Lady Gaga’s father endorses ‘pure’ Donald Trump for president
Upper West Side restaurateur backs former president for re-election: ‘His policies are there. They’re on target for me anyway’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Joe Germanotta, the father of Lady Gaga, endorsed Donald Trump for president during an appearance on Fox News on Thursday morning.
The Upper West Side restaurateur, who owns Joanne Trattoria, said Trump and Kamala Harris “are two vastly different people, one of them is pure, and he's a patriot.”
“And the other ... is just going to say whatever she needs to say to get elected,” he added. “That's basically what I hear.”
Germanotta said business was booming during the Trump administration and that New York City couldn’t get much worse than it is right now.
“Six years ago, I was going to have the best year we ever had at Joanne before Covid,” he said. “And when I say best year, it was 25 percent more than any other year.”
Germanotta said on repeated occasions that he liked Trump’s policies.
“I’m not voting for people,” he said. “I mean, look, Donald, yeah, he's abrasive, okay, but, you know, he's a patriot, and his policies are there. All right, they're on target for me anyway.”
“I'm into low fuel and food prices – low interest rates,” he continued. “Good economy, pro-police. Let the police do their job, law and order ... Don't let these protesters burn down our cities and the small businesses. Keep the jobs here in the United States.”
“If you stack them up side by side, I don't know what the hell she's talking about,” Germanotta added, before bringing up one of the former president’s favorite talking points.
“It's been it's an invasion, as far as I see it,” he said. “We don't have secure borders anymore. There's no more legal immigration.”
“My clientele, my customers, the ones that used to come once a week, now they come once every three weeks,” he claimed. “They're not coming to New York City. The tourist business is still fairly strong ... They're still popping into New York.”
“You can’t get worse than it is now,” Germanotta said towards the end of his short appearance on Fox & Friends.
But in the end, when he was asked if he endorses Donald Trump, he appeared to hesitate.
“I endorse Donald Trump. I endorse his policies,” he said. “Freedom of speech. Thank you Elon Musk. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Lady Gaga, who sang the national anthem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, has not endorsed anyone in the race so far.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments