Chris Christie said on Fox News Friday night he would give Donald Trump’s presidency an A grade.

Christie repeatedly called out Trump over his false and completely ridiculous claims about the 2020 election. He even said rather directly on January 10th that Trump should be impeached for incitement to insurrection, after an angry mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol over the former president’s false statements.

Sean Hannity asked the former New Jersey governor what grade he would give Trump’s presidency.

“Overall I give the president an A,” Christie said.

Without directly referencing the riots or election attacks directly, Christie went on to say, “There were some things that happened specifically at the end of the presidency that I think had some things that clouded his accomplishments, and that’s why we as a party need to emphasize the issues you just talked about.”

Christie told Hannity he’s not ruling out a presidential run in 2024, and continued to say President Joe Biden is a liar.

Hannity asked Christie if he would challenge Trump in a primary.

“I would not make my decision based on anyone else who’s running,” Christie responded.

You can watch above, via Fox News.

On Friday night, CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen suggested President Joe Biden missed an opportunity to remind Americans of what a pre-pandemic gathering looks like.

Wen told Cuomo Prime Time guest host Michael Smerconish that Biden could have arranged his joint address to Congress this week in such a way as to allow only fully vaccinated members of Congress to attend, thereby showing vaccine-hesitant Americans its value. Wen also wondered whether Biden is trying to overcompensate for the fact that his predecessor was notoriously skeptical of Covid-19 safety protocols.

I think that President Biden could have decided – and I recognize there is political risk here involved too – but he could have decided that he was only going to have fully vaccinated people who had proof of vaccination attend that joint session. And then in return they could enter – by the way, they could also get a negative test to be extra sure – but in return they could go into the chamber, take off their mask, have no distancing, hug one another and essentially return to 2019.

And then imagine if President Biden had started his address that way and said, “Look at where we are now. This is where the country can be at too. Let’s please get vaccinated.” I think that would have sent such a strong signal because, frankly, presidents are role models. They role model good public health behavior. The former president, Trump, really did a poor job of this and I wonder if President Biden is trying to overcorrect and be overly cautious here. But I think over-caution also has a price and that masks somehow become a performative act rather than a life-saving act when it’s really needed, and also, it’s really underselling the power of the vaccine.

A joint address in the House chamber only to members of Congress who’d been vaccinated would fall within the acceptable pandemic guidelines outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The CDC says it is safe for fully vaccinated people to “gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart.”

However, the guidelines advise that fully vaccinated individuals should still wear masks in indoor public settings where it is unclear if everyone present has been fully vaccinated.

Watch above, via CNN.

Tucker Carlson devoted his opening monologue to going after Republican pollster Frank Luntz and saying the GOP is ignoring its own base because they’re listening to people like him.

Carlson said Friday night, “Year after year on issue after issue, the leadership of the Republican party fails to represent its voters.”

And the reason, he argued, is partly Luntz, “the Republican party’s longest-serving message man.”

Carlson called Luntz a “conventional liberal” who pushes the perspective of “left-wing corporations” when he speaks at Republican events.

He brought up Luntz’s relationship with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in particular to say that’s how Luntz has such big influence within the GOP.

Carlson mocked Luntz for recent comments about Trump supporters saying, “They believe in immigrants, in immigration — they’re pro-immigration,’ as well as comments Luntz made in 2012 about how the NRA isn’t listening to public opinion on gun laws.

“Who does that sound like? It sounds a lot like Joe Biden, a man Frank Luntz has been friends with for a long time,” Carlson said.

At one point he added, “Toadying for big corporations clearly pays well.”

Luntz responded to the segment on Twitter, saying, “That explains all the angry, misspelled messages in my inbox tonight.”

That explains all the angry, misspelled messages in my inbox tonight. https://t.co/12HP6fWb0G

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) May 1, 2021

You can watch above, via Fox News.

A murder suspect in Atlanta was arrested after being spotted by a TV news crew.

