Podcast appearances and mentions of steve contorno

Former President Donald Trump was loudly and consistently booed throughout his speech Saturday at the Libertarian Party's national convention, particularly when he asked attendees to “nominate me or at least vote for me.” The heckling began the moment the former president took the stage, and some of his supporters in the room tried to drown out the boos with chants of “We want Trump.” “Now I think you should nominate me or at least vote for me, and we should win together,” Trump said. “Because the Libertarians want to vote for me … and it's very important because we have to get rid of the worst president in history.” Trump added, “Only do that if you want to win; if you want to lose, don't do that. Keep getting your 3% every four years.” (In 2016, Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson earned more than 3% of the popular vote – a high point in the party's history.) Trump left the stage after 34 minutes, marking one of his shortest campaign speeches to date. The Libertarian Party is expected to select its presidential nominee Sunday. Trump's stop at the Libertarian convention marked an unconventional one for a presumptive Republican nominee, but it is illustrative of his campaign's intensifying concern over third-party candidates. The outreach to Libertarians follows weeks of stepped-up attacks by Trump aimed at Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose high-profile independent White House bid is increasingly viewed by the former president's advisers as a potential problem in an election expected to be decided by a narrow margin in a handful of states. Kennedy, who spoke at the convention on Friday, was nominated by a delegate Sunday on the convention floor, where his candidacy was met with boos from other delegates. He was eliminated as a potential nominee in the first round of voting after receiving support from 19 delegates, or just 2.07% of delegates. Trump was also nominated on the convention floor Sunday, but Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle ruled the former president was not qualified because he did not submit nominating papers. The scene inside the Washington Hilton was at times raucous Saturday, as Trump supporters and Libertarians clashed. McArdle, the party chair, took the stage ahead of Trump's speech to tell supporters of the former president sitting in the front rows to make room for the Libertarian delegates. “I don't want to, like, fight with people or beg and plead. Let's just make room for the delegates, because those are the people you're trying to persuade, right? You are already sold. Our delegates are not sold, and President Trump is here to try to sell them,” McArdle said. “Those of you who are Donald Trump supporters, I think what I would like to see tonight is for us to all get along and come to an understanding and find areas of agreement even if we don't agree to vote for the same person,” she added. Also ahead of the speech, Secret Service agents confiscated rubber chickens that the super PAC aligned with Kennedy's presidential campaign had passed out to attendees. “No lighters, no water bottles, no noisy chickens,” one agent yelled to attendees waiting to go through the security checkpoint. Tony Lyons, the co-chair of the pro-Kennedy American Values 2024 super PAC, confirmed to CNN that the group had distributed the rubber chickens at the convention Saturday. Libertarians in the crowd at times confronted Trump supporters, and some audience members were escorted out of the venue. One Libertarian critic of Trump was forced to leave after CNN observed him throwing a punch at a Trump-supporting audience member. Several people toward the front of the room turned their backs to Trump as he spoke. One of Trump's few loud applause lines Saturday came when he announced that if elected, he would commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the underground website Silk Road, which let users anonymously buy and sell anything from drugs to hacking tutorials. Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 following his conviction on seven counts ranging from money laundering to drug trafficking, and many attendees at the Libertarian convention have been arguing for his pardon. Trump also received cheers when he said he would put a Libertarian in his Cabinet and appoint Libertarians to senior positions in his administration in a potential second term. Prior to the speech, the Trump campaign said it anticipated getting an unfriendly reception from some attendees – former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, now a Trump surrogate, received loud boos when he mentioned the former president in his speech at the convention Friday. “Do we know that it's not exactly home base? Absolutely. There will be people who want him to be there and people who don't want him to be there, but we're on offense and competing for nontraditional votes in order to unite the country,” Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller told CNN. Meanwhile, Biden's campaign cast Trump as “anti-freedom” ahead of his address. “Donald Trump says his Republican Party is the party of freedom, but tell that to the women who have had the freedom to make their own health care decisions ripped away and their pregnancies monitored by the government,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement Saturday. Biden was also invited to speak at