(A)Political - October 19th

Good afternoon, and welcome to (A)Political. 17 days until the big dance ends! Let's get to the latest stories:

Trump went scorched earth at the Al Smith political charity dinner on Thursday.  The former president did not let up in the face of several high ranking democrats in the audience. It was a sight to behold as both parties took humorous hits. 

Florida is suing the U.S. government over noncitizen voter data. Leaders of the lean-red state voiced their frustration that their calls for information on people who may be non-citizens got no meaningful response from the federal department in charge. 

An independent review has found several failures that led to the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life. The list of what went wrong is extensive and there will undoubtedly be more calls for sweeping changes within Secret Service protection

Lastly, we have some awesome merch coming out in the next couple weeks. Keep an eye out for an email for when it comes out and the exclusive drop we have!

Lets get into it! 

The Roast That Wasn’t Dinner

On Thursday, several political heavyweights appeared at the annual Al Smith dinner for what became the premiere political bash of October. When former President Donald Trump got on stage, he made quick news once more with a series of candid roasts squarely directed at Democratic leaders. Usually a forum for political banter and fundraising, the event turned into a staging ground for Trump's sharp remarks, which left guests and political pundits either laughing, in shock, or both. Vice President Kamala Harris, whose absence left a prominent question mark at the dinner, added layer of intrigue to the night as no explanation for the absence was given. It should be noted that Harris submitted a video in lieu of the absence, where she praised the Catholic charity hosting the dinner while taking political shots at Donald Trump.

Displeasure Takes Center Stage

Trump lost almost no time in directing his displeasure, and key among those targets was Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer. Schumer's discomfort became evident as Trump made jabs like "Considering how woke your party has become, if Kamala loses, you still have a chance to become the first woman president." Trump went on to claim that New York Senator was an obstructionist and a leader more focused on political bickering than in supporting the citizens of the United States. During moments of Trump's quips, Schumer could also be seen shaking his head in disagreement as Trump leveled more attacks towards democrats in general.

However, Trump's first jab came in a veil at the expense of politicians like New York Attorney General Letitia James, as he jokingly referred to it "being a pleasure that a subpoena isn't following his appearance" at the aforementioned dinner. Despite Trump's ongoing legal battles across multiple states, the former president didn't seem to wear it. It should also be noted that James gave a standing ovation when Trump came to the podium.

It wouldn't be a stretch to state that Trump saved his most acerbic remarks for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Trump derided Kamala multiple times with instances like: "The fact is, we need new leadership in this country. Right now we have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences, who seems to have the mental faculties of a child... But enough about Kamala Harris," and didn't spare Walz either with similar jokes like "I used to think Democrats were crazy for saying that men have periods. But then I met Tim Walz."

Liberal Comedian Calls Out Kamala & DNC

The host of the even was comedian Jim Gaffigan. Known as a prominent supporter of liberal policies, he took aim at both political candidates, along with everyone in the room. With that being said, it was evident that the Democratic party took the brunt of the burns dished by Gaffigan. The comedian took aim at Harris for not making time for the Catholic charity dinner and went on to state "in her defense, I mean she did find time to appear on The View, Howard Stern, Colbert, and the longtime staple of campaigning, the Call Her Daddy podcast." He most likely made his biggest spurn towards the DNC, as the comedian stated "The Democrats have been telling us Trump's reelection is a threat to democracy. In fact, they were so concerned of this threat, they staged a coup, ousted their democratically elected incumbent, and installed Kamala Harris." He also mentioned Biden's absence with the quip "President Biden couldn't be here tonight. The DNC made sure of that."

Curtain Call

Although it won't be easy to determine if this leaves a lasting mark on the Harris campaign, the Democratic party definitively took more lumps with the absence of Harris. With only a few weeks left, every statement and decision will be magnified, and Trump took full advantage of those circumstances on Thursday night. In 17 days, we could know what difference it might have made.

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