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justinspoliticalcorner · 15 days

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Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

Donald Trump’s first of four criminal trials is scheduled to begin Monday in New York. After what is expected to be two to three weeks for jury selection, Trump’s criminal trial—where he is facing 34 felonies--is predicted to take six weeks. That means by mid-June, Donald Trump will be a convicted felon. It’s really that simple. Is there a chance Trump is not convicted? Sure, as a former trial lawyer, I can vouch firsthand that juries can surprise you. But based on the evidence developed in the criminal investigation and disclosed during the pre-trial portion of this case, it is clear that Trump falsified documents to conceal other federal and state crimes. Thus, Trump committed numerous felonies. Everyone knows the core allegation, namely that Trump—via his then lawyer Michael Cohen--paid $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election to stop Stormy Daniels from going public with the tale of her affair with Trump. Now, if Trump had paid Daniels solely to keep his wife from finding out about his affair, that would be one thing. It wasn’t.

Trump paid Daniels the money because he feared that if information went public at the time, he would lose the 2016 election. That at the very least made the secret payment a violation of federal election laws—which is one of the felonies Cohen pled guilty to committing in 2018, telling the court he made the payment “in coordination with, and at the direction of,” a presidential candidate who was Trump. This is why Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has repeatedly stated the “core” of this case “is not money for sex,” it’s election corruption. Indeed, the very first line of the Statement of Facts that details the basis for the charges against Trump tells us that, “The defendant DONALD J. TRUMP repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”

When you look at the timing of when Trump first hatched this scheme to pay off Daniels, you get why this was all about the campaign. The charging documents tell us point blank: “About one month before the election, on or about October 7, 2016, news broke that the Defendant had been caught on tape saying to the host of Access Hollywood: “I just start kissing them [women]. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything…Grab ’em by the [genitals]. You can do anything.” The political firestorm caused by the release of the Access Hollywood tape is why just three days later, Trump—with the help of Cohen and his publisher friend AMI Editor-in-Chief David Pecker-- moved swiftly to pay off Daniels. They heard she was shopping around the story of her affair with Trump. And Trump, former Trump aide Hope Hicks (who the State will be calling as a witness), Cohen and others knew that it would have been devastating for his campaign if voters learned in the midst of the Access Hollywood tape backlash that Trump had an affair with a “porn star” a mere four months after Melania gave birth to their only child.

Indeed, the statement of facts tells us this was all about the campaign: “The evidence shows that both the Defendant and his campaign staff were concerned that the tape would harm his viability as a candidate and reduce his standing with female voters in particular.” That is why Daniels was approached on October 10, 2016, with a deal to “prevent disclosure of the damaging information in the final weeks before the presidential election.” Under the agreement, Daniels was paid $130,000. But here is where the crimes come in. As the pleadings explain, Trump “did not want to make the $130,000 payment himself” so he asked Cohen to come up with a way to do that. “After discussing various payment options,” Cohen agreed he would make the payment and Trump would pay him back. It all worked as planned, Daniels never told America about the affair and Trump won the election.

Then, “shortly after being elected President, the Defendant arranged to reimburse” Cohen for the payoff he made to Daniels on Trump’s behalf. The plan they came up was that Cohen would be paid monthly for “legal fees” until the amount he advanced was repaid. In reality, as the pleadings note, “At no point did Lawyer A [Cohen] have a retainer agreement with the Defendant or the Trump Organization.” Yet Cohen still submitted monthly invoices to Trump’s company for legal services. Some were paid by Trump’s company while nine of the reimbursement checks to Cohen for fabricated legal services came from Trump’s personal bank account and Trump “signed each of the checks personally.” And as alleged, “The Defendant caused his entities’ business records to be falsified to disguise his and others’ criminal conduct.”

Dean Obeidallah wrote in his Dean's Report Substack that Donald Trump will likely have the words "convicted felon" attached to his name by sometime in June or early July should the jury find him guilty in the Manhattan election interference case. Most of America wants to see charges levied against him.

#Donald Trump #People of New York v. Trump #Donald Trump Trial #Trump Indictment #Alvin Bragg #Juan Manuel Merchan #Stormy Daniels #Michael Cohen #Stormy Daniels/Donald Trump Affair #2016 Presidential Election #2016 Elections #Trump Organization #American Media Inc.#David Pecker #National Enquirer #2005 Trump Access Hollywood Tape

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thatsonemorbidcorvid · 10 months

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“By simply existing as women in public life, we have all become targets, stripped of our accomplishments, our intellect, and our activism and reduced to sex objects for the pleasure of millions of anonymous eyes.

Recently, a Google Alert informed me that I am the subject of deepfake pornography. I wasn’t shocked. For more than a year, I have been the target of a widespread online harassment campaign, and deepfake porn—whose creators, using artificial intelligence, generate explicit video clips that seem to show real people in sexual situations that never actually occurred—has become a prized weapon in the arsenal misogynists use to try to drive women out of public life. The only emotion I felt as I informed my lawyers about the latest violation of my privacy was a profound disappointment in the technology—and in the lawmakers and regulators who have offered no justice to people who appear in porn clips without their consent. Many commentators have been tying themselves in knots over the potential threats posed by artificial intelligence—deepfake videos that tip elections or start wars, job-destroying deployments of ChatGPT and other generative technologies. Yet policy makers have all but ignored an urgent AI problem that is already affecting many lives, including mine.

Last year, I resigned as head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board, a policy-coordination body that the Biden administration let founder amid criticism mostly from the right. In subsequent months, at least three artificially generated videos that appear to show me engaging in sex acts were uploaded to websites specializing in deepfake porn. The images don’t look much like me; the generative-AI models that spat them out seem to have been trained on my official U.S. government portrait, taken when I was six months pregnant. Whoever created the videos likely used a free “face swap” tool, essentially pasting my photo onto an existing porn video. In some moments, the original performer’s mouth is visible while the deepfake Frankenstein moves and my face flickers. But these videos aren’t meant to be convincing—all of the websites and the individual videos they host are clearly labeled as fakes. Although they may provide cheap thrills for the viewer, their deeper purpose is to humiliate, shame, and objectify women, especially women who have the temerity to speak out. I am somewhat inured to this abuse, after researching and writing about it for years. But for other women, especially those in more conservative or patriarchal environments, appearing in a deepfake-porn video could be profoundly stigmatizing, even career- or life-threatening.

