EzKool

Donald Trump could very well be the stupidest man alive. Either that, or his claim of not being allowed to testify at his own criminal trial in New York is a smart, pull-the-wool-over-your-eyes attempt to influence the listeners, and in so doing, garner sympathy amount his supporters – especially the ones on the jury.

In either case, the judge in his trial felt it necessary to step in on Friday and correct the nonsensical record that Trump is not allowed to testify, not allowed to defend himself in a court of law.

Going back to Thursday’s “press conference” – a daily routine where Trump is given a national audience to watch him slowly walk to the microphone and spew his nonsense both before and after court – Trump was asked to comment on the testimony of Keith Davidson, the lawyer who negotiated the hush money payments for Trump’s alleged sexcapade with porn star, Stormy Daniels and Playboy model, Karen McDougal.

“Well I’m not allowed to testify,” Trump answered. “I’m under a gag order. I guess.”

He continued. “I’m not allowed to testify because this judge, who’s totally conflicted, has me under an unconstitutional gag order… Nobody’s ever had that before, and we don’t like it, and it’s not fair.”

Indeed, the “gag order” mentioned by Trump is typical in many criminal cases where there’s potential for the accused to sway the case’s outcome. Such an order restricts the former president from publicly discussing witnesses, jurors, court personnel, prosecutors, and their families. It also bars him from commenting on the judge’s family. While one might assume this standard stipulation in a criminal case would be straightforward, it appears not to be the case for Trump. He has incurred a $9,000 fine for failing to adhere to or acknowledge these basic conditions, indicative of several breaches of the gag order.

On Friday, before the court proceedings began, Judge Juan Merchan attempted to clear the air on Trump’s apparent (or intentional) misunderstanding.

“I want to stress Mr. Trump that you have an absolute right to testify at trial,” Merchan said. “Just as you have the absolute right not to testify.” He then reiterated the purpose of the gag order.

But maybe the damage has already been done. Is it possible that one or more of Trump’s supporters made their way on the jury and heard his statements? Is it possible that they sympathize with his numerous claims of being treated unfairly?

We will soon find out if he is truly the stupidest man alive or someone who has skillfully employed the media to deliver his nonsensical messages to his followers, especially those on the jury.

Mo’Nique, a talented comedian and actress, has been vocal about her frustrations with Hollywood. In a recent interview on Club Shay Shay, she addressed an incident involving Charlamagne labeling her the “donkey of the day” on his radio show. The reason? Mo’Nique declined a $500,000 offer to do a Netflix special, citing that comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle received seven-figure payouts for their specials, and she deserves similar recognition. Her stance highlights the disparities in pay and respect within the entertainment industry.

For her refusal, Charlamagne labled her ‘donkey of the day’.

In a recent video, Charlamagne used his platform to formally apologize for his part in disparaging her, stating “I should have minded my black-owned business.”

And if you were wondering which political group would be angered at the NFL for giving three minutes to a song originally written in 1919 to acknowledge the racial injustices of black people, that group would be Republicans.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote on X about a conversation he had with his wife about why they weren’t going to watch the Super Bowl.

“They’re desecrating America’s National Anthem by playing something called the ‘Black National Anthem,’” he wrote.

Rep. Mike Loychik, a Republican lawmaker in the Ohio House of Representatives, criticized the NFL.

“There’s no such thing as a black national anthem,” he wrote on X. “We are all AMERICANS, united by our great and beautiful Star-Spangled Banner. The Super Bowl is supposed to bring us together. “It’s a disgrace that the NFL decided to push the politics of racial division again.”

Conservative pundit CJ Pearson wrote on X: “Before tonight’s Super Bowl, as a young black man and proud American, let me make myself clear: There is only ONE national anthem. As there is only ONE United States of America. And it’s for EVERYONE – white, black, yellow, and even maroon. The Left’s agenda of division isn’t just needless; it’s exhausting.”

Should we expect anything different from Donald Trump? Isn’t it just like him to call for his Republicans in Congress to shut down the government if it means he walks free?

“Republicans in Congress can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media site late on Wednesday, calling it “the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots.”

The U.S. Justice Department has previously said activities funded by “permanent indefinite appropriations” would continue during any funding lapse.

In addition to his ongoing legal troubles for his unabashed enabling and support of Donald Trump’s recent crimes, more allegations are being piled on to Rudy Giuliani. Now he’s accused of groping a former Trump aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, during the January 6th assault on the Capitol.

The incident allegedly took place backstage at former President Donald Trump’s speech on the day of the insurrection. In an excerpt from Hutchinson’s new memoir, “Enough,” obtained by The Guardian, Hutchinson says the former mayor put his hand under her skirt.

“Rudy wraps one arm around my body, closing the space that was separating us… I lower my eyes and watch his free hand reach for the hem of my blazer,” she wrote of Giuliani.

