<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rep. <keyword id="11932518" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="adam-schiff" source="Orion">Adam Schiff</keyword> said the <keyword id="11931775" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="january-6-committee" source="Orion">January 6 committee</keyword> would vote to hold <keyword id="12054994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="steve-bannon" source="Orion">Steve Bannon</keyword> in contempt for refusing to comply with their subpoena.</li><li>Bannon said last week that he would not comply with the committee's subpoena for information relating to the January 6 riot.</li></ul><p>Rep. Adam Schiff on Sunday said the January 6 committee investigating the riot at the US Capitol would move to hold former Trump aide Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena for information relating to the insurrection.</p><p>Bannon served as former President Donald Trump's White House chief strategist in 2017.</p><p><a href="https://www.msnbc.com/the-sunday-show/watch/rep-schiff-we-re-not-messing-around-here-no-one-is-above-the-law-123787845680">Schiff told MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart</a> on Sunday that the committee would vote on a report about Bannon that could ultimately be escalated to the US Department of Justice. </p><p>"The report concludes that Bannon should be held in contempt. He failed to appear. He has no reasonable explanation for that failure to appear," Schiff said, adding that the report would then go to the full House vote.</p><p>"The full House will vote to hold him in criminal contempt, and then the speaker will ultimately refer that contempt to the Justice Department, where the statute says that the Justice Department has the duty to present it to the grand jury," Schiff continued.</p><p>The House Select Committee <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/january-6-committee-issues-subpoenas-to-bannon-meadows-scavino-patel-2021-9">announced in September that it would subpoena</a> Bannon - as well as other top aides to the former president, like Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino, and Kash Patel - in an attempt to gather intel from those who spoke with Trump leading up to and on the day of the insurrection. </p><p>In response, a lawyer for Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-january-6-committee-investigation-lawyer-letter-comply-bannon-meadows-2021-10">instructed his aides to defy the subpoenas</a>, citing "executive and other privileges" that he said allow Trump advisors to buck the subpoenas and refuse to hand over records.</p><p>Robert Costello, a lawyer for Bannon, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-bannon-letter-jan-6-committee-he-will-not-cooperate-2021-10">said in an October 13 letter to the committee</a> that Bannon was "not in defiance" of the subpoena. </p><p>"Mr. Bannon noted that President Trump's counsel stated that they were invoking executive and other privileges and therefore directed us not to produce documents or give testimony that might reveal information President Trump's counsel seeks to legally protect," Costello wrote.</p><p>Costello did not return Insider's request for comment Sunday.</p><p>Schiff said he does not know when the report against Bannon will be taken up on the House floor. </p><p>"We hope to take it up very soon, but we're not messing around here. We're moving very expeditiously," Schiff said. "To me, this is an early sign of whether our democracy is recovering, whether it's true that no one is above the law, that the rule of law must apply. So we intend to go after anyone who doesn't provide information that they're lawfully compelled to, to our committee."</p><p>The committee agreed last week to postpone the depositions for Meadows and Patel, <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/katy-tur/watch/jan-6-committee-agrees-to-postpone-deposition-from-patel-meadows-and-scavino-123554885893">MSNBC reported</a>. Scavino's was delayed because it was delivered late.</p><p>"We try to get voluntary testimony. With those that we expect to be hostile, sometimes we go straight to a subpoena," Schiff said. </p><p>It would send a "powerful message" to other uncooperative witnesses to see the Justice Department eventually bring charges against Bannon, Schiff added Sunday.</p><p>When the MSNBC host asked Schiff whether the committee would ask Trump himself to testify, Schiff said he did not "know the answer" but "that will be a decision that we'll make as a committee."</p><p>"No one is off the table," Schiff said. "We will go where we need to go to get the evidence that we need to present to the American people and write a definitive report of the terror of that day and what we need to do to protect the country going forward. And one of the biggest black boxes in terms of the unknowns is Donald Trump's role." <br /><br /></p><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/w7hoxcFd-gFnR6QwM.html" width="100%" height="100%" style="position:absolute;"></iframe>

Rep. Adam Schiff says Jan. 6 committee plans to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for not complying with subpoena

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Justice Department will no longer issue subpoenas for the records of reporters in leak investigations, The White House confirmed Saturday.</li><li>The Justice Department under Trump secretly fought to get emails sent by New York Times reporters.</li><li>Under Biden, the Justice Department informed the Times of the subpoena but had imposed a gag order.</li></ul><p>The White House on Saturday announced that the United States <keyword id="67869" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Department-of-Justice">Department of Justice</keyword> would no longer secretly work to obtain the records of journalists involved as part of investigations into leaks.</p><p>The <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> was first reported by the Associated Press and was confirmed by the White House on Saturday.</p><p>"While the White House does not intervene in criminal investigations, the issuing of subpoenas for the records of reporters in leak investigations is not consistent with the President's policy direction to the Department, and the Department of Justice has reconfirmed it will not be used moving forward," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.</p><p>The announcement follows a report from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/us/politics/times-reporter-emails-gag-order-trump-google.html">The New York Times</a> published one day earlier that the Justice Department under President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/justice-department-fought-get-emails-4-new-york-times-reporters-2021-6">had quietly fought to obtain the emails of four New York Times reporters</a> as part of its investigation into leaks at the agency. </p><p>The Times was not informed of the attempt by the Trump administration, according to the report. The Justice Department under Biden continued the investigation but informed <keyword id="187229" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-New-York-Times">The New York Times</keyword> of its existence, the outlet reported. But the agency on March 3 placed a gag rule preventing anyone from speaking publicly about it until it was lifted.</p><p>David McCraw, the New York Times' top lawyer, said the move was "unprecedented" and the gag order had been lifted Friday, according to the report.</p><p>In the statement Saturday, Psaki said "no one at the White House" had been aware of the gag order until Friday night. </p>

