#in my country's elections the worst candidate won

[lexa-ocean]

Yknow if i had a nickel for everytime an election goes wrong and is immediately followed by a more personal tragedy, i'd have two nickels.

Which isn't a lot but holy shit

[hussyknee]

Trying to explain what the fuck just happened in Lankan politics today.

The leftist party has won 159 seats out of 218 in the Parliamentary elections. The single biggest landslide win since we broke from the British and achieved universal franchise in 1948.

Any party achieving a super majority in the executive and legislative is, objectively speaking, bad. It disables checks and balances, which is a catastrophic thing for any democracy, and the only two other times it's happened for us has irrevocably eroded the fabric of civic rights and democratic freedom. Also, the reason the NPP won the North and East is that the colonized, genocided and subjugated people there have no faith in electoralism anymore. The way this government has engaged minority issues has been utterly abysmal and now they've been rewarded for it.

On the other hand:

The winners. Are all. Grassroots. Candidates.¹

We have voted out every single career criminal that's been barnacled into the Lankan political arena since before I've been alive. The fascist party has only three seats.² The other fascists didn't win a single seat. The neoliberal legacy party won none. There are only forty people in Parliament that represent any sort of dynastic political legacy. After 76 solid years of nothing but political dynasties.

This is barely five years after the Rajapaksas swept in and absolutely glutted the Parliament with their family members and cronies end to end.

This is the illegitimate interim government we had for most of the last 18 months. We literally, physically, chased the Rajapaksas out of the country and this fucking demon set up a puppet government just so he could finally sit in that goddamn chair and be the despot he'd always dreamed of in exchange for letting them all come back. He's now gone. His entire circle is gone.

THEY ARE ALL FUCKING GONE.

In US terms, just imagine that, five years from now, when Trump's GOP has control of everything, the entire GOP and the worst of the Dems are all purged from Congress and Senate, the Green Party in control of all three branches of government under a pro-union left-wing President and an unmarried female LGBT rights activist Vice President, and the Dems reduced to barely 20% of the House.

This is my anthropology professor. She joined politics from the small nascent leftist coalition to help keep the government accountable. She's now the Prime Minister and the most popular Parliamentary candidate in the nation's history. (Edit: She was knocked off first place by a dude in the final result. Boo.)

(On the other hand— the woman who helped make me a radical anarchist and literally helped write a book on political dissent and resistance...now is the state. Uh.)

But there are so many women in Parliament! We had the lowest female representation in a South Asian Parliament and some of them were from the list of seats reserved for parties rather than elected ones. Most were either anti-feminist conservative embarrassments, widows and daughters of elite politicians and neoliberal shills. It's still only an increase of a few percentage points (Edit: from the previous 5% to 10% in the final result!) but now we have elected academics, feminist advocates, activists! There Is a representative for Malaiyaha Tamils in the Central Province for the first time in history and it's a young woman! (Edit: now it's two female Malaiyaha MPS!!) This is the plantation community that still live in conditions closest to the slavery the British forced upon them two hundred years ago!

I'm like. Completely mindfucked. To be very very clear, the NPP coalition formed around the nucleus of the JVP that used to be communist but haven't been in 30 years, they're now just social democrats who are left of places like the US and UK, whose "left" is now center-right. They're only threatening to the Western mainstream media for some reason who can't stop bleating about how we have a "Marxist" government now. In reality, the actual chances for radical reform are still quite low, and the opportunity for further erosion is quite high with a super majority government regardless of affiliation.

On the other hand:

What the fuck.

Sometimes living through historical events is really damn amazing.

---

¹ Well, nearly. There are a few career politicians and a nepo baby but they aren't so bad either.

² Goddamn it, Baby Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka's answer to JD Vance have wormed their way in using the list of Constitutionally reserved party seats for non-elected members. FUCK the National List.

[qqueenofhades]

-Quickly skitters into the inbox, with a boom box and an increasingly bass boosted version-

🎶I PUT MY HANDS UP THEY’RE PLAYING MY SONG THE BUTTERFLIES FLY AWAY-🎶

- Party In The USA anon, on the recent glorious news

Look. LOOK. I know we've had technically bigger fish, but the Georgia case is a Big Fucking Deal. Because:

It is a MAJOR indictment both in terms of scope and seriousness of charges. Not just Trump, but *eighteen* of his allies and cronies got charged with RICO (anti-racketeering, often used against mob bosses) felonies, including Rudy Giuliani (I repeat, HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA), Jeff Clark, Mark Meadows, and other high-profile Trumpworld enablers

No Lindsey Graham (at least yet) but I guess we can't have everything

It encompasses both in Georgia and other states where Trump illegally tried to alter election results (Michigan, Arizona, and Pennsylvania), as those activities related to a conspiracy centered on Georgia/Fulton County

This is the big whopper: TRUMP CANNOT CANCEL THIS INVESTIGATION EVEN IF HE GETS RE-ELECTED. He can shut down the federal Special Counsel investigations run through the DoJ, but this? Bupkis. And Georgia governor Brian Kemp, another of the Republicans who dutifully continues to defend Trump even as Trump slanders him up and down, CAN'T PARDON HIM.

That drives the Republicans NUTS. So nuts that they were, you guessed it, already on Faux News whining about how they should make Georgia change that law.

Boo-fucking-hoo, you absolute fucking wankers.

Also: we need to remember that Trump rose to political prominence by being wildly racist and xenophobic about America's first Black president. He has coddled and exalted white supremacists and white supremacist rhetoric at every turn, it has been the central defining feature of his campaign, and his election subversion efforts were chiefly aimed at canceling the votes of heavily Black cities (Atlanta, Philly, Detroit, etc.)

Trump also won in 2016 thanks to the Electoral College, itself designed as an element of structural racism, by defeating probably the most qualified and beyond any doubt most historic candidate there has ever been, after it was revealed that he was a serial sexual assaulter and after he screamed for months about LOCK HER UP (every Republican accusation is a confession, etc)

All that said, with Trump's vile, derogatory bile spewed at everyone, but especially a) Black people, b) women, and c) powerful Black women, it is a Big Fucking Deal that a powerful Black woman, aka his worst nightmare, pulled this trigger on him.

Don't get me wrong. I deeply appreciate me some Jack Smith. But he is also a white male special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice, and who used to work for the Hague prosecuting war crimes (true story). It's in his brief to do this.

