The Most Entertaining Dead-Cat Bounce in History

Published

1 year ago

February 5, 2024

admin

Not very long ago, the harshest thing Nikki Haley would say about Donald Trump was that chaos follows hima sort of benign jab that creatively avoids causation and suggests mere correlation, like noting that scorched trees tend to appear after a forest fire.

For most of the Republican-primary campaign to date, Haley adopted a carefully modulated approach toward the former president, and reserved most of her barbs for her other primary rivals. Her motto seemed to be Speak softly about Trump and carry a sharp stick for Vivek Ramaswamy. Recently, though, Haley has made a hard pivot.

Read: What Nikki Haley (maybe) learned in New Hampshire

Just two days after she came in (a distant) second to Trump in the New Hampshire primary, she began fundraising for the first time off his attacks on herselling T-shirts with the slogan BARRED PERMANENTLY after the former president said that anyone who continues to support her will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp, whatever that means.

In the past week, Haley has been on a tear, calling Trump totally unhinged, toxic, self-absorbed, and lacking in moral clarity. Her campaign unleashed a new attack-ad series in which Trump and President Joe Biden are portrayed as two grumpy old men standing in the way of the next generation. And yesterday, Haley posted a gag photo of a Trump Halloween costume labeled Weakest General Election Candidate Ever. To paraphrase the words of the Democratic-primary candidate Marianne Williamson, Girlfriend, this is so on.

Such an aggressive posture is new for Haley, and Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans have applauded her for it. She should have been talking this way all along, some of her supporters argue. If she started it sooner, she wouldve cut the lead in New Hampshire, Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist in South Carolina, told me. In his view, Haley thought she had to play nice to win over Trump voters: But this aint a nice game.

Can Haley still achieve anything by playing hardball at this point? Things dont look promising. Her bid to defeat Trump is already the longest of long shots, based on the polls coming out of virtually every state, including Haleys own South Carolina. So whats the point of changing things up? Why muster the courage to smack-talk Trump now, when the race seems all but over? I asked a number of political strategists and experts for their view, and pieced together a few plausible theories. (Neither the Haley nor the Trump campaign responded to a request for comment.)

1. Attacking Trump is easier now.
The most obvious theory for Haleys more combative rhetoric is that with only one other major candidate still in the primary, the task of drawing a direct contrast with Trump is much simpler. If you have six people in a race and a couple are attacking a couple others, its hard to predict how thats going to work in terms of driving your ballots, David Kochel, a longtime Iowa Republican strategist, told me. When its a multi-candidate field, youve got to tell your own story. After Iowa, thats resolved, he said, and so she has no choice but to turn her attention to Trump.

The jabs are meant to draw Trump outto pressure him to join her on a debate stage or to provoke a tantrum that turns off his potential voters and motivates her own. She needs him to make a mistake, Kochel said. She needs some intervening activity, some dynamic that is not completely in her control.

Maybe this is a good moment for Haley to exploit Trumps weakness with women voters. In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Biden beats Trump with the support of women, a new Quinnipiac poll showed, and that gender gap appears to be growing. Last week, Haley dragged Trump over his defamation-case loss to E. Jean Carroll, in which he was ordered to pay $83 million in additional defamation damages to the woman whom he was previously found liable for defaming and sexually abusing. Haley is running the Taylor Swift strategy in the primary, Steve Bannon, Trumps former White House chief strategist, told me. Shes playing to the Trump is toxic womens vote. The pop stars apparent potential to influence Americans, and especially women, to vote Democratic, coupled with the results of the Quinnipiac poll, represent deep, underlying forces that need to be addressed, Bannon saidsomething Haley will continue to seize on.

2. Haleys anti-Trump rhetoric represents the death throes of her campaign.
Haleys campaign has followed the same trajectory as several other Republicans efforts in the Trump era: They might have avoided attacking him directly at first, but when their prospects dimmed, they lashed out. Marco Rubio mocked Trumps small hands just before dropping out of the race; Ted Cruz called Trump a pathological liar at the tail end of his own campaign. It seems like they all have consultants in their ear telling them if they take on Trump directly, they are going to crater support with the base, which is true, Tim Miller, a political consultant and writer at the conservative outlet The Bulwark, told me. Then, finally, when theyre up against the wall and in the final stages, they figure its worth a shot.

