Sarah Palin says NYT editorial falsely linking her to mass shooting ‘kicks the oomph right outta ya'
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin testified Monday that it was devastating to read a New York Times editorial falsely tying her to a mass shooting — quipping 'it just kicks the oomph right out of ya.'
The onetime Republican vice presidential candidate — sporting a shimmering silver-blue sequined blazer — told jurors at her Manhattan libel retrial that she received death threats in the wake of the 2017 article linking her campaign rhetoric to an assassination attempt on an Arizona congresswoman.
'This was the game changer. This was the attack on my reputation that created a helpless feeling,' Palin, 61, told the jury.
'To have the loudest voice in the room just making things up … it just kicks the oomph right out of ya,' she said.
Palin, who testified at the first trial in 2022, addressed a range of topics, describing key moments in her life during her second go-around on the stand — including Tina Fey's infamous 2008 impression of her on 'Saturday Night Live.'
'She was hilarious and I thought she nailed it,' Palin told the jury, adding, 'She got famous for, some would say mocking me, but for the caricature of me that she created.'
Palin alleges that the Grey Lady libeled her by alleging a 'clear link' between the 2011 shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Palin's political action committee publishing a map with a target over Giffords' district days earlier.
There is no evidence that the shooter was motivated by the map, and the Times corrected the editorial the morning after it ran.
The newspaper argues that it made an honest error and that it should not be held liable for libel because Palin has not met the high bar of showing that the outlet displayed 'actual malice' against her.
Closing arguments are slated for Tuesday morning.
'I'm optimistic that the press will be held accountable,' Palin, flashing a fist pump, told reporters as she left court for the day.
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Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Ciattarelli and Sherrill Face Off in NJ Governor's Race: What Polls Say
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. New Jersey voters hit the polls on Tuesday and cast their ballots in the state's primary races ahead of this year's gubernatorial election. Jack Ciattarelli, a former New Jersey state representative and one-time critic turned supporter of President Donald Trump, won the Republican Party's nomination for governor. On the Democratic side, U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill snagged the party's nomination. With primaries in the rearview mirror, New Jersey's gubernatorial race kicks into high gear, with Sherrill pulling out all the stops to keep the governor's seat in Democrats' hands and Ciattarelli leveraging Trump's backing to flip it red. Newsweek reached out to Ciattarelli and Sherrill's campaigns for comment via LinkedIn and email, respectively, on Tuesday. Why It Matters New Jersey is among only two states holding gubernatorial elections this year, alongside Virginia, meaning November's election in the Garden State will be one of the first and earliest tests of Trump's agenda. With New Jersey's incumbent Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, being term-limited, both parties see the contest as a crucial bellwether, especially after a competitive 2021 governor's election in which Ciattarelli lost to Murphy by a narrow margin. Supporters await New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli at his watch party on November 2, 2021, in Bridgewater, New Jersey. (Photo by) Supporters await New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli at his watch party on November 2, 2021, in Bridgewater, New Jersey. (Photo by) What To Know According to the Associated Press, Ciattarelli clinched the GOP nomination for governor at 8:17 p.m. ET Tuesday and Sherrill was projected to win the Democratic nomination at 8:39 p.m. New Jersey has voted for a Democrat in every presidential election since 1988. Although Trump lost the state in November, he significantly narrowed the gap between the two parties, losing to then-Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by less than 6 percentage points. As Newsweek reported this month, it was the best showing by a GOP presidential nominee in two decades. By comparison, Joe Biden won New Jersey by 16 percentage points in the 2020 election. Ciattarelli, who won Trump's endorsement in May, also got some good news in a recent poll published shortly before Tuesday's primaries. According to SurveyUSA, Ciattarelli and Sherrill are viewed favorably by a near-equal percentage of New Jersey voters. The SurveyUSA poll found that 40 percent of Garden State voters have a favorable view of Ciattarelli, while 41 percent view Sherrill favorably. But there's a larger gap between the two candidates when it comes to their unfavorables, with 29 percent of voters having an unfavorable view of Sherrill, compared to 36 percent who have an unfavorable