Fani Willis is a county district attorney AND a Black woman, as Trump's nonstop shitgibbering on Truth Social just can't help himself from pointing out. This kind of sprawling, country-wide investigation against a wildly corrupt ex-president and his cohort of equally corrupt cronies is not something she is, in the normal course of things, ever expected to do, but she did it.

NINETEEN DEFENDANTS, Y'ALL. Including Trump. On 41 different charges. That's a hell of an indictment, and she knows it puts a target on her back, while (as noted) she doesn't have the resources and protections of the federal government/DOJ to do it.

Let's hear it for Fani Willis (and Judge Chutkan, who informed Trump the other day the more he runs his mouth, the faster she will proceed to trial) y'all.

Black Women Get Shit Done.

[mariacallous]

Like millions of others who lived behind the Iron Curtain, I grew up in the Soviet Union viewing America as a beacon of hope. The difference between free and unfree was readily apparent to me as a young player on the international chess scene, and I began to use my platform to protest repressive practices back home. When I retired from professional chess in 2005, I channeled all of my energy into preventing Russia from sliding back into the hands of the KGB, the Soviet Union’s secret police and most sinister spy agency. Unfortunately, those efforts were unsuccessful: Vladimir Putin consolidated power and rebuilt an authoritarian state in the image of the Soviet regime under which I was born. Facing imminent arrest, I was forced into exile and have lived in New York since 2013. I never thought I would need to warn Americans about the dangers of dictatorship. 

Donald Trump has been breaking down the guardrails of American democracy for nearly a decade now. Generations to come will reap the consequences. His presidency—and his three campaigns for the office—have demonstrated that the institutions so many of us took for granted are, in large part, based on custom and tradition, not written law. As Ronald Reagan famously said, freedom is “never more than one generation away from extinction.” The political system we hold dear is deeply fragile, and depends on our constant commitment to uphold it. 

Trump hasn’t even won the election yet—and his victory is far from assured—but we are already seeing signs of preemptive obedience that should look familiar to many refugees from repressive regimes like me. Both the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times canceled endorsements of Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this month at the behest of their owners, a de facto silencing of two major national newspapers. It should come as no surprise that business owners are careful to avoid upsetting someone who has frequently called for his detractors to be locked up, or in the case of Liz Cheney, have guns “trained on her face.”

Given my experience, I am not willing to stand idly by and watch the beacon of hope that I am grateful to now call home slide into the authoritarianism of my childhood. This election is a choice between a candidate who has vowed to fight for America’s institutions, and one who is deeply dangerous—a candidate who I believe will bring total mayhem and destruction to this country. 

I want to speak, now, more specifically about Kamala Harris.

I have never been shy about criticizing administrations, regardless of party. I harshly condemned Barack Obama’s foreign policy—from his fecklessness in Syria to his dangerous Iran deal—as well as George W. Bush’s naivete when he claimed to have seen Putin’s soul after peering into his eyes. My criticism of both Trump and Joe Biden has been far from quiet. Only 28 percent of Americans today believe the country is moving in the right direction, and I understand their frustrations. While the situation at home certainly raises concerns, the geopolitical landscape is disastrous; the worst I have seen in my living memory. America’s prestige abroad is disintegrating. No wonder, then, that Trump’s hate-filled rhetoric is finding purchase.

But the role of the president and the vice president is not the same. With the notable exception of Dick Cheney (and perhaps Mike Pence when it counted the most), no vice president in recent memory played any meaningful role in setting policy. They do not hold the same responsibility as their boss for the direction the country takes. Biden essentially functioned as Barack Obama’s messenger, because his main task as vice president for eight years was to carry out and effectively communicate Obama’s vision—not his own. The same has been true of Kamala Harris for the last four years; her job has been to further Biden’s agenda, not her own. Consequently, J.D. Vance’s constant refrain—as vice president for nearly four years, Harris owns Biden’s policies—doesn’t make sense. It wasn’t Harris’ job to put her ideas into practice. And while she initially hewed closer to the administration’s stance, she has since stepped out from her boss’s shadow, making clear in interviews and on the campaign trail that she will not just follow in Biden’s footsteps. The policy proposals she is offering, whether you agree with them or not, are her own.

In an area particularly close to my heart—foreign policy—Harris’ agenda would represent an improvement from the status quo. Biden has spent many of his 40 years in government during a time when the threat of nuclear war was high, and that experience has undoubtedly informed his approach to foreign policy as president. Harris, on the other hand, doesn’t carry the same Cold War baggage, and has said that she would not allow Ukraine to succumb to Russian aggression. I don’t believe her administration would continue the Biden administration’s policies of betrayal when it comes to Ukraine—and Trump and Vance have obviously made no secret of their plans to essentially give in to Putin’s desire to swallow Ukraine.

Because Harris hasn’t been on the foreign policy scene for decades, my prediction is that she will hew closely to public opinion, which is currently oriented around a consensus that America should stand up to dictators. And on the domestic front, as a new president interested in being reelected—and likely constrained by a divided Congress and conservative Supreme Court majority—Harris would be unlikely to make waves and institute radical progressive policies. 

Were Harris up against a Republican other than Trump, disagreements over her limited price controls, tax policy, or stance on social issues might constitute strong arguments against electing her. In this race, however, these arguments are moot. If you disagree with her policies, start challenging her the day after the election. I certainly will.

This election is bigger than policy, as the long list of prominent Republicans who are willing to stand up and support Harris demonstrates. Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz; former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; former Sen. Jeff Flake; several members of Trump’s own administration, including some of the most senior. Many still align with Republicans on policy issues—some, in the case of Reps. Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, even voted for Trump in 2020. Unlike sycophantic outcasts like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who made the reverse journey from the Democratic Party to endorse Trump, these are true, dyed-in-the-wool Republicans. 

Legally, we have a choice in this election, but morally, the answer is clear: If we want to preserve America’s institutions and its standing on the world stage, we must elect Kamala Harris on November 5.

Ultimately, I am cautiously optimistic about a Harris presidency. She has the opportunity to normalize a deeply fractured political climate, to bring together the center-left and center-right under a banner of creating real opportunity for all Americans. I look forward to challenging her when we disagree, which I imagine will be often. But if her opponent is elected, the very institutions and traditions that guarantee our right to freely disagree would be under threat. Anyone who has lived in the Soviet Union or in Putin’s Russia will tell you what it’s like to fear publicly condemning the government. In Trump, I hear echoes of Soviet leaders past and Russian leaders present. Kamala Harris’ election is the only way to preserve democracy, at home and abroad. She may not be the best choice. But on November 5, she is the only one.

