Political IQ

In a new book, “The Luckiest Man: Life with John McCain,” longtime Senate aide Mark Salter alleged that soon after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the president called the Arizona senator and demanded he apologize for taking back his endorsement during the 2016 election campaign.

A PoliticalIQ.com national survey found that 55% of voters now believe the worst of the pandemic is still to come.  That’s...

Former President Donald Trump may no longer be in the White House but many are not sure he is completely done with politics. However, when asked about his stance on Friday, Jan. 22, he gave away no indications of what he may do next. While seated at his usual table at the Grill Room inside his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., the Washington Examiner asked Trump what's next on his political agenda. The former president only said, "We'll do something, but not just yet."The brief remarks Trump offered are his first since he left Washington. With the second impeachment trial just days away, his future in politics remains unclear as a conviction in the Senate could bar him from running for office again. However, he has mulled over a number of possibilities including running for president again in 2024, starting his own news network, and launching his own political party, the Patriot Party. But despite talks of all the possibilities, Trump has not yet finalized anything. Right now, he faces a number of obstacles that likely contribute to the lack of direction.Without the help of social media, Trump and his allies have faced more difficulties staying connected to the former president's loyal base. The latest news comes just days after Trump opted to skip President Joe Biden's inauguration and depart for Florida. Over the last three months, Trump focused most of his attention on overturning the presidential election as opposed to governing the country. However, an aide for the former president insists he needs a break. "He needs a break," one of Trump's aides said this week, adding, "I think we all hope he just plays golf for a month, but he always has to be on the go."With Trump's heightened level of unpredictability, many are convinced that he is still not done with politics.

Michigan's longest-serving Republican congressman is receiving harsh criticism from his own party after voting to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the fatal insurrection at the U.S. Capitol."The Allegan County Republican Party has censured longtime U.S. Rep. Fred Upton and 'condemned' his vote to impeach former President Donald Trump," the Holland Sentinel reported Saturday. "Upton, R-St. Joseph, was among the Republicans to vote with Democrats to impeach Trump on Jan. 13."Upton was one of two Michigan Republicans to back impeachment, he was joined by first-term Rep. Peter Meijer. "We believe Congressman Upton's vote is a betrayal of his oath of office and the core values of the Allegan County Republican Party," the censure resolution argued. "We believe this vote ignored the voice of the voters in Allegan County and was against their interest."Upton explained his vote in a statement. "Today the President characterized his inflammatory rhetoric at last Wednesday's rally as "totally appropriate," and he expressed no regrets for last week's violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. This sends exactly the wrong signal to those of us who support the very core of our democratic principles and took a solemn oath to the Constitution. I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process. I fear this will now interfere with important legislative business and a new Biden Administration. But it is time to say: Enough is enough," Upton explained.The House of Representatives is expected to transmit the Article of Impeachment to the U.S. Senate on Monday, with the trial phase starting on February 8th.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has found his company publicly shunned after he pushed the conspiracy theories about voter fraud that resulted in the fatal January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.In early December, Lindell called for Republicans to overturn the election. The businessman also spent more than $1 million bankrolling the legal efforts to overturn the will of the voters.In January, even after the fatal insurrection, Lindell went to Trump's White House with notes that mentioned "martial law." Afterwards he said he was praying for a military coup.Lindell has been bothered by the backlash against his company, whining about "fake people" getting Bed, Bath & Beyond and Kohl's to drop his company -- which has also been panned for having poor pillows."Companies' decisions to cut ties with MyPillow are shaping up to be a significant blow to the controversial pillow company," Business Insider reports. "Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl's confirmed this week that they are cutting ties with MyPillow. Fintech startup Affirm told Insider it had also cut ties. According to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, numerous other stores including H-E-B, Kroger, and BJ's have told him they will no longer sell MyPillow products."The publication interviewed Chris Alleri, the founder of brand consultancy Mulberry & Astor."Lindell is being dropped right and left by legitimate retailers, not because he's friends with Trump, not because he's some victim, because he has a big mouth that has been spewing lies," Alleri said. "No brand wants to associate with a dumpster fire like that. Advancing a false narrative of a stolen election has consequences." "Maybe some of Trump's deranged diehards might want to buy his products, that's not enough to build a legitimate brand with staying power," Alleri said. The publication also interviewed Neil Saunders, the managing director of analytics firm GlobalData."The loss of these selling channels will cause some pain and will put more pressure on the direct-to-consumer business," Saunders said. "It's also the case that distributing through retailers widened the audience for MyPillow beyond the consumers who digest infomercials, so the company will now need to find other ways of reaching these potential customers."

"Until the very end, the pressure never stopped; the pressure was real," a person familiar with the matter told USA TODAY.       

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that the House will deliver President Donald Trump's article of impeachment to the Senate on Monday.

The early January departure of a Georgia U.S. attorney swept up in then-President Trump's anger about the election results is now being probed by...