President-elect Joe Biden and Future First Lady Jill Biden joined Ryan Seacrest on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special to ring in 2021, praising health care workers before sharing encouraging words about the year to come.

Seacrest asked the couple if they had anything to say to those working on the front lines throughout 2020, prompting them to celebrate essential and healthcare workers.

“They did so much, they risked their lives. They’ve done so much for us, and we owe them, we owe them, we owe them,” Joe said before Jill acknowledged that so many Americans left their families to keep the nation safe.

The two then encouraged all Americans to take the coronavirus vaccine, Jill, who claimed to be scared of needles, promising that it won’t hurt.

“I’m more optimistic about America’s chances than I’ve ever been,” Joe said later while discussing his hopes for the new year. “I find that we’re in a situation where we once again have to step up and lead the world and lead the nation.”

“There’s never been a single thing America’s been unable to overcome,” he added. “No matter how drastic it’s been when we’ve done it together. Never, never, never. America can do anything and I’m absolutely, positively confident, confident, that we’re going to come back and come back stronger than before.”

Watch above, via ABC.

The post Joe and Jill Biden Praise Healthcare Workers and Promise a Better New Year While on Ryan Seacrest's Special first appeared on Mediaite.

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Although networks are respecting tradition and airing their annual specials, New Year’s Eve is bound to look a bit different this December, as public audiences won’t be allowed to celebrate in Times Square and onscreen kisses will likely be a no-no. 

Fortunately for those seeking their fix of gasp-inducing instances, past New Year’s Eve events have provided us with more than enough wild moments to rewatch as we say goodbye to 2020. 

From Lady Gaga locking lips with former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, to a surprise on-air wedding, here are the three best and worst moments of last decade’s past New Year’s Eve specials.

The worst: 

Michael Bloomberg and Lady Gaga’s kiss heard around the world: 

Who doesn’t want to see two quintessential New Yorkers share an on-air kiss on New Year’s Eve? Apparently a lot of people.  

Bloomberg and Lady Gaga shocked viewers of the 2012 Times Square ball drop when they locked lips to ring in the New Year. 

Although it garnered an influx of attention, and was unofficially dubbed “the kiss heard around the world,” people were a little freaked out to see the then-mayor of New York City kiss the rising pop star.

“It’s the scariest picture you’ll see all day,” The Young Turks’ Ana Kasparian said to Cenk Uygur the following day. “It makes me really uncomfortable. It looks like a woman kissing her great grandfather.”

Bloomberg later addressed the smooch during a press conference a couple of days later, and clearly had no regrets despite the backlash. The former mayor showered the pop star with compliments, calling her “charming” before praising her successful music career.

“Obviously she really does have some talent. It was fun to talk to her about New York City,” he added, later clarifying that despite how amusing the moment was, it couldn’t live up to his kiss with his longtime girlfriend Diana Taylor.

Richard Quest’s bizarre cat costume: 

One hour into Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen New Year’s Eve special last year, CNN’s Richard Quest popped up on the screen swinging from a traffic light while dressed as a cat. 

In honor of the 42 theatres in and around Times Square, Quest was sporting a Rum Tum Tugger costume, referencing the classic Broadway born musical Cats. 

Apparently dressing for the part wasn’t enough, as Quest later attempted a rendition of the classic Cats song Memory — failing to even remember the lyrics. 

Mariah Carey’s 2017 performance:

It’s hard to forget Grammy-winner Mariah Carey’s disastrous performance during the 2017 Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve special. The pop star skipped several lyrics of her own song Emotions and even gave her backup dancers stage directions while live on-air. 

The singer ended up awkwardly standing on the stage while her song continued before attempting to explain what was happening. 

Carey herself labeled the fiasco “horrible” before blaming it all on technical difficulties, even having a spokesperson claim that “production set her up to fail.”

The best:

Maria Menounos ties the knot:

TV personality and reporter Maria Menounos surprised viewers of the 2018 ball drop, including her parents, when she announced that she was going to tie the knot with longtime partner Keven Undergaro right then and there. 

While co-hosting the Fox New Year’s Eve special with Steve Harvey, who officiated the ceremony, Menounos revealed that she was going to marry Undergaro live and on-air. 

“Hold on, hold on, Dad. Hold on, Hold on” she said to her parents on the special night. “We’re not getting married in the church because we’re getting married right here, tonight, in Times Square.”

