WATCH: A Confused Joe Biden Says ‘We Can Only Re-Elect Donald Trump’; Why Does Biden Need a Sit-Down Debate?

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By Townhall. . .The current Democratic frontrunner fell and tripped repeatedly over his words as he stumbled through a campaign speech in Missouri on Saturday. The 77-year-old former vice president made a series of gaffes and incoherent statements as he appeared to lose his train of thought. At one point, he even mispronounced his own name.

“… We cannot get re-elect, we cannot win this re-election, excuse me. We can only re-elect Donald Trump,” Biden said to his bewildered supporters. The candidate himself seemed caught off guard by his inability to keep his train of thought.

(Townhall UPDATE: “A fuller version of Biden’s comments show the candidate was attempting to argue that infighting within the Democratic Party will result in the re-election of President Trump, but Biden had difficultly making his point after stumbling over his words.”)

At the same event, Biden referred to himself as an “Obiden Bama Democrat.”

Many people have questioned Joe Biden’s mental fitness as he campaigns for the highest political office in the country. In the past few weeks alone, the candidate declared repeatedly that he was running for the U.S. Senate, confused which state he was in, said there were 150 million gun deaths in America since 2007, called Super Tuesday “Super Thursday,” and announced that he would have the ability as president to appoint the first African American woman to the United States Senate. (Read more from “A Confused Joe Biden Says ‘We Can Only Re-Elect Donald Trump'” HERE)

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Biden Pushes for Sit-Down Debate Format Amid Mounting Health-Related Concerns, Report Says

By Fox News. Bernie Sanders’ campaign is accusing Joe Biden of pushing for a sit-down format at the March 15 presidential primary debate in Phoenix, according to a new report that highlights mounting concerns over the 77-year-old former vice president’s stamina and cognitive ability.

Sanders’ team raised the alarm about the sit-down format during a Friday call with CNN, which is set to moderate the debate along with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Politico reported this weekend. All previous primary debates this cycle have required candidates to stand at podiums; and during his one-on-one debates with Hillary Clinton in 2016, Sanders stood alongside her.

“Why does Joe Biden not want to stand toe-to-toe with Sen. Sanders on the debate stage March 15 and have an opportunity to defend his record and articulate his vision for the future?” senior Sanders advisor Jeff Weaver told the outlet.

The Biden campaign denied it had anything to do with the proposed new format. Biden has stood for each of the previous debates, but the upcoming one-on-one with Sanders is expected to be a more grueling and taxing event. (Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, will be excluded from the debate under new DNC rules requiring that each candidate have received a large number of delegates.) (Read more from “Biden Pushes for Sit-Down Debate Format Amid Mounting Health-Related Concerns, Report Says” HERE)

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Director of Taxpayer-Funded Museum Resigns After Online Backlash Over Post Wishing Death to Republicans (VIDEO)

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A museum director is looking for new employment after public outrage erupted over a post she made wishing death to “piece of s**t” Republicans.

Melonnie Hicks was the executive director of the Pioneer City County Museum in Sweetwater, Texas, when she posted the offensive missive on Facebook.

“I hope every single one of you pieces of s**t that votes republican, dies today,” she wrote on Super Tuesday.

The post quickly went viral on social media with many bombarding the Twitter account of the library.

The museum released a lengthy statement later on Friday about the debacle and said Hicks had resigned.

(Read more from “Director of Taxpayer-Funded Museum Resigns After Online Backlash Over Post Wishing Death to Republicans (VIDEO)” HERE)

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Bill Gates and Elon Musk Just Issued Very Different Responses to the Coronavirus. It’s a Lesson in Emotional Intelligence; Coronavirus Going to Hit Its Peak and Start Falling Sooner Than You Think; Coronavirus Patients Experience Certain Symptoms Before ‘Tipping Point’ of Dying

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By INC. The coronavirus disease COVID-19 has taken the world by storm. To date, the outbreak has infected more than 109,900 persons in at least 97 countries, and caused over 3,800 deaths, according to official counts cited in the New York Times. . .

Both Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates recently weighed in with their thoughts, and they’re almost polar opposite reactions. . .

Now, contrast that response with that of Gates, who recently posted an article on his blog entitled, “How to respond to COVID-19.” . . .

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and manage emotions–both in yourself and in others. This ability is important to develop in everyday life, but it can be lifesaving in the face of a panic-inducing situation like the coronavirus, because it allows you to keep emotions under control so you can make balanced, reasonable decisions. . .

