What a New Jersey election says about MAGA America
NEW JERSEY's gubernatorial election, held in odd-numbered years following presidential contests, offers an early measure of how Donald Trump is faring and how upcoming mid-term elections for control of Congress are shaping up. The two major parties will choose their candidates in a primary election on June 10th. Mr Trump looms large; last November he came within six points of pulling off a shocking upset here. Amid MAGA triumphalism in Washington, Republicans and Democrats will define themselves by who their voters select for what looks likely to be a competitive November contest.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kash Patel dragged for ‘hit a cop, you're going to jail' threat to LA anti-ICE protesters: ‘Unless it's for Trump'
FBI Director Kash Patel has been mocked online after responding to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, telling demonstrators that if you 'hit a cop, you're going to jail." 'Doesn't matter where you came from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you. If the local police force won't back our men and women on the thin blue line, we @ FBI will,' Patel wrote on X on Saturday. Social media users were quick to point out the different stance taken by the administration in relation to the January 6 rioters – hundreds of whom were pardoned by President Donald Trump. During the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in 2021, more than 140 police officers were injured. One, Brian Sicknick, died the following day and several others took their own lives in the days and weeks after the attack. The rioters had been urged to go up to the Capitol and 'fight like hell or you won't have a country' on the day his election defeat to Joe Biden was being certified. Trump was criminally charged over his actions although the charges were dropped when he was re-elected in 2024. Patel's tweet on Saturday night prompted some social media users to point out the irony. 'Unless you're doing it for Trump,' one user responded to Patel's comment, with another adding 'Unless you are trying to overturn an election.' 'But if you do it wearing Trump merch while rioting at the US Capitol, you'll get a pardon, right, Kash?' another user responded. More users piled in, sharing pictures and videos of the clashes between police and demonstrators on January 6. 'Interesting,' one user captioned the photo. On his first day back in office, Trump granted pardons to around 1,500 people who had been charged or convicted for their role in the attack, even those who had been convicted of violently assaulting police officers. The Trump administration is now planning to pay millions in compensation to the family of Ashli Babbitt, one of the pro-Trump rioters, who was shot dead inside the Capitol. During his confirmation hearing for FBI Director, Patel distanced himself from the pardons, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee: "I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement, and I have included in that group specifically addressed any violence against law enforcement on January 6. "I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement." The FBI Director seemed not to be the only Trump official failing to see the irony of their remarks on Saturday. 'The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK,' wrote Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 'Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It's COMMON SENSE.' However more users were concerned about Hegseth's threat that active duty U.S. Marines, stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton, may be mobilized if needed. 'They are on high alert,' he wrote.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Trump attends UFC championship fight in New Jersey, taking a break from politics, Musk feud
President Donald Trump walked out to a thunderous standing ovation just ahead of the start of the UFC pay-per-view card at the Prudential Center on Saturday night, putting his public feud with tech billionaire Elon Musk on hold to instead watch the fierce battles inside the cage. Trump was accompanied by UFC President Dana White and the pair headed to their cageside seats to Kid Rock's 'American Bad Ass.' Trump and White did the same for UFC's card last November at Madison Square Garden, only then they were joined by Musk. Trump shook hands with fans and supporters — a heavyweight lineup that included retired boxing champion Mike Tyson — on his way to the cage. Trump was joined by his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, along with son Eric Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump shook hands with the UFC broadcast team that included Joe Rogan. Rogan hosted Trump on his podcast for hours in the final stages of the campaign last year. UFC fans went wild for Trump and held mobile devices in their outstretched arms to snap pictures of him. Trump arrived in time for the start of a card set to include two championship fights. Julianna Peña and Merab Dvalishvili were scheduled to each defend their 135-pound championships. UFC fighter Kevin Holland won the first fight with Trump in the building, scaled the cage and briefly chatted with the President before his post-fight interview. ___
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Donald Trump arrives at UFC 316 with one-man entourage Dana White months after sitting cageside with Elon Musk
President Donald Trump was Dana White 's guest of honor at UFC 316 in Newark, where he was seen greeting Mike Tyson before watching the UFC Bantamweight title rematch between current champion Merab Dvalishvili and ex-champ Sean O'Malley. Strolling into Newark's Prudential Center with White, Trump took a moment to shake hands with former Tennessee Titans teammates Will Compton and Taylor Lewan before taking his cage-side seat. Fight night was part of a busy weekend for Trump. After jetting to his New Jersey golf club on Friday and attending UFC 316 Saturday night, Trump was scheduled to head to Camp David for Sunday's planned 'retreat of principals,' according to multiple reports. The retreat will also include Vice President JD Vance, among others, and a number of topics are expected to be discussed. Trump last attended a UFC event in April in Miami alongside billionaire Elon Musk, but the President's relationship with his biggest donor has changed considerably since then. On Saturday, Trump warned that Musk would face 'very serious consequences' if he was to start bankrolling Democratic candidates. Their relationship disintegrated earlier this week as the former allies battled it out on social media after disagreeing on Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill.' Speaking with NBC News' Kristen Welker on Saturday, Trump was asked what he would do if Musk crossed the political aisle and donated to Democrats. 'If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that. He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that', he told out the outlet. Musk, who is worth $330 billion, was a major contributor to Trump's presidential campaign - spending at least $250 million in supporting his race for the White House last year. Asked specifically if he thought his relationship with the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is over, Trump responded: 'I would assume so, yeah.' 'I'm too busy doing other things. I won an election in a landslide. I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened,' he said. 'I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him', Trump added. Musk already said that he would be cutting back on spending on political campaigns ahead of next year's midterm elections. The president also accused Musk of being 'disrespectful to the office of the president.' 'I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful,' Trump said. 'You could not disrespect the office of the president.' During their spat, Musk even suggested in a since-deleted post that Trump had been named in the government files involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Responding to that remark, Trump said: 'That's called "old news," that's been old news, that has been talked about for years. 'Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It's old news.' The two dialed back their barbs at each other by Friday night, with both saying that they wished each other well. But by that point, the damage to their relationship looked to be done. Following the outbreak of their feud, Trump and his allies have said Musk turned on the bill because it cuts subsidies for electric vehicles. Musk has said he doesn't need them anyway. Trump is no stranger to the UFC or its President and CEO. In fact, Trump tapped White to speak for him at the last three Republican National Conventions, leading many to wonder if he'd serve a greater role in the White House at some point. 'His base is Trump's base,' Kellyanne Conway, Trump's former White House counselor, previously told The New York Times of White. 'And Trump's base is his base.' White, however, has downplayed any potential Trump appointment. 'Donald Trump is one of my very good friends,' White told Sports Business Journal through a spokesperson. 'He did a great job in his last term as president, and I know he will do an even better job the next four years. I have no personal political aspirations.' Besides, White may provide a greater service to Trump through what The New York Times calls 'cage-match politics.' Trump now makes regular cage-side appearances at UFC events, where fight fans — and the fighters themselves — have showered the former President with adulation.
