Trump begins transition; three charged in alleged Iranian plot to kill the president-elect

President-elect Donald Trump has begun preparing for the Oval Office by naming Susie Wiles as his new White House chief of staff.

This comes as three people have been charged in an alleged Iranian plot to kill the president-elect.

The Attorney General, Merrick Garland, said: “The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.”

The Republicans are expected to retain control of the House, likely handing the GOP a trifecta as they’re set to take back the Senate, possibly handing Trump full control of the levers of power in Washington.

Trump and President Joe Biden both had a trifecta for their first two years in office.

Wiles spearheaded Trump’s successful 2024 campaign and is the first of many appointees who will help to push his agenda, which includes the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, more trade tariffs and extended tax cuts.

Trump shared several late-night election victory posts on Truth Social on Thursday – his first since his return to power was confirmed early on Wednesday morning.

Key Points

• Donald Trump picks Susie Wiles for White House chief of staff in first cabinet appointment

• Trump returns to Truth Social to cheer election win

• Trump says his mass deportation plan has ‘no price tag’

• Racist text messages sent to people across several states after election

• FBI thwarts Iranian murder-for-hire plan targeting Donald Trump

• Republicans expected to retain House control as counting continues

Musk joins Trump call with Zelensky

19:01 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump put Elon Musk on a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but it remains unclear what they discussed.

Trump handed the phone to Musk during the call on Wednesday, according to The New York Times.

The tone of the call, which took place at Mar-a-Lago, was described as positive.

The call was reported earlier by Axios.

WATCH: Trump’s unpredictable policies could alter the course of war in Ukraine

19:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Madonna has two-word message for Trump after he wins election

18:40 , Jacob Stolworthy

Madonna shared a forceful message to Donald Trump after he won the US election.

Trump’s presidency has led to a strong reaction from the world of celebrity, with famous Kamala Harris supporters, including several late-night hosts, making no secret of their upset over the result.

Days before election day, which took place on Tuesday (5 November), Madonna shared her endorsement for Democratic nominee Harris, revealing that she had returned home from a trip Paris, France so she could cast her vote.

Madonna has two-word message for Trump after he wins election

Republicans expected to retain House control as counting continues

18:40 , Gustaf Kilander

The Republicans appear to be on track to retain control of the House as counting continues in close races.

So far, the Republicans have gained two seats, winning 211 seats so far, according to the AP.

The Democrats, meanwhile, have secured 199 seats, having lost two.

For a majority, 218 seats are needed.

Robert Lighthizer asked to return as Trump trade representative: Report

18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Robert Lighthizer has been asked to come back in his role as US Trade Representative in Donald Trump’s next administration, according to the Financial Times.

Lighthizer is a believer in tariffs was was one of the top people in Trump’s trade war with China during his first term in the White House.

He was also part of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with Mexico and Canada, Reuters noted.

VOICES: Believe it or not, there are worse ideas than ‘Ambassador Farage’

18:20 , John Rentoul

John Rentoul writes:

I assume that speculation about Nigel Farage becoming Britain’s ambassador to the United States is based on little more than putting two and two together: that Farage is a friend of Donald Trump’s and that Keir Starmer will need help in managing his relationship with the next president.

In fact, the Clacton MP and leader of Reform UK ruled himself out of consideration two weeks ago, saying: “Clearly, I’ve decided to get back into elected politics, so I’m off the table.”

He could of course rule himself back in again. Two days ago, he wrote an article for the Daily Telegraph offering his services in an informal role: “If I can be helpful in any way when it comes to bridging the divide that exists between Starmer’s government and Trump, I will be glad to assist.”

Believe it or not, there are worse ideas than ‘Ambassador Farage’

Justice Department charges ‘asset of the Iranian regime’ targeting Donald Trump

18:10 , Gustaf Kilander

The Department of Justice said in a statement on Friday that three people – Farhad Shakeri, 51, of Iran; Carlisle Rivera, also known as Pop, 49, of Brooklyn, New York; and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island, New York – have been charged after allegedly being involved in a plot to kill a U.S. citizen “of Iranian origin in New York.”

“Rivera was arrested in Brooklyn, New York, and Loadholt was arrested in Staten Island, New York, yesterday. Shakeri remains at large and is believed to reside in Iran,” the department said.

The Attorney General, Merrick Garland, said: “The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.”

He added: “We have also charged and arrested two individuals who we allege were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on U.S. soil, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime.”

Voters misinformed about major issues more likely to vote Republican, pre-election poll shows

18:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, took to X to point to a survey from before the election, showing that those who are misinformed about major issues are more likely to vote Republican.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in early October found that those who falsely believed that violent crime is at an all-time high in most major Americans were significantly more likely to back the GOP.

Racist text messages sent to people across several states after election

17:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Racist text messages have been sent to people across several states stating that they’ve been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.”

People in North and South Carolina received the messages, which identified individuals by their name and stated that they would be forced into slavery, according to WCNC. The texts came a day after Election Day.