As if to underscore video makers’ compulsion to punish women who speak out, one of the videos to which Google alerted me depicts me with Hillary Clinton and Greta Thunberg. Because of their global celebrity, deepfakes of the former presidential candidate and the climate-change activist are far more numerous and more graphic than those of me. Users can also easily find deepfake-porn videos of the singer Taylor Swift, the actress Emma Watson, and the former Fox News host Megyn Kelly; Democratic officials such as Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; the Republicans Nikki Haley and Elise Stefanik; and countless other prominent women. By simply existing as women in public life, we have all become targets, stripped of our accomplishments, our intellect, and our activism and reduced to sex objects for the pleasure of millions of anonymous eyes.

Men, of course, are subject to this abuse far less frequently. In reporting this article, I searched the name Donald Trump on one prominent deepfake-porn website and turned up one video of the former president—and three entire pages of videos depicting his wife, Melania, and daughter Ivanka. A 2019 study from Sensity, a company that monitors synthetic media, estimated that more than 96 percent of deepfakes then in existence were nonconsensual pornography of women. The reasons for this disproportion are interconnected, and are both technical and motivational: The people making these videos are presumably heterosexual men who value their own gratification more than they value women’s personhood. And because AI systems are trained on an internet that abounds with images of women’s bodies, much of the nonconsensual porn that those systems generate is more believable than, say, computer-generated clips of cute animals playing would be.

As I looked into the provenance of the videos in which I appear—I’m a disinformation researcher, after all—I stumbled upon deepfake-porn forums where users are remarkably nonchalant about the invasion of privacy they are perpetrating. Some seem to believe that they have a right to distribute these images—that because they fed a publicly available photo of a woman into an application engineered to make pornography, they have created art or a legitimate work of parody. Others apparently think that simply by labeling their videos and images as fake, they can avoid any legal consequences for their actions. These purveyors assert that their videos are for entertainment and educational purposes only. But by using that description for videos of well-known women being “humiliated” or “pounded”—as the titles of some clips put it—these men reveal a lot about what they find pleasurable and informative.

Ironically, some creators who post in deepfake forums show great concern for their own safety and privacy—in one forum thread that I found, a man is ridiculed for having signed up with a face-swapping app that does not protect user data—but insist that the women they depict do not have those same rights, because they have chosen public career paths. The most chilling page I found lists women who are turning 18 this year; they are removed on their birthdays from “blacklists” that deepfake-forum hosts maintain so they don’t run afoul of laws against child pornography.

Effective laws are exactly what the victims of deepfake porn need. Several states—including Virginia and California—have outlawed the distribution of deepfake porn. But for victims living outside these jurisdictions or seeking justice against perpetrators based elsewhere, these laws have little effect. In my own case, finding out who created these videos is probably not worth the time and money. I could attempt to subpoena platforms for information about the users who uploaded the videos, but even if the sites had those details and shared them with me, if my abusers live out of state—or in a different country—there is little I could do to bring them to justice.

Representative Joseph Morelle of New York is attempting to reduce this jurisdictional loophole by reintroducing the Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act, a proposed amendment to the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Morelle’s bill would impose a nationwide ban on the distribution of deepfakes without the explicit consent of the people depicted in the image or video. The measure would also provide victims with somewhat easier recourse when they find themselves unwittingly starring in nonconsensual porn.

In the absence of strong federal legislation, the avenues available to me to mitigate the harm caused by the deepfakes of me are not all that encouraging. I can request that Google delist the web addresses of the videos in its search results and—though the legal basis for any demand would be shaky—have my attorneys ask online platforms to take down the videos altogether. But even if those websites comply, the likelihood that the videos will crop up somewhere else is extremely high. Women targeted by deepfake porn are caught in an exhausting, expensive, endless game of whack-a-troll.

The Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act won’t solve the deepfake problem; the internet is forever, and deepfake technology is only becoming more ubiquitous and its output more convincing. Yet especially because AI grows more powerful by the month, adapting the law to an emergent category of misogynistic abuse is all the more essential to protect women’s privacy and safety. As policy makers worry whether AI will destroy the world, I beg them: Let’s first stop the men who are using it to discredit and humiliate women.

Nina Jankowicz is a disinformation expert and the author of How to Be a Woman Online and How to Lose the Information War.

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thesimline · 10 months

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A big happy 4th of July to my American simmers! What better way to celebrate than by creating a look book showcasing some of the most notable and iconic first ladies?

CC links under the cut.

Martha Washington was the first first lady of the United States, although the title wasn’t coined until after her death. She took on the social role of the president's wife reluctantly, becoming a national celebrity in the process.

Louisa Adams was born in London and raised in France. In fact she was the only foreign-born first lady until Melania Trump. While serving she took to writing, producing plays, essays, poems, and an autobiography.

Hair | Earrings | Dress | Undershirt & Shoes | Socks (Get To Work)

Mary Todd Lincoln staunchly supported her husband throughout his presidency and was active in keeping national morale high during the Civil War. She was seated next to Abraham when he was infamously assassinated.

Hair | Earrings | Dress

Frances Cleveland is the only first lady to have served in the role during two non-consecutive terms. At just 21 years old when she first starting serving, she is the youngest presidential spouse in American history and the first to actually marry in the White House.

Hair | Suit (direct download - Marilla’s suit) | Gloves (My Wedding Stories)

Nellie Taft was a very progressive woman for her time and was closely involved in the political aspects of the presidency, regularly sitting in on meetings and serving as her husband's closest advisor.

Hair | Earrings | Choker | Dress | Shoes

Mamie Eisenhower was a popular first lady and recognized as a fashion icon, known for her iconic bangs and frequent use of the colour pink.

Hair | Earrings | Dress | Watch (Vintage Glamour) | Shoes (Base Game)

Jackie Kennedy (header) was regarded as an international fashion icon and her work as a cultural ambassador of the United States made her very popular globally. She established the White House Historical Association, which has had a lasting impact on the cultural landscape of the United States.

Hair (Nifty Knitting) | Earrings (Base Game) | Suit

Betty Ford was one of the most candid first ladies in history, commenting on the hot-button issues of the time such as feminism, equal pay, the Equal Rights Amendment, sex, drugs, and abortion. After undergoing her own recovery, she founded and served as the first chair of the board of directors of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction.

Hair | Suit | Ring (My Wedding Stories) | Shoes (Base Game)

Michelle Obama worked as an advocate for poverty awareness, education, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating during her time as first lady. She also supported American designers and was considered a fashion icon.