[evilkitten3]

presidential election popular vote losses in my lifetime

2000 - bush vs gore - gore won by 543,895 votes

2004 - bush vs kerry - bush won by 3,012,166 votes

2008 - obama vs mccain - obama won by 9,550,193 votes

2012 - obama vs romney - obama won by 4,982,291 votes

2016- trump vs clinton - clinton won by 2,868,686 votes

2020 - trump vs biden - biden won by 7,059,526 votes

2024 - trump vs harris - trump won by (as of 11/6/2024 with 87% of votes reported) 4,849,699 votes

this is the third worst popular vote loss in my lifetime, and the worst a democrat has done percentage-wise (currently 47.6%; second worst was kerry at 48.3%) in the popular vote in my lifetime.

for context, the last time a democratic candidate got a percentage as bad or worse than harris's was clinton in 1992 (43.0%) which also happened to be the election in which a third party candidate did the best of any third party candidate in living memory (fourth best in the country's history), and clinton still won. the last time a democratic candidate did as bad or worse as harris and lost was michael dukakis (45.6%, lost by 7,077,121 votes) against george h w bush in 1988

[bjfinn]

This is a message for all of my USAmerican mutuals and followers, as well as those I follow (and all of their mutuals and followers, and so on a so on) -- I know things seem hopeless now, I know you're scared, I know you think the extremists have won. I'm sitting here sobbing and shaking myself.

But NOTHING IS DECIDED YET -- you still have the opportunity to pull your country back from the abyss. YOU HAVE A DUTY TO DO SO.

Luckily, you can still vote in the November election -- you still have that right.

BUT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER THAT THE US HAS A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM!!!

Voting for ANYONE else besides the two main presidential candidates WILL result in your vote going to waste!

JOE BIDEN is the lesser of the two evils, if you stand for progress.

VOTE FOR HIM, OR TRUMP GETS IN.

There's no other choice.

And make no mistake -- Trump will absolutely use your nuclear arsenal to destroy the planet, just because. Just like a comic-book supervillain.

So please, please, please vote. I'm begging you. The world is begging you.

Otherwise we really are on the Eve of Destruction.

And in the meantime (and if worst comes to worst), DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO TO KEEP YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES SAFE. After all, fascist regimes haven't lasted all that long -- Nazi Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Franco's Spain, Peron's Argentina, Pinochet's Chile ... ALL of them were toppled, either by the people themselves, or by the rest of the world. It may take a few decades, but so long as the orange man keeps his finger off the button, it'll happen eventually.

Remember that.

A CHANGE IS GONNA COME.

A CHANGE IS GONNA COME.

A CHANGE IS GONNA COME.

[clwhowrites]

A Rant

Warning there is going ti be swears in this, if you are offended, grow the fuck up! You are a fucking child! There is no excuse to be offended by "fuck" or "shit," they are just fucking words! Grow the fuck up you child!

As I sit here, fireworks going on all over this city I can't help but think: I hate this country. I hate the politics, I hate the culture, I hate the ramped anti-intelectualism, the fake democracy, the media, the disrespect for facts and truth, the ramped religiosity, the capitalist religion, the corporate socialism that is what the economy actually is, the constant lying, the lionization of people who were no smarter or more moral than anyone else their class and time, and the synthetic divisions. When I look at this country I see a country of corruption and lies.

We have a presidential debate and all the democrats freak out, as if this debate will be remembered when election day comes. What did you democrats think would happen? Biden is a stupid old man, a shit president and a shit person. And I'm not being ageist here, he was a stupid young man, a stupid middle ages man and now he is a stupid old man. Did you people think a shit stain of a person who 81-years-old would do any better than what he did? Are you that fucking deluded?

If Trump wins it will be the fault of the democrats. Why is he the nominee? Why didn't you get rid of him months ago? Why the fuck was Joe shit stain of a human being Biden the democratic nominee in 2020? Of all the people who were trying to be the 2020 democratic nominee why was he selected? He was and is literally the worst of them all. Why was Hillery selected in 2016? She was unelectable! And Bernie wouldn't have been any better of a candidate, he is an out socialist in a country that hates socialists (and yet is a corporate socialist country, the third worst kind of socialism). Why were they even in the running for the democratic nomination!? Because democrats are fuck ups. The democrats fucked up repeatedly, because you are fuck ups. It should be stupid easy to defeat Trump, it is stupid easy to defeat Trump. Trump won in 2016 because the democrats fucked up and if Trump wins this time it will be cause the democrats fucked up.

You republicans are not safe here, the democrats are fuck ups but you are stupid. Trump is a lying idiot and sex offender who failed his way to the top. He is not a moral man, a good man, he is not even a man as he has the mind of a fucking child. He is a shit stain of a human being too, and you people voted for that shit stain of a human being. He doesn't care about you and will not do anything that will help you, he is a selfish narcissistic sociopath that surrounds himself with yes men, and if he thought raping you and your children would benefit him, he would do it and never regret it.

The best example of republican stupidity isn't even the lying narcissistic sex offender Trump, it is the fake culture war. The "culture war" was made up by Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch, the two multibillionaires who started Fox News. There is no culture war! It is all a distraction as the oligarchy economically rapes you and your family. Politicians talking about trans "predators" using bathrooms, a distraction while they economically rape you and your family, people complaining about a black Little Mermaid, a distraction while they economically rape you and your family, "this or that is woke," a distraction wile they economically rape you and your family, "illegal immigrants coming over the border," a distraction wile they economically rape you and your family.

"Well if you don't like this country leave it." Fine, you get me a work visa, find me a job, a place to live, and pay to move my shit from here to there. You don't want to do that? If it was so easy I would have done it by now, I would have abandoned this country long ago if I could but I can't, I'm stuck here. You are stuck with me. Open borders could solve this but would mean more brown people coming over the borders and you are scared of them because shitty politicians keep claiming they are smugglers, criminals, gang members, and rapist, all while these same politicians economically rape you and your family!

You are both fucking morons. You both vote for stupid shit stain people while letting the oligarchy fuck your lives and your children's futures. Fuck both of you!

[dalekofchaos]

I hate Trump and I hate Harris and I just want this election done with

I'm tired of Donny Dipshit and I am tired of the lesser evil.

