Following the NFL Super Bowl on Sunday night, the 77-year-old posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, taking credit for the pop star’s enormous success over the years.

In his post, Trump refers to the Music Modernisation Act that was passed under his watch as US president, legislation that helped artists earn royalties and licensing fees easier on music streaming services.

“I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists,” Trump wrote.

“Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will.”

Swift hasn’t officially endorsed a presidential candidate yet for this year’s election, however she did publicly announce her support for President Joe Biden in 2020.

“There’s no way she could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money,” Trump continued in his post.

“Besides that, I like her boyfriend, Travis, even though he may be a Liberal, and probably can’t stand me!”

Previously, Swift was known for keeping her politics to herself and very rarely demonstrated any political leaning in her art and in her presence in the public eye.

However, in the 2018 midterm election, Swift endorsed Democrat Senator Phil Bredesen and urged her fans to vote the same.

Her 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana includes footage of moments before she made the endorsement in a post on Instagram. While Swift’s father was concerned about security risks and potentially damaging headlines outing her opposition to Trump, she said it was something she felt she needed to do, regretting not speaking out sooner.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Loni Love (@comiclonilove)

Swift was particularly opposed to Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn – who ran against Democrat Senator Bredesen and ultimately won – based on her extreme right-wing views against women and the LGBTQIA+ community.

“She votes against fair pay for women. She votes against reauthorisation of the violence against women act, which is just basically protecting us from domestic abuse and stalking,” Swift said in the footage on Miss Americana.

“She thinks that if you’re a gay couple or even if you look like a gay couple you should be allowed to be kicked out of a restaurant.

“I can’t see another commercial [with] her disguising these policies behind the words ‘Tennessee Christian values. Those aren’t Tennessee Christian values’. I live in Tennessee. I am Christian. That’s not what we stand for.”

Conspiracy theories

Trump’s comments on Taylor Swift comes off the back of far-right pundits accusing the pop star of being a “Pentagon asset” who will “rig” the upcoming presidential election in November in favour of the Democrat party.

Some referred to Swift as an “election interference psyop” who will turn Swifities into Democrat voters. Others have accused Swift of being a puppet for the NFL and Democrats, referencing her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, saying she will also rig the Super Bowl match.

While Swift has not addressed the accusations, President Joe Biden has not shied away from them, and instead, his social media team has taken the mickey out of it.

Just like we drew it up. pic.twitter.com/9NBvc5nVZE

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 12, 2024

In an unanticipated move, Biden also created a TikTok account on Sunday night – presumably to appeal to younger voters – that already has nearly 100,000 followers.

The post Donald Trump believes he is the man who made Taylor Swift ‘so much money’ appeared first on Women's Agenda.

“I’d like to give the money to something Donald Trump hates,” Carroll, 80, told ABC News.  “If it will cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, that’s my intent.”

Dozens of women have accused the former US president of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment dating back to the 1970s. He has denied these accusations.

In May last year, Carroll won $5 million in damages from a civil case against Trump. 

The former Elle advice columnist alleged that Trump raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in 1995 or 1996 and then defamed her on his truth social platform in October 2022 by denying it happened and calling her a liar. 

Another $83 million in damages were awarded to Carroll on Friday after a jury took less than three hours to return a verdict that Trump should pay her the amount in damages to compensate for two defamatory statements he made against her in 2019. 

Speaking to the Times, Carroll said the win for her was a win for women everywhere, but especially in a post-Roe America. 

“This win, more than any other thing, when we needed it the most– after we lost the rights over our own bodies in many states– we put out our flag in the ground on this one. Women won this one. I think it bodes well for the future.”

Carroll has emphasised she wants to “do something good” with the money, noting it’s an “inspiring” amount of money.

During the two-week trial, Trump attended in-person, after his absence at last year’s trial. 

Describing what it was like to face him in court, Carroll has told reporters that she had fears leading up to it until looking at him sitting feet away and realising he was “nothing”.

“When you’ve actually faced the man, he’s just a man with no clothes on,” she told the Times, referencing the story of ‘the emperor with no clothes’. 

“It’s the people around him that are giving him the power,” she said.

At the end of proceedings, during closing statements from Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan, Trump muttered defamatory statements in earshot of the jury and walked out of the courtroom.