The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James said people in the Empire State were also targeteted.

“The racist text messages targeting New Yorkers, including middle school, high school, and college students, are disgusting and unacceptable,” she said in a statement. “I unequivocally condemn any attempt to intimidate or threaten New Yorkers and their families. I encourage anyone in New York who has received an anonymous, threatening text message to report it to my office.”

Special Counsel to decide on how to proceed with Capitol riot case

17:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Special Counsel Jack Smith told a federal judge on Friday that he may have a decision by December 2 on how to resolve the criminal case looking at Trump’s role in the Capitol riot.

Smith requested that Judge Tanya Chutkan remove all upcoming deadlines to allow his office to look at how to progress as Trump’s prepares to retake the White House in January.

The prosecutors wrote in a filing that “As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025.”

They added: “The Government respectfully requests that the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”

“By December 2, 2024, the Government will file a status report or otherwise inform the Court of the result of its deliberations,” they said.

Fox News hosts joke that Trump prosecutors should ‘face death penalty’

17:40 , James Liddell

Fox News hosts Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld joked that prosecutors in Donald Trump’s criminal cases should get the death penalty.

With the Justice Department in talks with special counsel Jack Smith about dropping two of the federal cases he is overseeing against Trump, The Five panelists had some back-and-forth about what should happen to those who sought the president-elect behind bars.

“Dana… a lot of the people that were on this and wanted it so badly, how are they going to survive? Do you think they need therapy,” Gutfeld asked Perino on Thursday’s show.

Fox News hosts joke that Trump prosecutors should ‘face death penalty’

FBI thwarts Iranian murder-for-hire plan targeting Donald Trump

17:26 , AP

The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Friday in a thwarted Iranian plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump before this week’s presidential election.

A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan alleges that an unnamed official in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed a contact this past September to put together a plan to surveil and ultimately kill Trump.

If the man, identified as Farjad Shakeri, was unable to create a plan by then, the complaint said, the official told him Iran would pause its plan until after the presidential election because the official believed Trump would lose and it would be easier to assassinate him then, the complaint said.

Shakeri told the FBI he didn’t plan to propose a plan to murder Trump within the seven days the official had requested, according to the complaint.

The plot, with the charges unsealed just days after Trump’s defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris, reflects what federal officials have described as ongoing efforts by Iran to target U.S. government officials, including Trump, on U.S. soil.

Bernie Sanders argues Republicans ‘split up’ the electorate to win elections in resurfaced video

17:20 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump says he has ‘no intention’ of selling shares in Truth Social

17:10 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump took to Truth Social on Friday to say that he has “no intention” of selling shares in his social media company.

“There are fake, untrue, and probably illegal rumors and/or statements made by, perhaps, market manipulators or short sellers, that I am interested in selling shares of Truth,” he wrote. “THOSE RUMORS OR STATEMENTS ARE FALSE. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF SELLING!”

He added: “I hereby request that the people who have set off these fake rumors or statements, and who may have done so in the past, be immediately investigated by the appropriate authorities. Truth is an important part of our historic win, and I deeply believe in it. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Tim Walz’s daughter sends angry message to Trump after father and Harris’ failed election bid

17:00 , Lucy Leeson

Tim Walz’s daughter expressed her anger over her father and Kamala Harris’ failed bid for the White House.

Hope Walz stated America “does not deserve Kamala Harris” as she shared her thoughts on President-elect Donald Trump’s historic win.

In a video posted on TikTok on Thursday (7 November), she said: “That woman should go live her best life wherever she wants, doing whatever she wants, because we don’t deserve her at this point.

“These people have to live in their own skin, as in JD Vance and Donald Trump have to be JD Vance and Donald Trump and that is not a punishment I’d wish upon anybody but those two individuals.”

Why celebrity endorsements don’t work as Clooney, Taylor, Beyonce and Oprah fail to win it for Harris

16:40 , Gustaf Kilander

The combined support of celebrities such as George Clooney, Taylor Swift, Beyonce and more couldn’t help Kamala Harris secure the presidency in Tuesday’s election.

A stream of A-listers from Hollywood and the music world all threw their weight behind the Democrat during the bitterly-fought campaign, in the hope that their millions of supporters and followers would move the needle.

But not even the endorsement of Swift seemed to make any difference. Nor did the backing of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, or Ariana Grande. Harrison Ford warned of the threat to democracy to no avail.

Why celebrity endorsements don’t work as A-Listers fail to win it for Harris

Money in politics research nonprofit lays off employees because of financial difficulties

16:20 , Gustaf Kilander

Republican lawsuit challenging Philadelphia provisional ballots thrown out

16:00 , Alex Woodward

The lawsuit of Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick challenging provisional ballots in Philadelphia has been thrown out.

It’s a win for incumbent Democrat Bob Casey as he tries to catch up to McCormick.

The Associated Press has called the race for the Republican but Casey hasn’t conceded while he waits for thousands of ballots to be counted, including military/overseas and contested provisional ballots.

