SHOCK: Biden SNAPS At Reporter Who Asks Key Question

(SNews) – President Joe Biden appeared to cut a reporter off during remarks on Friday following a better-than-expected jobs report, pushing back on a question over whether he bears any responsibility for persistently high inflation during his first two years in office.

“Employers added 517,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday, easily topping the 185,000 jobs forecast by Refinitiv economists. It marked the best month for job creation since July,” Fox Business reported following the release of the Labor Department’s report.

In a speech, Biden noted, “I wanted to say a few words about, oh, I think it’s strikingly good news that we just received. Next week, I’ll be reporting on the State of the Union. But today, today, I’m happy to report that the State of the Union and the state of our economy is strong.

“We learned this morning that the economy’s created 517,000 jobs just last month. More than half a million jobs in just the month of January. And in addition, we also learned that we — half a million more jobs created last year than we thought. So the January report is updated. I’m assuming the December report is updated. Add that all up,” he continued.

“It means we created 12 million, 12 million jobs since I took office. That means we have created more jobs in two years than any presidential term at any time, in two years. That’s the strongest two years of job growth in history by a long shot,” he said.

The vast majority of jobs returned as companies geared up again following layoffs and closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, Republicans have pointed out.

In any event, after speaking for about five minutes, a reporter asked the president, “Do you take any blame for inflation, Mr. President?”

“Do I take any blame for inflation? No!” Biden snapped in response.

“Why not?” the report persisted.

“Because it was already there when I got here, man. Remember what the economy was like when I got here? Jobs were hemorrhaging. Inflation was rising. We weren’t manufacturing a damn thing here. We were in real economic difficulty. That’s why I don’t,” he said.

The stunning jobs report even shocked some industry experts.

“Today’s jobs report is almost too good to be true,” Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told Fox Business. “Like $20 bills on the sidewalk and free lunches, falling inflation paired with falling unemployment is the stuff of economics fiction. It’s almost as though we’re in a world with no tradeoffs.”

“The surprisingly, strong across-the-board January employment report shows that labor demand remains too hot for the economy’s own good and will embolden the Fed to raise rates more, not less,” added Kathy Bostjancic, the chief economist at Nationwide. “The risks are now that they might need to do more.”

Fox Business noted further:

Job gains were broad-based in January, with leisure and hospitality leading the way in hiring, adding 128,000 new workers. That was followed by employment in professional and business services (82,000), government (74,000), health care (58,200) and retail (30,100).

Wages also posted solid growth last month: Average hourly earnings rose 0.3%, in line with expectations, and are up 4.4% from a year ago.

While monthly jobs data is always important, the Fed has been closely watching the reports for signs the labor market is moderating from its frenzied pace as policymakers try to wrestle inflation – which is still running near a 40-year high – back to 2%.

“Payrolls blowing expectations out of the water adds more fuel to the Fed’s rate hike campaign,” noted Mike Loewengart, the head of model portfolio construction at Morgan Stanley Global Investment Office, Fox Business reported. “It’s going to get harder to argue that rate cuts may be in 2023’s future if the labor market is able to continue like this, especially considering that it remains to be seen how quickly inflation will fall, even if we have reached the peak.”

Republicans have argued that massive Democratic spending packages passed during a supply chain crisis made flooded the economy with money, making available products more expensive.

conservativebrief.com/biden-snapped-70551/

BREAKING: Chinese Spy Balloon Spotted over Montana

(TStarnes) – The U.S. is tracking a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, the Associated Press reported.

“So why hasn’t the Air Force shot down the balloon,” asked national radio host Todd Starnes. “Well, if it flies over the Southern states I have no doubt we’ll be more than happy to take out the Chinese invaders.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also wondered why the Pentagon hasn’t intervened.

“Biden should shoot down the Chinese spy balloon immediately,” she wrote on Twitter. “President Trump would have never tolerated this. President Trump would have never tolerated many things happening to America.”

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing on Thursday afternoon that the U.S. government has detected a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental U.S.

“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now. The U.S. government to include Norad, continues to track and monitor it closely. The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,” Ryder told Fox News.

A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

The Pentagon announcement comes days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China. It’s not clear if this will affect his travel plans, which the State Department has not formally announced.