Kaplan said his behaviour only validated that Trump is “a bully who can’t follow the rules”.

Following the verdict and $83 million reward, Carroll said she saw the jurors and “it made me burst into tears because they met my eyes for the first time”. 

While it could be a while before Carroll sees the money, Kaplan says she’s confident they’ll be able to collect it.

“One way or the other, he owns a lot of real estate. It can be sold. We will collect the judgement,” Kaplan said.

The post E Jean Carroll suggests she will fund ‘something Trump hates’ after $83 million defamation ruling appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Haley is far from the first to question Trump’s mental fitness, but at a rally in Keene, New Hampshire on Saturday she brought up the bizarre incident to voters, saying: “I’m not saying anything derogatory, but when you’re dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this.”

The day before, at Trump’s rally, the former president seemed to repeatedly and incorrectly say that Haley was in charge of Capital security on Jan. 6, 2021, the day when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop the presidential certification of Democrat Joe Biden following Trump’s 2020 election loss. 

It was actually Pelosi who was in charge of security at the time, with Haley not even being in office. 

Trump’s claim that Pelosi turned down security that his administration offered her has also been debunked. A special House committee empaneled to probe the attack found no evidence to support his claim.

“Nikki Haley, you know they, do you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it because of lots of things like Nikki Haley is in charge of security,” Trump told supporters at the Concord rally. “We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people.”

Responding to Trump’s public gaffe on X (formerly Twitter), his senior campaign advisor Chris LaCivita tried to play it off writing, “Nancy ….Nikki ….its a distinction without a difference.”

How old is too old?

Since launching her campaign 11 months ago, Haley, 52, has called for mental competency tests for politicians over 75, and has suggested it’s time for a “new generational leader”. 

Trump, who is 77 himself, is known for frequently throwing digs at the age of Democratic President Joe Biden, 81, saying he’s mentally unfit for office.

In September, however, Trump also mixed up Biden with former President Barack Obama, saying “with Obama, we won an election that everyone said couldn’t be won.”

At his rally on Saturday night in Manchester, Trump said that he took a cognitive test and “aced it.”

“I’ll let you know when I go bad. I really think I’ll be able to tell you,” he added. “I feel my mind is stronger now than it was 25 years ago. Is that possible?”

Ahead of the 2024 US election, age is shaping up to be an important factor as two white men over 75-years-old look to be front-runners for both major parties. 

An August poll from The Associated Press– NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 77 per cent of US adults, including 69 per cent of Democrats view Biden as too old for presidential office. The Same poll that over half (51 per cent) of adults, including 28 per cent of Republicans view Trump as too old.

The post Mentally fit? Donald Trump confuses Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi appeared first on Women's Agenda.

This is the legacy of Donald Trump, the former president of the US seeking to be re-elected in the 2024 election. Simultaneously, Trump is facing trials across the country for fraud, obstruction of justice and, most notably, his role in the January 6 2021 riots in Washington D.C.

Trump is currently leading the polls and will likely head into the election as the primary candidate for the Republican party, despite his ongoing legal battles.

However, his growing popularity is being met with resistance from Americans who refuse to let Trump curtail the law. And leading this resistance is women of colour.

In an article written last year with Cliff Albright, metoo founder Tarana Burke explained just how powerful Black women can be when it comes to changing societal and political structures, especially around election time.

“We have witnessed, time and time against, the ways in which Black women have harnessed collective community power to shape the world around them for the better,” Burke wrote. “From shaping movements to elections, Black women are political change-makers.”

The re-election of Donald Trump as the president of the US places Black women and women of colour in significant danger of his racist, sexist ideology and agenda – which is exactly why it is them leading the charge to put him out of the running for presidency.

Here are just some of the women standing up against Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election.

Letitia James

New York Attorney General Letitia James brought forth a civil fraud trial against Donald Trump in 2022. In her case, she accused The Trump Organisation of conspiring to inflate his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to make deals and secure loans.

According to James and the legal team for the Attorney General’s office, Trump’s net worth increased by up to $US2.2 billion ($AUD3.28 billion).

Today, my office will present our closing arguments in our trial against Donald Trump for financial fraud.

For years, Donald Trump engaged in significant financial fraud to enrich himself and his family.

No matter how rich or powerful you pretend to be, no one is above the law.

