Democrats should brace for a shock four weeks from now—the possibility not just of a victory for former President Donald Trump but a win so big Trump even beats Vice President Kamala Harris in the popular vote. Trump doesn’t need to do that, of course: He can return to the White House just by winning enough battleground states. But if he does get more votes than Harris nationwide, it will prove he is more popular than ever and his message is even more powerful than it was when he overcame former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump’s path to this next upset runs through the House of Representatives. His chances of success in the popular vote are intimately linked to the GOP’s prospects of extending its House majority. Democrats only need a net gain of five seats to retake the House, yet there’s reason to think they won’t get that even if Harris wins the presidential race. After all, when President Joe Biden received more than 81 million votes four years ago, Democrats still lost 13 seats in Congress. Trump and the Republicans are almost two parties, allied but distinct, and not every Trump voter bothers to turn out for other Republicans when Trump isn’t on the ballot. That hurt Republicans in the last midterm elections, just as Trump’s presence helped the party in 2020, when polls seriously underestimated GOP turnout. But if congressional Republicans need Trump, now he knows he needs them too. He learned the indelible lesson at the end of his last term that a Democratic House will impeach him, regardless of whether it can get the Senate to convict him. This election is different from 2016, when Republicans felt safe in control of the House, or 2020, when they despaired of reclaiming it. This time a GOP majority’s survival is in the balance, and Trump is motivated to save it. That calls for measures that could win Trump the popular vote too. What Trump’s team learned from the 2022 midterms is that blue-state Republicans matter. New York, New Jersey and California might be out of reach in the presidential struggle, but they have closely contested House races that Republicans must win to control Congress. As of Oct. 4, the Cook Political Report listed six California congressional seats as competitive, five of them, all with Republican incumbents, as tossups. New York has five competitive congressional seats, three of them tossups for currently Republican-held seats. Painfully aware of the stakes, Trump aims to max out the blue-state GOP vote. That includes repudiating one of his own signature achievements: Trump now favors bringing back the federal deductions for state and local tax payments—the SALT deductions—he got rid of in his first term. In high-tax states like New York and California, abolishing SALT was deeply unpopular. Trump’s dash to the middle on abortion policy troubles social conservatives, but this evolution, too, may help him and other Republicans in more socially liberal blue states. Meanwhile, immigration, a divisive topic when Trump began talking about it years ago, is now an issue on which a broad majority of Americans agree—and they agree with him. A solid 59% of voters polled by Marist late last month expressed support for deporting all illegal immigrants. Typically immigration ranks second only to inflation among Americans’ top concerns—a powerful current for Trump to tap on Election Day. He vastly increased his base of support from 2016 to 2020, winning more than 74 million votes in his contest with Biden. And while Biden received more than that, in his second outing Trump not only improved on his previous total but blew past the nearly 66-million-vote mark Clinton set when she won the popular vote. If Harris draws Biden-like numbers, she’ll almost certainly win the popular vote, though she could still lose the swing states—and with them, the White House. But if Harris draws Clinton-like numbers, Trump has an excellent chance of winning not only the battleground states but the popular vote. National polls heading into the final weeks are almost tied—and Harris is running behind where Biden and Clinton stood at this point in their races, both in national polling and most surveys of the battleground states. Trump is still the underdog, but he’s doing better than in either of his previous races. Democrats should prepare for heartbreak. Republicans, for their part, should prepare to make this opportunity count. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post How Donald Trump Can Win the Popular Vote appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The name of the podcast says a lot. The “Call Her Daddy” podcast, hosted by Alex Cooper, is a favorite among millions of young women—specifically, Gen Z—with a host that makes a point of discussing sex, especially if those issues are “consider[ed] taboo.” The podcast’s name reflects “female empowerment,” and apparently originates from a conversation in which former co-host Sofia Franklyn suggested women should be seen as powerful by calling them “daddy” instead of men. Nearly half the audience identifies as Democrat, and some have called the show “X-rated.” It’s on this intellectually heady podcast (*cough*) that Vice President Kamala Harris decided to make a recent appearance while Hurricane Helene relief efforts labored on. And when she did, Harris repeated a few whoppers on abortion that the Left is no doubt hoping will motivate voters in the hotly contested 2024 presidential election. Specifically, Harris went back to two tired tropes: 1) Abortion restrictions are resulting in the deaths of women across the country. 