a 4-foot replica of Mt Rushmore because he'd asked if he could get his face on there https://gifer.com/en/Qw2v
(This is true) https://www.salon.com/2020/08/10/white-house-asked-south-dakota-governor-about-adding-trumps-face-to-mount-rushmore-report/
Quick survey, building on last night's theme: Who will speak first?
Yes, this happened https://www.salon.com/2020/08/26/registered-foreign-agent-pam-bondi-accuses-joe-biden-of-self-dealing-in-republican-convention-speech/
As for that Hatch Act... this report implies other people at this ceremony *did* know that they would be incorporated into a convention, which could suggest government employees were included in a knowing Hatch Act violation. So: Did @DHS_Wolf know too? https://twitter.com/MichaelCBender/status/1298753000643715078
So apparently Kristi Noem was reported to be considered as a replacement for Pence. Notice anything about her podium?
Lt Gen Keith Kellogg is referencing Trump getting us out of "endless wars" — Trump told Axios' Jonathan Swan he'd cut our troop presence in Afghanistan by half by Election Day... ?
A reminder: Susan B. Anthony *wanted* to be arrested.
Another reminder: Last night — last night!! — the RNC featured a speaker who said this year — this year!! — that there should be only one vote per household. i.e., basically women shouldn't vote independently of their husbands.
from @AmandaMarcotte https://www.salon.com/2020/08/26/of-course-the-rnc-featured-anti-choice-radical-abby-johnson-who-thinks-women-shouldnt-vote/
from @AmandaMarcotte https://www.salon.com/2020/08/26/of-course-the-rnc-featured-anti-choice-radical-abby-johnson-who-thinks-women-shouldnt-vote/
Kayleigh McEnany, Trump's press secretary, who we're supposed to trust to tell the press things they're expected to report objectively as fact, just gave a campaign speech.
The Trump campaign paid her twice after she'd been hired btw. Salon got this scoop https://www.salon.com/2020/07/27/exclusive-trump-campaign-kept-paying-kayleigh-mcenany-after-white-house-hiring/
The Trump campaign paid her twice after she'd been hired btw. Salon got this scoop https://www.salon.com/2020/07/27/exclusive-trump-campaign-kept-paying-kayleigh-mcenany-after-white-house-hiring/
Pop quiz for everyone not watching: Who is this?
Kellyanne Conway, going for the Hatch trick! Which in this administration is 100.
50 Hatch Act violations on Twitter alone, per @CREWcrew.
As of 2019. https://www.citizensforethics.org/kellyanne-conway-hatch-act-violations-twitter/
50 Hatch Act violations on Twitter alone, per @CREWcrew.
As of 2019. https://www.citizensforethics.org/kellyanne-conway-hatch-act-violations-twitter/
And we cut from Mother Karen Pence, apparently expected to join her husband so he doesn't meet alone with a woman, to Kellyanne, who tells women to get out into the world. Hard time figuring out not only whether GOP wants to empower women, but what they want to empower them to do
Lou Holtz up. If we’re going off head coaching records here, I think South Carolina could be in play for the Dems. @LindseyGrahamSC @harrisonjaime
wait wait wait wait wait wait @CNN — is Eric Trump..... speaking again?
25 year old Madison Cawthorn up now, telling the story of how he overcame an injury that robbed him of the use of his legs. Well, Trump not only mocked New York Times reporter Serge F. Kovaleski — he also mocked Charles Krauthammer, who, like Cawthorn, was also wheelchair bound.
P.S.: Also Madison Cawthorn
From: https://newrepublic.com/article/158977/madison-cawthorn-future-republican-party
From: https://newrepublic.com/article/158977/madison-cawthorn-future-republican-party
Whoa, Jack Brewer up! First MyPillow tie-in of the night, by my count. former NFL player, but also allegedly the head of MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell's "task force" for finding buyers for face masks he was allegedly making. We got the story & quotes from Jack https://www.salon.com/2020/05/07/after-trumps-call-mypillow-ceo-expands-from-manufacturing-masks-to-sourcing-them/
Ha. NPR reporting that Jack Brewer was charged with insider trading — this month.
