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Former President Donald J. Trump once again criticized Jews who back Democratic candidates on Wednesday, saying that any Jewish person that votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined.

His comments, made to reporters in Atlanta as he was attacking President Bidens approach to Israels war in Gaza, marked the third time in the last month that Mr. Trump has cast aspersions on Democrat-supporting Jewish voters, a group that in the past he has accused of disloyalty.

Mr. Trump has received blowback over such remarks for years, with critics saying that they revive an antisemitic trope that Jews have a dual loyalty and are more loyal to Israel or their religious beliefs than to their own countries.

A Biden campaign spokesman, James Singer, condemned Mr. Trumps comments as divisive. Jewish Americans do not need to be spoken to or threatened by Donald Trump, Mr. Singer said, adding, This is what Trump does, using division and hate as political weapons while seeking power for himself.

Mr. Trump has for years been trying to peel American Jews, a substantial majority of whom are liberal, away from the Democratic Party. Those efforts have intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, which exposed divisions among Democrats over how the Biden administration has handled it.

But in seeking recently to win Jewish voters support, Mr. Trump has repeatedly castigated American Jews who do not support his candidacy as insufficiently loyal to Israel. On Monday, during an interview on the right-wing channel Real Americas Voice, Mr. Trump said that any Jewish person that votes for Biden does not love Israel, and frankly, should be spoken to.

And last month, Mr. Trump told Sebastian Gorka, a former White House aide who now hosts a conservative talk-radio program, that any Jewish person who backed Democrats hates their religion and hates everything about Israel.

Since Hamas led an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Mr. Biden has maintained support for Israel despite increasingly vocal opposition from critics within his own party who say he has not done enough to address civilian deaths in Gaza.

But as the humanitarian crisis within Gaza has extended past six months, Mr. Biden has increasingly taken a more critical stance toward Israel. Last week, after the killing of seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza, Mr. Biden threatened to condition future support for Israel on how the country addresses his concerns about its military conduct.

Mr. Trump has had comparatively less to say about the war. Days after the attack, he criticized Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli intelligence services for being unprepared. After receiving swift criticism, Mr. Trump quickly pivoted to express support for the countrys right to defend itself.

But Mr. Trump drew criticism from staunch Israel supporters on the right after an interview last month in which he said that Israel was losing public support, in part because images of the destruction in Gaza were ruining the countrys global reputation.

Israel has to be very careful, because youre losing a lot of the world, Mr. Trump said in the interview with Israel Hayom, a conservative Israeli news outlet. Youre losing a lot of support. You have to finish up. You have to get the job done.

And last week, Mr. Trump told Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host, that Israel was losing the P.R. war because it was releasing images of its military campaign online.

As president, Mr. Trump consistently favored Israel against the Palestinians. He moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israels sovereignty over the Golan Heights and brokered accords between Israel and four Arab states.

On Wednesday, he tried to portray himself once more as Israels most aggressive supporter. He told reporters that Mr. Biden, who has faced protests from within his party for continuing to provide military aid to Israel, has totally abandoned the country.

Biden has totally lost control of the Israel situation, Mr. Trump said.

Even as he seemed to make a direct appeal to American Jews, for at least the third time this month Mr. Trump framed the upcoming election as a referendum on Christian values, saying that Election Day would also be Christian Visibility Day, when Christians would turn out in droves to vote for him.

The appellation was a nod to a conservative firestorm that erupted last month after Mr. Biden formally acknowledged Transgender Day of Visibility, which is observed annually on March 31 and this year coincided with Easter.

But Mr. Trumps response to the controversy was in line with his efforts to frame his third presidential campaign as a crusade to defend Christian values from the left, even as he never showed interest in religion before entering politics.

Last month, he endorsed a $60 Bible that comes with printed copies of some of the nations founding documents. Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country, he said in a video promoting the new Bible, adding, We must make America pray again.

