Latest news with #DanScavino
Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Iconic Hulk Hogan single-handedly transformed pro wrestling from spit & sawdust viewing to multi-billion dollar behemoth
His cartoonish charisma and deft ring theatrics helped transform the sport from spit and sawdust blokeish viewing into family entertainment. LEGACY OF AN ICON Iconic Hulk Hogan single-handedly transformed pro wrestling from spit & sawdust viewing to multi-billion dollar behemoth RIPPING his tee-shirt from his muscle-bound torso like Superman, Hulk Hogan revealed a bright red vest endorsing Donald Trump underneath. "Let Trumpamania run wild, brother!" he bellowed in a mash-up of his own catchphrases at last summer's Republican Convention. Advertisement 12 Hulk Hogan rips his shirt before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden Credit: AP 12 Hogan and Donald Trump backstage during the 2024 RNC Credit: X/DanScavino 12 Hulk Hogan posing with Trump Credit: hulkhogan/Instagram 12 Hulk Hogan displaying the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt Credit: Getty Images - Getty It says much for the controversial Hogan's popularity that the now leader of the free world had chosen the wrestler to endorse him for President. Instantly recognisable in trademark bandana and shaggy, blond handlebar moustache, Hogan had long been a larger-than-life icon for middle America. Without Hogan - who died aged 71 following a cardiac arrest on Thursday - it's unlikely professional wrestling would be the multibillion-pound behemoth it is today. His cartoonish charisma and deft ring theatrics helped transform the sport from spit and sawdust blokeish viewing into family entertainment. Advertisement Hogan became such a big star that he was able to transcend wrestling and starred in the movie The Rock III with Sylvester Stallone, as well as securing his own reality TV show, Hogan Knows Best. There was also controversy. In 2012, a sex tape between Hogan and Heather Clem, the estranged wife of the improbably named radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, appeared online. During the clip, Bubba is heard telling the couple they can 'do their thing' and he will be in his office. Then, at the end of the tape, Bubba tells his wife: 'If we ever need to retire, here is our ticket.' Advertisement Showbiz blog Gawker ran a short clip of the video. It hardly chimed with the wholesome image that Higan had cultivated. Hogan later admitted to radio host Howard Stern that 'it was a bad choice and a very low point'. WWE legend Ric Flair leads tributes to 'close friend' Hulk Hogan who has died aged 71 Three times married Hogan added: 'I was with some friends and made a wrong choice. It has devastated me. I have never been this hurt.' Hogan then sued Bubba, and a settlement was announced. He also sued Gawker and was awarded £85million, which put the gossip site out of business. Advertisement Born Terry Gene Bollea in Augusta, Georgia, in 1953, his dad was a construction foreman father and his mum was a dance teacher. Hogan remembered: 'Some of my earliest memories of childhood involve getting bullied by other boys in my neighbourhood. Especially by this one red-haired kid who was meaner than a snake: Roger. 'I remember one day, I was six or seven, and I was out in the yard collecting caterpillars from the trees and putting them into glass jars. 'The next thing I know, Roger has taken all my caterpillars and put 'em in his jar. Advertisement 'That was it for me. I got all pissed off. So I stormed over to pick up his jar, and he came up from behind and pushed me down. Smash! 'When Roger saw my finger hanging there and the blood gushing out, he started running home. 'So I bent down and picked up a rock, like David and Goliath, and I threw it so hard and hit him right in the back of his head. Dropped him right there on the pavement. Blood was everywhere.' 12 Hulk Hogan attends Day 1 of the Chiller Theatre Expo at Sheraton Parsippany Hotel in October 2014 in Parsippany, New Jersey Advertisement 12 President Donald Trump and Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania Vl Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey in March 1987 Credit: Getty Images - Getty 12 Hulk Hogan displaying the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt Credit: Getty Images - Getty Yet, the fight game was his first calling. A decent baseball pitcher, Hogan began weightlifting as a teenager while living in Tampa, Florida, which helped him develop the massive arms he called his '24-inch pythons'. Advertisement At school, he was called a hippy because of his long hair, love of rock music and hatred of American football despite his physique. Hogan recalled: 'I started out playing guitar in junior high school, because I wasn't a big sports guy. 'I was into music and had long hair. So I started out playing guitar, and as things go, as a music kid, you start playing in bands. 