DeSantis news - live: Florida governor snaps at reporter for simple question at New Hampshire campaign event
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is facing mounting criticism over a sweeping new immigration law coming into effect on 1 July, which has caused the state’s Latino truck drivers to pledge to leave deliveries unmade on Thursday and migrant-owned businesses to shutter their doors in protest.
Senate Bill 1718 imposes strict new employment mandates on businesses and workers, limits access to social services for undocumented immigrants, allocates millions more tax dollars to expand Mr DeSantis’s “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program”, invalidates driver’s licences issued to undocumented people in other states and requires public hospitals to check up on a patient’s immigration status.
Guadalupe de la Cruz, director of the Florida chapter of the American Friends Service Committee, told Mother Jones: “The bill has caused a lot of panic and chaos. Many of our community members are either leaving Florida or considering it.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has likewise denounced the bill as “cruel, dangerous and overbroad”.
Meanwhile, on the 2024 campaign trail, Mr DeSantis has travelled from Iowa to New Hampshire in his tour of early-voting states. At one stop he snapped at a reporter when asked why he hadn’t taken questions from voters.
Key Points
DeSantis under fire over anti-immigration law as boycott pressure grows
Florida governor hits familiar targets Fauci, Disney and ‘wokeism’ in first rally as 2024 candidate
DeSantis vows to ‘destroy leftism’ and accuses Trump of allying with Disney
Member of DeSantis's Disney governing board quits role
DeSantis hit by three federal lawsuits alleging voter suppression violate constitutional amendments
GOP senator sparks laughter as he tells witness: ‘I don’t want reality!’
11:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma sparked a round of laughter in a Senate hearing room after misspeaking and snapping “I don’t want reality!” at a witness.
Abe Asher has the details on what made the senator make the bizarre outburst.
Republican senator sparks laughter as he tells witness: ‘I don’t want reality!’
Trump accuses DeSantis of faking his own name
09:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Former president Donald Trump escalated his attacks on competitor Ron DeSantis as the Florida governor began his presidential campaign in Iowa following his glitch-laden Twitter announcement.
The 45th president on Wednesday claimed that Mr DeSantis was looking to “change his name”.
“Have you heard that ‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious wants to change his name, again,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“He is demanding that people call him DeeeSantis, rather than DaSantis. Actually, I like “Da” better, a nicer flow, so I am happy he is changing it.
“He gets very upset when people, including reporters, don’t pronounce it correctly. Therefore, he shouldn’t mind, DeSanctimonious?”
Read more:
Trump accuses DeSantis of faking his own name
Ex-Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain says ‘calm down you nervous nellies’ after Biden fall
07:00 , Gustaf Kilander
>@POTUS stood on stage and shook hands with graduates for almost 2 hours. He tripped over a sandbag as he moved to greet some guests. Calm down you nervous nellies. https://t.co/mZDeSWKNAq
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) June 1, 2023
Underestimated McCarthy emerges from debt deal empowered as speaker, still threatened by far right
05:00 , Lisa Mascaro, AP
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is nothing if not a political survivor.
Underestimated from the start, the Republican who cruised around his California hometown of Bakersfield and stumbled into a career in Congress was never taken too seriously by the Washington establishment.
With overwhelming House passage of the debt ceiling and budget deal he negotiated with President Joe Biden, the emergent speaker proved the naysayers and eye-rollers otherwise. A relentless force, he pushed a reluctant White House to the negotiating table and delivered the votes from his balky House GOP majority to seal the deal.
“You still ask the same questions each week: Do you think you can pass the bill this week. Do you think you will still be speaker next week,” McCarthy chided reporters after Wednesday’s late night vote.
“Keep underestimating us,” he said, “and we’ll keep proving to the American public that we’ve never given up.”
Read more:
Underestimated McCarthy emerges from debt deal empowered as speaker, still threatened by far right
Watch Biden trip and fall on-stage at Air Force graduation ceremony
04:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Joe Biden tripped and fell on stage as he took part in the Air Force graduation ceremony in Colorado.
The president dropped to his knees but was quickly helped back to his feet during the event at the service academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday, to cheers from the crowd.
The 80-year-old President had been handing out diplomas and thanking the Academy graduates for choosing “service over self” before the fall.
