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Trump Endorses Ryan After Week of Tension

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Donald Trump endorsed Paul Ryan on Friday night, after refusing to back the speaker’s reelection bid earlier this week.

“This campaign is not about me or any one candidate, it’s about America,” Trump said, although he did not immediately launch into his message of support.

“I understand and embrace the wisdom of Ronald Reagan’s big tent within the party,” he continued, acknowledging that he’ll need support in the House and Senate to get his agenda accomplished if elected. “So I embrace the wisdom that my 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy.”

After a few minutes, Trump then uttered the magic words: “In our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.”

The mogul’s backing came at a rally in Green Bay, Wis., less than a week before Ryan faces a primary challenger whom has Trump praised, though Ryan appears to have little to worry about in the Tuesday race with businessman Paul Nehlen. (Read more from “Trump Endorses Ryan After Week of Tension” HERE)

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Dobson: Electing Trump to the White House ‘Would Unleash Christian Activists’

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Christian activist Dr. James Dobson believes that a Donald Trump presidency “would unleash Christian activists to fight for their beliefs.”

Writing on the website WND, Dobson recounted a June meeting in which he met with Trump and other Christian leaders at Trump Tower in New York City.

At the meeting, he told Trump, “Our Supreme Court has struck down Bible reading in schools and even prohibited prayer to an unidentified God. Then, they banned the posting of the Ten Commandments on bulletin boards. From there, the limitation on religious liberties has become even more egregious,” he wrote.

“Most recently, President Obama and Hillary Clinton have been referring to ‘freedom of worship,’ rather than ‘freedom of religion.’ Do you understand their motive? They are suggesting that Americans are free to worship in their churches and synagogues, but not in the public square,” he told Trump.

He said that Trump responded by calling it an “outrage that Christians have been deprived of their rights to speak openly on behalf of the values and principles in which they believe.”

Dobson noted that Trump criticized the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 piece of tax code that bans political participation by churches, as well as other tax-exempt not-for-profit groups. The amendment was supported by then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, D-Texas.

Dobson said Trump’s promise to overturn the amendment “would have a great impact on Washington because it would unleash Christian activists to fight for their beliefs.”

Trump has kept faith with the ministers with whom he met. The Republican platform includes a plank to abolish the amendment.

“We’re going to get rid of that horrible Johnson amendment and we’re going to let evangelicals, we’re going to let Christians and Jews and people of religion talk without being afraid to talk,” Trump said last month.

Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, has said that eliminating the amendment “is almost as important for Christians as the appointment of Supreme Court justices.”

Trump himself has said that ending the ban can be a catalytic moment for religion in America.

“I think maybe that will be my greatest contribution to Christianity — and other religions — is to allow you, when you talk religious liberty, to go and speak openly, and if you like somebody or want somebody to represent you, you should have the right to do it,” Trump told Dobson and the other clergy at their June meeting, saying religious leaders in America were “petrified” of running afoul of the ban.

“You talk about religious liberty and religious freedom, you don’t have any religious freedom if you think about it,” he said then. (For more from the author of “Dobson: Electing Trump to the White House ‘Would Unleash Christian Activists'” please click HERE)

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What Happens If the Trump ‘Drop out’ Rumors Are True?

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The internet, as it is wont to do, is filled with rumors today. The rumors are specifically swirling about the seemingly preposterous notion that Donald Trump is on the cusp of dropping out of the presidential race.

Even ABC News has glommed onto the bandwagon.

Republican officials are exploring how to handle a scenario that would be unthinkable in a normal election year: What would happen if the party’s presidential nominee dropped out?

ABC News has learned that senior party officials are so frustrated — and confused — by Donald Trump’s erratic behavior that they are exploring how to replace him on the ballot if he drops out.

What happens if Trump were to surprisingly tell himself, “you’re fired?”

That’s when rule nine of the Republican National Committee would come into play. Rule nine deals with how the GOP would fill vacancies in nominations. Here’s the rule from 2012, which Conservative Review has learned was unchanged in 2016.

