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USA Today
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
WrestleMania history: Every location, host city, venue for WWE's biggest live event
WrestleMania history: Every location, host city, venue for WWE's biggest live event WWE is bringing WrestleMania 41 to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, but the event has taken place all over the United States (and Canada) over the years. Show Caption Hide Caption John Cena, Cody Rhodes headline Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas Jordan Mendoza breaks down all the exciting matches to expect from Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas. Another WrestleMania is fast approaching and WWE's iconic premium live event is returning to Las Vegas for the first time in more than 30 years. What was initially dubbed the Super Bowl of pro wrestling, beginning with WrestleMania 1 in 1985, is now the centerpiece of the WWE calendar and a de facto industry convention given all the fans and legends that descend on the WrestleMania host city each year. Allegiant Stadium, home to the Las Vegas Raiders, will be the site of WrestleMania 41 beginning on Saturday, April 19 and continuing through Sunday, April 20. It's a more conventional setting than WrestleMania 9, which was held in a stadium built in a converted parking lot at Caesars Palace. This will also be the latest date for the event in its history. The card's two main events are scheduled to feature Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk in a triple threat match on the first night and Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the WWE championship on the second night. WRESTLEMANIA 41 PREDICTIONS: Who will be winners of every match in Las Vegas? Madison Square Garden and Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois (formerly the Rosemont Horizon) have each hosted WrestleMania three times – the most of any venues. The largest crowd on a single night at WrestleMania occurred at WrestleMania 32 in 2016, according to WWE, when it announced a record 101,763 fans in attendance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas. Allegiant Stadium's capacity is listed as 65,000 for football games. Ahead of WrestleMania 41 this weekend, here's a breakdown of where every previous WrestleMania took place and a look ahead to what city and stadium will serve as host for next year's WrestleMania: KEVIN OWENS INJURY: WWE star confirms neck surgery, WrestleMania 41 match canceled WrestleMania locations: Every city, venue to host WWE's iconic event WrestleMania 1 (March 31, 1985) : Madison Square Garden in New York : Madison Square Garden in New York WrestleMania 2 (April 7, 1986) : Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York; Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois; Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles : Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York; Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois; Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles WrestleMania III (March 29, 1987) : Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan : Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan WrestleMania IV(March 27, 1988) : Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey : Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey WrestleMania V (April 2, 1989) : Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey : Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey WrestleMania VI (April 1, 1990) : SkyDome in Toronto, Canada (now called Rogers Centre) : SkyDome in Toronto, Canada (now called Rogers Centre) WrestleMania VII (March 24, 1991) : Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles : Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles WrestleMania VIII (April 5, 1992) : Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis : Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis WrestleMania IX (April 4, 1993) : Caesars Palace in Las Vegas : Caesars Palace in Las Vegas WrestleMania X (March 20, 1994) : Madison Square Garden in New York : Madison Square Garden in New York WrestleMania XI (April 2, 1995) : Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut (now called XL Center) : Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut (now called XL Center) WrestleMania XII (March 31, 1996) : Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California (now called Honda Center) : Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California (now called Honda Center) WrestleMania 13 (March 23, 1997) : Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois (now called Allstate Arena) : Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois (now called Allstate Arena) WrestleMania 14 (March 29, 1998) : FleetCenter in Boston (now called TD Garden) : FleetCenter in Boston (now called TD Garden) WrestleMania XV (March 28, 1999) : First Union Center in Philadelphia (now called Wells Fargo Center) : First Union Center in Philadelphia (now called Wells Fargo Center) WrestleMania 2000 (April 2, 2000) : Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California (now called Honda Center) : Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California (now called Honda Center) WrestleMania X-Seven (April 1, 2001) : Reliant Astrodome in Houston : Reliant Astrodome in Houston