Former President Donald Trump heads to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania today for his first midterm campaign rally since the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago residence. The former president will campaign for two of his running mates, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Republican Doug Mastriano, who is trailing his Democratic opponent badly in fundraising and trailing in the polls. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is also set to be in the state for the Labor Day weekend as Pennsylvania turns into a political battleground. Mr Trump’s rally comes after a Florida court released a full list of what was found at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate during an FBI search last month. The trove of documents found in the former president’s home includes more than 100 classified documents, more than 10,000 documents legally owned by the US government and, most mysteriously, 90 empty folders that once contained highly sensitive documents. On Saturday morning, Trump took to the Truth Social to pump up his base ahead of the Pennsylvania rally and lashed out at the FBI, the Justice Department and Biden, whom he referred to as a “cognitively challenged Democrat.”

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On January 6, family members kick off Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania

Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania got off to a controversial start tonight, with two speakers linked to the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. One of the speakers, Geri Perna, is the aunt of Matt Perna, a January 6 rioter who killed himself in February while awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to charges of witness tampering, disorderly conduct and two counts of trespassing. building or premises. Officials say Perna, a follower of the QAnon movement, smashed the Capitol windows with a metal pole and entered the Capitol building with a crowd of rioters. “He did not commit acts of violence,” his aunt told the crowd. “Prior to Jan. 6, he never even had a parking ticket.” The allegations against Perna “took him from being an active, vibrant, successful businessman to someone who was afraid to leave his home,” his aunt continued. Another speaker urged the crowd to donate to a legal defense fund for the hundreds of people who have been arrested for storming the Capitol. Josh Marcus September 4, 2022 12:10 AM 1662245700

Marjorie Taylor Greene Talks Weird School Trash Can Conspiracy Theory Outside Trump Rally

Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green rose to prominence in part because of her flirtation with the massive QAnon conspiracy. The Republican, who will join Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania tonight, showed no signs of slowing down on the conspiracy front Saturday. Speaking to the Right Side Broadcasting Network outside the event, he began to describe a far-fetched story that a school in Texas was taking out a litter box for a student identified as a cat. “They embrace lies, they literally embrace lies,” he said. “If a student wants to pretend to be the cat and use a litter box after school, that’s their prerogative, whatever. But no, the school, school resources and other students and teachers should not be put through this because it is a lie and we must reject it.” As NBC News reporter Ben Collins noted, the cat litter box is a popular far-right urban myth. “Like many things Marjorie Taylor Greene says, this is an allusion to an urban legend on the far-right internet that schools put trash cans in classrooms to appease the furries,” she tweeted Saturday. “It’s impossible to overemphasize how much of her beliefs are based on internet fairy tales.” Josh Marcus September 3, 2022 11:55 pm 1662245100

How a dark criminal case could affect Trump’s rally today

A murder case from 1993 has a disproportionate impact on the 2022 Senate race in Pennsylvania. Republican and Trump pick Dr. Mehmet Oz has criticized his Democratic opponent John Fetterman for trying to free and eventually hire a pair of brothers who were wrongly convicted of aiding and abetting murder. Here’s what you need to know about the case.

Fetterman hits back at Dr. Oz for misleading claim he hired ‘convicted killers’

The men were released from prison in 2021 after John Fetterman pushed for commutation On Saturday, Mr. Fetterman took the opportunity of Trump’s visit to push back. “Dr. Oz makes a big fuss about being the ‘law and order guy,’” Mr. Fetterman wrote. “But Oz is going to stand side by side today with a man who witnessed the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill [plus] another who instigated the riot and just yesterday said the rioters should be pardoned.’ Josh Marcus September 3, 2022 11:45 pm 1662244219

Video of Trump calling Democrats ‘fascists’ resurfaces

A video showing former President Donald Trump calling Democrats “fascists” is making the rounds online after conservatives attacked President Joe Biden for criticizing “MAGA Republicans” in a prime-time speech. In the clip, shared by journalist Matthew Sheffield, Mr Trump can be heard attacking Democrats while appearing at a 2020 campaign event, flanked by military personnel in the background. “Fascists. They are fascists. Some of them, not all. But some of them, but they are getting closer and closer. We have to win this election,” Trump said in the since-viral clip. Read the Independent’s full report below:

Video of Trump calling Democrats fascists resurfaces after conservatives blast Biden speech

The clip resurfaced after conservatives lashed out at President Joe Biden for sharply rebuking MAGA Republicans Josh Marcus September 3, 2022 11:30 pm 1662243300

Trump slams ‘Protesters and crazies’ at Truth Social ahead of rally

Donald Trump has a problem with insurgents. Not the literal ones, mind you, the subset of his supporters who stormed the US Capitol last January. No, the former president slammed unspecified “rebels and crazies” on his Truth Social platform Saturday ahead of his highly anticipated rally in Pennsylvania later this afternoon. “Take back our country from the rebels and the madmen who want to destroy it,” read his entire message. “MAGA!!!” It’s the latest in an escalating war of rhetoric as Trump and Joe Biden both ramp up their campaign activity and criticism of their opponents ahead of the midterm elections. Earlier this week, during a speech in Philadelphia, Joe Biden called Trump’s electoral refusal an existential threat to American democracy. “A lot of what’s going on in our country today is not normal,” he said, adding that the man he defeated nearly two years ago — former President Donald Trump — and his “Republican Muga” allies “represent an extremism that threatens the foundations themselves. of our Republic”. Eric Garcia had more on Biden’s speech.

Biden warns of Trump and Republican extremism threatening ‘the foundations of our democracy’

“For too long, we have assured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not’ Josh Marcus September 3, 2022 11:15 p.m 1662242419

Dan Rather analyzes the ‘MAGA Meltdown’ after Biden’s speech

The veteran journalist and former news anchor laid out his reasoning behind the so-called “MAGA meltdown” that occurred this week after US President Joe Biden dressed down Republican extremists who pledge allegiance to the former president without question. “It’s all so predictable, but that doesn’t mean it’s not shocking,” the CBS News anchor began in a post shared on Saturday, the same date as Mr. Trump’s first rally from his private residence. investigated by FBI agents. In the brief blog post, Mr. Rather explained that the outpouring of right-wing politicians and Trump loyalists this week who lapped up Mr. Biden’s prime-time speech should be understood in light of this fall’s midterms. . “This fall was supposed to host a ‘Red Tide’ but it may be more of a swell or the tide could even turn ‘Blue’. Republicans may still win, but they are on the defensive now,” Mr. Rather wrote. Read the full understack post from the former CBS anchor here. Johanna Chisholm3 September 2022 23:00 1662240619

Shapiro slams Republican challenger for governor as ‘trying to undermine democracy’

Josh Shapiro, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Pennsylvania, told his GOP counterpart hours before a rally with former President Donald Trump in Wilkes-Barre that the pair were “trying to undermine democracy.” “I have taken on big battles as Attorney General. When Donald Trump sued us to throw away the votes of Pennsylvanians, I took on that big fight — and won,” Mr. Shapiro tweeted on Saturday, just hours before his opponent was set to take the stage with same man “Now Trump and Doug Mastriano are trying to undermine our democracy again — and they could win if we don’t put in the work,” he added, before calling on voters in his home state to help him “defeat Doug Mastriano.” Johanna Chisholm3 September 2022 22:30 1662238879

ICYMI: Donald Trump has picked a fight with the National Archives. It might be the end of it

Years from now, when the history books are being written about the Trump era, they may yet note that his downfall did not come at the hands of his political opponents, the Deep State, or even the voting public. The end, when it finally came, started when he picked a fight with an archivist, reports Richard Hall. It seems obvious that Donald Trump, a man who has spent much of his political life trampling on institutions and rules, has underestimated archivists and their mission. The alleged mismanagement of government records now represents the biggest legal threat he faces and potentially the end of his political career. Richard Hall, The Independent After going through these 15 boxes, the archivists made a…