2) No babies are being left to die after surviving abortion. Respectfully, Madam Vice President, both of those representations are false. The Death of Amber Thurman Thurman sought an abortion shortly after Georgia’s abortion ban went into effect. Georgia’s LIFE Act took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022 in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, and banned abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected—generally, around six weeks of pregnancy. While a state trial court judge struck down the abortion ban Sept. 30, finding that privacy rights under Georgia’s state constitution included the right to make personal health care decisions, that decision was subsequently stayed by the Georgia Supreme Court, which allowed the law to remain in effect in the Peach State for the time being. No matter how much you hate the legacy media it's not enough: they say 2 GA women died from lack of abortion access. The reality? Both had incomplete abortions from the pill that the FDA deregulated. 1 died of sepsis, the other OD'd on fentanyl.Full story in 1st reply??— Sarah Parshall Perry (@SarahPPerry) September 19, 2024 Thurman traveled out of state to obtain the abortion pill mifepristone in North Carolina, before returning to her home state of Georgia to take the pill and begin the abortion process. In the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Harris said: And because the other state had been so overwhelmed by all these women coming from all these southern states who couldn’t get treatment in their own state. Her, [Thurman] the window for her appointment had closed. So instead of having a surgical procedure, she had medication and basically went back home and then had some complications and went to the hospital because she was bleeding. And they delayed 20 hours before they treated her because here’s the thing that’s so messed up about this. Some of these people will say, whoa, but I do believe in exceptions. From that relatively nonsensical representation, it seems that Harris was saying that Thurman 1) couldn’t get an appointment on time, and 2) treatment for complications related to her medication abortion was delayed 20 hours after arriving at the hospital. But here’s the rest of the story.   The Biden-Harris administration deregulated the abortion pill mifepristone in 2021, ostensibly due to the COVID pandemic, making the pill easier to get, more dangerous, and less predictable in its use. Among its changes, the federal government eliminated the requirement of an in-person doctor’s visit to secure the pill, expanded use of the pill from seven to 10 weeks’ gestation, and allowed women to obtain the pills by mail. For a drug with known, serious potential side effects (including incomplete abortions, severe bleeding, failed abortions, and infection), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory determinations made a dangerous pill even more dangerous. In fact, the FDA’s own warning label on mifepristone states that complications from using the pill can reach a frequency of between 2.9% and 4.6%. In 2023 alone, that represents nearly 20,000 emergency room visits for medication abortion patients. Although Thurman had legally obtained abortion pills in North Carolina to end the lives of her unborn twins, without an ultrasound (something required by the FDA only a few years prior), she couldn’t possibly know she was pregnant with twins, or what the foreseeable complications might be. After taking the pill, Thurman became sick. Unable to abort the twins, and with their remains still in her uterus, sepsis set in. Thurman went to the hospital where doctors monitored her condition and hospitalized her but gave her antibiotics hours far later than she should have had received them. What’s more, the hospital made her wait 20 hours before performing a dilation and curettage (also known as a D&C) to remove the remaining parts of her unborn twins after the incomplete abortion. The American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs said in reaction to the case that “any first-year resident could make” the diagnosis that this was an infection due to an incomplete abortion, the standard of care for which is immediate antibiotics and a dilation and curettage, also known as a D&C.  Every state in the country requires doctors to treat women before, during, or after an abortion in any way necessary to save their lives. And an ultrasound performed immediately upon Thurman’s arrival at the hospital showed no fetal heartbeat. There ought to have been absolutely no question that this was not an abortion of living twins, but rather removal of fetal remains after a failed medication abortion—something absolutely critical to save Thurman’s life. “Amber Thurman’s state of Georgia clearly allows physicians to intervene in medical emergencies or when there is no detectable fetal heartbeat, both of which applied to her,” Dr. Christina Francis, AAPLOG chief executive, said in a statement. “Don’t be misled by those who advocate for induced abortion over the health and safety of women.” Thurman’s death was horrific, tragic, and unnecessary, but it was entirely preventable with appropriate medical care administered by even the most novice doctor. And it was directly traceable to the FDA’s determinations to make the abortion pill more accessible—and subsequently, more dangerous. Babies Left to Die In the “Call Her Daddy” interview, Harris was asked to “clarify” whether some states are “executing babies after birth.” She responded: That is not happening anywhere in the United States. It is not happening, and it’s a lie. Just, it’s a bold-faced lie that he is suggesting that. … Can you imagine? Can you imagine? He is suggesting that women in their ninth month of pregnancy are electing to have an abortion. Are you kidding? That is so outrageously inaccurate, and it’s so insulting to suggest