The Justice Department will no longer subpoena journalists' records in leak investigations, White House says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The New York Times reported that about a dozen staffers had recently exited One America News.</li><li>According to the report, some <keyword id="10228723" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="oan">OAN</keyword> employees have been skeptical of their own network's reporting.</li><li>The network leans heavily in favor of former President Donald Trump and has peddled false claims.</li></ul><p>Employees of the cable network One America News do not believe all of the claims that are aired on it, according to a report by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/18/business/media/oan-one-america-trump.html">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>According to the Sunday report, about a dozen staffers have left the network since <a href="https://www.insider.com/all-the-us-capitol-pro-trump-riot-arrests-charges-names-2021-1">the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, which left five people dead</a>. The network for months aired, repeated, and speculated on former President Donald Trump's false claims about voter fraud in the <keyword id="7600569" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="2020-election">2020 election</keyword>.</p><p>There is no evidence to suggest any substantial fraud influenced the election. President <keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-wins-general-election-against-donald-trump-2020-11">won the election by beating Trump in key battleground states</a>.</p><p>"Many people have raised concerns," Allysia Britton, a news producer who recently left the network, told The New York Times. "And the thing is, when people speak up about anything, you will get in trouble."</p><p>Charles Herring, the president of OAN, confirmed to The Times that about 12 staffers had recently departed the network but said "many" of them were not high-level staffers.</p><p>Marty Golingan, an OAN producer since 2016, said the "majority" of his colleagues at the network did not believe the claims of voter fraud that were being run on the network. He said he feared that his work at the network helped lead to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and he described seeing someone at the riot holding a flag with the network's logo.</p><p>"I was like, OK, that's not good," Golingan said. "That's what happens when people listen to us."</p><p>As <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/01/11/dc-riots-how-newsmax-oan-conservative-outlets-fueled-mob/6589298002/">USA Today reported in January</a>, some <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword> analysts have connected rhetoric espoused on conservative networks, including Fox News, OAN, and Newsmax, to the actions that took place in Washington on January 6.</p><p>At a December 5 rally, Trump showed rallygoers a report from OAN that alleged hundreds of thousands of votes had disappeared in the state of Georgia, which Biden won. As USA Today reported, there is no evidence for such a claim.</p><p>The network last year <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oann-doubles-down-on-election-conspiracy-theories-amid-lawsuit-threats-2020-12">doubled down on baseless conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems</a>, even after the company sent a letter threatening a defamation lawsuit. But as Insider's Jacob Shamsian previously reported, the network in January <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oan-deletes-articles-about-dominion-voting-election-conspiracy-2021-1">quietly removed articles about election conspiracy theories</a> from its website, including articles about Dominion, Smartmatic, and the pro-Trump lawyers Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Lin Wood.</p><p>Herring defended the network's reporting to The New York Times.</p><p>"A review process with multiple checks is in place to ensure that news reporting meets the company's journalist standards," Herring said. "And, yes, we've had our fair share of mistakes, but we do our best to keep them to a minimum and learn from our missteps."</p><p>Two former employees also interviewed by The Times said they believed the network's coverage was unbiased. In total, 16 current and former employees told The Times they believed the network had aired misleading or outright false information.</p>

About a dozen OAN employees have quit in recent months as some staffers don't believe the stories run on air, report says

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10406233" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="geoff-duncan">Geoff Duncan</keyword>, the lieutenant governor of <keyword id="6385073" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="georgia">Georgia</keyword>, called Trump's strategy "unwinnable" going forward.</li><li>Duncan, a Republican, on Sunday said he wouldn't run for US Senate in 2022.</li><li>Trump lashed out at members of the Georgia GOP for refusing to help him overturn the election.</li></ul><p>Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, said Sunday the strategy that propelled Trump to the nation's highest office in 2016 wouldn't work for Republicans moving forward.</p><p>"Republicans don't need election reform to win, we need leadership," Duncan said during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. "I think there's millions of Republicans waking up around the country that are realizing that Donald Trump's divisive tone and strategy is unwinnable in forward-looking elections.</p><p>"We need real leadership, we need new focus, a GOP 2.0 that includes moderates in the middle, to get us to the next election cycle," he added.</p><p>Duncan said Trump's refusal to concede the election and continued spread of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-election-official-debunks-trumps-ridiculous-claims-2021-1">unfounded conspiracy theories</a> about the election did damage to the GOP.</p><p>"It hurt Republicans in any sort of conversation around election reform," he said. "We lost credibility. Those were 10 weeks that we can't take back. January 6th was a pivot point for this country and for this party. And, look, we've got four years to win back the White House. We're not going to do it with a divisive tone."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Meet the Press  (@MeetThePress) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1371095781617324034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Ducan told "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd that he had been "disgusted" by the former president's phone call with Georgia's secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, also a Republican, in which Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-brad-raffensperger-phone-call-georgia-votes-presidential-election-2021-01">asked him to "find" the needed votes to overturn</a> President Joe Biden's win in the state.</p><p>The Fulton County district attorney in February announced she had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-prosecutor-investigating-trump-hires-top-racketeering-attorney-2021-3">opened a criminal investigation</a> into Trump's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-recording-call-with-georgia-officials-found-in-spam-folder-2021-3">attempts to interfere in the Georgia election</a>.</p><p>"We had played for almost 10 weeks with President Trump and his entire apparatus attacking us here for running a fair and legal election," Duncan said of Trump's attacks on Georgia officials in the final months of his presidency. </p><p>He said he would "stay out of the way of the law and let them do their job" during the investigation into his conduct.</p><p>Also during his Sunday appearance, Duncan said he had ruled out a rumored run for US Senate next year.</p><p>"My family and I have talked about it, and we're not going to run for the US Senate seat," he said. "We're going to stay focused on being the lieutenant governor here in Georgia. And we're going to focus hard on trying to rebuild this party and refocus GOP 2.0."</p>

