Rep. Eric Swalwell said the House is acting like they are a ‘law firm with just one client’ – former President Donald Trump as he slammed Speaker Kevin McCarthy for barreling toward a government shutdown.

The Democratic lawmaker claimed that while McCarthy has the ‘title’ of Speaker, far-right factions of the Republican Party are really running the show in the House of Representatives.

His comments to MSNBC host Jen Psaki come just days before the House must reach a deal to avoid a government shutdown by passing all 12 appropriation bills for the annual funding of federal agencies.

‘The House, unfortunately, has become a law firm, with just one client, Donald Trump,’ Swalwell said in noting those running the lower chamber have their priorities elsewhere than avoiding a shutdown.

‘And, again, it’s at the expense of American people,’ he noted, adding that ‘people are going to feel the pain’ of a shutdown in coming weeks.

While the House needs to pass appropriations before September 30 to avoid a shutdown, Republicans have focused-in on other issues. Earlier this month, McCarthy announced when coming back into session after August recess an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said Sunday that he’s open to voting to oust Speaker McCarthy if he can’t reach a deal in time to prevent a shutdown.

Meanwhile, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) predicts the shutdown is inevitable at this point as Republicans refuse to band together behind a single deal – and a MAGA-arm of the Party persists in wanting Speaker McCarthy out.

‘Kevin McCarthy is a spectator speaker,’ Swalwell insisted. ‘He may have the title, but Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, they all share the job.’

‘And the problem is, is that McCarthy is only worried about his own job, and keeping it, and not the jobs of your viewers – the millions who would be affected if we don’t pay our troops, if we don’t pay border agents, if we don’t pay air traffic controllers,’ the lawmaker said during his MSNBC interview Sunday morning.

‘McCarthy could simply bring forward the same legislation that Senator Schumer and McConnell have worked on in the Senate, that President Biden would sign, and be an adult and put the country first, and we would fund the government before funding run out.’

‘But, instead, the House Republicans are failures.’

A government shutdown could be just days away as the spending bill for the last fiscal year runs out on September 30.

Meanwhile, McCarthy is having trouble juggingling the desires of moderate Republicans and hard-right factions of the Party, let alone deal with the flurry of deviating priorities of the Democrats.

Asked in a CNN State of the Union interview on Sunday morning whether he would support booting McCarthy from his speaker role, Rep. Burchett replied: ‘That would be something I would look strongly at.’

‘If we do away with our duty that we said we’re going to do,’ Burchett told CNN host Dana Bash. ‘They’re all talking about this promise that he made with Biden a year ago… What about the promise we made to the American public that we were going to be responsible Americans?’

‘We are going to be governing over a pile of rubble if we’re not careful,’ the Tennessee Republican added. ‘Our financial ship is sinking – and the American public needs to realize, all these fancy titles, C.R.s and omnibus, to confuse the American public is not working. The curtain’s off. We need to do our duty. We should be back in Washington right now and dealing with it. But what are we doing? Well, they sent us home.’

Despite the tightening deadline, the House recessed for a long weekend instead of staying in Washington, D.C. to advance at least some of the a dozen appropriation bills set forward to avoid a shutdown.

The government is funded each year by 12 appropriations bills, each covering different agencies or groups of agencies. In recent years, some or all of these bills have been rolled into a single ‘omnibus’ package and approved together.

Any parts of the government whose appropriations have not been approved and signed into law by midnight on September 30 could shut down. With less than a week until that deadline, it’s likely the federal government will go into at least a partial shutdown.

Rep. Waters says she’s sure a few agencies will need to close their doors until appropriations are approved for the next fiscal year.

‘We’re headed for a shutdown,’ Waters said in an interview with MSNBC’s the Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart.

She added: ‘The Republican Party is in complete disarray. It is chaotic.’

‘The Speaker is on his knees begging, but he sold his soul when we had 15 roll calls that was taken in order for him to get to be speaker, and now he has no control. We’re headed for a shutdown.’

Waters was referencing the fact that the House had to hold 15 separate votes to actually approve McCarthy as Speaker when Republicans gained control of the lower chamber in the 2022 midterms.

Now, that chaos is catching up with Waters’ California colleague.

Despite months of trying to get separate factions of the Party to work together, now the lawmakers are blaming their leader in the House for the inability to get legislation passed.