WrestleMania X8 (March 17, 2002) : SkyDome in Toronto, Canada (now called Rogers Centre) : SkyDome in Toronto, Canada (now called Rogers Centre) WrestleMania XIX (March 30, 2003) : Safeco Field in Seattle (now called T-Mobile Park) : Safeco Field in Seattle (now called T-Mobile Park) WrestleMania XX (March 14, 2004) : Madison Square Garden in New York : Madison Square Garden in New York WrestleMania 21 (April 3, 2005) : Staples Center in Los Angeles (now called Arena) : Staples Center in Los Angeles (now called Arena) WrestleMania 22 (April 2, 2006) : Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois : Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois WrestleMania 23 (April 1, 2007) : Ford Field in Detroit : Ford Field in Detroit WrestleMania XXIV (March 30, 2008) : Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida (now called Camping World Stadium) : Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida (now called Camping World Stadium) WrestleMania 25 (April 5, 2009) : Reliant Stadium in Houston (now called NRG Stadium) : Reliant Stadium in Houston (now called NRG Stadium) WrestleMania XXVI (March 28, 2010) : University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (now called State Farm Stadium) : University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (now called State Farm Stadium) WrestleMania XXVII (April 3, 2011) : Georgia Dome in Atlanta : Georgia Dome in Atlanta WrestleMania XXVIII (April 1, 2012) : Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida (now called Hard Rock Stadium) : Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida (now called Hard Rock Stadium) WrestleMania 29 (April 7, 2013) : MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey : MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey WrestleMania 30 (April 6, 2014) : Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (now called Caesars Superdome) : Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (now called Caesars Superdome) WrestleMania 31 (March 29, 2015) : Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California : Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California WrestleMania 32 (April 3, 2016) : AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas : AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas WrestleMania 33 (April 2, 2017) : Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida (now called Camping World Stadium) : Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida (now called Camping World Stadium) WrestleMania 34 (April 8, 2018) : Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (now called Caesars Superdome) : Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (now called Caesars Superdome) WrestleMania 35 (April 7, 2019) : MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey : MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey WrestleMania 36 (April 4-5, 2020) : WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida : WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida WrestleMania 37 (April 10-11, 2021) : Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida : Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida WrestleMania 38 (April 2-3, 2022) : AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas : AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas WrestleMania 39 (April 1-2, 2023) : SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California : SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California WrestleMania 40 (April 6-7, 2024) : Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia : Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia WrestleMania 41 (April 19-20, 2025) : Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas : Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas WrestleMania 42 (April 11-12, 2026): Caesars Superdome in New Orleans How to watch WrestleMania 41: TV, live streaming for WWE Dates : April 19-20, 2025 : April 19-20, 2025 Time : 7 p.m. ET : 7 p.m. ET Location : Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) : Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) TV : None : None Streaming: Peacock (United States), Netflix (internatinal) Watch WrestleMania 41 with Peacock
New York Times
01-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Trump's ‘Gold Card' Set Off Panic in an Unexpected Place: Real Estate
President Trump's plan to sell green cards for $5 million each, a program he is calling a 'gold card,' has largely been met with a shrug. It's not clear exactly how the program would work, if it's legal or how many potential immigrants would really pay $5 million for a path to U.S. citizenship. But in a niche area of dealmaking, alarm bells are blaring. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, said on Tuesday that the plan to effectively sell green cards would replace the EB-5 investor visa, a favorite source of funding for major real estate projects. Massive developments — from New York's Hudson Yards to the San Francisco Shipyard to, yes, Trump Plaza in Jersey City — have been financed in part by overseas investors applying to the EB-5 program, which grants permanent U.S. residence. Such investors are motivated by a green card, not by maximizing returns, and so for developers their capital tends to be less expensive than borrowing money from a typical commercial lender. The real estate company owned by the family of Trump's son-in-law, Kushner Capital, drew scrutiny for its use of EB-5 funding during the first Trump administration. Overall, the EB-5 program does not bring in a lot of money — about $4 billion last year in the context of the $28 trillion U.S. economy — but it represents a huge profit bump for a small but powerful political contingency: major real estate developers. They are not likely to see EB-5 killed without a fight. 