Taken literally, of course, Musk’s take on panic is correct. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made it clear that “current circumstances suggest it is likely that this virus will cause a pandemic,” experts also advise that one of the best things the public can do is to try and remain calm. (Read more from “Bill Gates and Elon Musk Just Issued Very Different Responses to the Coronavirus. It’s a Lesson in Emotional Intelligence” HERE)

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Coronavirus Going to Hit Its Peak and Start Falling Sooner Than You Think

By New York Post. Nations are closing borders, stocks are plummeting and a New York Times headline reads: “The Coronavirus Has Put the World’s Economy in Survival Mode.” Both political parties have realized the crisis could severely impact the November elections — House, Senate, presidency. And sacré bleu, they’ve even shuttered the Louvre!

Some of these reactions are understand­able, much of it pure hysteria. Meanwhile, the spread of the virus continues to slow. . .

China is the origin of the virus and still accounts for over 80 percent of cases and deaths. But its cases peaked and began ­declining more than a month ago, according to data presented by the Canadian epidemiologist who spearheaded the World Health Organization’s coronavirus mission to China. Fewer than 200 new cases are reported daily, down from a peak of 4,000.

Subsequent countries will follow this same pattern, in what’s called Farr’s Law. First formulated in 1840 and ignored in ­every epidemic hysteria since, the law states that epidemics tend to rise and fall in a roughly symmetrical pattern or bell-shaped curve. AIDS, SARS, Ebola — they all followed that pattern. So does seasonal flu each year.

Clearly, flu is vastly more contagious than the new coronavirus, as the WHO has noted. Consider that the first known coronavirus cases date back to early December, and since then, the virus has ­afflicted fewer people in total than flu does in a few days. Oh, and why are there no flu quarantines? Because it’s so contagious, it would be impossible. (Read more from “Coronavirus Going to Hit Its Peak and Start Falling Sooner Than You Think” HERE)

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Coronavirus Patients Experience Certain Symptoms Before ‘Tipping Point’ of Dying: Expert

By New York Post. Coronavirus cases reach a “tipping point” where patients start to experience symptoms that indicate that they’re in danger of dying, according to a report.

The patients who are at risk of dying may see the virus spread to their lungs, which can prevent their other vital organs from getting the oxygen needed to fight the infection, Bloomberg reported.

“When you get a bad, overwhelming infection, everything starts to fall apart in a cascade,” said David Morens with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “You pass the tipping point where everything is going downhill and, at some point, you can’t get it back.” . . .

The so-called tipping point likely occurs earlier in older patients or those who have underlying health issues — who have been reported to be at higher risk of dying from the illness, the outlet reported. (Read more from “Coronavirus Patients Experience Certain Symptoms Before ‘Tipping Point’ of Dying: Expert” HERE)

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“Couldn’t Come at a Worse Time”: Putin Declares War on American Oil Production

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By Bloomberg. “The Kremlin has decided to sacrifice OPEC+ to stop U.S. shale producers and punish the U.S. for messing with Nord Stream 2,” said Alexander Dynkin, president of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow, a state-run think tank. “Of course, to upset Saudi Arabia could be a risky thing, but this is Russia’s strategy at the moment – flexible geometry of interests” . . .

When the coronavirus started devastating Chinese economic activity in early February – cutting oil demand in Saudi Arabia’s biggest customer by 20% — Prince Abdulaziz tried to convince [Russian Energy Minister Alexander] Novak that they should call an early OPEC+ meeting in response to cutback supply. Novak said no. The Saudi king and Putin spoke by phone ­­– it didn’t help. . .

In the short run, Russia is in a good position to withstand an oil price slump. The budget breaks even at a price of $42 a barrel and the finance ministry has squirreled away billions in a rainy-day fund. Nonetheless, the coronavirus’s impact on the global economy is still unclear and with millions more barrels poised to flood the market, Wall Street analysts are warning oil could test recent lows of $26 a barrel. (Read more from “Putin Declares War on American Oil Production” HERE)
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Opening the Floodgates of Oil Production Forcing Prices Down

By Brian Sullivan. Vladimir Putin just sparked what could end up being one of the ugliest oil price wars in modern history, and American oil and gas companies may be the victims.

This weekend Saudi Arabia dropped the oil bomb. It not only cut its forward crude price to Chinese customers by as much as $6 or $7 per barrel, but is also reportedly looking to raise its daily crude output by as many as 2 million barrels per day into an already oversupplied global market. Look out below.

