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Donald Trump Jr. blitzes Georgia airwaves ahead of January's Senate runoffs

09 December 2020
 Dan Ackermann

Donald Trump Jr. plans to travel to Georgia by the end of the month to urge Republicans to turn out for twin Jan. 5 runoffs that'll determine control of the U.S. Senate, and will argue that the outcome is crucial to cementing his father's legacy.

Why it matters: Republicans worry that President Trump's grievances about the last election could keep his voters home for the next one. Don Jr., who did 100 campaign events between Sept. 1. and Election Day, has huge credibility with the base.

Save the U.S. Senate PAC is spending $500,000 on its debut TV ad, with Don Jr. saying: "My father's accomplishments are on your ballot."

  • The ad will run statewide digital and Fox News in Georgia, and nationally on Newsmax.

The super PAC, which launched last week with a six-figure radio buy, was started by two close Don Jr. advisers, Andy Surabian and Taylor Budowich,

  • Save the Senate has filmed a second Don Jr. ad with a Second Amendment focus. That ad will debut later this month.

Don Jr. told Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Tuesday night that Democrats would love for Republicans to be demoralized: "If you sit back and allow apathy to take over, ... you are literally giving the Democrats everything that they have hoped for."

  • "My father's legacy ... everything that he's accomplished is on the table, as far as I'm concerned, in this election," Don Jr. continued.
  • "So if you're a Trump guy, you'd be foolish to listen to a few individuals who say: 'Ah, sit at home.' It's as though they're working for the Democrats."

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Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.