I can't believe we're doing this again. Once again Trump is threatening democracy and human rights, only this time he's bringing a theocratic nightmare and Kamala is the "nothing will fundamentally change" status quo. I'd rather take the status quo, but for fuck's sake can we NOT do a genocide? Can we have Universal Health Care, Affordable Housing, Education, protected reproductive rights and LGBTQA+ rights and protections? Is that too much to ask for?

Apparently so because our would be "savior" is more concerned with getting the Republican vote than her own voting base. Even bragging about being endorsed by Dick Cheney and 200 Republicans.

Translation: She’ll govern like a neocon because she is a neocon. She’ll govern like a banker because the bankers own her, and the two-party system. Bipartisanship means the elite wins, the rest loses. That’s not democracy. That’s not healthy.

If you're bending over backwards to get Republicans to like you instead of stop fucking sending blood money to fund and arm a genocide, not giving a single concession to the left, not endearing herself to black people, Muslims, the disabled, actually having a plan to combat PR2025, actually helping the LGBTQA+ community and apparently not the policies and strategy that shut them out. You're telling me not to vote for you.

That dumbass Nancy Pelosi during the first few years of Biden's administration said "we want a strong republican party" and it looks like Kamala is fulfilling that promise. Congrats, you gave us Roe V Wade being overturned and the Republicans realized what they could do and came up with Project 2025.

Like, I'm sorry. If Ronald fucking Reagan and fucking Bush of all fucking people can tell Israel to fucking stop or threaten to withhold funding from Israel and they got them to comply, and instead of actually listening to the people who she wants to vote for her, instead she's trying to cater to the fucking Republicans. Reagan and Bush ARE LEFT OF KAMALA. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

If your big selling point is "I got DIck Cheney and 200 Republicans to endorse me" you're telling me not to vote for you. Dick Cheney and Bush destroyed this country and you think bragging about The Butcher of Baghdad endorsing you is the thing to entice disenfranchised voters?

Trump is a piece of shit. But at least he's honest about it and he makes it clear he wants minorities oppressed or dead. He wants to strip everyone of their rights and keep white supremacy on top. He is on Epstein's client list and now owns his plane. He's a convicted felon, a rapist and a bigoted piece of shit. He wants Christofascism and he is a clear and present danger. I want him gone. I want him gone so I don't have to fucking worry my boyfriend, me, my brother and my brother-in law being killed for being trans and gay. I want him gone so I don't have to worry about the day where I find myself rounded up and taken to be euthanized along with every disabled person in this country. But even I know Trump would not last long if he won, cause they will oust him and replace him with JD Vance, or worse. Muskrat.

But fucking god....why is it everytime Trump comes back around, we always have to bring out the worst possible candidate to fight this piece of shit?

Kamala is a two-faced underhanded piece of shit. Her biggest selling point is she's not Trump, but she's showing us she is willing to sell out to Republicans instead of embracing progressives. Instead of embracing the policies of her chosen VP. Instead of embracing the interests and well being of her alleged voting base. We want health care, affordable housing, affordable education, clean energy, reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights and protections and the disabled's right to marry without losing their benefits. Instead we're getting more fracking, the deadliest storms we've ever seen with only $750 while Israel and Ukraine gets Billions. Funding and arming a genocide, continued police state and embracing the republicans over the needs of your voters and your alleged party.

Malcolm X warned us of politicians like Kamala.

Lets forget that Harris is a top cop who fucked over a lot of black men. Let's forget she sent a trans woman to a men’s prison. Said trans woman was murdered in a hate crime within 8 hours by her male cellmate. Lets forget she's pro-fracking despite we're in the biggest fucking climate crisis and fracking is one of the many capitalist atrocities that got us here. Lets forget she claimed she would be "tougher on boarder policy than Trump" Lets forget that she said that she would make the US "the most lethal force in the world" and let's for once forget she's one of the biggest paid AIPAC politicians while her husband is an AIPAC prick and that she's going to continue to aid the genocide of Palestine and Lebanon and god knows what else Hitler's reincarnation has planned next.

Selling yourself out to the Republicans, the war mongers and the criminals of yesteryear and politicians who followed the two presidents responsible for destroying America in the 80's and set us down the path we've been on for the last 20 years. You are just showing me and the people who want to vote for you, the people who just want to vote to get Trump out of the white house, to stop Project 2025 or just want this nightmare to end. You are showing us that you are not to be trusted.

Chappell Roan was right. and she was attacked for standing what she believed was right. If you want your queers sanitized, women complacent and your artists fluently PR’d n spun., you want a boring and disinterested culture of unprincipled sycophants, I'm sorry but I'd rather my celebrities standing up for Palestine and Trans rights and holding politicians accountable than just blindly endorsing a politician.

Fuck Trump, fuck Vance and the Christian Fascists, but fuck Kamala, Biden and the democrats who refused to say no to a literal fucking genocide too.

So vote whoever you want for, vote for Kamala, vote Stein, vote West, vote for any independent. Anyone but Trump I agree, but use critical thinking and for fuck's sake, if Kamala wins, don't act like this is over. Demand better. Hold Kamala and her administration accountable. If Trump wins, don't blame Chappell Roan, don't blame Jill Stein, don't blame independents and don't blame leftists. Blame Kamala and the democrats for refusing to change. For refusing to fight for their voters interests. For refusing to stand AGAINST A FUCKING GENOCIDE!

Side note.

The Simpsons DID IT AGAIN

[whereserpentswalk]

Poll to help determine who wins the elections during the final arc of my motw campaign.

It's the summer of two thousand sixteen, and you're a resident of New York city. Strange events have been happening geologically since late twenty twelve. The government has been talking about forces beyond our knowledge, people have gone missing, and now civil war has broken out in Egypt, Britian and New Zealand, with strange talk of them involving ancient gods, vampires, and wizards respectively. And worst of all, from what you know nuclear disaster has claimed St. Luis.

A few weeks ago, mysterious broadcasts have revealed a global conspiracy, and an underground war between those trying to unveil the conspiracy and those trying to maintain it, protests have been sparked throughout downtown Manhattan, the sky has been turned red, and new forces gain power in the city as the American government slowly implodes, and the police are recruited as shock troops by those trying to maintain the veil.