Georgia's GOP lieutenant governor rules out Senate run but says 'Trump's divisive tone and strategy is unwinnable' for the future of the Republican party

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A GOP senator who opposed both of Trump's impeachments defended <keyword id="1630595" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Liz-Cheney">Liz Cheney</keyword> and <keyword id="373469" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lisa-Murkowski">Lisa Murkowski</keyword>. </li><li>Both GOP lawmakers voted to impeach Trump this year, drawing backlash from their own party.</li><li>Trump last week said the GOP needed to "get rid" of lawmakers who voted to convict him.</li></ul><p>A GOP senator who voted against convicting Trump following his impeachments in both 2020 and 2021 spoke out in support of his colleagues who did after the former president targeted them in a speech last week. </p><p>Trump in a statement to Politico said Saturday that he would <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-travel-alaska-sabotage-sen-murkowski-reelection-gop-traitor-2021-3">actively campaign against Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski</a>, who was one of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-senators-voted-to-convict-trump-facing-backlash-from-republicans-2021-2">seven GOP senators</a> to vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in the Senate. </p><p>"I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski. She represents her state badly and her country even worse, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/06/trump-lisa-murkowski-2022-474028">Trump told the outlet</a>.</p><p>But Murkowski's colleague, Sen. <keyword id="314642" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="John-Barrasso">John Barrasso</keyword> of Wyoming, said he supported her on Sunday. </p><p>"I want to always make sure we nominate somebody who can win in November," Barrasso said during an interview Sunday on <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-march-7-2021-n1259907">NBC News' "Meet the Press." </a></p><p>"Lisa Murkowski knows Alaska better than anybody, and she's an incredible fighter for American energy. She hasn't made an announcement if she's even going to run again. If she does, I'm going to support her," he continued.</p><p>In his speech last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump targeted Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, calling her a "warmonger" who "loves seeing our troops fighting." </p><p>"Now more than ever is the time for tough, strong, and energetic Republican leaders who have spines of steel," Trump <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-slams-establishment-republicans-mcconnell-cheney-and-others-in-cpac-speech-as-some-deny-gop-civil-war">said last week</a> during his first speech since leaving office. "We cannot have leaders who show more passion for condemning their fellow Americans than they have ever shown for standing up to Democrats, the media and the radicals who want to turn America into a socialist country." </p><p>But Barrasso on Sunday spoke up on behalf of Cheney, saying they "work closely together fighting the Biden administration.</p><p>"So, I support her. I disagree with her completely on the issue of impeachment. She voted one way, I voted the other," he said.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/liz-cheney-censured-by-wyoming-gop-over-trump-impeachment-vote-2021-2">Cheney was censured by the Wyoming GOP</a> following her vote to impeach the former president for his role in inciting the January 6 riot at the US Capitol that left five people dead. She was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-voting-to-impeach-trump-capitol-insurrection-2021-1">one of 10 GOP members of the House</a> to vote to impeach Trump. </p><p>During his CPAC speech, Trump said Republicans should "get rid" of Cheney and those Republicans who didn't support him during his latest impeachment trial. The Senate failed to convict in February Trump after all 50 Democrats and seven Republicans voted to convict, while 43 Republicans voted to acquit.</p>

A GOP senator who opposed impeachment defends Cheney, Murkowski after Trump amps up attacks