the convention but didn't respond, McArdle told CNN earlier. At a news conference immediately following Trump's speech, Chase Oliver, a Libertarian presidential candidate, said that he believed it was a mistake to invite Trump but that he was proud that Libertarians heckled the former president during his remarks. “I don't like having a war criminal on this stage. I don't feel he deserves a spot on this stage,” Oliver said. “While I think it was a mistake to have invited Donald Trump, I'm glad he got to see a glimpse of what a real Libertarian reception feels like.” Michael Rectenwald, another Libertarian presidential candidate, said he believed the party achieved some gains by inviting Trump to the convention, pointing to the former president's commitment to commute Ulbricht's sentence. “We got a major political party candidate to say that he would free Ross Ulbricht,” Rectenwald said at the news conference. “We moved the needle toward liberty.” Still, Rectenwald acknowledged that Trump's remarks were unlikely to persuade Libertarians to vote for the former president. “There are no people in this room in the Libertarian Party at risk for falling for Trump's bullsh*t,” he said. Trent Nestle, a Libertarian delegate from Tennessee, told CNN that Trump's pledge to commute Ulbricht's sentence wouldn't be enough to convince him to back the former president. “I want to see it happen,” Nestle said. “It won't change my vote in November.” - by Kate Sullivan, Aaron Pellish and Steve Contorno, CNNSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris, Zack, and Melanie get together to talk about ongoing developments in the Arctic. Climate change is causing flooding and environmental damage, but it is also providing new opportunities for navigation, mining, fishing, tourism, and defense. How can America's national security and economic interests best be protected in the face of increasing Russian and Chinese activity there? How should we prioritize the region when we have other critical threats to address? Have we and our partners that border the Arctic missed chances for influence there that we cannot recover? Is it possible for the United States to strengthen its position there without appearing to encourage an arms race? Chris wishes we could consider the merits of arguments instead of personally attacking those making them, Zack condemns the Chinese government's treatment of Olympian Peng Shuai, and Melanie looks at the hypocrisy of governors who claim to support free markets but want to prohibit businesses from imposing vaccine mandates. Links: Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend, Partners, Competitors, or a Little of Both?: Russia and China in the Arctic, Center for a New American Security, March 2021, https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/partners-competitors-or-a-little-of-both. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Lawson W. Brigham, and Nick Lokker, Navigating Relations with Russia in the Arctic: A Roadmap for Stability, Center for a New American Security, Nov. 18, 2021, https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/navigating-relations-with-russia-in-the-arctic. Berkeley Lovelace, Jr., “Pfizer says its Covid pill with HIV drug cuts the risk of hospitalization or death by 89%,” CNBC, Nov. 5, 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/pfizer-says-its-covid-pill-with-hiv-drug-cuts-the-risk-of-hospitalization-or-death-by-89percent.html. David Auerswald, “A U.S. Security Strategy for the Arctic,” War on the Rocks, May 27, 2021, https://warontherocks.com/2021/05/a-u-s-security-strategy-for-the-arctic/. Frank Jordans, “Vaccine maker BioNTech to use mRNA tech to target malaria,” Associated Press, July 26, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/vaccine-maker-biontech-mrna-tech-target-malaria-79064005. Future Foreign Policy Series: Reinvigorating US diplomacy, New American Engagement Initiative, Nov. 29, 2021, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/future-foreign-policy-series-reinvigorating-us-diplomacy/. NAEI Annual Student Competition, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/scowcroft-center-for-strategy-and-security/new-american-engagement-initiative/naei-annual-student-competition/. Rebecca Hersman and Eric Brewer, Deep Dive Debrief: Strategic Stability and Competition in the Arctic, Jan. 6, 2021, https://www.csis.org/analysis/deep-dive-debrief-strategic-stability-and-competition-arctic. Steve Contorno, “Florida Special Session begins as DeSantis Continues Battle against Vaccine Mandates,” CNN, Nov. 15, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/15/politics/desantis-florida-legislature-vaccine-mandates/index.html. "Taiwan," Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Oct. 25, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y18-07g39g. Will Quinn, Tweet thread, Nov. 11, 2021, https://twitter.com/wc_quinn/status/1458891500344029189?t=l7ugkXe7tuA75d7XbjYd5Q&s=15. "WTA says Peng Shuai's call with Olympic officials does not alleviate concerns about her well-being," ESPN, Nov. 22, 2021, https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32688106/wta-says-peng-shuai-call-olympic-officials-not-enough. Zahra Ullah and Fred Pleitgen, “As the US and Russia Spar Over the Arctic, Putin Creates New Facts on the Ground,” CNN, May 21, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/21/europe/russia-arctic-military-intl-cmd/index.html.