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) January 11, 2024

On Thursday, lawyers representing the state of New York and Trump gave their closing arguments to the court. James made a powerful statement on X condemning Trump’s alleged behaviour.

“For years, Donald Trump engaged in significant financial fraud to enrich himself and his family,” she said.

“No matter how rich or powerful you pretend to be, no one is above the law.”

Kamala Harris

Last week on January 6 marked exactly three years since Donald Trump allegedly incited a violent attack on the Capitol building in Washington D.C. in 2021.

It was a moment that shocked the world and demonstrated the capability of Trump supporters for causing violence and literally endangering the US’ political system.

Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris posted on X remembering the day and condemning Trump for his alleged role in the attacks.

“At 12pm on January 6, 2021, Trump kicked off his rally near the White House where he called on Mike Pence to reject Joe Biden’s win,” she wrote.

“An hour later, as Republican lawmakers objected to counting the electoral ballots of Arizona, a large crowd of Trump’s supporters marched toward the Capitol.”

Extremist leaders say the mob that violently attacked the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 was led by “great patriots.”

Is that how you define who loves our country? pic.twitter.com/mTFnH0cmhe

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 6, 2024

In a separate post, Harris accused Trump of misleading Americans into thinking the events of January 6 2021 were nothing by peaceful.

“A mob violently attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 using brutal force and fear to try and overturn the results of a free and fair election,” she wrote. “Trump and extremists try to mislead and gaslight by claiming it was a peaceful protest… Like we weren’t watching?”

As the 2024 election looms, Vice President Kamala Harris is also seeking the re-election of the Biden administration and seeking to defeat Trump, Biden’s main rival.

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is the host of ABC’s program The View, and on Thursday, Republican politician Liz Cheney came on the show as a guest.

On the show, when Cheney said she hasn’t “ruled out” running as the Republican nominee for the presidency, Goldberg urged her to run to eliminate the risk that Trump poses on American democracy.

“I don’t know if the Republican party as we knew it will survive this,” Goldberg said on the show.

“If he ever gets in again, we’ll never have any more elections… he’s very clear about that. He wants to be a dictator for life!”

The post Women of colour in the US are fighting against a Trump re-election appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Scomo’s book, Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness, will be available on the market on May 21, marking exactly two years since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defeated him in the 2022 Federal Election.

The 288-page book will also have a special foreword written by the former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence.

Morrison and Pence are thought to have a strong relationship, developed during their time in office. According to reports from The Sydney Morning Herald, Morrison phoned Pence, not Trump, when the Trump administration failed to secure a second term in office at the 2020 US election.

Pence is also very open about his strong Christian faith. In 2022, Pence released his own faith-centred memoir, titled So Help Me God.

According to an article in Politico, Mike Pence often says: “I am a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.”

Who is Mike Pence?

After a relatively short career as a lawyer, Mike Pence began running for Congress in 1988 when he was 29 years old. It took him 12 years before he was finally elected in the House of Representatives in 2000.

For his whole life, and particularly since entering the US politics world, he has held strong conservative views driven by his Christianity, including anti-LGBTQIA+ and anti-abortion stances.

In the 2016 US election campaign, Pence was chosen as Trump’s running Vice President for the Republican party. 

He served as the second-in-charge of the US and throughout his term in office, Pence unabashedly stood by and defended Trump no matter what.

The Trump administration lost power in the 2020 election when President Joe Biden was declared as the winner. In the final days of the Trump administration, Pence was scapegoated as somehow having the power to meddle with the election results and cause a Republican loss.

The scapegoating intensified at the January 6 2021 riots at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. where Trump supporters chanted “hang Mike Pence”, the Jan. 6 select committee found.

Pence entered the race as a presidential candidate for the Republicans in the 2024 election. While former Vice Presidents generally have greater support and greater success in the running for the presidency, Trump created a lot of enemies for Pence. In October 2023, Pence withdrew his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

More on Scomo’s book

Mike Pence will write the foreword and feature on the cover of former Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison’s new book, which is months away from release.

The book will detail how Morrison, the 30th Prime Minister of Australia, was guided by his Christian faith in leading the country during 2018-2022, throughout “one of the toughest periods since the second world war”.

His publisher, Thomas Nelson, a branch of the Harper Collins Christian Publishing, writes on its website that unlike other books written by former Prime Ministers, Morrison’s will be “less political memoir and more pastoral encouragement”.

The inclusion of Pence’s foreword is expected to assist the book in expanding its market interest globally, especially in the US.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the US religious publishing market made $US757 million ($AUD1.175 billion) in 2022.

The post Mike Pence will feature in Scott Morrison’s new tell-all book appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Trump is now the first presidential candidate in the history of the US to be banned from running for office.

On Tuesday, the Court ruled in favor of a group of voters in Colorado, who argued that Trump’s involvement in the 2021 January 6 riots in Washington D.C. made him ineligible to be on the ballot paper for the 2024 presidential election.

A legal action group in the US, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), aided the voters to take the case to court. CREW’s President Noah Bookbinder said the court’s decision on Tuesday was a win for democracy.

“It is not only historic and justified, but is necessary to protect the future of democracy in our country,” Bookbinder said.

“Our Constitution clearly states that those who violate their oath by attacking our democracy are barred from serving in government.

“It has been an honor to represent the petitioners, and we look forward to ensuring that this vitally important ruling stands.”

Today's ruling is not only historic and justified, but is necessary to protect the future of democracy in our country.

We couldn't be prouder of our role in making this happen. https://t.co/TI49fclwY5

— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) December 20, 2023

The decision from Colorado’s Supreme Court will only affect the ballot paper in that state; that is, while Donald Trump can run for president in other states in America, he cannot in Colorado.

In the last four presidential elections, the state of Colorado has voted Democrat and has been widely regarded as a safe Democrat state.

This means that, whether Donald Trump is barred from running for president in the state or not, election predictors suggest Colorado will likely vote for a Democrat president anyway.

The Supreme Court’s decision also only applies to the primary election coming up on March 5. Voters in this election decide which presidential candidate will represent the Democrat and Republican parties.

However, the decision will likely impact how voters view Trump as a candidate for the president of the US in the general election, which will take place in November 2024.

Trump’s lawyers said they intend to appeal the decision. Meanwhile, the lawyers who represented the group of voters in Colorado hope other states follow suit and hope for the case to go all the way to the US Supreme Court.

The Capitol Hill riots

On January 6, Donald Trump spoke to a large crowd at Washington D.C., at a rally called “Save America”. Behind him, Congress was preparing to confirm the election results of the 2020 presidential election, which saw President Joe Biden win.

“We will never concede,” he said to the crow. “They rigged it like they’ve never rigged an election before…we won. We won in a landslide. This was a landslide.

“After this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you…you have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

Following the rally, thousands of Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol building. Lawmakers inside the building were forced into lockdown and told to wear gas masks, as rioters released tear gas, smashing things inside and parts of the building along the way. Five people died during the protests.

Trump is facing charges in relation to the January 6 riots.

The post Donald Trump disqualified from presidential election in Colorado, court rules appeared first on Women's Agenda.

In the lead up to the first caucuses and primaries that will determine the Republican presidential candidate, the 51-year-old former UN Ambassador and South Carolina governor is grabbing voters’ attention as she makes a strong bid against Donald Trump, the current Republican frontrunner. 

While she’s still trailing the former president in the polls by 50 points, according to the Financial Review, recent polling data from RealClearPolitics show Haley as a stronger general-election candidate than Trump if she were to go up against current president Joe Biden in the 2024 election. 

She is rapidly gaining in the polls and drawing large campaign donations from billionaires, ahead of the Republican primary, which will occur in Iowa on January 15.

Other than Trump, Haley’s nearest rivals include Florida governor Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie. 

Billionaire backings

In recent weeks, several high-profile donors have indicated they’ll back her over DeSantis, who is polling behind her. Billionaire Charles Koch’s network has raised millions in an effort to support Haley’s campaign– an endorsement that BBC news correspondent Sam Cabral says “has the potential to reshape the race”. 

On Friday, Home Depot co-founder and billionaire Ken Langone put his support behind Haley as well, saying Trump’s time has “come and gone”. 

At the Republican’s final debate last week, Haley’s recent surge in party support made her a prime target from the group, especially as Trump chose not to attend. 

DeSantis lead the attacks, saying “she will cave to the donors” who he claimed are making money in China and “are not going to let her be tough on China”. 

Ramaswamy also took a swing at Haley, accusing her of corruption. 