Overcome with emotions, Menounos’ mother Litsa began to cry instantly after hearing the news: 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by MARIA MENOUNOS (@mariamenounos)

Mariah Carey’s 2018 performance: 

Redeeming herself after her botched performance the year prior, and reminding viewers of her iconic range, Carey took the stage again before the 2018 ball drop — knocking it out of the park this time. 

Dressed to the nines in a shining gown accessorized with a fur coat and huge glimmering earrings, Carey sang her ’90s hits Vision of Love and Hero — delivering a performance infinitely times better than the last.

 And in classic diva fashion, Carey paused between songs to ask for a cup of hot tea — a moment that became the first meme of 2018.

Found my tea! pic.twitter.com/r5EIIbT5Zw

— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) January 1, 2018

Don Lemon gets his ear pierced on-air:

Reporting live from a bar in New Orleans, CNN’s Don Lemon rang in 2017 by getting his ear pierced on live television. 

Perhaps trying to wash away the chaos of 2016, Lemon downed quite a few shots of tequila before receiving his new shiny accessory . 

“Happy New Year!” Lemon could be heard saying during the broadcast. “Oh my God! I need a little more — pour me a little more, a little more. Perfect. That had a big head on it. I can’t hear a damn thing.” 

“So, 2016 was awful,” he added before CNN cut his mic. 

Like the Carey memes a year later, Lemon’s New Year’s Eve moment earned the anchor his very own hashtag: #DrunkDonLemon.

The post From Bloomberg Kissing Lady Gaga to Don Lemon Getting a Piercing, Here Are the Best and Worst of Past New Year’s Eve Specials first appeared on Mediaite.

Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen ripped shots to kick off their New Year’s Eve special — the CNN anchor gagging immediately after downing his drink.

Although celebrations are looking a bit different this year, Cooper and Cohen took their annual New Year’s shots on Thursday, and Cooper is still struggling to handle his liquor. 

The duo played clips of last year’s special before Cohen joked that Cooper has transformed from a “zaddy to a daddy” — referencing his newly born son Wyatt. 

“I don’t know what that means,” Cooper laughed in return, prompting Cohen to hand him a shot of tequila.

The two reflected on the tumultuous year, honoring those who have passed away before hoping for a more successful 2021. Cohen then promised that they would be taking shots every hour on the hour throughout the night.

“A vaccine’s on the way, daddy, let’s do it!” Cohen said before the two took their shots. “You’re getting better at it,” Cohen claimed, despite Cooper’s look of utter disgust.

Cooper could not hide his hatred for the drink, as he immediately began to freak out after finishing the shot.

Cohen later joked that they’re set up so close to ABC’s stage, they’d be able to report which artists were lip-syncing and which were giving authentic performances throughout the night.

Watch above, via CNN.

The post Anderson Cooper Freaks Out After Ripping Shots with Andy Cohen to Kick Off CNN's New Year's Eve Special first appeared on Mediaite.

At least 140 House Republicans are reportedly planning to vote against confirming the electoral votes that would verify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, according to CNN.

Despite no evidence of systemic voter fraud, two Republican members of the House told CNN that their colleagues will attempt to block the count of the Electoral College’s votes on Jan. 6, according to a report from Jake Tapper. 

Although President Donald Trump has lost the election, and his House supporters have essentially no chance of changing the result, the motion will delay Biden’s confirmation by a couple of hours.

Trump and his colleagues and allies have spent almost two months working to overturn the election, making baseless claims of election fraud without any legal luck.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced his plans to object to the vote on Wednesday, likely sparking his fellow GOP House members to follow suit.

Both a House and Senate member need to object when Congress counts the votes, and while Hawley already announced his plans to protest, no senators have yet.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had reportedly warned fellow Republican senators not to attempt to challenge Biden’s victory, as he’s nervous the turmoil could lose the GOP Georgia’s two Senate seats.

Watch above, via CNN.

The post 140 GOP House Members Expected to Challenge Electoral College Vote: CNN first appeared on Mediaite.

For better or for worse, in many ways, 2020 was defined by capitalism, a system unprepared to provide as many hospital beds as there are sick people during a pandemic. Or PPE gear to health care workers exposed to those sick people. Or even face masks to those ordinary people just trying to shop for groceries who are…

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Five anchorwomen, who sued New York 1 over age and gender discrimination in 2019, have cut ties with the station after reaching a confidential settlement on Thursday.