Hair | Necklace | Dress | Shoes (Recolour) | Shoes (Mesh - TSR)

With thanks to some amazing creators: @buzzardly28 @simulatedstyles @rustys-cc @serenity-cc @wondercarlotta @joliebean @madlensims @sentate

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ouchlord-vivaldi · 11 days

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Imagine if trump finally goes to prison and then his wife stands up as a second phase and says "I am Melania, blade of Donald, and I have never known defeat."

#nightmares #horror #please god no #malenia blade of miquella #elden ring

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royal-confessions · 1 month

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“Since Donald Trump married Melania the press has been focused on talking only about his new wife and her beauty, completely ignoring how Trump betrayed and humiliated his two previous wives it's the proof that if Charles had married a younger and more beautiful woman no one would have any more mentioned about his marital cheated. It's Camilla's appearance and age that bother people the most!The fact that rich and powerful men cheat has never been a scandal.” - Submitted by Anonymous

#Queen Camilla #King Charles III #Donald Trump #melania trump

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 3 months

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“In her presence, the world seemed to shimmer with radiance and joy.”

Melania Trump remembers her mother as ‘a ray of light in the darkest days’

In her eulogy, the Slovenian-born former first lady paid tribute to her mother’s “nurturing spirit” and “unparalleled affection.” “She embodied the best mother, wife, grandmother, mother-in-law — a true beacon of love and luxury in our lives,” Melania Trump said. “She’s a true inspiration, a role model to me, and to so many.”

'Her nurturing spirit had no limits, creating a legacy that will last for generations,' 'With her beauty and impeccable sense of style she turned heads. But it was her unwavering dedication and hard work that made her exceptional.'

Melania Trump's Amazing Grace by Sundance

"There is a particular type of grace that surfaces when a daughter grows stronger as a direct result of a closely bonded mother’s guiding wisdom. Historically and generationally, women of eastern Europe are known for a particular style of strength. Always prepared to be left alone due to conflict, war, or the loss of hardened warriors, an internal fortitude is created blending femininity with a deliberate, cold and pragmatic approach at life. The daughters of these quiet but strong-willed generational women, learn skills of emotional control, loyalty, deliberateness and fortitude that turn the finest silks into fabrics stronger than titanium. It is transparently obvious that Melania learned well from Amalija.

Paying tribute to the guiding hand upon her life, to her mentor, counselor, friend and beloved mother, First Lady Melania Trump delivers a farewell eulogy to her guide. If you have ever wondered where the centered strength of Melania Trump originated, listen carefully and you can hear the heartbeat of Amalija Knavs in this delivery." WATCH:

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Terry Spencer Associated Press January 18, 2024

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday remembered her mother as “a ray of light in the darkest of days” during a funeral service at a church not far from the family’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

The former first lady said she always found peace in the presence of her mother, Amalija Knavs, 78, and that her mother was always there to listen.

“In her presence, the world seemed to shimmer with radiance and joy,” Melania Trump said during a eulogy as her husband, former President Donald Trump, sat nearby. “Our bond was unbreakable.”

The former first lady said her mother celebrated her family’s triumphs and supported them during difficult times. She said she would remember the laughter that accompanied travels with her mother, father and sister and “conversations that flowed effortlessly with grace and charm.”

“Rest in peace my beloved mother,” Melania Trump said before stepping down from the pulpit.

She then stood in front of her mother’s casket, touched her fingers to her lips and placed them on the casket.

Among the guests who arrived before the start of the private service for Knavs at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea were two of Donald Trump‘s children from previous marriages, Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump; Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner; and Republican U.S. Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

The church is where Trump and his wife were married in 2005. Knavs died Jan. 9 in Miami after an undisclosed illness.

At midmorning, a hearse pulled up in front of the church followed by an SUV carrying the former president and first lady and two other vehicles with their Secret Service detail. Wearing a black dress and sunglasses, Melania Trump and her father, Viktor Knavs, led a procession up to the church, followed by the former president and their son, Barron.

They then waited on the steps of the church as the coffin was lifted from the hearse and taken into the church.

After the service, a priest waved an urn of incense and a man held up a cross as the coffin was carried out of the church, followed by Melania Trump and her father, and then Donald Trump and their son, Barron.

After the coffin was placed in the hearse, the former president and first lady exchanged pleasantries with the priest. Donald Trump led his wife to an SUV with her father, and then he got into a separate vehicle.

During the Trump presidency, the first lady’s mother lived in New York along with her father and occasionally appeared at the White House. Amalija Knavs was at a 2018 ceremony where the first lady debuted her “Be Best” public awareness campaign to help children.

The Knavses raised Melania, born Melanija, and her older sister, Ines, in the rural industrial town of Sevnica while Slovenia was under Communist rule as part of Yugoslavia. Amalija Knavs was a textile worker and homemaker, while her husband worked as chauffeur before becoming a car dealer.

The former first lady, 53, attended high school in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, and changed her name to Melania Knauss when she started modeling. She settled in New York in 1996 and met Trump in 1998.

She sponsored her parents’ immigration to the United States, and they became citizens at a New York City courthouse in 2018, while Trump was president.

Their lawyer said at the time that they applied for citizenship on their own and didn’t get any special treatment.

In her eulogy, the Slovenian-born former first lady paid tribute to her mother’s “nurturing spirit” and “unparalleled affection.”

“She embodied the best mother, wife, grandmother, mother-in-law — a true beacon of love and luxury in our lives,” Melania Trump said. “She’s a true inspiration, a role model to me, and to so many.”

Trump likewise paid tribute to Knavs during his victory speech at the Iowa caucuses, saying, “She’s up there, way up there. She’s looking down and she’s so proud of us. And I just want to say to Amalija, you are special, one of the most special people I’ve ever known.”

Trump’s adult children from his previous two marriages also attended the service for Melania Trump’s mother: daughters Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump and their husbands, Jared Kushner and Michael Boulos, and sons, Don Jr. and Eric, and their partners, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lara Trump.

Trump’s in-laws remained in their native Slovenia after Melania Trump moved to New York City to become a model in 1996 and after she married Trump in 2005. They moved to the United States when Trump was president, and Melania Trump sponsored their bid to become citizens in 2018. After Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, he, Melania and Barron re-located to Mar-a-Lago. Amalija and Viktor Knavs joined them at the resort, “living it up as well-heeled retirees” and spending a great deal of time with their daughter and grandson, as the New York Post reported.