“Larry Fink, the king of the woke industrial complex, the ESG movement, the CEO of BlackRock, the most powerful company in the world, now supports Nikki Haley,” he said.

Responding to the attacks by laughing them off, Haley said, “I love all the attention fellas”, adding that they were mad because she was taking away their donor support.

“When it comes to these corporate people who want to suddenly support us we’ll take it, but I don’t ask them what their policies are. They asked me what my policies are. We opposed every single corporate bailout we possibly could,” she said. 

So, what is Nikki Haley’s background?

The daughter of Indian immigrants and raised in the Sikh faith, Haley grew up in rural South Carolina where she described enduring racism. In her video announcing her presidential bid, she referenced this past, saying it had an impact on her personal and political life.  

In 2011, Haley became the first woman and first Indian American to be elected governor of South Carolina. She then served as the ambassador to the United Nations from the US under President Trump. 

When she launched her presidential campaign in February 2023, Haley was the first major GOP challenger to Trump and only the fifth Republican woman to run for president this century.

What are her policies?

Haley has said in multiple debates that she is against abortion rights for women. She stands apart from the rest of her GOP competition, however, as she has called for a “national consensus” when it comes to a federal abortion ban. Haley has said she would sign a six-week abortion ban if that was what “the people decide”, with exceptions for rape and incest.

Despite being the daughter of immigrants, Haley’s stance against immigration is tough– although still more lenient than her GOP rivals. She has said she would assign thousands of immigration agents to carry out deportations and has called on the US to “close” the border” and defund “sanctuary cities”. 

When it comes to other issues, her stances are as follows: Haley blames big government spending for inflation, has said China is “the greatest threat to American security and prosperity”, believes helping Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression is in the US national interest, spoke out against red flag gun laws and has opposed efforts to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. 

Can she beat Trump?

Although she has worked under Trump as UN Ambassador and supported him in the past, Haley is distancing herself from him in her presidential campaign. 

“A president must have moral clarity”, she says in a campaign video, adding that Americans “have to leave behind the chaos and drama of the past”.

Political analysts believe Haley has a chance at the presidency since she can garner support from the independent and moderate voters– those people who don’t support Donal Trump and have mixed views of Joe Biden’s performance as president. 

She also has the potential to close the gender gap and class divide, according to Politico, where Trump has especially struggled to gain the majority votes of women and white voters with university degrees.  

As the runner-up to Trump– who faces 91 criminal charges– Haley would be next in line for the GOP nomination should he end up in jail and the Republican convention decides they don’t want to run someone who’s a convicted felon. 

The post Could Nikki Haley beat Trump to become the first female US president? appeared first on Women's Agenda.

It’s his $15.8 billion AUD net worth.

Nine media recently acquired secret tapes recording Anthony Pratt, owner of the billion-dollar packaging company Pratt Holdings. The recordings reveal much about his relationships with former US President Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, even King Charles III.

But it also sparks questions surrounding money, politics and power and casts doubt over the integrity of the political systems in both Australia and the US.

What are political donations?

People giving money to political parties or campaigns is nothing new. In the 2021-2022 financial year, Anthony Pratt was the second largest donor, giving nearly $4 million AUD.

It wasn’t nearly as much as Mineralogy Pty Ltd, donating a total of $117.1 million AUD, all of which went to Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party.

But payments aren’t always made with an ulterior motive, explains Dr Catherine Williams, research director at the Centre for Public Integrity. In theory, political donations are indicative of a working democratic society.

“Political donations are payments that are made for no consideration or inadequate consideration to political parties,” she says.

“A person or an organisation might donate to a party or candidate whose policy positions or values they support. Where these donations are in small amounts, that’s reflective of a thriving democracy.

“When you get small amounts being contributed by members of the community, you know the populace is engaged in its democracy.”

All political donations above the disclosure threshold, which this financial year is indexed to $16,300, must be reported to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)’s Transparency Register. 

“The difficulty comes with these really substantial amounts of money,” Dr Williams continues.

“What the people who are making those payments might be doing is seeking to have either favourable decisions made about permit applications that they might be making, or to enable them to have privileged access to the political process.”

