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‘Grabbing At Straws!’ Trevor Phillips Calls Out Minister For Spin On Local Elections Disaster

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Trevor Phillips called out transport secretary Mark Harper for his bizarrely optimistic take on the Tories’ terrible performance in the local elections.

The Conservatives lost almost 500 councillors, along with 10 police and crime commissioners.

The governing party also has just one metro mayor now after voters in England and Wales went to the ballot box on Thursday.

But, overlooking these devastating losses, Harper seemed to focus on just one piece of analysis in his interview – Sky News’ forecast that the next general election will result in a hung parliament.

He told the broadcaster: “That means Keir Starmer is not on course to win a majority, and that is before an election campaign where Labour’s lack of policy will come under scrutiny.

“So what that shows me is very clear: the polls are not correct, there is everything to fight for, and the Conservative Party under the prime minister’s leadership is absolutely up for that fight.”

That same projection from Sky still shows the Tories losing 130 seats.

Sky News host Phillips said: “This is grabbing at straws a bit – you actually took a whacking.”

“I was very clear – these are disappointing results,” Harper replied. “The point is, what they demonstrate from that scenario is that Labour’s not on course for that majority, Keir Starmer hasn’t sealed the deal with the public.

“So that means there is a fight to be had, the prime minister is up for that fight, I’m up for that fight and I know the Conservatives are up for it.”

“I’m wondering if you’ve really got to grips with the scale of this,” Phillips said. “On Thursday, you won fewer council seats than Labour. And more importantly, you won fewer council seats than the Liberal Democrats.”

Labour now have 1,140 councillors in England, the Liberal Democrats 521 and the Conservatives 513.

The presenter said: “I know these are local elections so you can’t translate completely, but is it morally right that what is now the third most popular party is now squatting in Downing Street?”

“I don’t accept that analysis at all,” the cabinet minister replied.

“The Liberal Democrats beat you,” Phillips reminded him.

“No they didn’t,” Harper insisted. “If you look at the national equivalent vote share, that’s not correct.”

He said local elections are “always difficult” for the party in government, and that the results of the next general election “are not pre-determined”.

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Judge Calls Out Trump For Making False Claims About Gag Order

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After proclaiming last year that he would “absolutely” testify in his own defence if any of his criminal cases go to trial, former US President Donald Trump appears to be singing a new tune.

Trump claimed on Thursday he would be unable to testify in the trial concerning a hush money scheme and falsified business records, and blamed the gag order he’s currently under for keeping him off the stand.

“I’m not allowed to testify. I’m under a gag order,” he told reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom. “I’m not allowed to testify because this judge who’s totally conflicted, has me under an unconstitutional gag order.”

Judge Juan Merchan corrected Trump’s apparent misunderstanding before the jury filed in Friday morning.

The gag order “does not prohibit you from taking the stand,” Merchan told Trump. “As the name of the order indicates, it only applies to extrajudicial statements.”

CNN fact checker Daniel Dale called out Trump’s lie immediately.

“This claim that the gag order means he can’t testify, it’s just conjured out of thin air,” he told Jake Tapper on Thursday.

“Trump has gone from saying that he will testify, to he maybe will testify, to if it’s necessary, to now, ‘Whoa, whoa, I can’t testify, it’s out of my hands.’ But it’s in his hands. He can testify and he’s just making stuff up.”

Under the terms of the order, Trump cannot talk about the jurors in the case, witnesses that may be called, or any of the court staff. But he’s free to discuss anything else related to the case, including Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg ― whom he’s attacked repeatedly.

Should Trump actually take the stand, as he unequivocally pledged to do, it would likely be against the advice of his attorneys. Criminal defendants are generally advised not to testify in their own defence.

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‘Gestapo Administration’: Trump Likens Biden White House To Nazis In Wild Attack

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Former US President Donald Trump went after prosecutors in his legal cases before comparing President Joe Biden’s administration to Gestapo, the secret police force of Nazi Germany, at a private Republican National Committee donor event, according to audio obtained by multiple outlets on Saturday.

“These people are running a Gestapo administration,” said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who has claimed he’d be a dictator on “day one” and whose rhetoric has been compared to that of Adolf Hitler.

“And it’s the only thing they have. And it’s the only way they’re going to win, in their opinion and it’s actually killing them. But it doesn’t bother me.”

Trump launched multiple insults and attacks toward prosecutors including special counsel Jack Smith — who is prosecuting the former president’s two federal cases. The former president called Smith a “fucking asshole” in his speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate, The Washington Post reported.