Donald Trump’s legal team is considering a brash move that would put Republican members of Congress on the stand in his defense by questioning them about their own January 6 objections, DailyMail.com has learned.

The maneuver would have Trump’s legal team query lawmakers who cast votes objecting to the certification of Joe Biden‘s win, such as Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, as part of his federal criminal trial in Washington, D.C.

It would be a bid to persuade potential jurors that Trump was not an outlier when pushing election fraud, because he represented a widespread view within his party.

‘They were essential to the recognition of objections, because you had to have a representative from the Senate and from the House [to trigger a floor debate]. 

‘So the senators’ objections were obviously important, very important,’ a source familiar with Trump’s legal team’s thinking told DailyMail.com.

The move – which would have to be approved by a federal judge and could face objections from prosecutors – could allow the former president to cover his own post-election conduct by having his lawyer question the likes of Hawley and Cruz.

The pair were among the members of the GOP instrumental in setting up a political clash in Congress as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

The effort wouldn’t involve probing lawmakers about why they voted the way they did – a posture that could touch on separation of powers issues and the Constitution’s ‘Speech or Debate’ clause.

But it could examine ‘what objections that you see right up until and including J6 [January 6] and to the extent that elected officials have legitimate objections, it’s hard to criticize the president for having the same objections or similar ones,’ said the source.

‘So that would really be the theory and it would go to the bona fides of having objections right through the J6 period,’ the source added.

If sustained, it could have political implications beyond the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. by providing a platform for Republicans facing their own reelections, and giving them a chance to reinforce their loyalty to Trump, the who is leading all Republicans by a wide margin in presidential polls. 

Trump’s team believes it can demonstrate that in ‘in the political environment right through January 6 elected officials had very good faith objections, based on what they were seeing as anomalies or unlawful acts with respect to the election,’ said the source.

Even some Republican officials who would later state that Biden won the election spoke publicly before January 6 about fraud allegations. (Former Trump AG Bill Barr, who told the House January 6 committee fraud claims put forward by Trump’s lawyers were ‘bull**** had before the election raised concerns about mail-in ballots).

The tactic could include examining efforts by a group of senators, including Hawley and Cruz, to rally fellow senators to delay certification during Trump’s final days to further probe election fraud claims, even after they were tossed by a series of courts. 

Former Trump economic advisor Peter Navarro, who is currently on trial for defying a congressional subpoena, described the delay tactic as the ‘Green Bay Sweep.’

The move to bring in elected Republican witnesses could very well extend to the state legislative level – where many Republican lawmakers also voted objections during the state certification process, putting forward some of the same fraud claims as members of Trump’s 2020 advisors who are now facing criminal charges.

Those claims went in concert with the ‘fake electors’ scheme, where states that voted for Biden sent slates of alternate Trump electors to Washington.

It comes in a blockbuster trial where U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has warned Trump’s lawyers she wants to try to keep politics at bay – dismissing appeals to Trump’s busy schedule and comparing him to a professional athlete who must face charges despite having a game schedule.

She set a trial date for Trump of March 4, the day before Super Tuesday, prompting howls of complaint from Trump’s lawyers about the need to sift through 12 million documents the government provided through the discovery process amid a complex case with historic implications.

Lawmakers including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have fought efforts to be dragged into court cases related to Trump’s election overturn effort. Graham, who voted to certify votes from contested states, battled efforts to compel his testimony in Georgia, where Trump and 18 other defendants are charged with a racketeering conspiracy related to the election overturn effort there.

The Supreme Court denied his effort to block a subpoena, but that came after a federal judge ruled there would be protections against his being questioned about his legislative function, due to the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause.   

Although elected lawmakers being pulled into judicial matters, there is a good argument that they would have to comply with a subpoena to appear, according to the source.

But unlike some of those other instances, there is reason to believe that congressional Republicans would relish the opportunity to make headlines testifying as witnesses for Trump. Party members stood by Trump during two impeachments, sought to discredit the House January 6 Committee, and then probed President Biden and his family. Some top House members with investigative panels say they intend to probe Special Counsel Jack Smith.

‘My sense is that many of those elected officials … would welcome the opportunity to testify on these important issues and confirm the reasons why they had objected to aspects of the election,’ said the source.

Their testimony would seek to counter the narrative sketched by Smith when announcing Trump’s indictment last month for conspiring to defraud the U.S., conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding.

Smith called it an ‘unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy’ that was ‘fueled by lies’ targeted at obstructing the electoral count.