Longtime New York City television personality Roma Torre is among those leaving, in addition to Amanda Farinacci, Vivian Lee, Jeanine Ramirez, and Kristen Shaughnessy.

“After engaging in a lengthy dialogue with NY1, we believe it is in everyone’s interest — ours, NY1’s and our viewers’ — that this litigation be resolved, and we have mutually agreed to part ways,” the plaintiffs wrote in a statement released by their lawyers David Gottlieb and Douglas Wigdor. “We want to thank everyone who has supported us through these times — please know that the support from each and every person has made a real difference.”

Torre repeated the sentiment in a Thursday tweet:

and we have mutually agreed to part ways. We want to thank everyone who has supported us through these times – please know that the support from each and every person has made a real difference.

— Roma Torre (@RomaTorreNYC) December 31, 2020

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) also had some things to say regarding the news, taking to Twitter to post about the loss:

2020 was a year of loss and @ny1 just lost 5 of their best reporters. This is a tremendous loss for all of their viewers. https://t.co/R20kyZ1jCP

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 31, 2020

“2020 was a year of loss, and NY1 just lost five of their best reporters,” Cuomo wrote on. “This is a tremendous loss for all of their viewers.”

The anchorwomen, whose ages ranged from 40 to 61, sued Charter Communications, NY1’s parent company, alleging that they were stripped of air time and rejected by managers seeking younger hosts.

A producer had already left NY1 after witnessing alleged retaliation towards the reporters and anchors who sued the channel last year, according to a report by Diana Falzone in Vice.

“The workplace is increasingly hostile since we’ve filed our lawsuit,” Ramirez added in the report. “There are managers among the top ranks who refuse to acknowledge us.”

The post Five Anchorwomen Leave NY1 Following Discrimination Suit first appeared on Mediaite.

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On CNN Wednesday night, Dr. Jonathan Reiner and Dr. Ashish Jha called out issues with the vaccine rollout thus far, as some administration officials have acknowledged that the number of people vaccinated is lower than they predicted it would be by the end of 2020.

CNN’s Bianna Golodryga — filling in for Erin Burnett — asked if there’s “enough urgency right now to fix this.”

Reiner, a former Bush White House medical adviser and CNN medical analyst, said it reminds him of problems earlier in the year over testing. He said, “There needs to be a fierce urgency to vaccinate the most vulnerable people in this country. And I just don’t see it… We need to give, with these two-dose vaccines, 500 million vaccines and we need to do it quickly. We need mass vaccination events. We need to use the parking lots of baseball stadiums. We need drive-through events. We need arenas. We need to take the vaccine into the community. Telling people just to go to your nearest store isn’t going to get us where we need to be.”

Jha agreed and said, “The biggest difference between us and the other countries is what Dr. Reiner said, basically a sense of urgency to do this. In other countries, they’re not spending their time fighting about whether it’s the states’ responsibility or not. They’re not passing the buck. Much of the administration has spent much of today and yesterday saying that the problem is that we have 50 states failing at their job. That’s one theory. My theory is we have a federal government that’s not providing adequate support. It’s not 50 failed governors. It’s really a failed federal leadership that’s really not doing what needs to be done.”

Golodryga asked if President-elect Joe Biden’s push for vaccinating 100 million people in his first 100 days is too optimistic.

“I don’t think it’s optimistic enough,” Reiner said. “100 people in 100 days is a million people a day. I think we need to do twice that number a day. A million people a day only gets us to what we think is herd immunity in 18 months. That’s a lot of people dying between now and then. If you want to vaccinate 80 percent of the population in the next 10 to 12 months, we need to vaccinate 2 million people a day. And to do that, we need out-of-the-box thinking. We need to learn how to do this quickly, in large numbers, not just by people strolling into their local CVS. We need big events. We need to go into the communities.”

You can watch above, via CNN.

The post CNN Medical Analyst Calls Out Lack of 'Fierce Urgency' in Vaccine Administration: 'We Need Mass Vaccination Events' first appeared on Mediaite.

Conservative lawyer George Conway ripped Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and President Donald Trump’s “enablers” in an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Wednesday afternoon over their continued last-ditch efforts to delegitimize President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.

Tapper asked Conway about how Hawley’s move to object to Biden’s defeat could expose continued divides in the Republican Party.

“Couldn’t this move by Josh Hawley force John Thune to vote against President Trump and thus open an opportunity for somebody to primary John Thune, in a Republican primary for when he runs for reelection, because there is now this anti-fact, ant-truth groundswell of support among Trump supporters?” Tapper asked Conway.

