
Trump tears into 'total loser' ex-Republican who defected to Democrats in crucial swing state
The former Georgia politician penned an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday announcing he would join the Democratic Party.
From 2019 to 2023, Duncan served as the swing state 's Republican lieutenant governor alongside Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.
During the 2024 campaign, he endorsed former President Joe Biden and later endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Following his vocal opposition to Trump during the election, the Georgia Republican Party expelled Duncan from the party back in January.
After his expulsion from the state's party, the CNN contributor was told by the Georgia GOP chairman to stop using his Republican affiliation on television.
'Failed former Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan, of Georgia, is a total loser,' Trump told his followers on Truth Social.
'Was never able to get anything done, all he ever did was complain, We didn't want him in the Republican Party any longer, so I'm told he became a Democrat.'
During the 2024 election, the former Georgia lieutenant governor endorsed former President Joe Biden and later former Vice President Kamala Harris
Trump added, 'Good riddance Geoff. You don't even have a chance!!!'
In August 2024, Trump referred to Duncan as a 'bum' while demanding the state's GOP throw him out of the party.
Trump's feud with the Georgia GOP politician dates back to the 2020 presidential election, when Trump claimed the state's election was rigged after losing to Biden.
Trump would go on to win the key swing state by over two percentage points in the 2024 election.
'There's no date on a calendar or line in the sand that points to the exact moment in time my political heart changed, but it has,' Duncan wrote in Tuesday's op-ed.
'My decision was centered around my daily struggle to love my neighbor, as a Republican.'
Duncan cited Trump's response to losing the 2020 election, along with the January 6th Capitol riot, as reasoning for leaving the party.
Moreover, Duncan called out the Trump administration for its immigration policies that 'have turned into a lesson on how not to love your neighbor.'
The former Republican also claimed that Trump's recently passed 'Big Beautiful Bill' would destroy Medicaid by leaving it 'in shambles.'
Duncan slammed the bill for cutting funds to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, arguing it would negatively impact efforts to prevent child hunger in schools.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Soldiers under bombardment in eastern Ukraine say peace still feels far away
In a Ukrainian dugout, where the constant thunder of Russian weapons sends dirt raining from the ceiling and black plastic lining the walls slips, soldiers express profound scepticism about peace talks. Amid the regular blasts from glide bombs and artillery shells, forcing them underground except to fire their M777 howitzer, the prospect of an end to the conflict feels remote. On the Eastern Front, there is no indication the war will conclude anytime soon. Diplomatic efforts, soldiers believe, are too far removed from the brutal reality of the battlefield to yield results. Their doubt stems from what they perceive as months of unfulfilled US promises to swiftly end the war. Recent suggestions by Donald Trump of "swapping of territories", coupled with media reports implying Ukrainian troops might abandon the Donetsk region – a territory they have defended inch by inch for years – have only deepened the confusion and rejection among the fighting forces. Few believe the current talks can end the war. More likely, they say, is a brief pause in hostilities before Russia resumes the assault with greater force. 'At minimum, the result would be to stop active fighting — that would be the first sign of some kind of settlement,' said soldier Dmytro Loviniukov of the 148th Brigade. 'Right now, that's not happening. And while these talks are taking place, they (the Russians) are only strengthening their positions on the front line.' On one artillery position, talk often turns to home. Many Ukrainian soldiers joined the army in the first days of the full-scale invasion, leaving behind civilian jobs. Some thought they would serve only briefly. Others didn't think about the future at all — because at that moment, it didn't exist. In the years since, many have been killed. Those who survived are in their fourth year of a grueling war, far removed from the civilian lives they once knew. With mobilization faltering and the war dragging on far longer than expected, there is no one to replace them as the Ukrainian army struggles with recruiting new people. The army cannot also demobilize those who serve without risking the collapse of the front. That is why soldiers wait for even the possibility of a pause in hostilities. When direct talks between Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul in May, the soldiers from 148th brigade read the news with cautious hope, said a soldier with the call sign Bronson, who once worked as a tattoo artist. Months later, hope has been replaced with dark humor. On the eve of a deadline that U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly gave Russia's Vladimir Putin — one that has since vanished from the agenda amid talk of a meeting in Alaska — the Russian fire roared every minute for hours. Soldiers joked that the shelling was because the deadline was 'running out.' 'We are on our land. We have no way back,' said the commander of the artillery group, Dmytro Loviniukov. 'We stand here because there is no choice. No one else will come here to defend us.' Dozens of kilometers from Zaporizhzhia region, north to the Donetsk area, heavy fighting grinds on toward Pokrovsk — now the epicenter of fighting. Once home to about 60,000 people, the city has been under sustained Russian assault for months. The Russians have formed a pocket around Pokrovsk, though Ukrainian troops still hold the city and street fighting has yet to begin. Reports of Russian saboteurs entering the city started to appear almost daily, but the military says those groups have been neutralized. Ukrainian soldiers of the Spartan brigade push through drills with full intensity, honing their skills for the battlefield in the Pokrovsk area. Everything at the training range, only 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the front, is designed to mirror real combat conditions — even the terrain. A thin strip of forest breaks up the vast fields of blooming sunflowers stretching into the distance until the next tree line appears. One of the soldiers training there is a 35-year-old with the call sign Komrad, who joined the military only recently. He says he has no illusions that the war will end soon. 'My motivation is that there is simply no way back,' he said. 'If you are in the military, you have to fight. If we're here, we need to cover our brothers in arms.' For Serhii Filimonov, commander of the 'Da Vinci Wolves' battalion of the 59th brigade, the war's end is nowhere in sight, and current news doesn't influence the ongoing struggle to find enough resources to equip the unit that is fighting around Pokrovsk. 'We are preparing for a long war. We have no illusions that Russia will stop," he said, speaking at his field command post. "There may be a ceasefire, but there will be no peace.' Filimonov dismisses recent talk of exchanging territory or signing agreements as temporary fixes at best. 'Russia will not abandon its goal of capturing all of Ukraine,' he said. 'They will attack again. The big question is what security guarantees we get — and how we hit pause." A soldier with the call sign Mirche from the 68th brigade said that whenever there is a new round of talks, the hostilities intensify around Pokrovsk — Russia's key priority during this summer's campaign. Whenever peace talks begin, "things on the front get terrifying,' he said.


Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Denmark's Orsted seeks $9.4 billion as US wind market falters
COPENHAGEN, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Denmark's Orsted ( opens new tab on Monday asked its shareholders for 60 billion crowns ($9.4 billion), sending the stock sharply lower as the wind farm developer seeks to boost its finances amid U.S. President Donald Trump'sopposition to wind power. Struggling in recent years with soaring inflation and logistical problems that sent costs soaring, the offshore wind industry faced a further setback when Trump suspended licensing on his first day back in office in January. "Orsted and our industry are in an extraordinary situation with the adverse market development in the U.S. on top of the past years' macroeconomic and supply chain challenges," CEO Rasmus Errboe said in a statement. Orsted shares fell as much as 29% to a nine-year low of 220.2 crowns. At 0815 GMT, they were down 26% at 228.4 crowns. The rights issue is worth almost half of Orsted's market value of around 130 billion crowns as of Friday's close. Jefferies analysts said in a note that while the fundraising would help to de-risk the company's balance sheet, the near-term dilution for shareholders "seems substantial". Orsted said in a statement that the Danish state, which owns 50.1% of the company, had agreed to subscribe to a similar portion of the share issue, thus retaining a majority stake. A spokesperson for Norway's Equinor ( opens new tab, which holds a 10% stake in Orsted, said it would "assess the proposal". Any shares not subscribed for by the existing shareholders or other investors will be fully underwritten by Morgan Stanley & Co International to provide certainty that the rights issue will be completed, Orsted added. Equinor itself last month took a nearly $1 billion write-down on its separate offshore wind portfolio in the United States, blaming U.S. tariffs and uncertainty in the U.S. market. Trump campaigned on a promise to end the offshore wind industry, saying it is too expensive and hurts whales and birds. In April, his administration ordered Equinor to halt development of a fully-permitted wind farm off New York, sending shockwaves through the industry. The order was, however, reversed the following month. Orsted said uncertainty in the U.S. market had forced it to halt a planned partial divestment of its Sunrise wind project under development also off New York. The company said it would continue planned divestments of stakes in its Changhua 2 offshore wind farm in Taiwan and Hornsea 3 in Britain. In addition, it has started a process of selling its European onshore wind business, which it said would raise more than 35 billion crowns. Errboe said proceeds from the rights issue would strengthen Orsted's capital structure and help it develop the 8.1 gigawatts of offshore wind projects it currently has under construction by 2027. It said in a separate statement that its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, excluding new partnerships and cancellation fees, rose 9% year-on-year to 13.9 billion crowns in the first half of 2025. It maintained full-year guidance for an adjusted EBITDA of 25 billion-28 billion crowns and gross investment guidance of 50 billion-54 billion. ($1 = 6.3953 Danish crowns)


Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil falls as markets focus on US-Russia talks
LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday, extending last week's more than 4% decline, as investors looked to talks between the U.S. and Russia later this week on the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 45 cents, or 0.68%, to $66.14 a barrel by 0826 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 49 cents, or 0.77%, to $63.39. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The talks follow increased U.S. pressure on Russia, raising the prospect that penalties on Moscow could also be tightened if a peace deal is not reached. Trump set a deadline of last Friday for Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, to agree to peace or have its oil buyers face secondary sanctions. At the same time, Washington is pressing India to reduce purchases of Russian oil. UBS has lowered its year-end Brent crude forecast to $62 a barrel from $68, citing higher supply from South America and resilient output from sanctioned countries. An Exxon Mobil-led consortium began crude production four months earlier than expected at a fourth floating production, storage and offloading vessel in Guyana, Exxon said on Friday. Consultancy Energy Aspects estimated Indian refiners have already purchased WTI totalling 5 million barrels for August loadings, with an incremental 5 million barrels possible depending on tender outcomes, and 5 million barrels for September loadings. Trump's higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, which took effect on Thursday, are expected to weigh on economic activity as they force changes to supply chains and fuel higher inflation. Separately, data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday showed China's producer prices fell more than expected in July.