Trump news today: Trump mocked new NFT trading cards as ex-president rails against Elon Musk

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joked with reporters about responding to Donald Trump’s criminal indictment on Tuesday as he returned to his first regular news conference following his hospitalization for a fall.

Moments before opening arguments in one of the largest defamation trials in American history were to begin, Fox News agreed to settle a lawsuit by a voting machine company that accused the network of spreading false statements about its business in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

Fox settled for $787.5 million, about half of Dominion’s original demand of $1.6 billion.

Alex Woodward has the story:

Donald Trump released a new iteration of his NFT trading cards, prompting mockery online.

The former president announced on Tuesday, April 18 that he was selling another batch of the NFT trading cards he issued in December.

“I am pleased to inform you that due to the great success of my previously launched DIGITAL TRADING CARDS, we are doing it again, SERIES 2, AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The second series of cards consists of eight different NFTS, all priced at $99. But on Twitter, people mocked the new illustrations.

George Santos is officially running for re-election in 2024, even as he faces multiple investigations led by the House Ethics Committee, the FBI and local authorities.

And he is marking his bid for another term with a bill named in honor of Nicki Minaj, the New York-born rapper whose comments expressing skepticism about vaccines resonated with the congressman as he seeks to prevent the federal government from imposing the administration of any vaccine that has not been on the market for a decade.

However, it will provide an exception for cases of a public health situation – such as the Covid-19 crisis.

read more on New York’s scandal-plagued pro-Trump congressman:

Two nonprofits — including the group that challenged several GOP House members’ eligibility to serve because of their support for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — want to use the same provision of the U.S. Constitution to keep Donald Trump off the ballot next year .

Trump’s support for the attack, the groups say, would fall under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits any “officer of the United States” who has “engaged in rebellion or sedition against” the country – after previously taking an oath to support the Constitution – from serving in any federal office.

It’s a long-shot bid from the groups, but explains the kind of opposition Trump will face from even centrist organizations heading into 2024, thanks to the chaos that was 2020 and early 2021.

Read more from Andrew Feinberg:

Disney announced that it will hold its first ever “Pride Nite” event, a move that will no doubt drive a further wedge between the entertainment titan and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Hours before the announcement, DeSantis held a press conference in which he laid out a menu of potential retaliation schemes he could undertake to get back at Disney for using an obscure property law to retain its autonomy.

These plots included increasing the park’s taxes, building a prison next door, or selling the land surrounding Disney to another theme park. The governor also highlighted proposed legislation that would impose new inspection regulations on Disney.

Graig Graziosi has the story:

The White House may be headed for a political victory over the debt ceiling as the House GOP president appears at least somewhat unwilling to threaten America’s credit by blocking a debt ceiling increase.

But that didn’t stop Kevin McCarthy from hammering President Joe Biden about not negotiating with Republicans on spending cuts at all, as the White House has argued that the president wants to see the GOP’s budget proposal in its entirety before such talks begin. .

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

As he officially announces his re-election bid, George Santos has already encountered his first setback.

The campaign finances of the Republican, who has come under scrutiny for exaggerating or making up numerous details of his history, are in rough shape. He has a loss of $3,000 this year, Axios reports.

Donald Trump’s rape trial begins next week as scheduled after a federal judge on Monday rejected his lawyer’s request for a one-month delay, saying the former president cannot make public statements to promote pre-trial publicity and then claim it is harmful to him and reason to delay. a court case.

Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said the civil trial of claims against Trump by a longtime columnist, E Jean Carroll, will begin as scheduled on April 25. Trump denies that the rape happened or that he ever knew Carroll.

“Let the public in,” a group of protesters shouted from the hallway just outside the room where Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee held their meeting on Monday,

Outside the Jacob Javits Federal Building in midtown Manhattan, another group of protesters shouted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Jim Jordan has to go.”

Ariana Baio reports from New York City.