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An $88 <keyword id="23398" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Baseball">baseball</keyword> on the <a href="https://www.trumpstore.com/products/trump-baseball?variant=32460730368085#">Trump Organization's website</a> is drawing suspicion as a potential dog whistle for <keyword id="3022430" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="white-supremacy">white supremacy</keyword>.</li><li>Eighty-eight is <a href="https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/88">defined by the Anti Defamation League</a> as "one of the most common white supremacist symbols" signifying "numerical code for 'Heil <keyword id="51920" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="hitler">Hitler</keyword>.'"</li><li>The baseball's high and unusual price raised eyebrows online in the aftermath of Trump tweeting a video of a supporter yelling "white power" and Facebook removing a Trump campaign ad warning about "dangerous" leftist mobs that included an upside down triangle, a symbol used by Nazis to designate political prisoners in concentration camps.</li><li>White supremacist imagery and messaging has been an issue for Trump and his campaign going back to the 2016 election.</li></ul><p>A new controversy over what could be white supremacist messaging from Trumpworld has emerged in the form of an $88 baseball being sold on the Trump Organization merchandise page. </p><p>The number <keyword id="2356304" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="88">88</keyword> is <a href="https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/88">defined by the Anti Defamation League</a> as "one of the most common white supremacist symbols" because of the letter H coming as the eighth letter in the alphabet, with 88 signifying "Heil Hitler."</p><p>"88 is used throughout the entire white supremacist movement, not just neo-Nazis," the ADL website reads. "One can find it as a tattoo or graphic symbol; as part of the name of a group, publication or website; or as part of a screenname or e-mail address.</p><p>"It is even sometimes used as a greeting or sign-off (particularly in messages on social networking websites)."</p><p>The baseball's price raised eyebrows online in the aftermath of Trump tweeting a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-video-supporter-white-power-good-people-2020-6">video of a supporter yelling "white power"</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-removes-donald-trump-ad-nazi-symbol-violating-policy-2020-6">Facebook removing a Trump campaign ad warning about "dangerous" leftist mobs that included an upside down red triangle</a>, a symbol used by Nazis to designate political prisoners in concentration camps.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—A.J. Delgado  (@AJDelgado13) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1278385762447302656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—I yield my time, f**k you  (@will_damnn) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1278406290562220037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—In the Zone  (@funkydrugmonkey) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1278401621525815297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—APH  (@antipopehat) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1277318960556498946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2020</a></blockquote><p>The Trump Organization did not immediately return a request for comment. </p><p>The price point of the baseball is not the only reason for the merchandise drawing suspicion online. </p><p>A hoodie on the new arrivals page also sells for $88, but did not draw the same level of attention on social media.</p><p>Most recently, the president <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-video-supporter-white-power-good-people-2020-6">tweeted a video of a Trump supporter yelling "white power,"</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-removes-donald-trump-ad-nazi-symbol-violating-policy-2020-6">Facebook removed a Trump campaign ad containing a symbol once used by Nazis</a> because it violated a policy against "organized hate."</p><p>President Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-agreed-to-delete-white-power-tweet-after-tim-scott-demanded-he-do-so-2020-6">ended up deleting the white power video</a> three hours after it went up, following a scramble by white house aides to try and reach him on the golf course.</p><p>Trump claimed he did not know the man in the video said "white power," even though the comment comes almost immediately after the video starts.</p><p>Subtle and occasionally <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-turning-to-white-supremacist-rhetoric-amid-panic-over-reelection-2020-6">overt white supremacist messaging</a> and support have been an issue for Trump and his campaign going back to 2016. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/01/the-kkks-official-newspaper-has-endorsed-donald-trump-for-president/">official newspaper of the Ku Klux Klan endorsed Trump</a> in 2016.</p><p>Throughout the 2016 GOP primary, white supremacists embraced Trump and praised him online for amplifying their messaging. Trump retweeted accounts such as @WhiteGenocideTm, posted a Star of David tweet widely condemned as being anti-Semitic — with Trump deleting the video but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-star-of-david-tweet-2016-7">later saying he regretted deleting it</a> — and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/14/donald-trump-nazi-soldiers-tweet-top-republican-polls">tweeting a photo with Nazi soldiers bearing the SS eagle insignia</a> superimposed on an American flag.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Mete Sohtaoğlu  (@metesohtaoglu) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/621297640031055872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2015</a></blockquote><p>Trump has disavowed several instances of alleged racism only to walk them back later, both publicly and in reported private conversations. </p><p>In a recent piece in The Atlantic, ABC <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">News</keyword> Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl reported for the first time on a private meeting Trump had in the aftermath of Charlottesville. </p><p>Before Trump made his infamous <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/neo-nazis-celebrate-trumps-remarks-about-charlottesville-riots-2017-8">"very fine people on both sides" remarks</a>, Karl cites sources with Trump recalling an outburst the president had on the day he delivered a scripted condemnation of the white nationalists and neo-Nazis in Virginia.</p><p>Karl writes that Trump was watching TV coverage of his mea culpa with Kellyanne Conway, his senior adviser, and then-Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.</p><p>As Fox News called his televised address "a course correction," Trump turned to Conway and Sanders.</p><p>"This is f---ing your fault," Trump said, according to Karl's sources. "That's the last time I do that."</p>

People are concerned that an $88 baseball sold on the Trump Organization's merch page could be a secret message to white supremacists

