There is a “Republican shadow campaign for 2020” already in the works.That’s the news from today on how people in President Trump‘s own party are operating “as if the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue weren’t involved.”Trump’s already running for reelection––holding campaign rallies and seeking donations––but many in the party have been quietly prepping:But in interviews with more than 75 Republicans at every level of the party, elected officials, donors and strategists expressed widespread uncertainty about whether Mr. Trump would be on the ballot in 2020 and little doubt that...…There is a “Republican shadow campaign for 2020” already in the works.That’s the news from today on how people in President Trump‘s own party are operating “as if the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue weren’t involved.”Trump’s already running for reelection––holding campaign rallies and seeking donations––but many in the party have been quietly prepping:But in interviews with more than 75 Republicans at every level of the party, elected officials, donors and strategists expressed widespread uncertainty about whether Mr. Trump would be on the ballot in 2020 and little doubt that...WW…

OpinionSlaven Vlasic/Getty ImagesEditor’s Note: After Matt Lauer submitted this piece, a response to Ronan Farrow’s book Catch and Kill, Mediaite editors independently fact checked the accounts of the four witnesses/subjects Lauer spoke with and cites in this piece. All confirmed in early February that Lauer’s account of their conversations was accurate.As with all Mediaite opinion pieces, the views expressed in this article are those of the author. A note of context:I had originally intended to release this piece in November of 2019, but personal considerations at that time, and later...…OpinionSlaven Vlasic/Getty ImagesEditor’s Note: After Matt Lauer submitted this piece, a response to Ronan Farrow’s book Catch and Kill, Mediaite editors independently fact checked the accounts of the four witnesses/subjects Lauer spoke with and cites in this piece. All confirmed in early February that Lauer’s account of their conversations was accurate.As with all Mediaite opinion pieces, the views expressed in this article are those of the author. A note of context:I had originally intended to release this piece in November of 2019, but personal considerations at that time, and later...WW…

videoWhite House National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow stood by his recent comments dismissing the idea of “systemic racism” in the United States, at one point bringing up the election and reelection of Barack Obama.After talking about the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the subject of his recent comments came up and Kudlow said, “I don’t believe in systemic racism. I think the American system is the best system ever devised for mankind, for history. We are liberty, we are equality, we are fairness.”He said “I will grant you there are some people who may be racist” and...…videoWhite House National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow stood by his recent comments dismissing the idea of “systemic racism” in the United States, at one point bringing up the election and reelection of Barack Obama.After talking about the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the subject of his recent comments came up and Kudlow said, “I don’t believe in systemic racism. I think the American system is the best system ever devised for mankind, for history. We are liberty, we are equality, we are fairness.”He said “I will grant you there are some people who may be racist” and...WW…

Jessie Cohen via Twitter ScreenshotShots rang out and left three members of the “Not F*cking Around Coalition” (NFAC) Militia, a Black militia organization, injured at a protest Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky. The incident occurred following a continuous standoff in the city between the group, police, and a majority white and far-right militia group called the “Three Percent Militia.”The Louisville Metro Police Department told , “The shooting took place near Baxter Square Park around 1 p.m. and all of the victims were transported to the University of Louisville Hospital...…Jessie Cohen via Twitter ScreenshotShots rang out and left three members of the “Not F*cking Around Coalition” (NFAC) Militia, a Black militia organization, injured at a protest Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky. The incident occurred following a continuous standoff in the city between the group, police, and a majority white and far-right militia group called the “Three Percent Militia.”The Louisville Metro Police Department told , “The shooting took place near Baxter Square Park around 1 p.m. and all of the victims were transported to the University of Louisville Hospital...WW…

videoFormer Bush White House medical advisor Dr. Jonathan Reiner called out Vice President Mike Pence’s “sycophantic” press conference on Friday and blasted President Donald Trump’s absence from the coronavirus task force briefing, during which he tweeted about Confederate statues.During an appearance on CNN’s Erin Burnett Out Front, Reiner offered a bitter reaction to Pence’s Covid-19 briefing earlier on Friday, in which the vice president refused to wear a mask while , , and tried to spin the current Covid-19 resurgence by citing “encouraging news.” Currently, and, on Friday,...…videoFormer Bush White House medical advisor Dr. Jonathan Reiner called out Vice President Mike Pence’s “sycophantic” press conference on Friday and blasted President Donald Trump’s absence from the coronavirus task force briefing, during which he tweeted about Confederate statues.During an appearance on CNN’s Erin Burnett Out Front, Reiner offered a bitter reaction to Pence’s Covid-19 briefing earlier on Friday, in which the vice president refused to wear a mask while , , and tried to spin the current Covid-19 resurgence by citing “encouraging news.” Currently, and, on Friday,...WW…