Channel 2 Action News said that reporter Matt Johnson and photojournalist Joe Booker were driving when they saw someone run past their truck into the woods.

They recognized J’ssan Carlos Strover, wanted for murder, and called law enforcement. Strover was arrested and the news crew was there to film it.

Johnson explained in a follow-up on-air report it was an “incredibly surreal” experience for him and Booker.

“We were driving, we saw somebody run in front of us, go into the woods,” he said. “We had to both look at ourselves and say ‘Did that just happen?’ We just didn’t think there was a chance, 14 hours later, that this suspect was still in the area, but that’s exactly what the situation was.”

“We made a quick U-turn, we flagged down the closest police officer, let him know the situation. He ran across the street, got the suspect to surrender,” Johnson explained.

There was a manhunt underway for Strover after he fled near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Thursday.

You can watch Johnson’s breakdown of what happened above, including footage of the arrest, via WSB-TV.

On Friday, CNN’s Erin Burnett asked Matthew Dowd Friday whether Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) can remain in the current Republican Party. Cheney has been an ardent critic of former President Donald Trump.

“No,” replied the chief strategist of President George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign replied. “I think she has no influence at all in the Republican Party today.” He elaborated.

Does she keep her position in the party in the leadership? She might because it’s just easier to let that happen, but she has no longer any influence in this party. The people like Liz Cheney are less popular than people like Marjorie Taylor Greene in the Republican party today, and that tells you everything you need to know about the Republican Party today. And what’s fascinating to me – and all of these things, Erin, as you know because you cover all of this stuff – the small story always tells a bigger narrative. And the small story here is unless you are willing to lie to Republican voters and not tell them the truth, you have no influence in the party and you’re no longer part of the Republican Party. So basically the table stakes for being a Republican in leadership or being a Republican of any influence at all nationally or even in states, is you have to be willing to lie to their base. And if you’re not willing to lie, you have no part of the base.

“It’s incredible,” responded Burnett. “Terrifying litmus test.”

Cheney is the number three Republican in the GOP House leadership, and was one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Trump for incitement to insurrection for his role in the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6. Earlier this month, she said the GOP should not be “embracing insurrection.” Unsurprisingly, she’s already drawn multiple primary challengers.

Cheney’s standing has taken a hit among some House Republicans, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). In January he traveled to Cheney’s home state of Wyoming to hold a rally against her. Days later, the House Republican caucus voted against removing Cheney from her position as the House Republican Conference Chair by a secret vote of 145 to 61. Gaetz was roundly mocked as a result.

Watch above via CNN.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s town hall special with five Republican governors was a timeslot winner at 10 p.m. Thursday, while Tucker Carlson’s interview with former Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani also helped boost the network to another ratings win.

Tucker Carlson Tonight was first overall in the cable news ratings, with 3.03 million total viewers, and 476,000 in the key A25-54 demographic, tuning in to watch Carlson interview Giuliani about the recent raid by federal agents on his New York apartment. Hannity was second, with nearly 2.8 million total viewers, and 454,000 in the demo. The Five was third, with 2.67 million total viewers and 383,000 in the demo. The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC was fourth, with 2.59 million total viewers and 373,000 in the demo, according to data from Nielsen.

Ingraham’s live special, Red State Trailblazers, ranked fifth in cable news Thursday, with 2.21 million total viewers, and 321,000 in the demo. The special featured Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA), Gov. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and Gov. Tate Reeves (R-MI), together with Ingraham in Orlando for the hour-long special, and covered topics ranging from President Joe Biden’s Wednesday night address to a joint session of Congress to mask mandates to last summer’s civil unrest.

Fox News won the ratings race across the board Thursday. In total day, Fox was first with 1.59 million total viewers and 274,000 in the demo. MSNBC was second in total viewers, with 1.23 million, and third in the demo, with 164,000. CNN was third in total viewers, with 822,000, and second in the demo, with 224,000.