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump campaign manager <keyword id="3724095" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Brad-Parscale">Brad Parscale</keyword> rejected reports Sunday that a social media campaign led by fans of K-pop led to the rally's lower than anticipated turnout. </li><li>Parscale and the president had last week tweeted that around one million people had expressed interest in attending his rally at the BOK Center, which has a capacity of approximately 19,000.</li><li>Just 6,200 people showed up at the rally, according to the <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-tulsa-rally-turnout-19b3ee7b-44c4-41ad-8ec4-172ba6448ff6.html">Tulsa Fire Department</a>. </li><li>"The fact is that a week's worth of the fake <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> media warning people away from the rally because of COVID and protesters, coupled with recent images of American cities on fire, had a real impact on people bringing their families and children to the rally," Parscale said. </li></ul><p>Brad Parscale, President Trump's re-election campaign manager, on Sunday rejected news reports that a social media campaign led by fans of Korean pop (K-pop) music and other  TikTok users was responsible for the low turnout at the campaign event.</p><p>"Leftists and online trolls doing a victory lap, thinking they somehow impacted rally attendance, don't know what they're talking about or how our rallies work," Parscale said in a statement, adding he believed reporters had "behaved unprofessionally and were willing dupes to the charade."</p><p>Several outlets from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/style/tiktok-trump-rally-tulsa.html">The New York Times</a>, to <a href="http://businessinsider.com/tiktok-teens-and-k-pop-fans-tanked-trumps-tulsa-rally-2020-6">Business Insider</a>, to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/21/politics/tiktok-trump-tulsa-rally/index.html">CNN</a>, noted that people who participated in the social media campaign, which largely took place on TikTok but also included involvement from users on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, have claimed responsibility for influencing the rally turnout.</p><p>The movement, largely led by fans of K-pop, encouraged social media users to register as attending to the president's rally without showing up. RSVPing to the event did not guarantee entry, as rally-goers were let in on a first-come, first-served basis. </p><p>Parscale rejected such reports and said the campaign was able to detect people who registered but did not plan to attend.  </p><p>"Registering for a rally means you've RSVPed with a cell phone number and we constantly weed out bogus numbers, as we did with tens of thousands at the <keyword id="9407074" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tulsa-rally">Tulsa rally</keyword>, in calculating our possible attendee pool," Parscale said. "These phony ticket requests never factor into our thinking."</p><p>On June 15, Parscale in a tweet suggested that more than one million people had requested tickets for the rally. <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1272521253136498690">President Trump also tweeted a similar figure last week</a>. Tulsa officials had predicted a smaller 100,000. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Brad Parscale  (@parscale) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1272543199647666176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2020</a></blockquote><p>Approximately 6,200 people showed up at the rally, according to the Tulsa Fire Department, which is about 161 times less than the 1,00,000 figure Parscale predicted last week and 16 times smaller than the more conservative estimate from Tulsa officials. </p><p>The Trump campaign did not respond to a Business Insider request for comment about how Parscale reached his one million projection that he tweeted on June 15, how many "bogus numbers" were removed, or how the campaign determined whether a number was "bogus." </p><p>Instead, in his Sunday statement, Parscale blamed the "fake news media" for inciting fear related to COVID-19 and ongoing nationwide protests — <a href="https://www.insider.com/george-floyd-protests-police-violence-reform-change-2020-6">which have mostly been peaceful but sometimes have involved looting and violent clashes between police and protesters</a> — following the police killing of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis.</p><p>"The fact is that a week's worth of the fake news media warning people away from the rally because of COVID and protesters, coupled with recent images of American cities on fire, had a real impact on people bringing their families and children to the rally," Parscale said.</p><p>As Business previously reported, experts warned <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-rally-coronavirus-superspreader-event-surge-in-cases-2020-6">that the president's rally with a large crowd in an indoor venue presented the potential to be a COVID-19 superspreader</a> event. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/6-trump-campaign-staff-test-positive-for-covid-rally-2020-6">Six of the president's campaign staff tested positive ahead of the event, though they did not work at the rally</a>, according to the campaign.</p><p>Parscale also blamed the rally's low attendance on reports that protesters outside the rally blocked the entrances to the event, <a href="https://twitter.com/parscale/status/1274684125333598209?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet">claiming that some of the president's supporters were unable to get inside the venue</a>. The campaign canceled the president's remarks scheduled to take place at an outdoor stage outside the BOK Center due to low attendance, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/06/20/trump-overflow-crowd-speech-phillip-sot-nr-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/">CNN</a>. </p><p><strong>Read more: </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nadler-says-calls-to-impeach-barr-are-waste-of-time-2020-6">House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler says calls to impeach AG Barr are a 'waste of time' because of 'corrupt Republican majority in the Senate'</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-team-touts-4-million-online-viewers-for-tulsa-rally-2020-6">Trump's campaign team claims 4 million people watched rally online despite low in-person turnout</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tired-winning-covid-pandemic-unemployment-police-protesters-2020-6">Just like Trump promised, the US is 'tired of winning.' The only problem is we're 'winning' in the worst ways.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/powell-steps-stimulus-congress-economy-afloat-coronavirus-fed-relief-spending-2020-6">Fed Chair Powell has prodded Congress to ramp up federal relief spending. Here are the 3 additional steps he thinks the government should take to keep the economy afloat.</a></p>

Trump campaign rejects reports that K-pop fans and TikTok teens are behind low rally attendance: 'we constantly weed out bogus numbers'