0:12: We welcome TB Times Political Editor Steve Contorno to the pod where we’ve got Georgia on our minds! We discuss Stacey Abrams, Georgia shifting blue, and the Senate run-offs. What has the Democratic Party done successfully in Georgia that hasn’t worked in Florida?15:21: What do we foresee the relationship between Governor Desantis and President-Elect Biden? 19:45: What’s the possibility of Ivanka Trump running for the U.S. Senate in 2022? Who might we see emerge on the Democratic side?28:29: We welcome back Media Consultant and expert Adam Arnegger to the pod! How did the media handle coverage of the Trump Presidency? 43:58: The hosts discuss the Op-Ed that questioned Dr. Jill Biden’s use of “Dr.” As a prefix. 51:24: We discuss the success of Hallmark movies!1:02:05: This week’s Floridaman story, shout-outs, and wrap-up!

In the 1996 election, Bill Clinton had a problem. The women who came out in droves for him in ‘92, split their vote in the ‘94 midterms, handing over control of the House and the Senate to the Republican Party. As his team stared ahead at his re-election bid, they knew they had to win those women back. So, after a major polling effort to determine who exactly their undecided ladies were, Clinton turned his focus toward the most important swing vote in the election: the soccer moms.  The soccer mom ushered in a new era of political campaigning, an era of slicing and dicing the electorate, engineering the (predominately white) voting bloc characters that campaigns have chased after. Security Moms. Nascar Dads. Joe Six Pack. Walmart Moms.  But what about everyone else? What about the surprisingly swingable corners of this country without a soccer mom in sight?  Inspired by this exceedingly cool interactive map from Politico, we set out on a mission to make an audio-map of our own. We asked pollsters, reporters and political operatives in swing states: what slice of your population is up for grabs? A slice that no one talks about? In this episode, we crawl inside the places that might hold our country’s future in its hands, all the while asking: are these slices even real? Are there people inside them that might swing this election?  This episode was reported and produced by Becca Bressler, Tobin Low, Sarah Qari, Tracie Hunte, Pat Walters and Matt Kielty, with help from Jonny Moens. Special thanks to Darren Samuelsohn, Josh Cochran, Elizabeth Ralph, and the Politico team for the original reporting and map that inspired this episode.  Also thanks to: Elissa Schneider, Wisam Naoum, Martin Manna, Ashourina Slewo, Eli Newman, Zoe Clark, Erin Roselio, Jess Kamm Broomell, Will Doran, John Zogby, Matt Dickinson, Tom Jensen, Ross Grogg, Joel Andrus, Jonathan Tilove, Steve Contorno, Heaven Hale, Jeff Shapiro, Nicole Cobler, Marie Albiges, Matt Dole, Robin Goist, Katie Paris, Julie Womack, Matt Dole, Jackie Borchardt, Jessica Locklear, Twinkle Patel, Bobby Das, Dharmesh Ahir,  Nimesh Dhinubhai, Jay Desai, Rishi Bagga, and Sanjeev Joshipura. Christina Greer’s book is Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream, and Corey Fields book is Black Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African American. Original art for this episode by Zara Stasi. Check out her work at:  www.goodforthebees.com. 