that that would be happening and that women would be doing that. It’s not happening anywhere. This is a strange refutation coming from Harris, considering the fact that her current vice-presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, repealed the law in his home state that once required life-saving care be delivered to infants that survive abortion. After that law’s repeal, five babies were left to die on surgical tables in the state of Minnesota. The ABC moderator decided to inject herself into the debate. HERE is a fact check on babies left to die after surviving abortion in Tim Walz's Minnesota:https://t.co/mpFMhmH11H pic.twitter.com/dQdt15vT1E— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) September 11, 2024 And as for the “no abortions in the ninth month” trope, state by state statistics, and data from the pro-abortion Guttmacher institute refute that claim. Not only are third trimester abortions happening in America right now (well past the point of fetal viability), and not only do eight states and the District of Columbia permit abortion on demand for any reason and any time up until birth, but in one year, in the state of Colorado alone, 137 third-trimester abortions were recorded. In the District of Columbia, a local clinic offers abortions up to nearly 32 weeks; in nearby Bethesda, Maryland, another clinic performs abortions up to 35 weeks’ gestation. So yes, what Harris says isn’t happening, is indeed, happening. For a podcast host—and a vice president—who pride themselves on messages of “female empowerment,” both women ought to know that the strongest women always tell the truth. Heritage is listed for identification purposes only. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect any institutional position for Heritage or its Board of Trustees. The post Gross (Lies): Harris Stretches the Truth on ‘Call Her Daddy’ Podcast appeared first on The Daily Signal.

White House Does Its Best to Make Kamala Harris Part of the Hurricane News Cycle

People Are Missing This Basic Fact When Talking About the Polls

ABC’s The View continued to spew their stochastic terrorism during Wednesday’s show as co-host Joy Behar, without evidence, accused former President Trump and Senators Lindsey Graham (SC) and Marco Rubio (FL) of treason, a crime which carried the death penalty. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg followed up by demanding they and Republicans leave the country to live under a dictatorship. Their comments were spurred on by unverified claims made by former journalist and author Bob Woodward, who claimed in a new book that Trump sent COVID tests to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Behar seemed to hold up the Kremlin as a credible source as she declared Trump guilty of treason: And by the way, the Kremlin has confirmed that he sent the COVID tests to the Kremlin when Americans were in need of the COVID tests. Now, that is – I believe – that is the definition of a traitor. Am I wrong? A short time later, she suggested that Graham and Rubio could also be guilty of treason because they support Trump for president: BEHAR: By the way, does this make Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio at least step up to the plate and say maybe we're dealing with a traitor and maybe that makes us traitors? (…) BEHAR: I mean, they have not said a word.     She also lied about Trump not sending aid to blue states during the COVID pandemic. Despite the fact that he had funneled ventilators and a U.S. Navy hospital to New York City (while then-Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo was busy putting COVID patients into nursing homes), Behar denied any of that happened: The thing about this is that during the COVID pandemic, the blue states didn't support him, so he didn't want to send the tests to the blue states, Trump. And he'll do that again, by the way. Cause he’s – He's already signaled that, you know, he's not going to help the blue states in case there is a hurricane or something. If you didn't vote for him, he’s not going to help you because he's only the president of the red states who voted for him. Faux conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin, who used to work for Trump, didn’t want to share the truth. Instead, she gave the credit for blue state aid to her personal friend Dr. Fauci: And by the way, one of the reasons who’s around a present matters is because supplies during COVID did get to blue states because of people like Dr. Fauci and Deborah Birx and people within the government who said you have to help New York as much as you have to, you know, a red state like Ohio. As they approached the end of the segment, Goldberg lashed out and seemingly demanded that all named previously and The View’s critics should leave the country. “I say, because y'all always saying for us to go, you go find somewhere, no, I'm going to invite you to do the same. You go and you live under a dictatorship because I want you to be able to come back and talk about it like you know something, not what you think, but what you know-know,” she screeched. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View October 9, 2024 11:04:37 a.m. Eastern (…) JOY BEHAR: The thing about this is that during the COVID pandemic, the blue states didn't support him, so he didn't want to send the tests to the blue states, Trump. SUNNY HOSTIN: Yeah. BEHAR: And he'll do that again, by the way. Cause he’s – He's already signaled that, you know, he's not going to help the blue states in case there is a hurricane or something. If you didn't vote for him, he’s not going to help you because he's only the president of the red states who voted for him. And by the way, the Kremlin has confirmed that he sent the COVID tests to the Kremlin when Americans were in need of the COVID tests. Now, that is – I believe – that is the definition of a traitor. Am I wrong? HOSTIN: No. ALYSSA FARH GRIFFIN: And by the way, one of the reasons who’s around a present matters is because supplies during COVID did get to blue states because of people like Dr. Fauci and Deborah Birx and people within the government who said you have to help New York as much as you have to, you know, a red state like Ohio. (…) 11:08:52 a.m. Eastern BEHAR: He wants Trump to win, that's why. That’s why a lot of stuff you see online is coming from Russia. By the way, does this make Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio at least step up to the plate and say maybe we're dealing with a traitor and maybe that makes us traitors? WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Clearly not. SARA HAINES: No. BEHAR: I mean, they have not said a word. (…) 11:10:09 a.m. Eastern GOLDBERG: So, yeah, you know, I feel like if you want -- if you really feel that strongly about staying in touch with, you know, dictators, try living in a country with one. I say, because y'all always saying for us to go, you go find somewhere, no, I'm going to invite you to do the same. You go and you live under a dictatorship because I want you to be able to come back and talk about it like you know something, not what you think, but what you know-know. I want you to tell us what -- come back and tell us what that two-year experience has been like and then let us decide if we want to join it. (…)

Turns out, Kamala's "New Way Forward" is actually just the same old, same old.  During her love-in of an appearance on The View yesterday, Kamala Harris was gingerly asked the most obvious possible question: would she have done anything differently from President Biden during the past four years? After a deer-in-the-headlights pause, Harris stammered out: "Uh, uh, there is not a thing that comes to mind." As Mark Halperin has put it [YouTube at 6:45]: "She reacted to that obviously expected question as if she was woken up in the middle of the night, and someone said, what is the air temperature on Mars?" On today's CNN This Morning, even host Kasie Hunt had to admit:  "I was a little bit surprised she didn't have a more specific answer to that question, because it does seem like it's something we're seeing in polls; that people seem to say that they want to know a little bit more about it." Republican strategist Kristen Soltis Anderson agreed, saying that Kamala could easily have pivoted to some of her new policy proposals, such as her homebuyer tax credit. Soltis Anderson predicted that, given the way Harris has been sheltered, "I don't think this will be the only stumble we see before election day." And when the inevitable happens, NewsBusters will be there to catch Kamala's next stumble! And Kamala, we're here to help. Just in case you're ever hit with Halperin's question, the average surface temperature on Mars is -85F.   Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 10/9/24 6:14 am EDT SUNNY HOSTIN: If anything, would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years? KAMALA HARRIS: Uh, uh, there has is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of -- and I've been a part of, of, of most of the decisions that have had impact. KASIE HUNT: Vice President Kamala Harris, trying to thread a needle, portraying herself as a candidate who can deliver the change that voters want, while still remaining loyal to the president she serves alongside. Her comments on The View Tuesday, sparking this response from Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance. JD VANCE: Kamala Harris's economic policy -- you heard her say it on The View -- it's to do exactly what Joe Biden did. And it's going to lead to the exact same place: higher inflation, fewer Americans with good jobs, and a manufacturing sector that we're shipping to China instead of building right here, in the great City of Detroit.  HUNT: All right, panel's here. Zolan Kanno-Youngs, White House correspondent for the New York Times. Kendra Barkoff, former press secretary to Joe Biden, and Republican strategist and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson. Welcome to all of you. Thank you so much for being here. Kristen, I want to start with you on Kamala Harris here, because I was a little bit surprised she didn't have any more specific answer to that question. Because it it does seem like it's something we're seeing in polls, that people seem to say that they want to know a little bit more about her. What did you make of it? KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON: I agree with you that I was surprised she didn't have a better answer, because it's an obvious question. It is one of the central questions of this campaign right now. If voters are frustrated with the status quo, what would be different?  And it's also a little baffling because she does have a good answer. You could very easily say, look, I don't want to be in the business of bashing the guy with whom I've served for the last four years. But clearly there are some things I'd do differently, because I've proposed some policies that would be knew under my administration. And she could immediately pivot to things like homebuyer tax credit, and so on and so forth. HUNT: She does have a list. SOLTIS ANDERSON: She does have some things, and so it is just wild to me that she wasn't more prepared. And this really speaks to the peril of having been, I think, kind of sheltered in the campaign for the last couple of weeks, and now suddenly doing this big media blitz. Is, you're going to see a little -- I don't think this will be the only stumble we see before election day.