WATCH: Democrats are a ‘smarty-pants, suburban, college-educated party’ says Obama senior adviser

15:40 , Gustaf Kilander

He may be capable of random cruelty and stupidity, but Trump is no Nazi dictator

15:20 , Stephen Marche

The election of Donald Trump was, despite everything, a sign of the health of the American democratic process. The Electoral College did not differ from the popular vote in any substantial way. The outcome will be the first since 2012 that won’t be disputed.

Everybody knows who won. The result clearly and unambiguously represented the will of the American people. Unfortunately, the American people have clearly and unambiguously chosen antagonism. They have voted for their own division. While Trump won the popular vote and the electoral college there is still a large part of the country who is appalled by their choice.

He may be capable of random cruelty and stupidity, but Trump is no Nazi dictator

MTG insists Trump victory proves she’s not a fringe extremist: ‘I am ‘mainstream America’

15:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Far-right Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has insisted that Donald Trump’s victory proves that she’s not a “fringe extremist” but instead part of “mainstream America.”

Elected to the House in 2020, Greene has made a name for herself as a conspiracy theorist backing the QAnon movement and farcically claiming that wildfires in California were caused by a “Jewish space laser.”

More recently, she has been lambasted for tweeting “Yes, they can control the weather … Anyone who says they don’t, or makes fun of this, is lying to you.”

MTG insists Trump win proves she’s not a fringe extremist: ‘I am ‘mainstream America’

Ann Selzer explains why her very wrong Iowa poll may have helped Trump

14:40 , Joe Sommerlad

The pundit’s much-watched Iowa poll, which showed Kamala Harris heading into Election Day with a surprise three-point lead, was one of numerous 2024 election forecasts that ultimately failed to predict the result.

In a post-mortem on Thursday, Selzer explained how she’s thinking through the discrepancy between what actually happened and what was forecast in the Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey of voting intentions in the Hawkeye State.

Josh Marcus has the story.

Ann Selzer explains why her very wrong Iowa poll may have helped Trump

The Handmaid’s Tale soars 400 places to third on bestseller charts after Trump win

14:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Margaret Atwood’s novel from 1985, recently filmed as a prestige TV series with Elisabeth Moss, presents a near-future dystopian society in which women are reared for the sole purpose of bearing children.

Sales of the book are now reportedly spiking in response to Trump’s election, as copies of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four were said to have done in reaction to his first term.

Maira Butt has more.

Handmaid’s Tale soars 400 places to third place on bestseller charts after Trump win

Oddsmakers call JD Vance and Gavin Newsom the 2028 frontrunners

14:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The bookmakers are already looking ahead to the next presidential election and see Trump’s running mate as his natural heir on the Republican ticket.

Perhaps less obviously, the consensus suggests that California Governor Gavin Newsom will be the man to mount the fightback next time around.

Kelly Rissman reports.

Oddsmakers call JD Vance the 2028 frontrunner – but Aaron Rodgers make the list

Watch: CBS anchor chokes up discussing how he will explain Trump’s victory to his children

13:40 , Joe Sommerlad

CBS anchor chokes up discussing how he will explain Trump’s victory to his children

Vladimir Putin congratulates ‘brave man’ Trump on his election victory

13:20 , Joe Sommerlad

The Russian president has congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory, praising his “brave” response to the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 but admitting that even he has “no idea” what a second term will look like given Trump’s impulsive nature.

Kelly Rissman has more.

Putin congratulates ‘brave man’ Trump on his election victory

Joe Rogan calls on Trump ‘to unite everybody’ as president

13:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The podcaster who interviewed both Trump and JD Vance but not Kamala Harris (her campaign was in talks with him but the two sides failed to agree a time) has already been credited by the likes of Elon Musk and Dana White with helping the Republican to victory with his last-minute endorsement.

He has since urged the president-elect against attacking his enemies, commenting on his popular show: “He’s got to unite people. He’s got to not attack the left, not attack everybody, let them all talk their s***, but unite.

“Now it’s time to unite everybody.”

Here’s Josh Marcus on the Democratic hunt for its own influencer kingmaker.

Why some Democrats want to create their own Joe Rogan after Trump’s win

Ted Cruz’s daughter grimaces and says ‘don’t clap’ for Trump win

12:40 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s a nice little moment you might have missed amid this week’s seismic events: Caroline Cruz, 16, showing up her dad at his victory party after he saw off a challenge to his Senate seat from Democrat Colin Allred.

James Liddell has the story.

Ted Cruz’s daughter winces and tells mom not to clap as senator praises Trump

Mass racist text messages sent to Black people across America spark investigations

12:20 , Joe Sommerlad

A deluge of racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the US this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies.

The messages, sent anonymously, were reported in several states, including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

They generally used a similar tone but varied in wording.

Some instructed the recipient to show up at an address at a particular time “with your belongings,” while others didn’t include a location.

Some of them mentioned the incoming presidential administration.

It isn’t yet clear who is behind the messages and there was no comprehensive list of where they were sent but high school and college students were among the recipients.