The move by the Saudis is both a market share grab and a loud signal to Moscow that it’s done playing games. The dramatic action is in response to a contentious, and ultimately failed, OPEC meeting in Austria on Friday. OPEC members laid out a proposal to further cut oil output quotas by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day. [And it] couldn’t occur at a worse time. Coronavirus is already slamming global oil demand and crude prices have fallen 30% this year . . .

It′s not media hyperbole to call what happened this weekend in the oil markets “historic.” When the Russians walked out of OPEC’s Austria headquarters, it suddenly became every country – and every U.S company – for itself. A race to the top in production and a race to the bottom in prices. (Read more about the oil production crisis HERE)

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US Oil Production May Prove Resilient

By Jason Lemon. Under Trump, the U.S. has surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s biggest oil producing nation, largely spurred by the expansion of fracking. Saudi Arabia had tried unsuccessfully to flood the oil market and reduce prices drastically to maintain its dominance back in 2014. But U.S. production proved more resilient than the Saudis anticipated.

Some analysts are suggesting that Russia may similarly be underestimating or misunderstanding how the U.S. oil industry will respond.

“While the crash in oil prices that began in late 2014 [due to Saudi Arabia flooding the market] did ultimately result in hundreds of shale producers declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the net result of that process is that most of those companies reorganize themselves and come back with far less debt load,” David Blackmon, an independent energy analyst and consultant, wrote for Forbes.

“The strategy also fails to recognize that most producers have already put hedges in place for most of their equity production through the remainder of 2020 and beyond,” he noted. (Read more about how US oil production may respond HERE)

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Two Attendees of AIPAC’S DC Conference Test Positive for Coronavirus; Pence, Netanyahu, Hundreds Of Members Of Congress Went To Conference; FBI Employee Diagnosed With Coronavirus, Reports Say

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Pence, Netanyahu, Hundreds of Members of Congress Went to Conference Attended by 2 People Who Tested Positive for Coronavirus

By Daily Caller. Vice President Mike Pence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and hundreds of members of Congress attended a conference last month along with at least two people who have tested positive for a novel strain of coronavirus that has killed more than 3,000 people across the globe. . .

This year’s AIPAC conference featured a who’s who of high-profile politicians, both from the U.S. and Israel. In addition to Pence and Netanyahu, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer also attended the three-day event. . .

AIPAC organizers said Wednesday that a group of attendees had been in contact with an individual who tested positive for the virus, which is called COVID-19.

U.S. health officials have scrambled to ramp up the ability to test for possible cases of the virus. As of Friday, 299 Americans have tested positive for the virus. Fourteen of those have succumbed to the illness. Thirteen of the fatalities have occurred in the state of Washington, and all of the victims have been either elderly or had underlying health issues. (Read more from “Pence, Netanyahu, Hundreds of Members of Congress Went to Conference Attended by 2 People Who Tested Positive for Coronavirus” HERE)

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Two Attendees of AIPAC’S DC Conference Test Positive for Coronavirus

By The Blaze. The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee confirmed Friday that two people who attended its Washington, D.C., conference earlier this week have tested positive for coronavirus.

AIPAC announced on Twitter that it emailed a statement “to Policy Conference attendees, participants, speakers, administration and Hill offices” informing them that “at least two Policy Conference attendees from New York have tested positive for the Coronavirus.”

The pro-Israel group held its gathering March 1-3, hosting more than 18,000 attendees from across the country along with roughly two-thirds of the members of Congress.

USA Today reported that “attendees and speakers at the conference included Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), Sen. Tec Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), former 2020 Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg, former candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and several other lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.”

The exposure reinforces the fears of conference organizers across the country amid efforts to stop the spread of infection, as major gatherings are increasingly being canceled or postponed amid outbreaks of the coronavirus known as COVID-19. (Read more from “Two Attendees of AIPAC’S DC Conference Test Positive for Coronavirus” HERE)

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San Francisco FBI Employee Diagnosed With Coronavirus, Reports Say

By New York Post. An FBI employee at a small satellite office in San Francisco has tested positive for coronavirus, multiple reports said Friday.

FBI officials said that the agency has notified every person known to have come in contact with the infected employee about possible exposure, KTVU reported. . .

The FBI took “preemptive measures” in February to help contain the deadly virus — ordering $40,000 of masks and hand sanitizer for use across the country in case the outbreak were to become a pandemic in the US.