'Cheap capital is the crack cocaine to the real estate industry and probably every other industry,' said Matt Gordon, the C.E.O. of E3iG, which advises both foreign investment-based visa applicants and U.S. companies seeking funding. 'They and their rather large political donations are going to be very motivated.' Some background: EB-5 visas were established in 1990 to encourage investment in rural and economically depressed areas. Foreigners who invest either $800,000 or $1.05 million, creating at least 10 jobs, are eligible. Initially, that meant directly creating 10 jobs. Now most companies meet the requirement by showing the overall economy will gain 10 jobs as a result of each investor's funding. All sorts of companies can seek EB-5 investment — DealBook heard about pharmacies, hospitals, day care centers and manufacturing plants that raised money through the program — but the vast majority are real estate deals. News of Trump's gold card plan sent this ecosystem reeling. 'Naturally the whole world is panicking,' said Ishaan Khanna, the president of the American Immigrant Investor Alliance, a group that lobbies on behalf of EB-5 investors. 'As India and China woke up, my phone blew up.' 'Everybody I'm hearing from is like 'rush' — get in as much as you can, be000cause who knows how long' the program will last in its current form, Gordon said, 'On both the sponsor side and on the immigrant side.' Developers who qualify for the program win big savings. For example: One project Gordon is working on, a $100 million 19-story apartment building, qualifies for about $35 million of EB-5 funding. Traditional mezzanine debt financing for such a project might come with an interest rate of 10 or 12 percent, Gordon said, but the developer will pay 5 to 7 percent for EB-5 funding. 'You're really cutting, you know, 30 to 50 percent of your cost of capital, on a rather significant portion of your capital,' he added. On top of saving money, developers say the program has been crucial during periods like the financial crisis when other funding sources become prohibitively expensive or scarce. Unsurprisingly, the real estate industry has been one of the EB-5 program's most ardent defenders. The National Association of Realators and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbied against a bill introduced in 2017 that would have terminated the program. Such programs aren't unusual. Seventy countries exchange permanent residency or citizenship for investments or donations, according to Kristin Surak, an associate professor at the London School of Economics who studies so-called golden visa and passport programs worldwide. In some countries, including Malta and Cyprus, the programs represent a significant part of the economy. Proponents point to the jobs created. Critics say the EB-5 program falls short of its goal to stimulate investment in rural and distressed urban areas. Previous iterations allowed developers to gerrymander maps so that even densely populated and highly employed districts like Hudson Yards qualified for preferable terms. A 2022 law ended that practice and added new incentives to build in rural areas. Would selling visas work better? Lutnick said on Wednesday that EB-5 projects 'were often suspect, they didn't really work out, there wasn't any oversight of it.' It's true that there have been horror stories: Two investors who raised $350 million from foreign investors for a massive development in Vermont, for example, were accused in 2016 of perpetrating the biggest fraud in the state's history. But according to a report from the Government Accountability Office that looked at pending petitions in 2021, less than 1 percent were found to be fraudulent or posed national security risks (about 3 percent were investigated). Additional safeguards were added in the 2022 law. The gold card may have a different problem: A dearth of applicants. Participants in the EB-5 program expect to get their $1 million investment back at some point, whereas Trump's plan requires a $5 million donation that isn't returned. The EB-5 program drew about 7,000 investments between April 1, 2022 to July 31, 2024, according to data compiled by the American Immigrant Investor Alliance. Even if the gold card comes with a tax benefit, why would a substantially larger group of foreigners — Trump said 'maybe a million' — be willing to pay the much higher cost? Many in the industry see Trump's plan as unworkable. Trump would need congressional approval both to abolish a visa program that was created by law and to allocate visas for a new one. 'This is unpredictable,' Khanna said. 