America is a place where there’s now an ‘immunity to the unacceptable’
At the heart of the latest twist in the Trump story is a question you can pose a few different ways.
Is there a line for Donald Trump? Is there a point of no return for the former president? Could a sex offender be president?
So often it’s said that the people of the rural counties in just a few of America’s states are those who can swing the country’s direction.
In the shadow of Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains, Donald Trump has always found his loyalists and there are, of course, those who will never be moved.
Driving south along the west side of the Shenandoah National Park, I passed a house that’s barely visible behind the Trump flags, banners and yard signs. One said “Behead Biden”.
But beyond this unwavering loyalty, what about the more nuanced Republican voters?
Shenandoah County has voted for a Republican presidential candidate in every election since 1932.
The whole electoral district in this part of Virginia has not supported a Democrat for president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
Bobbi Rosenberger told Sky’s Mark Stone she was willing to forgive Trump
‘Everyone makes mistakes. Nobody’s perfect’
In a break from mowing her lawn in the small town of Mount Jackson, Bobbi Rosenberger agreed to a quick chat.
Self-deprecating, she wondered aloud if her hat would make her look like a “redneck” – her word.
The conservative values here are as strong as they get. It’s a Republican heartland, and the conversations are a lesson for those who choose to ridicule or dismiss the people here as thoughtless Trumpian rednecks, as so many do.
“I am not stuck in my political designations. I follow what candidate I think would be best,” she told me.
“I am not going to pigeonhole myself into one candidate. I want to see who decides to run. I probably would vote for Trump. But I want to see all the other candidates before I make my final decision.”
I asked about the fact that a jury has concluded that he is a sex offender. Her answer was telling. Yes, she was willing to forgive him but that’s a judgement based as much on how much she despises the alternative.
“Everyone makes mistakes. Nobody’s perfect.”
Read more: What other investigations is Donald Trump facing?
In our conversation, her despair about what she sees as the damaging, liberal, woke direction of the country under Biden was palpably clear.
“Biden is a shameful disgrace as a leader for our country. Someone who cannot even give a speech properly, who can’t hold the train of thought. He obviously has dementia.”
Some don’t believe the sex offender story. They think the complainant, E Jean Carroll, was just after the money. They buy the Trump line that it’s all a witch-hunt.
Others accept that his moral compass might be off, but it doesn’t matter to them.
They feel his ‘no bull’ attitude represents them. He is their street fighter, he says it like it is, he isn’t like other politicians. Warts and all, they’ll take him over all the others.
Bobby Jones believes Donald Trump is better than the alternative – Joe Biden
‘Welcome to America’
Up the road, on the back of his tractor, I met Bobby Jones.
“It’s sad to see – the Republicans and the Democrats; it ain’t like it used to be where they had just small differences. Now they stand like two completely different countries,” Mr Jones said.
I asked about the latest Trump twists.
“I’m not gonna say he’s a good man or bad man,” he told me.
“All I’m saying is that on my standard of decency, he at least did try to help get rid of abortion.
“He did try to help keep jobs going. He did try to keep jobs in the United States. He tried to look out for the people. If he did something immoral, I don’t agree with that. I think it’s terrible. But look at what Biden is doing. Have mercy here!
“In DC and all the northern areas we hear about how they vote for the Democrats. Well, how can they with all that going on?” he asked.
A few fields away, another revealing conversation with factory worker Rick Lutz.
“He’s just paying the price because they are scared of him. They just want to crucify Trump. Like I said, they’re all dirty. But I like Trump better!” Mr Lutz told me, adding with a laugh: “Welcome to America.”
You might think the most damaging part of this latest twist in the Trump story was his own response, in recorded evidence played at the E Jean Carroll trial, where he was asked about comments he’d made in 2005 in the infamous Access Hollywood tapes.
“It’s true with stars that they can grab women by the pussy?” he was asked by E Jean Carroll’s lawyer.
Trump replied, “Well if you look over the last million years, I guess that’s been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately.”
Or fortunately?
It so often feels like America has got to a place where the entrenchment, the polarisation and the distrust of the other is so deep that nothing shifts views. It is a place where there’s now an immunity to the unacceptable.
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
Read more:
Trump may have another motive in war on drugs
The US-Venezuela crisis explained
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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