Free Republic

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dug in this weekend for what is expected to be a bitter and personal race between the two for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Mr. Trump revved up supporters Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington—an event Mr. DeSantis skipped—while the governor appeared before Republican groups in Texas and gave a speech Sunday afternoon at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The two will then descend on Iowa, which holds the first GOP nominating contest. Mr. Trump has already launched his campaign; Mr. DeSantis, the front-runner among the...

Republicans succeeded in one of their top goals this year: They brought more of their party’s voters to the polls than did Democrats. But in the course of energizing their core voters, Republicans in many states lost voters in the political center—both independents and many Republicans who are uneasy with elements of the party’s focus under Mr. Trump. Undercutting the GOP advantage was that independents favored Democrats by 4 points nationally, the survey found, and by a far more substantial 18 points in Pennsylvania, 28 points in Georgia and more than 30 points in Arizona.

John Kasich apparently doesn’t like being asked why he's only won a single state in the Republican presidential primary. On Saturday, the Ohio governor — whose lone victory was in his home state — was talking up his chances when Demetri Sevastopulo, a reporter for the Financial Times, interrupted him. . . . "I'm answering the question the way I want to answer it," Kasich said. "You want to answer it?" Kasich then snatched Sevastopulo's voice recorder out of his hand and turned it toward him: "What do you think?"

John Kasich delivered a lofty speech on Tuesday in which he implored voters to reject the dark visions of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, slamming their divisive policies and behavior as “not worthy of the office they are seeking.” The Ohio governor’s speech at the Women's National Republican Club in New York had all the trappings of a presidential affair, with “Hail to the Chief” piped into the room and American flags prominently placed behind him. But the rhetoric and setting was out of step with Kasich’s campaign success to date. He has only won one state so far –...

“I request to interview you as soon as possible about your comments about Sergeant Bergdahl during frequent appearances in front of large audiences in advance of his court-martial," said the letter, which was obtained Saturday. "Based on your personal knowledge of matters that are relevant to Sergeant Bergdahl’s right to a fair trial this interview will help us determine whether to seek a deposition order under Rule of Court-Martial 702 or your personal appearance as a witness at an Article 39(a) session of the court-martial.”

David Duke, a white nationalist and former Klu Klux Klan grand wizard, told his audience Wednesday that voting for anyone besides Donald Trump “is really treason to your heritage.” “Voting for these people, voting against Donald Trump at this point, is really treason to your heritage,” Duke said on the David Duke Radio Program. BuzzFeed News first reported the comments. Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/david-duke-trump-219777#ixzz41bXJPthx

Donald Trump crashed the Nevada caucus location at which conservative talk show host Glenn Beck was speaking Tuesday night on behalf of Ted Cruz. MSNBC was broadcasting a live look at the caucus site, Palo Verde High School in Summerlin, when Trump suddenly showed up and made an impromptu speech of his own. "We are going to have hopefully a historic night," Trump said. "I appreciate everybody being here. I wanted to be here myself and say a few words."

Donald Trump crashed the caucus location where conservative talk show host Glenn Beck was speaking on behalf of Ted Cruz. MSNBC was broadcasting a live look at the caucus site, Palo Verde High School in Summerlin, when Trump suddenly showed up and made an impromptu speech of his own. "We are going to have hopefully a historic night," Trump said. "I appreciate everybody being here. I wanted to be here myself and say a few words." The billionaire informed his Twitter followers he would be "at various caucus sites" throughout Nevada Tuesday, but didn't specify where.

Ted Cruz may have placed behind Marco Rubio in South Carolina but he's spinning the primary as a bigger loss for the Florida senator. Rubio was "endorsed by a very popular governor of the state, very popular senator, very popular congressman, all the establishment circled their wagons around Marco and yet he still only came in second after his campaign promised everyone they were going to win the state," Cruz said on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. Cruz was referring to endorsements that Rubio received from Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Trey Gowdy. Cruz added: "You...

President Barack Obama will not attend Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral on Saturday, the White House said Wednesday. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden will attend. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama instead will go to the Supreme Court on Friday “to pay their respects to Justice Scalia” while the justice lies in repose in the Great Hall, press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday.

Now that Rand Paul is out of the race for the White House his father Ron Paul, who ran in 2008 and 2012, isn't impressed by Ted Cruz's attempts to pick up the "free market" libertarian banner. "You take a guy like Cruz, people are liking the Cruz - they think he's for the free market, and [in reality] he's owned by Goldman Sachs. I mean, he and Hillary have more in common than we would have with either Cruz or Trump or any of them so I just don't think there is much picking," Paul said of the Texas...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin thinks a President Donald Trump is "a very real possibility." "I think it's a very real possibility because people are really tired of professional politicians who, you know, won't call it like they see it and maybe don't have life experiences that allow them to prove a track record of success," the former vice presidential nominee said in a radio interview with WBT Charlotte's News Talk radio on Thursday. "That's refreshing about Trump," she said. "He's a fighter. We know he's gonna put America first, and he really nailed it early on what the main...

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole has endorsed Jeb Bush for president and will serve as the former Florida governor's National Veterans’ Chairman, according to the campaign. Dole said that while almost all of the candidates are his friends, he believes Bush is the most qualified. Jeb has the proven leadership skills and executive experience needed to fix the problems facing our country from the anemic economy to America's weakened standing among world leaders, Dole said in a statement. Jeb's conservative reform agenda and forward looking vision on issues including 4 percent economic growth, defeating ISIS and taking care of our...