Trump Spokesperson Katrina Pierson on the Media

Senator Joni Ernst Disengages from Trump Veep-Stakes

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump spent some of the Fourth of July with freshman Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA).  Many have speculated that the visit was an overture to have the former Army Reserve Lt. Col. turned politician to join him on the GOP ticket

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But Senator Ernst sought to shoot down speculation about the Veep-Stakes by emphasizing how she is best positioned to help a prospective President Trump in the Senate.




Senator John Corker (R-TN) also moved to disengage from consideration as Donald Trump's running mate. This was news to Trump Spokesman Katrina Pierson on CNN.  But true to the Trump campaign's animus, they denied the veracity of the Washington Post piece about Corker's withdrawal, even though the originating source was...Senator Bob Corker. 

Ted Cruz on Donald Trump's Injudicious Jibes on a Sitting Judge

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump is involved in a civil case of fraud concerning the so called Trump University. The trial will be heard under Judge Gonzalo Curiel in Federal District Court November 2016. 

As Trump was poised to begin his general election campaign, Trump kept bringing up this pending litigation, citing that Judge Curiel was MEXICAN (despite the inconvenient truth that the judge was born in INDIANA and had a history as a federal prosecutor of going after the Mexican drug cartels). 

In a follow-interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on State of the Nation, Trump continually claimed that Curiel was Mexican and could not be impartial because Trump claims that he want to build a wall to prevent illegal immigration.

Trump subsequently questioned whether a Muslim judge could hear matters about "The Donald". As this judicial bias controversy was roiling, Trump Spokeswoman Katrina Pierson also implied that women judges may be biased too

Thus Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) was among the first Republican to note the inappropriateness of Trump's judicial jibes.

Well, if Trump feels that Judge Curiel is not impartial, then why not make a legal motion for the Judge to recuse.  For that matter, why did Trump's legal staff (since he always hires the best) allow Curiel to be transferred to the case in the first place.

Normally, when there is a motion for a judge to be withdrawn, there must be concrete proof of bias. To the public, Trump just smears the judge as being "Mexican" (which is incorrect).  If Trump's attorney file a motion on such racial grounds, there is standing case law that will immediately be rejected and the attorneys may be sanctioned.

But the Paralepsis Politician may calculate that it is better to smear in the court of public opinion, in which judicial ethics restrain Judge Curiel from directly defending himself.  Trump does have a history of filing specious libel suits, which have little legal merit but sufficiently sully the target.  

Trump certainly used the same strategy in besmirching the reputation of Senator Cruz regarding his eligibility to run for President in 2016.  Trump kept repeating that Cruz was not a natural born citizen, hence was ineligible to become President  Even though Trump was one of the few individuals who had standing to successfully file the case, Trump was content to impugn Cruz in the court of public opinion without doing anything of legal consequence.  Once Trump had eliminated Cruz as being a threat, all the vitriol was considered inconsequential.

No wonder Senator Cruz was not willing to carry Trump's water on this judicial jibe which was replete with racism. 

On Campaigns Circulating Sleaze

During the Easter weekend, there was sturm und drang over a racy National Enquirer hit piece on Republican Presidential hopeful Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) which alleged that he had five mistresses.  This was a curious charge as Cruz detractors had previously pushed perspectives that Cruz was an earnest evangelical political geek with no game.  Now we are to believe that Cruz was the ultimate player, juggling call girls, co-workers and teachers. Right (sarc).

If one looks more closely at the tabloid sensationalism on Cruz, there are some telltale signs of a political hit piece. The National Enquirer could not get any of the accusers to publicly step forward. However, the graphics showed five women with eyes blocked out.  One of the alleged victims outed by the National Enquirer was Katrina Pierson, the Trump national campaign spokesman.  Curiouser and curiouser.

Katrina Pierson did  work on Cruz' 2012 Senate campaign.  But Pierson developed a reputation of being an erratic spotlight seeker who had a grudge that the Texas Senator would not endorse Pierson in her bid to unseat Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX 32nd) in the 2014 primaries. Kind of convenient for an anti-Cruz activist to sidle herself with Trump and be exploited in an adulterous allegation.

Another supposed victim of Cruz's infidelity "cruising" based on National Enquirer photos is Amanda Carpenter, Cruz's former Senate Press Secretary and political pundit who supports Ted Cruz. There have been loads of libelous innuendo and accusations launched against Carpenter.  Carpenter eviscerated an on camera ambush by Trump surrogate Adriana Cohen on CNN. But that has not stopped Trump trolls on social media from smearing Carpenter.  It must be another isolated incident of spurious slut shaming by Trump types.

