Free Republic

President Biden hesitated to drop his re-election campaign in part because he and his senior advisers worried that Vice President Kamala Harris wasn't up to taking on Donald Trump, according to three Biden aides familiar with recent talks about his plans. Why it matters: Biden, 81, ultimately decided to withdraw under pressure from the party and endorsed Harris, but his private anxieties reflect broader questions among some Democratic leaders about Harris as their nominee this November. Driving the news: This next week will be critical for Harris, 59, to prove doubters wrong as she moves quickly to try to clear...

President Biden's campaign chair convened an all-staff call Friday and urged staffers to tune out news coverage that has focused on whether Biden will be pushed aside as the Democratic nominee, according to a recording of the call obtained by Axios. "Don't watch cable news all the time," chair Jen O'Malley Dillon told staff at the campaign and the Democratic National Committee. "That is not the real world. The real world is the voters that are standing with us, the delegates that are with us, and we're going to weather this because of this organization." "I talked to him...

The far-left Axios was even more grotesque than usual on Monday, perversely suggesting that after getting shot in the face, President Trump should go before the world and apologize for getting shot. He could unify America. Imagine he gave a speech featuring something he rarely shows: humility. Imagine him telling the nation that he has been too rough, too loose, too combative with his language — and now realizes words can have consequences, and promises to tone it down and bring new voices into the White House if he wins (emphasis original). Shorter Axios: He had it coming! Don’t you...

A senior House Democrat reportedly told Axios that many in Congress have resigned themselves to a second Trump term following an assassination attempt on the former president’s life this weekend. While most lawmakers who spoke to Axios said that they could not make any proper predictions until after the Democratic National Convention, at least one senior leader believed that former President Donald Trump will win the election. “We’ve all resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency,” the lawmaker was quoted as saying. This anonymous quote sparked numerous reactions on social media. “If you’re a ‘senior Democrat’ that feels this way,...

At what point is enough enough for Democrats? They've clearly shown they have no conscience, and they'll do anything to win, even putting up and keeping a man in office who has the problems that Joe Biden has. They shouldn't even be talking about him stepping aside — that should be a given. They should be talking about the 25th Amendment. But they don't want to do that and they only are considering him stepping aside because they're afraid they're going to lose and then they'll be out of control. It has nothing to do with doing what's right here....

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) questioned former President Trump's commitment to slashing government spending in a heated exchange with top Trump ally Russell Vought during a recent closed-door meeting, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Paul is among a dwindling number of Republicans who've refused to publicly back the former president as the party's 2024 nominee. And those in Trump's orbit are getting antsy. "There's a growing sentiment in Trumpworld that Rand can't be trusted, and it's a great disappointment," Trump ally and consultant Alex Bruesewitz told Axios. Driving the news: Paul grilled Vought on May 22 over the Trump administration's...

Former President Trump's team is more focused so far on building a sprawling network of "election integrity" lawyers and poll watchers than on rounding up organizers and door knockers to reach voters. Why it matters: It's a sign that five months before Election Day, the legal battle over the 2024 race is underway — and that Trump plans to cry "rigged" if he loses, just as it did after the 2020 election and his felony convictions. The Trump-controlled Republican National Committee is assembling a network of lawyers and volunteers to gather string for lawsuits challenging the results of the Nov....

Donald Trump on Saturday shot down a report that Nikki Haley, his bitter presidential primary rival, has vaulted into “active consideration” to become his running mate. “Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, signing the post “DJT.”

The Biden administration last week put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios. Why it matters: It is the first time since the Oct. 7 attack that the U.S. has stopped a weapons shipment intended for the Israeli military. The incident raised serious concerns inside the Israeli government and sent officials scrambling to understand why the shipment was held, Israeli officials said.

The Biden regime has cut off ammunition supplies to Israel as they attempt to appease the growing anger among the left of the Democratic Party over America’s support for the war against Hamas. According to a report from Axios, the decision to put a hold on the ammunition shipment caused panic among the Israeli security services and is intended to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from proceeding with an invasion of Rafah. Axios notes: The Biden administration last week put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios. It is the first time...

