Tag Archives: Politics

‘Total Nonsense’ And ‘Pure Fiction’: CNN Fact-Checker Exposes Trump’s False Debate Claims

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CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale offered a breathless breakdown of the misleading claims and false statements that former President Donald Trump made during his first 2024 presidential debate with President Joe Biden, which the network hosted in Atlanta on Thursday.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s list of false claims is “way, way longer” than the president’s, Dale noted before reeling off and then debunking the many, many falsehoods uttered by Trump.

Dale, during his near-3-minute segment, described Trump’s claim that Biden wants to quadruple people’s taxes as “pure fiction” and said his line about Biden only creating jobs for “illegal immigrants” was “total nonsense.”

CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who moderated the debate, were criticised for not fact-checking Trump’s false claims in real time for the audience’s benefit.

The network did, however, run a live fact-check on its website.

Per CNN’s analysis, Trump made more than 30 false claims during the head-to-head compared to Biden’s “at least nine false or misleading claims.”

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Rishi Sunak Says He Was Left ‘Hurt And Angry’ By Reform Activist Who Called Him A ‘F****** P***’

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Rishi Sunak has told how he was left “hurt and angry” after a Reform UK activist was filmed calling him a “fucking P***”.

The prime minister said his two daughters should not have to hear racist insults being hurled at their father.

An undercover reporter for Channel 4 News secretly filmed Reform supporter Andrew Parker saying: “I’ve always been a Tory voter, but what annoys me is that fucking P*** we’ve got in. What good is he? You tell me, you know. He’s just wet. Fucking useless.”

Reacting today, a clearly-emotional Sunak said: “When my two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an ‘effing P***’ it hurts and it makes me angry, and I think he has some questions to answer.

“And I don’t repeat those words lightly, I do so deliberately because this is too important not to call out for what it is.”

Channel 4 have also denied claims that Parker is an actor who was paid to be in the video.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage stoked the conspiracy with a post on X.

But a Channel 4 spokesperson said: “We strongly stand by our rigorous and duly impartial journalism which speaks for itself.

“We met Mr Parker for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters, where he was a Reform party canvasser.

“We did not pay the Reform UK canvasser or anyone else in this report. Mr Parker was not known to Channel 4 News and was filmed covertly via the undercover operation.”

Parker himself told the Press Association that he apologised for what he had said.

“Of course I’m sorry,” he said. “They were off-the-cuff things that everyone says.”

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Keir Starmer Vows To Quit As Labour Leader If He Loses The Election

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He made the unusual announcement during a Radio 5Live phone-in this morning.

Asked by presenter Nicky Campbell is he will stand down should the Tories secure a fifth term in office, Starmer replied: “Yes.”

Usually, leaders dodge that question during election campaigns as it effectively puts their own personal future on the ballot paper.

However, the fact that Starmer was willing to say he will resign demonstrates that he is confident of victory.

Despite expectations that Labour’s commanding lead in the opinion polls would narrow during the campaign, the party remains around 20 points ahead with less than a week to go until election day.

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‘One Of The Sickest Ever’: Rishi Sunak Slammed Over Latest Labour Attack Ad

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Rishi Sunak has been slammed over the Tories’ latest controversial Labour attack ad.

The graphic, which the prime minister posted on X, shows a man, a woman and a child with their hands above their heads with the message: Don’t Surrender Your Family’s Future To Labour.

Sunak’s accompanying message said: “I will never stop fighting for this country.”

It follows on from other hard-hitting attack ads produced by the Conservatives as election day looms and the polls continue to show Labour well ahead.

A week ago, the party was criticised for a video appearing to show a red carpet being rolled out on a beach for migrants arriving by boat with the message: “Labour’s approach to illegal immigration.”

The latest attempt to scare voters into voting Tory was comprehensively taken apart by social media users.

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Tories Heading For Electoral Wipeout As New Poll Predicts 250-Seat Labour Majority

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Labour is on course for a 250-seat Commons majority, according to yet another poll predicting wipeout for the Tories.

