Latest news with #D-N.J.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tim Walz headlines two Democratic conventions but fails to address the party's leadership concerns
Two of California's Democratic hopefuls for the 2028 presidential election — former Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom — were notably absent from the state's 2025 Democratic convention. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris' former running mate from last year, was the headliner at the convention on Saturday. Walz, who is on a sort of apology tour, didn't have an answer to the lingering question about who is best suited to lead the Democratic Party. As the control former President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wielded over the party fades, there is an opening for a new leader with a fresh perspective, but no one obvious enough to fill the role. At the convention, Walz scolded Democrats for failing to listen to voters, costing the party the 2024 presidential election. 'Some of it is our own doing,' Walz said at the Anaheim Convention Center, a few long blocks away from Disneyland. 'The Democratic Party, the party of the working class, lost a big chunk of the working class,' he said. 'We lost to a grifter billionaire giving tax cuts to his grifter billionaire buddies.' In the past election, Trump gained ground in nearly every county in the country. In California, where Democrats control the legislature, Trump flipped 10 counties previously won by Biden in 2020. 'We have to have confidence to get the basic stuff done like helping folks find meaningful work that pays a living wage so they can buy a home in a safe neighborhood and send their kids to good public schools,' the Minnesota governor said. 'Somewhere we strayed from our North Star.' The same day, Walz also headlined the South Carolina Democratic Convention. Wes Moore, another 2028 hopeful, joined Walz in Columbia. Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who seems to be positioning himself for another presidential bid, also showed up in Anaheim. Both the governors and the New Jersey senator dismissed rumors of presidential runs, although Booker first has to run again for his Senate seat in 2026. Walz in a recent interview did admit he's thinking about seeking a third term as governor of Minnesota. But he is going to wait until after calling a special election in July, when he hopes the divided state legislature finalizes the state's budget. After losing the 2024 presidential election, Walz hit the road again in March for a series of town halls in Republican-held congressional districts, starting in Iowa before traveling to Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Texas. 'I'm getting called out on this because I called Donald Trump a wannabe dictator. It's because he is. It's because he is. 'Oh, the governor's being mean and the governor's speaking out on that,'' Walz said in South Carolina. 'Maybe it's time for us to be a little meaner. Maybe it's time for us to be a little more fierce,' he said. Newsom, who is barred by term limits to run for re-election, attended a Democratic Governor's Association conference in Portland, Oregon, on May 31, the day of the convention. The San Francisco Standard's Josh Koehn speculated Newsom is avoiding the fall out of his latest podcast, 'This is Gavin Newsom,' where he has invited MAGA-loyalists to chat about controversial topics, like transgender men participating in women's sports. Unlike Newsom, Harris didn't have any scheduled engagements. Although Harris made an appearance through a pre-recorded video at the California Democratic Convention, she didn't answer any of the burning questions at the top of the minds of elected officials, political consultants, staffers, and union representatives: Is Harris going to run for president? Or does she have her eyes set on the governor's mansion in Sacramento? Harris' tough loss in the last presidential election makes her less of an obvious choice. But she hasn't called off her bid for the highest office just yet. The Golden State's gubernatorial race is already crowded thanks to high-profile names like Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. But many, like Eleni Kounalakis, the lieutenant governor of California, and Katie Porter, a former California representative and a 2024 senatorial candidate, plan to withdraw if Harris launches a bid for governor. Even if Harris runs, does she have enthusiasm behind her? According to the reporting from The Washington Post and The New York Times, many Democratic activists and delegates aren't convinced the former vice president should run for a statewide office. 'I think she'd be fine. I mean, she's already been a state leader, right?' Denise Robb, a Democratic Party delegate from Pasadena, told the Post. 'It's just that she lost the presidential race and she's been almost — gone. We don't hear from her. We don't see her.' Harris shied away from public appearances after her defeat against Trump. Last month, Harris in a rare political address dodged questions around her future plans and instead focused on Trump, criticizing his first 100 days in office. One delegate, Mark Gracyk from San Francisco, told the Times he doesn't support her run for governor either. 