opinion of Ciattarelli. What People Are Saying The Democratic National Committee, in an emailed statement to Newsweek from Chair Ken Martin: "Congratulations to New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill and to New Jersey Democrats up and down the ballot who are stepping up to fight for families across the Garden State. "The DNC is all hands on deck to ensure the Governor's office and Assembly remain blue in November. We will do everything in our power to unite the party and defeat Republican extremists like Jack Ciattarelli who want to rubber stamp Donald Trump's cost-hiking agenda and sell out working-class Americans. In 2025, Democrats have overwhelmingly won and overperformed in special and off-year elections. Concluding, Martin said, "We'll continue that trend in New Jersey by organizing in every corner of the state, investing strategically, and working with our allies on the ground to elect more Democrats who will stand up to the Trump disaster and deliver for working families." Sherrill's campaign said in a statement, in part: "Let's be clear about the two visions in this race: I am ready to stand up to an extreme Washington that doesn't have New Jersey's best interests at heart. Jack has already surrendered to them. It's our duty to meet the moment and live up to our state's motto of liberty and prosperity, because a Trump yes man like Jack Ciattarelli in Trenton will threaten it all." She added: "While Jack is for Trump, I am for New Jersey. A New Jersey where housing is affordable so our kids can afford to live here, middle-class families can buy a home, and our seniors can afford to stay. A New Jersey where we finally take control of our energy future, and slash the cost of utilities. A New Jersey where a woman's right to an abortion is non-negotiable, and we respect the rule of law, due process, and the Constitution." Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend: "The Great State of New Jersey has a very important Primary coming up on Tuesday. Get Out and Vote for Jack Ciattarelli, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement! His Opponents are going around saying they have my Endorsement, which is not true, I don't even know who they are! We can't play games when it comes to Elections, and New Jersey is a very important State that we must WIN. The whole World is watching. Vote for Jack Ciattarelli to, MAKE NEW JERSEY GREAT AGAIN!" What Happens Next The general election in New Jersey's governor's race is on November 4. In addition to Sherrill and Ciattarelli, five third-party or independent candidates are also running for the seat.
Epoch Times
an hour ago
- Epoch Times
Mikie Sherrill, Jack Ciattarelli Win the Democratic and Republican Primaries for Governor of New Jersey
WASHINGTON—U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and former State Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerville) won the Democratic and Republican primary contests in the New Jersey gubernatorial election on June 10 and will advance to the general election. Ciattarelli easily beat out his Republican opponents, leading with 66.3 percent of the vote with 28 percent counted. The Associated Press called the race for him at 8:17 p.m. ET. Sherrill's race took slightly longer to call, being declared the winner at 8:39 p.m.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
5 early takeaways from the New Jersey primaries
The matchup for New Jersey's gubernatorial race is set, with Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli having won their respective nominations Tuesday. Ciattarelli's victory, after having won the GOP nomination four years ago and gained President Trump's coveted endorsement, seemed all but assured heading into the primary. Sherrill was the slight favorite in a crowded six-person field, but she ultimately prevailed comfortably by a double-digit margin over her next closest competitor. Here are five early takeaways from the Garden State's primaries Tuesday: The Democratic race to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy (D) seemed wide open throughout most of the months-long primary battle. A half-dozen major candidates with extensive resumes had gotten in the race, and polls consistently showed Sherrill had a slight lead, though within the margin of error. That lead grew somewhat in the race's final weeks, albeit with many voters still undecided and the state's polling being at times shaky in recent years. But results quickly came in after polls closed. As of the latest vote count, Sherrill is on track to win with about 34 percent of the vote, while Newark Mayor Ras Baraka came in second with about 19.5 percent. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who came in third, had high hopes for an upset as he ran an outsider, grassroots campaign trying to buck the political establishment. He sat out each of the state's county nominating conventions, a plurality of which Sherrill won, as he sought to lean into the anti-establishment sentiment seen among the state's Democrats for the past year. But Fulop ultimately was unable to get close to Sherrill's percentage after running a policy-driven progressive campaign. Sherrill is also currently on track to win in most of the state's 21 counties. If there's one name that dominated the GOP primary, it was President Trump. Ciattarelli and his main opponent, former talk radio host Bill Spadea, engaged in a battle for months to prove who was more supportive of Trump's 'MAGA' agenda in order to gain the president's endorsement. A former state Assembly member who narrowly lost the 2021 election by three points to Murphy, Ciattarelli has undergone a significant evolution regarding Trump. He had denounced him when Trump first launched his campaign for the 2016 race, calling him a 'charlatan' and unfit to serve as president. But Ciattarelli moved much closer to Trump as he made another run for governor this year, a change numerous other once-skeptical Republicans have had since Trump first entered politics. He met with Trump at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., earlier this year before Trump endorsed him. Ciattarelli also went after Spadea on a similar argument that he had been critical of Trump and wanted the party to turn elsewhere for its nominee in 2024. Ciattarelli was already well on his way to winning the nomination before Trump's endorsement, having a big lead in the polls and a significant fundraising advantage. But Trump's support essentially clinched it, and the candidates' eagerness for his backing demonstrated the poignancy of his political influence. Ciattarelli is currently on track to win the nomination with about two-thirds of the vote. Beyond the results themselves, Tuesday's primaries were set to be an early test of the political establishment's power in New Jersey after a consequential year for the state in 2024. The longstanding ballot design that featured the 'county line,' in which candidates who received an endorsement from the county party were given a preferential location on the ballot, was struck down as unconstitutional. The federal judge in the case ruled it gave the endorsed candidates an unfair advantage. This happened as Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who had been a relatively young House member, fended off New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy for the Democratic nomination for an open Senate seat. But the results demonstrated how the political establishment still wields considerable power despite the county line not being in place anymore. One big boost to Sherrill in the Democratic primary was her victory in 10 of the county conventions, all of them in the highly populated North Jersey. Former State Senate President Steve Sweeney is the only one who came close to that total with six, all in South Jersey. Along with the county endorsements, Sherrill enjoyed backing from numerous county officials in the north, as well as two former Democratic governors. Fulop tried to work outside the system, but Sherrill dominated with likely wins in all but two counties that endorsed her and even appears on track to win two or three counties that endorsed Sweeney. The same dynamic also played out on the Republican side, with Ciattarelli overwhelmingly receiving most endorsements from county parties and local officials. Controversy has surrounded Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. for over a year as he's faced a criminal indictment charging him with assault and witness tampering, among other charges. But he seems poised to fend off a primary challenge as he seeks a second full term in office. Prosecutors allege that he and his wife, Atlantic City School District Superintendent La'Quetta Small, physically and emotionally abused their teenage daughter. In one incident, they allege the mayor, who has served since 2019, hit his daughter on the head with a broom until she lost consciousness. Small and his wife have pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations, but faced a primary challenge from former casino workers union head Bob McDevitt. Small said ahead of the primary that he trusted that voters knew who he is as a person and didn't think the charges would be a major issue in the race. Issues of public safety and the cleanliness of the city took center stage. Small was on track to win comfortably, with more than 60 percent of the vote, as of the most recent vote count Tuesday evening. Observers' eyes were watching to see if New Jersey's primaries would yield any major surprises, but the results mirror what polling suggested would happen. Despite heavy scrutiny of the polls, having missed how close the 2021 governor's race was and Trump only losing New Jersey by 6 points last year, polling seemed to be mostly on top of where things stood. The most recent polls had Sherrill breaking into the 30s with the other candidates middling well behind her in the teens or lower, and that's roughly where the results seem to be. Ciattarelli led by as much as 30 points in polling with still up to a third undecided, and he's on track to win by even more than that. Now the question will be if Republicans can pull off a major upset in November.