Meanwhile, Trump has reportedly been able to spend more time with his youngest son since leaving the White House and moving to Mar-a-Lago. In a 2015 People interview, Melania Trump admitted to being the more hands-on parent due to her husband’s first presidential campaign. But free from running the country or a real estate empire at Mar-a-Lago, Trump sometimes plays golf with his son or enjoys a one-on-one dinner with him, TheThings.com reported. Melania Trump told People about the “beautiful respect and admiration” that exists between father and son, and that “Barron loves to be one-on-one with Dad.”

Barron’s natural athleticism and height also makes Trump proud, according to reports. At a 2020 campaign rally, Trump called him out, proclaiming, “My Barron. My tall Barron. My beautiful Barron. Handsome. He is handsome.”"

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Donald Trump's youngest son Barron is now comfortably the tallest in the family, towering over his father at his grandmother's funeral.

Father and son stood next to each other as they mourned Melania Trump's mother Amalija Knavs, who died on January 9 aged 78.

Barron, now 17, stands at 6ft, 7 inches - taller even than his ex-president father who at 6ft, 3 inches is a towering figure himself.

The teenager stood beside Donald Trump, Melania, and Knavs' widower Viktor, dwarfing all three as they waited for the coffin to arrive on Thursday morning.

Knavs was farewelled by about 100 mourners at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida, where Melania gave a moving eulogy.

Barron's four-inch height advantage over his father was obvious from the moment they got out of the car together, as the boy put a guiding hand on Trump's arm.

Melania in her eulogy gushed about her mother's love for her grandson Barron, whom she 'showered with affection, illuminating his world with love, tender care and unwavering devotion'.

Trump credited his son's impressive growth to Knavs' traditional Slovenian cooking at a campaign event before the Iowa Republican caucuses.

'That's how he got so tall, he only ate her food,' he joked to the crowd of supporters.

'I said you're gonna be a basketball player. He said, "well, I like soccer dad, actually". But you can't talk them into everything! Barron was a special boy.'

Barron is said to have a close bond with his grandmother, who along with Viktor taught him to speak Slovenian as he grew up.

Bojan Pozar wrote in his book 'Melania Trump - The Inside Story: The Potential First Lady' that Barron 'almost certainly speaks Slovenian with... Ines, his aunt, who also lives in New York'.

'Ines Knavs was the one who took care of all the paperwork at the Slovenia consulate in New York so that Barron could formally acquire Slovenian citizenship,' he added.

Barron is believed to be the first son of a president to have dual citizenship.

Barron has grown dramatically since his father's inauguration in January 2017 when he was just 10

Barron Trump, 6.7 towers over his father at grandmother's funeral

The teenager stood beside Donald Trump, Melania, and Knavs' widower Viktor (left), dwarfing all three as they waited for the coffin to arrive on Thursday morning

They walked slowly towards the church as a foursome, in complete silence, dozens of agents looking on, the three men wearing black suits and ties and Melania in a black suit jacket, black skirt and a silver cross around her neck

Other photos from the funeral show Barron next to his grandfather Viktor and various other mourners - and being far taller than all of them.

Mourners joined Melania and her father Viktor Thursday morning at the same picturesque Palm Beach church where she married Trump nearly two decades earlier.

The former president flew into Florida in the early hours to be at his wife's side, the pair following closely behind the hearse in one of around a dozen black SUVs, arriving just after 10am.

Melania and Trump were accompanied by Barron while Knavs' widower Viktor looked visibly upset but paused to compose himself before joining the others.

Reverend Tim Schenck, who joined Bethesda as rector in 2022, stood at the church entrance waiting to greet them with a somber nod of the head and some brief words of comfort.

Melania remained stoic and expressionless behind her black jumbo sunglasses as all four turned in unison to watch as Knavs' coffins, bedecked with a dazzling display of white roses, orchids and lillies was carried from the street to the church.

Finally they all turned to go inside, the coffin entering behind them, passing another huge pink and white floral display comprised of roses, carnations and daisies.

All four emerged from the church just behind the coffin, which was carried by six pallbearers

Melania maintained her steely composure as she emerged from church, watching in silence as the coffin was carried outside, flanked by pallbearers and clergy

Melania Trump delivered a touching eulogy for her mother Amalija Knavs, who died January 9, aged 78

Barron is spotted towering over his mother and father as they left the funeral of his grandmother

Inside as she gave the eulogy, Melania's voiced cracked from the podium as she said, 'Rest in peace, my beloved mother'.

'Her nurturing spirit had no limits, creating a legacy that will last for generations,' she said.

'With her beauty and impeccable sense of style she turned heads. But it was her unwavering dedication and hard work that made her exceptional.'

Melania maintained her steely composure as she emerged from church, watching in silence as the coffin was carried outside, flanked by pallbearers and clergy.

As the procession reached the road and she watched her mom being loaded back into the hearse, Trump reached out and tenderly squeezed his wife's hand.

She left in the same vehicle as her dad while Trump followed in another SUV, giving a nod of gratitude to Secret Service agents who closed the road to ensure a smooth getaway for mourners.

Melania's mother Amalija Knavs (center, pictured in June 2018) was laid to rest on Thursday at the same picturesque Palm Beach church where her daughter married Donald Trump nearly two decades earlier

The Trumps have been regulars at the 125-year-old chapel since Melania wed then-real estate mogul Donald there in 2005 in front of VIP guests including Hillary and Bill Clinton.

A year later, Barron was christened at the Gothic-Revival style venue, which is less than three miles from Trump's swish Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.

The Trumps also attended several Christmas services there throughout his Presidency.

Former First Lady Melania Trump 's mother Amalija Knavs, 78, died after being hospitalized in Miami, Florida, over the holidays

It was unclear if Donald Trump would make it after a heated exchange with a New York federal judge overseeing E Jean Carroll's defamation case against him. The judge denied an application to delay the trial.

At the funeral Thursday, Trump seemed to put aside his anger and his need to be the center of attention. He wore a solemn expression as he let Melania Trump lead the proceedings. He walked to the side of her, her father, Viktor Knavs, and Barron as the four entered the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, not far from his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Judge Lewis Kaplan noted that the former president was not legally obliged to be court in person anyway.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12980173/barron-trump-donald-melania-mother-funeral-florida.html?ito=native_share_article-bottom

#FLOTUS #POTUS #first lady melania #melania trump #barron trump #Trump Family #Condolences #Motherless mothers #grief #sympathy #donald trump

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deadpresidents · 5 months

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Do you have one of those presidential rankings lists for oldest first ladies like the one you posted for oldest presidents when Carter turned 99?

