Free Republic

The top US military commander for the Middle East says he has presented US President Donald Trump with military plans to strike Iran and is prepared to do if so ordered. “I have provided the secretary of defense and the president a wide range of options,” Central Command head Gen. Michael Kurilla says during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. Kurilla was responding to Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, the chairman of the committee, who asked if CENTCOM was prepared to respond with overwhelming force if Iran does not permanently give up its nuclear ambitions. “I take that as...

LOS ANGELES - As anti-ICE protests enter a fifth day in Southern California, President Donald Trump is doubling down on his decision to deploy thousands more troops to Los Angeles despite fierce opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. What we know: In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump defended his decision to deploy the National Guard to LA, claiming if he hadn't, "that once beautiful and great city would be burning to the ground right now." "If I didn’t "SEND IN THE TROOPS" to Los Angeles the last three nights,...

“He can’t be as honest and candid as he was with me when he didn’t have Donald Trump as his boss,” Massie said. “He’s got his job is to sell this bill, and he’s trying to put lipstick on a pig, and Rand Paul and I are pointing out it’s a pig.”

Donald Trump has claimed that Los Angeles would have been "completely obliterated" if he hadn't sent in the National Guard. This is the first we've heard from the US president today about the disorder in LA. Taking to Truth Social, he claimed sending in the National Guard was a "great decision". He also took aim at the likes of Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass - state Democratic politicians. Trump said: "The very incompetent 'Governor,' Gavin Newscum, and 'Mayor,' Karen Bass, should be saying, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.'" While Trump...

This morning, officials were out in force talking about the historic benefits of President Donald J. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which will deliver unprecedented tax relief, generational welfare reform, and historic spending cuts.Here’s what you missed:Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought: “It is $1.4 trillion in reduced deficits and debt. That’s why this is such a paramount, fiscally responsible bill.” (Watch)Director Vought: “The conservatives that have historically used the debt limit to sound the alarm have been pushing for the very reforms that are in this bill, so we believe that it’s important to do it with...

President Trump has long mused about using troops to crush violent protests or riots in blue-state cities. He is now moving to do so in Los Angeles.Setting up a rare use of military force on domestic soil, President Trump ordered the Pentagon on Saturday night to send at least 2,000 National Guard troops to respond to protests in Los Angeles set off by his immigration crackdown.Mr. Trump has long mused about using military force on domestic soil to crush violent protests or riots, fight crime and hunt for undocumented migrants — a move that his aides talked him out of...

President Trump has ordered the California National Guard to secure Los Angeles from the anti-ICE rioters, despite the vocal objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass. It’s the first time in 60 years that the commander-in-chief deployed a state’s National Guard without the governor’s blessing, and members of the Trump administration are saying the move is justified because the protests represent a “violent insurrection” against the country. “This is a violent insurrection,” White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted Saturday night. Vice President JD Vance also used the word in describing the riots: “Insurrectionists carrying...

Federalizing the National Guard in response to ICE protests risks bloodshed—which is exactly what this administration wants.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Around 300 National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles early Sunday on orders from President Donald Trump, staging outside a federal complex that remained largely quiet and without major protests following two days of clashes with immigration authorities.The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts. On Sunday morning, some of the troops were stationed outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, dressed in tactical...

Representative Nanette Barragán (D-CA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that President Donald Trump was “targeting peaceful protests” by sending the National Guard to Los Angeles. Host Dana Bash said, “Let’s start with the fact that the president ordered National Guard troops to respond in LA County within the next 24 hours. What have you heard about the situation on the ground? What updates are you getting?” Barragán said, “Well, I’ve spoken to the sheriffs on the ground who have said they have things under control. There is no need for the National Guard. They have the manpower...

Donald Trump warned Elon Musk on Saturday that he faces “very serious consequences” if he funds Democratic candidates following the pair’s epic public bust-up this week. The warning, delivered in an interview with NBC News scheduled to broadcast on Sunday, follows days of feuding and threats after Musk called Republicans’ budget legislation an “abomination”. Trump told interviewer Kristen Welker his relationship with the tech mogul was over and warned Musk against choosing to fund Democrats after spending close to $300m in support of Trump’s re-election last year. “If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told...