The FBI said it was in touch with the Justice Department on the messages and the Federal Communications Commission said it was investigating the texts “alongside federal and state law enforcement”.

The Ohio Attorney General’s office also said it was looking into the matter.

Mass racist text messages sent to Black people spark investigations

David Axelrod blames Democrats for becoming ‘smarty-pants, suburban, college-educated party’

12:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The former senior adviser to Barack Obama has criticized the Democratic Party for snobbery and for disillusionment among working-class voters following its US election rout.

In an excoriating takedown of his own party, David Axelrod highlighted the Democrat failure to reach blue collar voters and large parts of the electorate who hadn’t gone to college.

In an interview with CNN on Thursday night, Axelrod said the Democrats had become an increasingly “smarty-pants, suburban, college-educated party”, suggesting that they failed to appeal to people from lower-class and non-college educated backgrounds.

“The only group that Democrats gained within the election on Tuesday was White college graduates, and among working-class voters, there was a significant decline,” he added.

Madeline Sherratt reports.

David Axelrod accuses Democrats of becoming ‘a smarty-pants, college-educated party’

Pentagon braces for ‘major upheaval’ under new Trump administration

11:40 , Joe Sommerlad

The Washington Post reports this morning that the Pentagon is braced for “major upheaval” once the 47 president takes office “amid fears that the once and future commander-in-chief will follow through on vows to deploy the military domestically against American citizens, demand fealty from key leaders and attempt to remake the nonpartisan institution into one explicitly loyal to him”.

Trump repeatedly threatened on the campaign trail to use the US Armed Forces against “the enemy within”, dismiss any general involved in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and reverse “woke” decisions like the renaming of military bases associated with Confederate generals.

Professor Richard Kohn, a military historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, tells The Post: “The greatest danger the military faces is a rapid erosion of its professionalism, which would undermine its status and respect from the American people.

“Mr Trump does not have a real understanding of civil-military relations, or the importance of a nonpartisan, nonpolitical military.”

Here’s more from Rhian Lubin.

Anxious Pentagon officials fear major upheaval after Trump’s return to White House

Trump projected to have won Nevada by NBC

11:20 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect is now projected to have won the western state by NBC News (we’re still waiting on the AP for their confirmation), a victory that would see him pick up a state he lost in both 2020 and 2016.

Trump campaigned often in Las Vegas and appears to have benefited from bolstering his support among Latino men to secure its six Electoral College points and near a clean sweep of the swing states with only Arizona still to report.

Democrats turn their rage on one man: Joe Biden

11:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The blame game for Kamala Harris’s loss is already in full flow, with top Democratic staffers in Washington DC reportedly placing the blame at President Biden’s door.

Katie Hawkinson has more.

Democrats turn their rage on one man after crushing election defeat: Joe Biden

Democrats can still win House of Representatives, Jeffries insists

10:40 , Joe Sommerlad

While the Republicans are currently leading the race to control the House by 211 to 199 (with 218 needed for a majority), according to the AP, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries insists his guys can still win and prevent a complete Trumpian takeover of Congress, which would greatly smooth the passage of the new president’s legislative agenda.

“We still have a clear pathway to taking back the majority,” Jeffries told Spectrum 1 News on Thursday.

“Of course that runs through Arizona and Oregon and five races that are flip opportunities in California that are too close to call and too early to call.”

Responding to gains in his native New York, Jeffries said: “Well, certainly the biggest Democratic wins were right here in New York, and I’m so thankful to the coordinated campaign effort that was put together from the very beginning in the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections… It was an all hands on deck effort.”

Democrats cling to false hopes of huge ‘vote gap’ between Biden and Harris

10:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Less than 24 hours after Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States, social media users began pushing two conflicting narratives to suggest election fraud.

One revived false claims by the Republican that the 2020 vote was stolen from him and the other questioned how Vice President Kamala Harris could have received so many fewer votes in 2024 than President Joe Biden in 2020.

Both narratives hinge on a supposed 20 million vote gap between Harris and Biden.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

Where are the ‘20m missing votes’? Democrats cling to false hopes of Biden-Harris gap

Jubilant Trump allies joke prosecutors ‘need’ death penalty and threaten Letita James

10:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Shocking stuff on Fox News’s The Five yesterday, when the following exchange took place between co-hosts Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino as they basked in the glow of Trump’s win and wondered how the “lawfare” prosecutors who indicted the Republican in 2023 are coping.

“A lot of the people that were on this and wanted it so badly, how are they going to survive? Do you think they need therapy?” Gutfeld asked.

“Yes, they definitely need therapy, and maybe also the death penalty,” Perino responded.

“Yes, I think the death penalty,” the former agreed.

Meanwhile, appearing on Benny Johnson’s online talk show, Mike Davis, reportedly a candidate to be America’s next attorney general, issued the following nasty threat against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“I dare you to try to continue your lawfare against President Trump in his second term. Because listen here, sweetheart: We’re not messing around this time, and we will put your fat a** in prison for conspiracy against rights, and I promise you that.