I do. A slight distinction, though, is that this will be a list of longest-living wives of the Presidents as opposed to a list of First Ladies. Not every President's wife technically served as First Lady (and not every First Lady or White House Hostess was a President's wife) because some died or divorced before their husband became President and a couple Presidents remarried after leaving office.

So, with that clarification, here are the wives of the Presidents from longest- to shortest-living at the age of their death:

Bess Truman: 97 years, 247 days Rosalynn Carter: 96 years, 93 days Nancy Reagan: 94 years, 243 days (Reagan's 2nd wife) Lady Bird Johnson: 94 years, 201 days Betty Ford: 93 years, 91 days Barbara Bush: 92 years, 313 days Jane Wyman: 90 years, 248 days (Reagan's 1st wife) Mary Harrison: 89 years, 250 days (B. Harrison's 2nd wife) Edith Wilson: 89 years, 64 days (Wilson's 2nd wife) Anna Harrison: 88 years 215 days Sarah Polk: 87 years, 344 days Edith Roosevelt: 87 years, 45 days (T. Roosevelt's 2nd wife) Lucretia Garfield: 85 years, 329 days Frances Cleveland: 83 years, 100 days Mamie Eisenhower: 82 years, 352 days Helen Taft: 82 years, 140 days Pat Nixon: 81 years, 98 days Dolley Madison: 81 years, 53 days Grace Coolidge: 78 years, 186 days Eleanor Roosevelt: 78 years, 27 days Louisa Adams: 77 years, 91 days Laura Bush: 77 years+ [Still living] Julia Grant: 76 years, 322 days Hillary Clinton: 76 years+ [Still living] Abigail Adams: 73 years, 351 days Ivana Trump: 73 years, 144 days (Trump's 1st wife) Jill Biden: 72 years+ [Still living] Martha Washington: 70 years, 355 days Lou Hoover: 69 years, 284 days Julia Tyler: 69 years, 67 days (Tyler's 2nd wife) Caroline Fillmore: 67 years, 294 days (Fillmore's 2nd wife) Eliza Johnson: 65 years, 103 days Jacqueline Kennedy: 64 years, 295 days Florence Harding: 64 years, 98 days Margaret Taylor: 63 years, 331 days Mary Todd Lincoln: 63 years, 215 days Elizabeth Monroe: 62 years, 85 days Rachel Jackson: 61 years, 190 days Caroline Harrison: 60 years, 24 days (B. Harrison's 1st wife) Marla Maples Trump: 60 years+ (Trump's 2nd wife) [Still living] Ida McKinley: 59 years, 352 days Michelle Obama: 59 years+ [Still living] Lucy Hayes: 57 years, 301 days Jane Pierce: 57 years, 265 days Abigail Fillmore: 57 years, 17 days (Fillmore's 1st wife) Ellen Wilson: 54 years, 84 days (Wilson's 1st wife) Melania Trump: 53 years+ [Still living] Letitia Tyler: 51 years, 302 days (Tyler's 1st wife) Ellen Arthur: 42 years, 135 days Hannah Van Buren: 35 years, 334 days Martha Jefferson: 33 years, 322 days Neilia Biden: 30 years, 143 days (Biden's 1st wife) Alice Roosevelt: 22 years, 192 days (T. Roosevelt's 1st wife)

#History #Presidents #Presidential History #First Families #First Ladies #Wives of the Presidents #Presidential Wives #Presidential Spouses #POTUS Data #POTUS Statistics #Presidential Data #Presidential Stats #Presidential Statistics #White House #Politics #Political History #Longest-living

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scrollsofhumanlife · 2 years

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Melania Altagracia Batista Maria

B. January 31st 1953 in La Vega, Dominican Republic

El Monte, California

#Melania Altagracia Batista Maria #La Vega #Dominican Republic #El Monte #California #mother #wife #may she rest in peace #<3

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mysharona1987 · 1 year

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You can tell the die hard Trump fanatics from the *real* die hard Trump fanatics in one way: If they think the Stormy affair truly happened.

Regular Trump die hard fans: “So, he slept with a porn star and covered it up. Meh. Massively Illegal and embarrassing but not that big a deal.”

*real* Trump die hard fans: “It’s all one massive lie! Why would Trump ever cheat on a wife? Especially on a beautiful woman like Melania?”

Different levels of delusion.

Shit, even Don Jr has openly acknowledged on twitter the affair happened. Didn’t Trump himself say so once on Truth Social (“a mistake”) but then walked backed from it?

Sounds like Melania has never been remotely shocked by the story either.

Some are drinking the Kool Aid more than others.

#Trump #Nyc #don jr #Stormy daniels #Cnn #fox news #maga #liberals #new york #melania trump

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 1 year

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Donald Trump, in response to a question during a 2020 presidential debate with Joe Biden, insisted that he closed down his bank account in China before his first campaign. But six years’ worth of Trump’s tax records, released Friday, reveal that wasn’t true.

“[I] had an account open, and I closed it,” Trump said with some irritation to moderator Kristen Welker, NBC White House correspondent, in the final debate of the campaign in October 2020. “I closed it before I even ran for President, let alone became President.”

Rep.-elect Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), who served as the Democrats’ lead counsel in the first impeachment inquiry into Trump, noted that the former President had bank accounts in China until 2018, from 2015 to 2017, according to his tax records.

“Generally, you only have bank accounts in a foreign country if you are doing transactions in that country’s currency,” Goldman tweeted Friday. “What business was Trump doing in China while he was President?”

Trump, who had accounts in a number of countries and collected income from more than a dozen foreign nations while in office, paid more in taxes in 2020 to the Chinese government than he did in American federal income tax that year, his returns revealed.

Trump also lied a month earlier to then-Fox News commentator Chris Wallace, who pointedly asked him during the first presidential debate in 2020 if he’d paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, as The New York Times had reported (which Trump immediately blasted as “fake news”).

Trump angrily responded — twice — that he had paid “millions of dollars.” His returns revealed that indeed he had paid just $750 in federal income taxes in each of those years. Trump and his wife Melania paid no federal income tax in 2020, the last full year he was in office, according to the tax records.

