Free Republic

GUTHRIE: Do you believe in raising taxes on the wealthy? TRUMP: I do. I do – including myself. I do. That was...this morning, in an interview that featured some other controversial statements.  In fairness to Trump, he's been using the "raise taxes on rich people like me" line for months, embracing Obama-style class warfare tax gimmicks like the 'Buffet Rule.'  But raising taxes on anyone, an outcome Trump just re-endorsed, is not what his formal policy agenda proposes.  Just the opposite.  As we've seen on issues such immigration, abortion and foreign policy, Trump routinely makes clear that he isn't familiar with his own positions.  His stances aren't...

Some people claim that Trump only recently arrived at most of these viewpoints, so I'd like to discuss Trump's history with each of these issues (sorry for the length but I think these important topics deserve to be delved into). I was told yesterday that Trump is a liberal Democrat. Trump’s political registration records since 1987 are public and available online. During this period, Trump has been a registered Republican for more than twice as long as he was a registered Democrat. If people would bother to read his books, look at the full-page ads he took out on policy...

The release Tuesday by the National Archives of a fresh trove of documents detailing the Clinton administration's dealings with billionaire Donald Trump could become the latest fuel for flame-throwing in an already incendiary 2016 presidential race. ADVERTISEMENT The documents include: a signed copy of Trump's “The Art of the Deal,” delivered to a top aide to then-President Clinton; logs of Trump’s invitations to the Clinton White House; and an entry about a Trump Towers photo-op with the president. The files come at a sensitive time in the Republican presidential race, and could be used by Trump’s top rival Texas Sen....

Super Bowl winning NFL tight end and coach Mike Ditka reacted to Romney, establishment attack to take down Trump on WABC-AM's The Bernie and Sid Show at the end of the week. Ditka said the country needs someone like Donald Trump to follow Barack Obama and that is why he is voting for Donald Trump. "This country needs leadership," Ditka told hosts Sid Rosenberg and Bernard McGuirk. "It needs direction. It needs somebody that steps up front. We need somebody like Ronald Reagan." "If I were to vote tomorrow, I'd probably vote for Trump," Ditka said.

Looking at the Trumpsters of today, I am reminded of the rabid Schwarzenegger supporters of yesteryear. Not caring about conservatism, not giving a damn about principles, not caring one bit about anything but winning. Perhaps a few of a Schwarzeneggerites would like to comment about how all of that worked out.

Michael Bloomberg is planning a run for the U.S. presidency that would begin as early as next week. A source with knowledge of company affairs at Bloomberg L.P., told Anadolu Agency that said senior officials at offices worldwide were clearing schedules for meetings to discuss a sudden change in the management structure at the company. The source, who spoke to AA on condition of anonymity, was not authorized to discuss company matters on the record. The multibillionaire owner of Bloomberg L.P. is preparing to hand over his responsibilities at the financial data and media company ahead of an announcement after...

Minneapolis — Jesse Ventura told The Daily Beast he will run for president if Bernie Sanders does not win the Democratic nomination. Ventura was elected the governor of Minnesota as an independent in 1998 after serving as a Navy SEAL and professional wrestler. Ventura said his campaign was so successful at showing an outsider could be elected that Trump and Sanders are “ripping him off.” He bets he can do it again if Sanders loses and the election is Hillary Clinton vs. Trump. “They’re setting the groundwork for me because if Bernie loses, by the time we get to June,...

WATCH THE VIDEO - No mater where you stand on Trump, it is a great analysis of how he's become the front runner. When you think of the 2016 Presidential campaign, one name comes to mind - TRUMP. Every day, news stories come out about his inflammatory comments, his stubborn, unapologetic debate strategy...and that's EXACTLY the way he wants it. Trump is no traditional politician; his tactics come from somewhere else, and that place is REALITY TV. Trump's long history in reality television has given him the perfect strategic edge in the political arena, and so far he's winning the...

Newt Gingrich has a message for the GOP in Washington: Start taking Donald Trump seriously. Appearing on Fox News after Trump's Saturday win in South Carolina, the former speaker of the House argued that nobody in the Washington Republican political class should kid themselves about Trump's chances any longer. It is a huge night for Donald Trump and nobody should kid themselves. Here's a guy who seven months ago for the first time entered electoral politics, has learned at an extraordinary rate, Gingrich said, pointing to his second-place finish in Iowa and victories in New Hampshire and South Carolina. By...