He reportedly labelled Smith as an “evil thug,” “deranged” and someone who is “unattractive both inside and out,” as well.

He also referred to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis — who is prosecuting Trump’s Georgia election interference case — as “Mrs Wade,” a nod to her relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade, as well as a “real beauty.”

Trump, who faces 88 charges across four criminal cases, claimed that he went easier on Biden prior to getting indicted and since then he declared that “now the gloves have to come off.”

“Once I got indicted, I said holy shit, I just got indicted. Me, I got indicted,” said Trump who likened getting indicted to “Alphonse,” the first name of Al Capone.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

via Associated Press

Trump, who entered the event to his rendition of the national anthem featuring Capitol rioters who he refers to as the “J6 Hostages,” reportedly received donations of $40,000 (£31,877) or more at the event while advisers said the campaign along with the RNC were projected to raise over $76 million (£60.5m) in April.

The former president and the RNC raised $65.6 million (£52.8m) in March, tens of millions less than the over $90 million (£71m) that Biden’s reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised that month.

The former president, at another point during the event, offered anyone who looked to give $1 million (£800,000) an opportunity to come up and address the crowd.

Two people reportedly took him up on the offer, including one who declared that Trump is “the person that God has chosen” to lead.

The former president leads Biden by one percentage point, as of May 4, according to an average of national polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight.

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Chris Hemsworth Makes Rare Comment About Brother Liam’s Relationship With Miley Cyrus

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If Thor is going to say something publicly about a family member’s private life, he’s going to keep it Loki.

Chris Hemsworth made a rare remark about his brother, Liam Hemsworth, and his rollercoaster romance with Miley Cyrus on a new episode of Vanity Fair’s lie detector series.

During the interview, the Avengers alum was asked if he was upset that his brother got the leading role in The Last Song instead of him.

The question was a loaded one, being that Miley and Liam met and quickly began dating on the set of the 2010 film — which led to an on-and-off relationship that spanned about a decade.

In response to the question, the Thor: Ragnarok star was quick to say “no” — but couldn’t help but make a crack about how much of an impact that movie had on his brother.

“The world — Liam’s life would’ve been very different without The Last Song, right?” Chris quipped.

Miley Cyrus at the 2024 Grammys
Miley Cyrus at the 2024 Grammys

VALERIE MACON via Getty Images

Miley and the Hunger Games alum first began dating in 2009. The two got engaged for the first time in 2012, when she was just 19 and Liam was 22.

They then split in 2013 before eventually rekindling things in 2016. The couple announced they were engaged for a second time later that year, and tied the knot in December 2018. By August 2019, the two had split for good.

It is speculated that Miley’s 2023 hit Flowers was about the joy of being single after her long romance with her ex-husband.

Chris’ joke about his brother’s love life wasn’t the only time his famous sibling was mentioned during his Vanity Fair interview.

The Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga star also revealed that his brother was cast as Thor in the MCU before him, and that initially he was “a little jealous, maybe”.

“Then when I was allowed to re-audition, it was when he was out of the picture,” Chris said.

“So we were never neck-and-neck. It was either, I was involved and he wasn’t, or he was involved then wasn’t. Then I was involved.”

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The Fall Guy Comes Under Fire Over Joke About Amber Heard And Johnny Depp

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Well, that didn’t land.

The Fall Guy is hitting cinemas this weekend, but some people who got to preview the film aren’t impressed with a joke that references Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s relationship.

In the stunt actor-inspired action-comedy, Hannah Waddingham’s producer character walks into a messy trailer, where she tells Emily Blunt, playing a director: “It’s like Amber and Johnny were just in here.”

The scene didn’t sit right with many people online, who thought the “distasteful” and “cheap” line made light of domestic violence.

Others posted that they had been excited to see the movie before hearing about the off-colour joke.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard attend the 2016 Grammy Awards. A joke about their rocky relationship is at the center of a minor controversy.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard attend the 2016 Grammy Awards. A joke about their rocky relationship is at the center of a minor controversy.

John Shearer via Getty Images

Heard and Depp married in 2015 but split just 15 months later.

Details about the pair’s tumultuous relationship would become public years later, when Depp sued Heard for defamation after she called herself a “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a 2018 op-ed for the Washington Post.

An intense court battle ensued, in which both actors accused each other of abuse. In the end, a jury ruled in Depp’s favour and ordered Heard to pay him millions in damages.

HuffPost has reached out to the distributor of The Fall Guy, Universal Pictures, for comment.

See some reactions here:

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