In addition, Trump did not annually donate his $400,000 presidential salary to charity, as he has claimed. He declared no charitable contributions of any kind on his 2020 returns.

Among the early revelations emerging in Trump’s tax records, some of the most troubling involve his financial entanglements abroad while he was President, “highlighting a string of potential conflicts of interest,” Politico noted.

Trump had multiple bank accounts in a number of foreign countries, and collected millions of dollars in income from more than a dozen nations ― including Panama, the Philippines (whose onetime dictator, former President Rodrigo Duterte, he has praised) and the United Arab Emirates during the Trump administration.

While presidents routinely place assets in blind trusts while they’re in office, Trump’s eldest sons continued to openly operate the Trump Organization and forged deals around the world with nations affected by the Trump administration’s policies and expenditures.

Trump’s returns reveal hefty financial losses in the two years before he became President, some of which he carried forward to reduce tax bills.

Trump enjoyed an adjusted gross income of $15.8 million during his first three years in office. He paid $642,000 in federal income tax in 2015, $750 in 2016 and in 2017, just under $1 million in 2018, $133,000 in 2019 and nothing in 2020.

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justinspoliticalcorner · 11 days

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Molly Sprayregen at LGBTQ Nation:

A prominent anti-LGBTQ+ activist has slammed Donald Trump for “pro-homosexual policies” ahead of an upcoming Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) event at Mar-A-Lago at which Melania Trump is a guest of honor.

Trump, it should be noted, is arguably the most anti-LGBTQ+ president of all time. A 2021 study found that LGBTQ+ people experienced a greater increase in extreme mental distress during the Trump presidency than non-LGBTQ+ people as a result of his anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Past studies have found that suicide hotline calls to Trans Lifeline quadrupled after Trump’s attacks on transgender people, trans teen suicide attempts may have spiked because of his tweets, and areas that voted for Trump experienced increased reports of school bullying. Nevertheless, Peter LaBarbera — founder and president of the anti-LGBTQ+ organization Americans for Truth About Homosexuality — believes Trump isn’t extreme enough in his anti-LGBTQ+ views and actions. LaBarbera claimed that Melania’s role at the LCR fundraiser indicates Trump is “escalating his pro-homosexual policies in advance of a possible second term.” “Far from Making America Great Again, Trump is contributing to our nation’s moral and spiritual decline,” LaBarbera said, adding that Trump should “read the Bible rather than merely sell it.”

[...] Melania will indeed be the guest of honor at an April 20 Log Cabin Republicans event at Mar-a-Lago. But according to LGBTQ Nation columnist John Gallagher, the former First Lady’s role in the event by the conservative LGBTQ+ group is a symbol of the group’s waning relevancy. “Now, in the age of Trump, LCR is little more than window dressing, an opportunity for members to content themselves in the belief that they really are part of the MAGA universe,” Gallagher wrote. “But by and large, the new LCR holds LGBTQ+ people in the same contempt that the Trump universe does. For proof, look no further than the ‘ambassador’ LCR hired last year: Isabella Riley Moody. She has openly wished for a more homophobic society, has called gay people ‘groomers,’ and said ‘Heil Hitler’ after interviewing an antisemite.”

Donald Trump was the most anti-LGBTQ+ "President" in American history, but even that isn't good enough for rabid homophobe Peter LaBarbera, as he criticized Trump due to his wife Melania being honored at an event by the Log Cabin Republicans at Mar-A-Lago.

#Peter LaBarbera #AFTAH #Homophobia #Anti LGBTQ+ Extremism #Melania Trump #Log Cabin Republicans #Americans For Truth About Homosexuality #Cliff Kincaid #Isabella Riley Moody #Mar-A-Lago

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cljordan-imperium · 8 months

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Heaven & Arthur Visit The LaVeaus

@call-sign-shark CELEBRATES 1K

This is part 1 of Heaven & Arthur visiting Mel and her family because I'm cutting it off at 2680 words. LOL

Modern AU

@call-sign-shark's OC Heaven and her husband Arthur Shelby travel to Louisiana to visit some military men Arthur served under and with in the military. But it is Heaven that gets the biggest surprise of the visit.

“We leave in an hour to pick up Arthur and his wife, Heaven, from the airport,” Cade entered the kitchen to let Mel know. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, then looked around at Mama Marie, Dontanion and Francios. “You two, behave.” He pointed at the brothers with a serious expression. Arthur was suffering from PTSD from the Gulf and the last thing anyone needed was the two LaVeau brothers being assholes and causing him to have some kind of attack.

“One wandering ancestor and we will forever be doubted.” Dontantion smirked and winked at his sister, as his shoulders raised. “One wandering ancestor who wandered in on my friend who was getting dressed for her wedding and gave her a death prophecy.” Mel rolled her eyes as Cade took a seat next to her and planted a kiss on her cheek this time. “You are lucky she did not stroke out.” Casting a look over to her mother, “can you please make these two behave, mama?”

“Boys, do not make me resurrect your fathers.” The smile she gave her sons made everyone’s blood run cold. As loving and warm as Marie was, no one ever forgot she was also the scariest person currently walking the planet. Only Rasputin may have ever topped her, and she had far outlived him.

“Yes, mama.” Francois replied before putting a strong elbow into his younger brother’s side. Even at over one hundred and fourty, Dontanion sometimes did not act a day over 16. “No ancestors scaring Cade’s friend, or his lovely wife.” The look in his eye was serious. Even if the death prophecy HAD come to pass, and they HAD hated Mel’s friend, and it HAD been hilarious at the time, causing a brave soldier still bearing the mental wounds of war further trauma would not be something they would partake in.

“Please, he was over in the Gulf with me and some of the guys on the team. He was under Alexander. Has some bad PTSD, seeing spirits that he would think were hallucinations from there might just send him…” Cade raised his brows and tilted his head, he didn’t need to finish, both brothers were nodding. “His wife, I don’t know much about but he says she is an angel and shy. Her name’s Heaven. She seems to have dont him a lot of good, he seems to be healing more. Figured she and Mel would be the ones hanging out, maybe with Mama Marie too.” He winked over at the woman who was like a second mother to him and who could make anyone feel welcome and loved.

“Of course, any of your friends are welcome here.” Love and warmth emanated from Marie. While she had immense powers, which she did not hesitate to use to protect those she loved; she was, at her heart, a mother. All of Mel’s friends had been adopted as surrogate children. None were turned away if they needed a mother figure, that was just Marie and the time she came from.

