Oohs and Boos at the Al Smith Dinner

On Friday, ABC’s Good Morning America tightly clutched its pearls about former President Donald Trump deploying “dark language” to level “very personal attacks” and “grievances” on poor Vice President Kamala Harris at Thursday’s Al Smith Dinner that “crossed the line.” In contrast, ABC showed no such concern about Harris going after Trump, swooning she “[took] Donald Trump to task” by “upping the pace and intensity of...her warnings about” him and making “a blistering rebuke of” Trump on abortion. ABC's 'Good Morning America' and @RachelVScott need a fainting couches as they lost their minds over Donald Trump using "dark language" "grievances" to level "very personal attacks" at Kamala Harris during the #AlSmithDinner with little "off limits" pic.twitter.com/36vAl5TmHh — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 18, 2024 ABC channeled Howard Stern from last week, who told Harris that no one — not even far-left Saturday Night Live — should be allowed to make fun of her because American democracy depends on her victory. Fervent Trump hater Rachel Scott had the ball placed on the tee for her by weekend co-host Whit Johnson fretting Trump turned the “usually...light” Al Smith Dinner into an evening full of “dark language.” The thin-skinned Scott complained “not much was off limits for Donald Trump last night” as he “turned from making political jokes to launching very personal attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris and just hours before that he questioned her racial identity again and cast out on the integrity of the November election.” Scott’s histrionics continued on, huffing about Trump “questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’s racial identity” in a separate interview and making clear she “was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus while serving in the Senate” and went to Howard. “Overnight, Trump attending the Al Smith Charity Dinner in New York, traditionally attended by both nominees. Only Trump showing up in-person. The former President getting a mixed reaction from the crowd, turning from political jokes to airing grievances and launching personal attacks against his rivals, even acknowledging some of his jokes crossed the line,” she kvetched. Scott saw no issue with Harris: “Harris addressed the event in a video featuring Molly Shannon, portraying her Saturday Night Live character, Mary Katherine Gallagher.” She later boasted of “audible gasps in that room” over some of Trump’s jokes, adding he would be campaigning in the Detroit area and had to tell viewers the last time he was there he (correctly) called Detroit a mess. ABC trotted out Mary Bruce — its North Korea news lady for the Biden-Harris regime — to sing Harris’s praises and voice issue concerns about her rhetoric (click “expand”): BRUCE: Well, as we head into this final sprint now, Kamala Harris is upping the pace and intensity of her campaign and the intensity of her warnings about Trump second term overnight, with a blistering rebuke of his position on abortion. Overnight, with abortion front and center in this race, Kamala Harris taking Donald Trump to task for his shifting position. HARRIS: Now, Donald Trump has a very different view on reproductive freedoms. BRUCE: During a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Harris letting Trump speak for himself. TRUMP: Every wanted it, and I did it. [SCREEN WIPE] For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated and I did it. HARRIS: No, Donald, everybody did not want Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Women are dying of sepsis because they cannot get the health care they need. They did not want this. BRUCE: Harris calling Trump out for trying to soften his stance on abortion after he told a town hall of all women voters this week that he’s the, “father of IVF.” (....) BRUCE: Harris upping her warnings about a second Trump term, hammering the message that he is a danger to democracy, going after Trump’s suggestion that he would use the military to go after his opponent — (....) BRUCE: — and slamming him for calling January 6 a “day of love.” (....) BRUCE: And next week, she’s bringing her heavy hitters, appearing for the first time on the trail alongside the Obamas. On CBS Mornings, notice the verb choice by co-host Tony Dokoupil in the Eye Opener: “Vice President Kamala Harris hits Trump over January 6, while Trump attacks Harris at a fundraiser in New York.” Dokoupil later in the actual segment said there was “tough talk” and “sharp attacks from both presidential candidates” before again contrasting the verbs with Trump “insult[ing]” Harris and Harris just “hit[ting] Trump[.]” Chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes fretted the Al Smith Dinner features a “gentl[e] roast,” but Trump’s “jokes were not that gentle.” Cordes went easy on Harris. Here was one example: “Harris did send in a video prerecorded a video with comedian Molly Shannon...and she did roasting of her own in Green Bay, mocking Trump’s new claim that he’s the father of IVF.” NBC’s Today had Sunday host Willie Geist at least start on a more gentle note by saying Harris was “going after Donald Trump” while “Trump [made] jokes at her expense.” Chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander said Trump “lobb[ed] insults at his rival” during the dinner since Harris sent “ in a prerecorded video alongside former SNL star Molly Shanahan, playing Catholic school girl Mary Katherine Gallagher.” Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker dropped by for analysis and claimed it’s Trump who’s focused on abortion and January 6 and framed Harris’s rhetoric about Trump as a danger to the country as a “sharpening” of “her lines of attack” (click “expand”): WELKER: Willie, look, voters have made it clear what they want to see in this election is a candidate who represents change and our latest poll really underscores that point. In September, Harris had a nine-point lead on representing change. That’s now down to a five-point lead. And remember, this week, Harris said to Fox News, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency. In talking to campaign officials overnight, they tell me they’re signaling at this point there won’t be a change in strategy. Still, some Democrats are hoping she’ll add a few more details about how her presidency will differ. For his part, Donald Trump is arguing that he will represent change. But allies of his that I speak with are concerned he hasn’t been focused on the issues that matter most to voters like the economy and immigration. They worry he’s been sidetracked by conspiracy theories, questions surrounding the last election, as well as an inconsistent messaging on abortion, which is, of course, Willie, going to be one of the key motivating factors in this election. One final note here, Willie, our new NBC News poll shows that 62 percent of voters believe the upcoming election makes a great deal of difference in their lives and in their family’s lives. So, it really gives you a sense people are looking at this seriously. GEIST: Yeah, a lot of energy behind this election. Kristen, many observers have noted Vice President Harris getting much tougher in her rhetoric, more direct in her criticism of Donald Trump. Clearly, that’s strategic. What is she aiming for there? WELKER: Well, it’s a great point. We are seeing Vice President Harris sharpening her lines of attack lately. Remember, she started out her campaign labeling Trump as weird, highlighted how she is going to bring joy back to the trail. Now she has shifted that, calling the former President unhinged and unstable. Harris campaign officials tell NBC News that describing him that way is an effective messaging tool to win over persuadable voters. As you saw in Peter’s piece, Trump is no stranger to darker rhetoric. He’s taken aim at the Vice President, trying to paint her at mentally incompetent, even questioning her race, which he did again overnight. But, Willie, with the country so deeply divided, the real question is will people turn away from what they see as more mudslinging or is this enough to get them energized to get out and vote. We’ll have to wait and see. To see the relevant transcripts from October 18, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).

Mainstream media are reporting great polling numbers for Donald Trump and Republicans — but unfortunately for the media, they can’t say the same for Kamala Harris and the Democrats. “The big headline, this a national head-to-head poll, is that Vice President Kamala Harris had a five-point lead in our last poll taken a month ago, right after the debate. That lead has all but evaporated,” Kristen Welker of “Meet the Press” said in a segment on NBC. The polls are now reflecting a tie, what Welker is calling a “deadlocked race.” “It underscores what we all know: that this is tight, that the country is sharply divided,” she explained, adding, “One of the other big headlines here, people are viewing the Trump presidency more favorably than the Biden presidency.” “We’ve seen the vice president get pressed repeatedly on what she would do differently than President Biden, and she’s really struggled with that answer,” Welker finished. Stu Burguiere of “Stu Does America” has his own idea as to why Kamala is beginning to fail. “I can’t help but think there’s some hollow feeling with the support of Harris,” he tells Jill Savage of “Blaze News Tonight.” “I don’t know that there’s a real passion for Kamala Harris. I think only there’s passion against Trump; that might be enough.” And it’s not just NBC that’s admitting Kamala’s failure in the polls but CNN as well. “It really points in a good direction for them and for Donald Trump,” one CNN pollster explained after showing the Republicans have a one-point lead over the Democrats. He received a “wow” in return from his colleague. “Look, it’s a one-point lead. The Democrats always lead the generic ballot, though. Always are ahead,” Stu says. Want more from 'Blaze News Tonight'?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Amazon announced a $500 million investment in projects in Virginia and Washington state to power its data centers.Through an agreement with Virginia utility company Dominion Energy, Amazon Web Services will develop small modular nuclear reactors near the energy company's existing North Anna nuclear station. The small reactors will be built with technology from X-energy, a company out of Maryland.The announcement comes less than a month after Amazon posted a job listing looking for a nuclear engineer to assist with this same type of technology. Amazon joins a long list of companies that are shifting toward SMRs in order to power their massive computing and data needs, pushing concerns from green activists to the side by sporting this newer "clean energy."These companies include Microsoft, which signed a 20-year, 835-megawatt deal with Constellation Energy, which will reactivate a reactor at the infamous Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.Data company Equinix signed its own 500-megawatt agreement with Oklo in April. Oklo also agreed to build a small modular reactor for data company Prometheus Hyperscale in May, providing 100 megawatts.As well, computer technology company Oracle announced in early September that it would be building a 1-gigawatt data center campus powered by three small modular reactors.Google also recently publicized an SMR purchase for its data center, with a target date of 2030 to bring the reactor online. 'We must bring clean, safe, and reliable electrons onto the grid.'At the same time, Amazon announced a deal with Energy Northwest out of Washington, which will own and operate the new nuclear reactors, adding energy to its own grid while powering Amazon's operations. Energy Northwest has the option to build more than 12 nuclear modules, with Amazon getting priority to buy electricity from the first four."Amazon and X-energy are poised to define the future of advanced nuclear energy in the commercial marketplace," said X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell, per CNBC. "To fully realize the opportunities available through artificial intelligence, we must bring clean, safe, and reliable electrons onto the grid with proven technologies that can scale and grow with demand."Amazon's plans include a whopping $35 billion investment in Virginia by 2040 for data centers across the state. Virginia is home to about half of all American data centers, establishing a region called Data Center Alley in Loudoun County.Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) recently said that SMRs will "play a critical role in positioning Virginia as a leading nuclear innovation hub.""Amazon Web Services' commitment to this technology and their partnership with Dominion is a significant step forward to meet the future power needs of a growing Virginia," Youngkin added.Overall, Amazon is developing a massive web of data center campuses and local power networks. In March, the company spent $650 million to acquire Talen Energy's campus next to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. There, Amazon will develop 15 data centers as part of a 1,600-acre rezoning projection.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Florida and its Department of State filed a lawsuit this week against the Biden-Harris administration, claiming it is hindering the state from removing noncitizens from its voter rolls.A copy of the lawsuit, obtained by Fox News Digital, notes, "Florida has an obligation to maintain accurate and current voter registration records," and the "federal government has an obligation to cooperate with the States in ensuring only citizens vote in their elections."'The Biden-Harris administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country, and we must ensure that only citizens are on our voter rolls.'However, according to the state, the Biden-Harris administration "is refusing to comply with these obligations and frustrating Florida's ability to maintain the integrity of its elections."The complaint added that Florida is incapable of tracking voters' citizenship status on its own and, therefore, requires the federal government's assistance, particularly from the Department of Homeland Security.To track immigration and citizenship status, the DHS, through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, established the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, an online verification service.According to the lawsuit, the online service should be available to states upon request. However, the suit claims that "the federal government refused to make the SAVE program available" to Florida, which aims to use it to protect election integrity.Following a 2012 lawsuit, the Florida Department of State and the DHS "entered into a memorandum of agreement … that allowed FDOS to access the SAVE program to verify citizenship and immigration status information for persons on Florida's voter registration rolls."However, in order to use the service to check on an individual's immigration status, Florida stated that it must already have the biographic data and a unique immigration identifier belonging to that person.The lawsuit claimed that the FDOS discovered "a number of individuals" who it had reason to believe may be noncitizens who are registered to vote. In an attempt to check on the individuals' citizenship status, the FDOS sent a letter to USCIS requesting verification because it lacks unique immigration identifiers to access the information through the SAVE program.According to Florida, the "USCIS denied FDOS's request for further information about the specific individuals in question and refused to offer any means of identifying immigration status beyond the SAVE program.""Florida has identified a subset of individuals for whom it cannot verify citizenship or immigration status through SAVE and for whom DHS refuses to verify citizenship or immigration status through other means," the lawsuit read.Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody told Fox News Digital, "Voting is a right granted to American citizens — not illegal immigrants or other noncitizens. The Biden-Harris administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country, and we must ensure that only citizens are on our voter rolls.""I am taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Mayorkas to ensure Florida is able to maintain the integrity of our state's voter rolls," Moody added.Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said, "Florida is calling on the federal government to dismantle the barriers blocking the states from obtaining critical information needed to prevent noncitizens from voting in our elections."A spokesperson for the DHS told Fox News Digital that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.The spokesperson added, "More broadly, USCIS has engaged with Florida and will continue to correspond with them directly through official channels. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers an online information service called SAVE that allows registered and authorized agencies, including election authorities in states, to verify certain individuals' citizenship or immigration status.""SAVE is the most secure and efficient way to verify an individual's citizenship or immigration status, including for verification regarding voter registration and/or voter list maintenance," the DHS spokesperson continued. "By inputting an individual's name, unique DHS-issued immigration identifier, and birthdate, registered agencies can determine whether that person has obtained U.S. citizenship through the naturalization process or, for certain other individuals born abroad, whether USCIS has information confirming their U.S. citizenship."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr. put out a new campaign ad Friday distancing himself from President Joe Biden, aligning himself with President Donald Trump, and altogether omitting any mention of Kamala Harris. While Casey, the son of former Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey Sr., might simply be attempting to draw moderate and independent supporters away from Trump-backed challenger David McCormick — the combat veteran MSNBC talking head Chuck Todd recently predicted would win — keen observers have suggested the ad is a telltale sign that Democrats know Pennsylvania is going for Trump. The ad features a couple who "just don't agree" on politics but found their way to agreeing that Casey is worth their time. The woman textually introduced as Marygrace of Old Forge claims that Casey is an "independent" who is "leading the effort to stop corporate greedflation and price gouging." 