“So, think long and hard before you want to violate President Trump‘s constitutional rights, or any other American’s constitutional rights. It’s not going to happen again.”

Here he is during the same interview declaring the mass deportation of illegal immigrants will be “glorious”.

That came a day after Davis said he would like to drag Democrats’ “political dead bodies through the streets and burn them”, another disturbing statement on which Rhian Lubin has more below.

Trump AG hopeful ‘wants to drag Democrats’ political dead bodies through streets’

Joe Biden promises ‘peaceful and orderly’ transfer of power and praises Kamala Harris

09:40 , Joe Sommerlad

Speaking from the White House Rose Garden yesterday, the president assured Americans there will be a “peaceful and orderly” transition to the new Trump administration.

“Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory, and I assured him, I will direct my entire administration work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition,” he said.

Biden also praised Harris, declaring: “She gave her whole heart and effort, and she and her entire team should be proud of the campaign they ran.”

Here’s Andrew Feinberg’s report.

Biden promises ‘peaceful and orderly’ transition to Trump

Trump returns to Truth Social to cheer election win

09:20 , Joe Sommerlad

The Republican shared a number of late-night election victory posts on Truth Social on Thursday – his first since his return to power was confirmed early on Wednesday morning.

The wave of posts included an Electoral College map, newspaper front pages recounting his triumph over Democrat Kamala Harris and a photo of a MAGA cap-clad Trump with the caption: “Get ready for the Golden Age.”

Donald Trump picks Susie Wiles for White House chief of staff in first cabinet appointment

09:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

President-elect Donald Trump has begun preparing for the Oval Office by naming Susie Wiles as his new White House chief of staff.

Wiles spearheaded his successful 2024 campaign and is the first of many appointees who will help to push his agenda, which includes the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, more trade tariffs and extended tax cuts.

Here’s Alex Hannaford with an introduction to the “Ice Maidan”.

Meet Susie Wiles, the ‘ice maiden’ behind Trump’s win – and his new chief of staff

Elon Musk: King of the MAGA media universe

08:40 , Oliver O’Connell

Elon Musk is now unquestionably the king of MAGA media.

Tech journalist Charlie Warzel once named it “the new media Upside Down”, riffing on Stranger Things. Sean Illing at Vox referred to it as “the fantasy-industrial complex”. Wikipedia simply calls it the “right-wing alternative media”.

To Musk, a born-again MAGA crusader who has spent the last two years reshaping one of the world’s major social networks in his image, this parallel universe of algorithm-aided disinformation is simply “citizen journalism” — even if his description does sound a lot like traditional journalism.

And after Donald Trump’s victory this week, the MAGA media universe might just be the new mainstream media.

Io Dodds reports from San Francisco.

Elon Musk is now king of the MAGA media universe

Trump’s win teaches Joe Rogan that voting works

08:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Joe Rogan elevated an election integrity conspiracy theory while celebrating Donald Trump’s presidential win, suggesting if the former president had not won the election, it may have been “rigged”.

“So, turns out voting works. It’s real,” Rogan said with delight on Thursday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.

Ariana Baio reports.

Joe Rogan now realizes voting works – but only because Trump won

Major abortion rights victories on Election Day still under threat from Trump and his allies

07:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Alex Woodward and Bel Trew write:

Two years after the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to abortion, millions of voters across the country directly weighed in on the future of reproductive healthcare access in their states.

Voters in seven of 10 states with abortion rights measures on their ballots have agreed to expand protections or enshrine a right to abortion in their own state’s constitutions, effectively redrawing the map for abortion access.

But those victories — from Arizona to Colorado, Missouri, Montana and elsewhere — were followed by warnings from abortion rights advocates that president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, and an emboldened Republican-dominated Congress, could soon upend hard-fought, newly enshrined protections.

Continue reading…

Abortion rights win major victories on Election Day. Trump could threaten them

Who is on Trump’s enemies list?

06:10 , Oliver O’Connell

For years, Donald Trump has threatened to go after countless political rivals who he claims have wronged him.

In speeches to supporters and rants on his Truth Social platform, he has on multiple occasions vowed to seek “retribution” and called his political opponents the “enemies from within.”

During an interview with Dr Phil in June, he issued an especially ominous threat. “Well, revenge does take time. I will say that. And sometimes revenge can be justified,” he said.

Here’s Rhian Lubin with a brief rundown of who might make the cut…

Trump’s enemies list: political rivals and organizations he threatened to go after

Online misogyny spikes after Trump victory with shocking ‘your body, my choice’ posts

04:40 , Oliver O’Connell

Women are facing a barrage of deeply misogynistic comments online following Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory.

The Republican candidate defeated Kamala Harris following a chaotic campaign dogged by anger, insults and division, winning 51 percent of the popular vote on Wednesday, 6 November.

In the wake of the former president’s shocking political comeback, women have reported men are writing “your body, my choice” on their social media posts, among other troubling reproductive rights remarks.

