Trump holds rally in Florence, AZ
Democrats believe Attorney General Merrick Garland has enough evidence to charge Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Capitol riots.
Several Democratic senators said the Department of Justice was likely to prosecute Mr Trump for the 6 January attacks, but stressed they held no inside knowledge of the investigation.
Tim Kaine, of Virginia, said he believed Mr Trump’s actions were illegal and that the DOJ has “all of the evidence at their disposal,” The Hill reported.
Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal said his conduct was forming part of the FBI probe and “perhaps is criminal.”
Meanwhile, Mr Trump is under fire for sharing the false claim that white people are being discriminated against in the distribution of Covid-19 treatments at his rally in Arizona on Saturday.
“The left is now rationing life-saving therapeutics based on race, discriminating against and denigrating, just denigrating white people to determine who lives and who dies,” he told supporters.
Mr Trump also railed against enemies including Joe Biden and retiring GOP Congressman John Katko, one of the only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the 45th president after the 6 January attack on the US Capitol.
Follow live updates below
QAnon followers claim Donald Trump used ‘body double’ at Arizona rally
QAnon followers are peddling a new conspiracy theory, claiming that Donald Trump was not present at his rally in Arizona on Saturday and rather used his body double, according to Newsweek.
Several social media accounts across platforms, including Telegram and Twitter, continued to push baseless claims about Trump’s appearance at the rally.
Some also believed that it was late John F Kennedy in disguise and not Trump himself as the former president once again pushed his baseless claims of voters fraud during 2020 elections.
“When he came out…I instantly felt it was not him. I kept trying to convince myself that it was. He was not talking with his hands like he normally does,” a user on a Telegram channel dedicated to conspiracy theory said.
The unfound claims were peddled on the Telegram channel with 58,940 subscribers.
“Body double for sure. Personally, I think he’s insulated,” another said.
A QAnon follower Twitter user said Kennedy was at the rally even as he was actually shot from nearly 60 years ago and would have been 104 years old if alive.
“Trump rally watchers: It appears President JFK will be President Trump tonight. I’m just saying…Enjoy the show,” the user said.
Shweta Sharma18 January 2022 04:50
Ann Coulter says Trump is ‘done’ and tells the New York Times to stop ‘obsessing’ over him
Ann Coulter has claimed that Donald Trump is “done” and has told the New York Times to stop “obsessing” over the former president.
The conservative commentator – a one-time Mr Trump ally turned fierce critic – told the paper that she thinks his dominance in the Republican party is over.
“You guys should stop obsessing over him.”
Rachel Sharp has the story.
Bevan Hurley18 January 2022 04:30
Fox News host Laura Ingraham ‘not saying’ yet if she’d support Trump’s 2024 presidential run
Fox New opinion host Laura Ingraham, who was a vocal supporter of presidential candidate Donald Trump in his 2016 run, said she is not committing if she would support his reelection bid in 2024.
“I’m not saying I’m there for him yet,” Ingraham told Northern Virginia Magazine after she was asked if she would support Trump if he decides to re-run.
“But I think whether he runs or not — I mean, his policies worked. Trump’s blueprint for policy — a forward-looking, optimistic set of pro-America policies — that blueprint, without a doubt, is winning.”
The article in the magazine was titled: “Laura Ingraham Might Not Vote For Trump If He Runs–But She’s Not Going To Stop Talking To His Base”.
Ingraham, who came under increased scrutiny after Jan 6 committee found she texted Mark Meadows urging to get Trump to stop his supporters, is the highest-rated solo female host on the channel.
Her show “The Ingraham Angle” garners 3 million viewers per weeknight, according to the latest Nielsen figures.
Shweta Sharma18 January 2022 04:19
Interview: Mary Trump – From 2024 predictions to Donald’s psychological deterioration
Mary Trump, Donald Trump’s niece, spoke to The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg about her uncle’s mental deterioration and possible 2024 run for president.
Bevan Hurley18 January 2022 03:30
Pro-Trump ‘propaganda’ channel One America News Network to lose its biggest TV distributor
America’s biggest satellite television provider has said it will cut the pro-Trump news channel One America News Network from its service, dealing a severe blow to one of the former president’s most stalwart cheerleaders.
DirecTV, a distributor with about 15 million subscribers that is 70 per cent owned by the US telecoms giant AT&T, announced on Friday that it would not renew its contract with OANN when the current one expires. following “a routine internal review”.
Bevan Hurley18 January 2022 02:30
Attendees waited hours to leave Trump rally as fans lash out on social media
Donald Trump’s Arizona rally on Saturday left many of his supporters frustrated after some were left waiting around for hours before they could leave.
The vast majority of the attendees appeared to enjoy Mr Trump’s first rally of 2022, as was evidenced by the crowd’s enthusiastic responce to his speech. As ever, it featured his greatest hits of falsehoods and lies about the supposedly stolen 2020 Presidential election, allegations which have been repeatedly disproven.
And yet, for all that those statements went down well with his fans, what transpired after Mr Trump left the stage certainly did not. Soon after he finished his speech, a number of people took to social media to complain that they were not allowed to leave the site of the rally for several hours.
Tom Fenton has the full story.
Bevan Hurley18 January 2022 01:30
Trump can’t say what Republicans should do if they retake Congress
Speaking to far-right network Newsmax, Donald Trump didn’t offer an answer when asked what Republican’s first move should be if they retake the Congress in the 2022 midterms.
Instead, he attacked his Democratic rival Joe Biden’s record on Afghanistan and immigration.
Bevan Hurley18 January 2022 00:45
Ann Coulter says Trump is ‘done’ and tells the New York Times to stop ‘obsessing’ over him
Ann Coulter has claimed that Donald Trump is “done” and has told the New York Times to stop “obsessing” over the former president.
The conservative commentator – a one-time Mr Trump ally turned fierce critic – told the paper that she thinks his dominance in the Republican party is over.
“You guys should stop obsessing over him.”
Rachel Sharp has the story.
Bevan Hurley18 January 2022 00:00
Trump is briefing insiders that DeSantis is too dull to be President
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has been touted as Donald Trump’s chief rival for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2024.
However, the former President has been briefing associates that Mr DeSantis has no realistic chance of beating him in the 2024 GOP primary due to his “dull personality”.
Tom Fenton has the story.
Bevan Hurley17 January 2022 23:30
Analysis: Five takeaways from Donald Trump’s rally in Arizona
Donald Trump raged against his enemies in the Republican Party, as well as President Joe Biden and the media during his first campaign rally of 2022 in Arizona on Saturday.
The Independent’s Eric Garcia and John Bowden analyse Mr Trump’s conspiracy-laden speech and report on some of the chilling messages being spread by candidates he has endorsed.
Bevan Hurley17 January 2022 22:35