Yesterday it was revealed that the conspiracy was not just one of power, but one of reality, as a fight broke out between protesters utilizing supernatural powers, with a warrior in flaming armor, winged humanoids, and a woman with unnatural speed and invulnerability defended the protests from the police. It has now been revealed that more thinking beings then humanity inhabit this earth, and that magic is provably real, with entire underground neighborhoods existing below the city surface that house many of these beings.

With any semblance of a human government gone, the rebellion against the veil is now holding elections to see who will lead the city after the war is won.

Your Current candidates are:

The Sun Mage- The man who started the rebellion to reveal the magical world to humanity, a sorcerer who defected at the age of nineteen, having trekked across the country, and lost a leg in defense of his cause. He has been known to be idealistic, rejecting formal structure, and refusing to have any sort of headquarters beyond his apartment in Chelse. He's popular among commoners, both in the underground and the surface world, but the military and higher ups in the revolution are skeptical of his ability to organize properly. He appears as a young man, usually wearing a long coat and hat, with a hook prosthetic leg, tan skin, and long hair.

Claire Adams- A human who was once part of a monster hunter organization (seeming tied to several Ivy Legue schools) that maintained the veil, she helped push her organization into the rebellion, and championed radical praxis in order to break the veil and militarization of the rebellion. She is probably the most radical of the rebels, embracing full rights for creatures thought to be dangerous to humanoids, such as vampyrs, demigods and lycanthropes, and possibly even supporting the restructuring of the economy to distribute wealth away from species privileged under the old system and fully integrate humanity into the magical world. She appears as a young woman with pale skin and black hair, seeming to be part of the emo/scene subculture, and usually wearing her full monster hunter equipment and crossbow.

High king Maryanne Obelisk- Once a normal human girl who tried to avenge her brother who was killed for disobeying an order from a sorcerer, she lost her humanity in her quest for vengeance, being bitten by the previous king of vampyrs (Arthur Pendragon) and taking his throne after defeating him and banishing him to England. She is one of humanity's, and many other downtrodden species, biggest defenders, once having been living proof of humanity's competence in the face of magic. She's been the one most willing to respond to disasters, though she has known to be ruthless, and the vampyrs working under her might not share her sense of justice. She is the most beloved of the leaders among human activists. Like all vampyrs, she appears as a humanoid with white scales, a large snake like mouth, and black eyes.

Elric of Vinland- a travel from an unknown place, possibly forwards, backwards or sideways in time (though such things are mysterious even to mages). He's been one of the most aggressive warriors of the rebellion, traveling across the world to start and aid uprisings, and make previously hostile factions sympathetic. Most famously, he helped attack the sorcerer's academies by helping enslaved elves rise up against their masters. He is in direct Legue with the gods, being a paladin of Hel and Lilith, and seems to have experience as a military leader and political actor from wherever he was from. Though the rest of the rebellion has been skeptical of him, commoners amoung humanity and creature alike seem to like him. He appears as a young man with strawberry blond hair, having lost his hearing and disfigured his hands in previous battles, he often wears a futuristic looking uniform, and is able to spawn burning armor when going into battle.

Dr Robert Coleridge- a human handed one of the five most powerful magic items on earth by Jesus of Naseerah (a powerful lich and son of Zeus), transforming him into an ageless genderless being with dominion over magic. He seems to be the most kindhearted of all the leaders of the rebellion, being slow to violence and not wanting to use his powers as a weapon. He's taken power among the harpies, who were once the bankers of the magical world, but have since become the main force funding the rebellion. He does not want to be elected, which might be what makes him the best man for the job. He appears as an unnaturally beautiful androgynous being with glowing eyes, usually wearing a button-down shirt and bowtie.

Grand Inquisitor Espen Hunter- a sorcerer who once was a high-ranking military officer among the forces trying to maintain the veil, who switched sides out of principle when the sorcerous government planned to commit acts of terror and genocide against harpy populations and began conscripting children into the inquisition as part of the late war effort. He is still skeptical of many the rebellion's ideals but will side with them over genocide. For better or worse, he is slow to implement ideas until they are well proven to him. Though other than possibly Elric, he is the cantante with the most experience in government, and other then Robert he's the only candidate above twenty-five. He appears as a warrior in archaic armor, wielding a mace in one hand as a spell in the other, a mask covers his face which was disfigured by an attack spell.

We're sorry you have to vote for people you didn't know existed until now, but this was the only way.

[beardedmrbean]

Sri Lanka's new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been sworn into office, promising "clean" politics as the country recovers from its worst economic crisis.

The left-leaning Dissanayake has cast himself as a disruptor of the status quo, and analysts see his victory as a rejection of corruption and cronyism that has long plagued the country.

Saturday's election was the first since 2022, when discontent over the economy fuelled mass protests and chased former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power.

"We need to establish a new clean political culture," he said. "I commit to achieving this. We will do the utmost to win back the people’s respect and trust in the political system."

Who is Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake?

In a political paradigm shift, Sri Lanka leans to the left

The 55-year-old, who is familiarly known as AKD, told Sri Lankans that "democracy doesn’t end with voting in a leader".

"We need to strengthen democracy. I pledge to do my utmost to safeguard democracy," he said.

"I have said before that I am not a magician – I am an ordinary citizen. There are things I know and don’t know. My aim is to gather those with the knowledge and skills to help lift this country."

Dissanayake received a Buddhist blessing at the end of his speech. Representatives of Sri Lanka's other main religions - Islam, Hinduism and Christianity - were also present during the oath-taking, highlighting the new president's emphasis on diversity.

In a statement on the eve of the ceremony, Dissanayake said the "unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all Sri Lankans is the bedrock of this new beginning".

During the campaign, Dissanayake promised voters good governance and tough anti-corruption measures.

He has promised to develop Sri Lanka's manufacturing, agriculture and IT sectors. He has also committed to continuing the deal struck with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail Sri Lanka out of the economic crisis while reducing the impact of its austerity measures on the country’s poorest.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned before Dissanayake was sworn in, paving the way for the dissolution of parliament.

In an earlier interview with BBC Sinhala, Dissanayake signalled that he would dissolve parliament soon after being elected.

"There is no point continuing with a parliament that is not in line with what the people want," he said at the time.

Dissanayake won after the counting stretched into a second round on Sunday, as no candidate was able to win more than 50% of the total votes in the first round.

Once the second and third-choice votes for president had been tallied, the Election Commission said Dissanayake had won with a total of 5,740,179 votes.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa came in second at 4,530,902. Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe got 2,299,767 during the first round of counting and was excluded from the second round.