Conway responded by saying the political party he formerly associated with continues to “degrade” itself.

“If that’s true, then the I guess the path success in the Republican party is to continue to degrade it. What we’re seeing here is a never-ending downward spiral into delusion and unreality and into just lies about the integrity of our democracy. And that is profoundly dangerous. These individuals are seeking to advance their own political careers and do so at the expense of trust in our democracy,” Conway continued.

“They are fomenting these lies, fomenting these fears of an illegitimate election and they’re doing so for their own political benefit and it’s destructive of democracy,” he stated. “It’s horrible.”

Conway also called out Hawley’s argument that he’s just standing up for voters who feel there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

“The reason why they are being concerned is because they are being lied to and people like Hawley are sticking up for the lies or not countering the lies. The source of all of these fears that people have about an election, to the extent that they actually have them, is from the lying from the president and his enablers,” Conway stated.

He went onto rip Trump six ways till Sunday while dumping cold water on the Trump campaign’s continuous legal efforts.

You can watch the full interview above, via CNN.

The post George Conway Trashes Trump ‘Enablers’ Like Hawley for Indulging Election Conspiracies: ‘Destructive’ to Democracy first appeared on Mediaite.

Even a cheap TV will give you pretty great picture quality these days, but as sets have gotten thinner and better, the speakers have become tiny and awful. Want explosions that put a boom in your room? Your TV won’t cut it; those speakers can barely deliver solidly intelligible dialogue. Given all that, a soundbar is…

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Senator Bernie Sanders appeared on Fox News Wednesday to respond to Republican opposition to giving struggling Americans $2000 — a proposal that has received bipartisan support, including from President Donald Trump.

Sanders started out by telling Bret Baier, “I think President Trump is the most dangerous president in the history of our country but he happens to be right on this issue.”

Baier asked about Republicans opposed to the $2000 because of concerns they’re raising about the debt.

“The debt is a serious issue and you’re right, we are talking about a whole lot of money. But I always find it amusing that sometimes the very same people who voted for a trillion and a half dollar tax break for the 1 percent and large corporations, they didn’t have a worry about the deficit at that point,” Sanders responded. “When it comes to hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate welfare, these large profitable corporations, they don’t worry about the deficit.”

He brought up the Pentagon budget in particular before saying, “When it comes to working families, the mom and dad who are struggling to put food on the table for their kids, oh my god, we’re worried about the deficit.”

Sanders has made it clear he plans to hold up the vote on overriding the president’s veto on the National Defense Authorization Act until he gets a commitment on the Senate voting on the $2000. McConnell — who is tying unrelated items about the internet and the election to legislation for the $2000 — accused Sanders of engaging in “political stunts.”

The Vermont senator said he’s using “the only tool I have” to force a vote on the vital aid, and asked, “What is McConnell’s problem?”

He brought up how the House passed a bill on the $2000 with support from both parties and how some Republican colleagues in the Senate have indicated their support.

As for the Section 230 and election integrity commission issues he’s tying into this new bill, Sanders blasted McConnell for attaching those unrelated items to “a bill that is so important to working families.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

The post Bernie Sanders Hits Back at GOP Opposition to 00 on Fox News: ‘Amusing’ That They’re Now Saying ‘Oh My God We’re Worried About the Deficit’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings apologized on Wednesday afternoon for past “unartful and insensitive” tweets.

Jennings went on to take responsibility for his tweets, stating that he “screwed up” and is now “truly sorry.”

“Hey, I just wanted to own up to the fact that over the years on Twitter, I’ve definitely tweeted some unartful and insensitive things. Sometimes they worked as jokes in my head, and I was dismayed to see how they read on screen,” Jennings stated in a Twitter thread. “In the past, I’d usually leave bad tweets up just so they could be dunked on.”

“At least that way they could lead to smart replies and even advocacy. Deleting them felt like whitewashing a mistake,” he added.

In the past, I’d usually leave bad tweets up just so they could be dunked on. At least that way they could lead to smart replies and even advocacy. Deleting them felt like whitewashing a mistake. 2/x

— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) December 30, 2020

“But I think that practice may have given the impression I stand by every failed joke I’ve ever posted here. Not at all!” the Jeopardy! star continued. “Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way, and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended.”

Jennings then offered an apology to anyone he’s hurt with his tweets.