'The working class would say, 'Oh, there she is again, she has the support of the elites,'' the delegate said. Walz didn't necessarily provide more comfort to the dejected delegates, nor did he lay out a coherent path for future Democratic success. As he tried his best to energize voters across two states over the course of a single day, Turning Point Action organized a large rally in support of the political vehicle's gubernatorial candidate of choice in Arizona — Rep. Andy Biggs, a Trump loyalist and staunch conservative. At the rally, Biggs said he is all in on President Donald Trump's plan to reinstitute federalism, and when the president gives power back to the states, he is ready to be the 'strong, conservative governor' Arizona will need.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Musk rips media over hypocrisy over Booker gesture
Tech billionaire Elon Musk slammed the 'legacy media' over the weekend, alleging hypocrisy in how news outlets covered Sen. Cory Booker's (D-N.J.) recent arm gesture after he faced criticism for a similar gesture earlier this year. Booker, while speaking at the California Democratic Convention on Saturday, placed his hand on his heart before extending his arm toward the crowd. Videos of the moment quickly spread on social media, with some users placing it alongside a video of Musk making a similar arm gesture on Inauguration Day. Musk's gesture drew days of headlines as scrutiny grew over whether the Tesla CEO made a Nazi salute. Responding to screenshots comparing the news headlines that covered Musk's and Booker's gestures, Musk wrote 'Legacy media lies' in a Sunday his social platform X The user Musk was responding to had written, 'Terrible legacy media and how they went after Elon Musk. Now they are defending Cory Booker for the same hand gesture.' In another repost comparing headlines from Newsweek, Musk wrote, 'Fate loves irony, but hates hypocrisy.' 'Legacy media like Newsweek lie relentlessly,' he added. Newsweek declined to comment. 'Legacy media is one big psy op,' Musk wrote in another repost of a user listing major outlets that had not covered Booker's gesture but did cover Musk's earlier this year. Musk also reposted another user who shared pictures of prominent Democrats such as former President Obama, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton making similar gestures in past speeches. The user wrote, 'We know where Cory Booker learned his Nazi salute from.' Musk reposted it with an emoji of a face with a raised eyebrow. Musk reposted several other users criticizing the lack of scrutiny on Booker, including one who wrote, 'If Elon Musk is a Nazi for doing this gesture…Cory Booker is one too. Sorry, I don't make the rules.' A spokesperson for Booker told The Hill the senator was 'obviously just waving to the crowd.' 'Anyone who claims his wave is the same as Elon Musk's gesture is operating in bad faith. The differences between the two are obvious to anyone without an agenda,' Booker spokesperson Maya Krishna-Rogers wrote in a statement. Musk has increasingly criticized what he and others on the right call 'legacy media' for their coverage. During an interview on CNBC last month, he blamed the 'legacy media propaganda' for the public's backlash against him since he entered the political fold. When asked for an example of this, Musk said, 'That I'm a Nazi, for example. And how many legacy media publications, talk shows, whatever, try to claim that I was a Nazi because of some random hand gesture at a rally where all I said was that my heart goes out to you.' 'I was talking about space travel, and yet the legacy media promoted that as though that was a deliberate Nazi gesture, when in fact, every politician, any public speaker who's spoken for any length of time, has made the exact same gesture,' he added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Cory Booker slammed after making exact same ‘Nazi' salute as Elon Musk! Robby Soave
Cory Booker slammed after making exact same 'Nazi' salute as Elon Musk! Robby Soave | RISING Robby Soave delivers radar on Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) getting slammed by conservatives online for allegedly making the exact same 'Nazi' salute as Elon Musk appeared to make at a Trump rally. White House: Suspect in Boulder 'terror attack' Is illegal immigrant who overstayed visa | RISING Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger react to the Boulder, Colo., attack in which a man wielding a makeshift flamethrower threw molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel demonstration while yelling, 'Free Palestine.' Trump reposts conspiracy theory suggesting Biden is a robotic clone| RISING Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger react to President Trump reposting a conspiracy theory about former President Joe Biden being replaced by a robot clone. Elon Musk interview with CBS goes sideways after Trump policy question | RISING Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger discuss a CBS interview with Elon Musk that went off the rails after he was asked about President Trump and other political questions. Michelle Obama enrages conservatives over 'beyond evil' comment about women having kids | RISING Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger discuss Conservatives blasting former First Lady Michelle Obama for saying that creating life is 'the least' of what a woman's reproductive system does. Bill Maher visibly stuns Jake Tapper, Barry Diller after making edgy Biden joke | RISING Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger react to Jake apper's appearance on, 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' in which Maher accused Democrats of 'romanticizing' Joe Biden's tragedies. EXCLUSIVE: California gubernatorial candidate blasts Kamala Harris, calls her 'tone-deaf' | RISING Businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck makes his case on Rising for why he's running to be the next governor of California. 