'All of a sudden, I started playing in this kick ass rock n' roll band, and a couple of wrestlers came in to the show. Before I knew it, there were a bunch of wrestlers at our gigs. Advertisement 'These were regional wrestlers, so they'd come back to Tampa every night, where we would be playing till 3am.' Eventually, he plucked up the courage to ask for a ring tryout, pumping iron to develop his massive arms, which he called his '24-inch pythons.' Hulk Hogan tributes Tributes have poured in for Hulk Hogan following his death at 71 years old. "When I nearly lost my dad 8 years ago, one of the few people who was there for all of it was Hulk Hogan. My heart breaks for Nick and Brooke. Rest in peace, brother." - Charlotte Flair "Saddened To Hear About The Passing of Hulk Hogan…I Guess God Needed An Incredible Angel. R.I.P. My Friend." - Sergeant Slaughter "He Was One Of The First To Visit Me When I Was In The Hospital With A 2% Chance Of Living, And He Prayed By My Bedside. Hulk Also Lent Me Money When Reid Was Sick. Hulkster, No One Will Ever Compare To You! Rest In Peace My Friend!" - Ric Flair "WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. One of pop culture's most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan's family, friends, and fans." - WWE "R.I.P to a legend. HULK HOGAN." - Donald Trump Jr. "Hulk Hogan was a great American icon. One of the first people I ever truly admired as a kid. The last time I saw him we promised we'd get beers together next time we saw each other. The next time will have to be on the other side, my friend! Rest in peace." - Vice President JD Vance Hogan's leg was broken in his first training session by pro-fighter Hiro Matsuda. It might have ended his career there and then, but ten weeks later, he was back facing Matsuda in training and managed to block the move that had broken his limb. Advertisement Hogan began wrestling in the southern US under names such as Terry the Hulk, Boulder and Sterling Golden. The flag-waving American hero hit the big time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) playing the muscular, egotistical blond villain. Also fighting in Japan, it was there he became a sensation and Hulkamania - the wild scenes he generated in packed stadiums - was born. 'Hulkamania,' as the energy he created was called, started running wild in the mid-1980s and pushed professional wrestling into the mainstream. He was a flag-waving American hero with the horseshoe moustache, red and yellow gear Advertisement Strutting the stage in his signature red and yellow costume, his rippling physique and preening yet magnetic personality saw him become the world's most famous wrestler. 12 Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Rock at Wrestlemania X8 Credit: Getty Images - Getty 12 Hulk Hogan vs Andre the giant at Wrestlemania Vl in March 1988 Credit: Getty Images - Getty His popularity helped lead to the creation of the annual WrestleMania event in 1985, when he teamed up with the A-Team star Mr T. Advertisement The pair beat 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and 'Mr. Wonderful' Paul Orndorff in Facing everyone from Andre the Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon, he won a string of WWE championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. Inevitably, Hollywood came calling. He starred as Thunderlips in the movie Rocky III in 1982 and in other films and TV shows. However, Hogan was booted out of the WWE in 2015 after a tape surfaced of him making racist remarks, including the use of the n-word. Advertisement In a video made public by The National Enquirer, Hogan said: 'I guess we're all a little racist' and used the n-word while referring to his daughter's love life, repeating the phrase 'f***ing n******' several times'. After making numerous apologies, he was reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018. He married his first wife, Linda Claridge, in 1983 and had a daughter, Brooke and a son, Nick, together. The family featured on the reality television show Hogan Knows Best. 12 Hulk Hogan gestures to the audience during his Hulkamania Tour at the Burswood Dome in Perth, Australia in November 2009 Credit: Getty Images - Getty Advertisement 12 Hulk Hogan attends the N.A.T.P.E. Convention in January 1994 in Florida Credit: Getty - Contributor The show was a hit, but Nick struggled with fame and was involved in a number of high-speed car accidents. The worst came in 2007, when his 22-year-old friend and passenger, John Graziano, was left paralysed. In his autobiography, Hulk Hogan: My Life Outside the Ring, he revealed how the crash left him suicidal. He said: 'Here I was nearly four months later, consumed by thoughts of John Graziano, who was still barely clinging to life in a hospital bed. Advertisement 'I took another swig from that bottle of rum. I got angry at the cops and the media and everyone who blamed my son for hurting John. It was an accident, a horrible accident. 