'No one truly knows where this is going.' More than Trump's recent announcement, which lacked specifics, many of the big players in the ecosystem — including the companies that put together the funds, the developers and the lawyers — are focused on what will happen in 2027, when the EB-5 program expires and needs to be renewed by Congress. They're betting on compromise. The players in such investments are hoping the gold card becomes an addition rather than a replacement. The idea may already be breaking through: By Wednesday, Lutnick had changed how he described the gold card plan, saying it would 'modify' the EB-5 program, but it was unclear what specifically would change. — Sarah Kessler President Trump's meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine turned into an explosive shouting match on live television, a moment unlike anything we've ever seen at the White House. At an Oval Office appearance Friday the Ukrainian president met with Trump to sign a mineral rights deal, when Trump accused Zelensky of being ungrateful and 'gambling with World War III.' Zelensky had questioned whether Trump would be able to get President Putin of Russia to honor a peace agreement without security guarantees, saying the Russian leader had broken cease-fire accords in the past. Vice President Vance, sitting on a nearby couch, chastised Zelensky for not showing more appreciation for Trump's efforts. The U.S. president then issued an ultimatum: 'You're either going to make a deal or we're out.' The fiery exchange (here's the video) revealed Trump's nakedly combative approach to dealmaking. Zelensky left without signing the mineral agreement. Elon Musk, whose Starlink satellite internet service has been vital to Ukraine's military defenses, seemed to praise Trump on X after the exchange. Shari Redstone urged her board to find a resolution with President Trump. Redstone, who is trying to sell Paramount, her family business, to David Ellison's Skydance, directed her board to find a way to resolve Trump's lawsuit against the company's CBS News division, DealBook was first to report. The president sued the company last year for $20 billion, accusing the network of deceptively editing an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris to cast her in a more favorable light. Even though legal experts say Trump has a weak case, some Paramount executives feel a settlement would smooth the way with the Trump administration toward greenlighting the company's Skydance merger. Apple's Tim Cook gave a lesson in the art of dealmaking with President Trump. The Apple leader drew praise from Trump for his commitment to invest $500 billion in the United States and create 20,000 more jobs over the next four years. The stakes are high for Apple because its iPhones are primarily made in China, which faces an additional 10 percent tariff on exports. But Cook appeared to take a page out of his playbook from Trump's first term, when he pledged more U.S. investment and won tariff exemptions. By the way, that $500 billion commitment was probably already earmarked. Expect similarly framed corporate announcements to follow. The S.E.C. said memecoins aren't like stocks and bonds. That means you and I can trade them at our own risk and the novelty crypto tokens — including those tied to President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump — won't be subject to regulatory oversight. Trump, whose presidential campaign was backed by top crypto executives, has promised less regulation for the industry. Even so, the price of Bitcoin has plunged in recent days, stoking concern about crypto volatility. Weighing a return to Russia President Trump and President Putin of Russia marked the third anniversary of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine this week with a similar message: Russia will soon be open for business. Never mind that Russia and the United States remain far apart on the fundamental terms of a peace negotiation, or that Russia is under heavy sanctions by Western countries, or that uncertainty over the region's future has only grown after yesterday's Oval Office blow-up. DealBook spoke with Charles Hecker, a former reporter for The Moscow Times and a geopolitical risk consultant who for decades advised Western companies on expanding their business in Russia, about the prospect of business leaders taking Trump and Putin up on the pitch. (A reminder: most, but hardly all, Western companies left Russia shortly after war in Ukraine broke out.) Hecker is the author of the book 'Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia,' which is set for publication in the United States next week. This interview has been edited for brevity. The assumption is that Western, and especially American companies, will not return to Russia any time soon. How do you see it playing out? Inside a number of companies, conversations are already taking place about whether and how to go back to Russia. And those conversations probably preceded this flurry of diplomatic activity between Moscow and Washington. There are also companies that have decided already, resolutely, that they are not going back. What this speaks to is risk appetite. There are clearly companies that have cast iron stomachs and bottomless appetites for risk. Those are the companies that are probably considering going back to Russia most actively. Who might they be? These are companies in the energy sector, and more broadly, in the natural resources sector. These are companies that are thoroughly accustomed to doing business in very-high-risk jurisdictions. For companies with a higher appetite for risk, what kind of negotiated