Month: September 2020

Hatch exit opens door for Romney

Longtime Sen. Orrin HatchOrrin Grant HatchBottom line Bottom line Bottom line MORE (R-Utah) announced on Tuesday that he would retire from the Senate, clearing the way for former presidential nominee Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyMilley discussed resigning from post after Trump photo-op: report Trump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names Attorney says 75-year-old man shoved by Buffalo police suffered brain injury MORE to mount a political comeback and take the seat.

Hatch, whose 41 years in the Senate make him the longest currently serving senator, will step down after 2018.

Hatch’s decision immediately put the political spotlight on Romney, who remains highly popular in Utah and has become one of party’s most prominent critics of President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE. 

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Romney and establishment Republicans remained tight-lipped about a potential Senate bid immediately following Hatch’s retirement announcement, instead heaping praise on the 83-year-old senator.

“I join the people of Utah in thanking my friend, Senator Orrin Hatch for his more than forty years of service to our great state and nation,” Romney said in a statement posted to Facebook. “Ann and I wish Senator Orrin Hatch and his loving wife Elaine all the best in their future endeavors.”

But Romney, 70, is widely expected to run for the deep-red seat, marking a jump back to politics after returning to the private sector following his failed 2012 White House campaign. Romney late Tuesday afternoon switched his Twitter location to Holladay, Utah.

Tuesday’s announcement caps off months of speculation about a potential Romney bid, with allies of the former Massachusetts governor predicting he will likely enter the race now that Hatch has made his decision.

“Nothing is imminently going to be announced, but I do think he is likely to run,” said a longtime Romney supporter.

“There’s no big political roll-out that’s planned here. This all depended on what Sen. Hatch wanted to do. Gov. Romney has a tremendous amount of respect for the senator and he doesn’t want to do anything that would take away from his retirement announcement.”

Romney, a Mormon, first rose to prominence after he helped rehabilitate Salt Lake City’s 2002 Winter Olympic Games. He went on to serve as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.

Romney won his party’s 2012 presidential nomination before losing to then-President Obama, picking up only 206 Electoral College votes.

Romney reentered the political fray in 2016, blasting then-candidate Trump as a “phony” and a “fraud.”

“His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University,” Romney said during an event at the Hinckley Institute.

The two appeared to be on friendlier terms when Trump reportedly considered Romney to be his secretary of State before picking Rex TillersonRex Wayne TillersonDeadline for Kansas Senate race passes without Pompeo filing Democrats launch probe into Trump’s firing of State Department watchdog, Pompeo The Memo: Fauci at odds with Trump on virus MORE. But they clashed again last month, when Romney condemned failed Alabama Senate candidate Roy MooreRoy Stewart MooreSessions goes after Tuberville’s coaching record in challenging him to debate The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip Sessions fires back at Trump over recusal: ‘I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did” MORE hours after Trump endorsed him.

Trump publicly urged Hatch to run for reelection, praising him during a speech in Salt Lake City in which he called the senator a “true fighter.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that Trump is “very sad” that Hatch is retiring, and there are no decisions about future campaigning for the open-seat race.

When asked if the White House would back Romney if he runs, Sanders said that issue hasn’t come up yet with the president. Trump reportedly wanted to keep Hatch from retirement in an effort to block Romney from running.

“I haven’t had that conversation with him, and I think I would be prohibited from weighing in too far right now, given the Hatch Act, on who we might or might not support in that race,” she said, referring to a law that bars federal officials from using their offices to campaign for or against political candidates.

Republicans hope that Romney’s popularity in Utah could allow him to clear the primary field, avoiding another intraparty fight ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Sixty-nine percent of Utahns approve of Romney, according to a Utah Policy poll conducted last month, while Hatch received a 48 percent favorability rating.

Boyd Matheson, who was being recruited by former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, decided against a Senate bid. And Rep. Mia LoveLudmya (Mia) LoveThe biggest political upsets of the decade Former GOP lawmaker: Trump’s tweets have to stop Congressional Women’s Softball team releases roster MORE (R-Utah), who had been viewed as another potential candidate, was overheard last year saying Utah Republicans were “trying to get Mitt.”

Conservatives seized on Hatch’s announcement to lay down goalposts about who should replace him.

FreedomWorks, an outside group that opposed Romney during the 2012 presidential primary, blasted a release to reporters saying that a “conservative should run for Utah’s soon-to-be-open Senate seat.”

Bannon hasn’t hidden his disdain for the former presidential contender since leaving the White House.

While campaigning with Moore in Alabama last month, Bannon took a swing at Romney, saying he lacked “honor and integrity” and “hid behind [his] religion” to avoid serving in the Vietnam War, a reference to Romney’s missionary work in France in the late 1960s.

It’s unclear if other candidates will consider jumping into the race. The filing deadline for Hatch’s seat is March 15.