Read: What is Nikki Haley even talking about?

Maybe ratcheting up the combativeness is a form of emotional catharsis. When I asked the Democratic strategist James Carville about Haleys change in approach, he texted me that Haley is tired, scared & pissed off. Because shes trailing Trump in her own state, certain doom in SC is eating at her. NEVER discount the human element. Haley now sounds a lot more like she did behind closed doors during the Trump administration, Mike Murphy, a Republican consultant, told me, citing conversations hes had with former Haley staffers. This is Nikki therapy, he said. Shes just having fun poking him in the eye, getting all her ya-yas out. Its the most entertaining dead-cat bounce in history.

3. Haley is giving her donors what they want.
Haleys billionaire supporters adore this new, aggressively anti-Trump candidate, and theyre rewarding her with cash. Nikkis more aggressive posture toward Trump was welcomed as it is communicating the stark choice in front of the party, Bill Berrien, the CEO of the manufacturer Pindel Global Precision, who hosted a fundraiser for Haley in New York, told The Washington Post. Cliff Asness, a co-founder of AQR Capital Management and a Haley donor, wrote on X that, in response to Trumps attacks, he may have to contribute more to her.

At least some of these funders are convinced that Haley still has a shot. Shes got donors saying, You have a credible campaign, and you never know when Trump is going to choke to death on a meatloaf, Murphy said. Whether or not Haley believes that, shes going along with it. The odds that she might become the nominee through an act of God or a brokered convention, after all, are probably better than buying a Power Ball ticket. Its a clutching-at-straws thing, but shes got the best straw in town to clutch on, Murphy said. Why the hell not? Its free and fun.

4. Haley is looking to a post-Trump future.
A few weeks ago, rumors circulated that Haley might be on Trumps shortlist for vice president. If the decision, though unlikely, went her way, that could set her up to be Trumps political heir. But Haleys recent hostility toward Trumpand his splenetic responsehave surely shut the door on that possibility. Instead, Haley is staking out her own territory.

Shes not done. Shes running for 2028, Sarah Isgur, a senior editor at The Dispatch and a former deputy campaign manager for the 2016 Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina, told me. Trump has changed her brand-thinking. Instead of gunning for some sort of role in MAGA world, Haley can portray herself as the last person standing in the war against Trumpisma position that many men before her have fought for and failed to achieve. If she can do that, she can consolidate a leadership future for herself, post-Trump, Isgur said.

Haley will be able to say I told you so if Trump loses to Bidn in Novemberor if he wins but then governs disastrously. Shell be the good conservative who tried to warn you, Murphy said. This also means that after the race is over, shell have to lie low for a while, and not join other Trump rivals turned grovelers, including Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Shes playing the long-term game, Murphy said.

UK

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died, her family says

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2025

admin

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died, her family says

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.

In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.

“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.

“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.

“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”

Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.

“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.

“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”

Sexual assault claims

Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.

In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.

She stuck by her version of events until the end

Of the many dozens of victims of Jeffrey Epstein, it was Virginia Giuffre who became the most high-profile.

She was among the loudest and most compelling voices, urging criminal charges to be brought against Epstein, waving her right to anonymity in 2015.

She told how he and Ghislaine Maxwell groomed her and “passed around like a platter of fruit” to be used by rich and powerful men.

But her name and face became known around the world after she accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old.

The picture of her together with the prince and Maxwell at the top of a staircase, his hand around her waist, is the defining image of the whole scandal.

Prince Andrew said he had no memory of the occasion. But Giuffre stuck by her version of events until the end.

‘An incredible champion’

Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.

“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”

“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.

Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.

“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.

“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.

“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”

Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.

Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.

She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.

‘A survivor’

After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.

She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.

“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

UK

Who will be at the Pope’s funeral – and who won’t be

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2025

admin

Who will be at the Pope's funeral - and who won't be

The Pope’s funeral will take place today at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

A pope’s funeral traditionally brings world leaders together, and some have already revealed they are attending.

Watch full coverage of the Pope’s funeral live on Sky News from 8am

Here’s a look at the list.

