@davetroy Must be fun for #wiles trying to manage the deranged grifter #trump vs the deranged psychotic #musk vs the just plain deranged #maga herd ... 
Can't they all just put aside their personal distractions and concentrate on crushing liberal democracy worldwide together with their foreign despot allies? Ought to be simples!
very interesting: A Guide to Some of the Key Movers & Shysters in Trump’s Orbit
the real power in a 2nd Trump term is likely to be wielded by quietly effective bureaucrats & policy intellectuals like these people
#Yarvin #Miller #Vought #Wiles #Epshteyn #politics https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-influence-vought-wiles-miller-epshteyn-yarvin/
Hosting this fall’s Rockbridge gathering so soon after the election risked turning the summit into a wake.
It was the opposite.
Even before the event officially began, Ms. #Wiles was in Las Vegas,
headlining an outdoor Saturday dinner at a steakhouse for about 30 Rockbridge donors and friends.
Around the jubilant open bars and music-filled ballrooms, attendees openly traded notes on what Trump administration roles they might get
and debated whether Mr. #Musk was the world’s most powerful person.
“Generally everyone at Rockbridge was very happy that technologists and politicians are working together directly again
and not openly hostile toward each other,”
said #John #Coogan, the co-founder of Soylent who attended.
“It’s no longer a question of whether technology will drive the future, but how we guide its impact.
So it makes sense that tech billionaires and the political elite are partying together.”
Mr. #Vance did not attend, a rare absence and a disappointment to some loyalists.
But his victory made Rockbridge suddenly a hot ticket and spurred some last-minute sign-ups.
After sometimes letting prospective members attend for just $5,000, Rockbridge raised the minimum cost to $25,000
(although some people said privately that they had been able to get in for less).
The cost of Rockbridge membership ranges from $100,000 to be a “limited partner”
to $1,000,000 for a “principal partner,”
according to a prospectus seen by The Times.
That money goes toward the eight vehicles that Rockbridge steers,
including four dark-money 501(c)(4) organizations,
two super PACs,
a donor-advised 501(c)(3) fund for nonprofit activity
and the Rockbridge Network umbrella organization,
an L.L.C. Mr. Buskirk’s main super PAC, "Turnout for America", has raised at least $25 million this year.
These eight Rockbridge groups have primarily run get-out-the-vote operations.
One, called "Faithful in Action", claims to have 160,000 members
and organizes small churches with field teams twice a week.
The group has no public presence.
Rockbridge groups have also produced documentaries that investigate prosecutors pursuing cases against Mr. Trump.
Rockbridge, according to the prospectus, has since 2020 “underwritten” polling “that has been made available for free to allied media organizations.”
And the group has helped pay for
“local and national investigations” that are “published by aligned media outlets.”
Attendees, with white-and-red gift bags and lanyards, knew to be closelipped when approached by hotel interlopers
or by the Times reporter, who was not invited to the closed-press festivities.
But a copy of the agenda listed remarks by several tech billionaires, including the Anduril co-founder #Palmer #Luckey and the venture capitalist #Marc #Andreessen, who spoke about his support for deregulating technology
and the mixed reaction in Silicon Valley to his endorsement of Mr. Trump, according to attendees.
There were tech up-and-comers, too:
Donald Trump #Jr. announced at the welcome dinner that he was entering venture capital.
And days before the president-elect chose Robert F. #Kennedy Jr. for health and human services secretary,
Mr. Kennedy spoke extensively about his public-health work to a standing ovation.
Ms. #Wiles also led a session on “2024 Election Analysis,” where she gave a preview of Mr. Trump’s first days as president.
“It’s the domestic ‘Davos in the desert,’” said the Rockbridge backer #Omeed #Malik, referring to the annual business conference in Riyadh, and Donald Trump Jr.’s new business partner.
Rockbridge began with more humility.
Back in 2019, Mr. #Vance, then best known as the author of “Hilbilly Elegy,” and a conservative media figure named #Chris #Buskirk began informally hosting a series of small dinners
that would eventually become called Rockbridge.
The group drew early support from the venture capitalist #Peter #Thiel and eventually caught the attention of Donald J. Trump, who spoke at a few meetings.
Once in the fall and once in the spring, Rockbridge began to gather at places like the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Fla.,
or the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas for three days of political panels and business networking.
