Despite President Trump’s assertion that most white supremacists are “fine people” and that the real threat to the American way of life comes from Black Lives Matter and the largely invented perception of ANTIFA, actual experts in threats American security pretty much agree that angry white people pose the biggest danger.
In drafts of a new report first published by Politico called “State of the Homeland Threat Assessment 2020,” the Department of Homeland Security names white supremacist extremists, like those turning up at recent protests to assist the police in killing people, rank above foreign election interference and other cyber threats in danger:
“Lone offenders and small cells of individuals motivated by a diverse array of social, ideological, and personal factors will pose the primary terrorist threat to the United States,” a draft of the report reads. “Among these groups, we assess that white supremacist extremists – who increasingly are networking with likeminded persons abroad – will pose the most persistent and lethal threat.”
However, in later drafts of the report, the words “white supremacist extremists” have been changed to “domestic violent extremists.” The change could be a result of the fact that the Trump administration routinely refuses to denounce white supremacy and has in the past resisted efforts by the DHS to make combating domestic terror from white supremacist groups a greater priority. According to the report, 2019 “was the most deadly year for domestic violent extremists since the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995.” Wonder what could be emboldening them? [Politico]
Despite having upwards of $1 billion to play with, Trump’s re-election campaign seems to have frittered away most of its cash, begging for even more money and a whole lot of legal fees, according to the New York Times:
“[M]ore than $350 million — almost half of the $800 million spent — went to fund-raising operations, as no expense was spared in finding new donors online. The campaign assembled a big and well-paid staff and housed the team at a cavernous, well-appointed office in the Virginia suburbs; outsize legal bills were treated as campaign costs; and more than $100 million was spent on a television advertising blitz before the party convention, the point when most of the electorate historically begins to pay close attention to the race.”
One of the biggest wastes of money, according to the report, were the Super Bowl ads Trump bought back in February as part of a dick-measuring contest between himself and his old New York rival Michael Bloomberg, who also bought an ad for his own presidential bid I had completely forgotten about until just now.
Now, having spent $800 million of other people’s money with two critical months to go before the election, Donald Trump is considering spending $100 million of his own money to fund the last leg of his campaign, while at the same time, oxymoronically claiming that he does not need to:
“If I have to, I would,” the president told reporters on Tuesday. “But we don’t have to.” He would go on to clarify via Twitter that his campaign would have a lot more money if they hadn’t spent so much on propaganda to cover up his administration’s ineptitude in allowing coronavirus to kill nearly 200,000 constituents. [New York Times, Bloomberg]
- Alleged Trump stooge Louis Dejoy is being investigated for his alleged stoogery. [Washington Post]
- Speaking, once again, of Donald Trump, the president is also going around accusing military leaders of being war profiteers, which would get him kicked out of Thanksgiving with most of his voter base but is somehow fine when the commander-in-chief of the armed forces yells it. [MSNBC]
- Some of those people the DHS warned us about have formed a mob in Portland. [Washington Post]
- Ted Cruz is pissy that the stars of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride got political, and I’ve got some additional bad news for Ted about Goldman’s other big hit movie.
- Bill Clinton’s a podcast bro now, which feels both terrible and correct. [The Hill]
- Florida is torn between two men, as is her wont. [MSNBC]
- In the wake of Daniel Prude’s death by asphyxiation and subsequent protests, the entire Rochester police department—including its chief—has resigned. [AP]
- Kayleigh McEnany DID NOT say Obama promised to cure covid. She simply said Joe Biden did not cure the swine flu. [The Hill]