Americans are already furious with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for showing up a week late to “help” the victims of Hurricane Helene and for offering a pathetic $750 to citizens affected by the storm when the organization has given far more to illegal immigrants. And they’re about to be even more furious when they find out that FEMA thinks LGBTQIA+ people should be prioritized above Americans outside the rainbow community. Dave Rubin plays the clip of five FEMA agents discussing how natural disasters “mostly affect LGBTQIA people” and how the organization “should focus [its] efforts there.” “LGBTQIA people and people who have been disadvantaged already are struggling – they already have their own things to deal with, so you add a disaster on top of that, it's just compounding on itself,” one flamboyant agent said with his hand placed over his heart. “It isn't being talked about; it isn’t socialized. We're not paying attention to this community,” he continued. Another agent called Maggie then added, “What we're seeing right now is a shift in emergency management from utilitarian principles, where everything is designed for the greatest good for the greatest amount of people, to disaster equity.” “We have to look at policies and understand to what extent they have disadvantaged communities that had less assets, communities that had pre-existing vulnerabilities in accessing disaster-related recovery supports,” she continued. Dave is quite literally disgusted. While the video doesn’t relate to Hurricane Helene specifically, as it was a training video recorded roughly a year ago, it nonetheless sheds light on how “profoundly insane” and “anti-American” FEMA is. Dave condemns “the idea that federal assistance during a disaster would be given based on your sexuality” as “completely psychotic.” “Our LGBTQI two-spirit weirdo brothers and sisters – they're already struggling, so let the straight people drown because that would be equity because they've had it too good,” he mocks. To see the resurfaced footage of the FEMA meeting, watch the clip above. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

An armed 17-year-old is in "grave condition" after police said he pulled a gun on a man sitting in his vehicle early Tuesday morning in the Baltimore neighborhood of Canton, WBAL-TV reported. The would-be carjacking victim and the teen exchanged gunfire outside a car wash off South Haven Street, police told the station.'I mean, it's always shocking, but it seems as though this is a consistent pattern with what's been happening lately with carjackings in the district. Carjackings are up.'Police told WBAL the 31-year-old victim flagged down an officer around 2 a.m. on Boston Street saying he'd been shot. Police said investigators believe the victim was shot five minutes away on South Haven Street, where he was sitting in his car before the teen walked up to him armed with a gun, the station said. Police said the victim grabbed his licensed handgun, and he and the teen exchanged gunfire, after which the teen was unresponsive, WBAL reported, adding that police haven't said whether the teen acted alone.Medics took the man to a hospital for treatment, according to WBAL's news radio station.Around 2:20 a.m., police were called to the South Haven Street location and discovered an unidentified male — later confirmed to be the 17-year-old — suffering from severe gunshot wounds, the news radio station said.Emergency medical personnel were dispatched, and the teen was taken to a hospital in critical condition, the news radio station added.Those with information about the incident can call police at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7LOCKUP, WBAL said."I mean, it's always shocking, but it seems as though this is a consistent pattern with what's been happening lately with carjackings in the district. Carjackings are up," Arch McKown — vice president of Baltimore Police Department Southwest District Community Relations Council, a liaison between his neighbors and police — told WBAL.City police data shows carjackings have increased 1,000% since this time last year — from just one reported in the Southeastern District in 2023 to 11 in the same time span this year, WBAL said.In August, a 16-year-old female driver was shot during an attempted carjacking, Baltimore police told WBAL. Police said the girl and two of her friends were seated in the parked car in the 5100 block of Levindale Road around 7:20 p.m. Aug. 3 when a masked assailant approached them, flashed a gun, and "demanded the occupants get out of the car," the station said. Police told WBAL that the girl immediately reversed the vehicle and was trying to drive away when the assailant shot into the car, striking the teen. Police said she was taken to a hospital, the station said. - YouTube