Fox was also first in prime time, averaging 2.68 million total viewers and 417,000 in the demo. MSNBC was second, with 1.99 million total viewers, and 278,000 in the demo. CNN was third, with 1.04 million total viewers, and 265,000 in the demo.

In the early morning, Fox and Friends was first, with 1.22 million total viewers and 238,000 in the demo. MSNBC’s Morning Joe was second, with 1.09 million total viewers, and 146,000 in the demo. CNN’s New Day was third, with 534,000 total viewers, and 133,000 in the demo.

Newsmax has posted an apology/retraction to its website regarding false claims made on the network about Dominion and the 2020 presidential election.

Dominion employee Dr. Eric Coomer, the company’s director of product strategy and security, was targeted by conspiracy theorists in the wake of the election, and at the time he said he was in fear of his and his family’s safety. The conspiracy theory connected Coomer to antifa and some sort of sinister election plot.

Coomer sued the Trump campaign, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, other Trump allies, and both Newsmax and OANN.

Newsmax and Coomer have reached a settlement, NPR reports, and Newsmax posted the following apology to its website:

Since Election Day, various guests, attorneys, and hosts on Newsmax have offered opinions and claims about Dr. Eric Coomer, the Director of Product Strategy and Security at Dominion Voting Systems.

Newsmax would like to clarify its coverage of Dr. Coomer and note that while Newsmax initially covered claims by President Trump’s lawyers, supporters and others that Dr. Coomer played a role in manipulating Dominion voting machines, Dominion voting software, and the final vote counts in the 2020 presidential election, Newsmax subsequently found no evidence that such allegations were true. Many of the states whose results were contested by the Trump campaign after the November 2020 election have conducted extensive recounts and audits, and each of these states certified the results as legal and final.

There are several facts that our viewers should be aware of. Newsmax has found no evidence that Dr. Coomer interfered with Dominion voting machines or voting software in any way, nor that Dr. Coomer ever claimed to have done so. Nor has Newsmax found any evidence that Dr. Coomer ever participated in any conversation with members of “Antifa,” nor that he was directly involved with any partisan political organization.

On behalf of Newsmax, we would like to apologize for any harm that our reporting of the allegations against Dr. Coomer may have caused to Dr. Coomer and his family. For more on this, please go to our website at Newsmax.com, and read “Facts About Dominion, Smartmatic You Should Know.”

Both Dominion and Newsmax have filed lawsuits against a number of news outlets and individuals who have made false and outlandish claims about the 2020 election.

Former personal attorney to former President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, went on Fox News Thursday evening to give Tucker Carlson his side of the story regarding the raid by federal agents on his home Wednesday, and dropped a bizarre rant in which he blamed Hunter Biden and claimed the warrant was illegal because the feds already had his data “from the iCloud.”

(To be clear, this is a different bizarre rant from the one Giuliani dropped on his radio show earlier in the day.)

Carlson welcomed Giuliani on the show and asked him to tell his side of the story.

Giuliani said that seven FBI agents came to his door at 6:00 am with “a big bang, bang, bang on the door” with a search warrant for “electronics.” He claimed that he had offered to turn over this evidence to the government and discuss it with them “for two years.”

The agents took “seven or eight electronic items of mine,” said Giuliani, but then declined to take three hard drives. “I said, well, don’t you want these? And they said, what are they? I said, those are Hunter Biden’s hard drives. And they said no, no, no.”

Giuliani continued to urge the agents to take the hard drives, he said, and claimed that the warrant required them to take “all electronics.”

He offered an odd defense, that he didn’t understand why the feds believed him and the evidence they seized actually proved he was innocent:

They also were completely content to rely on my word that these were Hunter Biden’s hard drives. I mean, they could have been Donald Trump’s. They could have been Vladimir Putin’s. They could have been anybody’s. But they relied on me, the man who had to be raided in the morning, because — I’m going to destroy the evidence? I’ve known this for two years, Tucker, I could have destroyed the evidence. The evidence is exculpatory. It proves the president and I and all of us are innocent. They are the ones who are committing — it’s like projection. They are committing the crimes.