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Election Live Updates: Abortion and Inflation Raise Issues for Biden and Trump - The New York Times

When Donald Trump first ran for the Presidency in 2016, he famously staked his reputation on his wealthnot only had the real estate magnate mastered the art of the deal, but his vast riches meant special interests couldnt buy him.

Nearly a decade later, his finances are in tatters: legal bills are piling up with interest accruing; the state of New York is threatening to seize some of his prime properties; and the stock of his Truth Social parent company is now in free fall.

Now, media group Bloomberg has stripped Trump of his prestigious membership in its virtual country club of billionaires.

This week he wasbootedfrom its index of the500 wealthiest people in the worldafter shares in Trump Media and Technology Group tumbled.

Trump Medias crown jewel is Truth Social, the Twitter-like social network Trump launched after being banned from that service following the events of Jan. 6. The stock is still phenomenally high for a company that lost more than $58 million last year on revenues of just $4 million. Trump supporters have also bought into the company as a show of support, driving the price up.

The more Wall Street saw just the business substanceor lack thereofthere was to TMTG, a loss-making Twitter clone whose main draw is its most famous user, the more the stock dived.Trump Media shares have been in a steady, uninterrupted fall since April 2and have only risen one day since March 27. They lost another 9% on Wednesday to close at $34.26 each, bringing total declines to 57% since its peak on March 26.

Trump owns roughly 60% of Trump Media with 78.75 million shares. That puts the value of the stock at a little under $2.7 billion, compared to the $5.2 billion it was worth a few weeks ago. All of that is paper billions, though. Trump cannot sell any shares until September, unless given permission from the companys board of directors.

In truth, the formerApprenticehosts empire has already fallen into a less-than-pristine state.

At least four of Trumps businesses have declared bankruptcy and no major lender save for risk-friendly Deutsche Bank isstill willingto do business with him.

In February, the Trump Organization was foundliableto the tune of $464 million for borrowing against fraudulently inflated real estate values, and the $175 million bond Trump secured fromKnight Specialty Insuranceto postpone asset seizures until his appeal is heard looks dicey.

New York prosecutors are currentlyquestioningwhether the companywhich is not licensed in the stateis even good for the money.

If not, the authorities could start collecting, and New York attorney general Letitia James haswarnedhis building on40 Wall Streetcould be a prime candidate.

Trump also will have to roll over$780 million in mortgage debtover the next five years, according to an estimate byForbes, right when interest rates have hit punishing levels and vacancies in prime real estate markets soar as more people work from home.

The March 26 listing of Truth Social parent company Trump Media and Technology Group seemed to come just in the nick of time.

Beyond the $300 million in cash raised from investors to help ensure its immediate survival, the initial surge in its stock price added more than $3 billion to Trumps wealthovernight. However, the nosedive in the price of Trump Media shares since has reduced the former presidents estimated net worth to below $5.76 billion, which puts him below the current threshold to rank among the 500 richest people in the world. At his peak, Trump was valued at $6.5 billion.

Forbes no longer ranks Trump among its 500 richest, either, estimating his worth at $4.6 billion, which makes him the 696th richest person by that publications rankings.

And dont forget, Trump is nothing if not a survivor.

The clout hed gain in the business community from a victory in Novembers U.S. presidential election could soon see his coffers replenished.

Who knowshe might even get his Bloomberg billionaire membership card back.

[This report has been updated with additional context.]

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Donald Trump booted from prestigious list of billionaires after Truth Social parent's swan dive - Fortune

Former President Donald J. Trump once again criticized Jews who back Democratic candidates on Wednesday, saying that any Jewish person that votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined.

His comments, made to reporters in Atlanta as he was attacking President Bidens approach to Israels war in Gaza, marked the third time in the last month that Mr. Trump has cast aspersions on Democrat-supporting Jewish voters, a group that in the past he has accused of disloyalty.

Mr. Trump has received blowback over such remarks for years, with critics saying that they revive an antisemitic trope that Jews have a dual loyalty and are more loyal to Israel or their religious beliefs than to their own countries.

