{"id":2356252,"date":"2024-10-17T15:04:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T19:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-years-ago-nevertrump-killed-what-was-left-of-its-credibility\/"},"modified":"2024-10-17T15:06:23","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T19:06:23","slug":"four-years-ago-nevertrump-killed-what-was-left-of-its-credibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-years-ago-nevertrump-killed-what-was-left-of-its-credibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Years Ago, NeverTrump Killed What Was Left Of Its Credibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffour-years-ago-nevertrump-killed-what-was-left-of-its-credibility%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2356252&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The NeverTrump\u2062 movement&#8217;s credibility dwindled significantly four years ago when\u200c its leaders\u2063 dismissed allegations\u200b regarding Hunter Biden&#8217;s laptop as mere election-year conspiracies. Jonah Goldberg,\u2062 a prominent voice within this movement, questioned the authenticity of the\u2063 laptop&#8217;s origin during its \u200cinitial revelations \u200cin October 2020,\u200c expressing disbelief that Hunter Biden could \u2064forget a \u2062laptop at a \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ca-churches-finally-got-help-from-scotus-and-it-was-a-huge-blow-to-gavin-newsom\/\" title=\"CA Churches Finally Got Help from SCOTUS and It Was a Huge Blow to Gavin Newsom\">repair shop<\/a>. Despite these doubts, the New \u200bYork Post published significant findings\u2062 from the laptop, showing potential\u2064 connections \u200dbetween Joe Biden and Hunter&#8217;s business dealings, including allegations of foreign financial gains.<\/p>\n<p>Despite a lack of credible evidence linking the laptop to Russian\u2064 disinformation\u2014a narrative \u200bpushed by several intelligence officials and some media personalities\u2014NeverTrump supporters perpetuated claims\u2064 to discredit\u200c these revelations. The controversy surrounding the laptop has \u2063since led to congressional inquiries, revealing that \u2063the Biden family allegedly\u200c received millions \u200dfrom foreign sources. Critics, including prominent commentators, have labeled those\u2063 who brought attention to the New York Post&#8217;s stories as accomplices in\u2063 a false\u200c narrative. As the election approaches, concerns about media response to similar \u200drevelations continue to echo \u200cprevious patterns of dismissal and skepticism regarding\u200c the\u2062 Biden family\u2019s \u200ddealings.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The NeverTrump movement lost whatever credibility it had left four years ago when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-sidney-powell-releases-statement-to-we-the-people-on-her-trump-election-legal-efforts-it-will-be-epic\/\" title=\"New: Sidney Powell Releases Statement to &quot;We the People&quot; on Her Trump Election Legal Efforts (&quot;It Will Be Epic&quot;)\">campaign&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s chief crusaders peddled a far-left hoax that dismissed Hunter Biden&rsquo;s laptop as a vehicle of foreign interference.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday marks the four<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-pelosi-allowed-recently-covid-positive-rep-onto-house-floor-to-vote-for-her\/\" title=\"Report: Pelosi allowed recently COVID-positive rep. onto House floor to vote for her\">-year anniversary<\/a> of Jonah Goldberg (the founder of a commentary outlet that is home to many NeverTrumpists) writing off the first Hunter Biden laptop stories in the New York Post as election-year conspiracies. On X, then known as Twitter, Goldberg was incredulous that anyone could believe President Joe Biden&rsquo;s crack-addicted son would forget a laptop at a Delaware repair shop and allow it to fall into the public domain.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Wait you believe the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-throttling-the-hunter-biden-laptop-story-with-hacked-and-russian-disinformation-lies-propaganda-press-quietly-admit-it-was-completely-legit\/\" title=\"After Throttling The Hunter Biden Laptop Story With \u2018Hacked\u2019 And \u2018Russian Disinformation\u2019 Lies, Propaganda Press Quietly Admit It Was Completely Legit\">computer repair shop story<\/a>? Like at face value?&rdquo; Goldberg wrote. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wait you believe the computer repair shop story? Like at face value?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JonahDispatch\/status\/1317597365923155969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 17, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The hard drive was picked up by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who shared a copy with the New York Post. On Oct. 14, 2020, the Post <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/10\/14\/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published<\/a> the first expos&eacute; from the laptop, which showed that former Vice President Joe Biden had met with Hunter&rsquo;s corporate partners, despite the Democrat nominee&rsquo;s repeated denials of ever speaking about business with his son, &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2019\/08\/28\/biden-brother-business-2020-1476815\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">or with anyone else<\/a>.&rdquo; Joe Biden had even <a href=\"https:\/\/thefdrlst.wpengine.com\/2020\/10\/15\/flashback-joe-biden-fat-shamed-iowa-voter-when-pressed-on-hunters-business-deals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fat-shamed<\/a>&nbsp;an Iowa voter during the presidential primary that previous winter when the voter pressed the issue at a town hall.<\/p>\n<p>The New York Post published the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/10\/15\/emails-reveal-how-hunter-biden-tried-to-cash-in-big-with-chinese-firm\/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">second<\/a> bombshell from the laptop on Oct. 15, 2020. Emails showed Joe Biden stood to personally rake in millions from Chinese business leaders with Hunter serving as a conduit.<\/p>\n<p>The laptop would ultimately trigger a series of congressional inquiries throughout the Biden administration, launched by lawmakers who <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/19\/house-report-joe-bidens-obstruction-sale-of-government-power-to-foreign-adversaries-merit-impeachment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> the First Family raked in $27 million from foreign individuals and entities since 2014 through shell corporations designed to &ldquo;conceal these payments from scrutiny.