If I were to ask you to name a Minnesota Democrat, I would imagine the first politician to come to mind for most of you would be Rep. Ilhan Omar. I’m sure there would be a few votes for Sen. Amy Klobuchar and her sputtering presidential campaign, and maybe a few of you would have memories of disgraced former Sen. Al Franken. But the freshman congresswoman from Minneapolis would likely come in first.

From that, you might intuit that Minnesota is getting more progressive. After all, the state hasn’t gone Republican in a national election since 1972. Omar took her seat from Keith Ellison, a progressive who became the state’s attorney general. Surely this isn’t Trump territory.

A funny thing is happening in Minnesota’s mining country, however — and it could mean that the Gopher State might turn red in 2020.

The trend is so pronounced in this usually Democratic corner of the world that even CNN is covering it. Take the mayor of Eveleth, Minnesota — who votes Democrat in local elections but has a Trump sticker on the front of his desk.

He’s in the middle of the Iron Range, a mining area much closer to Canada than it is to the Twin Cities:

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Robert Vlaisavljevich recalled the glory days of the town — “40 or 50 years ago,” when Iron Range cities like Eveleth had “big city prosperity,” CNN reported.

“Things were just going gangbusters,” Vlaisavljevich said, walking down the town’s main street with CNN’s Martin Savidge.

“Businesses all over. Then, when it crashed, everybody was caught by surprise. When it crashed, it crashed hard.”

Trump, the mayor says, has focused on mining in a way the Democrats haven’t.

“He’s our guy, he supports mining. He’s our guy,” Vlaisavljevich said.

He’s not alone. When Savidge asked the mayor whether or not this was “thousands of people shifting and changing their politics,” he responded that was indeed the case.

If Savidge found any evidence to dent that statement, it wasn’t presented in the segment. The complaint was one we’ve heard before: Residents didn’t leave the party, the party left them.

“I think they’ve changed. I see conservative candidates seem to be more for the working person,” Melissa Axelson, whose husband works for a mining company, said.

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Mike Volker, meanwhile, said, “the Democrats kinda shifted more to the left and the Republicans are … the party for jobs.”

As for Ilhan Omar, well, she doesn’t get a whole lot of love up in that part of the world.

“She offends a lot of people,” Vlaisavljevich said.

“She’s not popular here,” Savidge responded, which got an emphatic no from the mayor.

Trump has stated that he thinks Omar will help him win in 2020.

“In 2016 I almost won Minnesota,” he tweeted in July. “In 2020, because of America hating anti-Semite Rep. Omar, & the fact that Minnesota is having its best economic year ever, I will win the State! ‘We are going to be a nightmare to the President,’ she say. No, AOC Plus 3 are a Nightmare for America!”

In 2016 I almost won Minnesota. In 2020, because of America hating anti-Semite Rep. Omar, & the fact that Minnesota is having its best economic year ever, I will win the State! “We are going to be a nightmare to the President,” she say. No, AOC Plus 3 are a Nightmare for America!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2019

While CNN’s Chris Cillizza doesn’t buy that Ilhan Omar will deliver Minnesota into Trump’s hands in 2020, he also doesn’t think the state is a slam dunk for Democrats — which could be why reliably liberal CNN is sounding the alarm.

After Trump’s tweet in July, Cillizza wrote, “there’s no question the state has been trending more competitive for Republicans in recent years. In 2012, it was the 11th closest state — by margin of victory — as then-President Barack Obama won it by 7.6 points over Mitt Romney. In 2016, it was the sixth closest state, with Clinton winning by 1.5 points.

“That’s in keeping with Trump’s gains more broadly in the industrial Midwest — putting Ohio out of reach and winning in places like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — where GOP presidential nominees hadn’t won in decades,” Cillizza wrote.

While it may not be Omar herself who’s inspiring these gains in the industrial Midwest, it’s what she represents: the Democratic Party’s lurch to the left. Mining country is, by its very nature, union country. That would ordinarily represent easy pickings for the Dems.

Instead, what we see is blue-collar Americans turning away from the Democrats because the Democrats have turned away from them. Yes, the Iron Range is just one part of the state, but the results from 2016 indicate there are a lot more voters thinking like the mayor of Eveleth is.

That should worry whomever Donald Trump’s opponent is since the last thing they need is another state to defend.

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British police have announced they take no action against a Muslim taxi driver who threatened “any mother f**ker wants to convert to f**king Christianity, we’re both gonna f**k you up the a**e” in a viral video.

41-year-old Zaheer Hussain shot the video, which went viral in December 2018, alongside a laughing companion in a car in Preston, Lancashire.

