Former President Donald Trump has enthusiastically thrown his support behind a primary challenger to none other than Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan. This endorsement marks a significant moment which has transformed into a compelling referendum on the immense power wielded by the state Republican Party. Hold onto your seats as this showdown unfolds!
On the social media platform Truth Social, Trump announced his support for David Covey, former Orange County Republican Party chair, in the House District 21 race. Trump described Covey as an America First Conservative who will prioritize securing the border, restoring election integrity, protecting our families, military/veterans, and defending our Second Amendment rights.
Trump criticized Phelan for supporting the impeachment of his ally, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which the former president called “fraudulent.” Paxton was acquitted by the Senate. In a statement on Tuesday, Phelan sought to align himself with the former president while portraying Covey’s endorsement as an uninformed decision.
Phelan, who has voted for President Trump twice and plans on voting for him again, expresses disappointment in his opponents seeking the endorsement as retribution for holding public officials accountable.
Phelan, who was first elected in 2014, is facing primary opponents for the first time this year. He now faces two challengers, Covey and anti-tax activist Alicia Davis, in the district that covers Orange, Jasper, and part of Jefferson counties. This is not the first time that Trump has shown a special interest in Phelan, which is noteworthy considering the former president’s involvement in state legislative matters that may seem minor.
Trump was critical of Phelan throughout Paxton’s impeachment proceedings. In October 2021, Trump also criticized the House leader for not taking action on an election audit bill, which was a priority for Lieutenant Governor Dan.Patrick — another close ally of Trump.
“Texans are tired of Phelan’s weak RINO leadership in the State House,” Trump said. “If this doesn’t pass soon, we look forward to seeing him in the Texas primary.”
When questioned about his alleged use of President Trump as a means to target Phelan, Patrick did not shy away from the topic. Instead, he acknowledged that his displeasure with the Speaker at the end of the session was widely known and hinted at a potential connection. While he did not explicitly confirm his involvement, his response strongly suggested that there may be more to this story than meets the eye.
Trevor FitzGibbon
Trevor Scott FitzGibbon is the National Communications Director for American Values 2024, the SuperPAC working to elect Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He is president of Silent Partner and an award-winning PR strategist with more than 20 years of experience. His work has primarily focused on defending human rights, whistleblowers, and exposing corruption throughout his career.
Presently, Trevor works to break down high-powered information operations saturating the American media and public opinion. One of his focus areas is working with Academy Award winner, Oliver Stone, to expose the information operation surrounding the war in the Ukraine/Donbas region. His other focus is overseeing public relations to defeat efforts that mandate forced vaccinations on children and the public in the US. Working with the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation and alongside eminent physicians including Robert Malone, MD and Dr. Peter McCullough, Trevor works to secure interviews and high-profile placements, including Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson Tonight, CNN, the Wall Street Journal and the Today Show.
His clients have ranged from Google Foundation and Amnesty International to WikiLeaks, Julian Assange Legal Defense, Pearl Jam, the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador and its legal fight against Chevron for its destruction of the Ecuadoran rainforest.
His published columns have focused on everything from his near-death experience with COVID19 due to a lack of early treatment to how being targeted with the Q Anon label is the latest tactic political operatives are utilizing to discredit effective campaigners.
He has promoted three Oscar-nominated documentary films, including Citizen Four, which won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
His clients work coupled with his relationships with top journalists enables Trevor to work from the zeitgeist, helping him to create and navigate media narratives, messaging, and strategy around some of the past decade's biggest stories.
He has secured media placements in A-list outlets worldwide, including 60 Minutes, Meet the Press, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Economist, and the Financial Times.
In 2012, FitzGibbon Helps Take Down Backpage.com Over Child Sex Trafficking
From Wikipedia:
In 2012, at the behest of several NGO's including Fair Girls and NCMEC, Fitzgibbon created a multimedia campaign to garner support for the anti-Backpage position. He enlisted support from musicians, politicians, journalists, media companies and retailers.
The campaign created a greater public dialogue, both pro and con, regarding Backpage.[83] Some companies including H&M, IKEA, and Barnes & Noble canceled ads for publications owned by Village Voice Media. Over 230,000 people including 600 religious leaders, 51 attorneys general, 19 U.S. senators, over 50 non-governmental associations, musician Alicia Keys, and members of R.E.M., The Roots, and Alabama Shakes petitioned the website to remove sexual content.[68]
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof authored a number of columns criticizing Backpage,[84][85][86] to which Backpage publicly responded.[87] In a March 17, 2012 column, "Where Pimps Peddle Their Goods," Kristof told the story of a young woman whose "street name" was Alissa. Kristof wrote that pimps had coerced Alissa into a life of prostitution and posted ads for her on Backpage while she was underage. He also urged mainstream advertisers to boycott Village Voice Media and linked to a Change.org petition asking VVM to stop allowing its users to post adult ads on Backpage.”