&rdquo; Lawmakers on the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees&nbsp;reported in August that the president committed &ldquo;impeachable offenses&rdquo; but filed no articles to impeach the president three months from Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>As the laptop&rsquo;s first stories began to break in 2020, however, no credible evidence had surfaced to indicate that the computer was an instrument of Russian disinformation &mdash; despite the narrative <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/27\/former-intel-officials-who-signed-infamous-hunter-biden-laptop-letter-remain-defiant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">51 former intelligence officials<\/a> peddled in a letter to Politico. In fact, within days of the Post&rsquo;s publication of the first emails, rare on-the-record statements from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefdrlst.wpengine.com\/2020\/10\/21\/fbi-doj-debunk-claims-the-hunter-biden-laptop-story-is-russian-disinformation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the FBI, the Department of Justice<\/a>, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefdrlst.wpengine.com\/2020\/10\/19\/intelligence-director-john-ratcliffe-debunks-russian-disinformation-theories-on-hunter-biden-emails\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Director of National Intelligence<\/a>, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense-national-security\/pompeo-agrees-hunter-bidens-laptop-not-part-of-russian-operation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">State Department<\/a> debunked the charges of a Kremlin misinformation campaign. The NeverTrump sycophants desperate to oust the incumbent president, however, joined with the deep state campaign to dismiss the criticism of the Biden family as a hysterical election-year hoax.<\/p>\n<p>Atlantic writer David Frum called anyone who shared the New York Post&rsquo;s stories &ldquo;accomplices&rdquo; and complained the stories were &ldquo;obviously bogus.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The story could not have been more obviously fake if it had been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-read-the-most-clownish-takes-about-the-laptop-hunter-biden-admits-was-his\/\" title=\"Flashback: Read The Most Clownish Takes About The Laptop Hunter Biden Admits Was His\">wearing dollar-store spectacles<\/a> and attached plastic mustache,&rdquo; Frum wrote on X.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The people on far right and far left who publicized the obviously bogus <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nypost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@nypost<\/a> story were not dupes. They were accomplices. The story could not have been more obviously fake if it had been wearing dollar-store spectacles and attached plastic mustache.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; David Frum (@davidfrum) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidfrum\/status\/1317973670019670016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 18, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Washington Post&rsquo;s Max Boot <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MaxBoot\/status\/1317287666954784770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>, &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know if the Hunter Biden emails are genuine.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But even if they are,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;they aren&rsquo;t a scandal.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>With less than three weeks to go in this election, another presidential bombshell could drop any day, only to be met by a response from the same people that&rsquo;s nothing short of predictable.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[RELATED:[RELATED:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/16\/4-years-after-the-biden-laptop-coverup-media-election-interference-is-worse-than-ever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4 Years After The Biden Laptop Coverup, Media Election Interference Is Worse Than Ever<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Goldberg also <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JonahDispatch\/status\/1409677977009344513\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mocked<\/a> then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson as a liar for claiming his television show was the subject of federal surveillance. Carlson had <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/07\/07\/check-out-all-the-blue-check-morons-who-swore-the-corrupt-intel-community-would-never-spy-on-tucker-carlson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accused<\/a> the National Security Agency (NSA) of reviewing private emails, and Axios corroborated the charges a week later.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Spoiler alert: The NSA isn&rsquo;t spying on Tucker.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JonahDispatch\/status\/1409677977009344513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 29, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Fake news &lsquo;conservatives&rsquo; were some of the first people to have full-blown meltdowns over Carlson&rsquo;s claims just minutes after they aired,&rdquo; reported The Federalist&rsquo;s Jordan Boyd, who <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/07\/07\/check-out-all-the-blue-check-morons-who-swore-the-corrupt-intel-community-would-never-spy-on-tucker-carlson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">highlighted<\/a> several posts from Goldberg in particular.<\/p>\n<p>Boyd&rsquo;s story provoked a response from Goldberg, who wrote off the criticism &ldquo;by some kid.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I take a certain pride in being called a moron by some kid at The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JonahDispatch\/status\/1412955910381649928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 8, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p>      Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NeverTrump movement lost credibility four years ago when its leaders dismissed Hunter Biden&#8217;s laptop as a foreign interference hoax<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2356253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Jonah.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6245,43227,43226,33017,32171],"class_list":["post-2356252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-credibility","tag-four-years-ago","tag-nevertrump","tag-political-analysis","tag-political-commentary"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Jonah.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2356252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2356252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2356252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2356253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2356252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2356252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2356252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}