“‘By the way,’ he says, fingering the fabric, ‘I’m loving this leather jacket on you.’ His hand slips under my blazer, then my skirt… I fight against the tension in my muscles and recoil from Rudy’s grip,” she wrote in the book published by Simon and Schuster, which is a division of CBS News’ parent company Paramount Global. It is set to be released Tuesday.

Giuliani denied the allegations during an interview with Newsmax’s Eric Boiling. “First of all, I am not going to grope somebody at all. False, totally absurd,” he said.

Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman told CBS News, “These allegations are false.”

During the recent Republican presidential debate, Vivek Ramaswamy made a series of aggressive attacks against all the participants on the stage. His rapid-fire delivery earned him the nickname “ChatGPT” from Chris Christie, one of the other Republican candidates. Ramaswamy seemed unmatched in his ability to use clever rhetoric to outsmart his opponents.

That was before his appearance on MSNBC.

Appearing on MSNBC, Ramaswamy was set to perform again, but host Medi Hasan had another plan – ask questions, demand answers and point out emphatically, where Ramaswamy was lying.

Nuclear Holocaust? Trump prevented Nuclear Holocaust? I guess we should all thank Trump for… living?

Under oath and under fire, former President Donald Trump sat for a seven-hour interview with the New York attorney general’s office in April, part of the civil fraud case against him and his company.

But as lawyers from the office grilled Trump on the inner-workings of his family business, which is accused of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars, he responded with a series of meandering non sequiturs, political digressions and self-aggrandizing defenses.

Asked about his authority at the Trump Organization while he was in the White House, Trump responded that he considered the presidency “the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives.”

“I think you would have nuclear holocaust, if I didn’t deal with North Korea,” he explained, and then added: “And I think you might have a nuclear war now, if you want to know the truth.”

Although Trump invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination when initially questioned by the office last year, he answered questions from the attorney general, Letitia James, and her lawyers in the April deposition, a transcript of which was unsealed Wednesday.

The transcript shows a combative Trump, who was named as a defendant in the case alongside his company and three of his children, at times barely allowing lawyers to get a word in. The former president frequently seems personally offended by the idea that his net worth is being questioned.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson, the support being given to those impacted by the devastating wildfire in Maui is slowly but surely becoming a little more bearable.

According to a release, the fund will “distribute cash directly to those who were displaced and affected by the fire,” and “all net proceeds” from donations “will go to those directly impacted in Maui.”

“I have been meeting with people throughout the community that were impacted by the fires over the last few weeks, asking what they most needed and how I could be of service,” Winfrey said in the release. “The main thing I’ve been hearing is their concern about how to move forward under the immense financial burden.”

“The community has come together in so many wonderful ways, and my intention is to support those impacted as they determine what rebuilding looks like for them,” she added.

It’s surprising to hear that the Senate Minority Republican Leader froze up again during a press conference yesterday. Apparently, when a reporter asked if he planned to run for re-election, he was unable to respond.

This is the second time this has happened, and it’s definitely causing some concern among his supporters.

After freezing on the question, someone at his side then asked him, “Did you hear the question, senator, running for reelection in 2026?” McConnell did not respond.

“I’m sorry you all, we’re gonna need a minute,” the aide told reporters. A member of the senator’s detail spoke quietly to him for a moment, and McConnell was able to whisper an answer to him.

McConnell turned back to reporters, said, “OK,” and his aide asked if anyone had another question, and if reporters could “speak up.”

A spokesman for McConnell told CNN that the Kentucky Republican “felt momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today.” A McConnell aide added: “While he feels fine, as a prudential measure, the leader will be consulting a physician prior to his next event.”

This just in!

The federal judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trump’s prosecution on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election set a trial date on Monday for early March, rebuffing Mr. Trump’s proposal to push it off until 2026.

The decision by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to start the trial on March 4 amounted to an early victory for prosecutors, who had asked for Jan. 2. But it potentially brought the proceeding into conflict with the three other trials that Mr. Trump is facing, underscoring the extraordinary complexities of his legal situation and the intersection of the prosecutions with his campaign to return to the White House.

The district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., has proposed taking Mr. Trump to trial on charges of tampering with the election in that state on March 4 as well. Another case, in Manhattan, in which Mr. Trump has been accused of more than 30 felonies connected to hush-money payments to a porn actress in the run-up the 2016 election, has been scheduled to go to trial on March 25.

Two men and a woman were killed in a racially-motivated shooting in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, The Independent reports.

The gunman, a white male in his twenties, “hated Black people”, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said.

The shooting took place at a Dollar General store just blocks from the historically-Black Edward Waters University. The gunman was initially seen near the library on the campus but security guards tried to take him into custody and he escaped.

Shortly before the shooting took place, the gunman’s parents called law enforcement to say they had found a manifesto, reported WJXT. The gunman had reportedly called his parents ahead of the attack and told them to look at his computer.

Sheriff Waters described those writings as a “disgusting ideology of hate”. He also confirmed that the three victims were Black.