'You only run this ad if you think Trump is winning PA!' Marygrace notes further that "Casey bucked Biden to protect fracking and he sided with Trump to end NAFTA and put tariffs on China to stop them from cheating." Of course, Casey is anything but independent, voting in lockstep with his Democratic peers to unsuccessfully impeach Trump on multiple occasions; to protect sanctuary cities and the illegal aliens therein; to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act; against ending the national COVID-19 emergency; for greater gun control; and against the completion of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. Although he now complains about inflation, he previously joined his fellow Democrats in voting for Biden's Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. While Casey is seeking to distance himself from Biden, Casey had — as of last year — voted with the president 98.5% of the time while in the Senate. The "independent" claim might be a stumbling block for Americans who know Casey, but the ad's suggestion that Casey is aligned with Trump is all the more puzzling — especially in light of the Republican's characterization by the Harris campaign and Democratic boosters as dangerous and unstable. Unless, of course, Democrats' internal polling indicates that the situation on the ground is far worse than has been publicly admitted. According to Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight polling, Trump and Harris are nearly tied in the Keystone State, Trump with 47.7% and Harris with 47.9%. The Telegraph's latest Redfield and Wilton Strategies polls shows the two candidates are tied at 48% a piece. The Wall Street Journal noted last Friday that Trump actually had a narrow edge in Pennsylvania and that independent voters remain evenly divided. Across several swing states, including Pennsylvania, the Journal noted that the top two issues of concern were the economy and immigration, in that order. Trump leads Harris by 10% on the first and by 16% on the second. Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, wrote, "Quite a tell. Bob Casey is now promoting DJT in his ads." "Leftist Pennsylvania Senator @Bob_Casey is currently running a TV ad trying to tie himself to Trump," tweeted Donald Trump Jr. "Notice that he's not running any ads tying himself to Kamala Harris or mentioning that he votes with her 100% of the time. You only run this ad if you think Trump is winning PA!" Tim Murtaugh, the director of communications for Trump's 2020 campaign, noted, "Bob Casey thinks Donald Trump is going to win Pennsylvania. That's the only way to explain Casey's new ad, which ALIGNS HIM WITH TRUMP. He bucks Biden by name, and does not mention Kamala Harris at all. An endangered Dem is RUNNING AWAY FROM HARRIS AND WITH TRUMP. Just huge." The Trump campaign resisted Casey's desperate association with the president, writing, "Leftist scumbag Bob Casey — who supported BOTH impeachment hoaxes and votes with Kamala 100% of the time — is now desperately trying to embrace President Trump. Pennsylvanians know he's a shill for Kamala's deranged, radical left agenda — and always will be." Trump was the first Republican to win the state since 1988 and is said to have lost it in 2020 by 80,000 votes. The BBC highlighted that no Democrat has won the White House without taking the Keystone State since 1948. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter provided a prime example of how out of touch members of the mainstream media are by making comments about how great his quality of life is compared to that of most Americans.It started during Thursday's edition of "CNN Newsnight with Abby Phillip." CNN contributor Shermichael Singleton noted many Americans are fed up seeing so much money being spent overseas in multiple countries while things like infrastructure and school systems in the United States are deteriorating.Stelter characterized such criticisms as unamerican."I don't live in that country, by the way. America is not that horrible. ... I live in a normal city, in a normal town. I love New York, but my roads are not crumbling. My schools don't suck. I just get tired of the anti-America rhetoric," Stelter, 39, said. Stelter later wrote on X that Singleton had 'obviously' misrepresented his point."Well, maybe you're fortunate enough to put your kids in darn good schools ... but there are a lot of Americans in this country who aren't wealthy, who don't live in great cities, who do have to send their kids to terrible schools. That is a fact because of their zip codes," Singleton replied with emphasis. "And to sit here arrogantly and say, 'Well, my kids go to great schools. I live in a great neighborhood.' That's your experience!" — (@) Stelter later wrote on X that Singleton had "obviously" misrepresented his point.Stelter's comments are the latest clue that members of the media class often avoid the issues that everyday Americans face because they have the money to separate themselves from them. Martha Raddatz got a lot of heat for dismissing the growing threat of Tren de Aragua, the violent gang from Venezuela, because some members in Aurora, Colorado, had taken over only a "handful" of apartment complexes."Martha, do you hear yourself? Only a 'handful' of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris’ open border?!" GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance replied. "Americans are so fed up with what’s going on, and they have every right to be, and I really find this exchange, Martha, sort of interesting because you seem to be more focused with nitpicking everything that Donald Trump has said rather than acknowledging that apartment complexes in the United States of America are being taken over by violent gangs."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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