Former independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin in a tweet shortly after Hatch’s announcement said that he hoped that Romney would run for the seat. 

Establishment Republicans are expected to line up behind Romney if he gets into the race.

“He enjoys immense popularity in Utah, and I don’t foresee anybody giving him a serious challenge,” the Romney supporter said. “But he won’t take it for granted. It would be a serious campaign if it happens.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote GOP senator to try to reverse requirement that Pentagon remove Confederate names from bases No, ‘blue states’ do not bail out ‘red states’ MORE (R-Ky.) told reporters last year that he has had “some conversations” with Romney. A spokesman for the Senate GOP leader declined to comment Tuesday when asked if the two men had spoken more recently.

Hatch has repeatedly pointed toward Romney, who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in Massachusetts in 1994, as someone he would like to see in the seat and told reporters the two had spoken about a potential Senate campaign if he decided to retire.

Sen. Mike LeeMichael (Mike) Shumway LeeSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Senate headed for late night vote amid standoff over lands bill Hillicon Valley: Facebook employees speak up against content decisions | Trump’s social media executive order on weak legal ground | Order divides conservatives MORE (R-Utah), who rode the Tea Party wave to Washington in 2010, defended Romney against Bannon’s criticisms, calling him a “good man” and saying, “You can’t credibly call into question his patriotism or moral character.”

Spokespeople for Lee didn’t respond to questions about if he would support Romney running for the Senate or get involved in a potential GOP primary race.

Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson is considered the front-runner in the Democratic primary, but a Democratic victory in the state would be a long shot: A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat in Utah in nearly 50 years.

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Ben Kamisar and Jordan Fabian contributed.

Leeds United plotting move for Leicester City winger

Leeds United are interested in signing Leicester City attacker Demarai Gray, according to reports.

Gray made his football league debut for Birmingham City in October 2013 aged just 17. He soon became a regular for the Blues in the Championship.

He made 72 league appearances for Birmingham, scoring eight goals before signing for Leicester City in January 2016.

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Leicester activated Gray’s release clause of £3.7m to sign him. Gray has now spent four-and-a-half years in the top flight with the Foxes.

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He has made 167 appearances in all competitions for them in that time. But last season, he only made 21 appearances for Leicester in the Premier League.

Gray has not featured in any of Leicester’s top-flight games so far this season. His only appearance so far came as he started in the 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal.

According to The Daily Mail, Leeds United are keen to sign him this summer. Gray is in the final year of his contract, so a deal may be easy to make.

Roma winger Cengiz Under signed for Leicester earlier this summer on loan, moving Gray further down the pecking order.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers told Leicestershire Live earlier this month that Gray could leave if he wants to be a regular starter elsewhere:

“While he (Gray) is here, he will always be respected for his quality and what he has.

“I’ll always analyse players in training and then pick a squad that we feel can get us the result. He’s clearly in his last year, he hasn’t signed another deal. I’ll always respect Demarai and what his wishes are and at this moment in time, he’s working very hard to play a part while he’s here, so we’ll see how that evolves over the course of the season.

“That will be up to him [whether he leaves]. I’ve really enjoyed working with Demarai, he’s a good guy.

“He’s been here since he was a young player but he’s now 24, but it will be whether he wants to continue in the role he’s playing here or whether he sees himself going out to become a starter.

“What I know is that he’s a good guy and he’s got talent, that’s for sure, and while he’s here, we’ll always look to help him improve that talent. We’ll see how that goes.”

Aubameyang turned down ‘several offers’ to stay at Arsenal

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has revealed that he turned down offers from Barcelona to remain at Arsenal.

Aubameyang put months of rumours about his future to rest by signing a new three-year-deal earlier this month.

The Gunners have been desperate to tie him down to a new deal for the last few months, with the forward entering the final year of his contract.

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After a remarkable few years in Germany with Borrusia Dortmund, the Gabon international signed for Arsenal in January 2018.

The forward left Dortmund with a record of 141 goals from his 213 appearances in all competitions.

He immediately hit the ground running for Arsenal. In the second half of the 2017/18 season, he bagged ten goals from 13 Premier League games.

Aubameyang has now spent two and a half years at Arsenal. In that time he has scored an impressive 72 goals from 112 outings in all competitions.

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The attacker shone towards the end of last season under Mikel Arteta. Aubameyang scored the winning goals as they beat Man City and Chelsea on their way to lifting the FA Cup.

Aubameyang has told Canal+, as cited by The Independent, that he said no to a move to a European giant to stay at Arsenal:

“They were several offers, notably from Barcelona,” Aubameyang told Canal+.

“My priority was to stay for two reasons. The first is the coach, Mikel Arteta.

“We spoke a fair amount during the lockdown and he convinced me, notably in terms of the project.