'I could feel the life draining out of me. Not from a cut on my body but a wound somewhere deeper. 'It had me curling my index finger on the trigger of a loaded handgun and putting it in my mouth. Why not end it?' The couple divorced, with Linda citing that Hogan had been unfaithful, which the wrestler denied. Advertisement He married Jennifer McDaniel in 2010, but they divorced 12 years later. In 2023, he wed yoga instructor Sky Daily. In the summer, Hogan had roared on stage at the Republican Convention: 'Let Trumpamania make America Great Again!' Yelled by a wrestler who became bigger than the ring. President Trump paid tribute to the wrestler whom he called "a great friend" and the "Hulkster". Advertisement "Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way - Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart," he posted on social media.
The Standard
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Standard
Trump loyalist Katie Miller crosses battle lines to continue work for Elon Musk
Katie Miller, wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino attend a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump aide waited months to unload his TruthSocial stock. Then he sold hours before ‘Liberation Day' tanked the markets
An aide to President Donald Trump sold up to $5 million worth of Trump Media stock the day before the 'Liberation Day' tariffs were announced. Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff, sold stock worth between $1 million and $5 million on April 1, according to financial disclosure reports first obtained by USA Today. Trump Media is the parent company of Trump's TruthSocial social media platform. Scavino sold the day before the president officially announced reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners. The announcement caused the markets to plummet and prompted Trump to put a 90-day pause on the tariffs on April 9, by which point the markets had slumped 12 percent. Stocks for Trump Media fell by about 11 percent. If government officials buy or sell stock worth more than $1,000, they are required to file disclosure reports. Scavino signed the financial disclosure report on May 20 after he received a 90-day filing extension, documents show. Sergio Gor, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, also sold Trump Media stock worth between $15,001 and $50,000 on March 27, a few days before the tariff announcement. The White House said the sales had 'nothing to do with the tariff announcement' when approached by The Independent. 'White House senior staff, including Deputy Chief of Staff Scavino and PPO Director Gor, fully comply with the executive branch ethics rules, attending required ethics briefings and complying with conflict of interest and financial reporting obligations,' spokesperson Taylor Rogers said. 'Gor's transaction had nothing to do with the tariff announcement,' Rogers added. 'In fact, he even took a loss from selling his stocks, which debunks any false narrative peddled by the fake news.' Gor also signed his disclosure report on May 20 after receiving a 90-day filing extension. Officials in the federal government and Congress are prohibited from trading stock based on nonpublic information, according to the 2023 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. It's possible that trades by government officials prompted by information not available to the public could cross the bounds of the law. However, such cases against officials are complicated, and judges have recently narrowed the scope of what is unlawful insider trading, ProPublica noted. In the case of Trump's aides, watchdogs said the timing of the sale raises ethical questions. 'White House officials are supposed to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, but owning or selling shares in the sitting president's media company does just the opposite,' Cynthia Brown, senior ethics counsel at the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility, told USA Today. 'These disclosures show that Trump's senior advisers' investments are tied into their boss' media company,' Brown continued. 'While that may not be prohibited by law by itself, when coupled with the extent to which Trump's media outlets are being integrated into the Administration's agenda, it begs the question of whether this is another mechanism for the President and his advisers to financially benefit personally from their government agenda.' Pam Bondi sold millions of dollars in shares in Trump Media the same day the tariffs were announced. According to Bondi's disclosure forms, she sold between $1 million and $5 million of shares in Trump Media on April 2, but the forms didn't state if the sales took place before or after the markets closed.