Brendan Smialowski/Getty ImagesMike Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign accused fellow Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of being President Donald Trump’s “new bro” on Monday, amidst a feud between the two.In an email with the subject header, “Bernie’s New Bro… Donald Trump,” Bloomberg’s campaign manager Kevin Sheekey wrote, “It’s a shameful turn of events to see Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump deploy the very same attacks and tactics against Mike, but the reason is clear.”“At this point, the primary is Bernie’s to lose, and ours to win. Bernie knows this. Trump knows...…Brendan Smialowski/Getty ImagesMike Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign accused fellow Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of being President Donald Trump’s “new bro” on Monday, amidst a feud between the two.In an email with the subject header, “Bernie’s New Bro… Donald Trump,” Bloomberg’s campaign manager Kevin Sheekey wrote, “It’s a shameful turn of events to see Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump deploy the very same attacks and tactics against Mike, but the reason is clear.”“At this point, the primary is Bernie’s to lose, and ours to win. Bernie knows this. Trump knows...WW…

A whopping 500,000 users signed up for social-media platform Parler after Twitter shut down two conservative accounts this week, according to user metrics obtained by Mediaite.The surge brings the two-year-old platform’s total number of users to 1.5 million, according to data provided by the company, an increase of 50 percent. The company, co-founded in 2018 by John Matze and Jared Thomson, bills itself as a “non-biased free speech” alternative to Twitter that applies broadcast standards to content its users publish — meaning it doesn’t censor political speech, but does prohibit certain...…A whopping 500,000 users signed up for social-media platform Parler after Twitter shut down two conservative accounts this week, according to user metrics obtained by Mediaite.The surge brings the two-year-old platform’s total number of users to 1.5 million, according to data provided by the company, an increase of 50 percent. The company, co-founded in 2018 by John Matze and Jared Thomson, bills itself as a “non-biased free speech” alternative to Twitter that applies broadcast standards to content its users publish — meaning it doesn’t censor political speech, but does prohibit certain...WW…

Democratic strategist James Carville has made his distaste for Bernie Sanders , and he begrudgingly acknowledged Saturday that the Vermont senator is now firmly in the lead in the 2020 primary.Carville joined MSNBC for Brian Williams’ caucus coverage, where Sanders has taken (Fox News just called the state for the senator). Carville responded that, “We now have a frontrunner” for the Democratic party.Carville criticized the media soon afterwards by attributing Sanders’ lead to him not being “vetted in the press.”There’s a clear, defined front-runner… It’s obvious Senator Sanders is going to...…Democratic strategist James Carville has made his distaste for Bernie Sanders , and he begrudgingly acknowledged Saturday that the Vermont senator is now firmly in the lead in the 2020 primary.Carville joined MSNBC for Brian Williams’ caucus coverage, where Sanders has taken (Fox News just called the state for the senator). Carville responded that, “We now have a frontrunner” for the Democratic party.Carville criticized the media soon afterwards by attributing Sanders’ lead to him not being “vetted in the press.”There’s a clear, defined front-runner… It’s obvious Senator Sanders is going to...WW…

(KYODO NEWS/Naohiko Hatta/Pool)China’s state-backed China Daily newspaper claimed on Monday that the United States started the AIDS crisis, saying it “spread to the world” after its discovery in the 1980s.Quoting Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang, the paper wrote on Twitter, “AIDS was first discovered in the US in the 1980s and spread to the world, causing great agony for the world, has anyone held the US accountable?” The paper also quoted Shuang pinning the 2009 H1N1 Flu on the United States as well as the 2008 financial crisis.In addition, he cited Kishore Mahbubani, a...…(KYODO NEWS/Naohiko Hatta/Pool)China’s state-backed China Daily newspaper claimed on Monday that the United States started the AIDS crisis, saying it “spread to the world” after its discovery in the 1980s.Quoting Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang, the paper wrote on Twitter, “AIDS was first discovered in the US in the 1980s and spread to the world, causing great agony for the world, has anyone held the US accountable?” The paper also quoted Shuang pinning the 2009 H1N1 Flu on the United States as well as the 2008 financial crisis.In addition, he cited Kishore Mahbubani, a...WW…

videoJake Tapper’s interview with Lara Trump took a sharp turn on Sunday when the CNN anchor interrogated President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law for claiming former Vice President Joe Biden is in cognitive decline.Tapper pressed Mrs. Trump on a litany of subjects on State of the Union, but towards the end, he brought up how Biden had to overcome a stutter, and that the ex-veep has connected with other people throughout his life in order to help them overcome speech impediments. Tapper rolled footage of Brayden Harrington, a 13 year old boy who , and then he played footage of Mrs. Trump...…videoJake Tapper’s interview with Lara Trump took a sharp turn on Sunday when the CNN anchor interrogated President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law for claiming former Vice President Joe Biden is in cognitive decline.Tapper pressed Mrs. Trump on a litany of subjects on State of the Union, but towards the end, he brought up how Biden had to overcome a stutter, and that the ex-veep has connected with other people throughout his life in order to help them overcome speech impediments. Tapper rolled footage of Brayden Harrington, a 13 year old boy who , and then he played footage of Mrs. Trump...WW…