A Biden campaign spokesman, James Singer, condemned Mr. Trumps comments as divisive. Jewish Americans do not need to be spoken to or threatened by Donald Trump, Mr. Singer said, adding, This is what Trump does, using division and hate as political weapons while seeking power for himself.

Mr. Trump has for years been trying to peel American Jews, a substantial majority of whom are liberal, away from the Democratic Party. Those efforts have intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, which exposed divisions among Democrats over how the Biden administration has handled it.

But in seeking recently to win Jewish voters support, Mr. Trump has repeatedly castigated American Jews who do not support his candidacy as insufficiently loyal to Israel. On Monday, during an interview on the right-wing channel Real Americas Voice, Mr. Trump said that any Jewish person that votes for Biden does not love Israel, and frankly, should be spoken to.

And last month, Mr. Trump told Sebastian Gorka, a former White House aide who now hosts a conservative talk-radio program, that any Jewish person who backed Democrats hates their religion and hates everything about Israel.

Since Hamas led an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Mr. Biden has maintained support for Israel despite increasingly vocal opposition from critics within his own party who say he has not done enough to address civilian deaths in Gaza.

But as the humanitarian crisis within Gaza has extended past six months, Mr. Biden has increasingly taken a more critical stance toward Israel. Last week, after the killing of seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza, Mr. Biden threatened to condition future support for Israel on how the country addresses his concerns about its military conduct.

Mr. Trump has had comparatively less to say about the war. Days after the attack, he criticized Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli intelligence services for being unprepared. After receiving swift criticism, Mr. Trump quickly pivoted to express support for the countrys right to defend itself.

But Mr. Trump drew criticism from staunch Israel supporters on the right after an interview last month in which he said that Israel was losing public support, in part because images of the destruction in Gaza were ruining the countrys global reputation.

Israel has to be very careful, because youre losing a lot of the world, Mr. Trump said in the interview with Israel Hayom, a conservative Israeli news outlet. Youre losing a lot of support. You have to finish up. You have to get the job done.

And last week, Mr. Trump told Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host, that Israel was losing the P.R. war because it was releasing images of its military campaign online.

As president, Mr. Trump consistently favored Israel against the Palestinians. He moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israels sovereignty over the Golan Heights and brokered accords between Israel and four Arab states.

On Wednesday, he tried to portray himself once more as Israels most aggressive supporter. He told reporters that Mr. Biden, who has faced protests from within his party for continuing to provide military aid to Israel, has totally abandoned the country.

Biden has totally lost control of the Israel situation, Mr. Trump said.

Even as he seemed to make a direct appeal to American Jews, for at least the third time this month Mr. Trump framed the upcoming election as a referendum on Christian values, saying that Election Day would also be Christian Visibility Day, when Christians would turn out in droves to vote for him.

The appellation was a nod to a conservative firestorm that erupted last month after Mr. Biden formally acknowledged Transgender Day of Visibility, which is observed annually on March 31 and this year coincided with Easter.

But Mr. Trumps response to the controversy was in line with his efforts to frame his third presidential campaign as a crusade to defend Christian values from the left, even as he never showed interest in religion before entering politics.

Last month, he endorsed a $60 Bible that comes with printed copies of some of the nations founding documents. Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country, he said in a video promoting the new Bible, adding, We must make America pray again.

Read the original here:
Election Updates: Trump says he would not sign a federal abortion ban if elected. - The New York Times

When President Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor in 1974, averting a potential trial for Richard M. Nixon, he cited a desire to keep the country calm. Prosecuting Nixon, Ford said in a public address, would inevitably plunge the nation into a bitter, polarized divide.

My concern is the immediate future of this great country, Ford declared.

In the half-century since Ford announced that pardon, other nations have charted a different path, prosecuting former presidents or prime minsters in France, Brazil, South Korea, Israel and elsewhere for numerous alleged crimes, among them embezzlement, corruption, election interference and bribery.

Some cases have illustrated the virtues of trying to hold the most powerful political officials accountable under the rule of law as well as the formidable challenges that arise when prosecuting such figures. These former leaders can rely on ample bully pulpits to assail the process, maintain influence, shore up support and, in some cases, reclaim power.