"Society should reconsider whether politicians should further receive retirement benefits given some take up lucrative lobbying jobs, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity, barrister Geoffrey Watson, SC"https://t.co/2Xj6FXyqjR

— The Centre For Public Integrity (@cpi_aus) October 24, 2023

Political donations in the 2022 Federal Election

In February this year, The Guardian reported the top ten political donors in the last financial year accounted for 77 per cent of all political donations, totalling around $137 million. 

The largest donors came from fossil fuel, gambling and alcohol companies. According to the Grattan Institute, most of the major donors to the Coalition were wealthy individuals and corporate donations.

The Australian Conservation Foundation reported that, in the lead up to the 2022 Australian federal election in May last year, fossil fuel companies donated more to Labor ($1.4 million) than to Coalition parties ($900,000). The organisation’s analysis attributed this change to the companies “sensing a change in government”.

Campaigns for Australia’s latest referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which failed with a majority No vote from the public, also received a number of political donations. 

In April this year, The Australian Financial Review reported that the Yes campaign received $17 million from more than 20 of Australia’s richest philanthropists and family foundations, including the Besen Foundation, Jo Horgan’s Mecca M Power and The Myer Foundation.

Meanwhile, Advance, the conservative political group spearheading the No campaign, was backed by former fund manager Simon Fenwick, who donated $250,000. Sydney millionaire Rodney O’Neil, whose family generates profit in building material with Australian Blue Metal, Hymix and other companies, also donated around $85,000 last year.

There are a number of other donors – on both campaign sides of the referendum – and the full amount that was donated won’t be known until April next year.

Dr Williams from the Centre of Public Integrity says large donations made from wealthy individuals or organisations can have a “corrosive impact on public trust”, particularly since there is no spending cap on donations.

“They (the public) might perceive decisions made favourable to these persons to be a consequence of those donations,” she says.

“There’s also the potential for electoral outcomes to be distorted because of the absence of a spending cap.

“So we’re in this situation whereby the more donations you can get, the more money you can spend and, potentially, you can distort the election outcome.”

Anthony Pratt

On October 5, the world discovered former US President Donald Trump had reportedly revealed national security secrets to at least 45 other unauthorised people.

One of those people was Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt.

This week, Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social, rejecting the claims as “fake news”. He called Pratt “a red haired weirdo from Australia” and said he never revealed those secrets to him.

It’s a far cry from how Trump has previously spoken of Pratt – a “friend”, a “great gentleman”, even “Australia’s most successful man”.

While it’s difficult to confirm for sure what changed, Nine media acquired secret recordings of Anthony Pratt discussing how he has accessed the power of Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, King Charles III and more through his own superpower – “being rich”.

Although Pratt likened Trump and Giuliani to “the mafia”, investigative journalist from The Age Nick McKenzie said that title is an expression of Pratt as a “fanboy” of their power.

“That’s not a condemnation – he thinks that’s kind of cool because they’re powerful. Nobody messes with them. They take no prisoners,” McKenzie said in Nine media’s Please Explain podcast.

“This is a study of power, and what the powerful say when they think no one is listening. That’s why it’s so revealing.”

A report on Nine’s current affairs program 60 Minutes revealed Pratt once paid Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s “killer lawyer” and right-hand man, $1 million to attend his 60th birthday party in Melbourne.

Why? Because, as Pratt said in the tapes: “Rudy is someone who I hope will be useful one day.”

“We suspect the wealthy and powerful in the business world seek these relationships for their own interests,” McKenzie said in the Please Explain podcast.

“We can see it happening sometimes from a distance, but very rarely do we see these very powerful business people explain albeit while they’re not knowing they’re being recorded, about what it is that they’re actually seeking in their own words.”

Richard Baker from The Age suggested Pratt uses his money in this way for the “rub-off effect” of being close to Giuliani.

“Anyone who wants to go after Pratt or take him on might find that he can stick Giuliani onto them… so there’s a protective thing there as well,” he said in the podcast.

“Giuliani also – I guess just by being plugged into the Trump network when Trump was in the White House – got access to all sorts of information, that could be valuable in a business sense, in a personal sense, because he was that close to power himself and he was an attack dog for the President.

“And this billionaire was hoping that if he needed him, he could do the same for him.”

Access to Giuliani means, by default, access to Trump. The covert tapes obtained by Nine media revealed Trump told Pratt of various state secrets, including the ordering of an airstrike on Iranian-linked militants in Iraq in 2019, as well as the phone call between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy asking him to investigate Joe Biden’s son Hunter.