The government’s burden ‘is to show that the president acted corruptly, which is to some extent not a clearly defined term, but would suggest that he was he was acting for simply an obstructive purpose unrelated to any proper government function. And if we have elected representatives say, “Hey, I was just doing my job. I raised these objections” … it’s kind of hard to say that President Trump was acting with a corrupt intent,’ the source added.

The DOJ could try to object, and Judge Chutkan could try to impose limitations on the number of witnesses. During a hearing last month, she said both sides have estimated a trial could take four to six weeks. Calling dozens of witnesses, and wrangling over securing their testimony, could delay matters further or soak up more court time.

The objectors could testify about their fraud claims, which were repeatedly rejected by courts, but also about state changes to election laws in the run-up to the election amid the pandemic.  

In a social media frenzy, the internet has exploded with a wave of creative memes and humorous posts after the release of the official mugshot of former President Donald Trump. 

The image, which quickly went viral, has sparked a multitude of reactions from users across various platforms. 

The image shows a stern-faced Trump in what appears to be a standard booking photo. The former President is wearing a blue suit and red tie in the shot. 

Within moments of the image hitting the internet, hashtags such as #TrumpMugshot and #OrangeIsTheNewOrange began trending on X. 

Others defended Trump with the hashtag #MyPresident. 

Trump himself posted the photo to his X account with the caption DONALDJTRUMP.COM, his first tweet since January 8, 2021. 

Here are some of the top, funniest and wackiest memes and posts about the now-infamous mugshot:  

Users from across the political spectrum chimed in with their takes on the mugshot after waiting in anticipation for its release. 

Some users on X poked fun at Trump’s signature hairstyle, while others playfully speculated about his potential ‘prison wardrobe.’

Some joked about how the former president’s weight was listed at 215 pounds. 

Instagram and TikTok were also not far behind, as users flooded these platforms with short videos and image-based memes. 

In one widely shared meme, Trump’s face was superimposed onto various famous movie scenes where characters find themselves behind bars, leaving audiences in stitches.

The memes ranged from light-hearted humor to political satire. 

‘Trump is mean mugging the camera, this is too funny,’ one user wrote on X.

Others defended the former president and said the photo would be used as a rallying cry. 

‘I stand with President Trump against the commie DA Fani Willis who is nothing more than a political hitman tasked with taking out Biden’s top political opponent. ‘Persecution, not prosecution,’ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted with hashtag #MAGAMugshot. 

Fake Trump mug shots also went viral prior to the release of the photo. 

 

Trump has made history by becoming the first former president to pose for a mugshot after his arrest for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

The 77-year-old was arrested for the fourth time this year and fingerprinted by authorities at the Fulton County jail. Unlike with his previous three arrests, on Thursday he had his booking photo taken.

He stared into the camera for the historic image, with a scowl on his face.

Trump’s height and weight were recorded and, as part of the booking process, he was given a prisoner identification number: P01135809.

He was then released on payment of 10 percent of his $200,000 bail, having spent less than 20 minutes inside the infamous facility.

The former president traveled to Georgia on Thursday afternoon from his Bedminster, New Jersey, home.

Ahead of his surrender, Trump slammed Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis as a ‘Radical Left, Lowlife District Attorney. His surrender came hours after Willis requested Trump face trial in Georgia on October 23, and as his former chief of staff Mark Meadows surrendered to cops.

A handful of other Trump allies and ‘co-conspirators’ who turned themselves into the Georgia prison this week also had their mugshots released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. They are accused of joining a ‘conspiracy’ led by Trump to unlawfully change the outcome of the election.

‘America’s Mayor’ Rudy Giuliani faced the humiliation of having his mugshot taken after getting booked at the Atlanta jail on Wednesday.

In the image, Giuliani can be seen looking straight ahead, showing a slight frown, with industrial lighting shining on his forehead and a sheriff’s badge on the wall to his right.

Texas woman accused of calling judge overseeing Trump’s federal case

By Stephen Lepore

Published: 10:19 EDT, 17 August 2023 | Updated: 10:19 EDT, 17 August 2023

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The man who was arrested for attempting to charge Donald Trump‘s motorcade in Miami is now in Washington, D.C. to protest outside the courthouse where the ex-President is expected to be arraigned on Thursday afternoon.