Mr Biden pointed to a black sandbag on the stage seemingly blaming it for the stumble.
Watch moment Biden trips and falls on-stage in Colorado
Woman interrupts DeSantis speech to claim her son’s murder was covered up
03:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Gov Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire was interrupted by a woman who claimed that her son’s murder had been covered up in Florida.
The woman who made the accusation was led out of the facility where the rally was being held. As she was walking out of the event, the woman threw down a DeSantis hat she was holding and vowed to replace with a hat representing former President Donald Trump.
Read more...
Woman interrupts DeSantis speech to claim her son’s murder was covered up in Florida
Watch: Audience chants ‘We Love Trump’ during ad break
03:30 , Oliver O'Connell
During commercial break at the @seanhannity townhall, the crowd erupted in a “We Love Trump” chant. pic.twitter.com/HejT8nuwV0
— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) June 2, 2023
Trump plays down legal threat of secret papers recording
03:21 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump returned to a familiar refrain on Thursday, insisting once again that he had done nothing wrong even as new challenges pop up seemingly every day for the ex-president who faces a bevy of criminal and civil investigations.
John Bowden filed this report.
Trump plays down legal threat of secret papers recording at Fox News town hall
Watch: Trump claims he will have US ‘hopping in six months'
03:01 , Oliver O'Connell
Trump: This country will be hopping in six months. A lot of that has to do with energy. It will be hopping! pic.twitter.com/5KXNfEzgvI
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2023
03:00 , Oliver O'Connell
And with that, the town hall is over after just two audience questions.
02:55 , Oliver O'Connell
Trump reiterates his claim that he could stop Russia’s war on Ukraine in 24 hours.
Hannity asks how.
Trump says it’s because he knows both Putin and Zelensky.
He then claims the death toll in Ukraine is way higher than what’s being reported: “The numbers are much different than what you’re being told.”
Hannity: "How do you stop that war in 24 hours?"
Trump: "...You tell one, 'You're not going to get anything unless you make a deal.' You tell the other one, 'They're going to get a lot unless you make a deal.'" pic.twitter.com/lNlL7A4qZF— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) June 2, 2023
Watch: Trump takes credit for ending Roe v Wade
02:52 , Oliver O'Connell
Trump: I did something that nobody thought was possible. I got rid of Roe V Wade pic.twitter.com/kLcGfogPCS
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2023
02:50 , Oliver O'Connell
Hannity points out that some Republicans think that Trump should tone down his rhetoric and stop namecalling and change his behaviour.
The Town hall audience starts booing.
Trump says: “Ok, you ready? I won an election that was unprecedented … from the day I got in, I was under siege … if I didn’t fight back, I wouldn’t be here.”
02:49 , Oliver O'Connell
After another break, Hannity returns and brings up the topic of Hunter Biden and the alleged scandal of influence peddling and asks Trump why nothing happens to the Biden family.
Trump begins by talking about the long-debunked $1bn Ukraine prosecutor conspiracy.
02:37 , Oliver O'Connell
On the classified documents and the revelation of the recording of Trump talking about a document he shouldn’t have, the former president first says he did everything right.
"I don't know anything about it. All I know is this, everything I did was right we had the Presidential Records Act which I abided by 100% ... I have the right to declassify as president"
He then switches to talking about the Biden documents with Hannity: “[Biden] had seven or eight boxes in Chinatown in Washington, DC, where nobody even speaks English in Chinatown. Chinatown is very... it’s in favour of China. And he has boxes in Chinatown.”
Trump: He had seven or eight boxes in Chinatown in Washington, DC where nobody even speaks English in Chinatown. Chinatown is very -- it's in favor of China pic.twitter.com/rWMikfD54B
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2023
02:33 , Oliver O'Connell
After a break, Trump is asked about the other Republicans running for president in 2024.
As they are mentioned they are largely booed and jeered by the crowd — especially former Vice President Mike Pence.
Crowd starts to boo when Pence is mentioned pic.twitter.com/TsGL0vdtqd
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2023
On Asa Hutchinson, he says "nobody knows who the hell this guy is...” and adds: “Ada, I call him.”