Wickremesinghe congratulated his successor, saying: "With much love and respect for this beloved nation, I hand over its future to the new president".

Until this weekend's vote, all of Sri Lanka's eight presidential elections since 1982 had seen the winner emerge during the first round of counting. This poll has been described as one of the closest in the country's history.

Dissanayake's anti-corruption platform resonated strongly with voters who have been clamouring for systemic change since the crisis.

This enabled him to overcome trepidation over the violent past of his political party, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which carried out two armed insurrections against the Sri Lankan state in the 1970s and 80s.

Dissanayake's alliance, the National People’s Power – of which the JVP is a part – rose to prominence during the 2022 protests, known as the Aragalaya – Sinhala for struggle.

Dissanayake has also sought to moderate the hard-left stance of his party in more recent years.

[take-care-with-your-glasses]

I'm not too happy that in 22 days elections are happening, and the president is already being targeted to be killed like, can we just vote, dudes? The issue you all have as an opposition is, first, that you don't care about the country and would love to give it to the US on a gold plate. Second, you always throw 49606060 candidates when president Maduro goes by himself, supported by many. If you pick just one candidate, you guys might win the same way you guys won the assembly. But no, let's call it a fraud and start shit down the country and burning it because why to rescue Venezuela if we can be our worst enemies, aside from the US sanctions and the rest of the world upon us. Right? I fucking hate these people and wish they all were gone off my country.

[plethoraworldatlas]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party suffered its worst-ever defeat Sunday when the country's main opposition party scored major wins in municipal elections, including in all five of the nation's largest cities.

With nearly all ballots counted, candidates for the center-left Republican People's Party (CHP) emerged victorious in Istanbul, the capital Ankara, İzmir, Bursa, Adana, and other cities and towns. Turkish media reported CHP victories in 36 of the country's 81 provinces. The right-wing Justice and Development Party (AKP) performed best in the largely rural Anatolian interior.

It was the first time in Erdoğan's 21 years as Turkey's increasingly autocratic president that the AKP suffered such a nationwide electoral defeat.

"My dear Istanbulites, you opened the door to a new future today," incumbent CHP Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu told jubilant supporters during his victory speech following what's likely to be a double-digit win over AKP challenger Murat Kurum. "Starting from tomorrow, Turkey will be a different Turkey. You opened the door to the rise of democracy, equality, and freedom... You ignited hope at the ballot box."

...

Analysts said skyrocketing inflation, the collapsing value of the lira, disaffected Islamist voters, and Imamoğlu's popularity—which transcends the CHP's traditionally secular base—were major factors in Sunday's results.

So was the Gaza genocide. While Turkey is supporting the South Africa-led genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, Erdoğan and the AKP have been accused—especially by Islamists—of paying little more than lip service to the cause of Palestinian liberation, while Imamoğlu has said that Turkey should immediately sever trade relations with Israel.

Experts said Imamoğlu's victory puts him, and the CHP, at the center of Turkish politics.

"Imamoglu demonstrated he could reach across the deep socio-political divisions that define Turkey's opposition electorate even without their institutional support," Mert Arslanalp, assistant professor of political science at Istanbul's Boğaziçi University, toldReuters. "This makes him the most politically competitive rival to Erdogan's regime."

In the predominantly Kurdish southeast, the progressive People's Equality and Democratic Party (DEM) won 10 provinces. Election-related violence erupted in parts of the region, including in the village of Ağaçlıdere in the Sur district of Diyarbakır, where DEM polling officer Emin Çelik was killed and around a dozen others were wounded. There were multiple reports of Turkish police violently dispersing Kurds celebrating election wins.

International leftists hailed the big wins by CHP and DEM candidates, with Party of European Socialists president Stefan Löfven cheering what he called "a great victory for democracy and a giant step towards a better future of the Turkish people."

[mai-von-weissenfels]

I would like to establish myself as the biggest hater of August II of Saxony (1670 - 1733).

Below is a list of everything I don't like about him (warning: long thread):

Stole the Polish throne not once but twice, and his son stole it for a third time.

I know Poland's elective monarchy system is a bit fucked up (they have had a bunch of foreign monarchs before) but still August didn't even win the election. He was backed by several powerful surrounding states, like the HRE and Russia, but he still got his way onto the Polish throne by various shady shenanigans, involving a lot of bribery.

Now I'm not saying he's responsible for the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, but I'm saying he's partially to blame. The time period he was in was about after Poland won a major war (Great Turkish War 1683 - 1699). But he only saw Poland as an extension of Saxony, and a place where he could legally have the title of King while still being in charge of territory within the HRE. And he got it into another war that it didn't need to be in (more on that in a bit). Now, the war, the Great Northern War (1700 - 1721), it went pretty badly for the Saxons, and August was forced to give up the Polish throne. I would say even Karl XII had more regard for the Polish people than August, since he took the effort to find a suitable Polish candidate for the Polish throne instead of appointing one of his own. But as soon as Karl was defeated in Russia, August just stole the throne back. And after his death another war broke out in Europe over whether his son or a Pole would succeed the throne. The Polish throne became a spot for greater European powers to try gain influence. Which then led to the Partitions of Poland. So yeah. Not a fan.

2. Undeservedly won the Great Northern War

Oh boy, where do I even start. I guess I'll start from even getting into it in the first place. He knows his rule on Poland is illegitimate. He has to bribe the local Polish nobility to support him. And now, he wants to bribe the Livonian nobility to declare him the legitimate King of Poland. How does he do that? He promises to liberate them from Swedish rule. And put them under Saxon rule perhaps! Well anyways, he employs not only the Saxon army, but also the Polish army to fight in the war. It's not even their fight!

Well, now onto the actual war. I've got to give props to Denmark for surrendering within four months and thus saving Saxony from the "worst performance in the GNW" title, but honestly it's not much better. I compiled a list of battles in the GNW once, and I kid you not, Saxony never won a single battle by itself, they only win when they're joined by Russia. Saxony even lost and signed a peace with Sweden in 1706. They only came back to win the war when Russia defeated Sweden in 1709. Karl's mistake of neglecting the Russian front was his own fault. If he went for Russia first, defeated them, then went one on one with Saxony, I believe he would win.