50 Cent says he'll convinceTrump not to pardon Diddy | RISING Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger discuss rapper 50 Cent saying that he will contact President Trump to deter him from pardoning Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Cory Booker to expand record-breaking Senate speech into book
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) will expand on his record-breaking Senate floor speech into a forthcoming book titled 'Stand,' to be published by St. Martin's Press in November. 'This book is about the virtues vital to our success as a nation and lessons we can draw from generations of Americans who fought for them,' Booker said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. The news comes about two months after Booker's 25-hour Senate floor speech, which broke Strom Thurmond's oration opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1957. In the book Booker will reiterate points from his speech, which spanned March 31 and April 1, focusing on the damage being done by Trump administration policies. The senator and former presidential candidate previously published three books, including 'Cory Booker's Speech of the Century: The complete text of the inspiring speech that broke the record.' Booker is up for re-election in 2026 and has amassed more than $11 million in his campaign war chest. He has been evasive on the possibility of a 2028 run for president. NBC News's Kristen Welker asked Booker about potential White House aspirations during a 'Meet the Press' interview last month. 'I'm focused on today and my reelection in '26,' Booker said. 'I've already announced to the people of New Jersey. I'm hoping they'll allow me to be their senator for another six years.'
San Francisco Chronicle
24-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Some of Trump's loyalty-first picks for prosecutors draw opposition from senators who can block them
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's early selections for U.S. attorneys have drawn strong pushback from Democratic senators who have considerable power to block them, setting up another fight over personnel picks from a president who places a premium on loyalty as he staffs his administration. His choices for the top prosecutors in Nevada, New York and New Jersey are opposed by Democratic senators, and at stake is the Republican president's ability to have the team he wants for positions with enormous sway over which cases and crimes are investigated and what penalties the government seeks. The power they wield was underscored this past week when the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, Alina Habba, announced she was charging Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., with assault after a skirmish with federal officers outside an immigration detention center in Newark. McIver has denied any wrongdoing and said the charge was 'purely political.' In the Senate, which must approve a president's nominees for U.S. attorney, at least two Democrats are prepared to invoke a decades-old custom that affords home-state senators veto power over whether a would-be federal prosecutor can be confirmed. That battle comes as Ed Martin, Trump's first choice to be the top prosecutor in the nation's capital, withdrew from consideration after both Republicans and Democrats indicated they would not support the conservative activist, who has a modest legal background and expressed support for Jan. 6 rioters. The president replaced Martin with Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge in New York who has been a longtime Trump defender on television. 'Martin was the extreme example,' said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'I think our antenna are flying high as we look at each one of these nominees.' Trump's selections for these jobs have received added scrutiny as the president has tried to assert greater control over the Justice Department and pursue a campaign of retribution. In Nevada, Trump has installed a right-wing lawyer, Sigal Chattah, as the interim U.S. attorney, drawing opposition from the state's Democratic senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. Rosen has pledged to use her senatorial prerogative to unilaterally block Chattah if the administration seeks to keep Chattah beyond a 120-day interim period. In New Jersey, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would not support Habba as the permanent U.S. attorney. She is a former Trump White House counselor and personal attorney. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York has pledged to block Trump's picks for two key prosecutor's offices in his state. Schumer did not cite concerns about the nominees but rather what he said were the president's intentions to use 'the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney offices and law enforcement as weapons to go after his perceived enemies.' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump 'was proud to appoint Alina Habba to serve in this role, and he believes she is doing a great job cleaning up New Jersey and enforcing law and order.' The White House, in a statement, also criticized Schumer. It did not respond to questions about the Nevada prosecutor. 'Senator Schumer and his anti-law-and-order party are prioritizing politics over critical DOJ appointments, obstructing President Trump's Make America Safe Again agenda,' White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said. In response, Schumer said: 'The Justice Department should spend more time prosecuting criminals instead of going after their perceived political enemies." Democrats consider using their 'blue slip' power to block nominees Opposition from Democratic senators usually would not matter for Trump nominees as long as most Republicans, who control the majority, are united in support. But a long-standing Senate custom, called the blue slip, allows senators to block the nominations of U.S. District Court judges, federal prosecutors and U.S. marshals from the lawmakers' home states. Republicans could decide to abandon that custom. But the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has repeatedly indicated that he would honor blue slip objections from home-state senators over those prosecutors and judges. 'I think it gives senators a hand in choosing nominees for their state and making sure that the nominees reflect their state,' said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a committee member. 'I mean, I certainly used the blue slip" when Democrat Joe Biden was president. But Hawley also emphasized of the blue slip: 'I would hope it wouldn't be abused.' Democrats are alarmed at what they see as overt politicization by Justice Department prosecutors in the second Trump term. They point to Martin's interim tenure in Washington, when he demoted several senior officials who handled or oversaw cases involving the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Democrats were also concerned by the resignations of attorneys in the Southern District of New York, which had been handling a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams before it was dismissed in April. Schumer in April announced he would withhold blue slips for two New York City-area U.S. attorneys. In Nevada, Rosen and Cortez Masto have denounced the appointment of Chattah, who describes herself on X as a '#firebrand' and 'Proud American Nationalist.' The senators cited among their concerns Chattah's past comments that the state's Black attorney general should 'should be hanging from a (expletive) crane.' Chattah also drew backlash last year for a post on X about former New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who is Black, calling him an 'anti-Semitic ghetto rat.' In a brief phone call, Chattah told The Associated Press that she thought she would 'probably' be nominated to the position permanently. 'We're playing it by ear,' she said, without elaborating. She did not comment on the senators' objections. Booker said he has had conversations with the White House counsel's office about the U.S. attorney post in his state. He declined to say whether he would exercise his blue slip privileges for Habba if she were nominated, but told the AP, "I do not support her being permanent.' Habba did not respond to a message seeking comment. Habba, who became known for her frequent cable news appearances defending Trump in his legal battles and her appearances at his campaign events, had limited court experience before joining his legal team. During Trump's 2024 defamation trial in New York, she was repeatedly scolded by the judge for misstating the law and for running afoul of legal procedures. In her interim role, Habba announced last month that she has launched an investigation into New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the state's directive that local law enforcement should not cooperate with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement. Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law school professor and former Justice Department official, said that in the past, including in Trump's first term, presidents typically picked lawyers to serve as U.S. attorneys who were members of the same political party, but that they would receive bipartisan support. But now, Saltzburg said, 'the qualifications for some of the people who are being named are simply they were loyal MAGA supporters,' referring to Trump's 'Make American Great Again' movement. Trump's administration has made clear it is willing to break down the wall that once separated the White House and Justice Department, Saltzburg said, and it appears that extends out to the U.S. attorneys' offices as well.