youtu.be Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Radio host Howard Stern stated Tuesday that "there's too much at stake" with the upcoming election for the sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live" to make fun of Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris.As part of Harris' continued media blitz this week, she sat down with Stern, who was tripping over himself to express his fervent endorsement of her candidacy.'You've got to win, you just have to.'Stern admitted that he was "really nervous" because he wanted the election to "go well" for Harris. "Even when I watch them on 'Saturday Night Live,' where they have Maya Rudolph playing you, I hate it," Stern told Harris. "I don't want you being made fun of. There's too much at stake. I believe the entire future of this country right now — I mean, as America, land of the free, home of the brave — I think it's literally on the line," he added."I agree with you," Harris responded.When asked how she felt about Rudolph's impression of her, Harris told Stern that she is "a huge fan" and thought "it was funny.""I think she put a lot of time into doing the piece and the character," Harris said.During an interview on "The View" this week, Harris was shown a clip of Rudolph's impression of her. She responded to the video by stating, "Maya Rudolph, she's so good, she had the whole thing, the suit, the jewelry, the mannerisms."Harris told Stern that her opponent, Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump, has a "desire to be a dictator."She continued, "He says he's going to be a dictator on day one. Understand what dictators do. They jail journalists. They put people who are protesting in the street in jail," both of which the Biden-Harris administration has done.Stern told Harris, "With all this pressure on you right now, and you've got to win, you just have to.""I really believe we're in for the darkest skies on the planet. Like, the sun's literally going to go out. God bless you for doing this," he added.The friendly interview was ridiculed by New York Times columnist Michelle Cottle, who likened the talk to Harris spending an "hour in the warm embrace" of Stern. Cottle accused the radio host of being "a little too openly butt-smoochy.""Who could resist the opportunity to outsource some Trump bashing to a professional trash-talker like Stern, who famously disdains the MAGA king?" Cottle questioned.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A lawsuit against Deadspin will proceed after a judge found that the news outlet could be liable for defamation against a 9-year-old boy accused of racism over his Kansas City Chiefs costume.In Nov. 2023, Deadspin writer Carron Phillips scolded a child for appearing at a game between the Raiders and the Chiefs with a Native American headdress and face paint. Phillips faced immediate online backlash after some realized that he had used a photo of only one side of the child's face to make it appear as if it was blackface. 'In its description of the child, [Deadspin] crossed the fine line protecting its speech from defamation claims.' The family of the boy demanded that the publication retract the article and said that they had received furious vitriol, including some death threats. In their defense, the family pointed out their Chumash tribe lineage. When Deadspin merely edited the article and neglected to formally apologize, the family decided to file a lawsuit. The publication argued in court that it was not liable for defamation because the article was based on opinion, but Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg disagreed and ruled that the lawsuit could proceed. “Deadspin published an image of a child displaying his passionate fandom as a backdrop for its critique of the NFL’s diversity efforts and, in its description of the child, crossed the fine line protecting its speech from defamation claims,” Lugg wrote. He went to cite specific claims in the article that the child was taught to hate by his parents and that he wore the paint to insult Native Americans and blacks as "provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable." Since the original article published, Deadspin was sold and the entire staff was laid off. “Deadspin and Carron Phillips have never shown a morsel of remorse for using a 9-year-old boy as their political football,” read an email statement from Elizabeth Locke, an attorney for the family. “The Armenta family is looking forward to taking depositions and presenting this case to a jury at trial.”The boy would not be allowed to wear his costume at the Kansas City Chiefs stadium because the organization has banned headdresses since 2020. In February, he attended the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers in his headdress and face paint but not with one side painted black. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!