The Focaldata survey forecast that the Conservatives are set to lose a staggering 262 seats on July 4, leaving the party with just 110 MPs.

Labour, meanwhile, will gain 250 to leave them on 450 seats.

The Lib Dems will also see their number of MPs almost treble to 50, according to the poll, while the SNP would slump to just 16 MPs, down from the 48 they won in 2019.

The poll was conducted using the so-called “MRP” method, which uses a bigger than normal sample.

It also uses demographic data to calculate what the result would be on a seat-by-seat basis.

The Focaldata poll echoes a number of such surveys carried out by other pollsters since the campaign started, all of which pointed to huge Labour victories.

However, Focaldata’s chief research officer, James Kanagasooriam, said the final result could be even worse for the Tories as many of the seats they are forecast to win could end up falling another way.

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The Tory Betting Scandal Presented Rishi Sunak With An Opportunity To Look Strong – He Blew It

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They say that bad things come in threes. If only Rishi Sunak was that lucky.

Ever since he called the election on May 22, the prime minister has been hit by a litany of misfortune – some self-inflicted – which has completely derailed the Tories’ election campaign.

The latest – and possibly most damaging – one is the revelation that senior Tories close to the prime minister are accused of placing bets on the date of the election.

Two of them are Conservative candidates, one of whom – former Sunak parliamentary aide Craig Williams – has admitted he did it.

The Tories’ chief data officer, Nick Mason, and campaign director Tony Lee have each taken a “leave of absence” after also being accused.

The other alleged punter we currently know about is one of the PM’s close protection officers, or at least he was until he was suspended from duty by the Metropolitan Police.

It is the force’s different approach to disciplinary matters which have led to Sunak facing fresh accusations that he is weak, a label already attached to the prime minister by 61% of the public.

Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said: “Sunak promised integrity, professionalism and accountability, instead his weakness means he has overseen the same levels of sleaze and scandal that have come to epitomise the last 14 years of Tory government.

“Rishi Sunak needs to take immediate action against all implicated.”

Home secretary James Cleverly endured a tough grilling from Trevor Phillips on Sky News this morning over the PM’s apparent inaction.

“Why doesn’t he, like any other employer might do in this situation, call in the alleged offenders, ask them ‘did you place a bet or did you not place a bet’ and if the answer is yes, sack them?” Phillips asked.

After Cleverly claimed No.10′s hands are tied while the Gambling Commission investigates, Phillips told him: “No, no, no – he’s the prime minister. These people work for him. He can do whatever he wants.

“If it were you, he’d say ‘James, tell me the truth. Did you or did you not?’. And you, being an honest man, would say yes or no.”

The minister said: “I don’t necessarily know the process in detail, but the Gambling Commission is the appropriate body for this. They have said they’re investigating and they’ve also said it is inappropriate for us to comment on what is a live investigation.”

But Phillips hit back: “He’s the prime minister – he doesn’t get told what to do by the Gambling Commission.”

For his part, Sunak has said the affair has left him “very angry” and has pledged that any Tories found guilty will be booted out of the party.

However, regardless of the reason for Sunak’s unwillingness to take action now, the impression it has given is of a prime minister at the mercy of events rather than taking charge of them.

With less than two weeks to go until election day, the Tory betting scandal has merely confirmed their impression of a PM who can’t take the big decisions, which is one of many reasons why time is fast running out on his period in office.

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Trump Entertains Bizarre UFC-Like Concept For Migrants: ‘Not The Worst Idea I’ve Ever Had’

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Former President Donald Trump backed an idea for a “migrant league” similar to the Ultimate Fighting Championship in remarks to Christian conservatives at a Faith & Freedom Coalition conference on Saturday.

“Why don’t you set up a migrant league of fighters and have your regular league of fighters and then you have the champion of your league, these are the greatest fighters in the world, fight the champion of the migrants,” said Trump, who claimed he pitched the idea to UFC President and CEO Dana White.

He continued, “I think the migrant guy might win, that’s how tough they are.”