Trump: I call him Ada Hutchinson. I don’t call him Asa. For certain reasons.. pic.twitter.com/BTCenK9pIY
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2023
He goes on to say that he predicts DeSantis will end up in third or fourth place, not second, going on to say that the Florida governor has been having a “very bad day” and that “he’s not doing well against Biden”.
Trump: I don't think he's going to be second that much longer I think he's going to be third or fourth. He had a very bad day today, he got very angry at the press. You're not allowed to get angry at the press pic.twitter.com/ZMnu0f5IZ6
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2023
Watch: Trump comments on Iran’s nuclear program
02:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Trump: Iran is soon going to have one that should have never happened. We would have made that deal within a week after the election and they would have never had a nuclear weapon but nobody picked it up because I terminated the Iran nuclear deal. pic.twitter.com/GqXvLCNL4r
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2023
02:28 , Oliver O'Connell
Trump rails about “woke” stuff in the interview with Hannity referring to the military, even though earlier today, he said: “I don’t like the term woke, because I hear woke, woke, woke,” and added that he didn’t think anyone knew what it meant.
Trump surprises Iowa crowd by mocking people who say ‘woke’
02:25 , Oliver O'Connell
On China, Trump says he fought back on agriculture and steel and domestic products gifting money to farms instead.
On Russia, he says he threatened Putin with harsh words to stop him from invading Ukraine.
“I said things that were very bad, very nasty [to Vladimir Putin] [...] He believed me 10%, that’s all he had to believe me [...] I had the same conversation with President Xi about Taiwan.”
TRUMP: "I said things that were very bad, very nasty [to Vladimir Putin] [...] He believed me 10%, that's all he had to believe me [...] I had the same conversation with President Xi about Taiwan." pic.twitter.com/EEDyU23Bic
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) June 2, 2023
02:19 , Oliver O'Connell
After talking about energy independence, the strategic reserve, and gas prices to a whooping crowd, Hannity turns the questioning back to the allegedly impending Third World War and the “new axis of evil”.
02:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Trump references DeSantis saying he could be president for eight years by countering he could solve all of the country’s problems in six months.
There is absolutely no pushback from Hannity who is setting Trump up with adoring soft questions.
Donald Trump responds to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) argument that he’s a superior candidate because he can theoretically serve two terms:
“I heard ‘DeSanctis’ say, ‘Oh, I get eight years, he gets four.’ You don’t need four and you don’t need eight. You need six months.” pic.twitter.com/B1bGgxGKfm— The Recount (@therecount) June 2, 2023
02:09 , Oliver O'Connell
Trump says he told Hannity not to joke about Biden’s age because it is a very serious problem.
They turn the topic to foreign policy and the nuclear threat.
Trump claims he had a deal with Vladimir Putin to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
02:07 , Oliver O'Connell
In his opening monologue, Hannity claims Joe Biden couldn’t remember the word pilot. The president couldn’t remember the name of the Thunderbirds of the US Air Force.
Hannity lying about Biden not knowing the word "pilot" but it's @seanhannity who can't remember the name of the Air Force's Thunderbirds pic.twitter.com/SY8MXM1m8J
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) June 2, 2023
Hannity-Trump town hall begins
02:06 , Oliver O'Connell
Sean Hannity kicks off the Fox News town hall by attacking President Joe Biden and talking about his fall earlier in the day. He then introduces Donald Trump to a chanting audience.
They first chant: “Trump, Trump, Trump,” and then “USA! USA! USA!”
Not the most impartial audience.
Someone screams: “We love you!”
Earlier, The Lincoln Project posted this video compilation:
Bet Biden couldn't do any of this. Thankfully. pic.twitter.com/jZeXWLtvPX
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) June 2, 2023
Voices: Republicans want Biden to trip up – literally
01:35 , Oliver O'Connell
Skylar Baker-Jordan writes:
On Thursday, Joe Bidentripped while walking onstage at an Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado. (It happens to the best of us, Mr President.) Of course, the right didn’t waste any time metaphorically kicking our chief executive while he is literally down – something rightwing gadfly Ben Shapiro thinks is perfectly acceptable. “You cannot have it both ways,” he scolds us Democrats. “Either Biden is perfectly fit and him falling down is funny particularly because he is perfectly fit, or he is not physically fit and we shouldn’t laugh because it is dangerous for an 80-year-old man to fall down.”