Giuliani ranted about Hunter Biden for a few more minutes as the one that the feds should be investigating, and complained about how the federal agents had “smash[ed] on my doors in a frightening way” — but made sure to point out that “luckily, I do not get frightened very easily.”

He then claimed that the warrant is “completely illegal,” arguing that “the only way you can get a search warrant is if you can show that there is some evidence that the person is going to destroy the evidence. Or is going to run away with the evidence. Well, I’ve had it for two years and I haven’t destroyed it.”

“And they also got it from the iCloud!” Giuliani exclaimed, dramatically pointing his thumb up towards the heavens, where he apparently assumes his data is floating. “So, there was no — there was no justification for that warrant. It is an illegal, unconstitutional warrant. One of many that this ‘department of injustice’ tragically has done, and it breaks my heart because I belonged to the Justice Department, and I think I had a record that is a hell of a lot better than theirs.”

Watch the video above, via Fox News.

Courtesy BuzzFeed via YouTube

The child in the viral “Disaster Girl” meme – the one smiling knowingly at the camera as a house literally burns in the background – is now a college senior, and has sold the original copy of her meme as a non-fungible token, or NFT, the New York Times reported Thursday.

“Disaster Girl,” perhaps one of the most recognizable members of the unofficial meme hall of fame, is now an NFT worth half a million dollars. The 4-year-old girl from the photo, now a college student, plans to pay off student loans and donate to charity. https://t.co/cmJrm3qMbA

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 29, 2021

Zoë Roth, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, sold the NFT for 180 Ether, a form of cryptocurrency that is currently valued at more than $495,000, the Times reported.

An NFT is a piece of digital media that is tagged with a unique digital code that confirms its authenticity.

Although Roth herself may not be a household name, the meme has probably been seen by pretty much anyone who has ever been on the internet.

“Ms. Roth remembers watching the flames engulf the house when her father, an amateur photographer, asked her to smile,” the Times report said. “With her hair askew and a knowing look in her eyes, Ms. Roth flashed a devilish smirk as the fire roared behind her. ‘Disaster Girl’ was born.”

“In the years since Dave Roth, Zoë’s father, entered it in a photo contest in 2007 and won, the image has been edited into various disasters from history, with Ms. Roth grinning impishly as a meteor wipes out the dinosaurs or the Titanic sinks in the distance.”

The Times noted that the photo was taken when Roth was four years old. The local fire department had intentionally set the house on fire in a controlled way, and neighbors had gathered to watch.

Although Roth told the Times that she has felt powerless over the situation since she was in elementary school, she is also “super grateful for the entire experience.”

The Roths kept the copyright to the photo, and will receive 10 percent of future sales, the Times reported. Zoë Roth plans on using the money to pay off her student loans, and will also donate to charities.

The Pasquotank County sheriff released the names of three deputies involved in the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., CNN reported Thursday.

CNN reporter Brian Todd shared the names with CNN Newsroom co-hosts Alisyn Camerota and Victor Blackwell shortly before 3 p.m.

Investigator Daniel Meads, deputy sheriff Robert Morgan, and corporal Aaron Lewellyn were the three officers who “discharged their weapons in the shooting of Andrew Brown,” according to Sheriff Tommy Wooten, Todd reported.

Four other deputies who were involved in the incident but did not fire their weapons have returned to active duty, Todd also reported, quoting Wooten as saying that it is “obvious that four of the deputies never fired their weapons and deserve to be reinstated to active duty.”

Wooten also said that “more investigation is necessary into the three deputies who did fire their weapons, and they will remain on administrative leave,” according to another CNN report.

Andrew Brown was killed by police in Elizabeth City, NC on April 21, as police reportedly tried to execute an arrest warrant. An attorney for Brown’s family called his death an “execution” after watching 20 seconds of police body cam footage of the incident.

