Connect with us

News

‘That’s Not Factual’: CNN Anchor Destroys Republican Threatening to Remove Biden From the Ballot

Published

on

A CNN anchor on Monday destroyed arguments made by the long-term Republican Secretary of State of Missouri, who threatened last week to remove President Joe Biden from the 2024 presidential election ballot in response to Colorado and Maine removing Trump, because two other elected Republican politicians have accused him of “insurrection.”

“You think that when the Supreme Court takes this up, they are going to side with President Trump, is that correct?” CNN’s Boris Sanchez asked Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.

“They are going to side against people being thrown off the ballot in this sort of manner,” said Ashcroft, pausing to craft his response.

“The brief that I will be filing with the United States Supreme Court is not going to say that President Trump is a bad person. It’s not going to say that he’s a good person. What it’s going to say is that this extrajudicial means of removing people from the ballot is catastrophic to our country, if it’s allowed to continue, because if Democrats can do it, you know that Republicans will do it, and if Republicans will do it, then Democrats will do it more.”

While Sanchez did not respond to Ashcroft’s claim, the Colorado case was not brought by Democrats but by GOP and independent voters. But Sanchez was prepared and citied the Missouri state constitution to fact-check Ashcroft’s claims.

“To that point, Secretary, in order to remove President Biden from the ballot, according to your state constitution, you would need to go to court. What do you think would be your strong –” Sanchez said before being interrupted.

READ MORE: ‘I Won the Election and He Was the Loser’: Biden, Showing Anger and Passion, Torches Trump

“No, not not at all,” Ashcroft claimed.

“Your state constitution actually states that the Secretary of State lacks authority to assess qualifications of a candidate to determine whether to place a candidate’s name on a primary ballot. That’s according to Section 115-387 of your state constitution,” Sanchez explained.

“What I’m saying is, if the Supreme Court upholds the rolling out of Colorado,” Ashcroft began before Sanchez reminded him that Colorado “went to court to disqualify Trump from the ballot, so you, according to your constitution, we need to go to court.”

“Sir. Sir. Sir. Let’s just be clear,” Ashcroft urged. “First of all, you’ve already said you’re not an attorney. And you don’t know what happened in Colorado.”

“I know what happened in Colorado,” Sanchez retorted. “What I said was that I didn’t read through all of the evidence specifically to be able to qualify whether there was hearsay or not. To get back to my question, you say that you would decide to remove Joe Biden from the ballot in your state, according to your state constitution, which I just read to you from, it says you need to go to court. I’m asking you what you think your strongest argument is.”

“And I continue to try to answer your questions and you continue to try to tell me stuff that just isn’t true,” Ashcroft alleged.

“That’s not factual sir,” Sanchez charged. You made an accusation about me not knowing something, I’m sure to clarify it for you.”

He then again asked, “What is the strongest argument you would make in court to remove Joe Biden from the ballot?”

In a different portion of the interview, Sanchez asked Ashcroft, “what would then be your justification for removing Joe Biden from the ballot in Missouri. Has he engaged in your mind in some kind of insurrection?”

“There have been allegations that he’s engaged in insurrection,” Ashcroft alleged.

“How so?” Sanchez pressed.

“Please let me finish,” Ashcroft said, with Sanchez stating, “You can’t say something like that and not back it up.”

After complaining he was being interrupted, Ashcroft asked, “Are you scared of the truth?

“I’m not terrified of the truth at all. It seems like you might be,” Sanchez quipped.

READ MORE: ‘Big Deal’: Trump Jr. Ignores Dad Is Accused of Sex With ‘Many Girls’ in New Epstein Doc Dump

After mentioning “allegations,” Ashcroft said, “President Trump has never been adjudicated in court law.”

“What did Joe Biden do, in your mind, that equates insurrection? What allegations are you talking about?” Sanchez demanded.

“Um, I have seen allegations from the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, that has said that Joe Biden has been part of insurrection or rebellion,” Ashcroft replied. We’ve seen governor of Florida say the same thing.”

“Insurrection over what? What did the [Lt. governor of Texas say that Joe Biden was causing an insurrection over? If you’re gonna make the claim, give me give me some specifics. Are you just gonna tie the governor of Texas or Florida? And not actually say what they are arguing? Do you know what they are arguing?

Watch both portions of the interview above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘We Need to Turn Mickey Mouse Into a Nazi’: How the Far Right Openly Plots to Attack the Left

 

There's a reason 10,000 people subscribe to NCRM. You can get the news before it breaks just by subscribing, plus you can learn something new every day.
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

‘Damage Control’: Trump Mocked for New Weekly Barnstorming Blitz Months Ahead of Midterms

Published

41 minutes ago

on

January 21, 2026

By

As his poll numbers continue to drop, the White House is announcing that President Donald Trump will begin a weekly barnstorming blitz of the country to rally supporters with stump speeches designed to change voters’ perceptions that high prices are Trump’s fault.

“Trump’s first stop will be on Tuesday in Iowa, where he will deliver a speech on the economy and energy, chief of staff Susie Wiles told reporters on the way to Davos, Switzerland,” Politico reported. “The travel blitz beginning in January is much earlier than during his first term, when he began traveling aggressively to support candidates just after Labor Day.”

“Trump has struggled to articulate an affordability message that moves the needle with voters, and a purposeful tack back to domestic matters could help that perception,” Politico noted, adding that “polling has regularly shown Trump’s popularity slipping and voters beginning to blame his policies for the high cost of living.”

According to Zeteo News’ Prem Thakker, Trump is running negative — and in some cases double-digit negative — in a dozen states that will hold elections for the U.S. Senate this November. Thakker cited data from The Economist, which also shows that the president’s net approval rating is now -19 percent, down two points from last week and “the lowest it has been this term.”