“Thank you, mama.” Love radiated off of Melania too as her gaze alternated around the other four in the room at the time, before her attention turned to Cade. “When do the others get here? I know Alexander got in last night and is still passed out in his room.”

“Tomorrow.” Cade answered, picking her hand up off of the table and kissing the back where there was a scar that lay across running from just below where her pinky met her hand to the crease of her wrist. The last evidence of the whole ordeal involving Ambrose and Adama. Even though it was long ago, it still made his heart clench and sometimes made him want to ask Marie to bring the assholes back so they could kill them again. “So you girls will have twenty-four hours before testosterone rules the house.” He winked at her, banishing thoughts of the past.

“Lovely. Just remember, Archibald can contain you all if you get out of line.” The whole room erupted in laughter at the threat of having her pet albino alligator snack on people. Not that he hadn’t been used as nature’s body disposal device before when required, but not on people they liked.

*****

Louis Armstrong Airport in Kenner was a bustle of activity as Mel sat on Cade’s lap down on the first floor by the baggage claim. It seemed the easiest place for Arthur and Heaven to find them. Although, from what Arthur had told Cade over the phone, Heaven shouldn’t be too hard to spot with snow white hair and skin just as fair. A statement that had apparently gotten Cade promptly cussed out for mentioning she should fit in with the aforementioned alligator in the swamp. Mel had a feeling that her fiance was lucky he’d been on the other side of the ocean from Arthur at the time.

They watched as the flight from Heathrow Airport flipped over from “On Time” to “Landed”. It still amazed Mel that they had direct flights, and for no more money, not that money mattered to her family…with Ambrose and Nic “missing”, she had complete control over Meirs Enterprises Worldwide, which meant more money than she cared to think about. For friends of Cade, money was NOT an option anyway.

About 20 minutes later, Mel felt it, somewhere near was a powerful witch. Her hand went instinctively to Cade’s, their fingers interlacing. The signature was not one she recognized, the magic different, old world like her mother and brothers’. Her eyes scanned the crowd as people descended from the second floor on the escalators. She could more than stand on her own, but after the past events, having Cade there without her family was not something she was altogether comfortable with. If whomever possessed the magic was hostile, it could get ugly fast if they sensed her as well. Not since Adama had she faced down a threat, and that…she closed her eyes and swallowed before the thought fully materialized.

“Do I need my gun, or is this something of the invisible sort, babe?” Cade’s chin rested on her shoulder as he spoke just loud enough for her to hear. He knew her signs well enough. When she was tense, it was never a good one.

“Shooting them is as good as dropping a house on them, I guess. A lot easier when inside too.” She tried not to let her nerves show with some humor, but she was anything but lighthearted with the situation. As they sat there waiting for Arthur and Heaven, she did not stop scanning everyone coming in their direction. It was that scanning that produced what would be the biggest shock of the day, the revelation that the witch was Arthur’s wife. “You are definitely NOT shooting the witch.”

Cade chuckled, having no clue what had suddenly changed the beauty on his lap’s mind. “And that would be because….”

Mel stood as the pair approached them, “you must be Heaven,” she greeted the tiny woman with a bright smile and offered hand. There was no way that Heaven couldn’t sense her as well, but seemed to completely not notice. She then remembered that Cade had mentioned that Heaven was originally from France, and since Louisiana is a bilingual state, she had an idea to make the woman feel even more welcome. “Bienvenue en Louisiane où dans le bayou, les sorcières sont vénérées. Je crois que vous et ma famille vous entendrez très bien. Ma mère est une grande prêtresse du vaudou. (Welcome to Louisiana where in the bayou, the witches are revered. I believe that you and my family will get along very well. My mother is a high priestess of Voodoo.)”

Heaven’s eyes widened at her words, clearly not having expected them. “Comment le saviez-vous? (How did you know?)” The woman looked absolutely confused, which was when Mel remembered she still had the talisman on that Dontanion had given her when they were hunting Adama that cloaked her magic.

“Parfois, une sorcière en connaît une autre. J'ai aussi deux frères sorciers à la maison. C’est en quelque sorte une affaire de famille. (Sometimes a witch just knows another one. I have two warlock brothers at home too. It kind of runs in the family.)” Mel gave the woman a wink and then turned to Arthur and Cade who were both looking at her with rather confused expressions.

“What, can’t one girl fluent in French welcome another? Do you know how often I get to use that?” She smiled, Cade giving her a look that said he knew better and she’d have to explain once that they were alone. “You must be Arthur.” She extended her hand to him, “it is such a pleasure to meet any friend of Cade’s. You both are now family, that is how it works here. We will spend a couple of days out on the Plantation, and a couple here in the Garden District. My mother has been up since dawn cooking, so we best not keep her waiting too long. Mama Marie is not one to be kept waiting.” Mel laughed.

Cade knew his fiance better than that. Those were far too many words for just a polite hello, and he did recognize enough to know that she’d found her witch. But, he was a good boy and would say nothing. Things normally worked out more in his favor that way. “You’re discussing how to bankrupt us in the French Quarter aren’t you?” A brow rose and he nudged Arthur with an elbow. “I hope you brought all your plastic, bro, my girl can shop!”

Arthur for his part either missed what the exchange was about or was so entranced by his bride he gave not one fuck. He did, however, growl at Cade’s remark, which told the fellow soldier that he probably had experienced a similar shopping excursion to the one Mel had more than once put him through. Although, to bankrupt them, Mel would have to literally buy the entire French Quarter, as in the land it was sitting on and all the buildings.

"Can you not behave for two minutes?" Mel’s brow rose as she looked between the two men, Cade trying not to laugh and Arthur about taken aback at her words. “No growling.” She raised both brows and looked pointedly at the Brit. Heaven giggled next to her, which just had Arthur rolling his eyes. “Now, you boys do the heavy lifting of getting the luggage, Miss Heaven and I are going to go get the car from the garage and bring it around. And you two can ride in the back.” She dropped a kiss on Cade’s cheek with a big grin and a wink over to Heaven. She already liked the striking and beautiful woman. Wait till her family laid eyes on her!

*****

From the airport, to River Road, Mel gave a guided tour to their guests of the historical context of each and every plantation along the road. Her mother had been alive for the building of many, although she did not share that quite yet. For Heaven, it might not have surprised her, for Arthur, he might have tried to exit the vehicle while at 60MPH. The latter was more her concern.

