Good morning from a wet and chilly Florence Regional Airport, where former President Trump is set to hold a rally in support of Katie Arrington and Russell Fry tonight.
This is the vendor area.
Coming in, dozens of people waving Fry for Congress signs along the highway. Talked to a few.
One was thrilled to be here, and was talking about how nice everyone was. Another told me J6 was a hoax, the election was stolen, and predicted a violent civil war.
Dems countering, saying the GOP is siding with Putin over their appearance with Trump today.
Talked to a few vendors. Met one who came all the way from Michigan, named Pete, who began following Trump rallies in 2020 and is again in 2024.
Lots of flags for sale, including the Gadsden flag and the stars and bars.
Hundreds of cars here already, but this one has the most flags I've seen so far.
Some creative bumper stickers too.
"When I die, don't let me vote Democrat," among others.
Mike Lindell has arrived at Katie Arrington's tent.
"I'm endorsing her, as of today," Lindell says after arriving to huge applause and chants of "let's go Brandon!" by Arrington.
And here's Lindell's endorsement of Russell Fry.
Fiery speech by Arrington, where she blames Biden for today's economic state, and fires a preemptive blow at the "fake news" for how they depict Trump followers.
"You're patriots!" she says.
Rep. Logue is here to support Fry, along with Rep. Stewart Jones.
"He is gonna fry some rice, he says to cheers. "Tom Rice really messed up."
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Here at the University of South Carolina Law School for a panel on Ukraine featuring alums @LindseyGrahamSC and @RepJoeWilson, along with top instructors at the school.
Joel Samuels, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and an expert on international law, calls the invasion of Ukraine by Russia unprecedented in his lifetime.
"There has been an event that is shaken my understanding of the world post World War Two like this invasion."
Saying that this invasion has challenged the natural order of the international legal system.
Called this an "existential threat," to our ability to keep the peace, and raises serious questions about whether we can enforce the laws when broken.
Trump fired broad shots at political rivals Tom Rice and Nancy Mace, while Russell Fry and Katie Arrington received some major MAGA world endorsements:
Also a major shout-out to my editor, @skropf47, who pulled together substantial portions of this amid significant, cold weather-induced technical issues.
Packed committee room for today's hearing on South Carolina's "Save Women's Sports" bill.
We have a hard 10 a.m. stop time, and a full list of speakers.
The bill -- as seen in other states -- would require student athletes at public schools to declare their biological gender at-birth for intramural or interscholastic sports.
Females would be permitted to play male sports if those sports are not available to females.
Matthew Sharp, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, naming numerous incidents in which individuals who were born male broke NCAA records.
Argues males would displace females due to inherent physiological differences. Argues NCAA has failed to act.
Earlier today, SC Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, released a statement saying there was nobody to blame for the invasion than Putin himself.
Here, Arrington blaming not just Biden, but the people who certified his election.
At a press conference with @henrymcmaster this morning, where he is announcing the appointment of acting director of the Department of Juvenile Justice, Eden Hendrick, to the position full-time.
Hendrick has been in the post since September, and has a long public service career in the state.
"This is not an easy task, or a challenge that can be taken on overnight," Hendrick says.