Lydia Spencer-Elliott reports.

‘Your body, my choice’: Women report rise in online misogyny following Trump victory

ANALYSIS: Conservatives hate Mitch McConnell. But he’s the architect of the Trump comeback

04:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Eric Garcia explains that while MAGA may hate Mitch McConnell, a decision he made in February 2021 sowed the seeds that allowed the movement to grow and thrive and return Trump to the Oval Office.

Mitch McConnell was the true architect of Trump’s second term

‘Nostradamus’ pollster bashes rival after both election predictions flopped

03:40 , Oliver O’Connell

With Donald Trump heading back to the White House, it’s not just the Democrats who face a reckoning, but pollsters as well.

Multiple high-profile polling gurus failed to accurately predict what ended up being a decisive victory for the former president on Tuesday, and now some of the experts are taking pot-shots at each other.

Political pollster and historian Allan Lichtman took a swipe at fellow elections forecaster Nate Silver on Wednesday, saying that ‘unlike his rival’ he will admit he was wrong about the 2024 result.

Ariana Baio has the story.

‘Nostradamus’ of polling bashes rival after both election predictions flopped

Why Trump will likely never see the inside of a prison cell — or be sentenced at all

02:40 , Oliver O’Connell

In theory, the next President of the United States is supposed to face sentencing for his New York criminal trial conviction at the end of the month.

But following his election win this week it is looking increasingly likely that won’t happen and Donald Trump will once again evade repercussions for his actions.

Ariana Baio reports.

Why Trump will likely never see the inside of a prison cell — or be sentenced at all

EDITORIAL: Europe cannot rely on Trump’s protection – it must take the lead on defence

01:40 , Oliver O’Connell

As the US takes its isolationist turn and pivots its own defence efforts towards the Indo-Pacific and China, it is vital that Europe, including Britain, looks to its own resources.

Europe cannot rely on Trump’s protection – it must take the lead on defence

After being busted for allegedly sexting a minor, a local Michigan official just got re-elected

00:40 , Oliver O’Connell

Ken Fletcher, a Michigan Democrat, was re-elected on Tuesday – months after police arrested him for allegedly sexting a minor.

The Delta Township supervisor is facing charges of accosting a child for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime. Officials arrested him in September and he resigned from his post.

Michelle Del Rey has the story.

A Michigan official was re-elected after allegedly sexting a minor

Defamation case judge slams Giuliani’s ‘farcical’ excuses for failing to turn over property

00:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani could be held in contempt of court if he fails to turn over property to election workers he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

The cash-strapped former New York City mayor was ordered to a federal court hearing in Manhattan on Thursday after attorneys for a mother-daughter pair of election workers accused him of moving around and hiding a long list of valuables he has been court-ordered to turn over.

Alex Woodward has been closely following the case.

Judge slams Giuliani’s ‘farcical’ excuses in election workers defamation case

Full story: Trump says his mass deportation plan has ‘no price tag’ as he prepares to boot millions from the country

Thursday 7 November 2024 23:50 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history,” deploying federal, state and local law enforcement to arrest, jail and deport potentially millions of people living in the country without legal permission.

A militarized operation would depend on detention camps to hold people marked for removal, and would invoke a centuries-old law previously used to detain Japanese Americans during the Second World War.

President-elect Trump told NBC News on Thursday, two days after defeating his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, that he has “no choice” but to implement large-scale deportations when he takes office in January.

Alex Woodward reports.

Trump says his mass deportation plan has ‘no price tag’

Election night ratings drop sharply from 2020 and 2016

Thursday 7 November 2024 23:30 , AP

The idea of grabbing some popcorn and watching television to see who America has chosen for its next president was far less appealing this year than in the past.

The Nielsen company said that 42.3 million people watched election night returns between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump pour in Tuesday night. That’s down sharply from the 56.9 million who watched in 2020, when Trump competed against Joe Biden, and the 71.4 million who tuned in on election night 2016, Nielsen said.

Election night is often known as the Super Bowl for TV news, but this year even the NFL’s conference championship games were watched by more people.

Continue reading…

Election night television viewership drops sharply from 2020 and 2016

Full story: Trump makes first key administration pick and moves campaign head into top White House post

Thursday 7 November 2024 23:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump has made the first key appointment of his upcoming administration, announcing that campaign manager Susie Wiles will become his White House Chief of Staff.

In a statement, the Trump-Vance transition team said: “Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns.”

Mike Bedigan reports.

Trump plans to appoint campaign head as White House chief of staff

Major abortion rights victories on Election Day still under threat from Trump and his allies

Thursday 7 November 2024 23:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Alex Woodward and Bel Trew write:

Two years after the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to abortion, millions of voters across the country directly weighed in on the future of reproductive healthcare access in their states.

Voters in seven of 10 states with abortion rights measures on their ballots have agreed to expand protections or enshrine a right to abortion in their own state’s constitutions, effectively redrawing the map for abortion access.