Prince William

The Prince of Wales will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.

The King was in Rome with Queen Camilla earlier this month, and met the pontiff at the Vatican.

The trip came just a week-and-a-half after Buckingham Palace confirmed the King had been taken to hospital following side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

Sir Keir Starmer

Number 10 has confirmed the prime minister received an invite and will attend the ceremony.

Speaking on Tuesday, Sir Keir said there had been “an outpouring of grief and love” for the Pope.

He added: “I think it reflects the high esteem in which he was held, not just by millions and millions of Catholics, but by many others, across the world, myself included.”

Donald Trump

The US president was one of the first to confirm he would be flying to Rome, adding he would be joined by first lady Melania Trump.

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, he said: “Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!”

The Pope had been critical of Mr Trump at times during his tenure.

In January, he said it would be a “disgrace” if the president went ahead with his crackdown on immigration, telling an Italian television station: “It would make the migrants, who have nothing, pay the unpaid bill.

“It doesn’t work. You don’t resolve problems this way.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The Ukrainian president, who met the Pope three times, is expected to attend, according to officials in Ukraine.

In his tribute, Mr Zelenskyy said his country was grieving the Pope and recalled how he often prayed for peace in Ukraine.

Emmanuel Macron

The French president told local reporters he would be going to the funeral.

In his tribute on Monday, Mr Macron said of the Pope: “In this time of war and brutality, he had a sense for the other, for the most fragile.”

Javier Milei

The president of Pope Francis’s native Argentina will attend, despite having launched insults at Francis in recent years.

Before taking office in December 2023, the far-right politician called him “an imbecile, the representative of evil on Earth”.

Mr Milei alluded to their “differences” in his tribute to the late Pope, writing: “It is with profound sorrow that I learned this sad morning that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, passed away today and is now resting in peace.

“Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honour for me.”

Lula da Silva

The Brazilian president and first lady Janja Lula da Silva will be at the funeral, the country’s government announced.

Brazil has also declared a seven-day mourning period for the Pope.

“Humanity is today losing a voice of respect and welcome for others,” the president said in his tribute.

“Pope Francis lived and propagated in his daily life the love, tolerance and solidarity that are the basis of Christian
teachings.”

Ursula von der Leyen

The EU Commission President confirmed she would be attending after calling Francis a worldwide inspiration.

“He inspired millions, far beyond the Catholic Church, with his humility and love so pure for the less fortunate,” she said in her tribute.

Council President Antonio Costa, Parliament President Roberta Metsola are also expected to attend.

Here are some of the other notable attendees:

• Ireland’s taoiseach Micheal Martin
• Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia
• Albanian president Bajram Begaj
• Angola’s president Joao Lourenco
• Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen
• Bangladesh’s chief adviser and interim leader Muhammad Yunus
• Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, along with prime minister Bart De Wever
• Canada’s governor general Mary Simon
• Cape Verde president Jose Maria Neves
• Croatia’s president Zoran Milanovic
• Cyprian president Nikos Christodoulides
• Czech Republic’s prime minister Petr Fiala
• Democratic Republic of Congo president Felix Tshisekedi
• Dominican Republic’s president Luis Abinader
• East Timor’s president Jose Ramos-Horta
• Ecuador’s president Daniel Noboa
• Estonia’s president Alar Karis
• Finland’s president Alexander Stubb
• Gabon’s president Brice Oligui Nguema
• German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz
• Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
• Honduras president Xiomara Castro
• Hungary’s president Tamas Sulyok
• Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella and prime minister Giorgia Meloni
• Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics
• Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda
• Moldova’s president Maia Sandu
• Netherlands’ prime minister Dick Schoof
• New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon
• Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit
• The Philippines’ president Ferdinand Marcos Jr
• Poland’s president Andrzej Duda
• Portugal’s president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and prime minister Luis Montenegro
• Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan
• Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and prime minister Ulf Kristersson
• Switzerland’s president Karin Keller-Sutter

Who won’t be there?

Vladimir Putin

The Russian president will not be attending the funeral, the Kremlin has confirmed.

But the controversial leader paid tribute to the Pope, writing a message to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is interim chief of the Catholic Church.