resolutions between the West and Russia would they view as a kind of all-clear? One of the red lines is sanctions. If part of the resolution of the war on Ukraine is sanctions relief, then there will be companies that see that, essentially, as a signal to go back. What kind of Russia is waiting for them? Over the past three years there have been some changes that have taken place that will be very, very difficult to reverse. We all know of the famous headline-grabbing nationalizations and reallocations that took place, like Danone and Carlsberg — really high profile expropriations. There is a new business elite in Russia that is one level below the individuals who have been sanctioned who serve largely at the pleasure of the Kremlin. This new business elite has possession of a great number of very shiny new toys that were previously Western companies. It's a valid question to ask about whether these new owners are going to want to give their shiny new toys back. And if they do, whether under political pressure or otherwise, what would the cost be? Thanks for reading! We'll see you Monday. We'd like your feedback. Please email thoughts and suggestions to dealbook@
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Trump hotel chief calls president's wild Gaza video ‘scary' dictator ‘theater'
After President Donald Trump posted a bizarre AI-generated video of what the Gaza strip would look like if he were to follow up on his real-estate development plans to transform the war-torn region into the 'Riviera of the Middle East,' the former president and chief operating officer of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City called it 'scary.' Jack O'Donnell, who worked for Trump for three years, told CNN's Erin Burnett Wednesday that he believes the president is 'amused' by his idea to gold-wash Gaza. The 35-second video, which Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday, depicts a gold-plated cheesy resort-like strip where Elon Musk throws cash in the air and Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lounge in beach chairs in swim trunks. 'No, he's not serious about this. I think he's amused by it, and I think he knows it will get a reaction from people, and that's what he wanted to do here,' O'Donnell said. 'This is theater, and I don't think he's serious, although I think he does love the image that it portrays of him, as some sort of savior,' he added, pointing out the bearded belly dancers in the clip. But O'Donnell also agreed with Burnett, and said 'it's scary' because it's the kind of megalomaniacal vision dictators have of themselves. Burnett mentioned the golden statue of Trump, who recently declared himself a 'king,' in the middle of a palm tree-lined street. She said the AI-generated statue was reminiscent of a golden statue of former Turkmenistan dictator Saparmurat Niyazov. O'Donnell pointed out: 'Others have done this — other dictators. Mao did it, Kim Jong Un still does it, Saddam Hussein,' he said. 'The list goes on of dictators who have put themselves on a pedestal.' O'Donnell said the thing that surprised him the most about the video was the scene of Trump sitting shirtless on a lounge chair with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'We know how vain he [Trump] is, and there's actually a scene in here where he's sitting on the beach, and he's rather rotund in it,' O'Donnell smirked. An upbeat song plays in the background that strikes a tone incongruent with the savage year-plus-long war that raged in Gaza up until last month. The lyrics say: 'Donald's coming to set you free, bringing the life for all to see, no more tunnels, no more fear, Trump Gaza is finally here.' The video comes weeks after Trump announced that the U.S. will 'take over' and develop the Gaza strip, once all the Palestinians have been cleared out, calling it 'a symbol of death and destruction for so many decades.' He vowed it could be turned into a 'really magnificent area.' Trump's vision has been slammed as ethnic cleansing.
Fox News
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Kathie Lee Gifford says Trump saved her from 'psychopathic murderer' after she received death threat
Kathie Lee Gifford is speaking out about how President Donald Trump saved her and her newborn daughter from a dangerous stalker. During a recent interview on "The Sage Steele Show," the 71-year-old TV personality became emotional as she recalled the incident 31 years ago. Gifford said she and her baby daughter Cassidy were on their way to Atlantic City, where Gifford was to host the "Miss America" pageant, when her late husband, Frank Gifford, was notified she had received a death threat. "The FBI called my husband, and they said, 'Mr. Gifford, we have a problem. There's this guy. This is a very, very bad human being. [He] was a psychopathic murderer — a rapist and murderer. And he's coming to get your wife," she shared. The former "Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee" host told Steele she had just given birth to Cassidy six weeks earlier. Gifford, along with her baby daughter and a nanny, were about to leave in a van to drive three hours to Atlantic City when Frank received the call from the FBI. She recounted how the FBI asked Frank for the family to proceed with their original plans so they wouldn't tip off the suspect. "They said, 'We would like