“And of course, secondly, is the love that I receive from the fans and people at the club.

“Since I have been here, I have been treated like one of their own and – as I am one of their own – I am going to stay here. It is as simple as that.”

‘It was sh*t’ – Rafael claims ex-Man Utd boss is ‘one of the worst people’

Rafael claims that his former Man Utd boss Louis van Gaal is “one of the worst people” that he has worked with and says “it was sh*t” under the Dutchman.

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Van Gaal won the FA Cup in his final match in charge of Man Utd after leading them to fifth and fourth-placed finishes in his two years in charge between 2014-2016.

The former Barcelona manager has earned praise from players such as Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney since his departure from Old Trafford.

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However, not all players were pleased with how they were treated under the Dutchman with Rafael particularly scathing of his former Man Utd boss.

“I talk bad about some people, like Van Gaal. I don’t like Van Gaal,” Rafael told The Athletic.

“When they said Van Gaal was the manager, a lot of friends called me. I could not believe it, as a lot of people told me he does not like Brazilians (because of their style of play). They told me: ‘The first thing he is going to do is take you out.’

“Actually, it was the second thing because on the first day, he did not speak to me. On the second day, he said: ‘You can leave.’ I had not even trained and he said that. I could not believe it.

“I said: ‘OK.’ I still tried to battle for my place. I stayed one year with him. It was so, so hard. He is one of the worst people I have worked with.”

 

And Rafael has recalled how Van Gaal would get up and make a speech every meal time and the Brazilian defender insists his old boss “just wanted to think about himself”.

“Every day, after breakfast, after lunch, or if we had dinner together, he would speak to everyone for 15 minutes about training, about what has happened, about everything, about life,” Rafael explained.

“You know when you start to stop listening to what someone is saying, because they speak so much? He wanted to show he could speak. But it was every day! All the time!

“You need to wait for everybody to finish their food to leave, which is fine, OK. But then we watched him talk, for 15 minutes, with all due respect, about s***. That is the truth, man. It was s***.

“He didn’t care how people are, he just wanted to think about himself — ‘I am like this, you respect me, you do like I want.’ That’s how he speaks. Players get tired of this. You don’t need to speak all the time. If we talk (about culture), he changed everything.”

 

Confused Rodri reacts to City loss: ‘Lucky’ Leicester ‘did nothing’

Rodri thought Leicester City were “lucky” after Jamie Vardy hit a hat-trick in their 5-2 victory over Manchester City on Sunday.

Riyad Mahrez gave City an early lead with a brilliant strike against his former club at the Etihad Stadium but Leicester turned the game around in dramatic style.

Vardy struck twice from the penalty spot, either side of a neat flicked finish before James Maddison scored a stunning fourth.

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Nathan Ake pulled one back late on after Liam Delap hit the crossbar but Leicester were rampant and claimed a fifth with another penalty from Youri Tielemans.

It was a third successive win for the Foxes and condemned City boss Pep Guardiola to the heaviest defeat of his career in terms of goals conceded.

However, City midfielder Rodri thought the defeat was unfair with the Foxes playing “with 11 guys behind the ball”.

“For me, they were lucky,” Rodri told the BBC.

“Football has not been fair to us. Maybe it is our fault, maybe it is their strength – but it is very difficult to explain.

“We did a lot of good things to win the game. A team like Leicester comes here and plays with 11 guys behind the ball.

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“I am young and try to learn every game, but games like this – where the opposition do nothing – you are a bit confused. It’s not the way I like to play.”

 

'We Reject Politics of Fear': Groups Urge Congress to Build Schools, Not Wall

More than 150 advocacy groups sent a letter (pdf) to Congress on Thursday urging lawmakers to reject President Donald Trump’s proposal to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall and spend the money on education instead.

Trump’s “targeting of Muslims, refugees, and undocumented immigrants…are eroding the trust built by educators, parents, law enforcement, and communities over decades,” the letter states.

Its signatories include the Center for Popular Democracy, SEIU, and the National Immigration Law Center, among other community groups and labor unions.

“Public schools are the cornerstone of our civic and economic infrastructure,” it reads. “Their work is already complicated enough. Yet schools in low-income communities and in predominantly African-American and immigrant neighborhoods have struggled for too long with a lack of resources. Instead of separating families and building walls, we must invest in our schools as part of our nation’s infrastructure. Stronger schools are schools where teachers have the tools they need to teach, students have access to a broad and rich curriculum, and families and students are welcomed, supported, engaged, and safe.”

The letter described the experience of a teacher in Milwaukee whose second-grade student “crawled into her lap crying [and] told her, ‘I am so scared that somebody is going to take my daddy away.'”

“These are the words of a six-year-old child, crying and afraid in school,” the letter reads. “His teacher says, ‘You can’t teach like that. You can’t learn like that.'”

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