READ MORE: DOJ Delay Continues as Judge Denies Epstein Files Special Master

Some of those state ratings, Thakker noted, include:
Georgia: -18.6%
Maine: -18.4%
Texas: -17.2%
Michigan: -15.8%
N Carolina: -13.6%

Meanwhile, some appeared optimistic.

“As President Trump barnstorms the country to advance his America First agenda, Republicans are poised to defy history in the midterms,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Kiersten Pels told Politico.

Others took a different view.

The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell rejected former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) spokesperson Katie Miller’s suggestion that Trump’s travel to Iowa means that he’s “running.”

“This is a hilarious tweet,” Longwell wrote. “Trump isn’t going to Iowa because he is running. He’s going for damage control because his tariffs have made the state a pickup for Democrats.”

The Lincoln Project added, “Trump’s ‘Affordability Hoax’ heads to Iowa to tell Iowans that everything’s fine, despite their worst-in-the-country economy.”

On Tuesday, CNN’s John King reported that while Democrats understand that Iowa will be an uphill battle, they see opportunity.

“Democrats have a huge opportunity and Republicans acknowledge it,” King also told Anderson Cooper. “If the election were tomorrow, the Democrats would take back the House without question. The only part is the margin.”

READ MORE: ‘Can Barely Keep His Eyes Open’: Trump Mocked Over ‘Ramblefest’ Davos Speech

 

Image via Reuters 

Continue Reading

News

DOJ Delay Continues as Judge Denies Epstein Files Special Master

Published

2 hours ago

on

January 21, 2026

By

Thirty-three days after the Trump Department of Justice was required by law to release the Epstein Files — but failed to produce even one percent of them — a federal judge has rejected a bipartisan effort to appoint a special master to oversee production of the documents.

U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), authors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA), went to court to make their request. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer declined that request, stating that he does not have the authority to appoint a special master.

“Their request is ‘important’ and ‘timely,’ but the appropriate vehicle may be a lawsuit or Congress, the judge says,” according to All Rise News editor-in-chief Adam Klasfeld.

“This criminal case does not give the Court any charter to supervise DOJ’s compliance with the EFTA,” Judge Engelmayer wrote, as New York Daily News reporter Molly Crane-Newman reported. “And the motion exceeds the bounds of permissible amici participation. This decision is without prejudice to the Representatives’ right to initiate a separate lawsuit. The Representatives are also, of course, at liberty to pursue oversight of DOJ via the tools available to Congress.”

READ MORE: ‘Can Barely Keep His Eyes Open’: Trump Mocked Over ‘Ramblefest’ Davos Speech

On Tuesday, Crane-Newman reported that attorneys for the two congressmen had renewed “their push to seek a special master to oversee the Epstein files release, saying the government ‘cannot be relied upon to act with disinterest and objectively to do what is best for the survivors. It has its own conflicting interests.'”

Former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, earlier on Wednesday, told MSNOW, “I don’t think we’ll see the entire file until Trump is out of office.”

“I think part of the problem here for Congressmen Khanna and Massie is that the law that they wrote is riddled with loopholes. It does not have an enforcement mechanism. So they’re trying to figure out how to get the DOJ to turn over all the documents, but there’s nothing in the law that forces them to do so under penalty of whatever,” he explained.

Aronberg called it “a real big question whether or not they, as members of Congress, have the standing to get this judge in a closed case to force the DOJ to turn over the documents.”

READ MORE: Canadian Prime Minister Warns World Order Has Ruptured

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

‘Can Barely Keep His Eyes Open’: Trump Mocked Over ‘Ramblefest’ Davos Speech

Published

4 hours ago

on

January 21, 2026

By

President Donald Trump drew sharp criticism at home as he delivered a widely panned speech to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Perhaps never before has Trump given a major speech with so many immediate national and international crises at stake, including the future of Greenland, the future of NATO and Western alliances, global trade, inflation and the cost of living, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, and the rise of China and authoritarianism.

Much of the reaction to Trump’s remarks focused on his delivery and the audience’s response.

“Trump can barely keep his eyes open during this speech,” mocked The Bulwark’s publisher Sarah Longwell.

“Trump’s on the Davos stage right now and the room feels like a waiting room. Low energy delivery. Zero reaction,” observed political commentator Brian Allen. “The room is so silent for Trump’s lie-fest at Davos you could hear a pin drop,” he added.

READ MORE: Canadian Prime Minister Warns World Order Has Ruptured

“Incredibly low energy performance today by Donald,” remarked The Lincoln Project.

Several commenters used strong language to express their criticism.

“‘Oh, no, this is going great,’ said no one watching Trump at Davos. Senile, mentally ill, reckless, and practically drooling on his speech, this is a ramblefest of grievance and revisionism,” commented The Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson.

Others observed how his speech was being received.

“The throngs for Trump at Davos were nothing like I’ve seen before. I’m watching his speech in a packed overflow room. His rhetoric draws periodic chortles from the crowd,” commented Washington Post global affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor.

And still others remarked on the validity of his remarks.

“Trump’s delusion is eclipsed only by the disrespect and insults and lies he is telling in Davos right now,” remarked Democratic strategist and CNN commentator Maria Cardona.

Journalist Ahmed Baba commented on the “contrast between Trump’s delusional Davos speech lying about his accomplishments,” and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “grounded Davos speech eloquently depicting the world as it is as a result of Trump’s unhinged foreign policy could not be starker.”

READ MORE: ‘Enemy Is Within’: Trump Boosts Post Casting NATO as a ‘Threat’ in Social Media Spree

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.