Speakers included people like #Tucker #Carlson; the Thiel protégé #Blake #Masters; the casino mogul #Steve #Wynn; the investor #David #Sacks; and #Woody #Johnson, the billionaire owner of the New York Jets.
Not all attendees have politics at the top of their mind.
Some are primarily interested in business, seeing Rockbridge as a conservative-tinged version of the elite Sun Valley conference.
At this point, it looks to me like #Wiles and #LaCivita are the latest to think “It won’t happen when I’m in charge,” and now that it has, they’re sitting back, collecting their paychecks, and letting Corey and #Loomer run the show. #uspolitics #USPol #uspolitics #DonaldTrump #trump
Trump adds five new handlers as he tries to find attack lines against Harris
Trump brought Taylor #Budowich, Alex #Pfeiffer and Alex #Bruesewitz from the Trump-aligned "Maga Inc" political action committee,
as well as previous Trump campaign veterans Corey #Lewandowski and Tim #Murtaugh.
The new additions are coming onto the Trump campaign as "senior advisers", meaning they are lateral hires to a campaign still being run by co-campaign chiefs Susie #Wiles and Chris #LaCivita, the people said.
Lewandowski previously ran the 2016 campaign but does not have the same role now.
He has remained an "informal adviser" to Trump since the first presidential campaign, and will continue that function but in a more formal capacity through the final stretch to November, one of the people said.
Murtaugh, who was the communications director for the 2020 campaign, is returning in a broader role, as will Budowich, Pfeiffer and Bruesewitz, one of the people said.
Bruesewitz has a large online following and is expected to help direct social outreach.
The additions came after senior aides on the Trump campaign found themselves open to criticism and challenges to their positions after perhaps the rockiest stretch for the campaign since it launched in 2022, the Guardian has previously reported.
The summer months have historically been the time that Trump makes changes to his campaign chiefs, as he did in 2016 when he installed Kellyanne #Conway, Steve #Bannon, and David #Bossie to take the reins,
as well as in 2020, when he replaced Brad Parscale with Bill #Stepien.
The past month has been bad enough for the Trump campaign that advisers have taken those challenges
– whether from enemies real or perceived
– as serious threats or slights that necessitate devoting time and effort to #slap #down
Top Trump advisers in turmoil after campaign’s worst month of 2024
Trump has often committed one unforced error after another
as he tries to frame arguments against Harris, struggled to break through the news cycle hyping Democrats’ enthusiasm, and suddenly found himself on the defensive with a narrow window left until November.
The sudden difficulty for the Trump campaign to lay a glove on Harris has led to Trump’s allies seeing an opening for the first time to openly challenge decision-making by senior aides and privately challenge whether some advisers should remain in their positions or be sidelined.
And the past month has been bad enough for the Trump campaign that advisers have taken those challenges
– whether from enemies real or perceived
– as serious threats or slights that necessitate devoting time and effort to slap down.
In a statement referring to the campaign chiefs Susie #Wiles and Chris #LaCivita, a Trump spokesperson said:
“As President Trump said, he thinks Ms Wiles and Mr LaCivita are doing a phenomenal job and any rumors to the contrary are false and not rooted in reality.
White supremacist, Hitler fan, and far-right political pundit
#Nick #Fuentes shockingly revoked his support from Donald Trump’s campaign early Friday,
announcing on social media that he and his allies believed that the presidential bid is headed for a “catastrophic loss.”
“Tonight I declared a new Groyper War against the Trump campaign,” Fuentes wrote on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after midnight, referring to a group of far-right activists known as groypers.
Fuentes explained that he and his far-right squad of online trolls
“support Trump” but that they view his 2024 campaign as being “hijacked”
by lobbyists, consultants, and donors that had aided Trump’s 2016 Republican opponents.
All in all, Fuentes believed they were “blowing it.”
“Without serious changes we are headed for a catastrophic loss,” Fuentes wrote.
“This is NOT a purity spiral, this is about living up to the AMERICA FIRST credo put forth by Trump in 2016 which will ensure VICTORY in 2024,” Fuentes continued.
“On Monday I will present a detailed statement of the facts, a mission statement, and a plan of action on my Rumble channel. STAY TUNED.”
In another post two hours later, Fuentes shared a screenshot of trending hashtags on Truth Social, including “#GroyperWar2”, “#FireLaCivita,” and “#FireWiles,”
the latter two of which refer to senior Trump advisers Chris #LaCivita and Susie #Wiles, who helped engineer Trump’s political resurrection following his loss in 2020.
