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Former Trump White House staffers back John Kelly on his warning about Trump
Two days after former Trump White House chief of staff John Kelly said that his ex-boss fits the definition of a fascist and occasionally remarked that Adolf Hitler “did some good things,” 13 more members of the Trump administration penned an open letter backing up Kelly’s claims.
“Donald Trump’s disdain for the American military and admiration for dictators like Hitler is rooted in his desire for absolute, unchecked power,” wrote the group, which includes former national security, communications and other White House staff. “This is a man who threw his own Vice President – Mike Pence – at a violent mob in a desperate bid to hold on to power.”
Politico first reported on the letter Friday.
Kelly, retired U.S. Marine Corps general, told The New York Times and the Atlantic in recent interviews that Trump “could never wrap his arms around why people would serve the country in uniform” and “admires people who are dictators.”
“Everyone should heed General Kelly’s warning,” wrote the former Trump staffers, who described themselves as “lifelong Republicans who served our country.”
Trump and his campaign have raged against Kelly. In a statement Wednesday, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, “Kelly has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated because he failed to serve his President well while working as Chief of Staff and currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“President Trump has always honored the service and sacrifice of all of our military men and women, whereas Kamala Harris has completely disrespected the families of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, including the Abbey Gate 13,” Cheung said, referring to the August 2021 deaths of 13 members of the United States military in a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Trump is in what appears to be a photo finish race against Vice President Kamala Harris, less than two weeks until Election Day. Harris has portrayed Trump as a threat to democracy, citing comments he’s made about being a dictator on “day one” and numerous promises to prosecute or punish those he considers enemies.
The Harris campaign conducted a focus group of undecided battleground state voters Thursday night. Kelly’s comments about Trump asserting that he met the definition of a fascist were viewed by them as trustworthy and nonpartisan, and some said they were now having second thoughts about supporting Trump.
In the closing days of the campaign, Harris has begun to focus on the message that compelled Joe Biden to run in 2020, that a Trump presidency poses a threat to our democracy. An internal Harris campaign poll in the last couple of weeks found that for persuadable or undecided voters, Trump’s pursuit of unchecked power was one of their top concerns, and the message that most concerned them was that those who had worked closely with him during his presidency and left said he shouldn’t be president again because of the risk he poses to national security.
Harris herself commented on Kelly’s claims during an appearance on CNN Wednesday, saying, “Why is he telling the American people now?”
“This time, we must take very seriously those folks who knew him best and who were career people are not going to be there to hold him back,” Harris said.
Tickets to the 2024 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the priciest in Major League Baseball history.
The historic matchup between the two storied teams from opposite coasts, who haven’t met in a World Series since 1981, is the driver behind high ticket prices, experts say.
“It is one of the most in-demand World Series we’ve ever seen. Two marquee teams, from two major cities, both with star power brings a ton of demand,” Chris Leyden, director of growth marketing for SeatGeek told CBS MoneyWatch. “It has everything you could ask for form demand perspective, and we are seeing that push up ticket prices.”
The first game of the series will take place in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, at 8:08 ET. Fans will have to pay at least $700 just to get into the stadium, according to Leyden.
Average ticket prices for tonight’s matchup and other games set to take place in Los Angeles are around $1,700, according to SeatGeek. Ticket prices for games held in New York are slightly higher at around $2,300 each on average, partly because Yankee Stadium accommodates fewer fans than Dodger Stadium does.
“You can definitely get tickets for less, and certainly for more,” Leyden added. “Tickets are really hot in both markets.”
How hot are they? Leyden noted that average ticket prices for the 2024 World Series are comparable to those for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts in the U.S.
When is the best time to buy tickets?
Leyden said he’s seen demand both increase and decrease for sports championships, with prices dipping for tonight’s game over the course of the day — given that the first pitch will be thrown out in just a few hours. But it can be hard to predict the direction in which ticket prices move.
“Sometimes prices come down for championship events, sometimes they go up,” he said.
On resale sites like SeatGeek, the market determines the price. Sellers who list tickets for too much money won’t have any buyers. Folks who don’t set prices high enough will see their tickets sell quickly, but leave money on the table.
StubHub spokesperson Adam Budelli said 2024 World Series ticket purchases on the resale platform have already outpaced sales for last year’s MLB championship series, and that this year’s tournament will be the best-selling World Series in history.
“Get-in” prices for the cheapest available tickets to Game 2 on Saturday night are holding steady at around $950 per ticket, Budelli said.
Pricing will be more dynamic as the series progresses, based on the outcome of each game and fan speculation.
The World Series Championship is determined by the best out of seven games, meaning the first team to win four games wins the title. In the event that one team sweeps the first four games, Games 5 through 7 won’t take place.
That said, Budelli noted that it’s better for fans to purchase tickets to later games now, given that prices are holding steady and that sellers refund buyers 100% of the ticket price if a game never happens.
“Tickets to those games will only go up in price from here,” he said.
Budelli offered another insight for buying tickets: Typically, the best time to buy seats is 24-48 hours before the game, after the market has settled. This is to avoid peak-demand windows when prices spike, he said.
“We sometimes see ticket prices go up closer to the games, because of the amount of people shopping who have been waiting,” he said.
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