RULE NO.9

Filling Vacancies in Nominations

(a) The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies.

(b) In voting under this rule, the Republican National Committee members representing any state shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention.

(c) In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes hereunder, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes, among the members of the Republican National Committee present or voting by proxy.

(d) No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election.

Here is how that would work in plain English.

First off many have wondered if that means Mike Pence automatically becomes the nominee. The answer is no.

Either the Republican National Committee (RNC) would chose the new nominee, or it could call for a new convention that would see all 2472 delegates reconvene to pick the nominee. The former is probably what would happen; the RNC would pick a new nominee.

In that scenario, the individual RNC members from a state would vote as if they were all of the delegates from their state. For instance the three members of the RNC from Texas would vote as if they were all 155 delegates from the state, and the three RNC members from Ohio would vote as if they were the 66 delegates from the state.

Furthermore, if the three RNC members didn’t vote for the same candidate, each one of them would get votes equal to 1/3 of their committee (including fractional votes). This means that, in effect, each Texas member of the RNC’s vote would be equal to 51.66 delegates, and each Ohio member would be equal to 22 delegates.

The members of the RNC would continue voting until a candidate emerged with 1237 delegates.

That doesn’t end it though. While that’s how the RNC would select a new nominee, it does not mean that the new nominee would replace Trump’s name on every state ballot. Each state has different laws on the deadline by which a party can replace their nominee on the ballot. Ballotpedia has put together what they believe to be the deadline for each state. They are careful to note that this is what they “gleaned from reviewing relevant state statutes and other government documents.” Of course as with all election law, it could be challenged.

Here’s how the team at Ballotpedia explained what happens after the RNC would replace a candidate.

The bulk of the dates for certifying the names of major party presidential candidates are in August and September—35 states in total. The GOP would have until about mid August to find a replacement nominee and still be able to get his or her name on the ballot in enough states to be competitive in November. For example, if Trump dropped out in late August, his name would already be certified to appear as the Republican candidate for president in at least 18 states. If he dropped out in September, that number could rise to more than 30 states. The Republican Party would have few options available to it, at this point, to remove Trump’s name and replace it with their new nominee.

If the rumors are true, Trump would essentially need to drop out by next week to allow a new nominee to be chosen and appear on enough ballots if lawsuits were unsuccessful.

Granted, this is probably going to never happen, but now you know how it would. But then again, it is 2016. (For more from the author of “What Happens If the Trump ‘Drop out’ Rumors Are True?” please click HERE)

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The Obvious Question No One’s Asking Obama

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It’s clear Obama has no use for Donald Trump. But that’s not really the point here . . .

The question this harsh, unprecedented attack by a sitting president on a major-party nominee to succeed him raises should be obvious: What happens if Donald Trump wins the election in November?

Given what Obama has said about Trump, would he not have an obligation to prevent Trump from assuming office? And what would that mean to the peaceful process America has enjoyed for more than two centuries of transitions of power?

These are questions Americans have never before been confronted with in American history.

Should we not be concerned about what Obama might do? (Read more from “The Obvious Question No One’s Asking Obama” HERE)

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White House to Trump: Election Won’t Be ‘Rigged’

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Donald Trump’s declaration that the general election could be “rigged” against him reeks of a candidate poised for defeat, the White House suggested Wednesday.

“I know this is the subject of debate at the end of the last presidential election when some supporters of Gov. [Mitt] Romney complained of skewed polling. So this is not a new claim. I would just note that it is often a claim made by people who don’t end up winning elections,” press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at the daily briefing. “What I’ll just say in general is that the cornerstone of our democracy is the ability of eligible voters, citizens to cast a ballot and to have it counted and the more people participate in that system, the more people that participate in that process, then the stronger our democracy.”

Earnest went on to note that President Barack Obama has made a similar case in front of bipartisan audiences.

