J.D. Vance Is Now Shilling Trump Businesses, Because of Course

While speaking at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, J.D. Vance appeared to be shilling Trump businesses.

“President Trump obviously is one of the most successful real estate executives in the history of our country,” said Trump’s recently crowned running mate. “Of course, the Trump name became synonymous with luxury and beauty in the real estate world.”

Fact-check for Vance: Trump’s companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at least six times. Trump’s businesses, especially his real estate ventures, have ended with billions of dollars lost and literally blown up in smoke. Take Trump Plaza as just one example, which was one of the worst-performing casinos in Atlantic City and was demolished after the city offered bidders a chance to destroy the eyesore. As Trump operated that casino into the ground, his workers lost millions of dollars in retirement savings. Before becoming president, Trump regularly engaged in fraud and tax evasion to make his millions.

Trump probably should have declared bankruptcy again, after losing the New York fraud case against him and the Trump Organization earlier this year. But according to reports, he was too afraid doing so would make him look like a loser.

In case Vance doesn’t know, it is a violation of ethics rules to exploit public office for private gain, which can be found in the emoluments clause in the Constitution.

When Trump was first elected in 2016, he vowed to abide by the Constitution and keep his business and his presidency separate. He did not follow through on that promise; a Citizens for Ethics report found 3,403 conflicts of interest back in 2020, which included holding political events at his properties and hosting politicians, foreign officials, and special interest groups at his businesses.

Vance seems to be following cues from his predecessors. In the early days of Trump’s first term, Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer came under fire from the House Oversight Committee for promoting Ivanka Trump’s clothing line.

Judge Aileen Cannon may have dismissed Donald Trump’s classified documents case, but that doesn’t mean the fight is over.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s office filed Wednesday to appeal the decision. That will take the case back to court—but this time, away from Cannon’s hands and to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which has repeatedly shut down Cannon’s previous ridiculous moves. But the future of the case may still be up in the air.

Cannon made no mention of the case’s merit in her decision to strike it down, but instead pointed at Smith’s assignment to the case as her reason for dismissing it. In a 93-page decision, the Trump-appointed judge argued that the case had leveraged an expired statute—the Independent Counsel Act—as the foundation for Smith’s appointment, and that Smith’s work on the case was thereby invalid and unconstitutional.

That notion had previously been elevated by just one Supreme Court member—Justice Clarence Thomas—who wrote in a concurring opinion in Trump’s immunity ruling on July 1 that “if there is no law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution.”

Legal experts have since roundly criticized her decision, including former Trump attorney Ty Cobb, who argued that there were mountains of legal precedent behind Smith’s appointment. But that detail will heavily complicate hearings before the Eleventh Circuit, so much so that Andrew Weissmann, a former FBI general counsel, has floated the idea of starting the whole case from scratch using regular Justice Department lawyers.

But whether the government decides to follow through with the appeal or start all over again, the odds that the case will be tried before the November election—when Trump could win back the White House and potentially wipe the federal charges from his plate—are slim to none.

Trump faced 42 felony charges in the case related to willful retention of national security information, corruptly concealing documents, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

For months, Cannon had been accused of slow-walking the trial in a not-so-subtle effort to postpone it indefinitely. After spending considerable time in hearings dedicated to third-party complaints, Cannon began hearing arguments in June over whether Smith’s appointment to the case was constitutional.

President Joe Biden is hearing calls to withdraw from the presidential race from a new source: major Democratic Party donors.

The New York Times reports that several of the richest contributors to Democrats around the country are trying to use their money to leverage support against Biden staying in the race.

“If you don’t publicly call for Biden to step aside, you are not getting a dime from me,” said Tom Strickler, the founder of Hollywood talent agency WME, to New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich’s team last Thursday. Strickler said he had been planning to financially support seven of the most vulnerable Democratic senators, but would not be doing so because they still backed Biden’s candidacy.

“It’s a message that I’ve encouraged my friends to send as well,” Strickler said. “If you back Biden, you will lose our support. Over and out.”

Strickler is one of the few donors willing to oppose Biden publicly, including Hollywood banker Joe Ravitch. Other high-profile Democratic donors, including Henry Laufer, Marilyn Simmons, and Haim Saban all wouldn’t comment to the Times.

According to the Times, many of these donors, while committed to replacing Biden, aren’t sure about the best way to do so. While Strickler is holding back on donations, others are leery about bringing on a backlash against wealthy elites. They also aren’t sure who to reach out to in Biden’s inner circle, and whether money is even the best means of persuasion.