The United States appears set to breach the line Ford dared not cross, with Donald Trump expected this month to become the countrys first ex-president to stand trial.

Trumps trial in New York, scheduled to begin April 15, comes in one of four cases where he faces criminal charges. The cases raise broader questions about the durability of the American justice system and the publics faith in democracy, particularly with Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, barreling toward a November rematch with President Biden.

The notion that not just charges would be brought, but that a former president and possibly future president might be convicted and sent to jail is truly extraordinary, said William Howell, an American politics professor at the University of Chicago. How the system and how the American public will respond is going to be really revealing about the nature of our democratic commitments.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in each of his criminal cases. The presidential election remains months away, but polling has shown that rather than harming him politically, Trumps indictments were accompanied by a surge in GOP support.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge of prosecuting ex-leaders anywhere in the world, legal analysts said, is that doing so can risk appearing overtly political and contribute to large numbers of citizens losing faith in the impartiality and fairness of the legal system.

Rulers in authoritarian nations routinely jail opponents on false or questionable charges, and who gets targeted for prosecution can depend on who is in power. In Russia, for example, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putins fiercest domestic critics, was sentenced to a cumulative three decades in prison, and he died in February in a remote penal colony. And in China, President Xi Jinpings chief political rival, Sun Zhengcai, was sentenced to life in prison on corruption charges in 2018.

In liberal democracies, too, ex-leaders facing investigations and criminal charges have sought to depict these cases as weaponized, political law enforcement similar to rhetoric from Trump and his allies, who routinely invoke such arguments to denounce the investigators and prosecutors scrutinizing him.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who led the country from 2007 to 2012, has vigorously maintained his innocence in cases involving corruption and illegal campaign funding, railing against prosecutors and judges.

Sarkozy has been convicted in two cases so far; he was sentenced to six months in prison and remains free on appeal. He also still faces a third case, which could go to trial next year. The case involves allegations that Sarkozy accepted illegal campaign funding from Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi during his 2007 presidential run. Gaddafi was killed in 2011.

Sarkozys claim that this is political is more or less gospel with the French right, said Robert Zaretsky, a historian and author at the University of Houston.

Zaretsky emphasized that Sarkozy has not gone as far as Trump in attacking a broader deep state plot against him by the French government. And while Sarkozy maintains influence on French conservatives, he said, Trump leads a more extreme right-wing movement in the United States.

In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro modeled his political rise on Trumps nationalist insurgency and took office in 2019. Now, he has been charged by Brazilian authorities with forging a coronavirus vaccine card before entering the United States in late 2022, after he lost reelection.

Bolsonaro is also facing an investigation into accusations that he sought to co-opt Brazilian police to block his successor, President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, from taking office. Mobs of Bolsonaros supporters stormed federal government buildings during Lulas inauguration on Jan. 8, 2023, in a scene that echoed Trump supporters Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Unlike Trump, Bolsonaro has been banned from public office until 2030 under a ruling from the Superior Electoral Court over false statements he made about the 2022 election.

The fact that [the electoral court] took that first step is a really big deal. Its happened and its gone by, said Rachel Bill Chavez, president and chief executive of the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank focused on the Western Hemisphere.

In some countries, a former leader facing a trial has become a familiar sight, rather than a novelty.

South Korea has seen four ex-presidents jailed for corruption since the 1980s. Another ex-president died by suicide in 2009 while under investigation. Most recently, former president Park Geun-hye was impeached in 2017 and, the following year, sentenced to 24 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power.

Though the prosecutions have contributed to political partisanship, analysts said, South Koreas judicial system has endured, and in some ways emerged stronger.

In late 2021, President Moon Jae-in pardoned Park, and she has retreated to a life outside the political spotlight. Moon was succeeded in 2022 by South Koreas prosecutor general Yoon Suk Yeol, who oversaw the criminal convictions of Park and another former president, Lee Myung-bak, on abuse of power charges.