Peaceful protestors have marched in demonstrations for at least seven nights since the shooting, despite the city declaring a state of emergency and instituting an 8 p.m. curfew. Around 100 police officers in riot gear arrested five peaceful protestors in Elizabeth City on Wednesday, according to the Charlotte News & Observer.

The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to ask a grand jury to indict four former Minneapolis police officers – including Derek Chauvin – on federal charges pursuant to their encounter with George Floyd last May, The Star-Tribune reports. Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine and half minutes until Floyd died as the other three officers held him down and looked on. Last week in a Minneapolis courtroom, Chauvin was found guilty on three state counts, including second degree murder.

In the event of a mistrial or not guilty verdicts on all counts, sources said the plan was for federal agents to arrest Chauvin at the courthouse, in what would have made for an undoubtedly dramatic moment. Federal prosecutors are expected to seek police brutality charges against Chauvin in the Floyd case, as well as an incident from 2017 in which Chauvin hit a 14-year-old boy with a flashlight and choked him.

Of that incident, The Star-Tribune describes an ugly scene:

In a scene reminiscent of the Floyd arrest, Chauvin held the position even after the child told him that he was in pain and couldn’t breathe, and after the mother tried to intervene, prosecutors said. At one point, the boy started bleeding from his ear — from getting hit with the flashlight, he later told paramedics — and he asked to be flipped on his back. He then began crying and again asked to be flipped over, prompting Chauvin to ask if the boy would be “flopping around at all.”

“No,” the boy responded.

“Better not,” Chauvin said. He kept his knee on the child’s back.

If indicted by a grand jury, the other officers would face federal charges in relation to Floyd’s death only. They are J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao. The three men are already slated to be tried on state charges in early August.

President Joe Biden took a moment during his address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night to call for police reform and speak of George Floyd.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Floyd’s family after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder. Biden mentioned the verdict during his address.

“We must come together to heal the soul of this nation,” Biden said on Wednesday night. “We have all seen the knee of injustice on the neck of Black Americans. Now is our opportunity to make some real progress.”

He said the country needs to come together to “rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve” and to “root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system.”

“The vast majority of men and women wearing a uniform and a badge serve our communities and they serve them honorably,” the president said.

He called for the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and said, “Let’s get it done next month, by the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death.”

“We have a giant opportunity to bend to the arc of the moral universe toward justice. Real justice. And with the plans I outlined tonight, we have a real chance to root out systemic racism that plagues American life in many other ways.”

Biden also applauded the Senate for overwhelmingly passing legislation in response to a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. He also made a point of saying, “To all the transgender Americans watching at home, especially the young people who are so brave, I want you to know that your president has your back.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

President Joe Biden called the ransacking of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, carried out by a horde of Trump supporters seeking to thwart the 2020 election, “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War” in his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night.

“While the setting tonight is familiar, this gathering is very different – a reminder of the extraordinary times we are in,” Biden said at the start of his speech marking 100 days in office, delivered in the same room that was breached by the mob as lawmakers took shelter.

He continued:

Tonight, I come to talk about crisis — and opportunity. About rebuilding our nation — and revitalizing our democracy. And winning the future for America. As I stand here tonight — just one day shy of the 100th day of my administration. 100 days since I took the oath of office, lifted my hand off our family Bible, and inherited a nation in crisis.

The worst pandemic in a century. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.

Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation: America is on the move again. Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength. Life can knock us down. But in America, we never stay down. In America, we always get up. And today, that’s what we’re doing: America is rising anew. Choosing hope over fear. Truth over lies. Light over darkness. After 100 Days of rescue and renewal, America is ready for takeoff. We are working again. Dreaming again. Discovering again. Leading the world again. We have shown each other and the world: There is no quit in America.

When news of Biden’s comment about the Capitol attack was leaked earlier Wednesday, many objected to his characterization of the riot.

Watch above, via CNN.

“Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President.”

President Joe Biden began his first address to a joint session of Congress noting a historic first — with a female vice president, Kamala Harris, and a female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, standing there with him.