you, Mr. Gifford, to just keep your schedule and have your wife keep her schedule, because this guy, we don't want him to know that we're on to him,'" Gifford said. Gifford said the FBI informed Frank the man had "raped and tortured" his own aunt. She explained that the man's aunt had managed to escape long enough to call the police. "This is why I will love this man for my whole life." "I never heard it until just the other day. Somebody told me how she finally got away from [him]," Gifford said. "He left. He stole her keys and told her, 'Now I'm going to go after Kathie Lee.'" The Daytime Emmy Award winner recalled that Frank told the FBI he would not agree to its request that he and Gifford keep their usual schedules until he made one call. "And he called Donald," she said. Gifford explained that she always stayed at the Trump Plaza and Casino when she was in Atlantic City, which made it easy for the man to know her location. "Frank called Donald and said, "Donald, we've got this situation,'" Gifford recalled. "And this is why I will love this man for my whole life," she said of Trump as she teared up. "He said, 'Frank, don't you worry about it. I've got your girls. I've got your girls. And don't you worry.' "And so Frank called back the FBI and said, 'I called Donald Trump. He says he's going to take care of my wife and my daughter.'" Gifford said, at the time, she "didn't know anything" about the threat and was surprised when she received a call from Trump, who told her that he was sending his helicopter to take her to his hotel. She later realized the real estate mogul was protecting her by having her use a different and safer mode of transportation to her destination. Gifford was also confused since Trump had come up with a cover story to explain why he was making the gesture. "I said, 'Donald, why? He said, "Because you've had a baby.' I said, 'Donald, women have babies every day. It's no big deal. Thank you. But it's no big deal.' And he goes, 'No, congratulations. So happy for you … [I'm] sending my helicopter for you and your baby and your nanny,'" she recalled. Gifford recalled that she tried to talk him out of it, but Trump was adamant. "The next day, he sent his helicopter." In addition to sending his helicopter, Gifford said, she was greeted by four members of Trump's security team when she arrived in Atlantic City. "I mean, these guys are major, major, and they're like, 'Mrs. Gifford, Mr. Trump wants you to know that we're here for you,'" Gifford said. "I didn't know what they were talking about." Gifford said that since she had just given birth and had "all kinds of stuff going on," she didn't inquire further about why Trump had sent his security to protect her. The "Then Came You" actress said she thanked the security guards and "never thought anything about it." However, she recalled that they protected her all week leading up to the pageant, and additional members joined her security detail daily. On the day of the pageant, Gifford had some free time, so she headed down to the lobby. She recalled being bewildered why a security guard had been stationed outside her hotel room all week. "I just never thought about it, you know?" she said. "I just … stupid. But he never said a word. Nobody said a word to me." After she arrived at the lobby, Gifford was stunned when she saw a newspaper with a headline about her death threat. She contacted the organizers of the pageant, who asked her if she had reconsidered hosting and performing at the event due to the threat. "I said, 'Hell, no,'" she recalled. "Nobody's going to make me afraid. "And then I understood everything," she said. "I understood what Donald had done. I understood what Frank had done to try to say, you know, not be afraid and all of that." Gifford said she went to the pageant and then was taken home by a different route. She later realized that an FBI officer had been guarding her son Cody, who was 3 years old, at her home in Connecticut. Gifford said the following day, she and Cody went to a movie theater, where she was informed by the FBI, which were guarding her, that the man had been caught. "In the middle of the movie, one of the FBI guys comes over and goes, 'Mrs. Gifford, we got this son of a b----,'" she recalled, "I said, 'Thank you so much.'" At the beginning of the episode, Gifford explained she had previously rarely shared the story of how Trump helped her because the late Rev. Billy Graham had warned her long ago to stay out of politics. "He said, 'Just tell people that God loves them," Gifford recalled of Graham's advice. "And all these years, that's what I've done. You've never heard me say a thing about politics — ever. "And now I'm ready to," she said. "I'm ready to now because, first of all, Billy's gone. I saw him right before he died." The famous evangelist died of natural causes at the age of 99 in 2018. Gifford said she knew Graham would understand why she had to be "very honest" now and speak out about how Trump had saved her. However, she explained that she still "hates politics" and dislikes some of Trump's rhetoric. "I would cringe at times. I would go, 'Donald no, no,'" she said. "That's not the man I knew, you know? But the story I just told you is the man I know. "That's my friend Donald," Gifford said. "Saved my life. Saved my daughter's life. And if I called him today, [he] would save it again."