Domenic Santana, 61, showed up in the nation’s capital this week wearing a white and black striped prisoner outfit with a posterboard of a photoshopped mugshot of a bald Trump in an orange prison jumpsuit.

‘You do the crime you pay the time. Your time is up,’ the poster reads.

The other side is an orange background with black block letters reading: ‘Lock Him Up.’

Trump is expected to be arraigned at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse after Special Counsel Jack Smith announced a grand jury’s four charges against the ex-President related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

Santana was arrested earlier this year for running in front of Trump’s motorcade as he left court from his second indictment for mishandling classified documents.

Video of the incident this summer shows Santana standing in front of Trump’s motorcade in his striped outfit and holding up his protest sign before being tackled out of the street by law enforcement and what appeared to be a suited member of the ex-President’s Secret Service detail.

He stepped out of a Miami jail in June holding his pinstripe prison costume, smiling, saying he didn’t regret what he did and claiming it was ‘important’ that Trump saw his sign.

He stepped out of a Miami jail in June holding his pinstripe prison costume and said he didn’t regret what he did.

‘They had to do their job. They didn’t know if I was armed. The police did a great job,’ Santana said. ‘Yeah, it was worth it – look, look, I’m getting the message out – he shoulda been locked up a long time ago.’

Trump is summoned to appear for his third incident in court on Thursday afternoon – but it’s still not clear if the ex-President will show up in D.C.

Special Counsel Smith announced the four new charges on Tuesday following an investigation into Trump’s involvement in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot and the efforts to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election.

A grand jury voted to indict Trump on conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy against citizens’ rights, obstruction and attempted obstruction of an official proceeding and witness tampering.

Law enforcement erected barriers around the courthouse on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night in preparation for Trump’s appearance.

If he does appear, Trump is likely to plead not guilty to all four felony charges. His schedule for the day remains fluid, while his team didn’t rule out the possibility of a press conference following the arraignment on Thursday.

Trump is expected to be met with a barrage of camera, supporters and even protesters as he is booked and processed by the U.S. Marshals Service. He will be fingerprinted but no mugshot will be taken.

The arraignment is being overseen by Biden-appointed Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya – a different judge will handle the criminal trial.

Trump’s top 2024 competitor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said after news broke of the indictment that Americans should have the legal ability to move their cases out of D.C.’s jurisdiction because ‘swamp mentality’ could affect jurors.

The ex-President agrees, posting to his Truth Social on Tuesday night that it’s ‘impossible’ that he will be given a fair trial in D.C.

‘The latest Fake ‘case’ brought by Crooked Joe Biden & Deranged Jack Smith will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia!’ he wrote on his social media platform. ‘IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness.’

He added: ‘It is now a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World. This Indictment is all about Election Interference!!!’

U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, Park Police, Marshals Service and the Federal Protective Service are all on high-alert for the indictment and prepared for the arraignment for the last few weeks.

‘We’re prepared for tomorrow,’ U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told reporters Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday there was a false report of an active shooter on Capitol Hill, leading Senate buildings to shelter in place during the scare.

The different law enforcement agencies held several calls Wednesday to review plans for the day.

The indictments and growing legal woes facing Trump are only bolstering his support among Republican voters.

In March, before his first indictment, Trump was earning 43 percent of the GOP primary vote, according to a RealClearPolitics average. A day after he was charged in the case involving hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, his support jumped to 50 percent in the same tracking.

A few months later in early June, Trump was indicted for a second time on 37 charges related to mishandling classified documents he was privy to while President. His polling average jumped again to 55 percent.

Polling on RealClearPolitics only tracks until Monday, August 1 – a day before the third and latest indictment – but it still shows Trump far in the lead against his 14 GOP challengers.

Donald Trump was placed under arrest by U.S. Marshals after entering federal court with his loyal aide Walt Nauta ahead of his historic appearance in front of a judge over the scheme to keep classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. 

The former president’s motorcade left Trump National Doral Miami and took off on the journey downtown where hundreds of MAGA supporters and protesters were there to greet him. 

A short time later the motorcade went underneath the court, where Trump was processed and fingerprinted. The booking procedure wrapped up shortly before 2:30 p.m. 

Shortly before 3 p.m. the hearing started in front of magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, where the 37 federal charges will then be read to him. 

Special Counsel Jack Smith was seated in the front row of the courtroom, while the former president was seated with his lawyers.  