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump's deputy chief of staff unloaded Trump Media stock the day before tariff announcement
Documents reveal that Dan Scavino, Donald Trump's deputy White House chief of staff, sold off up to $5 million worth of Trump Media stock just before the president announced tariffs in April Dan Scavino had months to sell off up to $5 million worth of Trump Media stock after he joined President Donald Trump's administration as a deputy chief of staff in January. But the top Trump advisor picked April 1, the day before Trump announced sweeping tariffs, to make the sale, according to disclosure reports obtained by USA TODAY. After markets closed on April 2, Trump announced tariffs on imports from countries worldwide. Markets plunged on the news, dropping 12% by April 9, when Trump paused the tariffs. Trump Media stock, too, fell 11%. The disclosure filings also show that Sergio Gor, Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, sold Trump Media securities valued between $15,001 and $50,000 on March 27, just days before the tariffs were announced. In response to USA TODAY's questions about the timing of the divestments, White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers said, 'White House senior staff, including Deputy Chief of Staff Scavino and PPO Director Gor, fully comply with the executive branch ethics rules, attending required ethics briefings and complying with conflict of interest and financial reporting obligations.' After Trump's announcement on what he called "Liberation Day," there was a widespread market sell-off that lasted until April 9, when the tariffs were paused. Since then, the markets have rallied, recouping those losses and hitting record highs. However, Trump Media stock is still down from its April 1 price of $20.26 per share. The stock closed at $19.25 a share on July 8. The 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, or STOCK, Act prohibits officials in the federal government and Congress from trading securities based on nonpublic information. Officials are required to disclose their trading activity if they buy or sell securities worth more than $1,000. More: Trump brought in $57 million from crypto venture, millions from sneakers and bibles 'Any stock trades by senior White House staff in the time period immediately preceding the Liberation Day announcement have to be viewed with suspicion,' said Virginia Canter, chief counsel at State Democracy Defenders Action, a group co-founded by former Obama ethics official Norman Eisen. 'The facts and circumstances surrounding the trades will determine if an investigation for insider trading is merited,' said Canter, a former White House Associate Counsel to Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. USA TODAY found no evidence that Scavino or Gor had beforehand knowledge of the tariff announcement. But ethics experts say that when trades are placed in proximity to a major news event from the White House, they raise ethical questions as well as concerns of wrongdoing. "White House officials are supposed to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, but owning or selling shares in the sitting president's media company does just the opposite," said Cynthia Brown, Senior Ethics Counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a progressive watchdog nonprofit. Typically, a well-timed trade allows an individual to cut losses and reinvest the proceeds in less risky investments. More: Stocks close higher despite go-slow Fed, poor Prime Day showing Ethics experts have long advocated for stricter rules around stock trading by government officials, including requirements to place holdings in blind trusts or allowing officials to only hold highly diversified index funds. Because of their positions, officials are constantly privy to nonpublic information, but experts say it's difficult to prove whether that knowledge informs their trading moves. An Office of Government Ethics spokesman said the office cannot comment specifically on transactions by Scavino, Gor, or other officials. 'OGE publishes ethics disclosures, associated documents, and oversight correspondence to its website as soon as practicable,' said Patrick Shepherd, the spokesman. With the divestments by Scavino and Gor, three senior Trump administration officials have divested from the president's social media company just before the tariff announcement triggered a broader stock market selloff. Attorney General Pam Bondi previously disclosed an up to $5 million divestment in Trump Media on April 2. The tariff announcement came after the markets closed that day. ProPublica first reported the divestiture in May. The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment from multiple media outlets at the time. In Bondi's case, she was obligated to sell her stake within 90 days of her Senate confirmation, according to the terms of her ethics agreement with the Office of Government Ethics. The financial disclosures by these officials also confirmed that the president brought in people to his administration who worked for his publicly listed company. For example, Scavino worked as a consultant for the company from 2021 through January 2025, receiving $860,000 in consulting fees, his financial disclosures show. More: A court just canceled 'click to cancel.' How the ruling affects you. 'These disclosures show that Trump's senior advisors' investments are tied into their boss's media company,' said Brown, ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics. 'While that may not be prohibited by law by itself, when coupled with the extent to which Trump's media outlets are being integrated into the Administration's agenda, it begs the question of whether this is another mechanism for the President and his advisors to financially benefit personally from their government agenda,' Brown said. The President himself has billions in the equity market through his cryptocurrency ventures and social media company, Truth Social. Bloomberg News reported in May that the President's net worth has more than doubled to about $5.4 billion since his re-election. His recent financial disclosure revealed that he is earning millions from his crypto ventures and royalties from the sales of Bibles and watches.