(Read more from “San Francisco FBI Employee Diagnosed With Coronavirus, Reports Say” HERE)

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Former Obama Acting DHS Inspector General Indicted

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A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has indicted former acting inspector general for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Charles K. Edwards, and his former subordinate, Murali Yamazula Venkata, on 16 counts for their alleged theft of “proprietary software and confidential databases from the U.S. government as part of a scheme to defraud the U.S. government,” according to a press release from the DOJ. Edwards served as acting IG for the Department of Homeland Security from 2011 to 2013. The DOJ announced the charges against Edwards and Venkata on Friday.

According to the allegations in the indictment, from October 2014 to April 2017, Edwards, Venkata, and others executed a scheme to defraud the U.S. government by stealing confidential and proprietary software from DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), along with sensitive government databases containing personal identifying information (PII) of DHS and USPS employees, so that Edwards’s company, Delta Business Solutions, could later sell an enhanced version of DHS-OIG’s software to the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Agriculture at a profit. Although Edwards had left DHS-OIG in December 2013, he continued to leverage his relationship with Venkata and other DHS-OIG employees to steal the software and the sensitive government databases.

The indictment further alleges that, in addition to stealing DHS-OIG’s software and the sensitive government databases, Venkata and others also assisted Edwards by reconfiguring his laptop so that he could properly upload the stolen software and databases, provided troubleshooting support whenever Edwards required it, and helped him build a testing server at his residence with the stolen software and databases, which contained PII. As further part of the alleged scheme, Edwards retained software developers in India for the purpose of developing his commercial alternative of DHS-OIG’s software.

Venkata is also accused of destroying records. (Read more from “Former Obama Acting DHS Inspector General Indicted” HERE)

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RED FLAG MANIA: New York Must Issue Extreme Risk Protection Order Against Chuck Schumer for Threatening SCOTUS

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Today, America’s premier gun rights organization, Gun Owners of America, has called on the State of New York to strip Senator Charles Schumer of any firearms in his possession using an Extreme Risk Protection Order (also known as a “Red Flag” order). This follows Sen. Schumer’s March 4 threats against two Supreme Court justices that they “have released the whirlwind” and “will pay the price.” Schumer claimed that they would not “know what him [them]” if they voted against abortion rights in an upcoming decision.

Although GOA opposes Red Flag laws, it points out that the New York law squarely applies to individuals like Schumer who have made such threats:

The finding required under YOUR Red Flag law is “that there is probable cause to believe the respondent is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to himself, herself or others….” Further, in determining whether grounds exist for issuance of a red flag order, “the court shall consider any relevant factors, including … a threat … directed toward … another person.”

GOA pointed out that Red Flag laws are used disproportionately on poor citizens and challenged New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo that,

if you believe that it should apply to the ruling class as well as those ruled, then will the nation soon see reports that you will be directing an appropriate official to seek a red flag order against Senator Schumer? We understand that Senator Schumer is, like you, a member of the Democrat Party, and, like you, is a powerful New York politician. Moreover, he actively supported YOUR New York Red Flag law, as well as adoption of such laws elsewhere. Do these factors give him immunity for violating the law you improvidently signed? If you do not enforce YOUR law against Senator Schumer, the American People will understand that gun laws are intended to be used selectively to suppress minorities, the politically powerless, and political opponents. Additionally, it will demonstrate that in New York there is one law for the rich and powerful, and another law for the rest of The People.

GOA then attached a draft Application for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order to its letter, to help expedite the Governor’s action against Schumer.

We’re not holding our breath, but turnabout is fair play . . .

WATCH: Bill Clinton Finally Explains Why He Had an Affair With Monica Lewinsky—and It’s as Lame as You’d Expect

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If you ever wanted to know exactly why Bill Clinton had an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, he’s got an explanation for you now.

The 42nd president reveals in the forthcoming Hulu documentary “Hillary” that he had the affair because it helped to “manage my anxieties,” resulting from the pressures of the presidency. His affair, he claims, was a distraction from those pressures.

“You feel like you’re staggering around, you’ve been in a 15-round prize fight that was extended to 30 rounds and here’s something that will take your mind off it for a while, that’s what happens,” he said. “Because there, whatever life — not just me. Everybody’s life has pressures and disappointments, terrors, fears of whatever. Things I did to manage my anxieties for years. I’m a different, totally different person than I was, a lot of that stuff 20 years ago,” he said.

“What I did was bad but it wasn’t like: how can I think about the most stupid thing I could and do it,” he added. “It’s not a defense, it’s an explanation. I feel awful.”