“No president has ever said those words from this podium,” Biden said. “No president’s ever said those words. And it’s about time!”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Senator Ted Cruz penned an op-ed Wednesday night saying he will stop taking money from corporate PACs because of “woke” politics.

Cruz said in the Wall Street Journal companies that decried the new Georgia voting law “had no idea what they were talking about” and business leaders only spoke out because they want to be “watch-me-woke-it-up CEOs.”

“For too long, woke CEOs have been fair-weather friends to the Republican Party: They like us until the left’s digital pitchforks come out,” he writes. “Then they run away. Or they mouth off on legislation they don’t understand—and hurt the reputations of patriotic leaders protecting our elections and expanding the right to vote. Enough is enough. Corporations that flagrantly misrepresent efforts to protect our elections need to be called out, singled out and cut off.”

So Cruz makes a point of now saying he will “no longer accept money from any corporate PAC” and wants his colleagues to join in.

“For too long, Republicans have allowed the left and their big-business allies to attack our values with no response,” Cruz writes. “We’ve allowed them to ship jobs overseas, attack gun rights, and destroy our energy companies. We’ve let them smear Republicans without paying any price.”

Cruz, who was roundly criticized for objecting to the certified Arizona election results on January 6th prior to the riots, got in a back-and-forth on Twitter earlier Wednesday with the Daily Show over a segment the late night show did about the 2020 census.

President Joe Biden is set to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night.

The president, marking his first 100 days in office this week, is expected to address the United States’ ongoing response to the covid-19 pandemic and the vaccine rollout. As of this posting, the CDC reports 29.5 percent of all Americans are fully vaccinated, and 43 percent of the total population has at least one dose.

Biden will also be laying out details of his American Families Plan, a $1.8 trillion package that addresses child care costs and education access.

Early excerpts of the president’s address previewed his comments about coming into office with “a nation in crisis.”

“America is on the move again,” Biden will say. “Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength.”

The speech marks a historic first, with Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi marking the first time two women will share the stage with the president for such an address.

The official Republican response to Biden’s address will be delivered by Senator Tim Scott (R- SC).

You can watch live above.

MSNBC’s Ari Melber said, in the wake of the raids on Rudy Giuliani’s apartment and office Wednesday, that his “bonkers” antics after the 2020 election make a little more sense now.

Federal investigators searched Giuliani’s apartment and seized his electronic devices, amid the ongoing investigation into his Ukraine dealings.

Melber reminded viewers of the Capitol riot on January 6th and how Giuliani was a key part of that effort to overturn the election.

“Giuliani fought to keep Trump in power illegally. They tried to end American democracy and overthrow the election,” he said. “Even today, if I sit here and say that fact to you on the news, it sounds sort of extreme to say. But it’s what they tried. It was extreme.”

Melber proceeded to show clips from Giuliani’s “increasingly desperate, baroque, and unhinged set of performances” from after the election, including part of his infamous Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference and his comments on January 6th.

“It looked downright bonkers at times,” Melber said. “It would have been absurdly funny if it wasn’t so serious. But as bonkers as it was, it also now makes a tad more sense tonight from Giuliani’s perspective, because the desperate lawyer knew that with his prize client out of the White House, he would lose his legal bulletproof vest.”

“His client could no longer pardon him for anything that only he knows whether he did or not,” Melber added. “This time, Donald Trump has no federal power, no privileges, no immunities to speak of.”

You can watch above, via MSNBC.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) kicked off his appearance on Hannity Tuesday night by explaining how viewers could win a round of golf with former president Donald Trump. All they need to do is donate to Lindsey Graham’s campaign to enter a lottery.

Graham explained to Sean Hannity he’s doing this to take back Congress, though it’s not clear how donating to him will help achieve that considering he’s not up for reelection until 2026. Granted, Graham’s campaign can give money to the organizations like the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which are better poised to win back Congress.