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d4b1df1100a24242b7f9697-2400/ap757944986201.jpg" border="0" alt="AP_757944986201" data-mce-source="Lynne Sladky/AP" data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Fitness-Breaking-the-Workout-Rut/06855261e6a9473bbbb630787dd6695e/3/0"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Fitness-Breaking-the-Workout-Rut/06855261e6a9473bbbb630787dd6695e/3/0">Lynne Sladky/AP</a></span></p><p class="caption">Crunch Fitness is ready to cash in on boycott threats against Equinox and SoulCycle.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/crunch-fitness">Crunch Fitness</a> is trying to win over new members as people threaten to boycott&#xa0;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/soulcycle">SoulCycle</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/equinox">Equinox</a>.&#xa0;</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/equinox-soulcycle-face-backlash-over-chairmans-trump-ties-2019-8">Outrage exploded online</a> after The Washington Post reported that Stephen Ross - chairman of the company that owns SoulCycle and Equinox - is scheduled to host a fundraiser for President Doanld Trump.&#xa0;</li><li>Crunch is reaching out to people online who are threatening to cancel their Equinox memberships and ditch SoulCycle.&#xa0;</li><li>"At Crunch we have spin karaoke, hosted by a drag queen," Crunch tweeted in response to one person seeking a SoulCycle replacement in New York City.&#xa0;</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Crunch Fitness is ready to cash in on boycott threats against Equinox and SoulCycle.&#xa0;</p><p><span>Outrage exploded online after <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-scheduled-to-headline-fundraisers-in-the-hamptons-where-tickets-run-as-high-as-250000/2019/08/06/47698530-b855-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html">The Washington Post reported</a> that Stephen Ross is scheduled to host a fundraiser for President Donald Trump this Friday at his New York home in the Hamptons, with tickets costing $100,000. </span><span>Ross is the founder and chairman of the real-estate company Related Cos., which owns Equinox and SoulCycle.&#xa0;</span><span></span><span></span></p><p><span><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/equinox-soulcycle-face-backlash-over-chairmans-trump-ties-2019-8">People are threatening to quit Equinox and SoulCycle following a report that the chairman of the trendy fitness brands plans to host a Trump fundraiser</a></em><br /></span></p><p><span>Ross' connection to Equinox and SoulCycle meant that the news sparked boycott threats against the trendy fitness chains.&#xa0;</span></p><p>"This Friday the Soul Cycle and Equinox Fitness chairman is throwing a fundraising lunch for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign," #GrabYourWallet founder<span>&#xa0;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/shannoncoulter/status/1159109237080903680">Shannon Coulter tweeted on Wednesday</a>.</p><p>"Tickets are $100,000 each. Adding to the list," she added, referring to #GrabYourWallet's influential list of brands for anti-Trump people to boycott.</p><p>Many people took to social media to criticize Ross and threaten to cut ties with the brands. The Advocate's editor-in-chief, Zach Stafford, <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/1159161903970754561">tweeted</a> that "front desks are getting hit with numerous calls from people canceling memberships," citing sources in Los Angeles Equinox locations.&#xa0;</p><p>SoulCycle and Equinox did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.&#xa0;</p><p>Now, Crunch Fitness is trying to win over angry Equinox members and SoulCycle visitors. The gym chain has been reaching out to people threatening to boycott the brands on Twitter, in an effort to get them to give Crunch a try.&#xa0;</p><p>"At Crunch we have spin karaoke, hosted by a drag queen," Crunch <a href="https://twitter.com/CrunchGym/status/1159167779028787200">tweeted</a> in response to one person seeking a SoulCycle replacement in New York City.&#xa0;</p><p>Crunch did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>Switching to Crunch will probably mean that boycotters will save money, as monthly membership fees at the gym<a href="https://www.crunch.com/join"> cost between $105 and $135.</a> Equinox charges <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/equinox-membership-prices-reviews-nyc-guide-2019-5">between $185 and $500 a month.&#xa0;</a></p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>There's so much room for everyone here at Crunch! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 <a href="https://t.co/8jyLHUd3gf">pic.twitter.com/8jyLHUd3gf</a></p>- Crunch  (@CrunchGym) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1159122436400566272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>We might know a place! DM us for more info! <a href="https://t.co/DSZmIKXRUW">pic.twitter.com/DSZmIKXRUW</a></p>- Crunch  (@CrunchGym) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1159108157320433665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Hey! We've always been great! 😝 <a href="https://t.co/76uc9gx66a">pic.twitter.com/76uc9gx66a</a></p>- Crunch  (@CrunchGym) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1159150008047996929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Hop on! We have room for more members! <a href="https://t.co/Tucqd3uMcJ">pic.twitter.com/Tucqd3uMcJ</a></p>- Crunch  (@CrunchGym) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1159165723803029506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Actual representation of us welcoming new members with our arms wide open! <a href="https://t.co/vNsGswBqKS">pic.twitter.com/vNsGswBqKS</a></p>- Crunch  (@CrunchGym) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1159150329402990593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pssssst! We're having specials this weekend over at Crunch. DM us for more info! <a href="https://t.co/SCAsm8U2j7">pic.twitter.com/SCAsm8U2j7</a></p>- Crunch  (@CrunchGym) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1159106483252060161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/movie-theaters-sneaky-ways-spend-more-money-amc-regal-2019-8">17 sneaky ways movie theaters get you to spend more money</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/WUa7aqzf-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Crunch Fitness is trying to win over people ditching Equinox and SoulCycle in protest of the trendy fitness brands' chairman's ties to Trump