“You’ve seen the United States Department of Justice pursue cases in the court to ensure that the rights of eligible voters are protected when it comes to participating in elections and the president has actually worked in bipartisan fashion including signing up the lawyer for Gov. Romney’s campaign to offer up advice about what we can do to make it easier for eligible voters to participate in the process,” Earnest said. “And the reason for all of that is the president believes our democracy benefits when the American people are engaged in that debate and when as many eligible voters as possible cast ballots.” (Read more from “White House to Trump: Election Won’t Be ‘Rigged'” HERE)

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Conservative Icon Speaks out Against Paul Ryan

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Republican nominee Donald Trump has recently come under fire for withholding an endorsement for current House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump told The Washington Post Tuesday that, as far as endorsing Ryan, he was “not quite there yet.”

While many within the GOP criticized the move, conservative legend Phyllis Schlafly has spoken out with even stronger language than Trump against the speaker. In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, she called on all Americans to “get rid of him.”

Ryan’s opponent in the race, Paul Nehlen, is a businessman who has been rapidly catching up in the polls, as the Wisconsin primary closes in for next week.

The 91-year-old Schlafly had plenty of criticisms for the Speaker, primarily those that dealt with immigration, trade, and Ryan’s failure to represent the Republican electorate.

“Get rid of him! We don’t want anybody who believes in open borders,” she said. “Obviously Paul Ryan is not an ‘America first’ guy.”

Schlafly hopes for someone to replace Ryan and help defeat the “kingmakers” — that is, the political elite who have a donor class agenda. She has been particularly troubled by Ryan’s negative comments toward Trump.

Nehlen has said similar, saying previously that “Ryan’s repeated betrayals of the GOP nominee is beneath the dignity of the Speakers’ office and is morally disqualifying.” He predicted that if Ryan were to be re-elected, he would do his best to sabotage Trump even if he won the presidency.

In particular, Schlafly is against the philosophy of globalism. She has commended Trump on his “America First” motto, and explained that’s what the GOP really represents. In her interview with Breitbart, the conservative icon said she is hopeful of the future and believes Trump’s prowess and allegiance to the commonplace U.S. citizen will revive the Republican party. (For more from the author of “Conservative Icon Speaks out Against Paul Ryan” please click HERE)

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More Trump Turmoil, and More on Khan

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Despite Donald Trump’s attempt at an “urgent pivot” away from his clash with the Khan family, his clash with the parents of the slain Muslim U.S. soldier continue to take a toll on the GOP nominee. Even Newt Gingrich, who many thought was an eyelash away from becoming Trump’s VP choice, told The Washington Post that Trump’s behavior this week is “unacceptable.”

It began last week at the Democratic National Convention, with a speech by Khizr Khan, father of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq. Mr. Khan, a Pakistan-born Muslim, condemned Trump for his immigration stance, particularly his call to pause immigration from Muslim countries that are a hotbed for terrorism. At one moment in the speech, Khan asked Trump if he’d read the Constitution, offered Trump his copy, and insisted that the billionaire has “sacrificed nothing.”

Asked about the comments by George Stephanopoulos on ABC News’ This Week, Trump called their son a hero, but rather than leave it there, he suggested that Mr. Khan didn’t write the speech and perhaps Mrs. Khan couldn’t say anything because she was Muslim. That response — widely dubbed an “attack on a Gold Star family — has drawn a deluge of harsh criticism from military officials and media, pundits and politicians — even those from within the Republican Party. Sen. John McCain (AZ-R) said that Trump’s remarks “do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers or candidates.”

In separate statements, House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell disagreed with Trump’s stance on Muslim immigration and described the Khans’ son as “selfless” and “brave.”

And Rich Lowry of the conservative National Review wrote, “It’s not that grief validates a particular point of view, or someone who has suffered a terrible loss should be above criticism. But the grieving mother or father deserves an extra measure of respect. This isn’t just Politics 101, but Decency 101.”

With less restraint, left-leaning outlets such as The Atlantic are breathlessly declaring Trump’s campaign in complete collapse while Vanity Fair predicts mass defections amid allegations that Trump campaign staffers are “suicidal.” On Thursday a group of military veterans will team with the left-wing activist group Moveon.org for a Capitol Hill rally to call on GOP leaders to withdraw their endorsements for Trump over the Khan affair.