“Secretary Blinken should cancel his trip to China. And President Biden must answer why he has not secured U.S. airspace,” Sen. Tom Cotton said in a statement.

toddstarnes.com/us/shoot-it-down-chinese-spy-balloon-spotted-over-montana/

toddstarnes.com/politics/vp-harris-makes-nonnegotiable-political-demand-at-tyre-nichols-funeral/

JUST IN: Nikki Haley BETRAYS Trump

(SNews) – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is about to launch her 2024 presidential campaign and will run against President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, according to reports.

Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, will formally declare her bid this month.

Multiple sources reportedly confirmed Haley’s plans to Fox News.

Haley will officially declare her candidacy for the White House at an event in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 15.

An invitation to the event will soon go out to her supporters.

The Post and Courier newspaper in South Carolina was the first to report the news of Haley’s announcement.

Political pundits have long viewed Haley as a potential GOP presidential contender.

She crisscrossed the country the past two years through her political group Stand for America, helping fellow Republicans running in the 2022 elections.

Haley’s travels brought her numerous times to Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, which hold the first, second, and fourth contests in the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

Her home state of South Carolina votes third in the GOP primary schedule.

Haley has also been tipped as a favorite for Trump’s running mate pick.

Even though she would be going up against Trump, the primary often serves as an audition for the vice presidential candidate.

When speaking with reporters last year who questioned her about a White House run, Haley reiterated that “after November, we’ll figure it out.

“But you know what I’ve said — I’ve never lost a race.

“I’m not going to start now. If there’s place for me, we’ll put a 100% in, and we’ll finish it.”

Haley turned up the volume in a speech following the midterms at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting, which was viewed as the first major 2024 GOP presidential cattle call.

“A lot of people have asked if I’m going to run for president,” Haley said to cheers from the crowd at the Las Vegas confab.

“Now that the midterms are over, I’ll look at it in a serious way.”

She repeated that she’s “never lost an election” and that “when people underestimate me, it’s always fun.”

Two weeks ago, Haley amped up her language even further, saying in an interview on Fox News’s “Special Report” that “I think we need a young generation to come in, step up and really start fixing things…

“Can I be that leader? Yes, I think I can be that leader.”

Haley is the daughter of immigrants from India who grew up to become South Carolina’s first female governor.

Now, she’ll become the second well-known Republican to launch a 2024 campaign, following the 45th president.

Trump announced his candidacy in an event at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, in mid-November

Speaking with reporters aboard his plane on Saturday as he flew from a campaign speech in New Hampshire to a leadership kickoff in South Carolina, Trump said that Haley had called him to discuss running for the White House.

“Go by your heart if you want to run,” Trump said he told Haley.

Trump added that he told Haley she “should do it.”

But then he appeared to take a dig at Haley, noting that she had previously “publicly” said she wouldn’t seek the White House in 2024 if Trump ran again.

Haley told the Associated Press in April 2021, “I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it.

“That’s something that we will have a conversation about at some point if that decision is something that has to be made.”

But later that year, Haley signaled an openness to a possible 2024 presidential run even if Trump decided to seek the White House again.

Behind the scenes, Haley has been ramping up her operation in recent weeks, with incoming staff heading to South Carolina.

“Nikki Haley has been laying the groundwork for a national launch ever since she went to the United Nations,” South Carolina-based social conservative leader Dave Wilson noted.

Wilson, president of the Palmetto Family Council, a conservative Christian nonprofit in Columbia, emphasized that “with this announcement, Haley’s entered the countdown window.

“As they say at NASA, ‘Prepare for liftoff.’”

Haley may not be the only South Carolina Republican to jump into the White House race.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is making moves that could lead toward the launch of a presidential campaign.

Among the other top Republicans who appear to be moving towards launching bids are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former two-term Govs. Larry Hogan of Maryland and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas.

And among those mulling White House runs are Govs. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and former Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Will Hurd of Texas.

slaynews.com/news/nikki-haley-launch-2024-presidential-campaign-run-against-trump-gop-nomination/

IT’S ON: McCarthy Sends Biden FINAL Warning

(CBrief) – House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent President Joe Biden a tense message on Tuesday, one day before their highly-anticipated meeting at the White House to discuss how to avoid a catastrophic default on the U.S. debt.