Read more:
Republicans want Biden to trip up – literally
Watch: DeSantis asks why Trump couldn’t take out Deep State in first term
01:26 , Oliver O'Connell
Desantis: “If the former president says, ‘I can slay the Deep State in 6 months,’ my question to him would be, well you already had 4 years, why didn’t you slay it then?” pic.twitter.com/l31s1YzcHS
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 2, 2023
DeSantis blames Trump’s ‘petty and juvenile’ behaviour for 2020 loss
01:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded to Donald Trump‘s insults, saying the former president’s “juvenile” behaviour cost him the 2020 election.
He offered his opinions on Mr Trump’s proclivity for creating insults out of the governor’s last name during an interview with The Pulse of New Hampshire.
Graig Graziosi reports.
DeSantis says ‘petty and juvenile’ Trump can thank his own behaviour for 2020 loss
Trump surprises crowd by mocking people who say ‘woke’ – including his own son who runs businesses off it
Friday 2 June 2023 00:46 , Graeme Massie
Former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, has announced the launch of a ‘non-woke men’s lifestyle magazine’.
Trump surprises Iowa crowd by mocking people who say ‘woke’
Alabama senator condemned by his own brother for ‘vile rhetoric'
Friday 2 June 2023 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville has evoked outrage and scorn from Democratic critics in recent weeks with a string of incendiary comments defending white nationalists and suggesting that teachers in “inner cities” are illiterate.
Now, his own brother has added his voice to the chorus of Americans who’ve been offended and dismayed by the first-term senator’s forays into racism.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Alabama senator condemned by his own brother for ‘ignorant, hateful rants’
Roger Stone caught on hot mic explaining how to manipulate Trump: ‘I did it for 30 years’
Friday 2 June 2023 00:02 , Graeme Massie
Roger Stone first encouraged Donald Trump to run for president in the late 1990s.
Roger Stone caught on hot mic explaining how he manipulated Trump
Failed MAGA candidate indicted for shooting spree targeting Democrats
Thursday 1 June 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell
A failed Republican candidate has been indicted on federal charges of organising a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of Democratic officials in New Mexico after losing his 2022 midterm election, according to a Department of Justice statement.
Solomon Peña, 40, allegedly hired four gunmen to carry out the shooting spree at the homes of two New Mexico lawmakers and two Bernalillo County commissioners after losing his bid for the state house’s 14th district, a newly unsealed grand jury indictment shows.
Bevan Hurley has the story.
Failed Maga candidate indicted for drive-by shootings of Democratic officials’ homes
Trump and Maga allies mock Biden for Air Force graduation fall: ‘Not inspiring’
Thursday 1 June 2023 23:31 , Graeme Massie
The 80-year-old president will run for another four years in White House in 2024.
Trump and Maga allies mock Biden for Air Force graduation fall
Why did Trump turn on Kayleigh McEnany?
Thursday 1 June 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell
In a moment that shocked some — but came as no surprise to others — Donald Trump turned on his former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday night for allegedly sharing inaccurate poll numbers.
Ms McEnany, who served as the former president’s fourth press secretary, was known as one of his most loyal aides and staunch defenders, something she continued when she joined Fox News as a contributor after he lost the 2020 election and left office.
Nevertheless, the former president pulled no punches in a Truth Social Post, complaining about a segment in which he claims she misreported his lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Read more...
Why did Donald Trump turn on Kayleigh McEnany?
And yet...
lmao Kayleigh McEnany is still groveling for Trump even after he tossed her under the bus pic.twitter.com/IjzK1ebFg1
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 1, 2023
DeSantis says ‘petty and juvenile’ Trump can thank his own behaviour for 2020 loss
Thursday 1 June 2023 23:02 , Graeme Massie
Florida governor says ex-president’s attacks are a ‘huge mistake’.
DeSantis says ‘petty and juvenile’ Trump can thank his own behaviour for 2020 loss
Report: Trump worker who moved classified papers at Mar-a-Lago questioned surveillance video
Thursday 1 June 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell
A Mar-a-Lago employee who helped move boxes of classified documents the day before Justice Department investigators visited Donald Trump’s home also reportedly asked questions about the property’s security cameras.