President Trump warned Saturday that his former ally Elon Musk will face “very serious consequences” if he starts bankrolling Democratic candidates for office after their nasty public split over a Republican spending bill working its way through Congress. “If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News’ Kristin Welker in an interview. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” the president added. “Is there anything else you just want people to know about the status,” Welker asked. “No, not at all. We’re doing great,” Trump replied. “The bill is great....

Friday on FNC’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed the possibility of the so-called “big, beautiful” spending bill stalling out on Capitol Hill because of Tesla CEO and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk’s critique. “All right, Speaker,” host Jesse Watters said. “Is Elon going to derail the big, beautiful bill?” “Absolutely not,” Johnson replied. “Look, we are feeling the same energy that the President is. He’s leading. He’s delivering on his promises, and we all are. The big, beautiful bill is basically all those campaign speeches reduced to legislation. That’s what it is,...

Amid the messy ongoing divorce between the president and the world’s richest man, this much is already clear: Donald Trump has sole custody of the House GOP. Republican lawmakers are making clear that, if forced to choose, it’s Trump — not Elon Musk — they’re sticking by as leaders race to contain the fallout for their “one big, beautiful bill.” Even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who helms a House panel inspired by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative, blasted Musk’s public attacks on Trump as “unwarranted” and criticized his “lashing out on the internet.” “America voted for Donald...

The bromance between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump seems to be over. And now Musk is flirting with the idea of new party that could represent "the 80% in the middle," he posted on X. But who would join Musk-led party? And, can a third party actually succeed? Republicans, Democrats and Independents like Musk as much — or as little — as they like Trump. In April, before the feud between the president and the world’s richest person began, approval ratings for Trump and Musk were very similar, according to multiple polls. For instance, an April poll by the...

Musk and Gor disliked each other since before Trump reclaimed power on Jan. 20 — with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO describing Gor as “sleazy” during the transition and questioning his staffing picks. But the world’s richest man had the president’s ear and friendship through last week. Simmering behind the scenes was a grudge nursed by Gor over a March 6 Cabinet meeting, during which Musk “humiliated” him by slamming the pace of staffing the administration, said the sources, each of whom have interacted closely with Gor. “He was bragging to other people that he was going to get one...

Elon Musk posted a poll on X on Thursday asking followers whether they support the idea of a new political party to take on the Republicans and Democrats. Why it matters: The richest man in the world is publicly feuding with the most powerful man in America, whom he spent record-setting sums to elect. We're about to find out what Musk is prepared to do about it. Driving the news: Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he was "disappointed in Elon" for coming out against his "Big Beautiful Bill." Trump speculated it was because the bill...

Allies of the two men expressed hope they would make peace, or at least ease the tensions that broke out Thursday.Republicans appeared to rally to President Donald Trump’s side Friday as his feud with Elon Musk continued to consume the party, disrupting the president’s legislative agenda at a key moment.While many expressed hope that the two would reconcile, they also made clear they continue to regard Trump as the leader of the party and defended the “big, beautiful bill” central to a dramatic blow-up Thursday between the two men. Musk this week had urged lawmakers to kill it.“I don’t argue...

The most famous bromance on the planet was very publicly put through the wringer today. Business titan Elon Musk and Donald Trump went after each other with a vengeance. For several days Elon Musk has made public his disdain for the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) that President Trump is pushing to. On the other hand, Trump understands that the BBB cut taxes, cut the trade deficit, and bring jobs to America, Today tension between Trump and Elon Musk boiled over after the President responded to Elon’s trashing of the Big Beautiful Bill and its spending levels, sparking a very...

Let me get this straight:Democrats tried to put Trump in prison for 700 years, take his business empire from him, impeach him twice, take him off the ballot, and censor him on all social media - all the while they were sitting on info that Trump was on the Epstein list? This is total and complete nonsense.