The Biden administration last week put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios. Why it matters: It is the first time since the Oct. 7 attack that the U.S. has stopped a weapons shipment intended for the Israeli military. The incident raised serious concerns inside the Israeli government and sent officials scrambling to understand why the shipment was held, Israeli officials said.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (LifeSiteNews) – The office of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis sharply rebuked media outlet Axios and a Holocaust historian for using the latter’s purported academic credentials to malign a state law against LGBT indoctrination in public schools. In 2022, Florida enacted its Parental Rights in Education law over intense left-wing activist and corporate pressure. The law bans schools from teaching children in kindergarten through third grade about transgenderism and other sexuality-related issues, limits discussions of sexuality for older children to “age appropriate” content and requires parents to be informed of any changes that could affect their child’s physical,...

Liberals hate, hate, HATE The Parental Rights in Education Act (Florida HB 1557) that was passed by the Florida legislature and enacted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022. Ever since the law came into force the left has been screaming about it, doing things like rebranding it as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill in the public consciousness and generally being really angry about a bill that has as its primary goal to: prohibit public schools from having 'classroom discussion' or giving 'classroom instruction' about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through third grade. Seriously, they're really mad about...

House Democrats' discharge petition on legislation providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan opened for lawmakers' signatures on Tuesday morning. Why it matters: It's an effort to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as he refuses to put the Senate's bipartisan foreign aid bill on the House floor for a vote.

When White House aides appear on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," they're often booked between 7 and 7:40 a.m. ET. That's so they'll reach one crucial and loyal viewer: President Biden. Why it matters: Biden's years-long love of MSNBC's staple morning show affects how the White House runs — and who Biden listens to. ,p> Zoom in: The president often calls co-host Joe Scarborough — a former Republican congressman who's now a harsh critic of Donald Trump — to get Scarborough's take on issues and sometimes vent about media coverage, according to people familiar with the relationship. ,p> During the day,...

With the latest report from Axios, maybe open borders Republicans such as GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley and former President George W. Bush can dispense with the claim that Hispanic immigrants are, down to a man, “natural conservatives” with “good family values” because so many are pew-warming Catholics. Axios reports that American Hispanics are increasingly embracing the demonic; i.e. practicing witchcraft and returning to their “roots.” News reports during the last few years confirm it, and at least one state, California, encouraged the satanic practice by approving public-school prayers to false Aztec gods. But young “Latinos” aren’t the only demographic...

Supporters of former President Donald Trump cite his economic record as a reason to vote for him, but that's a bit puzzling. Why it matters: Trump's economic record is only good if you leave off what happened from March 2020 to the end of his administration. Zoom in: When the pandemic hit, the jobless rate soared to a record 14.8% — a level not seen since the Great Depression. The rate did come down a bit after that, but when Trump left office there were fewer jobs in the country than when he got there — the first time that's...

DES MOINES — Some Iowa Democrats and independents are planning to crash the state's Republican caucuses Monday night and become "Republicans for a day" to vote for Nikki Haley — but mostly, against former President Trump. Why it matters: It's unclear how many will show up, but "crossover" voting is a low-key tradition in Iowa's caucuses — and it's one of the big unknowns heading into Monday, along with how the dangerously cold weather will affect things. How it works: Iowa allows day-of party registration for voters, and Democrats aren't holding in-person presidential caucuses this year. That's given mischievous anti-Trump...

"The Worst Thing That Happened to Donald Trump this Week" — Paul Rosenzweig, on the Lawfare blog: Special counsel "Robert Mueller has hired Michael Dreeben, on a part-time basis, to help with his investigation. Dreeben, a deputy in the Office of the Solicitor General, has argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court. His specialty has, for the last 20 years, been criminal matters and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of criminal law." Be smart: Mueller is amassing the talent arsenal you'd build to bring criminal charges.

As President Trump continues to dominate the 2024 GOP presidential primaries, attention has turned to who he will pick as his running mate. Now, we have a list of names Trump and his team are reportedly considering, but a potential wild card lurks. On Thursday, Axios published an extensive piece detailing the potential makeup of a Trump Cabinet in a second term. The 45th President and his team’s primary focus is ensuring all positions in government will be filled with people loyal to the America-first agenda and Trump. As Gateway Pundit readers know, Trump’s first term was marred by disloyal...