“Please accept my most sincere condolences on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis,” Mr Putin said.

“Throughout the years of his pontificate, he actively promoted the development of dialogue between the Russian
Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, as well as constructive cooperation between Russia and the Holy See.”

Benjamin Netanyahu

The Israeli prime minister is not expected to attend, with the country’s ambassador Yaron Sideman going instead.

The Jewish state and the Vatican have had strong relations in the past, with Israel sending a presidential delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, and Pope Francis visiting Israel in 2014.

But their relationship has deteriorated since the start of the war in Gaza.

A month after the conflict started in 2023, a dispute broke out over whether Pope Francis had used the word “genocide” to describe events in Gaza. Palestinians who met with him said he did, but the Vatican said he did not.

The Pope met relatives of Israeli hostages on the same day.

Israeli officials have since lobbied the Vatican to be more forceful in its condemnation of Hamas.

In January, the Pope called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “shameful”, prompting criticism from Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, who accused Francis of “selective indignation”.

Rabbi Di Segni says he will be attending the funeral, despite it taking place on the Jewish sabbath.

Is there a seating plan?

The seats are assigned in advance, with the heads of state sitting in French alphabetical order based on their country’s name, rather than on the individual’s.

This applies to everyone apart from the presidents of Italy and Argentina, who get the best seats because the Pope lived in Italy and was an Argentinian native.

UK

Vincent Nichols: British cardinal who will be in the conclave says picking the next pope is ‘intimidating’

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2025

admin

Vincent Nichols: British cardinal who will be in the conclave says picking the next pope is 'intimidating'

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has told Sky News it’s “intimidating” to be one of those responsible for choosing the next pope.

Vincent Nichols is among four UK cardinals in Rome for the Pope’s funeral on Saturday.

Following the funeral, and after nine days of mourning, cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to cast their votes, with white smoke announcing to the world when a new pope has been elected.

Cardinal Nichols told Sky’s Anna Botting: “I hope nobody goes into this conclave, as it were, with the sole purpose of wanting to win. I think it’s very important that we go in wanting to listen to each other… It has to be together, trying to sense what God wants next. Not just for the church.”

He described the procession that took Pope Francis to lie in state as “the most moving thing I’ve ever attended here”.

Describing the Pope as a “master of the gesture and the phrase”, he also recalled the pontiff’s last journey away from the Vatican.

Cardinal Nichols said Pope Francis had visited the Regina Coeli prison, telling the inmates: “You know, except for the grace of God, it could well have been me … Don’t lose hope, God has you written in his heart.”

The Pope later told his doctor his last regret was not being able to wash the feet of the prisoners during that visit.

Becoming emotional, he also said the final message he would like to have given Pope Francis is “thank you”.

The 88-year-old died peacefully on Easter Monday, the Vatican confirmed.

Heads of state – including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron – have all confirmed their attendance at his funeral, which takes place on Saturday at St Peter’s Square.

Prince William will attend on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.

You can watch full coverage of the funeral live on Sky News on Saturday

Talking about the seating plan at the funeral, Cardinal Nichols said he understood it to be “royalty first, then heads of state, then political leaders”.

Cardinal Nichols explained event would be “exactly the same Catholic rite as everyone else – just on a grander scale”.

In a break from tradition, Pope Francis will be the first pope in a century to be interred outside the Vatican – and will instead be laid to rest at his favourite church, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood.

He will also be buried in just one simple wooden coffin, instead of the traditional three coffins which are usually used for pontiffs.

Born in Crosby near Liverpool, Cardinal Vincent Nichols hoped to be a lorry driver as a child – but as a teenager reportedly felt the calling to join the priesthood while watching Liverpool FC.

As cardinal, he is known for leading the church’s work tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, for which he received the UN Path to Peace Award.

He was criticised by the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which said he “demonstrated a lack of understanding” of the impact of abuse and “seemingly put the reputation of the church first”.

Cardinal Nichols, responding to the findings, previously told Sky News he was “ashamed at what has happened in the context of the Catholic Church” and promised to improve the church’s response.

He has appeared to rule himself out of the running for pope, telling reporters he was “too old, not capable”.