“We haven’t even started,” Fuentes captioned the screengrab.
https://newrepublic.com/post/184729/donald-trump-nick-fuentes-white-supremacists-support
Secretive conservative donor group Rockbridge Network met in April to draw up 2024 plans — with a call-in from Trump
The #Rockbridge #Network, a collection of pro-Trump donors with a heavy tech influence, heard from the former president during a conference in Palm Beach last April.
Former President Donald Trump spent his week stuck in New York City for the beginning of his hush money trial.
But on Wednesday, between days in court, Trump made time to call into a secretive donor meeting back at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to two people involved with the group who were in the room.
The Rockbridge Network is an under-the-radar, new-age conservative group that sees itself as the leading edge of a changing Republican Party
— and is putting tens of millions of dollars into building a fresh infrastructure to support it.
Trump spoke to a room of about 250 attendees who lean more tech-populist than traditional, 20th-century political, having gravitated to the former president and the way he has shaken up the Republican Party.
Trump was originally slated to be a guest speaker but was unable to attend in person due to his New York trial.
Donald Trump #Jr. ended up pinch-hitting for his father as one of the star in-person speakers, according to the two people in attendance.
Trump’s co-campaign managers, Susie #Wiles and Chris #LaCivita, attended as well.
Rockbridge isn’t yet a brand name in Republican politics, in part because the group has been secretive since its founding in 2019.
The exact number of dollars behind the group is also difficult to verify, but one of the sources in attendance last week who is familiar with the group’s operations told NBC News it is in the “high tens of millions.”
And while some older GOP donor groups eschew Trump
— the Koch network stayed out of the presidential race after endorsing Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, preferring to focus down the ballot
— Rockbridge is firmly aligned with Trump.
Rockbridge sees itself as a sort of anti-Koch network that can fill in the gaps the party hasn’t traditionally invested in.
As the GOP went from middle- and upper-middle-class to more middle- and working-class,
Rockbridge founders felt the GOP infrastructure didn’t shift to support and capitalize on that.
While Democrats had labor unions organizing their blue-collar base, for example, Republicans didn’t have a mechanism to do the same.
The organization is the brainchild of Ohio Sen. JD #Vance (before he was a senator) and Chris #Buskirk, who is a co-founder of the conservative fund "1789 Capital" and the publisher of the website “American Greatness,” a pro-Trump outlet that describes itself as “the leading voice of the next generation of American Conservatism.”
Billionaire Peter #Thiel has been among those involved.
“All these other historical think tanks and more traditional conservative organizations didn’t capture the Trump movement at all and didn’t recognize the shift.
Many are still operating like they’re in the 1990s,” said Omeed #Malik, an entrepreneur and donor who has been involved with Rockbridge since 2022.
Last April's three-day gathering, which took place at the Palm Beach Four Seasons apart from the Wednesday night Mar-a-Lago event, featured both new- and old-school GOP donor stalwarts.
Among the crowd was major GOP donor Rebekah #Mercer, billionaire and former Trump ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody #Johnson, and prominent conservative lawyer Leonard #Leo, according to the two people present at the gathering.
Also there were cryptocurrency luminary Erik #Voorhees and former Uber exec Emil #Michael.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/secretive-conservative-donor-group-meets-draw-2024-plans-call-trump-rcna148899
Well that didn't last long.
Throughout Sunday and overnight into Monday morning one of the most radical political transformations in US history was being written.
Old Trump
–the nasty, malevolent, political operative who is bent on vengeance and stealing elections
–was no more.
Political insiders, commentators and writers were being briefed that, after the shooting and his miraculous escape on Saturday, a new man had risen.
It was also complete bullshit.
Early on Monday morning when news came through that a Florida judge
(and, totally coincidentally, a Trump judicial appointee)
had dismissed the classified documents case,
the real Trump once again emerged, and took to Truth Social;
“As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step,
followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts
— The January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C.,
the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case,
the New York A.G. Scam,
Fake Claims about a woman I never met
(a decades old photo in a line with her then husband does not count)....”
In the seconds after the shooting and after Trump had got back to his feet surrounded by Secret Service agents he raised his right fist and, face contorted into a mix of hate and rage, shouted 'Get my shoe!'.