During the drive Trump shared his fury with a Truth Social post saying: ‘ON MY WAY TO COURTHOUSE. WITCH HUNT!!! MAGA.’ 

He gave a brief wave to a group of supporters lined up outside his golf course before the stream of black SUVs and cop cars began their procession along empty highways.

Nauta, the loyal aide who prosecutors say helped Trump move documents around Mar-a-Lago, was in the motorcade with him awaiting his own appearance in front of the judge. 

The 76-year-old is facing 37 federal charges related to his handling of classified documents that included U.S. nuclear secrets and intelligence on foreign countries.

The allegations were revealed in the bombshell federal indictment unsealed on Friday – and included photos of boxes of sensitive files scattered around Mar-a-Lago. 

His supporters and protesters started swarming the courthouse on Tuesday morning, waiting for his showdown with a judge.

Trump brought a number of loyal aides to Miami with him including Jason Miller, Boris Epshteyn and Margo Martin. 

Outside the courthouse, Trump lawyer Alina Habba blasted the prosecution – as well as Trump probes underway in other jurisdictions. ‘Destruction of the longstanding American principles that have set this country part for so long.

In recent years, we have seen the rise of politically motivated prosecutors who don’t care for impartiality don’t care for due process for equal protection of laws,’ she said.

‘They have been quietly, but aggressively cultivating a two-tiered system of justice. From the Russia hoax to the attorney generals to the corrupt Das in Georgia and New York. And now this. The people in charge of this country do not love America. They hate Donald Trump.’

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy called on all presidential candidates to vow they would pardon Trump during a press conference outside.

He said that he would quash any conviction against the former president for mishandling classified documents, obstructing justice and making false statements 

Trump, meanwhile, took to his Truth Social platform to rail against Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the Department of Justice’s case.

‘This is the Thug, over turned consistently and unanimously in big cases, that Biden and his CORRUPT Injustice Department stuck on me. He’s a Radical Right Lunatic and Trump Hater, as are all his friends and family, who probably “planted” information in the “boxes” given to them. They taint everything that they touch, including our Country, which is rapidly going to HELL!,’ he complained.

There were only a handful of people on hand early in the morning but officials expected that number to increase as the time of Trump’s arrival got closer. 

One of the early arrivals was a group wearing ‘Blacks for Trump’ t-shirts. 

Another man, wearing the American flag, carried a stick with a pig’s head through it.

Many of Trump’s supporters were coordinating their movements on Twitter.

Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate who is a huge supporter of the former president, tweeted that she will be joining protesters Tuesday.

Reporters lined up to get one of the 300 seats in the overflow room inside the courthouse. Only 20 journalists and members of the public will be let inside the actual courtroom where Trump will be arraigned.

Meanwhile, Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday found that 81 percent of Republicans thought the charges against Trump were politically motivated.

The poll also found that Trump still leads his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination by a wide margin. 

About 43 percent of Republicans said Trump was their preferred candidate, compared to 22 per cent who picked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump’s closest rival.

Republicans say they will STOP paying Trump’s legal fees for his election lawsuits if he runs for president in 2024

• RNC official says any announcement of a 2024 run would mean it would have to stop paying Donald Trump’s legal bills as he battles investigations
• The committee’s  ‘neutrality policy’ which bars it from taking sides in primaries
• The official told ABC News that payments would have to stop if Trump ran again
• It paid at least $1.73 million to law firms representing Trump during the past year

By Rob Crilly, Senior U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 15:58 EDT, 28 July 2022 | Updated: 15:58 EDT, 28 July 2022

Nearly 6 in 10 Republican voters want Trump to run in 2024 while 54% of Democrats want Biden to step aside, new poll shows – as inflation remains top concern for Americans ahead of November vote

• Donald Trump is still considered the leader of the GOP, the new poll suggests
• While a majority of Democrats want President Biden to step aside for the next election cycle, they also believe he’s experienced and cares about people
• More than 50% of both Republicans and Democrats think the other side is too extreme, according to the USA Today/Ipsos survey
• A new CBS poll shows Biden’s job approval ticking slightly upwards to 45%
• Trump’s poll numbers have gotten a boost in the wake of the FBI Mar-a-Lago raid 

By Elizabeth Elkind, Politics Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 16:33 EDT, 28 August 2022 | Updated: 14:08 EDT, 30 August 2022

Israel’s Prime Minister-elect has branded Donald Trump‘s dinner with anti-Semite Kanye West and holocaust denier Nick Fuentes a ‘mistake, wrong and misplaced’.