When Park was impeached, they had an out-of-cycle presidential election. They did everything according to the rules. There wasnt anybody who questioned it, said Victor Cha, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. And then, in the last election, the margin of victory was thinner than in the United States and the losing candidate conceded and accepted the results.

Cha noted that South Korean presidents are limited to a single five-year term, which helps insulate the country against ex-leaders who might seek to regain power as a way to ward off legal investigations.

One of Americas closest allies recently saw an indicted leader return to office, with controversial results.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was charged in 2019 with fraud, breach of trust and bribery, while still in office. His trial was marked by delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Netanyahu left office in 2021, and he railed against a prosecutorial witch hunt. By the following year, he had returned to power.

Netanyahu and his conservative allies then set about trying to overhaul the countrys judiciary, even as the prime ministers criminal prosecutions were ongoing, a plan that fueled intense unrest in Israel.

It got to the point where he was trying to rig the judicial system by using the argument that there is a conspiracy theory against him, said Victor Menaldo, a political science professor at the University of Washington.

In Fords telling five decades ago, concerns about the United States stability were paramount when he pardoned Nixon. Ford said the act was necessary to avoid ugly passions among the electorate and quash public doubts about the credibility of our free institutions of government.

Fords pardon set in the publics mind the idea that prosecuting a former president was beyond the pale, said Howell, the University of Chicago professor. By the same token, Howell said, what happens in Trumps criminal cases could set a new precedent for how future presidents conduct themselves for better or worse.

Trump already has vowed political and judicial payback against his rivals if he wins another term.

Trump has said [to his followers]: I am your retribution, said Saikrishna Prakash, a University of Virginia law professor. And one of the ways of understanding that is: Im going to prosecute all of the people who prosecuted me.

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Trump is first ex-U.S. president on trial, but other nations have done it - The Washington Post

Sebastian Stan is continuing to be a master of disguise.

After portraying Tommy Lee in Hulu series Pam and Tommy and transforming via prosthetics for A Different Man, Stan is now taking on the role of a lifetime: Donald Trump. Stan leads The Apprentice, directed by Border and Holy Spider filmmaker Ali Abbasi from a script by Gabe Sherman.

The Apprentice is debuting at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in competition alongside buzzy features like Paul Schraders Oh, Canada, Francis Ford Coppolas Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos Kinds of Kindness, Paolo Sorrentinos Parthenope, andDavid Cronenbergs The Shrouds.

The Apprentice centers on Trumps (Stan) rise to fame following what the official description calls a Faustian deal with right-wing lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Trumps marriage to Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova) and relationship with his family including Fred Trump Sr. (Martin Donovan) are also interrogated onscreen. The film is written by first-time feature screenwriter Gabriel Sherman.

The feature is produced by Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films (Canada), Jacob Jarek for Profile Pictures (Denmark), Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde for Tailored Films (Ireland), and director Abbasi and Louis Tisne for Film Institute (Denmark). Executive producers are Amy Baer, Mark H. Rapaport, Emanuel Nunez, Josh Marks, Grant S. Johnson, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross, Thorsten Schumacher, Niamh Fagan, Gabe Sherman, Lee Broda, and James Shani.

Actor Stan previously told IndieWire that he selects roles that scare him, especially post-MCU reign. Hes starred in Marvel projects as Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier. A Different Man won Stan the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the 2024 Berlinale.

More and more as Ive gotten older, when I read something that really kind of freaks me out a little bit and I get the voice thats like, Dont ever go near this, then Im more drawn to it as a result, Stan said in 2022. I find usually that fear is a good indicator of something that I have to sort of step into perhaps to understand better. I hate comfort. I dont like to feel comfortable, work-wise. I feel its easy to get comfortable. I think its easy to get sort of trapped as an actor and to just do things.

The Apprentice premieres in competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Abbasis Border won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in 2018, while Holy Spider competed for the Palme dOr in 2022. See the full 2024 lineup here.

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'The Apprentice' First Look: Sebastian Stan Is a Young Donald Trump Building His Empire - IndieWire