A third mythical mistress of Cruz was said to have ties to Carly Fionina's campaign and previously worked for Mitt Romney.  This allowed Trump-eteers to claim that Fiorina was bought off in a "sweetheart deal" and Fiorina's support was tainted. 

While Trump claims that he did not start this rumor but it was "little" Marco Rubio's henchmen, that isn't the whole story.  It's true that this Cruz affair allegation had been shopped to the media for months, no one bit because it was preposterous. Yet when Trump started sagging in the polls, Trump's good buddy National Enquirer CEO David Pecker, decided to push the piece.  Hence the Twitter hashtag #TrumpLovesPecker which went viral on Good Friday.

[L] GOP Presidential Hopeful Donald Trump [R] National Enquirer CEO David Pecker 

Trump tried his modus operendi of being the paralepsis politician who brings up scandal allegations by others and hopes that they are not true, while simultaneously spotlighting the smear.  This time, the lamestream media, who have been pandering to the Trump chaos circus for huge ratings and picking a weak GOP nominee, isn't playing along like normal.  Meet the Press host Chuck Todd noted that Trump seemed more likely to have planted the story than any truth to the charge on Cruz.

What is really curious that Trump types seize upon infidelity allegations against Cruz when their dear leader has bragged about his many affairs with married women as well as his misogynistic musings. 

Some Trump supporters  have bragged about how Trump will redefine culture.  This is manifest in championing political incorrectness and political pugnaciousness. But the attempted troll party takeover of the GOP seems to be more than just about anger and animus against progressivism. There are overtones of the politics of personal destruction and intimidation against opponents. Celebrating campaigns circulating sleeze is seeking power without principle and it epitomizes much of what is objectionable about Trump's campaign.

Hot Tempered Hustings

During the Miami Republican Presidential Debate, Donald Trump was asked about violence associated with some of his campaign appearances.  Trump deflected any responsibility for rowdiness at rallies. However, Trump seemed to justify supporters "swinging back" at political protesters at his events.

These assertions come at the heels of an assault alleged by Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields by Trump spokesman Corey Lewendowski.   Breitbart News corporately refused to stand by their conservative reporter concerning the Trump spokesman incident.  And Trump social media warriors sought to savage the credibility of Fields. But CSPAN videotape documents Lewindowski's thuggery. 

The Breitbart News' lackluster support of Fields prompted Breitbart News spokesman Kurt Bardela to resign.   Bardella blames an ugly cycle of behavior which seems to follow the Trump campaign and Breitbart News seems to minimize. It should be noted that some Breitbart News staffers think that an infusion of cash during the summer of 2015 might pay for favorable coverage of the Trump campaign.

Another Trump rally in North Carolina was infamous for a Trump supporter sucker punching a protester as he was being escorted from the venue.

 

The 78 year old assailant later was quoted as saying: "The next time we see him, we might have to kill him. We don't know who he is, he might be with a terrorist organization." He has been charged and given a $25,000 bond.

A Trump rally at the University of Illinois- Chicago had to be cancelled for security reasons because of a riotous atmosphere. As is typical in campaigns, Trump issued far too many tickets, leaving a bunch of supporters out on the streets.  There were protesters outside the venue. But a number of Black Lives Matter activists and Bernie Sanders partisans agitated inside the event causing chaos.

Although Trump did not get the optics of a mass rally in the Windy City, Fox News Channel gave Trump a friendly twenty minute phone interview while airing the chaos on the streets and the hall. Trump claimed that everyone was angry about no jobs, despite indications that protesters were socialists and social justice agitators.

Much to Trump's credit, he spoke in calming tones and did not further insult the opposition. But Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson followed by claiming these were examples of Alinsky-like tactics and giving justification to push back on organized chaos.

 While Trump should not be held accountable for the actions of every crazy supporter, he sets the tone for the campaign.  New Trump surrogate Dr. Ben Carson vexed that it might be a long hot summer. As seems that such anarchy and unrest only seems to be attaching to Trump's campaign, these hot tempered hustings and mixed messages may eventually boil over into violence, which  sullies the  American political hot stove. 

Trump PR Flack Bombs Out at Nuclear Triad Retort

Katrina Pierson's response to Bill O'Reilly's follow-up about Donald Trump's stumble at the Las Vegas GOP Debate was huuuuuge. Perhaps Ms. Pierson was unaware of M.A,D,, mutual assured destruction.  Hence the need to have three different means to deliver nuclear armageddon so our opponents would never deign to use them on us.  Wow.

And I thought that Trump's original answer on the nuclear triad was unsettling.   It underscores trepidations of a troll party takeover of the GOP.