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/576e9abb91058426008cbab3-2400/susan-collins.jpg" alt="susan collins" data-mce-source="Alex Wong/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 01: U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill February 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Collins discussed the release of a report that says that less than one percent of the 4,000-mile U.S.-Canada border is monitored by U.S. border officials." /><p class="source"><span>Alex Wong/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 01: U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill February 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Collins discussed the release of a report that says that less than one percent of the 4,000-mile U.S.-Canada border is monitored by U.S. border officials.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has announced that she will not be voting for Doanld Trump, adding herself to the rapidly growing list of high-profile Republicans distancing themselves from their party's candidate.</p><p>"This is not a decision I make lightly, for I am a lifelong Republican," Collins wrote in an editorial for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gop-senator-why-i-cannot-support-trump/2016/08/08/821095be-5d7e-11e6-9d2f-b1a3564181a1_story.html?postshare=4291470705075579&amp;tid=ss_tw#comments">The Washington Post</a>. "But Donald Trump does not reflect historical Republican values nor the inclusive approach to governing that is critical to healing the divisions in our country."</p><p>Collins wrote that she feels "increasingly dismayed" by Trump's behavior, and cited three incidents that cemented her decision: Trump's mocking of a reporter with disabilities, his attacks on a Mexican-American judge presiding over a case involving Trump University, and his feud with the parents of a slain Muslim-American soldier after they criticized him at the Democratic National Convention.</p><p>"It was his attacks directed at people who could not respond on an equal footing - either because they do not share his power or stature or because professional responsibility precluded them from engaging at such a level - that revealed Mr. Trump as unworthy of being our president," Collins wrote.</p><p>In rejecting Trump, Collins joins notable Republican congressmen, including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-kirk-endorse-donald-trump-2016-6">Sen. Mark Kirk</a> of Illinois, Virginia Rep. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/republican-congressman-endorsed-gary-johnson-2016-8">Scott Rigell</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-hanna-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-2016-8">Rep. Richard Hanna</a> from New York, and <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/adam-kinzinger-donald-trump-226643">Rep. Adam Kinzinger</a> of Illinois.</p><p>Like Kirk, Collins did not indicate a preference for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton or any other candidate in the race. Rigell and Hanna both crossed party lines, endorsing Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Clinton, respectively.</p><p>Collins' announcement comes on the same day 50 former top Republican national security officials <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gop-national-open-letter-donald-trump-2016-8">declared their opposition</a> to Trump's candidacy, signing an open letter in The New York Times warning that Trump would be "the most reckless president in American history."</p><h2><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gop-senator-why-i-cannot-support-trump/2016/08/08/821095be-5d7e-11e6-9d2f-b1a3564181a1_story.html?postshare=4291470705075579&amp;tid=ss_tw#comments">Read Collins' full editorial at The Washington Post</a>&lt;</h2>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/economists-think-trumps-proposed-economic-plan-politics-detroit-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-2016-8">Here's what economists think of Trump's proposed economic plan</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="hxc2M3NTE6_AXYg0qqWKV_A4OQrNZlgP" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'hxc2M3NTE6_AXYg0qqWKV_A4OQrNZlgP',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

