Donald Trump will take the stage at the Phoenix Convention Center at 6PM local time to deliver what his campaign heralded all week as a “major immigration policy speech.” However Trump’s own website has apparently just downgraded tonight’s event to a mere “rally.” Whatever it turns out to be, this speech will get far more attention than his usual stump …

From the Southern Poverty Law Center: The two political operatives chosen earlier this month to lead Donald Trump’s presidential campaign after two former managers departed have been members of the secretive Council for National Policy (CNP), Hatewatch has learned. Longtime Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway and Stephen Bannon, executive chairman of the far-right Breitbart News operation, were named on Aug. 17 …

This afternoon Donald Trump told the press that he and Mexico’s president did not discuss who will pay for the wall. Oh, but wait. Via Reuters: Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Wednesday told Donald Trump that Mexico would not pay for the Republican presidential candidate’s proposed wall along the Mexico-U.S. border, contradicting Trump’s assertion they didn’t discuss payment. “What …

ABC News reports: Donald Trump said that while he had a “substantive, direct and constructive” meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, they “didn’t discuss” who would pay for the border wall that Trump has made a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. Trump arrived in Mexico City this afternoon and took the microphone for a press conference alongside Pena Nieto. …

JMG reader Richard tips us that Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Dean Trantalis just announced on his Facebook page that Craig Jungwirth, who is suspected of having made terrorist threats against Wilton Manors gay bars, has been apprehended in the Orlando area. See his message below. At this writing no further details are available. I’ll update this post shortly when more …

Bloomberg reports: An evenly divided U.S. Supreme Court refused to reinstate North Carolina’s Republican-backed voting restrictions for the November election, leaving intact a lower court’s conclusion that lawmakers intentionally discriminated against racial minorities. The high court rejected the state’s bid to halt much of the federal appeals court ruling, dividing 4-4 on the central questions. The rebuff — issued without …

CNN reports:  Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right-wing French political party National Front, praised Donald Trump on Wednesday and said that “for France, anything is better than Hillary Clinton.” In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Hala Gorani, Le Pen compared herself to Trump, observing that both of them have waged iconoclastic campaigns against their country’s political “establishment.” “We …

As the kids would say, this is some next level trolling. Posted to Facebook this afternoon by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough: After busting out of a Turkish prison while serving consecutive life sentences for some minor offenses that won’t be discussed here, Willie and I, entirely by chance, ended up in Amsterdam where we met a plucky young band that …

Because Mexico is a remote, mysterious country that’s been shrouded from western eyes during its decades of communist rule. Via Raw Story: CNN contributor Jeffrey Lord on Wednesday praised Donald Trump for going to Mexico, comparing it to President Nixon’s historic trip to China. Historians have said that Nixon’s 1972 trip to China is in the same league with the …

Via Right Wing Watch: In an interview with St. Louis radio host Jamie Allman today, anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller claimed that Hillary Clinton has declared that she will “shut down” Breitbart.com if she becomes president, a nonexistent declaration that Geller said represented “the Sharia” and “totalitarianism.” Geller started out by attacking Secretary of State John Kerry’s remark at a press …

Last week Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed best friend the gay community ever had, began selling “LGBTQ For Trump” t-shirts. This week Donald Trump’s actual best friends at InfoWars began selling the above t-shirt, the reverse of which bears an American flag and this message: “The Most Patriotic Way To Say Fuck You!” InfoWars host Joe Biggs is promoting the sale …

Uh huh, yeah. Via Politico: Maine Gov. Paul LePage on Wednesday blamed a reporter in part for his fiery outburst to a state lawmaker last week and vowed never to speak with the press again. Despite telling a local radio station on Tuesday that he may or may not resign and acknowledging “maybe it’s time to move on,” his position …

CNN reports: When JetBlue Flight 387 touched down Wednesday in Cuba, it was the first direct commercial flight between the US and the island in over a half-century. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Santa Clara, Cuba, flight is the latest symbol of the thawing of relations between the former Cold War adversaries, who restored diplomatic ties in 2015. Until now, …

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway appeared on MSNBC this morning to make this astoundingly stupid statement: “I think people want to know what Hillary Clinton thinks about the issues literally have to tune into those debates to watch it. That’s a shame that people have to wait until September 26, here in New York, to listen to what Hillary Clinton …

Talking Points Memo reports: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox on Wednesday morning said that the Mexican people do not want Donald Trump to visit the country, despite Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s invitation for the Republican nominee to attend a meeting. “We don’t like him. We don’t want him. We reject his message. I don’t understand why President Pena has …

The suspect is a gay man with a lengthy criminal history who is very well known to the South Florida bear community, bar owners, and club promoters. Via Miami’s NBC affiliate: The Broward LGBT community is on edge after threats were made on social media. Some bars in Wilton Manors, like Rumors Bar and Grill, are stepping up security with …

Arizona Public Media reports: Former legislator Matt Heinz won the Democratic primary election in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District Tuesday and will challenge incumbent Republican Martha McSally. With nearly half the votes counted, Heinz led Victoria Steele, another former legislator, 53 percent to 47 percent. In comments at a Democratic victory party, Heinz set the agenda for his campaign. “Martha McSally …

Buzzfeed reports that during the 2012 campaign, current Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon blasted Mitt Romney and his sons for avoiding military service. Ahem. Listen below. From their article: Bannon made the remarks in an October 2012 interview on Conservative Republican Forum Radio, when he was still chairman of Breitbart News and promoting his documentary, The Hope and the Change. …

Politico reports: Donald Trump’s meeting in Mexico with President Enrique Peña Nieto ahead of his immigration speech Wednesday night in Phoenix will not change anything about what he has previously said about the country or its people, a top aide for Hillary Clinton’s campaign said. “From the first days of his campaign, Donald Trump has painted Mexicans as ‘rapists’ and …

CNN reports: An expected meeting between Trump and Peña Nieto is extraordinary, given Trump’s continued pledges to build a wall on the border with Mexico and make Mexico pay for it. Trump has also stoked fierce criticism in Mexico and in the Hispanic community at large for his inflammatory rhetoric in discussing illegal immigration. At a Tuesday night rally, Trump …