'He wants to be Michael Jordan': Ex-Trump lawyer dismantles his 'hideous' sneaker grift – Raw Story
Tom Boggioni is a writer, born, raised and living in San Diego — where he attended San Diego State University. Prior to writing for Raw Story, he wrote for FireDogLake, blogged as TBogg, and worked in banking, marketing and construction.
Invited on to MSNBC's "The Weekend" to discuss the upcoming Donald Trump hush money case in a Manhattan courtroom, former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen instead wanted to talk about the former president's foray into branded athletic shoes which has brought about a wave of derision.
Cohen than proceeded to pile on while speaking with the co-hosts.
"I think we've been talking more about Trump's newest venture," he began which made his hosts all smile. "Of course, those hideous looking sneakers that he is out hawking in order to raise money."
"You know, I was up at about 4:00 this morning, I came up with an entire campaign, I decided the next chapter of my life I want to be like 'Mad Men,' I want to go into advertising," he continued. "Donald Trump in his mind actually believes he's the combination of Michael Jordan, my old client Kanye [West], off-white. All smashed into one grifter, right? So those we're going to call, you heard it from me first, the "Air Felons."
ALSO READ: How Donald Trump is spreading a dangerous mental illness to his supporters
Adding that Jordan and West made billions with their footwear ventures, Cohen continued, "I guess somebody impressed upon Trump that he too could make billions of dollars with, you know, these sneakers. In fact, I'll tell you something, he should actually go with something more that he uses. Now obviously we all know Trump doesn't play basketball. He shouldn't be in sneakers, more like adult diapers or something."
Watch below or at the link.
MSNBC 02 18 2024 09 17 27youtu.be
Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman, a Republican, announced earlier this week that he will not be returning to the job for the 2024 election, The Guardian reports, "Due to years of threats he faced at work and the punishing environment" he's endured since 2020.
Hickman voted to confirm Arizona's largest county's 2020 election results, according to the report, "despite an aggressive campaign" from ex-President Donald Trump and GOP allies.
"After the election in 2020, it’s gotten worse and worse," he said. "I started to feel like all I get to do is play defense in this job any more … I thought I was looking way too much in the rearview mirror.”
READ MORE: AZ Republicans 'fueled by ‘conspiracy theory' push for strict rules on ballot tabulators
Hickman emphasized, "I can certainly play the blame game all day long. But we need some solutions. And I don’t know what those solutions are at this short moment. How about this? Maybe everybody needs to start watching Mr Rogers again and start treating people nicer."
The Guardian notes, "Maricopa county became a national flashpoint in 2020, then again in 2022. Errors like printing problems or the use of certain pens became the subject of endless speculation and conspiracies that still linger today. And 2024 will undoubtedly bring more, as the county is a critical piece of a swing state, one that both Trump and Biden will want to win to complete their electoral map."
The news outlet also notes Hickman is "one of few officials who have seen the person who threatened them prosecuted. Mark Rissi, of Iowa, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison over threats he made to Hickman and to the state’s attorney general. In the voicemail Rissi left for Hickman in September 2021, he said he was going to 'lynch' the supervisor. 'You’re gonna die, you piece of [expletive]. We’re going to hang you. We’re going to hang you.'"
READ MORE: Republicans and AZ governor on a collision course over how to fix election recount law
The Guardian's full report is right here (subscription required).
Former GOP lawmaker George Santos took a moment on Sunday to call out a fellow Republican for alleged acts of child grooming, resulting in the individual deleting his social media account.
Santos, who was ejected from the House for his own moral misdeeds, said the allegations against Ryan Cook are "staggering." Cook is purportedly running for GOP precinct chair in Nacogdoches County.
"Let me be very clear. As a gay man I know the difficult task it is to thread the very fine line of upholding conservative values and understanding who I am within the conservative movement," Santos said on Sunday. "One thing I will say is that I loath pedophiles and will never stay silent when someone is a risk to society."
ALSO READ: How Speaker Mike Johnson’s dream of bipartisan decency died in his hands
Santos goes on to say the allegations against Cook "are staggering and troubling."
"I pressed him on the issue today and he defended himself by resorting to the TX consent statute. (17 to consent to sexual relations). It is my understanding that is what most predators do to justify their actions towards minors," Santos wrote. "I served in the house of reps and I got to meet many people among them was a group of dedicated Teen Republicans who at a very young age display a lot of determination and character, it was alarming to me when I saw Ryan followed a great deal of them so I instantly notified one of their leaders to take action to keep the Teen GOP crew safe!"
Santos then continued:
"Let this be known, if Ryan doesn’t refute and prove these allegations to be false then it is my strong belief he should not move forward with his futile campaign to be. Precent leader in TX!"
Raw Story checked for Cook's X account, which appears to have been deleted. That finding was echoed by a MAGA account that suggested the candidate "has deactivated his account."
"Ryan Cook attempted to groom a 16 year old on X, and more potential victims are starting to come forward," the MAGA profile added. "Cook worked for the 2022 DeSantis campaign, as well as the Never Back Down PAC. Ron DeSantis must disavow."
Donald Trump has so far been able to fund his legal bills using small-dollar donations from his loyal fan base, but that time may be coming to an end after the ex-president's latest legal blunder, according to conservative Rick Wilson.
Wilson, whose group of current and former Republicans opposing Trump recently put out an A.I. ad recreating Trump's disapproving father, appeared on MSNBC's Ayman on Sunday, where he was asked about Trump's money troubles.
Specifically, the host asked how many golden sneakers Trump would have to sell to make a "dent" in his debts.
ALSO READ: How Speaker Mike Johnson’s dream of bipartisan decency died in his hands
Wilson first recounts a story of when he spoke with an "actual" billionaire about Trump himself.
"One of the best quotes I ever heard about Donald Trump was from an actual billionaire in New York," Wilson recalled. "When I went to him in 2015 to say this guy is gonna be a problem, he's a billionaire. He said, 'Oh hold on wait, wait a second. Donald Trump is not a billionaire. He is a clown living on credit.'"
Wilson went on to say that Trump is "constantly hopping from one financial play to another."
"There's a certain amount of money are gonna be able to raise from the MAGA voter pool in small-dollar donations," he added. "And they have bled that list of people dry."
He continued:
"They have bled those people to the point where they're waiting for their social security or their disability check to come in every month before they can kick in another 25 bucks to save Donald Trump from the deep state, or whatever fantasy he's selling them."
Finally, Wilson said, "It is a powerful bond, but that's not going to give him the amount of cash he needs in this deal in time to avoid further consequences to his personal finances and his corporate finances."
Watch the video below or click the link here.
Copyright © 2024 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | Manage Preferences | Debug Logs
For corrections contact corrections@rawstory.com , for support contact support@rawstory.com .