Jesse Watters: Kamala has a man problem

https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/1844906519068016762

Bill Maher is getting worried that Trump will win

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1844934693969416472

Some Liberal MPs are mounting a new effort to oust Justin Trudeau

MPs were pulled into meetings across Parliament Hill this week to sign a pledge demanding change at the top

Pressure is building on the prime minister and his office as a growing number of anxious Liberal MPs are co-ordinating efforts to force Justin Trudeau to step down as Liberal Party leader, multiple sources have told CBC News.

Disgruntled Liberal MPs held a series of meetings to discuss a path forward for the party since the surprising Toronto-St. Paul's byelection loss in June.

Those talks accelerated with Parliament's return and the Montreal byelection loss. They escalated further this week with the prime minister and his chief of staff, Katie Telford, out of the country for a summit in Asia.

Some MPs are being asked to sign their names to what amounts to a pledge to stand together in calling for Trudeau to resign, multiple sources said.

The document isn't a letter to be circulated; sources describe it as a vehicle to secure a commitment from MPs to seek a leadership change, and to bind the MPs to that goal if the prime minister and his supporters push back.

MPs were pulled into meetings across Parliament Hill this week to sign on to the demand for change at the top.

Multiple sources told CBC News that MPs have been signing a single document that is being tightly controlled — no copies or photos of it are being circulated.

All the sources spoke to CBC News on the condition they not be named due to the sensitivity of the internal discussions.

These sources said at least 20 MPs have signed the document so far, with others voicing their support for the cause.

One MP who signed the document told CBC News the number of MP signatures has spilled onto a second page.

That same MP said other caucus members have called since word of the document's existence started to spread, indicating they wanted to sign it.

One Liberal who is part of the effort said the intention was to keep this initiative quiet until they had strength in numbers.

The fear is that moving too early would allow the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to push back and splinter the calls for change, as they did in the summer in the wake of that bruising Toronto byelection defeat.

That's why MPs are being asked to sign the document now. It's an insurance policy of sorts, signed in ink by the MPs themselves — so that it can't be disavowed if the pressure gets too high.

The Toronto Star first reported this week on meetings to discuss pressuring Trudeau to step down.

Dissatisfaction with Trudeau's leadership flared up at the Liberal national caucus meeting on Wednesday.

Some MPs were upset that Trudeau travelled to Laos for an international summit with some important questions still left unanswered, including who will replace Jeremy Broadhurst as the Liberal election campaign director.

Broadhurst resigned in early September and his successor hasn't been named. That's causing some frustration in caucus, given that an election could come at any time in this minority Parliament.

Some MPs are also frustrated that clear calls for staffing changes in the PMO have so far been ignored, sources said.

Trudeau was not made available for comment during a refuelling stop in Honolulu en route back from the ASEAN summit. Instead, Trade Minister Mary Ng told reporters she has full confidence in Trudeau as leader.

"I'm disappointed, because Canadians expect us to be focusing on Canadians and doing this work," she said. "I think that the conversations that we have in caucus remain in caucus."

Ng said she learned about the new effort to oust Trudeau by reading the news when the plane landed. She said she believes Trudeau has enough caucus support to continue.

"We have robust conversations at caucus. I love my caucus colleagues. They are dynamic individuals from across the country," she said. "Having the range of perspectives from caucus is very healthy and very good and it helps us be a good government."

Sources said the decision to participate in this effort to oust Trudeau has been a difficult one for many of the MPs. Many like Trudeau personally and think he has been a good prime minister.

This group of MPs had hoped the losses in Toronto and Montreal, and the poor polling numbers, would have convinced Trudeau to leave on his own terms.

With no sign of that happening, some MPs say they feel compelled to act now to try and turn around the party's fortunes.

According to sources, Atlantic caucus chair Kody Blois was among those who spoke at the national caucus meeting about the anxiety over Trudeau's leadership.

Blois told MPs the Atlantic caucus had engaged in "a difficult, frank and open conversation" earlier that day.

The regional caucuses meet first thing Wednesday morning before regrouping later for a national caucus with all Liberal MPs.

Two Liberal sources told CBC News the Atlantic caucus asked the PMO representative, who often attends these meetings, to leave so that they could have discussions in private about the future.

They also asked the English-French interpreters to leave as well, to ensure total privacy.

All past efforts to prompt change in the party and within the PMO have so far failed.

The prime minister has said repeatedly he will stay on to lead the Liberals into the next election campaign.

The CBC's Poll Tracker suggests the Liberals are trailing the Conservatives by some 20 percentage points.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/oust-trudeau-document-1.7350967

Million Women Christian March flock to Washington to pray for America to turn to God — by electing Trump

Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to pray for America’s atonement and for Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Organizers of the event, billed “A Million Women,” described the gathering — and next month’s presidential election — as “a last stand moment” to save the nation from forces of darkness. For hours, the gathered masses sang worship songs, waved flags symbolizing their belief that America was founded as an explicitly Christian nation and prayed aloud for Jesus to intercede on behalf of Trump in November.