One of Trump’s sons, Eric Trump, defended his father on CBS’s This Morning, insisting the reaction to the Khan comments are “blown hugely out of proportion.” He said his father’s stance on Muslims is “not an anti-Muslim message, it’s anti-terror message,” and that the GOP nominee is concerned about ISIS “running rampant in the world.”

Khizr Khan, Immigration Attorney

Meanwhile, more information has emerged about Khizr Khan’s ties to the DNC and exactly what he does for a living. As Breitbart reported Tuesday, Mr. Khan has removed his law firm’s website from the Internet, a law firm specializing in immigration and the acquiring of immigration visas, among other services. So, while nothing should take away from the Khan’s status as a Gold Star family, it is fair to observe that it was an immigration lawyer standing at a political convention blasting a candidate’s contrary immigration policies.

Also, Mr. Khan’s previous law firm, Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells) is the same powerful D.C. law firm that has worked on the Clintons’ tax filings since 2004 and patented the computer software that handled Hillary Clinton’s private email server. From 2002 through 2010 it was also the professional home of Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who did not prosecute Hillary Clinton over her failure to keep confidential emails and information secure.

Khan Coverage vs. Pat Smith Coverage
The wall-to-wall coverage of the Khans at the DNC Convention contrasts sharply with the lack of coverage given Pat Smith at the GOP Convention. Like the Khans she grieves. Smith’s son Sean was killed at Benghazi. Unlike the Khans, the candidate she opposes has a direct connection to the events that resulted in her son’s death, since Hillary was Secretary of State when the fatal embassy attack occurred.

Nonetheless, as Fox News reported, the Khans have received 40 times more coverage than Smith by mainstream media. And while Trump is roasted for his Sunday comments about the Khans, Clinton is receiving mostly a free pass for her comments the same day when she insisted once again that the grieving Smith misunderstood her when she spoke to families at the return ceremony after the Benghazi attack. According to Hillary, when she met with them at the ceremony she did not in fact blame the attacks on a YouTube video.

Unfortunately for Clinton, the Khan uproar brought Charles Woods, the father of Navy SEAL Ty Woods, back into the public eye. In appearances on CNN and Fox News, Mr. Woods read from his diary of that day at Joint Base Andrews, scribbled down shortly after meeting the Secretary of State.

“I gave Hillary a hug and shook her hand,” he read, “And she said we are going to have the filmmaker arrested who was responsible for the death of my son.’”

When asked if he thought Trump should apologize to Khan, Woods said, “I know who should apologize, and that would be Hillary Clinton, for lying to the American families who lost their loved ones, as well as to the American public.” (For more from the author of “More Trump Turmoil, and More on Khan” please click HERE)

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New Information on Khizr Khan Sheds Light on His Opposition to Trump

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Featured at the Democratic National Convention as an ardent critic of Donald Trump, Khizr Khan — the father of a Muslim-American U.S. soldier killed in Iraq — has been hailed as a hero as he continues to speak out against the Republican presidential nominee.

However, details about Khan’s background are emerging that might at least partially explain the motivation behind his dislike of Trump, the Washington Times reports.

According to his website, Khan — an immigration lawyer — helps clients gain E-2 and EB-5 visas, which provide green cards to foreign investors along with their families. Yet this particular visa program is highly controversial and has been accused of allowing foreigners to buy residency.

“The E-2 and EB-5 are two of the most notoriously abused visa categories that essentially allow wealthy foreigners to buy their way to U.S. residency, and possibly citizenship, with a relatively modest investment,” said Jessica Vaughan, policy director for the Center of Immigration Studies.

“The EB-5 is literally a ‘citizenship for sale’ program in which a visa for a whole family can be bought for as little $500,000. … It’s an amazing deal. Compared to other countries, America is the Walmart of investor visa programs,” she added.