“The White House released a memo saying Biden will have two questions for McCarthy. First, Biden will seek a commitment from McCarthy that he will ensure the country will pay its already-incurred debt, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in the memo,” MSN reported. “Secondly, Biden wants to know when Republicans will release their budget, which would show what programs the new House majority would cut to reduce the deficit and the debt.”

“The United States must never default on its financial obligations. Raising the debt ceiling is not a negotiation; it is an obligation of this country and its leaders to avoid economic chaos,” Deese and Young wrote in the memo previewing the meeting.

McCarthy issued a bold response of his own on Twitter.

“Mr. President: I received your staff’s memo. I’m not interested in political games,” the speaker tweeted. “I’m coming to negotiate for the American people.”

Last week, McCarthy delivered on a previous pledge to bar two members of California’s Democratic congressional delegation from serving on the Select Committee on Intelligence.

The California Republican has blocked Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the panel, fulfilling a promise he made before the midterm elections to remove them should the GOP win back the House majority and make him speaker.

“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) had written to McCarthy on Saturday asking that both Schiff and Swalwell be seated on the Intel panel, where membership assignments come solely at the discretion of the Speaker,” The Hill reported.

However, McCarthy countered that previous actions by both lawmakers have made them unqualified to serve on such a sensitive committee.

“In order to maintain a standard worthy of this committee’s responsibilities, I am hereby rejecting the appointments of Representative Adam Schiff and Representative Eric Swalwell to serve on the Intelligence Committee,” McCarthy responded to Jeffries on Tuesday.

The Hill added:

Republicans have been up in arms over the issue since 2021, when Democrats staged votes to remove GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) from their committees following revelations that they had promoted violence against some of their Democratic colleagues. The eviction votes came after McCarthy declined to punish either lawmaker internally within the GOP conference, which is typically where such disciplinary actions are meted out.

Still, McCarthy on Tuesday denied that his decision regarding Schiff and Swalwell was retribution for Greene and Gosar.

“This is not anything political. This is not similar to what the Democrats did,” McCarthy told reporters late Tuesday afternoon outside his Capitol Hill office.

Schiff, who led several Democratic investigations into Donald Trump, repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the former president colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election from Hillary Clinton. Republicans have also accused him of leaking sensitive and oftentimes false information to the media several times during Trump’s term.

Swalwell, meanwhile, had a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy who helped him raise money for his 2014 campaign, though none of that was known until 2020. McCarthy says that a confidential briefing given to him by the FBI on the matter left him convinced that Swalwell is compromised and a risk to national security.

“When Eric Swalwell would be in the private sector and can’t get the security clearance there, we are not gonna provide him with the secrets to America,” McCarthy told reporters.

In addition, the Speaker has vowed to bar Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee over several anti-Semitic statements she has made regarding Israel. But while House members serve on the Intelligence Committee at the pleasure of the Speaker, Republicans would have to vote to remove Omar from her assignment, and with a thin majority, that is not assured.

In fact, McCarthy already has one defector and possibly more: “Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) announced Tuesday that she will not support keeping Omar off the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has expressed a coolness to the idea,” The Hill noted.

It’s also not clear when a vote to remove Omar will occur.

conservativebrief.com/mccarthy-sends-70464/

WATCH: CNN Host DEMOLISHES Adam Schiff On Live TV

(SNews) – CNN host Dana Bash called Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) out for lying to the American people about President Donald Trump and threw his false claims back in his face on live TV.

During CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Bash called out Schiff’s fabricated claims about Trump colluding with Russia on national television.

“You said that there was direct evidence of the fact that Donald Trump colluded with Russia back in 2016,” Bash said as she grilled Schiff.

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller said in his report — quote — ‘The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.’

“Republicans argue that’s proof that you used your position on the Intelligence Committee to intentionally mislead Americans, which is why you should not be on that committee.”

Schiff, caught in a lie, repeatedly old claims that have been debunked many times.

He tried to argue that Trump’s 2016 campaign manager shared polling information with a suspected Russian agent.

“To most Americans, that is collusion,” said Schiff.

