Topline
Former President Donald Trump was photographed posing alongside convicted ex-Philadelphia mob boss Joey Merlino at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach earlier this month, the ហ្វីឡាដេហ្វីយ៉ាសួរ reported–but his presidential campaign brushed off the photo-op, despite reportedly installing new vetting protocols after Trump’s meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes drew widespread criticism.
In this Feb. 20, 1997 file photo, Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino talks to the media outside the … [+]
AP1997
ការពិតសំខាន់
Trump, Merlino and a third, unidentified man are pictured wearing golf clothes and flashing thumbs-up signs inside Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach earlier this month, នៃ ហ្វីឡាដេហ្វីយ៉ាសួរ បានរាយការណ៍។
The Trump campaign downplayed the photo-op in a statement, telling the Inquirer, “President Trump takes countless photos with people. That does not mean he knows every single person he comes in contact with.”
The statement echoes the campaign’s claim in November that Trump did not know white supremacist Nick Fuentes when he hosted him and rapper Kanye West at Mar-A-Lago in November, a meeting that drew outrage on both sides of the aisle.
The Merlino photo op seems to contradict new protocols Trump’s campaign reportedly installed following the Fuentes meeting, including vetting anyone who comes into contact with Trump and having a senior campaign official with him at all times, a process សារព័ត៌មានពាក់ព័ន្ធ។ reported in November.
Merlino served 10 years in prison starting in 2001 following a conviction on federal racketeering charges.
After moving to Boca Raton, Florida, Merlino served a four-month prison sentence in 2014 when he was caught violating his parole by hanging out with a former mob associate, and was sentenced to two years in federal prison in 2018 on a gambling-related charge.
ទស្សនាវដ្តី Forbes has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
សាវតាសំខាន់
Weeks after announcing his third run for the presidency, Trump was widely criticized by prominent GOP members for hosting Fuentes and West, who has made a series of antisemitic comments, for a dinner at Mar-A-Lago. Former Vice President Mike Pence called on Trump to apologize for the meeting, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also publicly denounced the sit-down. Trump, meanwhile, insisted he knew “nothing about” Fuentes when West brought him along.
តង់ហ្សង់។
While it’s unclear if Trump knows Merlino outside of the encounter at Trump International, Merlino is an outspoken Trump supporter. After several mob associates testified against him in his 2018 trial, Merlino ប្រាប់អ្នកយកព័ត៌មាន “President Trump is right. They’ve got to outlaw the flippers.” The statement echoes សុន្ទរកថា Trump made about his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen in 2018, after Cohen admitted to making hush-money payments to women Trump allegedly had affairs with in a plea deal. “For 30, 40 years I’ve been watching flippers . . . it almost ought to be outlawed. It’s not fair,” Trump បានប្រាប់ Fox & Friends.
អានបន្ថែម
McConnell បរិហារការជួបរបស់លោក Trump ជាមួយកំពូលអ្នកតំណាងស្បែកស - ការចូលរួមក្នុងគណបក្សសាធារណរដ្ឋផ្សេងទៀតទាំងនេះ (ទស្សនាវដ្តី Forbes)
Nick Fuentes: ជួបជាមួយឧត្តមសេនីយស្បែកស Gen-Z ដែលញ៉ាំអាហារជាមួយ Trump និង Kanye West (ទស្សនាវដ្តី Forbes)
ក្រោម 20% នៃជនជាតិអាមេរិកយល់ព្រមអាហារពេលល្ងាចរបស់លោក Trump ជាមួយ Nick Fuentes ការស្ទង់មតិថ្មីរកឃើញ (ទស្សនាវដ្តី Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/01/23/trump-reportedly-pictured-with-convicted-ex-philly-mob-boss-at-florida-golf-club/