Steve Contorno, the political editor at the Tampa Bay Times, shares his thoughts about politics in 2020. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the 2020 election, disinformation is everywhere.Is there a way to stop disinformation from spreading? And what can you do to protect yourself?Host Bradley George talked with Sabrina Rodriguez, a reporter with news site Politico, and Daniel Funke, a staff writer for fact-checking site PolitiFact.Earlier this month, Rodriguez and fellow reporter Marc Caputo covered the wild rumors, lies and disinformation about Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden that are spreading like wildfire in South Florida’s Latino communities via WhatsApp, Facebook, and Spanish-language media.Funke and Tampa Bay Times reporter Steve Contorno wrote about the QAnon conspiracy theory and how it's trickling into mainstream politics in Florida.

In the 2020 election, disinformation is everywhere.Is there a way to stop disinformation from spreading? And what can you do to protect yourself?Host Bradley George talked with Sabrina Rodriguez, a reporter with news site Politico, and Daniel Funke, a staff writer for fact-checking site PolitiFact.Earlier this month, Rodriguez and fellow reporter Marc Caputo covered the wild rumors, lies and disinformation about Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden that are spreading like wildfire in South Florida’s Latino communities via WhatsApp, Facebook, and Spanish-language media.Funke and Tampa Bay Times reporter Steve Contorno wrote about the QAnon conspiracy theory and how it's trickling into mainstream politics in Florida.

In this episode, we talked to Tampa Bay Times political editor Steve Contorno about his investigation into how Florida officials prepared for a pandemic in 2005, then cut the state's ability to respond over the years.Story: https://www.tampabay.com/investigations/2020/04/04/florida-saw-a-pandemic-coming-and-prepared-then-state-leaders-started-to-cut/Donate: https://projects.tampabay.com/projects/journalism-fund/Subscribe: https://subscribe.tampabay.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're only weeks away from Florida's primary election, and while the gap between the two Republican candidates for Governor seems to be widening, the five Democratic candidates are in a real horse race for the nomination. Host Robin Sussingham talks to reporter Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times and Janelle Irwin of the Tampa Bay Business Journal about why this might be the right moment politically for the Tampa Bay area to acquire money for transit. Support for the Florida Matters More podcast comes from the National Foundation for Transplants. Right now, hundreds of Tampa residents need an organ transplant they can't afford. You can join the National Foundation for Transplant's "Operation Second Chance" at transplants.org to learn how to help give someone a second chance at life.

We're only weeks away from Florida's primary election, and while the gap between the two Republican candidates for Governor seems to be widening, the five Democratic candidates are in a real horse race for the nomination. Host Robin Sussingham talks to reporter Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times and Janelle Irwin of the Tampa Bay Business Journal about why this might be the right moment politically for the Tampa Bay area to acquire money for transit. Support for the Florida Matters More podcast comes from the National Foundation for Transplants. Right now, hundreds of Tampa residents need an organ transplant they can't afford. You can join the National Foundation for Transplant's "Operation Second Chance" at transplants.org to learn how to help give someone a second chance at life.

We're only weeks away from Florida's primary election, and while the gap between the two Republican candidates for Governor seems to be widening, the five Democratic candidates are in a real horse race for the nomination. Host Robin Sussingham talks to reporter Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times and Janelle Irwin of the Tampa Bay Business Journal about why this might be the right moment politically for the Tampa Bay area to acquire money for transit. Support for the Florida Matters More podcast comes from the National Foundation for Transplants. Right now, hundreds of Tampa residents need an organ transplant they can't afford. You can join the National Foundation for Transplant's "Operation Second Chance" at transplants.org to learn how to help give someone a second chance at life.