“Now, whether it’s proof beyond a reasonable doubt of the crime of conspiracy — that’s what Bob Mueller was talking about — I have always distinguished between the two.”

WATCH:

Bash continued to press Schiff and highlighted more of his false claims.

“Ahead of the first Trump impeachment, you said the committee had not spoken to a whistleblower,” Bash said to Schiff.

“In fact, that turned out not to be true.”

Schiff said:

“When I was asked the question, I thought they were referring to whether we had brought the whistleblower in.

“And I should have been more clear in my answer.”

Bash silenced Adam by reminding him that The Washington Post’s “fact-checking” team said his claim about a whistleblower was false.

WATCH:

slaynews.com/news/cnn-host-throws-adam-schiffs-false-claims-back-in-his-face-on-live-television/

OUTRAGE: West Point REIMPOSES Travel Ban On Cadets Who Refuse The Jab

(JTnews) – The United States Military Academy is reimposing restrictions on unvaccinated cadets despite the lifting of the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, reports military attorney R. Davis Younts, a reversal that comes even as Congress mulls legislation seeking redress for service members dismissed for vaccine refusal.

The Department of Defense rescinded the military vaccine mandate pursuant to the Dec. 23 enactment of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a measure repealing the mandate.

During the height of the pandemic, West Point implemented a policy prohibiting cadets from traveling for sports or other events, according to Younts. After the vaccine was made available, only unvaccinated cadets were restricted from traveling. Then, last semester, while the military vaccine mandate was still in place, West Point dropped the policy, allowing unvaccinated cadets to travel for sports, the Army-Navy game, and other events.

After the Pentagon lifted the vaccine mandate, however, West Point reinstated the travel ban for unvaccinated cadets. Putting the “restrictions back in place” after the mandate was rescinded “feels like coercion” to force vaccination on the cadets, Younts said. He questions the “justification for the policy change,” while acknowledging that West Point has the authority to reinstate the restrictions

“Is there suddenly a crazy spike in COVID deaths in West Point, New York,” or is it because there isn’t “anything left to coerce [the cadets] into compliance?” asked Younts.

While the vaccine mandate was still in effect, the unvaccinated cadets submitted Religious Accommodation Requests (RAR) for exemptions. After the requests were denied, they appealed the denials, which were also denied. After the denials of their RAR appeals, they requested medical exemptions, which were in turn denied, appealed and denied again.

West Point has not responded to a request for comment.

Building on the NDAA’s repeal of the military vaccine mandate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), along with 18 other Republican senators and Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) in the House, introduced legislation on Monday that would require the Defense Department to offer reinstatement to military members discharged over the vaccine mandate.

The legislation would also prevent the department from issuing another COVID vaccine mandate without congressional approval and require that service members reinstated after involuntary separation for refusing the vaccine be credited with retirement pay.

Additionally, the legislation requires that DOD: “restore the rank of any service member demoted solely for COVID-19 vaccine status, compensating the service member for any pay and benefits lost due to that demotion; adjust to ‘honorable’ any ‘general’ discharge given to a service member solely due to COVID-19 vaccine status; expunge from a service [member’s] record any adverse action based solely on COVID-19 vaccine status, regardless of whether the service member previously sought an accommodation; make every effort to retain service members not vaccinated against COVID-19, providing them with professional development, promotion, and leadership opportunities equal to that of their peers; and provide a COVID-19 vaccine exemption process for service members with natural immunity, a relevant underlying health condition, or a sincerely held religious belief inconsistent with being vaccinated.”

Despite the lifting of the vaccine mandate, unvaccinated military members are still facing repercussions, including denial of benefits, ineligibility for promotion and/or deployment, and potentially diminished employment prospects for those already discharged.

The new legislation was proposed a day before National Guard Bureau Chief General Dan Hokanson said he didn’t have a timeline for reintegrating unvaccinated Guardsmen into their units.

“Yeah, it’ll be really dependent on the policy decisions that are made,” Hokanson said during a Pentagon news conference on Tuesday. “And as I mentioned, we’re in the working group, we’re trying to get … those policies established as soon as possible, but unfortunately, we just don’t have a date right at this time.”