The employee first moved the boxes at the Florida estate in June, then weeks later questioned asked an IT worker about the security cameras, according to The Washington Post.
Graeme Massie has the story.
Trump worker who moved classified papers questioned surveillance video details
Angry progressives and conservatives hit out at Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal
Thursday 1 June 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell
The House of Representatives has voted to raise the debt limit, thereby ensuring the United States will avoid defaulting on its debt, despite vocal opposition from many Republicans in the House majority.
Eric Garcia explains who has been left unhappy.
Progressives and conservatives complain as Biden-McCarthy debt deal passes
‘I hope he wasn’t hurt’: Trump reacts to Biden fall
Thursday 1 June 2023 22:07 , Gustaf Kilander
NEW: Trump responds to Biden's fall at Air Force Academy graduation:
"I hope he wasn't hurt. I hope he wasn't hurt. [...] You don't want that. Even if you have to tip-toe down a ramp, you gotta tip-toe..." pic.twitter.com/YYkn67EBNR— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 1, 2023
Trump legal team asks for removal of judge in hush-money case
Thursday 1 June 2023 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s lawyers plan to request the judge presiding over a criminal trial into alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels be removed due to his campaign donations and family’s ties to the Democrat Party, according to a report.
It’s the latest in a series of legal manoeuvres by the former president to move the Manhattan criminal trial slated to begin next March away from New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
Bevan Hurley reports.
Trump legal team asks for judge in hush-money case to be removed
Pence to announce 2024 White House bid on 7 June
Thursday 1 June 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Former vice president Mike Pence is expected to announce his campaign for 2024 president next Wednesday, according to reports.
Mr Pence, 63, will make the official announcement on 7 June just before his town hall with CNN in Des Moines, Iowa, a source told NBC News. The Messenger also reported that Mr Pence’s presidential launch was imminent.
For months, speculation has circulated that the former vice president was planning on joining the already-packed race for the White House.
Ariana Baio reports.
Mike Pence to announce 2024 White House bid on 7 June
Trump launches furious rant after reports of bombshell classified documents tape
Thursday 1 June 2023 20:45 , Gustaf Kilander and Andrew Feinberg
Mr Trump appeared to respond to the report that federal prosecutors have obtained a recording of him discussing classified documents he kept at his private residences long after his term expired in January 2021.
According to CNN, the audiotape of Mr Trump was created during the summer of 2021, approximately six months after the ex-president had left office.
It reportedly captures a discussion during which Mr Trump was reacting to the publication of a story in The New Yorker regarding how Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley took actions to ensure the outgoing president issued no illegal orders.
On Thursday, Mr Trump took to Truth Social, writing that “Just like the Democrat inspired Fake Dossier, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, the “No Collusion” Mueller Report, and so much else, the illegally leaked, by the DOJ, FBI, and Special ‘Prosecutor,’ Document story is a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time and, like all of the others, Fake News! I did nothing wrong, they did, and have been doing so for a long time. GREAT POLL NUMBERS - ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!
Read more:
Trump caught on tape discussing classified docs he kept after leaving White House
Joe Biden trips and falls at Air Force graduation ceremony
Thursday 1 June 2023 20:18 , Graeme Massie
Joe Biden tripped and fell on stage as he took part in the Air Force graduation ceremony in Colorado.
The president dropped to his knees but was quickly helped back to his feet during the event at the service academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday.
Mr Biden, 80, pointed to a black sandbag on the stage seemingly blaming it for the stumble.
some top Democrats have privately been saying for months that they’re nervous about Biden tripping again on the trail. Today he did—>
pic.twitter.com/bZIBvHUVfN— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 1, 2023
Read more:
Joe Biden trips and falls at Air Force graduation ceremony
Christie set to announce 2024 bid next week
Thursday 1 June 2023 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell
Chris Christie, the pugnatious ex-New Jersey governor and ally turned critic of former president Donald Trump, is set to enter the 2024 Republican presidential primary and challenge the man he endorsed after failing to gain traction in the GOP field nearly eight years ago.
According to multiple reports, Mr Christie will announce his candidacy at a town hall to be held on Tuesday at St Anselm College in New Hampshire.