“It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter: I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry,” Jennings stated.

Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter: I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry. 4/x

— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) December 30, 2020

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we should be kinder to one another. I look forward to heading into 2021 with that in mind. 5/x

— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) December 30, 2020

Jennings, who is currently a fill-in host for Jeopardy!, following the passing of longtime host Alex Trebek, previously apologized over an offensive wheelchair joke and has also mocked President Donald Trump’s son Barron on Twitter.

The iconic Jeopardy! player remains a top pick to replace Trebek as the new permanent host of the primetime game show.

The post Jeopardy! Star Ken Jennings Apologizes After Coming Under Criticism for Old Tweets: 'I Screwed Up' first appeared on Mediaite.

Anthony Scaramucci, whose 11-day tenure as Trump White House communications director was so disastrously brief that it became its own infamous time unit, predicted that the final “Scaramucci” or two of this administration will be marked by more “ridiculous pardons,” “nefarious neglect,” and plenty of fundraising to pad the post presidency of Donald Trump and his family.

Speaking with Anderson Cooper 360 guest host Jim Sciutto on Tuesday night, Scaramucci expressed his confidence that Vice President Mike Pence would not engage in any Electoral College shenanigans, but very little else.

“About January 6th,” Sciutto said, alluding to the day that the House and Senate will verify the Electoral College victory of President-elect Joe Biden. “He’s still putting pressure on his vice president to somehow contest before the floor. You speak to folks in this administration. How does Vice President Pence plan to handle this?

“I can’t speak for the vice president, but I’m very confident that he’s going to do what is appropriate for the United States,” Scaramucci said. “He did take a vow to the Constitution, and take an oath to the Constitution. He’s going to do what’s appropriate.”

But then Scaramucci turned to Trump and his analysis was far less sanguine.

“The last two weeks of the administration, there will be a series of ridiculous pardons and they’ll be a series of nefarious neglect and activity related to setting up President Trump and his family for the post presidency and some of it will be gimmickry, some of it related to fundraising, and some will be pardons with those pardons being tied to something in the future. You know, it’s terrible.”

The former Trump official pointed to the imminent Congressional veto override of the president on the defense bill as a hopeful sign of bipartisanship and a possibly “good start for the new in coming Biden administration.”

And before he left, Scaramucci was given the opportunity for one last prediction — about the next presidential election.

“Just very quickly yes or no,” Sciutto pressed. “If you had to bet five bucks now, is he running again in 2024 or is this a charade?”

“Forget about five bucks, I got five thousand that he’s not,” Scaramucci said confidently. “If you want to take it to 50 [thousand], Jim, we probably got to go to a bookie, but I’m in. There’s no chance this guy is running again.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

The post Scaramucci Makes Ominous Prediction for Final Weeks of Trump White House: 'Nefarious Neglect,' 'Ridiculous Pardons' and 'Fundraising' for Post Presidency first appeared on Mediaite.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp responded Tuesday night to President Donald Trump for continuing to attack him in his ongoing quest to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Fox News’ Shannon Bream spoke with Kemp after the results of a Cobb County signature audit came out affirming, once again, that the claims being put forth by the president and his team lack evidence.

Bream asked Kemp about Trump’s new demand for signature verification in another county, as well as the president’s bizarre declaration he somehow won Pennsylvania based on a claim made by some Republican loyalists in that state.

Kemp started by saying, “Let me set the record straight for people that don’t understand how the system works in Georgia.”

He said that he personally does not have the ability to order a signature audit. Kemp also made a point of saying, “I’ll let the results of that audit speak for themselves today, but there wasn’t much there.”

When Bream asked about his relationship with the president, Kemp was quick to praise Trump, bringing up Operation Warp Speed and the vaccine rollout in particular.

“I’ve supported this president going into the reelect, worked as hard as anybody in the state and in the country to help him. I’ve supported the legal efforts they’re doing,” he added, “but also at the end of the day, Shannon, I have to follow the laws and the Constitution of this state and that’s what I’ve been doing and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

The post GA Gov. Brian Kemp Responds to Continued Trump Attacks: I’ve Supported and Worked Hard for Him, But ‘I Have to Follow the Laws’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Photo credit: Elijah Nouvelage, Getty Images

One Georgia county took the extraordinary step of matching the signatures of absentee ballot envelopes to the official ballots inside, a move that President Donald Trump has baselessly claimed would prove he won the state, and found that the elections staff had 99.99% accuracy rate and zero fraudulent votes had been cast.