Finally they arrived at Vita Pacis Plantation (Life of Serenity). It had been renamed after Ambrose’s death, her mother choosing the name for what this now represented to them all. It was a place of peace, of respite from the life they lived in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, from the missions they went on collecting artifacts around the globe. It was to this estate, to the buildings that rested upon the land and had for over 300 years, that Mel and her friends returned to find peace and to be at peace. It would be on this estate where she would marry Cade in six months.

As they drove up the red brick drive, live oaks arching over it with their green leaves and the dangling spanish moss providing shade, she heard Heaven gasp as she got her first view of the grand plantation house mansion. It was impressive with white limestone exterior and grecian columns that rose three stories, the floor to ceiling french doors that served as windows to the rooms were framed with dark red hurricane shutters. It created an impressive picture when famed with the arch of the live oaks over the drive. Just the guest house had four bedrooms and was a sight, but the grand mansion was something out of a movie. Lovingly preserved by the Meirs family, and now the LaVeaus, it was a piece out of time and history. The dark stains of the past that it held could never be erased, but they would be made up for over time. Now it stood for the LaVeau legacy, and that was a strong, vibrant, and proud legacy.

Mel knew that when she had opened the wrought iron gates of the drive, it had alerted those within the guardhouse and the mansion of their arrival. No one got onto or off of the property without being noticed. If you tried to come on secretly, there were things seen and unseen that would greet you. You had better hope the former got to you before the latter did. So, when Mel pulled the large black SUV around to the back of the mansion, it was of little surprise that her mother stood flanked by her brothers, waiting to greet their guests. She could not wait till they discovered the surprise that lay in store.

Once the car was stopped, and everyone was out, Mel led Arthur and Heaven over to her family while Cade unloaded the luggage from the back. She could tell that all three of them immediately recognized in Heaven what she had and the adoring smile her mother cast on Heaven warmed her heart. Marie was known for taking in anyone needing a mother and love, and it was clear she was already looking that way at Heaven, no matter if she had family back home or not.

Marie was the first to speak, stepping forward and taking both of Heaven’s hands in her own. “Salve, fili mi, maiores te ad nos perduxerunt. Hic semper domum habebis. (Welcome, my child, it seems the ancestors have lead you to us. Here you will always have a home.)” Then she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss in the middle of Heaven’s forehead.

Arthur tensed and Mel leaned over, “my mother adopts anyone she feels needs love. She sensed that in Heaven and has welcomed her to always see this as a home.” She kept her voice low as to not embarrass Heaven who was now tightly embracing Marie and she swore she saw a tear on the porcelain skin of her cheek. “You too Arthur, Vita Pacis means Life of Serenity. Any friend of Cade’s is family here, where the mind can find peace when one needs.” With a soft and warm smile on her face, her eyes gently closed as she inclined her head.

The stoic man just inclined his head in return before turning back to the scene where both Francois and Dontanion were further introducing themselves to his wife, who seemed to be taking everything in stride. As dwarfed as the beauty was by her gruff husband, she looked absolutely tiny next to Mel’s brothers who were both well over six feet in height and broad shouldered. “See, I told you this trip would be good for you.” Cade finally made it up to them and clapped Arthur on the shoulder. “And Mama Marie and the spooky bunch has adopted another stray. I guess we’re brothers now, Arthur. Wait till you taste her food! We may never get you back to England.” They all laughed as they began to head in to see exactly how big of a feast Marie HAD prepared.

@call-sign-shark @raincoffeeandfandoms @saltysupercomputer @blind-the-winds @sunset-a-story @touloserlautrec @aziz-reads @toribookworm22 @outpost51 @late-to-the-fandom @writingmaidenwarrior @spookyceph

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tomorrowusa · 2 months

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Part of a Trump fundraising message poorly disguised as a love letter to Melania. I'm sure most wives get Valentine's Day cards from husbands who use their middle initials when signing the greeting. ✍🏼🤭

Trump Campaign Roasted For Fundraising Off Unhinged Valentine's Day 'Love Letter' To Melania

The Donald is going to need to do a lot of fundraising thanks to spiraling legal judgements against him.

The Donald Trump Fire Sale Starts Now

Donald Trump’s companies have filed for bankruptcies six times, but now he may actually be about to go broke. On Friday, a New York judge penalized the former president $355 million after finding him liable for lying about his wealth and the value of his properties in New York — and that’s before pre-judgment interest charges, which according to the New York Attorney General’s office, adds another $100 million or so. Then there’s the $4 million owed by Eric Trump and Don Jr. each — which, come on, whose money is that really? The giant liabilities are due in part to Trump and his organization’s “complete lack of remorse,” Justice Arthur Engoron ruled, as well as for its deterrent effect: Trump and the Trump Organization’s officers were “likely to continue their fraudulent ways unless the Court grants significant injunctive relief.” Add this to the $88 million he owes writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her, twice, and Trump owes roughly $540 million. That would wipe out almost his entire estimated cash pile and vaporize about a sixth of his total net worth. Trump can afford this, but he is probably going to have to sell something big. His net worth, according to both Forbes and Bloomberg, is between $2.6 and $3.1 billion, but most of that is tied up in his buildings and other properties. His cash pile is about $600 million, Bloomberg estimates, and he cannot use campaign or political-action-committee money to pay these fines. Some of his attorneys’ fees can be paid for with money that he’s raised from donors, but it’s not clear what money is paying for which lawyers between the four criminal cases he’s fighting off.

Here are some ways Trump could raise money to keep from going bankrupt for a seventh time.

Since his ex-wife Ivana is already buried there, he could turn Trump National Golf Club at Bedminster into a MAGA cemetery. Heirs of people who die from listening to Trump's quack COVID-19 advice will want their loved ones interred under the BEST sand traps.

Mar-a-Lago could be leased for the filming of the next season of Naked and Afraid. Unclothed contestants would have to survive hazards such as Dinesh D'Souza film festivals, Rudy Giuliani's alcoholic rants, and Nick Fuentes/Kanye West Groyper dinner parties.

Trump could franchise his own national chain of spray-on tanning salons which would leave customers looking as orange as him from head to toe.

Only Fans. Tens of millions of MAGA followers may be willing to pay to see "Toad" for themselves.

#donald trump #fundraising #legal costs #court judgements against trump #trump's money troubles #love letter to melania #election 2024

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