The presumptive Republican presidential candidate, who once compared asylum-seekers to UFC fighters in 2019, added that White didn’t like the concept “too much.”

“But actually, it’s not the worst idea I’ve ever had,” said Trump. “These are tough people, these people are tough and they’re nasty, mean.”

White, in remarks to reporters at a UFC event, confirmed Trump shared the idea.

“It was a joke, it was a joke,” said White, a friend of the former president. “I saw everybody going crazy online. But yeah, he did say it.”

Trump would later bring up his “new migrant fight league” idea again at a rally in Philadelphia.

“You know, these are tough cookies coming into our country, coming with prisons and mental institutions,” he said.

He added that the idea could make White — who has appeared alongside him at multiple UFC events — “a lot of money.”

Sarafina Chitika, a spokesperson for Biden’s re-election campaign, took aim at the former president over his “incoherent, unhinged tirade” on Saturday.

“Fitting that convicted felon Donald Trump spent his time at a religious conference threatening to round up Latinos, bragging about ripping away Americans’ freedoms, and promising to be even more extreme if he regains power,” said Chitika in a statement.

The remarks from Trump arrive amid a campaign where he’s used dehumanizing rhetoric to refer to migrants, who he called “animals” and “not people” at an Ohio rally in March.

He’s pledged to conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants should he win in November’s presidential election and remarked that migrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” too.

Biden has talked of “Biden migrant crime” on the campaign trail, as well, despite studies that show immigrants don’t commit crime at a higher-rate than native-born citizens.

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‘A Sign Of Moral Decay’: Trevor Phillips Clashes With James Cleverly Over Top Tories Betting On Election Date

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Trevor Phillips clashed with James Cleverly over the betting scandal which has sent the Tories’ election campaign into meltdown.

The Sky News presenter said it was a sign of the party’s “moral decay” and demanded to know why Rishi Sunak had not sacked those alleged to be involved.

It came as the Conservatives’ chief data officer, Nick Mason, became the latest senior official to be dragged into the affair.

According to The Sunday Times, he has taken a leave of absence amid allegations he placed dozens of bets on the date of the election.

Two Tory candidates, the party’s director of campaigns and one of the PM’s close protection officers are also under investigation.

On Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips this morning, the presenter told the home secretary: “The prime minister talked two weeks ago about the moral mission of your government to reform welfare.

“Let’s talk about morality. Is it a sign of the Conservative Party’s moral decay that some of your colleagues were more interested in stuffing their own pockets by gambling on the date of the election than on helping hard-pressed families hit by the cost of living?”

Cleverly replied: “I’m not in any way going to defend people who placed bets on that There is an investigation by the Gambling Commission and we have been told very, very clearly that we are not to discuss the investigations.”

Phillips went on to ask the minister why Sunak had not taken firm action against those involved.

He said: “The prime minister claims to be furious, but he says it’s all got to go through this process. Why doesn’t he, like any other employer might do in this situation, call in the alleged offenders, ask them ‘did you place a bet or did you not place a bet’ … and if the answer is yes, sack them?”

After Cleverly said that was the Gambling Commission’s job, Phillips told him: “No, no, no – he’s the prime minister. These people work for him. He can do whatever he wants.

“If it were you, he’d say ‘James, tell me the truth. Did you or did you not?’. And you, being an honest man, would say yes or no.”

But the home secretary replied: “I don’t necessarily know the process in detail, but the Gambling Commission is the appropriate body for this. They have said they’re investigating and they’ve also said it is inappropriate for us to comment on what is a live investigation.”

Phillips hit back: “He’s the prime minister – he doesn’t get told what to do by the Gambling Commission.”

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Nigel Farage Mocked Over Reform UK’s ‘Deeply Unserious’ Plan To Cut Taxes And Raise Spending

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Reform UK’s plans to cut taxes while also massively increasing public spending has been branded “deeply unserious” as the party unveiled its general election “contract” with voters.

The document – which party leader Nigel Farage refused to call a manifesto – was launched as the right-wing party threatens to torpedo any lingering chance the Tories had of staying in power.