In exchange for their $500,000 investment, immigrants who opt for this program receive green cards for themselves, their spouses and all of their children under the age of 21.

In addition to complaints about the pay-to-play nature of these visas, there have also been instances where immigrant investors are scammed out of their money.

While there is no indication that Khan has been involved in any shady business dealings, some individuals might see Trump’s stance on immigration as a threat to such lawyers, who undoubtedly stand to profit from our current immigration system.

Furthermore, Khan’s background in Islamic law has raised several questions pertaining to his ideological motivations. Writing in 1983 for the Houston Journal of International Law, Khan said that all judicial systems must be subordinate to Sharia law, otherwise known as Islamic law.

“All other juridical works which have been written during more than thirteen centuries are very rich and indispensable, but they must always be subordinated to the Shari’ah and open to reconsideration by all Muslims,” wrote Khan in his work, “Juristic Classification Of Islamic Law.”

In other words, all legal systems and juridical works should be open to reconsideration by Muslims and must be subordinate to the law of Islam, including the U.S. Constitution.

To make matters worse, Khan credits Said Ramadan — the head of the Islamic Center in Geneva and a major figure within the Muslim Brotherhood — as a contributor to his writings.

Considering this background, it is interesting that he would question Trump’s support for, or knowledge of, the Constitution. (For more from the author of “New Information on Khizr Khan Sheds Light on His Opposition to Trump” please click HERE)

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Trump Will Not Endorse Two Major Republicans for Reelection

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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has not yet decided whether he will endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in his bid for re-election.

During an interview, Trump said, “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. We need…very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet…”

His statement seemed to intentionally mimic Ryan himself who once said he was “just not ready” to endorse Trump.

In the Wisconsin election scheduled for August 9, Ryan is fighting to retain his seat in the House against his opponent, Paul Nehlen.

Trump has commended Nehlen for running “a very good campaign,” but says that, as for endorsing Ryan, he is “giving it very serious consideration.”

The decision by Trump to withhold his support from Ryan has been called “an extraordinary breach of political decorum,” and is further evidence the Republican Party still lacks unity.

Ryan withheld his endorsement of Trump until June, when he was named the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

A few weeks prior to Ryan announcing his endorsement, Ryan spoke to CNN’s Jake Tapper and said he was not ready to give Trump his support.

The two men have found themselves on opposite sides of several issues recently.

Ryan criticized Trump for remarks he made about Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son, U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, was killed in service to his country.

Calling Captain Khan a brave example of the sacrifice made by many Muslim Americans, Ryan said, “His sacrifice — and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan — should always be honored. Period.”

Ryan’s spokesman Zack Roday issued a statement which said, “Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump’s endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless.”

Another top Republican is also lacking a Trump endorsement.

Senator John McCain, R-Ariz, issued a statement Monday, in which he too rebuked Trump for his remarks about the Khans.

Responding to McCain’s statement, Trump said, “I haven’t endorsed John McCain.”

Trump asserts he takes issue with McCain because of his failure to do more for veterans. Trump said, “He has not done a good job for the vets and I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets…. They’re not being treated fairly.”

McCain has not responded to Trump’s remarks. (For more from the author of “Trump Will Not Endorse Two Major Republicans for Reelection” please click HERE)

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Say What? After Trump Has Crying Infant Removed, Planned Parenthood Says Babies Are Welcomed at His Rallies

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Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States, chastised Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for booting a wailing infant from a Virginia rally Tuesday. Trump, not one to suffer interruptions during his rallies, initially acknowledged the outburst with grace. “I love babies,” he said. “I hear that baby crying, I like it.”

“What a baby. What a beautiful baby, don’t worry,” he continued.

His patience was exhausted in short order.

“Actually, I was only kidding, you can get the baby out of here,” he said moments later. “I think she really believed me that I love having a baby crying while I’m speaking,” he added.

(Read more from “Say What? After Trump Has Crying Infant Removed, Planned Parenthood Says Babies Are Welcomed at His Rallies” HERE)

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