Donald Trump attacked Republicans this morning for their opposition to government-provided health care. Appearing on Meet the Press, Trump told host Chuck Todd, "We're not going to let people die in squalor because we are Republicans, okay?" "That's part of the problem with the Republicans, somehow they got fed into this horrible position," Trump said. "We're going to take care of people." Trump also said he didn't mean to express support for Obamacare's individual mandate during Thursday night's CNN town hall when he told Anderson Cooper, "I like the mandate." "We had a situation where we were Anderson Cooper, who's...

(CNN)The national spokesman for Ted Cruz's presidential campaign is calling the Donald Trump campaign "the Seinfeld candidacy," because as he puts it, "The whole campaign is about nothing." Rick Tyler told CNN's Erin Burnett that Trump says "nothing about immigration, nothing about job creation, nothing about what's going on in North Korea, nothing about ISIS. I mean this is amazing." Tyler said Cruz is running a campaign about conservative issues and that Trump fails to discuss the issues because he isn't a true conservative. Both Trump and Cruz are eying key primaries in southern states starting with South Carolina, which...

Why does the mainstream media heap such scorn and disbelief on Donald Trump over his promise to build a great wall along the border with Mexico — and make Mexico pay for it? After all, Donald Trump has built a winning presidential campaign — and made the media pay for it.

The most politically active members of the Republican Party have warmed to Donald Trump’s bid for the party’s presidential nomination since last summer, according to a new YouGov poll, which finds 68 percent now think he could win the general election. While most surveys attempt to reflect the entire electorate, this one is the latest in a trio of polls focusing solely on Republican activists: well-informed party stalwarts who've run for or held office, served as party officials, worked on campaigns or volunteered their time before elections. They provide some insight into the role of GOP political leaders in an...

An hour after a Ted Cruz-supporting super political action committee announced it would give $1.5 million to any charity if Donald Trump met him for a one-on-one debate, fellow GOP candidate Carly Fiorina jumped in on the action. Upping the ante, I'm free tomorrow at 8pm, @realDonaldTrump. My campaign will give $2mm to veterans' cause to debate at Drake U. (2/2)-- Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 28, 2016 My campaign will also donate $1.5 million to veterans' cause to join debate Saturday in Sioux City, @tedcruz @realDonaldTrump (1/2)-- Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 28, 2016 The former Hewlett Packard CEO tweeted late...

My late friend and colleague Hilton Kramer used to tell the story about how Time magazine (remember Time?) would prep its photographers before sending them off to snap the likeness of someone they were profiling. The magazine didn't just want a portrait. It was always "Good guy" or "Bad guy." This was well known. So when Time sent someone to photograph Norman Podhoretz, the former editor of Commentary who had lately shed his left-wing opinions and emerged as a powerful voice on the Right, Norman had the wit to ask "Good guy or bad guy?" The photographer shook his head...

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump used a Tuesday appearance on MSNBC to tout the fact that, as president, he would work with Democratic leaders in Congress to get things done. He specifically talked about House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and asserted he was "close" to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is expected to replace outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) "I've always had a good relationship with Nancy Pelosi. I've never had a problem. Reid will be gone," Trump said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Tuesday. He continued: "I always had a decent relationship with Reid, although lately, obviously,...

"They say I have the most loyal people - did you ever see that? - where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters," Trump said, illustrating his point by pulling his fingers into a gun shape. "Okay? It's like incredible." The crowd laughed and clapped, and someone in the audience shouted out love for the candidate. "We love you, too, man," Trump said. Trump's comment came during a campaign rally Saturday at Dordt College in northwest Iowa. The 1,500-seat theater completely filled, hundreds more watched his speech from an...

In 2013, the tea party rallied to Matt Bevin against Donald Trump. RedState and tea party groups around the country swung into action in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to get Matt Bevin through the primary against Mitch McConnell. We were completely out-funded by establishment interests and Washington lobbyists. It turns out, one of those establishment interests was Donald J. Trump. In 2013, Donald Trump gave $220,000.00 to organizations, many of them dedicated to stamping out the Tea Party. From Karl Rove’s American Crossroads to Mitch McConnell’s Super PAC, Trump spread out money. Rove got $50,000.00 and McConnell got $60,000.00. Trump...

Since joining the Trump campaign as a national spokeswoman in November, Katrina Pierson has served as an attack dog of sorts for Donald Trump, attempting to expose his critics and opponents as faux conservatives who are simply pulling the wool over the eyes of the American people. And yet, Ms. Pierson's own statements reveal she is a self-proclaimed devotee of Malcolm X (whom she has referred to as her "idol") and has a history of attacking conservatives as racists, sneering at Christians who are unable to "handle the truth" and mocking candidates who open up about their faith on the...

And once I saw it, realized it says everything that needed to be said and all straight from Trump's mouth.