Brewer, along with the McCloskeys, makes three — THREE — convention speakers with pending criminal charges in one year. Quite the feat. https://www.npr.org/2020/08/25/905953942/rnc-speaker-facing-federal-charges-of-insider-trading
Brewer, along with the McCloskeys, makes three — THREE — convention speakers with pending criminal charges in one year. Quite the feat. https://www.npr.org/2020/08/25/905953942/rnc-speaker-facing-federal-charges-of-insider-trading
Joni Ernst said Obama "failed" farmers (as opposed to Trump, who seems to be paying them off). She also said Obama "failed" in Ebola response but Trump was "stepping forward" on COVID. 2 people died of Ebola in US. 179,695 dead of COVID, per Johns Hopkins https://www.salon.com/2020/07/06/joni-ernst-obama-failed-the-response-to-ebola-but-trump-is-stepping-forward-on-coronavirus/
Ah, Lara Trump making an appearance — which, coincidentally, she was recently asked not to do. "I tried so hard to keep this brewery positive, and we haven't had any backlash because we don't do anything that's negative."
https://www.salon.com/2020/07/22/maine-brewery-owner-cancels-lara-trump-event-after-accusing-the-campaign-of-misleading-him_partner/
https://www.salon.com/2020/07/22/maine-brewery-owner-cancels-lara-trump-event-after-accusing-the-campaign-of-misleading-him_partner/
Trump right now IRL: Whoever this is, she's great!
Wapo: Mary Trump said Trump turned to Lara Trump, who had been with his son Eric for almost 8 years, and said, “I barely even knew who the [expletive] she was, honestly” until she gave a campaign speech supporting him in Georgia
Wapo: Mary Trump said Trump turned to Lara Trump, who had been with his son Eric for almost 8 years, and said, “I barely even knew who the [expletive] she was, honestly” until she gave a campaign speech supporting him in Georgia
Also Dan Crenshaw: Last month more than 100 Texas doctors signed a letter condemning his COVID response: He “spewed lies for the past four months — minimizing the threat we face & spreading dangerous disinformation for self-indulgent headlines.” https://twitter.com/SimaforTX/status/1298793019265748992
Think we weren't going to have a foreign agent tonight? Well: Ric Grenell failed to tell Congress he was paid to write op-eds supporting Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, barred by State Department from entering the US under anti-corruption sanctions https://www.salon.com/2020/02/27/did-trumps-new-intel-chief-mislead-congress-schumer-calls-for-doj-to-investigate-richard-grenell/
Ric Grenell was supposed to deliver, and I was ready. Alas. Anyway, here's a piece from @digby56 about him being an unqualified right-wing troll. https://www.salon.com/2020/02/21/trump-names-right-wing-troll-richard-grenell-to-run-national-intelligence-what-could-go-wrong/
showtime.
The worst, or one of the worst, Mike Pence facts is that spoke at the Trump rally where the 17yo who allegedly shot people in Kenosha was in the front row, per @BuzzFeedNews https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/kenosha-suspect-kyle-rittenhouse-trump-rally
Something Trump said at the rally where the 17yo alleged shooter was front row: "During this campaign season, the good people of Iowa have had a front-row seat to the lunacy and the madness of the totally sick left."
Also: "They want to kill our cows. That means you’re next."
Also: "They want to kill our cows. That means you’re next."
Mike Pence, who wouldn't wear a mask for forever, said his daughter postponed her wedding this summer because of COVID. Apparently the wedding was scheduled Aug. 2 in Hawaii, 3 days after Pence urged North Carolina students to learn in-person. Wonder when they canceled...
Update: Apparently Pence's daughter's wedding (Audrey, not Charlotte) was originally scheduled for *May,* and they appear to have postponed it twice now.
Man. This is tough. I need some of whatever Don Jr had.
Okay that's a wrap, friends. Check back in tomorrow for another guest Twitter Takeover. Cheers! #RNC2020