With his money, power and influence, it seems Pratt ensured all ground was covered. Nine media’s sources indicate Pratt paid $182,000 in 2021 to then Prince Charles, now King Charles III.

On home soil, Pratt reportedly made consulting payments of $25,000 a month to Paul Keating, the former Prime Minister of Australia. He also paid former Prime Minister Tony Abbott $8,000 a month.

McKenzie from The Age said in the Please Explain podcast the payments to the political figures means something, including shaping both the political and the media narrative.

“It does suggest a pattern that Pratt wants to get very influential political heavy weights close to him,” he said.

“That should lead voters in Australia, the United States, to question why it is that billionaires align themselves with politicians and leaders. Is it because they genuinely think they’re great leaders? Or because there’s some other interest at play?”

The post ‘My superpower is that I’m rich’: How billionaires can pay their way into politics appeared first on Women's Agenda.

The 77-year-old flew from his New Jersey golf club and arrived at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday at around 7:30pm local time (Friday 9:30am AEST).

For the first time since his first criminal indictment in April, Trump has had his mugshot taken.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, the former president said it was “yet another SAD DAY IN AMERICA”.

“I have to start getting ready to head down to Atlanta, Georgia to get ARRESTED by a Radical Left, Lowlife District Attorney,” he wrote.

“For a PERFECT PHONE CALL, and having the audacity to challenge a RIGGED AND STOLLEN (sic) ELECTION.”

A grand jury charged Trump and 19 others last week over alleged conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, which fell in favour of current US president Joe Biden. The jury ordered the accused, including the former president, to “voluntarily surrender”.

Trump’s lawyers negotiated his release from jail with a bail of USD $200,000 (AUD $312,000).

Protestors and journalists gathered outside of the jail to witness his appearance at the county jail.

Trump and his co-accused are expected to appear at Atlanta’s Fulton County Court for arraignment hearings (charges will be read before a judge and accused can enter a plea) in September via a video call. 

The judge has approved the presence of a news camera in the court for the arraignment hearing next month.

The criminal trial date is expected to be in March 2024, although some co-defendants, including Kenneth Chesebro, applied for a fast-tracked trial on October 23.

The latest is the fourth of Trump’s criminal indictments since April this year. He is the first former president of the US to be facing criminal charges.

He is also facing separate charges relating to election interference in Washington D.C, falsifying business records in New York and mishandling classified documents in Miami.

In an interview on Fox News with Tucker Carlson, Trump called his criminal indictments “bullshit”.

Despite his charges, Trump remains in the running for the 2024 presidential election in the US, where he is well ahead in polls against his fellow Republican candidates.

During the Republican primary presidential debate, which Trump bailed on for the Fox News interview, six out of the eight candidates that spoke said they would still support Trump as the party’s nominee, even his hen were to be convicted of his alleged crimes.

The post Donald Trump turns himself in to authorities over fourth criminal indictment appeared first on Women's Agenda.

The unconventional social media launch sees DeSantis bucking a tradition that usually sees nominees launch their campaigns with an in-person rally, online video or interview on television. 

DeSantis’ main rival for the Republican nomination at this point is former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is the current frontrunner. Trump has directed numerous insults towards DeSantis in the wake of his competition for the nomination.

“Announcing on Twitter is perfect for Ron DeSantis. This way he doesn’t have to interact with people and the media can’t ask him any questions,” a Trump aide said.

It is expected the Twitter livestream wil bring together a friendly audience for DeSantis, with Musk previously indicating his admiration of DeSantis.

Trump was banned from Twitter after the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021 and has since set up his own social website, Truth Social.

DeSantis has previously told political donors that he is the only candidate who would be able to beat President Joe Biden at the election in 2024.

“Biden, Trump and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president – Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people aren’t going to change their view of him,” DeSantis said, according to the New York Times.

In April, DeSantis signed a bill banning abortion after six weeks in the state of Florida.

The post Ron DeSantis to launch bid for presidential nomination on Twitter with Elon Musk appeared first on Women's Agenda.

“Today, the world finally knows the truth,” Carroll said in a statement. “This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”

The former Elle advice columnist alleged that Trump raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in 1995 or 1996 and then defamed her on his truth social platform in October 2022 by denying it happened and calling her a liar. 