3. Just a genuinely bad person

Hear all those stories about monarchs improving some aspects of their countries for the better? August does none of that. He could care less about the people and more for a luxurious lifestyle of collecting paintings and mistresses. Yes, the grandiose palaces full of high class art in Dresden are his. Granted, he reigned before the Age of Enlightenment and only caught a tiny bit of the very beginning, but Peter the Great lived during exactly the same time as him, and he cared for his people.

And about the mistresses, he was a notorious womanizer, and is said to have fathered over 300 children. Only one was legitimate. One. He once sent a consort, Aurora von Königsmarck, to try to persuade Karl XII to sign peace. She was refused, but still, that wasn't a very respectable move from August.

So yeah, in conclusion, I don't like him. Easily one of the worst monarchs ever in my opinion. Even his victories weren't legit. Thanks for reading my rant

[celestialskyys]

Let's start off with what I actually said.

I meant registering for the other party and voting in the NOMINATIONS for the other party to have a more moderate candidate nominated then for actual elections, where the position will be filled based on who is voted in, voting for the option you actually want.

If it's a stupid idea then I'll own up to that I was just spitballing a "what if".

I am not here to try and help Trump become our dictator. I want a country where we can have rational people in charge.

Now about your tags.

Voting for the nominations does not take away voting power for elections proper. Democrats will still pick a Democrat to run and Republicans will still pick a republican to run. What it does take away is your vote to pick who in your actual preferred party will run. That in itself can be an issue but its not "throwing away your vote to a 3rd party".

There is nothing stopping someone who wants a Democrat candidate from registering as a different party to vote for their nomination of that different party then ultimately voting for a Democrat for president. Just because you're registered to one party doesn't mean you're legally forced into ONLY voting for that party. By signing up for that party you're able to vote for their nominations.

Onto things I didn't say.

I never mentioned voting 3rd party. That is you putting words in my mouth. In fact, I stated pretty clearly that this is about voting for a more moderate nomination for another party then actually voting for the real person you want in the actual election. I even went as far to say to start on a local level.

In the grand scheme attempting it with smaller local positions would be the way to go and I'm partly talking about this from experience because I have friends who live in a city where a formerly Democrat candidate won reelection as mayor through write in votes. So it IS possible but very hard to do. But you know what? That was on a local level. Yes, he was Democrat before that. Yes, he has lost popularity and I honestly doubt he's surviving any other elections. But thar doesn't change the fact that during thst election he was classified as not only a 3rd party but also a write in candidate and won. When it comes to change or getting a 3rd party candidate any power it's going to start on a local level which is far more possible than voting 3rd party for president.

Finally, your little comment.

"Listen to your elders"? Really?

You're really talking down on me here? I agree that the worst thing right now is a another run of Trump and while I'm not happy with my options, I more than understand that my options are general dissatisfaction that we can't have someone more progressive running as the democratic bid VS the old man who wants to make himself a dictator and take away the rights of anyone not his buddies.

But you're out here, out right making up stuff I didn't say and then getting disrespectful to me about it? We are not going to be doing that.

You motherfuckers yes I hate Kamala too but when she is announced to be the Democratic candidate we are all going to shoot fireworks and go to the goddamn polls

[gothicneo]

What Comes Next? Thoughts for 2025 and Beyond

Hear ye, hear ye! In this, the year 2024, the United States of America has loudly declared that it shall reject drab decency in favor of electrifying cruelty.

Tuesday night was traumatizing for a lot of people. Can anyone really blame them? For many of them, the worst assumptions about the American people were proven true by the results of the 2024 Election and many people’s lives are about to be severely upended if not outright destroyed. And the worst part is that we’ve been through this all before. They know Donald Trump is an agent of chaos whose first term was defined by cruelty and dysfunction that culminated in over a million dead from a pandemic and an attempt to violently overthrow the government. His allies have literally written out an exhaustive document titled “Project 2025” detailing all the ways they intend to do even worse if given another opportunity. Still, over 70 million still people voted for him, and, more tragically, 15-20 million voters who showed up in 2020 chose to stay home in 2024.

And yet, I’ve remained oddly calm throughout this week. No tears have been shed, no doom scrolling or posting on any of my socials. Friends know me as someone who’s often prone to emotional outbursts and catastrophizing in times such as these, and as a poor trans woman who views juggling two jobs as a tremendous personal success, I certainly have a lot to lose in the years ahead, but I’ve remained cool as a cucumber. Why? I’d already accepted this outcome as a strong possibility months ago, and I want to take this moment to reflect on the institutional failures that got us here.

First off, the American people either have no idea what they want or will throw their espoused values into the nearest bin the instant they face any hardship.

Let’s go some of the things accomplished under the Biden Administration: we got a once in a century pandemic under control, oversaw the end of the final war American troops were deployed in, delivered huge on rebuilding the country’s aging infrastructure, worked to combat climate change, built factories and brought back manufacturing jobs, walked a picket line and was the most pro-union President in decades; he prevented a recession that in 2021-22 every economist swore was inevitable; he was the first President to publicly support the transgender community, and he did his best to relieve as much college loan debt as possible despite obstruction from Republicans in congress and the Supreme Court. And how was he rewarded for this service? People either refused to acknowledge his accomplished or in some cases punished him for delivering on campaign promises, all while being subjected to constant ridicule over his age, and personal attacks against his character from all corners of the political spectrum.

Apparently, none of those accomplishments matter because there was 2.1% inflation. Hardly anyone will talk about how coming out from the pandemic has been hard on every country; or that the American economy under Biden’s leadership returned stronger than any other nation. That wasn’t a fluke, it was the result of President Biden’s steadfast, competent leadership.

I may not have shed a tear this week, but I was devastated when President Biden was forced to drop out from this race. Since 2021, the media worked itself into a frenzy to punish this administration every step of the way.

And they won.

That was when it became clear to me that doesn’t matter how hard someone works or how much they accomplish, if the people control the narrative want you out of the picture, they’re going to make it happen. So, while the rest of my friends were celebrating in July, believing Kamala Harris was on course for a 2008 style sweep, my gut told me things were about to get worse.

And just so we’re clear, this is in no way a knock against Kamala Harris. She was a fantastic candidate who ran a valiant campaign without any major missteps. How was anyone in the Democratic Party supposed to run an effective campaign when the public refused to acknowledge the record of successes accomplished under the Biden Administration? Sure, we all hoped that everyone was so sick of the other side’s cruelty and would turn out again, but it was impossible to ignore just how heavily the media was hobbling us, all while the historic fundamentals that used to determine election outcomes were in our favor.