I wanna stop all this garbage. How do you stop it? You take back the House, you take back the Senate. So I’m doing a golf tournament with President Trump this Sunday, May the 2nd. And my campaign is going to auction a slot off to play in this tournament. You have lunch, you have breakfast with President Trump, you get a photo, you play at his golf course in Florida. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Go online, lindseygraham.com, make a donation, whatever you can afford, but your name in the hat. We’re gonna pick a winner soon and you get an all expense paid trip to Florida to play golf with President Trump and Lindsey Graham and we’re gonna have a hell of a time.

Graham added he’s doing this so “we can stop this slide to socialism.”

During last year’s campaign against Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison (who is now the chair of the Democratic National Committee), Graham repeatedly asked for money on Fox News. “I’m getting overwhelmed,” he said in September.

Graham won reelection by 10 points.

Watch above via Fox News.

DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was beaten, Tased, and had his gear torn off his chest by the mob of Trump supporters that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 spoke to CNN’s Don Lemon for a powerful interview on Tuesday night.

An emotional Don Lemon started the interview by saying he had become friends with Fanone since getting to know him in the aftermath of the attack.

Fanone said he has been experiencing “PTSD and emotional trauma” in the months since January 6.

The officer, who said at one point rioters called to shoot him with his own gun, decried the “whitewashing” of the bloody attack by former President Donald Trump and his supporters.

“It’s been very difficult seeing elected officials and other individuals kind of whitewash the events of that day or downplay what happened,” Fanone said.

While he didn’t mention Trump by name, he referenced the former president’s claim that the rioters were “hugging and kissing” police.

Fanone said that characterization “is very different from what I experienced, what my co-workers experienced, on the 6th.”

Lemon asked Fanone to respond to rhetoric casting the rioters as harmless patriots.

“I think it’s dangerous,” Fanone said. “I experienced a group of individuals that were trying to kill me to accomplish their goal.”

Fanone had to pause as he grew emotional, apologizing to Lemon.

“I experienced the most brutal, savage hand to hand combat of my entire life,” he continued. “Let alone my policing career, which spans almost two decades.”

Fanone described himself as apolitical, saying that aside from presidential elections every four years, “the rest of the time I don’t give a f*ck.” Still, he said Trump’s rhetoric was to blame for the attack.

Lemon aired footage of Fanone being dragged into the mob on the steps of the Capitol Building, a moment the officer described as similar to being held down by waves as a kid.

“They just started attacking me from all directions,” Fanone said. “It was overwhelming. I felt like they were trying to kill me.”

Watch above, via CNN.

MSNBC’s Joy Reid said that she wore two masks to go jogging on Tuesday, the same day the CDC released updated guidance advising vaccinated Americans that they do not need to wear masks when exercising outside.

“I am among the fully vaccinated, joined team Pfizer, and I did go jogging today in the park, and this is the mask that I wore with a doctor’s mask under it,” Reid said, brandishing a cloth mask. “And most of the people that I saw that were in the park — the park was packed — I would say like 95% of the people still had masks on.”

She asked Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and medical analyst for NBC, if people should be “freaking out” that some people who are vaccinated — like herself — are still choosing to wear masks outdoors.

“Definitely not,” Gupta replied. “I think you’re going to see residual masking based on personal preference for months, if not years, after this pandemic is over. Nobody should judge anyone else’s personal health decisions.”

Reid also asked if she should actually continue to wear a mask outdoors despite being vaccinated. Gupta backed the CDC’s guidance on that concern.

“The CDC was well-timed to put this out there, because there is no data — frankly, there has not been data for many months now — that outdoor transmission is a thing,” he said.

He continued: “There’s no way you’re going to really get exposed unless maybe you’re in a rave or an outdoor concert where you’re really close to people who are not masking. Outside of that, this is the wise policy.”

Reid replied that she still wears two masks because she fears being in the “backdraft” of other joggers who are breathing. “If I’m going to run behind a lot of people, I do it,” she said.

Watch above, via MSNBC.