Yet, within hours it was as though Trump had been replaced with a stunt double, drafted in to play the Nice Guy
As Politico reported, “The pivot was the brainchild of an early Sunday morning call with Susie #Wiles, Chris #LaCivita, Jason #Miller and pollster Tony #Fabrizio.. After hours of relentless and incendiary Republican attacks blaming Democrats for inciting the violence, the team agreed the party would need a reset.”
No more Mr. Nasty Guy.
Apparently.
Campaign co-directors LaCivita and Wiles have, to date, managed to craft a more moderate Trump.
His debate performance was oddly benign (apart from the lies), and he chose not to hammer Biden while the President was under assault for his debate performance over the last two weeks.
For this pivot (or re-write/scam) to work, they have to continue to rein him in at every turn.
The portents, based on his Truth Social outburst this morning, are not good.
But it's going to be one hell of an act to watch.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-new-unity-platform-doesnt-even-last-a-day
Thanks to everyone who supported last week's #Wiles Lectures by Prof Alexandra Walsham. Recordings of her 4 lectures on ‘The Persecution of the Tongue: Speech, Silence, and Religious Coexistence in Early Modern England’ are now available at: https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/happ/Events/annual-lectures/wiles-lecture-series/ #histodons #ReligiousHistory
Many GOP billionaires balked at Jan. 6. They’re coming back to Trump.
Trump’s team has used a soft touch with the billionaires and has shown more sophistication than some expected
At the center of some of the discussions has been top Trump aide #Susie #Wiles, who often comes armed with data and is viewed as “impressive and professional,”
Trump is also growing his fundraising team in Palm Beach, where Republican National Committee employees and others are expecting to move to raise money.
At Wiles’s suggestion, Trump has engaged in “#call #time,” dialing billionaires himself. In the past, he had been resistant to such measures.
Trump could desperately use the cash infusion as his campaign and the RNC trail Biden and the Democratic National Committee, and as he faces growing legal bills.
Next month, he is planning a fundraiser hosted by a range of billionaires, including
oil tycoon #Harold #Hamm,
sugar magnate #Jose “Pepe” #Fanjul,
real estate mogul #Howard #Lutnick,
megadonors #Rebekah and #Bob #Mercer,
wealthy business executives #Todd #Ricketts and #Warren #Stephens
and real estate magnate #Steve #Witkoff,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/29/trump-billionaires-gop-donors/
A network of Republican megadonors has invited aides to both Donald J. Trump and Nikki Haley to make presentations at the group’s winter meeting next week, as the wealthy contributors assess the presidential race with just nine months until Election Day.
The network, known as the 
American Opportunity Alliance, is expected to hear from Ms. Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy #Ankney, and Mr. Trump’s top adviser, Susie #Wiles, at the gathering in Palm Beach, Fla., according to two people familiar with the event.
The network was founded a decade ago by a group of wealthy donors, including members of the #Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs, and the investors Paul #Singer and Kenneth #Griffin.
But the donors in the American Opportunity Alliance do not move in unison, and people supporting Ms. Haley — and who had supported Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who dropped out of the race last Sunday — are part of the network.
Some members of the group have been open about wanting a candidate other than Mr. Trump.
Many of the donors are closely tied to the vestiges of the pre-Trump Republican Party and tried to stop his rise in 2016.
Trump also has repeatedly attacked major donors as being part of the “swamp” that he derides.
He issued such a threat this week on his social media platform, Truth Social, when he promised to ice out any donors who supported Ms. Haley going forward.
Ms. Haley’s campaign said the reaction to that threat was the opposite of what Trump had intended, saying that she had a huge uptick in fund-raising in the 24 hours that followed.
This weekend, the political network established by the industrialist #Koch brothers, Americans for Prosperity, is holding its own meeting.
The network supported Ms. Haley, but as The New York Times recently reported, some of its donors regretted that endorsement.
Barbara Savage (Penn) giving the first of her Wiles Lectures at QUB today. Lecture 2 is at 5pm on Thursday - full info at https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/happ/Events/annual-lectures/wiles-lecture-series/ #Wiles #AfricanAmericanHistory #QUB
Coming up this week at #QUB #Belfast - the #Wiles Lectures are free and open to the public. Barbara Savage of U #Penn on the Future of #AfricanAmerican #History’. These will also be recorded and uploaded to https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/happ/Events/annual-lectures/wiles-lecture-series/