Benjamin Netanyahu, who is posed to return to office after elections earlier this month, praised the former president for being a ‘supporter of Israel’, but said he shouldn’t repeat the mistake in the future.

Trump has repeatedly said he did not know until after the fact that he had had dinner with Nick Fuentes, a far-right activist who uses his online platform to spew antisemitic and white nationalist rhetoric. Other reports said Trump had been ‘very taken’ with Fuentes during the impromptu dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Fuentes arrived by car with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who in recent weeks has all but wrecked his reputation as a musician and fashion giant by making a series of antisemitic comments and sharing baseless conspiracy theories.

‘I think that that’s what I would say about President Trump’s decision to dine with this person I think is wrong and misplaced,’ Netanyahu told journalist Bari Weiss, in a piece she posted on Wednesday on her ‘Common Sense’ newsletter.

‘I think it’s a mistake. He shouldn’t do that,’ Netanyahu added.

It was not immediately clear who the future Israeli PM was referring to when he said ‘this person’. He also condemned West’s recent remarks about Jewish people.

Despite the meeting, Netanyahu made it clear that he still appreciates Trump, who made a number of Israel-friendly policy decisions during his time in office.

These included moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, ending the Iran nuclear deal, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the contested Golan Heights and defunding Palestinian groups – among other steps.

‘He has been a tremendous supporter of Israel, and I’m unabashedly appreciative of what he did for Israel,’ Netanyahu told Weiss.

‘I appreciate all that it doesn’t take away from. Also, you know, he’s been very supportive of the Jewish people. So I think he made a mistake. I hope it’s not repeated. That’s all I can tell you.’ Weiss asked Netanyahu to describe Trump with a single adjective. He chose ‘irreverent’.

Trump was reportedly left enraged after having dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Florida with West and Fuentes. The former president told Fox News on Tuesday that he did not know who Fuentes was, and distanced himself from his racism after being implored to do so by a growing number of fellow Republicans.

‘I had never heard of the man – I had no idea what his views were, and they weren’t expressed at the table in our very quick dinner, or it wouldn’t have been accepted,’ he told the news network. Trump called the meeting ‘uneventful.’

In a video posted after the meeting, the scandal-hit West said he told Trump he was considering running for president in 2024 and that the ex-president should be his running mate. Trump, who declared his own White House bid two weeks ago, was ‘basically screaming,’ the rapper said in his Twitter video entitled ‘Mar-a-lago debrief.’

‘He tried to f*** me. He’s crazy. He can’t beat me,’ Trump reportedly said to allies after the controversial dinner, according to NBC News.

An adviser told the outlet that Trump was ‘totally blindsided’ by the ‘setup’ dinner.

The dinner has led to a torrent of criticism from both sides of the aisle, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell who said it may have wrecked Trump’s chances of running for president in 2024.

Two people familiar with the dinner told NBC News that Trump was warned to be cautious before accepting a meeting with West amid widespread backlash over anti-Semitic posts made on Instagram and Twitter – that has led to top sponsors like Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga dropping him.

His net worth has plummeted as a result. West, who was worth around $1.5 billion before the controversy, is worth around $400 million now.

‘This is a f***ing nightmare,’ said one longtime Trump adviser who spoke to NBC News anonymously after the dinner.

The source went on to say they are concerned that the meeting could impact Trump’s chances at taking the Republican nomination in 2024.

Throughout the interview, Netanyahu seemed eager to reassure both Joe Biden’s White House administration and Jews living in the United States about the in-coming Israeli government, which is likely to be propped up by extremist parties.

He stressed that he would be the one deciding on government policy, and that he would not take steps that would further inflame tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. On Thursday the Israeli army killed two Palestinian militants when a predawn raid on a flashpoint town in the occupied West Bank.

Jenin, along with the nearby city of Nablus, has seen intensified military operations since a spate of Palestinian street attacks in Israeli cities in March.

Netanyahu also stressed that his government would maintain Israel’s democracy, amid concerns that he could ry to make his yearslong legal troubles disappear through new legislation advanced by his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies.

Critics say such a legal crusade is an assault on Israel’s democracy.

Netanyahu, 73, who is on trial for corruption, will likely be buoyed by a loyal and comfortable governing majority that could grant him a lifeline from conviction.