News.com.au
03-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Not tired of winning: Trump on a roll, for now
Even for a man who once boasted that his supporters would get "tired of winning," US President Donald Trump is on a roll. The 79-year-old's victory on his "One Big, Beautiful" bill is the latest in a series of consequential successes at home and abroad in the past two weeks. From US airstrikes that led to an Iran-Israel ceasefire, to a NATO spending deal and a massive Supreme Court win, they have underscored Trump's growing power. The Republican will now take a victory lap wrapped up in the US flag after Congress passed the tax and spending bill that embodies the political goals of his second term. He will sign it at an Independence Day event at the White House on Friday featuring a flyover by a B-2 stealth bomber, the type of aircraft used in the US raids on Iranian nuclear sites. "It's going to be a HOT TRUMP SUMMER," the White House said on social media. After the bill passed, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, posted a video of Trump telling a campaign rally during his first presidential run in 2016 that "we're going to win so much, you may even get tired of winning. And you'll say, 'Please, please. It's too much winning." - 'Work just beginning' - The author of the book "Trump: The Art of the Deal" has bragged of several in recent weeks, but the bill is arguably the biggest. It honors many of the pledges he made in the 2024 election with its tax cuts and funding for his mass migrant deportation program. It also showed his ability to get his Republican party to fall in line despite bruising infighting -- and a major row with his billionaire former ally Elon Musk. But more importantly for a man who openly wants to join the pantheon of US presidents whose faces are carved into Mount Rushmore, it promises to consolidate his legacy. The bill seals Trump's hard-line US domestic policy into law -- in contrast to the rash of presidential executive orders he has signed that can be overturned by his successors. Yet Trump still faces a series of challenges. They start with selling a bill that polls show is deeply unpopular among Americans due to its huge cuts to welfare and tax breaks for the rich. "The president needs to lead the effort to go out and explain it, he has the biggest megaphone in America," Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff under president George W. Bush, told Fox News. Rove added that it would have a "huge impact" on the US midterm elections in 2026, as Democrats pounce on it and people realize that they are losing healthcare coverage. "The work is just beginning." Trump was talking about the bill at a campaign-style rally in Iowa on Thursday that was also kicking off celebrations for America's 250th anniversary year. - 'Win after win' - Trump's winning streak has meanwhile fueled the self-belief of a man who said he had been "saved by God to make America great again" after he survived an assassination attempt last year. But the next prizes could be far harder to obtain. After the Iran-Israel ceasefire, Trump has stepped up his search for a deal to end to the brutal war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. He will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday in push him -- but peace has proven cruelly elusive in the 22-month conflict. Trump's election campaign promise to end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours has also stalled, despite him having his sixth call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Thursday. The US president is meanwhile due to reimpose steep tariffs on dozens of economies next week. He has insisted that countries will either bow to him and reach a deal or face sweeping levies, but global markets remain gripped by uncertainty. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt however insisted that Trump would do what he had promised. "Despite the doubters and the Panicans, President Trump has delivered win after win for the American people," Leavitt told reporters.
