#andy barr

trump-backed andy barr wins republican primary for mcconnell's seat

MAGA Republican sycophants are buying blocks of seats at theaters so that the 'Melania' film looks like less of a flop and to kiss up to The Orange One.

A GOP lawmaker seeking President Donald Trump's endorsement in his Senate campaign bought out one entire showing of "Melania" at a theater, revealing that juicing ticket sales for the wretched documentary about Trump’s wife-in-name-only is a fresh new way to bribe the commander in chief. Republican Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky, who is running to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, gave away free tickets for a Jan. 30 showing of the film. The giveaway was promoted as part of his campaign, so he may have used campaign funds to purchase the tickets. “Join Team Barr for a SPECIAL event to celebrate #Melania. We will be offering FREE limited tickets for the premiere of Melania right here in Kentucky. God bless our great FLOTUS [first lady of the United States],” Barr wrote in a Facebook post advertising the showing.

The Melania film is a matryoshka doll of bribery.

In fact, the “Melania” documentary itself is a bribe from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who reportedly spent $40 million to make the film and another $35 million to promote it, as a way to boost his business empire. “Jeff Bezos gave Trump $40 million by buying the 'Melania' documentary through Amazon. Last week, it premiered. Now, Trump's 'Secretary of War' visits Bezos' Blue Origin, which gets billions in government contracts. Trump gets paid. Taxpayers get screwed,” Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Texas wrote in a post on X.

The reports on ticket sales are both accurate and at the same time dubious.

Reports said the movie sold more than $7 million worth of tickets in its opening weekend, which many in the mainstream media cheered as a massive feat. But the large sales were suspect from the start since some online ticket-booking sites showed barely any tickets had been purchased on its opening night. It looks like there were other mass buys of tickets, too. U.S. Ambassador to Greece ​​​​Kimberly Guilfoyle, the jilted lover of Donald Trump Jr., hosted the Greek premiere of the film. And box-office insider Tom Brueggemann wrote on his Substack that “industry sources say there were signs that blocs of tickets were purchased for the weekend, then distributed to senior citizen homes, Republican activitists [sic], [and] other interested parties for free to help boost audiences.” First-quarter fundraising reports—which are due to be filed with the Federal Election Commission on April 15—should shed more light on whether other GOP lawmakers, candidates, and campaigns bulk-purchased tickets to juice sales.

Last Friday I checked a booking site for a theater showing 'Melania' in Brooklyn. Most of the showings revealed sales of 0 to 4 seats. But for one particular showing about half the theater was booked in a single bloc of seats. How many people actually showed up may be a different matter. There are also no stats on how many people left early. 😉

ICYMI, the director of 'Melania' is Brett Ratner who was outed as a sex abuser during the #MeToo revelations. Ratner has turned up in the Epstein files.

I can't come close to posting all the protests, but I like to post a selection to remind people it's going on and they aren't alone.

‘Do your job’: Voters voice frustration after Nancy Mace declines town hall invite

Protestors gather outside Rep. Buddy Carters’ office

Andy Barr knew Lexington town hall was locally organized. He still lied about attendees | Opinion