But those victories — from Arizona to Colorado, Missouri, Montana and elsewhere — were followed by warnings from abortion rights advocates that president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, and an emboldened Republican-dominated Congress, could soon upend hard-fought, newly enshrined protections.

Continue reading…

Abortion rights win major victories on Election Day. Trump could threaten them

After years of Trump bashing it, Republicans now praise early voting

Thursday 7 November 2024 22:55 , Oliver O’Connell

Prominent Republicans are praising early voting after Donald Trump’s win over Kamala Harris, despite years of the president-elect and his allies baselessly bashing the practice as fraudulent.

Former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told NewsNation on Wednesday that an increase in early voting must be the “norm going forward” for the GOP.

“It was so critical that President Trump, he spoke out on this. I mean, there’s no better person that’s going to get voters to change their habits, to believe in it than President Trump,” she said.

Josh Marcus reports.

Changing their tune: GOP now promoting early voting after Trump’s win

BREAKING: Trump names camaign co-chair Susie Wiles as chief of staff

Thursday 7 November 2024 22:48 , Oliver O’Connell

President-elect Donald Trump has named campaign chief Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff. She will be the first woman to hold the role when he takes office on January 20, 2025.

“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” President-elect Trump said. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

A look back at our (mostly correct) Senate predictions after Trump’s big win

Thursday 7 November 2024 22:30 , Oliver O’Connell

A week ago, The Independent made a list of predictions for the US Senate, thinking it unlikely but possible that Democrats would hold the chamber. After a surprisingly powerful performance by Donald Trump on election night, it’s clear that won’t be happening.

John Bowden looks at what we got right and what we got wrong…

A look back at our election predictions after Trump’s big win

Democrat at heart of Trump impeachment wins Virginia seat against ‘fake family’ Republican

Thursday 7 November 2024 22:25 , Oliver O’Connell

A Democrat, who was partly responsible for kickstarting Donald Trump’s first impeachment, has won a congressional seat in Virginia against a Republican candidate accused of parading a “fake family.”

Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman defeated Derrick Anderson on Tuesday to win the competitive seat in Central and Northern Virginia, according to The Associated Press.

His victory kept the seventh district, which is one of the state’s most purple, in Democratic hands, and put him in line to succeed Abigail Spanberger – a former intelligence officer who vacated the seat to run for governor.

Mike Bedigan reports.

Democrat at heart of Trump impeachment wins seat against ‘fake family’ Republican

Five of the most shocking results from the 2024 election

Thursday 7 November 2024 22:10 , Oliver O’Connell

The 2024 presidential election completely upended many people’s expectations. After Democrats booted Joe Biden from the top of their ticket to put Kamala Harris in place, she lost all seven of the major battleground states.

And now, as Republicans plan to drag Democrats’ “political dead bodies through the streets and burn them,” and Democrats deal with a reckoning, a few trends have emerged that continue to baffle some onlookers.

Here are five major shocks of the 2024 presidential election — and why they might have happened:

The five most shocking results from the election

Trump attorney’s phone tapped by Chinese hackers, report says

Thursday 7 November 2024 22:05 , Oliver O’Connell

One of President-elect Donald Trump’s attorneys has been told by the FBI that his cellphone was tapped by Chinese hackers, CNN reports. The network cites three sources familiar with the matter.

Tapping the phone of Todd Blanche, who represented Trump in his hush money criminal trial, was part of a wide-ranging operation targeting top Republicans and Democrats in US politics that has been underway for months.

Per CNN:

The FBI informed the attorney, Todd Blanche, last week that the hackers were able to obtain some voice recordings and text messages from his phone, but that none of the information was related to Trump, one of the sources said. The FBI provided Blanche, who has had to start using a different number after the breach, what the hackers obtained, including communications with family, the source said.

Blanche is the second of two Trump attorneys believed to be targeted by foreign hackers.

In August, CNN reported that attorney Lindsey Halligan was targeted as part of a separate Iranian hacking effort.

Putin congratulates Trump on his election victory

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:56 , AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory in his first public comment on the U.S. vote, and he praised the president-elect’s courage during the July assassination attempt.

“His behavior at the moment of an attempt on his life left an impression on me. He turned out to be a brave man,” Putin said at an international forum following a speech in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

“He manifested himself in the very correct way, bravely as a man,” he added.

Putin also said that what Trump has said “about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, deserves attention at least.”

The Kremlin earlier welcomed Trump’s claim that he could negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine “in 24 hours” but emphasized that it will wait for concrete policy steps.

″I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as president of the United States of America,” Putin said in a question-and-answer session at the conference.

As to what he expects from a second Trump administration, Putin said, “I don’t know what will happen now. I have no idea.”

“For him, this is still his last presidential term. What he will do is his matter,” added Putin, who this year began a fifth term that will keep him in power until 2030 and could seek six more years in office after that.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the Kremlin is not ruling out the possibility of contact between Putin and Trump before the inauguration, given that Trump “said he would call Putin before the inauguration.”