A senator from Maine is the latest Republican to abandon Trump

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58e53d1c77bb7050008b6997-2400/ap16358443856831.jpg" alt="Putin and Trump" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Russia-Daily-Life/7d9c687edc71451888dddea00b8413d5/4/0">Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo</a></span></p><p class="caption">"It's an incorrect assumption that because they are Russian and because they voted for Trump, they also support Putin," says Samuel Kliger, director of Russian Jewish Community Affairs at the American Jewish Community.</p><p>Gary Kindler is a frequent guest on Davidzon Radio in Brooklyn, New York. He's a political commentator on a station likened to a Russian-language version of Rush Limbaugh.</p><p>And so it was on a spring day in 2014 that Gindler, in his deep Russian voice, started talking about Vladimir Putin and called the leader a "nano-Führer." His distrust and distaste for Russia's president is shared by many in the community.</p><p>Gindler immigrated to New York from Ukraine in 1995, a few years after the fall of the Soviet Union. His family didn't have much money and faced persecution as Jews.</p><p>Today, Gindler abhors policies that to him look like socialism in the US while also hating post-Soviet Putin, who he says suppresses political opposition.</p><p>Despite all that, Gindler is now a big supporter of a man who often praises Putin and whose campaign has been accused of colluding with the Russian leader: President Doanld Trump.</p><p>"One of them is a democratically elected president with all checks and balances upon him," Gindler said of Trump. "Another one is a dictator with unrestricted power over his not citizens - subjects."</p><p>In this way Gindler is not unique. During the last election, many of the <a href="https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf">800,000 Russian speakers</a> in the US embraced Trump out of disgust for the socialist values that made them flee the Soviet republics. Particularly among the generation of immigrants who came to the US in the 1980s and '90s, the tendency to decry Putin's policies as undemocratic while heralding Trump for his "revolutionary" promises persists. In the April primary, Trump earned <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/04/20/us/politics/best-nyc-neighborhoods-for-each-presidential-candidate.html">84% of the Republican vote</a> in Brighton Beach, an enclave of Russian-Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn nicknamed "Little Odessa."</p><p>Gindler dismisses allegations that Putin's Russia helped Trump win. He believes Russia was rooting for Trump but didn't do anything nefarious. It was Trump's promise to crack down on immigration from Muslim countries, decrease taxes, and repeal President Obama's Affordable Care Act that motivated Gindler to support the Republican.</p><p>"You shouldn't talk to any Russian-speaking person here in the West and expect any positive words about Putin," said Gindler, a registered independent voter who cast his ballot for Trump in November.</p><p>Trump's approval ratings <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2448">have been sinking</a> in the rest of the population, but among Russian-Americans, support for Trump is still largely going strong even as his administration faces ongoing intense scrutiny over <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-russia-ties-michael-flynn-dossier-2017-2">allegations of collaboration with members of the Putin administration</a>.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58e64da277bb701a008b6c02-633/undefined" alt="Gary Gindler (Russian Americans)" /><p class="source"><span>Photo Courtesy of Gary Gindler</span></p><p class="caption">Gary Kindler immigrated to New York from Ukraine in 1995.</p><p>Samuel Kliger, director of Russian Jewish Community Affairs at the American Jewish Community, said "many are quite satisfied" with Trump's performance and feel it is the Democrats in office who are preventing him from moving the country forward.</p><p>Even though both Putin and Trump are conservatives who have <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/24/donald-trump-cpac-media-enemy-of-the-people/98347970/">waged attacks against the media</a> and have been <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/12/13/putin-paradigm-how-trump-will-rule/">compared</a> for their "thirst for power" by prominent Russian-American journalists, many of the Russian-speaking Americans who voted for Trump think that the two have nothing in common.</p><p>Evgeny Finkel, a political-science professor at the Columbia College of Arts and Sciences, said many of the immigrants who came to the US in the 1980s and '90s embrace Republican values of personal and economic freedom because they wanted to escape "anything that smacks of socialism." Putin, he said, still reminds many of the Soviet ideologies, partly because of the government's culture of cronyism and repression of dissenters.</p><h2>Conflicting views</h2><p>Support for Trump and a hatred of Putin "can go together because support of Trump in this population is not driven by love of Russia and not even driven so much by Trump's foreign policy," said Finkel, adding that certain Russian-speaking communities voted Republican for years before Trump came along as a presidential candidate.</p><p>But as prominent Russian-American journalist Julia Ioffe wrote <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100922234092292&amp;set=a.610189453292.2159124.1105068&amp;type=3&amp;theater">on her Facebook page</a>, many of the same people who fled anti-Semitism in the former Soviet republics supported a candidate who built his platform on rhetoric and plans many see as discriminatory, such as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-border-wall-muslim-registry-2016-11">promises to create Muslim registry</a>.</p><p>Whether such views from Russian immigrants are contradictory or not, Jonas Kaplan, a psychology professor at the University of Southern California, said it is not uncommon for people to hold conflicting political beliefs, sometimes unconsciously. Even when confronted with contradictory evidence about a candidate, most people will choose to ignore or reconcile views that challenge their worldview rather than grapple with the possibility that they may be wrong.</p><p>"When people feel very identified with their political party, it's very difficult to change your mind because that means changing your relationships with people," said Kaplan, adding that many people build a strong sense of community around politically like-minded people. When you have small groups of people with similar beliefs, fitting in often matters more than being right.</p><h2>Loyalty to freedom</h2><p>As such, a continuing loyalty to Trump can continue to move in tandem with a deep dislike for Putin among certain members of the Russian-American community. In fact, many now feel unfairly discriminated against as some assume they're pro-Putin.</p><p>"It's an incorrect assumption that because they are Russian and because they voted for Trump, they also support Putin," said Kliger, who believes that many older people voted for Trump because they "wanted some changes for themselves and for the country" rather than out of support for Russia.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58e64d4c77bb70a0428b6691-1013/undefined" alt="Zoya Conover (Russian Americans)" /><p class="source"><span>Photo Courtesy of Zoya Conover</span></p><p class="caption">Zoya Conover is an art consultant from Atlanta who supports both Putin and Trump.</p><p>Of course not all Russian immigrants are anti-Putin. Zoya Conover, an art consultant who moved to Atlanta from Moscow in 1999, called both presidents "hardworking" and said that Trump might now have the chance to do for the US what Putin has done for Russia since taking power in 1999.</p><p>"He wants Russia for Russians," she said. Putin helped quell middle-class discontent, she said, and created a stronger sense of Russian identity since taking power. She wants to see a stronger alliance between the two countries.</p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/02/24/republican-lawmakers-introduce-bills-to-curb-protesting-in-at-least-17-states/?utm_term=.0113be141f60">But even as bills aimed to curb protesting</a> are introduced across the US, the more common view among Russian-Americans is that Putin and Trump are opposites.</p><p>"People who got freedom here will never tolerate what is going on over there," said Gindler.</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-low-approval-rating-comparison-presidents-gallup-poll-2017-3">Trump's approval rating plunged to 35% in just 69 days - here's how that compares to other presidents</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

You Searched For "Doanld Trump" and got 10 results

Rep. Adam Schiff says Jan. 6 committee plans to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for not complying with subpoena

Katie Balevic

The Justice Department will no longer subpoena journalists' records in leak investigations, White House says

Connor Perrett

About a dozen OAN employees have quit in recent months as some staffers don't believe the stories run on air, report says

Connor Perrett

Georgia's GOP lieutenant governor rules out Senate run but says 'Trump's divisive tone and strategy is unwinnable' for the future of the Republican party

Connor Perrett

A GOP senator who opposed impeachment defends Cheney, Murkowski after Trump amps up attacks

Connor Perrett

People are concerned that an $88 baseball sold on the Trump Organization's merch page could be a secret message to white supremacists

Jake Lahut

Trump campaign rejects reports that K-pop fans and TikTok teens are behind low rally attendance: 'we constantly weed out bogus numbers'

Connor Perrett

Crunch Fitness is trying to win over people ditching Equinox and SoulCycle in protest of the trendy fitness brands' chairman's ties to Trump

Kate Taylor

A senator from Maine is the latest Republican to abandon Trump

Mark Abadi

Hating Putin and loving Trump - why that makes sense to some Russian Americans

Veronika Bondarenko