Trump’s Hometown Paper Endorses Biden

Since 2019, Trump has mainly resided at Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Palm Beach County, Florida. On Wednesday, the Palm Beach Post officially endorsed Joe Biden.

Look again

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The editors of the paper urged readers to “look” at what Trump was doing currently “with a set of fresh eyes.”

Just one example

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As an example, the editors pointed to the conclusions of Trump’s two civil cases in New York. In one, the former president was fined $83.3 million for defaming author and journalist E. Jean Carroll. In the other, Trump was fined hundreds of millions for years of fraudulently misrepresenting the value of his assets.

Serious judgments

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In the fraud case, Trump was fined over $350 million — over $450 million when including back-calculated interest. The former president is currently racking up about $87,000 in additional costs in interest on that huge sum.

Bad actions

Additionally, the defamation case was the second such case against Trump. In 2023, he was found liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in the 1990s and ordered to pay her $5 million for defamatory statements concerning the truthfulness of her story.

Poor leader

The editors of the Palm Beach Post also pointed to Trump’s recent comments concerning NATO. He said he would “encourage” an enemy of NATO — such as Russia — “to do whatever the hell they want” with an ally that had failed to pay its NATO dues.

Severe calculation

“You don’t pay your bills, you get no protection. It’s very simple,” Trump argued. However, Article 5 of the NATO constitution requires member states to help an ally in the event that an ally is attacked.

Terrible comments

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The White House criticized Trump’s comments as “appalling and unhinged.” “Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes … endangers American national security, global stability, and our economy at home,” a White House spokesperson said.

Total charges

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Trump also faces a total of 91 charges across four criminal cases in four localities. They cover various alleged crimes, from issuing hush-money payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels to attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Presumptive nominee

Despite all this, Trump continues to enjoy a wide lead in the Republican primaries. He won the first few contests by comfortable margins.

Sole opponent

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The former president’s sole remaining opponent is Nikki Haley. The two will face each other in her home state, South Carolina, on February 24. According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump has a double-digit lead over Haley.

Lack of support

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The governors of Vermont and New Hampshire both declined to back Trump, instead throwing their support behind Haley. Rep. Ralph Norman similarly decided to support Haley.

Complaints

Republican presidential hopeful and former US President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Laconia, New Hampshire, January 22, 2024. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) — Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP

Trump has repeatedly denied all of the charges against him, accusing them of being part of a politically motivated “witch-hunt” against him. He has accused officials participating in the various trials of election interference while simultaneously bragging that the trials — and his ability to turn them into campaign stops — have helped him in the polls.