Happy Monday!

I hope all you mommies out there had a great Mother’s Day. I recall my own mother’s motto when it came to gifts: “If I can’t eat it, wear it, or spend it, I don’t want it.”

Betty Robison, wife of Stream Founder James Robison, offered up a thoughtful piece  for Mother’s Day: “What Does a Mother Do with Her Nurturing Heart When All The Kids are Grown?”

Today’s Brew has a political flavor, including a game of politics, and playing with the lives of politicians.

A Wild(wood) Rally in Jersey

Donald Trump drew between 80,000 and 100,000 people to the beach Saturday. But this was no ordinary beach hosting Trump’s massive rally: This was Wildwood. In New Jersey. A state traditionally so blue it could change its nickname to the Smurf State. And Trump’s drawing Sinatra and Springsteen-sized crowds? Six months before the election? Wild!

Check out this scan of the crowd:

With you at my side, we will demolish the Deep State, we will expel the warmongers from our government, we will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the Communists, Marxists, and Fascists, we will throw off the sick political class that hates our Country, we will rout the… pic.twitter.com/3QnLHxfWZt

— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 12, 2024

Personally, I like this shot. Politics in the Trump era truly is a roller coaster ride.

Hey Democrats – how is that lawfare working for you? 😂 pic.twitter.com/rAx5hYBMIa

— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) May 11, 2024

CBS News Philadelphia reported the massive Trump rally could pour millions of dollars into the Wildwood economy.

President Joe Biden, on the other hand, spent the weekend in Delaware. Trump mentioned during his speech that he’s going to make a bid for Biden’s home state. Why not hold a rally in Rehoboth Beach? Throw a huge beach party. Biden can wander outside his home there and scream, “Turn down all that racket!”

Or afterward, the two rivals can go out for ice cream. That’s the one topic I think they agree on.

Actually, that’s not the dumbest idea of all time. Traditionally, during presidential campaigns, the two candidates set aside the rancor for a black-tie night together at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. Why not start a less formal tradition: the Presidential Ice Cream Social?  

Barron Won’t Be a Delegate After All, But Does Give His Father Political Advice

Update: Barron Trump won’t be part of Florida’s delegation to the GOP convention in mid July after all. He was selected to go, but according to a statement from Melania Trump’s office, “While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments.”

The former president was asked about Barron during a radio interview Friday. “He’s really been a great student. And he does like politics,” Trump told Philly’s 1210 WHTP. “It’s sort of funny. He’ll tell me sometimes: ‘Dad, this is what you have to do.’”

Or maybe what he shouldn’t do …  (Could Barron be the one that convinces him to stop posting mean things on social media?) 

 Trump Nixes Report He’s Considering Nikki Haley for Running Mate

No, no Nikki. Axios reported Friday that Nikki Haley was under “active consideration” to be Trump’s running mate. He personally shot that idea down Saturday, with a crisp post on Truth Social. “Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well.”

I tell ya, despite the savage things Haley said on the campaign trail, Trump does have a soft spot for her. You’d think he’d say something like, “I’d rather sit in a courtroom on broken glass than pick Nikki. Kristi Noem’s pooch has a better shot at the job than Nikki Haley. Stormy Daniels will be VP before Nikki.”  

Speaking of Stormy Daniels, the former adult film star testified last week at Trump’s New York trial that she once worked as a medium and talks to the dead. (So there’s further proof she’s in cahoots with the Biden campaign. And who knows? Maybe her skills as a medium will be put to use for Biden’s “get out the vote” effort.)

Meanwhile, former Trump lawyer and convicted perjurer Michael Cohen is scheduled to take the stand in Trump’s “hush-money” trial this week. Something to look for: Will whoever asks him “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” be able to do so with a straight face?

House Drafting Articles of Impeachment Over Biden Stopping Aid to Israel

What’s good for the orange goose …

U.S. Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) announced Friday that he and other House Republicans are drawing up articles of impeachment over Biden halting for political reasons the shipment of offensive weapons to Israel that Congress approved.

“These are the same accusations made against President Trump, which resulted in his impeachment by Democrats,” Mills told Fox News. “The same must happen for Joe Biden, which is why we’re drawing up articles of impeachment now.” 

Trump was impeached in 2019 for allegedly threatening to hold up Congress-approved aid to Ukraine if legislators didn’t investigate Hunter and Joe Biden’s activities with Burisma.

On Wednesday, Biden told CNN the weapons shipments will cease if Israel wages a ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah. Reports are the shipments of some weapons have already stopped.

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) agreed the impeachment inquiry is warranted.

“Given Democrats’ Trump-Ukraine precedent, President Biden’s decision to withhold lethal aid to our ally, Israel, for political gain is undoubtedly an impeachable offense,” he said. “Clearly, the nefarious motive behind our commander in chief’s move to condition U.S. aid to Israel is to appease radical leftists and Hamas sympathizers ahead of the 2024 election.” 

According to the Times of Israel, four of Hamas’s six remaining active battalions are in Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been talking for months about launching a major offensive to wipe them out. Biden is desperate to hold onto the Muslim vote in Minnesota and Michigan, and not only is he surrounded by pro-Palestinian voices not screaming at him wherever he goes, but he also employs them on his own White House staff. So he’s trying to pressure Israel into a ceasefire rather than step aside and let Israel wipe out Hamas.

TheWashington Post reports Biden’s effort to coax/blackmail Israel into limiting its move on Rafah includes offering intelligence on the location of Hamas’s leaders and secret tunnels. National Security Counsel John Kirby said Thursday the U.S. could help Israel target Hamas leaders, though he quickly noted such intelligence is already being provided to Israel.  You’re right if this seems contradictory. “We’ll give you what we’re already giving you if you do as we wish.” Then again, if they’re already cutting offensive weapons, is it possible the Washington Post sources are really hinting the White House also block intelligence that could be used for offensive operations against Hamas leadership? In other words, “If you do go in, we will not give you the intelligence (we’ve been giving you thus far).” 

Secret Service Petition Should Raise Eyebrows

Regardless of whether you support Biden,Trump, or RFK, Jr. — or if you believe there’s been no president worth a hill of beans since Reagan — this underreported story should have you concerned as we head into a very heated campaign season.

A petition is circulating within the U.S. Secret Service to drum up support for a House Oversight investigation of the agency, Bloomberg News correspondent Jennifer Jacobs reported last week. Jacobs says the petition “flags concerns about ‘a number of recent Secret Service incidents indicative of inadequate training,’ a double standard in disciplinary actions, and a vulnerability ‘to potential insider threats’” that could pose a risk to national security.

For example, a couple of weeks back, Al’s Afternoon Tea reported a female member of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Secret Service detail had a mental breakdown and attacked the senior member of the detail.

Susan Crabtree of Real Clear Politics confirmed that the petition exists and cites concerns over DEI hirings, adding that it calls for the removal of Kimberly Cheatle as director of the Secret Service.

If second-rate DEI hires and inadequate training isn’t bad enough, shouldn’t the phrase “potential insider threats” raise alarm bells on Capitol Hill? We pray for the protection of all under the Secret Service’s care. 

 

Along The Stream

John Stemberger, a founder of the Christian-based scouting organization Trail Life, USA, writes in “Killing the Boy Scouts” that the once-venerable organization has finally emasculated itself from within.

John Zmirak reviews the movie Flynn. 

Coming up on Al’s Afternoon Tea, Biden’s war on pro-life demonstrators takes a terrible toll, while RFK Jr’s position on abortion is a horror.

 

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.