Press reports on the video are short on details, with one downplaying the rant as merely “criticising ‘anyone who converts’ to Christianity”, but copies can still be found on social media.

The footage shows Hussain telling the camera, “Bruv, listen… any motherf**ker wants to convert to f**king Christianity, we’re both gonna f**k you up the a**e, you under-f**king-stand? … We’re gonna f**ck you up the a**e; we’re gonna come to f**cking [place name], and we’re gonna f**ck you, f**ck you up the [unintelligible],” as he simulates an act of sexual assault.

Over the course of his rant, extended sections of which are in a foreign language, he also demands “Why you f**king converting for [sic], you motherf**kers? Huh? Why you f**cking — why would you want to become a Christian? You f**king [unintelligible] s**t motherf**kers.”

Apparently his comments that white people would “all geddit” were taken out of context https://t.co/uJeQpS3BTk

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 7, 2017

Hussain was reported to Lancashire Constabulary by a Christian woman from Preston, who said “it frightens me now to identify myself as a Christian to someone that I don’t know” and that it was “sad that I have to hide my religion.”

“This man’s dangerous views on something so normal like people changing religions is unacceptable, she added.

“His threats to sexually assault those who convert to Christianity is the heart of hate speech.

“To me, he is displaying extremist tendencies and is encouraging violence.

“I’m genuinely concerned for the welfare of the public who may not be aware of his extreme views.”

Under Islamic law, enforced by the state in many Muslim-majority countries, the penalty for leaving Islam is death.

“Do not post anything which could be considered offensive” – Police hunt down Facebook users who made “offensive” comments about Muslim grooming gangs online. #Priorities https://t.co/ik0Vr9txvU

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 13, 2018

The police, however, ultimately opted to take no action against Hussain or four other men interviewed in connection with the video, apparently accepting his claims that he only intended for the video to be seen by a few friends, and that there was therefore no evidence to prove that the arrested man had any intention to incite or stir up religious hatred amongst the general public”, to quote a local report.

“A separate offence of sending a grossly offensive/indecent or menacing message by a public communication network” was also considered, according to the same report, but prosecutors decided “that it did not meet the evidential test for a criminal offence.”

Hussain’s generous treatment by the authorities contrasts sharply with that meted out to Scottish comedian Markus Meechan, better known as Count Dankula, who was arrested, charged, and convicted in a trial without a jury for causing gross offence with a viral video in which he trained his girlfriend’s pug dog to imitate the “least cute thing that I could think of, which is a Nazi” — despite his having also told the authorities it was only intended for a small circle of friends.

Scots Comedian Convicted for ‘Offensive’ Pug Joke: ‘A Very, Very Dark Day in Regards to Freedom of Speech’ https://t.co/IzAPddsh6U

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 21, 2018

Follow Jack Montgomery on Twitter: @JackBMontgomery

Follow Breitbart London on Facebook: Breitbart London

Commentators Diamond and Silk, who offer a conservative counterpoint to the liberal line followed by many black political leaders, slammed Democratic leaders Friday for focusing on the subject of reparations when it is not what black Americans need.

“Let me just tell you this here, when it comes to Democrats listening, they promise on everything and they deliver on nothing,” Diamond, whose real name is Lynnette Hardaway, said during a Friday appearance on the Fox News morning program “Fox & Friends.”

“Look at how they’re promising reparations, black people don’t need reparations, they need liberation from the Democrat Party,” she said.

In June, House Democrats held a hearing to discuss how reparations could be handled.

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“I don’t think we should rule out cutting checks. There are people who deserve checks,” writer Ta-Nehisi Coates said at the hearing, according to CNN. Coates, who has advocated reparations since at least 2014,  said the early U.S. economy relied upon slavery, which supported “torture, rape and child trafficking.”

On Friday, Diamond and Silk were weighing in on comments from basketball legend Charles Barkley, who said Wednesday that black voters are too often ignored.

“They’ve been taking black people’s votes — and they only talk to black people every four years. All of these politicians only talk to black people every four years because they want their vote,” Barkley said on Sirius XM, according to Mediaite.

In a June interview with TMZ, Barkley said he did not think reparations were logistically possible.

Diamond and Silk, meanwhile, believe the accomplishments of President Donald Trump demonstrate action in contrast to the lack of even trying from Democrats.

“When it comes to the Republican Party, we have a Republican president. He’s not all talk, he takes action,” Diamond said, referencing Trump’s efforts to help the black community by reviving the economy to help more black Americans get jobs, as well as Trump’s support of the FIRST STEP Act to help ex-convicts.

