DMLNews Nightcap Briefing Thurs. Feb. 2: Trump gets a Republican Party challenger, Dem wants Lincoln statue removed, and more…

1 – Former mayor launches Republican Party challenge against Trump
The Hill reports: Steve Laffey, the former mayor of Cranston, R.I., launched a 2024 presidential bid on Thursday, becoming one of the first Republicans to officially challenge former President Trump for the Republican Party nomination.

“I’m running because our country needs to directly confront its problems,” Laffey said in a video announcement. “My party and the elected leaders of our country simply refuse to do so.”

The former mayor touted his background as a financial expert with experience in the private sector in Thursday’s announcement, while seemingly taking a jab at Trump.

“We don’t need just a businessman. We don’t need career politicians. We have a financial crisis, and we need specific solutions,” he said.

Laffey served as mayor of Cranston, a city just outside of Providence, R.I., from 2003 to 2007. He also made an unsuccessful bid for Senate in 2006.

ANNETA G: Somehow I can’t see this campaign ever even getting off the ground.  What do you think?

2 – Democrats demand removal of Lincoln Emancipation Memorial in DC
Fox News reports: House Democrats proposed legislation Wednesday to remove the Emancipation Memorial from Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C., which they said portrays a racially insensitive image of President Abraham Lincoln freeing an enslaved man.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., reintroduced legislation to remove the statue Wednesday – the first day of Black History Month. She first announced her plan to propose the bill in the House in 2020. The delegate noted that the statue was initially paid for by freed slaves, but said the design was not representative of their struggles.

“Although formerly enslaved Americans paid for this statue, the design and sculpting process was done without their input or participation, and it shows,” Norton said in a statement announcing the legislation.

“The statue fails to depict how enslaved African Americans pressed for their own emancipation. At the time, they had only recently been liberated from slavery and were grateful for any recognition of their freedom. However, in his keynote address at the unveiling of the statue, Frederick Douglass pointedly did not praise the statue, and, indeed, in private remarks, went as far as to say, it ‘showed the Negro on his knee when a more manly attitude would have been indicative of freedom.’”

Six Democratic representatives backed Norton’s legislation as cosponsors. The bill was referred Wednesday to the House Committee on Natural Resources. The previous version of the bill did not receive a vote in the House.

I kicked off #BlackHistoryMonth by introducing my bill to remove the Emancipation Statue from Lincoln Park, which depicts an enslaved Black man on his knees.

The statue belongs in a museum where it can be better contextualized.https://t.co/BuprwtQL9y pic.twitter.com/0D3uPeERgK

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) February 1, 2023

ANNETA G: This is the same woman who keeps trying to push a bill to make Washington, D.C. a state.

3 – Indiana to Consider Offering Illegal Immigrants In-State Tuition Despite Republican Supermajority
Breitbart reports: The Indiana State Legislature, where Republicans hold a supermajority, is considering a bill that would offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

Senate Bill 135 would offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants attending public Indiana colleges, so long as they had previously attended Indiana schools for four years and graduated or received the equivalent to a high school diploma.

The bill would also require students to file an affidavit with their school promising that they will apply for legal status when they are eligible.

The legislation currently enjoys bipartisan support and has been sponsored by Republican State Sens. Blake Doriot and Linda Rogers, as well as Democrat State Senator David Niezgodski.

Indiana again considers extending in-state tuition to students without legal U.S. residency https://t.co/LOY7eN7Mnt

— Chalkbeat Indiana (@ChalkbeatIN) February 2, 2023

ANNETA G: Sometimes, I’m just speechless.  This was sponsored by two REPUBLICANS?!

4 – POLL RESULTS: Is journalism dead?
Here’s how you responded to yesterday’s poll:

• 88.58% – YES
•  9.14% – Somewhat
• 1.79% – No
•   .49% – I’m not sure

5 – BONUS VIDEO: Representative Wesley Hunt delivers POWERFUL remarks

WATCH THIS:

Last time I checked, I’ve been black for a long time. I’ve been a minority for a long time. Am I racist for calling what’s happening at the southern border, an invasion? No. I’m a Congressman who is tired of this administration using racism as a scapegoat for everything. -WPH pic.twitter.com/HbTkEMw5Ks

— Representative Wesley Hunt Press Office (@RepWesleyHunt) February 1, 2023

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

BREAKING: Pentagon tracking Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over US. #ChineseBalloon #SpyBalloon https://t.co/wi1VPJiRhh

— DMLNewsApp (@DMLNewsApp) February 2, 2023

BREAKING: James O’Keefe strikes again, releases PART 2 with Pfizer official (VIDEO). @JamesOKeefeIII, you’re doing great work. Keep it up!https://t.co/bmwnKM6ccM

— DMLNewsApp (@DMLNewsApp) February 3, 2023

DML Podcast: (Ep26) Keeping politicians accountable, DML interviews indie reporter Chris Nelson

The post DMLNews Nightcap Briefing Thurs. Feb. 2: Trump gets a Republican Party challenger, Dem wants Lincoln statue removed, and more… appeared first on Dennis Michael Lynch.