The Guardian
13-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine just the latest Trump wheeze for Labour to try to defend and disown
In his ghostwritten 1987 bestseller, The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump delivers his own version of the American Dream. Get as much as you can for yourself. There's always someone out there who's stupider than you. Any attention is better than none. Promise people the Earth even if you know you can never deliver. Paint yourself orange and glue what's left of your hair to your head. This is business as a macho willy waving contest. So much so you suspect The Donald is deeply insecure about the size of his own. But maybe we should have read between the lines better. For the real message is: 'Always let someone else take the hit.' After all, it wasn't Trump who was left out of pocket when his hotels and casinos six times filed for bankruptcy between 1991 and 2009 due to an inability to meet scheduled payments. It was his creditors. That's a business style The Donald has taken into his presidency. After the Trump Plaza and the Trump Tower, we now have the Trump Toilet. To flush away Ukraine. Trump promised to deliver peace to Ukraine on day one of his presidency, but it took him until now to come up with a plan. Not a lot of thinking appears to have gone on in the past three weeks. Almost as if The Donald had been winging it all along. Who would have guessed? How very unlike him. It was late on Tuesday night that Trump announced he had had a one-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin. For The Donald this was a 'peace in our time' moment. His legendary negotiating tactics forcing the Russian president to his knees. Perhaps not. Because far from demanding the impossible to get as much as he could, Trump gave away almost everything in the first round of talks. This was capitulation bordering on appeasement. Here was the deal. Ukraine was to have no say in the future of Ukraine. Russia would get to keep all the land it had annexed since 2014. Ukraine would never be part of Nato or subject to Nato protections. The US would play no part in maintaining the subsequent peace. This was geopolitics as a real-estate deal. Who cared about Crimea and the Donbass anyway? They weren't great locations for golf courses and casinos like Gaza. Putin could barely contain himself. The negotiations had taken barely a couple of minutes. All he had had to do was say yes to everything. The remaining 58 minutes of the conversation were spent telling The Donald how brilliant he was. 'You're a genius,' said Vlad. 'The world is going to be so much safer now you are in the White House. Together we're going to carve up the world.' 'A lot of people say that to me,' Trump replied. 'You won't believe how much peace I am going to bring. The bigliest amount of peace the world has ever seen. I tell you, everyone is going to be so grateful to me. Some are calling me the Messiah.' Over in the UK, you could hear the sense of despair in government circles. Not another mind-blowingly unhelpful intervention from the US president that some poor minister would simultaneously have to defend and disown? Labour's insistence on doing nothing that might upset The Donald at all costs must be maintained at all costs. Whatever you do, don't call the president stupid. Especially when he is being stupid. With the defence secretary, John Healey, away in Brussels, the poor person left to explain the government's position on Ukraine to the Commons was the junior defence minister, Maria Eagle. Understandably, she looked nervous and miserable throughout. This was so far above her pay grade. She looked down at her briefing notes and willed the 45 minutes of the urgent question tabled by the shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, to race by. Maria began by insisting that Ukraine had a right to decide on its own peace terms. It hadn't spent the last three years in a bloody and murderous war only for someone else to determine its sovereignty. Europe must now step up to partake in the peace process. That was why the UK would continue to supply arms to Ukraine. So far so good. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion That was the easy bit. Then came the obligatory praise for the US. Trump had been right to realise there was a war taking place that needed to come to an end. No one else had noticed the war was ongoing. It had been an act of strategic brilliance for The Donald to pick up the phone to Putin. She also wanted to congratulate the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, on being Pete Hegseth. No one could have been a better Pete Hegseth than Pete Hegseth. And when he said that Ukraine should have no say in its own future, what he really meant was Ukraine should be cut into the loop. You sense there is a vein of ice-cold sadism running through Cartlidge. Why else would he have demanded this UQ? He had nothing different to say to Eagle. Every party defends Ukraine's right to agree to the terms of any peace. He just wanted to see her squirm as she mangled her words of praise for the US. For once, James also breathed a sigh of relief he wasn't in government. There but for the grace of God … No one cares about inconsistencies in Tory policy these days so no one raised an eyebrow when he said we should be backing Europe after months of saying we should cosy up to the US. There weren't many MPs in the Commons for the UQ – though Rishi Sunak did make a rare guest appearance – but they all spoke with one voice. The US couldn't dictate terms to Ukraine. Especially not the ones Trump had come up with. That was an admission that aggression always paid off. An incitement for Putin to have another go at taking Kyiv in a few years time. This wasn't a peace that could last. Tory Julian Lewis was outraged that the US was calling the shots when it wasn't even prepared to hang around to make the peace work. It was appeasement plain and simple. The longer it went on, the more unhappy Eagle became. Part of her was dying inside having to defend any part of this American intervention. Dealing with Trump is like wrangling a toddler. First it drains you of your self-worth. Then your will to live.