(Read more from “WATCH: Bill Clinton Finally Explains Why He Had an Affair With Monica Lewinsky—and It’s as Lame as You’d Expect” HERE)

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The Muslim Migrant Attack in St. Louis You Heard Nothing About

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St. Louis resident Alicia Clarke says she feels as if she has been “failed by the system” and is now “not feeling safe,” and she has good reason to feel this way. After she was savagely beaten and stabbed by her neighbor, her attacker walked free. The court considered it decisive that he has an IQ of 49. He is also a Muslim migrant, which may explain both the reluctance to prosecute him and the scant and incomplete coverage this incident has received.

St. Louis’ KSDK reported Monday that Clarke went out for a run near her home; when she returned, her cell phone was missing. Tracking it with Find My iPhone to her neighbor’s backyard, she went to get it, and told her neighbor, “I know you did this and I’m calling the police!” At that point the neighbor, whom KSDK describes only as a “6-foot teen,” attacked her.

“He knocked me down, pulling my hair, kicking,” Clarke recounted. When he finally stopped the attack, Clarke called the police. But then he returned: “I am on the phone with St. Louis police dispatch,” she said, “making my way to my backdoor, when he comes back with a weapon. He is on top of me. There was blood everywhere. I was literally fighting for my life at that point.” . . .

And it gets worse. Alicia Clarke’s sister, Andrea Clarke Flatley, wrote on Facebook that the attacker gave his sister a broken nose, and that Alicia Clarke now also has “staples in her head and stitches to the puncture wound under her eye” as a result of the attack. Flatley noted that the attacker, whom she named as Hassan, “is a 15 year old refugee from Somalia who lives with his family. He is 6’ and approx 175lbs, much larger than my sister. He has broken into Alicia’s car 3 different times and broken into another neighbor’s house. The police were involved every single time and reported that nothing could be done since he was a minor. Surely this time would be different, though.” . . .

Alicia Clarke was failed not only by law enforcement authorities, but also by the establishment media. The KSDK story contains no hint of the fact that the attacker was a Muslim migrant. It was left to the victim’s sister to reveal that on Facebook. It is clear from KSDK’s refusal to note this detail, which could be important to the case in establishing motive or in other ways, that Muslim migrants are a protected class in America today, at least among the media elites. The establishment media avoids reporting on anything that might reflect poorly upon them. (Read more from “The Muslim Migrant Attack in ST. Louis You Heard Nothing About” HERE)

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Joe Biden REALLY Thinks President Trump Is Afraid of Him; Opinion: If Dems Pick Biden to Face Trump, ‘Hallelujah Because Donald Trump Is Going to Kick His Butt’

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By Breitbart. Democratic presidential hopeful former Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday on MSNBC that President Donald Trump “risked his presidency” because he did not want to face him in the general election.

Biden was referencing the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives’ articles of impeachment against Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, which were voted down by the Republican-controlled Senate. . .

Biden said, “I don’t think the president wants to face me. I will beat him, period. Period. He’s done everything in his power— he’s even risked his presidency because he doesn’t want to face me.” (Read more from “Joe Biden Thinks President Trump Is Afraid of Him” HERE)

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Jason Chaffetz: If Dems Pick Biden to Face Trump, ‘Hallelujah Because Donald Trump Is Going to Kick His Butt’

By Fox News. Former Utah congressman and Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz said on “Outnumbered Overtime” on Wednesday that if Democrats are going to choose former Vice President Joe Biden as their nominee then “hallelujah because Donald Trump is going to kick his butt.”

The former Chairman of the House Oversight Committee reacted after Biden won ten of 14 state primaries on Super Tuesday, surging to victory in a series of contests across the South and beyond, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., claimed a sizable win in delegate-rich California, setting up a battle between the two men that is likely to drag on for weeks, or longer.

“In terms of messaging, you can’t have somebody who fumbles the ball more than Joe Biden so if that’s the messenger, it’s a messenger from the past, it’s not vibrant, it’s not exciting, it’s not the future and it is embarrassing to watch on a daily basis,” Chaffetz said.

“I think Donald Trump is stronger politically than he’s ever been before,” Chaffetz added on Wednesday. “If he plays his A-game, I think he will dominate and win by a bigger margin than he beat Hillary Clinton [by]. There were a lot of Republicans that didn’t vote for Donald Trump, and I think he gets nearly 100 percent of the Republicans going into the election.” (Read more from “Jason Chaffetz: If Dems Pick Biden to Face Trump, ‘Hallelujah Because Donald Trump Is Going to Kick His Butt'” HERE)

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