“I can’t figure out who—if anyone—has influence over this, but donors certainly don’t, regardless of what we do,” said Ravitch. “And to speak out publicly against the president only helps undermine him. It’s a catch-22.”

Prior to Saturday’s assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, several Democrats were calling for Biden to drop out of the race. Those calls had paused after Saturday but now are back in earnest with Representative Adam Schiff becoming the latest to join the movement. Efforts to fast-track Biden’s nomination are also facing a backlash. Biden is now being asked to drop out from multiple sources—but will any of them persuade him?

Starbucks made headlines Tuesday night when social media users pointed out that the coffee company was listed as a corporate sponsor for the Republican National Convention.

“After years of identifying as a progressive employer, Starbucks is now sponsoring the Republican National Convention,” read one since-deleted viral post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Hill picked up the story with the headline “Starbucks sponsors Republican National Convention.” The story has also since been deleted.

In reality, Starbucks was listed as a sponsor for the Milwaukee Host Committee for the RNC, not the RNC itself. Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson clarified that the company had not donated any money to the convention.

“We are not providing a cash sponsorship of any kind,” Anderson said in an email to The New Republic. Instead of financial support, Starbucks is “providing in-kind support directly to the MKE 2024 Host Committee by providing coffee onsite to the first responders who are serving the city during the convention.”

Cops, such as the out-of-town police officers who shot and killed an armed man outside the RNC Tuesday afternoon, can access Starbucks coffee and other beverages at the five RNC venues in Milwaukee.

On the Milwaukee Host Committee’s website, the union-busting company’s logo is pictured next to far-right groups like Turning Point USA, The Heritage Foundation, Rumble, and more.

“The Host Committee is proud to have several partners who are supporting our mission to promote Milwaukee to the world,” Evan Hafenbreadl of the Milwaukee Host Committee said in a statement to The New Republic.

As expressed on its website, the Milwaukee Host Committee is a “nonpartisan entity created to work with the City of Milwaukee in preparing for and successfully producing the Republican National Committee (RNC) convention.”

In its statement, Starbucks clarified that it will provide the same services at the Democratic National Convention next month in Chicago. “Our support of first responders and volunteers at the conventions is an extension of our ongoing commitment to the communities where we operate—which includes Milwaukee and Chicago,” wrote Anderson.

In 2016, Starbucks also provided support for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland by keeping its downtown stores open 24/7 during the event.

Starbucks Workers United had no comment for The New Republic.

The Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with its plan to nominate Joe Biden ahead of Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month—and not everyone is happy about it.

Over the past week, Democrats have fought over the possibility and timeline of a virtual nomination of Biden ahead of the convention, accusing party insiders of trying to “fast-track” a roll-call vote.

It seems as though the Democratic National Committee is sticking to its plan to proceed with a virtual roll call for the nomination, but will operate on a slower timeline than some members of the party feared. The committee said Wednesday that the process will begin no earlier than August 1, though it will end before the Democratic convention starts on August 19. In a letter obtained by Politico, DNC co-chairs Leah Daughtry and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said they will determine exactly how to move forward at a Friday meeting.

“We know that the Republican Party and its affiliated groups, like Project 2025 author The Heritage Foundation, plan on filing all conceivable legal challenges to the Democratic Party’s nominees,” Daughtry and Walz wrote. “Having enough time to finalize our nominees and make sure they are on ballots around the country is critical. That is the driving reason for conducting a virtual voting process.”

The plan for a virtual roll call was introduced in May over concerns that Biden would not be able to appear on Ohio’s ballot thanks to a technical law that has since been changed. But following Biden’s disastrous debate performance, the rushing of the nomination has kicked off infighting in Democratic circles.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is reportedly pushing for the DNC to push its virtual roll call.

Another critical voice is Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett, who was the first Democratic member of Congress to publicly call for Biden to step down. Doggett warned the DNC Wednesday to drop the idea of a virtual roll call. “My call for President Biden to step aside remains even more urgent,” he said. “Our decision must consider the reality of steadily worsening poll numbers, not just more wishful thinking. The risk of Trump tyranny is so great that we must put forward our strongest nominee.”

Earlier this week, members of Congress, led by Representative Jared Huffman, were circulating a draft letter arguing that Biden’s nomination should take place at the convention, as is standard practice. “There is no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action which would effectively accelerate the nomination process by nearly a month,” the Democrats warned. Since the letter from the DNC co-chairs, Huffman has said he will not send the letter for now.