“If we don’t stand now,” said Grace Lin, who traveled from Los Angeles for the rally and came wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, “then the enemy will take over our country. If that happens, that’s the end.”

Lou Engle, the self-described prophet who organized the event, said God told him in a dream to call on a million women to march on Washington in order to restore God’s dominion over the nation. Engle is a leader in the New Apostolic Reformation, a movement of charismatic Christians who for years have portrayed U.S. politics as a spiritual clash between good and evil and Trump as a flawed leader anointed by God to redeem the nation.

“Listen to the cries of your people,” Engle shouted Saturday as thousands of followers lifted their hands to the sky. “Save us, God!”

From a stage overlooking the Washington Monument, Engle and other speakers warned of a multitude of threats they say are facing America: crime, religious persecution, abortion and the growing acceptance of LGBTQ people.

Thousands of women came wearing pink shirts emblazoned with the words “Don’t Mess With Our Kids” — the name and slogan of an anti-LGBTQ activist group that claims library books, public school teachers and pop culture are tricking children into changing genders.

Susan Marsh, who drove from Maryland, said she attended because she fears if Democrats maintain power, her 10-month old grandson will grow up in a nation where he’s pressured to identify as a girl. As she sang and prayed, Marsh waved a large Appeal to Heaven flag — a prominent symbol of the Christian movement to end the separation of church and state in America.

“So many people are hopeless right now,” Marsh said, choking up as she spoke to a reporter. “Our children are going through surgeries that are unnecessary because their hearts are broken and they think they’re not who they’re supposed to be.”

Maryn Freitag was part of a group of about 50 people who traveled from Minnesota. She said she came “to stand with the man who God has selected as the president.” She then gestured to her hat, which spelled out “Trump 2024” in shimmering rhinestones.

Freitag refused to contemplate what would happen if Trump loses to Vice President Kamala Harris: “I don’t even want to go there,” she said.

Sandi Woskie, another member of the Minnesota contingent, overheard the comment. She leaned in and said: “Think Armageddon.”

“That’s right,” Freitag said. “If we don’t turn this nation back to the Lord, we’re on a fast slide into the abyss with no return.”

Matthew Taylor, a senior scholar at the nonprofit Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Maryland, said those comments are representative of a dangerous and increasingly widespread embrace of apocalyptic political messaging on the Christian right.

Taylor, who attended the march Saturday as part of his research, has spent years studying the New Apostolic Reformation and its unwavering support for Trump. He documented in his book, “The Violent Take It by Force,” how false claims about widespread election fraud by Engle and other Christian nationalist leaders helped fuel the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Taylor said he worries that the dire messaging — and the portrayal of Trump as God’s chosen candidate to defeat evil Democrats — could set the stage for more violence.

“This is about activating the most ardent Christian supporters of Donald Trump, putting them into an apocalyptic mindset that says this election is do or die for America,” Taylor said. “The danger is that these folks can easily be converted over into Capitol rioters if the right circumstances come about and if their leaders give them that guidance.”

Taylor — and many others in attendance — noted that the crowd was more racially and ethnically diverse than most conservative political rallies. Churches from across the country, including some majority-Black denominations, chartered buses for the event. Organizers chose to hold the event on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, because it is a day to atone for sin.

LaTrece Curry, a Black mother who said she voted for Barack Obama in 2008, drove from Ohio with her husband and four children. She said her support for Trump — a twice-divorced billionaire who’s facing a range of criminal charges related to his business practices and alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election — has led to divisions and arguments with her Black friends and family members. But she believes he’s the only candidate who will set America back on a moral course.

“I do think it is a last stand,” Curry said. “But God has given us so much time. Now judgment will come.”

Phil Heilman drove with his wife from Florida. They learned about the event while attending a get-out-the-vote rally in Georgia hosted by Lance Wallnau, an evangelist who coined and popularized the Seven Mountains Mandate — a growing belief on the American right that says conservative Christians are called to occupy positions of power in seven key spheres of society, including business, education, media and government. Wallnau was among the speakers Saturday.

Heilman said he gets his news from FlashPoint, a TV program that reaches hundreds of thousands of followers with a blend of pro-Trump political commentary and prophetic messages about God’s divine plans for America.

He worries about what will happen if Trump loses, but he said he has faith that Satan will be defeated even if Harris and the Democrats prevail.

“If that happens, it’s not going to be a political solution,” Heilman said. “God will provide other opportunities to take the country back that will be more surreptitious, or underground.”

Heilman, holding a large, red “Jesus Is King” flag over his shoulder, didn’t expand on what that might look like.

One way or another, he said, “righteousness will prevail.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/christians-swarm-washington-pray-america-turn-god-electing-trump-rcna175162