Black unemployment in August was 5.5 percent, far below the 8.1 percent figure from the end of 2016 before Trump was inaugurated.  Trump said in April that the FIRST STEP Act was already helping more than 16,000 inmates.

“Republicans don’t have to pander, because they deliver … our Republican president … is delivering,” Diamond said.

Silk, whose real name is Rochelle Richardson, voiced the wish that black people would have a “come to Jesus moment” and “realize that the Democrat Party mean black people no good.”

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Silk said Trump helps the black community by “leading by example.”

“The president is doing what he needs to do when it comes down to black people by showing people this is what you need for the black community,” she said.

“You need jobs so you can take care of your family,” Silk added. “Instead of talking about it, he’s ‘being about it,’  and that’s why black people are waking up to it.”

Silk differed with Barkley on the 2020 election, in which he has expressed a leaning toward Sound Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, one of the Democrats seeking the party’s nomination.

She said she wants a candidate who works toward the “betterment of all Americans.”

“Anybody can support whoever they want to,” she said, “but I want to support someone that is doing something for all Americans, including black Americans.”

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Are you sick of the way Portland coddles Antifa?

A dispute that began when a group of cheerleaders was punished for displaying a pro-Trump banner has now resulted in a North Carolina school canceling Friday night’s football game.

On Friday afternoon, the Stanly County Schools tweeted that the North Stanly High School game would be canceled over security concerns, but it did not elaborate.

SCS has been notified of additional information that could compromise safety measures in place for sporting events. Upon receiving information, the NSHS football game scheduled for 9/20/19 is canceled. Safety is our first concern. https://t.co/jxIBaqzNjx pic.twitter.com/pChtIO0xMX

— Stanly Co. Schools (@StanlySchools) September 20, 2019

The action came after the North Carolina High School Athletic Association put North Stanly cheerleaders on probation because prior to the school’s Aug. 30 game, some cheerleaders posed with a banner that read “Trump 2020 Make America Great Again,” Fox News reported.

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The incident took place on what was being celebrated as “American Night,” and students had been encouraged to wear red white and blue. The Stanly News & Press quoted school officials as saying that the banner was not school-sponsored and that the school had a policy against political statements.

@LaraLeaTrump being from NC I thought you should know that the NC High School Athletics Association has put the entire North Stanly High School Cheerleader squad on probation for supporting Trump 2020. Attached is the controversial picture. https://t.co/xwK8C9WNSA pic.twitter.com/GWQ1CFzD49

— Mark Chamley (@MarkCChamley) September 16, 2019

Community members had planned a rally in support of the cheerleaders prior to Friday’s game and planned to display a large American flag.

“There was no threat,” Jeremy Onitreb, who helped organize the rally, said, according to the Charlotte Observer. “Nobody’s coming up there to hurt the kids. It’s not what this was about.”

Onitreb was then asked if the rally is going to ever happen.

“You’re damn right it is,” he said.

“The next rally is going to happen out at the NCHSAA offices. Que Tucker is next, we’re coming for her job. Until she decides to resign, we’re taking this fight to her,” he said, citing the commissioner of the group that put the cheerleaders on probation.

The NCHSAA has said probation is not punishment and that it did not ban the cheerleaders from participating in future games.

RELATED: NC Cheerleaders Put on Probation over Pro-Trump Game Banner, Now Locals Are Rallying Back

Reports in the Salisbury Post and other local media linked Onitreb and co-organizer Jay Thaxton to the Proud Boys, a conservative group that they identified as a “hate group,” citing the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Thaxton disagreed with that characterization.

“From my experience, the left will demonize any narrative that they do not agree with,” he said. “If you don’t fall in line with their creed or mantra, then their gaslight term is to call that organization racist.”

Onitreb had said before the rally that there would be security guards but did not know if there would be counter-protesters.

“I don’t expect any of that and I’m not looking for that and nobody in my group will be looking for that,” he said.

After the game was canceled, he said the decision was an effort to muzzle free speech.

“The reason they decided to cancel the game is because somebody out there wanted to shut down our free speech so bad — they wanted to shut this rally down so bad — that they were willing to call the school and threaten the school,” Onitreb said in a Facebook live video on the event page.

He said those supporting the rally will continue to show up to wave the flag at future games.

“We’re not going down like this,” he told the Charlotte Observer. “Rocky Balboa wore American flag trunks for a reason. Do you know how hard it was to knock that man out? Well, it’s going to be real hard to knock us out.”

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