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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Trump signs measure blocking California's ban on new sales of gas-powered cars
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Politico
40 minutes ago
- Politico
Bracing for an Israeli strike
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'Most heads of state and government share my opinion, and I very much hope that America sees and understands this. That is the most important thing. How you respond to that is America's decision.' During the same interview, Zelenskyy said he regrets how negatively his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in February went, when Trump and Vice President JD VANCE harshly criticized Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in Ukraine's war with Russia. Zelenskyy praised the later meeting with Trump at The Vatican in April as being more productive and 'friendly.' 'We were able to discuss much more than at the other meeting, which felt like it lasted a lifetime,' Zelenskyy said. IT'S THURSDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at ebazail@ and follow Eric on X @ebazaileimil. While you're at it, follow the rest of POLITICO's global security team on X and Bluesky at: @dave_brown24, @HeidiVogt, @jessicameyers, @RosiePerper, @ @PhelimKine, @ak_mack, @felschwartz, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @reporterjoe, @JackDetsch, @samuelskove, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130 and @delizanickel Keystrokes NATO ON CYBER: The upcoming NATO summit this month will give countries the chance to show how they're upping their defense spending — and the Trump administration is hoping cyber initiatives will be part of the discussion. Shawn Powers, a spokesperson for the State Department's cyber bureau, told Maggie in a statement when asked about whether the U.S. would support any cyber initiatives at the summit — which runs June 24-25 in The Hague — that 'the world faces different threats than we did in 1949, and our spending requirements should reflect that. You can't stop a cyberattack with a tank.' 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What to Read — Jamie Dettmer, POLITICO: Will Netanyahu never learn? — Ian Cloud, Responsible Statecraft: The terrible cost of bringing Ukraine's bodies home — Kori Schake, Foreign Policy: Congress Must Constrain Trump Tomorrow Today — National Institute for Deterrence Studies, 10 a.m.: 'The Implications of a Nuclear Armed South Korea.' — Jerusalem Fund, 12 p.m.: Vietnam Then, Palestine Now: U.S. Subversion of Liberation Movements — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, 3:30 p.m.: A book discussion on 'The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia's Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing.' Thanks to our editors, Heidi Vogt and Ester Wells, who always escalate conflicts about this newsletter unnecessarily.
The Hill
40 minutes ago
- The Hill
DeSantis omits references to LGBTQ, Hispanic communities in latest Pulse remembrance
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) didn't directly reference LGBTQ or Hispanic people in an annual order issued Thursday to honor the victims of the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, a substantial omission that echoes recent actions by President Trump's administration against diversity and inclusion. DeSantis, who has led the state since 2019 and sought the 2024 Republican nomination for president, has mentioned the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities — the groups most devastated by the attack that killed 49 and injured dozens more — in near identical orders issued during each of his last five years in office. In those statements, DeSantis called the massacre 'a horrific act of terrorism against the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities.' Thursday's order says the attack was 'a horrific act of terrorism' without mentioning any specific groups. In 2019, his first year as governor, DeSantis was forced to issue an amended proclamation after an initial statement that also omitted references to LGBTQ people attracted widespread backlash. He said at the time that he was 'not involved' in drafting the first proclamation and requested his office issue a new one once he became aware of the exclusion. 'Sometimes these things happen, and you've got to correct them,' DeSantis said during a 2019 news conference on an unrelated matter. Multiple spokespersons for the governor did not return a request for comment on this year's omission or say whether the office would issue a new statement. Florida has recognized 'Pulse Remembrance Day' each year on June 12, the date on which the 2016 attack occurred, since its creation in 2018 by former Gov. Rick Scott (R). Now a U.S. senator, Scott said in his original proclamation that the state 'continues to mourn the tragic loss of life and recognize the lasting impact it has on our state and communities, including Florida's LGBTQ community.' In a statement on Thursday, Scott called the shooting, one of the deadliest in U.S. history, 'an act of terror targeting Orlando's LGBTQ and Hispanic communities.' A statement from Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Florida's former attorney general who DeSantis appointed to replace Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Senate in January, makes no mention of LGBTQ or Latino people. DeSantis's decision to delete references to the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities from his annual order mirrors Trump administration efforts targeting diversity and inclusion and LGBTQ rights. References to diverse historical figures, including Jackie Robinson, were removed from government websites in an initial purge related to Trump's executive orders against DEI and 'gender ideology.' Last week, reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to rename an oil tanker named for the assassinated gay rights activist Harvey Milk. The Navy is also considering renaming other ships named after prominent civil rights leaders, including Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall and Lucy Stone, according to a CBS News report. DeSantis has also campaigned against diversity efforts, frequently saying that DEI, which stands for 'diversity, equity and inclusion,' actually means 'discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination.' Laws signed during his tenure, including one forbidding classroom instruction on sexuality and gender, have been criticized for targeting the LGBTQ community. 'Governor DeSantis's erasure of the LGBTQ+ and Latino communities today may say a lot about what kind of person he is, but it doesn't change the fact that those were the communities most directly impacted at Pulse,' said Brandon Wolf, a Pulse survivor who serves as spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ advocacy organization. 'His erasure doesn't change the fact that families have empty seats at dinner tables, friends have missing faces at birthday parties, and our communities still bear the scars.' 'Today, rather than letting the governor's petty political cowardice write our story, I hope people choose to remember those stolen and impacted, reflect on the costs of violent hate, and recommit to honoring those we loved and lost with action,' Wolf, who lost two friends, Drew Leinonen and Juan Guerrero, in the shooting at Pulse, said in a text message. Florida state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat and the first openly gay Latino person elected to the Legislature in 2016, called DeSantis's omission 'a petty slight.' 'The Governor's on again, off again acknowledgment of those impacted by the Pulse shooting shows he cares more about scoring political points in the moment rather than showing authentic solidarity with his own constituents,' Smith said in an emailed statement, speaking on behalf of the LGBTQ rights group Equality Florida, for whom he is a senior adviser. 'Either way it would be a mistake to focus on the Governor's bigotry and exclusion. That's already well-known,' Smith added. 'Today is about remembering the 49 taken by gun violence, as well as remembering the strength and courage of those who survived and the families impacted. They will not be erased.'