It included plans to boost public spending by £141 billion a year – many times more than either Labour or the Conservatives have proposed – while at the same time cutting taxes by £70 billion.

Other pledges include scrapping the UK’s net zero commitments, pulling the country out of the European Convention on Human Rights and freezing “non-essential” immigration.

But at the launch of the 26-page document in Merthyr Tydfil, Farage endured a rough ride from sceptical political journalists who queried.

The BBC’s Alex Forsyth said: “You’ve talked about the costings, you’ve talked about the spendings, but some of the stuff in here – a freeze on immigration, NHS waiting lists down to zero, more police officers.

“You accuse other parties of broken promises, but isn’t this a list of unrealistic promises – wish-list rather than a serious plan? Aren’t you doing what you accuse others of, which is chucking out a load of things which sound popular in the hope you get votes, that you never plan to deliver on?”

Farage replied: “It is a promise that this is what we’re going to campaign for over the course of the next five years.”

He said that Reform UK would not win the election, but would be “a voice of opposition to Labour” in the Commons.

“We’ve laid out very clearly where we stand philosophically, ideologically, on a number of things and this is what we’re going to fight for,” Farage added. “I see no inconsistency with that whatsoever.”

Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates told Farage: “In your contract, your proposing to spend an extra £141 billion every year. That’s about 30 times the amount that Labour say they’re going to spend, 10 times the amount of the Tories and about three times what Liz Truss spent.

“You did say you weren’t going to win the next election, but the scale of this – it’s deeply unserious, isn’t it?”

Farage replied: “That’s right, it’s radical, it’s fresh thinking, it’s outside the box, it’s not what you’re going to get with the current Labour and Conservative parties, who are virtually indistinguishable from each other.

“Is this radical, fresh thinking on economics? Yes. Is it radical, fresh thinking on constitutional change? Yes. Is it very radical change on the way our education system is currently bringing up our young children? Yes.

“Britain is broken, Britain needs reform. That’s what we’re here for, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re unashamedly radical – we want change.”

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‘Admission Of Defeat’: Laura Kuenssberg Calls Out ‘Desperate’ Tory Campaign Tactics

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Laura Kuenssberg laid into transport secretary Mark Harper on Sunday and said the Conservatives’ campaign tactics are “desperate”.

The Tories have been trailing in the polls for weeks now – YouGov even put them in third place behind both Labour and Reform on Thursday.

The Conservatives have responded by telling voters supporting any party other than them is the same as giving Labour a “blank cheque” for a huge majority.

So, on her show, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the presenter said: “The message shifting somewhat in the last few days, not so much necessarily to say, ‘let’s win this,’ but to say ‘you should worry about a big Labour majority to stop the other side romping home’.”

She showed viewers one of the Tories’ more recent social media adverts, which predicts a Labour victory with 490 seats.

Kuenssberg showing Harper the Tories' own attack ad, which gives 57 seats.
Kuenssberg showing Harper the Tories’ own attack ad, which gives 57 seats.

“You seem to be resorting to just spooking people into some kind of massive majority.

“Isn’t that an admission of defeat, when as you said, not a single vote has been cast, apart from a few postal votes?” the BBC presenter asked.

The minister replied: “It’s not, it’s simply doing what you did before with me, just to point to the polls.

“All we’re doing is if you look at the polls, and if people voted the way the polls are suggesting, that’s what you’d get.

“And we’re saying to people is that what you want? And actually I don’t think it is what people want.”

He claimed the Tories are still fighting for every vote, and there’s still plenty of undecided voters.

According to research from consultancy firm More in Common, about 15% of voters are still undecided.

Kuenssberg hit back: “Isn’t that exactly the point?

“There are still millions of people in this country, probably many of them watching this morning, who haven’t decided what they’re going to do yet, and they’re hearing from you, is not ‘hey here’s our positive vision’.

“What they’re hearing is, ‘oh well you can’t give the other side everything they want so stick with us.’

“Isn’t that something that sounds a bit desperate?”

“Not really,” Harper said, and claimed broadcasters often talk about polls.

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