Peskov has emphasized that Moscow views the U.S. as an “unfriendly” country that is directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict. He dismissed arguments that Putin’s failure to reach out quickly to Trump could hurt future ties, saying that Moscow’s relations with Washington already are at the “lowest point in history” and arguing that it will be up to the new U.S. leadership to change the situation.

The Kremlin’s cautious stand reflected its view of the U.S. vote as a choice between two unappealing possibilities. While Trump is known for his admiration of Putin, the Russian leader has repeatedly noted that during Trump’s first term, there were “so many restrictions and sanctions against Russia like no other president has ever introduced before him.”

‘I’m going to destroy you’: Inside the war between Trump’s new and former campaign managers

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:50 , Oliver O’Connell

As Donald Trump’s victory became increasingly apparent on Tuesday night, tensions behind the scenes were reportedly already ramping up between those vying for influence in the president-elect’s future administration.

Specifically, Trump’s 2024 campaign chief Chris LaCivita and Corey Lewandowski, who ran his 2016 campaign, were said to be at each other’s throats.

Mike Bedigan has the story.

Inside the war between Trump’s new and former campaign managers

‘You can’t love your country only when you win’

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:48 , Oliver O’Connell

ANALYSIS: I reported from across Pennsylvania through the election. The key to Trump’s victory was staring us right in the face

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:40 , Oliver O’Connell

Richard Hall writes:

In the college town of Indiana, at the country fair in Bloomsburg, and in the former industrial boomtown of Scranton, the message was the same: working-class Pennsylvanians were struggling to get by.

As I traveled throughout the state during this presidential campaign, from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and the rural stretches in between, inflation and pessimism about the economy were at the forefront of people’s minds.

It would prove to be the deciding factor in the crucial swing state — and across the country.

Continue reading…

I reported from across Pennsylvania throughout the election. This is how Trump won

Judge denies Jan 6 defendant attempt to hold off sentencing in hope of Trump pardon

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:33 , Oliver O’Connell

A judge has denied a January 6 defendant’s bid to stave off sentencing in the hope of receiving a pardon from Donald Trump when he takes office in January 2020.

“The potential future exercise of discretionary pardon power … is irrelevant to the court’s obligation to carry out the [court’s] legal responsibilities.”

What can Biden still do before he leaves office?

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander

In two and a half months, President-Elect Donald Trump will enter the Oval Office as the 47th president of the US.

The Biden Administration is now in a mad dash to Trump-proof their accomplishments and enact any reforms they may wish to make a reality.

But how much can Joe Biden realistically achieve in this short window, particularly when his successor is likely to make sweeping changes to government when he returns to the White House? s

Below we look at some of the subjects Biden could tackle before his time is up:

What lame duck president Joe Biden can still do before he leaves office

Democrats turn their rage on one man after crushing election defeat: Joe Biden

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:20 , Oliver O’Connell

The blame game for Kamala Harris’ loss is in full flow, with top Democratic staffers in Washington reportedly placing the blame at President Joe Biden’s feet.

Their reactions, as reported by Politico, come two days after Harris lost her bid for the White House some five months after unexpectedly joining the race.

Katie Hawkinson reports.

Democrats turn their rage on one man after crushing election defeat: Joe Biden

GOP picks up Pennsylvania Senate seat

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:15 , Oliver O’Connell

The Associated Press has called the US Senate race in Pennsylvania for Republican Dave McCormick.

He beat incumbent Democrat Bob Casey.

Anne Selzer explains why her Iowa poll might have helped Trump

Thursday 7 November 2024 21:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Ann Selzer’s much-watch Iowa poll, which showed Kamala Harris heading into Election Day with a surprise three-point lead, was one of numerous election forecasts that ultimately failed to predict the result in 2024.

Trump, who openly mocked the poll during late rallies, appears to have won the state by more than 10 percent with 95 percent of the votes counted.

In a post-mortem on Thursday, Selzer explained how she’s thinking through the discrepancy between what actually happened and what was forecast in the Des Moines Register / Mediacom Iowa poll.

Josh Marcus reports.

Ann Selzer explains why her very wrong Iowa poll may have helped Trump

‘No price tag’ to mass deportation plan says Trump

Thursday 7 November 2024 20:59 , Oliver O’Connell

President-elect Donald Trump has told NBC News that there is “no price tag” to his plan to begin mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in the US illegally, reiterating that his first priority upon taking office would be to make the border “strong and powerful”.

Per NBC News:

“We obviously have to make the border strong and powerful and, and we have to — at the same time, we want people to come into our country,” he said. “And you know, I’m not somebody that says, ‘No, you can’t come in.’ We want people to come in.”

As a candidate, Trump had repeatedly vowed to carry out the “largest deportation effort in American history.” Asked about the cost of his plan, he said, “It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not — really, we have no choice. When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag.”

Any mass deportation plan would be a huge logistical and financial challenge requiring the involvement of a number of federal agencies.

The president-elect partially credits his win in the election as being down to his message on the border and immigration.