On Tuesday evening, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein reported that Cobb County, a suburban collar county northwest of Atlanta, had finished an audit of 10 percent of the more than 150,000 absentee ballots cast in the 2020 general election. And Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger again pointed out that the results, like the previous statewide recounts, confirmed that their was no widespread fraud and that President-elect Joe Biden was the certified winner of the state.

“The Secretary of State’s office has always been focused on calling balls and strikes in elections and, in this case, three strikes and you’re out,” Raffensperger said. “We conducted a statewide hand recount that reaffirmed the initial tally, and a machine recount at the request of the Trump campaign that also reaffirmed the original tally. This audit disproves the only credible allegations the Trump campaign had against the strength of Georgia’s signature match processes.”

The unprecedented review of signatures on absentee ballot envelopes found that the Cobb Elections Department had “a 99.99% accuracy rate in performing correct signature verification procedures” and no fraudulent absentee votes, Georgia’s top elections official says. #gapol #gasen pic.twitter.com/RmIzUemfFy

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) December 29, 2020

To conduct the signature match audit, county election officials, under supervision by the state, pulled ballots randomly from 30 boxes that had been secured in country facilities since the election. As a result of the nearly two-week-long audit, Cobb County found only two votes out of more than 15,000 should’ve been flagged for “cure notification.” One of the pair was mistakenly signed by a voter’s spouse on the envelope, but the correct voter signed the ballot inside, and the other had not been signed on the envelope, but the actual ballot was likewise properly signed.

These results, while unsurprising after the unprecedented scrutiny Georgia’s voting process has received, nonetheless deal yet another hammer blow to the deranged conspiracy theories being pushed by Trump. At several points since the election was officially called for Biden, Trump has falsely claimed that a signature verification audit of the absentee envelopes and ballots in Georgia would reveal massive fraud and “flip” the state to red.

Thousands of uncounted votes discovered in Georgia counties. When the much more important signature match takes place, the State will flip Republican, and very quickly. Get it done! @BrianKempGA

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2020

The “Republican” Governor of Georgia, @BrianKempGA, and the Secretary of State, MUST immediately allow a signature verification match on the Presidential Election. If that happens, we quickly and easily win the State and importantly, pave the way for a big David and Kelly WIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2020

Symbolic of how the president’s legal fight to overturn the results in Georgia has gone, pro-Trump legal surrogate Lin Wood filed a lawsuit in the state 10 days ago with an apparent typo that was signed “under plenty of perjury.”

The post One GA Country Just Completed a Signature Match Audit of Absentee Ballots That Trump Claimed Will Prove Election Manipulation — And Found Zero Fraudulent Votes first appeared on Mediaite.

Fox News contributor and The Dispatch co-founder Stephen Hayes said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s demands on the stimulus negotiations and covid relief aren’t so much about those policy issues as his personal gripes about the 2020 election.

The president has called for $2000 checks to Americans struggling during the pandemic — something many Democrats and some Republicans support — but he has also been very focused on conspiracy theories about the election and has even roped his personal gripes about Twitter into his veto of the National Defense Authorization Act — demanding repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Hayes said on Special Report that Mitch McConnell’s gambit to introduce a bill that would give Americans those $2000 checks but would also include Section 230 repeal was him “cleverly adding poison pills… that track exactly with what President Trump said that he wanted.”

He added that the fight here is not really about policy:

“This is much more about Republicans having to respond to a temper tantrum from the president who’s trying to steal an election, basically. If you look at what President Trump is saying, this is about Donald Trump, it’s not about the future of the country. It’s not about the future of the Republican party. It’s not even really about covid relief. If relief were so urgent, one suspects that the president would’ve made this happen months and months ago.”

Some of the political calculus going on, Hayes noted at one point, is some Republicans having an “increasing willingness to distance themselves from Donald Trump as it becomes clearer he’s not going to be the one who’s controlling their immediate political future.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

The post Stephen Hayes: Trump's Complaints Aren't Really About Policy, But About Himself and His 'Tantrum' to Steal Election first appeared on Mediaite.

Look, considering the “Skywalker Saga” (to be clear, you’re absolutely a narc if you call it that) came to a close last December, 2020 was still a banner year when it comes to Star Wars merchandise. Between The Mandalorian merch finally hitting in full force after a slight delay, a whole bunch of killer releases to…

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