After three hours of deliberation, a nine-member jury, made up of three women and six men, found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll but stopped short of ruling that he raped her. 

As this was a civil case and not a criminal case, the only legal sanction Trump will face is financial– Carroll will be awarded a total of US$5 million. 

This marks the first time a former US president has been branded a sexual predator. 

At the beginning of the trial, Carroll testified that Trump’s attack had made it impossible for her to engage in future romantic partnerships, saying she could barely look at a man she was interested in. She also said Trump destroyed her reputation after calling her a liar, leading Elle magazine to fire her after 27 years.  

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen,” Carroll said. “He lied and shattered my reputation. I’m here to try and get my life back.”

Absent from the civil trial, including when the verdict was read, Trump voiced outrage on his truth social platform, writing in all capital letters: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace– a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!”

In Trump’s video deposition taken last October, he was shown a well-known black and white photograph of himself with Carroll and, at one point in the video, Trump mistook Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples. He then acknowledged that the photo suggests he met Carroll at least once, and he had previously stated he could not have raped Carroll because she was “not my type”. 

At closings jurors were also shown infamous video footage of Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape where he describes how he aggressively makes moves on women without their consent. 

While cross-examining Carroll, Trump’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina focused on asking why she had not screamed or called the police at the time of the alleged assault. Tacopina also said he would disprove her allegation by showing Carroll had conspired to accuse Trump because she “hated” his politics. 

While Trump’s legal team was unsuccessful, Professor of Psychology at the University of Denver, Anne P. DePrince explains that these lines of questioning reinforced common myths about sexual assault and that research has shown “people respond in diverse ways when they experience traumatic events, including sexual assault”, and that “women have many reasons for disclosing- or not disclosing- sexual harassment and assault”.

During her testimony, the now 79-year-old Carroll– who was about 52-years-old at the time of the alleged assault– said she waited to come forward because she was a “member of the silent generation”. 

“Women like me were taught and trained to keep our chins up and to not complain,” she said.

“The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising for someone my age.”

And given the consequences of women who come forward with sexual assault allegations, Carroll was asked if she regretted accusing Trump.

“I regretted this about 100 times but, in the end, being able to get my day in court finally is everything,” she said. 

Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina told reporters outside the federal courthouse that Trump, who is campaigning to retake the White House in 2024, will appeal. 

The post E Jean Carroll wins US$5 million in civil case against Donald Trump appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, and he’s pleaded not guilty to all of them.

This is the first time in history a current or former US president has faced criminal charges.

On Tuesday, Trump appeared at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, represented by his lawyers Joe Tacopina and Susan Necheles. 

Trump was seen entering the NYC courthouse for his arraignment and was considered under arrest as soon as he entered the building.

Following his arraignment, Trump flew back to his Mar-A-Lago resort where he gave a short speech to his supporters, reiterating his intention to plead not guilty to the charges against him and run for the 2024 US presidential election. The ABC reports former first lady, Melania Trump was absent from the room.

What are the 34 charges?

Each charge represents a different instance of alleged misconduct under the same type of crime: falsifying business records.

Prosecutors have alleged Trump orchestrated a years-long scheme to use “hush money” payment to conceal damaging information before the 2016 US presidential election. 

There are three payments in the alleged scheme, including $130,000 given to porn actor Stormy Daniels. 

It’s also alleged a former Playboy model received a $150,000 “hush money” payment. And $30,000 went to a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. 

Falsifying business records is a felony in New York when there’s an “intent to defraud” that includes an intent to “commit another crime or to aid or conceal”. 

Announcing the 34-count felony indictment, Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg said, “These are felony crimes in New York. No matter who you are. We cannot normalise serious criminal conduct.”

“True and accurate business records are important everywhere, to be sure. They are all the more important in Manhattan, the financial centre of the world.”

What will happen if Trump is convicted?

If convicted of these felony charges, Trump faces up to four years in prison for each count, and the judge could choose to have him serve each sentence one at a time. 

Although, the charge doesn’t carry a mandatory prison sentence, so it’s uncertain if the former US president would face any jail time if convicted. The judge could conclude that a first-time offender without a criminal record should face a fine or community service instead. 

The post Felony crime: The 34 charges against Donald Trump have gone public appeared first on Women's Agenda.