A total of 38% of National Guardsmen aren’t vaccinated and were not permitted to drill under the vaccine mandate.

While the DOD claims around 8,000-9,000 service members were separated from the military over the vaccine mandate, Younts said that estimate doesn’t include the thousands who “voluntarily” separated, retired, or were unable to reenlist.

justthenews.com/politics-policy/west-point-adds-rules-unvaxxed-cadets-while-congress-seeks-reinstate-unvaxxed

JUST IN: Here’s The Short List of Trump’s VP Picks

(CBrief) – Former President Donald Trump has yet to select a running mate for his 2024 nomination bid, but a report this week suggested that someone is already vying for the spot — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

On Wednesday, NBC’s Jonathan Allen reported that several people have spoken to Greene and have been told “about her weighty ambitions,” Mediaite noted. “The second-term congresswoman has managed to align herself with the top Republican in the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), acting as one of the Republican’s most vocal allies in his fight to become House speaker.”

“This is no shrinking violet, she’s ambitious — she’s not shy about that, nor should she be,” said Steve Bannon, host of top podcast “War Room” and an early leading political adviser to Trump.

“She sees herself on the shortlist for Trump’s VP. Paraphrasing Cokie Roberts, when MTG looks in the mirror she sees a potential president smiling back,” he added, a reference to the late political reporter who worked for NPR, ABC News, and other outlets.

conservativebrief.com/marjorie-taylor-70296/

WATCH: Biden REFUSES to Salute Marine at White House

President Joe Biden, amid a mishandling classified documents scandal, is getting backlash for failing to return the salute of the Marine.

The president and First Lady Jill Biden were videotaped Monday exiting Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House after spending the weekend in Delaware.

He seemingly forgot to return the salute, which many online called “disrespectful” online.

“They forgot to put it on his note card,” one user said.

WATCH THE CLIP BELOW:

WATCH: Ghislaine Maxwell Reveals What She Knew…

(CBrief) – In her first broadcast interview since being convicted and imprisoned for her role in securing underaged girls for the late Jeffrey Epstein, 61-year-old Ghislaine Maxwell is spilling the beans on what she knew regarding a now-infamous photo featuring Prince Andrew and Virginia Guiffre.

According to a snippet of the interview obtained by the Daily Mail, Maxwell claimed that she has “no memory” of the prince ever meeting with Guiffre and that the photo of the three of them together is “fake.”

“The infamous snap of the pair, which was reportedly taken in March 2001 at Maxwell’s apartment, was given by Ms Guiffre to The Mail on Sunday in February 2011,” the outlet reported, adding:

Ms Guiffre, previously Roberts, claimed she was forced to have sex with the Prince when she was 17, having been trafficked by convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who in 2019 was found dead in his prison cell.

“I have no memory of them meeting. And I don’t think that picture is real,” says Maxwell in the interview which will be aired on Jeremy Kyle’s TalkTV on Monday.

“It is a fake. I don’t believe it is real for a second, in fact I am sure it is not. There has never been an original, there is no photograph,” she added. “There is no original of that photo, (just) copies of copies and parts of it, according to some experts, look like it has been photoshopped. I don’t remember her in my home.”

The outlet added:

The interview comes as Prince Andrew is to launch a dramatic bid to overturn the multi-million-pound settlement he struck with Ms Guiffre in an attempt to get her to retract her sexual assault allegations and possibly secure an apology.

The Duke of York has taken action after Ms Guiffre dropped her lawsuit against Epstein’s former lawyer Alan Dershowitz last year, who she also accused of sexual assault.

All said, Maxwell said it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that, at some point, the prince could have met with Guiffre as she traveled with Epstein.

“It wasn’t something so outrageously out of left field that it couldn’t have happened. But the photo doesn’t appear to be real. And I don’t recall it being taken. I have no memory of Virginia and Prince Andrew meeting,” she insisted.

WATCH:

conservativebrief.com/ghislaine-2-70205/

BREAKING: ANTIFA Launches WAR On Police

Fires are burning across downtown Atlanta as Antifa clashes with police. A number of police cruisers have been set on fire. Downtown businesses have been looted and vandalized. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called it a left-wing terrorist insurrection.

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