President Biden’s greatest sin was being a boring and incredibly competent leader. This was infuriating for our news media. Joe Biden didn’t generate the constant drama that sells newspaper subscriptions, or gets people tuning into talk shows and podcasts, and there wasn’t a steady stream of ex-staffers coming out to sign book deals spilling all the sordid behind-the-scenes details. Thus, every major media outlet set out to destroy President Biden and his party in the hopes that they’d once again be able cover D.C. with the salacious glee you’d expect from the celebrity rags that line the racks at the supermarket, not the D.C. press corps.

And it wasn’t just the traditional news media. Even more than other modern elections, this was an election swung by online content from social media, YouTube, podcasts, and beyond. There’s a lot of money being made churning out this content in non-traditional media spaces too.

Take a moment to really think about what content has consistently been popping up at the top of your feeds these past couple of years. Did you notice any trends? I sure did. Whenever I logged onto a major website I was inundated with “stories” from fake news accounts and memes/jokes advancing right-wing talking points. Claims that we’re in recession, inflation is out of control, attacking “woke culture,” claims that Joe Biden’s going to lead us into World War III— these assertions were constant and inescapable.

And it’s not just right-wing content creators. “Leftist” creators pushing a narrative that both sides are about equally bad was also boosted to the top. There is plenty of money to be made singing songs of doom and despair on both sides of the aisle.

But how did this content become so gosh darn lucrative?

In some cases, the blame rests squarely on loud and proud right-wing owners who’ve directed employees to push their propaganda (see: Twitter). Others are just mindless algorithms that push whatever content generates the most engagement with their users; the sort of inflammatory statements that are either hyperbolic or outright lies. Social media, YouTube, Google search— None of these platforms are engineered to produce a well-informed userbase! They are there to keep people logged in and consuming for as long as possible. The impact this method news delivery is having on the public is frightening, and I don’t know what can be done to combat it anytime soon.

Alright Vivian, you have ideas on how this all happened, but what are your plans for the next four years? Is there any hope in this situation? Absolutely! I wouldn’t be writing this if I believed the future was lost forever. Yeah, things are probably going to suck these next couple of years. I can’t say how much it’ll suck, but there’s still joy in the world. It is more important than ever that we continue seeking it out and creating it wherever it’s in short supply.

I know that, for me, one thing was true before this election, and remains true after: I am tired of my happiness being determined by the day-to-day antics of a loud-mouthed reality TV star. I’ve been stuck as a captive audience along with millions of other people since this man first rode down that escalator in 2015, and I’m done letting it consume every waking moment of my life. I don’t want to think about Donald Trump, see his bloated face, or hear his whining voice, so I’m simply going to unplug from most of the media I’ve engaged with the past decade.

I have that power to change the channel, and so do you.

Changing the channel doesn’t mean ignoring everything going forward or giving up on the future. I’ll still be a registered member of the Democratic Party who votes in every election, gets off on shows like “The West Wing”, and works for a better tomorrow. Changing the channel simply means that, from this day forward, I refuse to spend another minute feverishly tuning into “The Donald Trump Show.” I won’t spend hours reading and watching journalists and late-night comedians takes on every incident; or arguing with strangers online about what needs to be done. I tried that last time and got nothing but sleepless nights and a desire to jab people in the nose with a fondue fork.

Instead, I’m going to spend the next four years doing the only things I have any control over: Looking out for myself, keeping my friends, family (especially found family) close, volunteering for and donating to charities I support, and never giving up on brighter days to come. Who knows? They might be closer than we think.

Oh, and as for y’all who voted for DJT a third time: I hope you get everything that was promised on the trail. You deserve it.

[bllsbailey]

N.Y. AG Letitia James Holds Press Conference With Gov. Hochul: 'We Are Prepared To Fight Back'

In a contentious post-election press conference on Wednesday, Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James continued to portray President-elect Donald Trump as an evil adversary.

A disgruntled Hochul declared that she has established a “Empire State Freedom Initiative” in order to get ready to combat “policy and regulatory threats” from the incoming Trump administration.

Even though the governor claimed that she is now prepared to work with the new President-elect, Hochul still spent most of her time speaking about preparing herself for possible political and legal warfare, ironically, the same kind of “lawfare” that Trump himself has faced in New York from those who wished to see him lose the election.

“You try to harm New Yorkers or roll back their rights, I will fight you every step of the way,” Hochul told reporters.

She further mentioned possible disagreements with Trump and his administration about illegal immigration, labor, LGBTQ+ matters, abortion, and environmental policies.

James, who has worked tirelessly to put Trump behind bars, also noted that her office has now been “getting ready” for a possible second Trump presidency.

“I am ready to do everything in my power to ensure our state and nation do not go backwards,” James said in a statement. “Together with Governor Hochul, our partners in state and local government, and my colleague attorneys general from throughout the nation, we will work each and every day to defend Americans, no matter what this new administration throws at us. We are ready to fight back again.”

The Democrat attorney general’s attendance at the news conference was eye-opening and demonstrated that the two top Democrat leaders in New York are getting ready to engage Trump in a combative, warlike manner.

After accusing Trump of misrepresenting his net worth by billions of dollars to obtain better loan and insurance terms, James was awarded a $454 million civil fraud judgment against the business mogul.

However, Trump has appealed the ruling.

“I am NOT fearful of Donald Trump. I have not been fearful of Donald Trump,” James asserted to reporters.

Trump won both the national electoral and popular vote, and he did better in blue New York than he did in 2020. Hochul viewed Trump’s victory as a funeral.

“New Yorkers WILL persevere over the next four years!” she voiced.

Trump’s allies in New York denounced Hochul’s press conference as immature, inappropriate and detrimental to New Yorkers.

“Hochul is out of her mind,” said state Republican Party chairman Ed Cox. “This does not help New Yorkers. It’s dumb and bizarre.”

Additionally, the House GOP Conference chairwoman, Representative Elise Stefanik, made remarks as well.

“President Trump performed better in New York than any Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan. Kathy Hochul has the worst approval ratings for any New York governor in history.” “One of the many reasons why Trump over-performed in New York and across the country was Tish James’ desperate witch hunt and weaponization of the NY AG’s office and the Manhattan district attorney to illegally target Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ political opponents. And he soundly defeated them at the ballot box across the country. I was proud to lead the effort in New York State to fight back against their illegal lawfare,” she added.

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