Free Republic

On Thursday's CNN This Morning, Mark McKinnon offered a snide suggestion about President Trump’s sexuality. Commenting on Trump’s habit of sizing up male physiques, McKinnon said: “Check Truth Social just to make sure he doesn’t have a Grindr account.”Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Elon Musk has reportedly poured $1 billion into the media empire behind CNN and Paramount, potentially giving the billionaire a powerful new foothold in Hollywood and sending shockwaves through an industry packed with his fiercest critics. The world's richest man has acquired a stake in Skydance, the entertainment giant controlled by David Ellison, according to people familiar with the investment who spoke to Semafor. The blockbuster deal could mark the beginning of a much larger alliance between Musk and the Ellison family, whose sprawling media interests include CNN, HBO, CBS and Paramount. And for liberal commentators who have spent years...

Elon Musk has reportedly invested $1 billion in Skydance, weeks after Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance’s merger closed. Paramount closed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, valued at about $110 billion including debt, on Oct. 6, and named the combined company Skydance. The company starts with about $80 billion in debt. Skydance is targeting more than $6 billion in annual savings within three years.

Ashley Davis, the former Bush White House official who regularly appears on CNN as a house Republican, delivered a performance on Tuesday’s CNN This Morning that could have come straight from a Democratic or DSA talking-points memo. [snip] Once the images of smashed storefronts and fires appeared, she pivoted: the protests had been “hijacked, in my mind, I have no idea where they’re from, it doesn’t matter, but they’ve been hijacked by thugs that are starting to destroy stores.” Translation: She knows darn well “where they’re from”—but that doesn’t fit the liberal narrative. Get the rest of the story and...

Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor and a fixture of the 24/7 news network for more than four decades, plans to leave the company next June. “After more than 43 years at CNN, Christiane has decided that the time is right to begin a new chapter,” Mark Thompson, CNN’s chief executive, said in a letter to newsroom employees that was obtained by NBC News. Thompson said Amanpour, 68, plans to “scale back” her eponymous CNN International show to once a week early in 2027. “The program will conclude in May,” Thompson added, “and she will leave CNN at the end...

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour is leaving the cable network after more than four decades as one of its most recognizable faces, she said Monday. The announcement, which sent shockwaves through the chattering classes, came weeks after Paramount Skydance finalized its purchase of CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, sparking anxiety in the newsroom. Amanpour, known for interviewing heads of state and reporting from conflict zones, made no mention of the drama in a departure note, in which she said she’d stick around until next June. “After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from...

On Columbus Day, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant of Representative Ilhan Omar’s home. For several months, there have been rumors that she was under investigation for immigration fraud. A few weeks ago, White House Border Czar Tom Homan acknowledged that the congresswoman was the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro says her office is investigating Omar for potential financial crimes. The D.C. magistrate judge who authorized the search of Omar’s residence is a registered Democrat who donated to Hillary Clinton and received professional appointments from other Democrats. Despite the fact that Democrats...

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said Democrats have a “big siren warning sign" ahead of Election Day and it is close polling margins in key Senate toss-up races. Enten said the Senate is "too close to call," as the polling shows many races within the margin of error and Democrats will have to wait until Election Day to see if polling is right, or if Republicans outperform and remain in control. Midterm elections are commonly viewed as a test of the political environment facing the party in power, and the president's party has historically lost seats during them. Republicans...

When news broke that the FBI had finally arrested a suspect who placed pipe bombs at RNC and DNC headquarters in January 2021, I offered this prediction: "this will turn out to be unrelated to the J6 riot or law enforcement and intelligence agencies, but will be a rando nutcase anarchist." I could have also predicted that the Protection Racket Media would attempt to make the perp into a right-wing MAGA nutcase who voted for Donald Trump. I didn't have "pretend he's a white guy" on my Bingo card, but you can't win 'em all. Otherwise, my predictions have held...

Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico was ruthlessly fact-checked by a Catholic voter during a Texas town hall Wednesday after he claimed the Bible doesn’t take a stance on abortion. Talarico, a Christian seminarian and state lawmaker, attempted to convince the self-described “one-issue voter,” Jody Hunt, that his pro-choice position is compatible with her faith because “the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion.” Hunt, respectfully, wasn’t buying it. She allowed Talarico to finish his point that “certain policy levers” — absent banning the procedure — can reduce abortions nationwide, before her mic-drop moment. “I just want to add that...

As President Donald Trump and his administration have ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, citing harm to American consumers, they have remained silent on recent Russian strikes on US businesses in Ukraine. Russia has escalated its attacks on facilities tied to American corporations – and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine writ large – over the past several months. According to Andy Hunder, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Russian missiles and drones have damaged facilities belonging to some of America’s most notable brands, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonalds and Oreo. Although Russia has tried...

On Monday's CNN This Morning, host Audie Cornish aired a clip of UN human rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo condemning the planned livestream of Nidal Hasan’s execution as “abhorrent” and incompatible with the prohibition on torture. Cornish then asserted that the broader debate has already been settled. CNN’s decision to platform the UN statement as a serious contribution drew an immediate rebuttal from conservative panelist Tiana Lowe Doescher of the Washington Examiner. “I could care less what the UN says. They had Iran on the women’s rights commission.”Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Jake Tapper might have thought he was going to put the DHS Secretary on the spot. Instead, Markwayne Mullin administered a master class to CNN's State of the Union host today. The topic was ICE's operation against Oscar Belgal, an illegal Dominican immigrant wanted on multiple charges. ICE agents accosted him in his car, and when he tried to flee, running into other cars, an agent fired and superficially wounded him. Belgal was taken into custody. Incredibly, Tapper began by defending Belgal's actions "Do you see how for anyone, a bunch of men not clearly identified as with the government,...

Guess what, Audie? President Obama was not on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Truman was not aboard the Enola Gay. Ordering something and carrying it out are different jobs. But on Friday's CNN This Morning, host Audie Cornish held Pete Hegseth to a different standard. The setup was Jonah Goldberg criticizing the way Hegseth had announced the public firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the Islamist terrorist who murdered 13 soldiers at Fort Hood: "Secretary Chesty McBroseph is just trying to show off how macho he is; a max-T thing." Cornish then took her shot at Hegseth. "And...

Over the course of an hour-plus hearing Thursday, US District Judge Timothy Kelly signaled skepticism about the Trump administration’s arguments for allowing President Donald Trump to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. Kelly, who was appointed to the bench in Trump’s first term, did not announce his decision on the media outlet’s request for a long-term order that would maintain their access to the White House while their legal challenge plays out. But the judge repeatedly told Justice Department attorney defending the ban Thursday that he was bound by DC Circuit precedent – including the precedent...

On CNN This Morning, host Audie Cornish played a clip of Bill Maher on Fareed Zakaria's show predicting the Democrats would administer an "ass-whooping" to the Republicans. Maher based his bold forecast on the notion that President Trump hasn't delivered on various promises. Cornish introduced the Maher clip as "conventional wisdom," and after it rolled, she embraced his take: "I can't sum it up better than that kind of idea." Over on Morning Joe, Chris Matthews' supposition was more specific: "A month from now, I think the Democrats win the Senate and the House. I think it's gonna be a...

David Ellison’s $81 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery officially closed Tuesday, creating a new media behemoth known as Skydance – and execs are already hinting at layoffs. The combined company will include two historic film studios and their Hollywood lots; major streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+; CNN and CBS News; live sports channels including CBS Sports and TNT Sports; and thousands of iconic movie titles. Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, his new co-CEO who was previously at Mattel, reportedly gestured at layoffs in a memo to employees Tuesday morning. “Integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult...

BREAKING 🚨 CNN stuns the world saying: "Trump is the most influential President of this century and probably dating back good portion of last century” DEMOCRATS HAVE OFFICIALLY LOST CNN HOLY SH*T 🔥

President Donald Trump said he doesn’t care what the polls and the “fake news” are showing: he is confident the Republicans are going to shock the world — and the Democrats, in particular — and perform much better than expected in the 2026 midterm elections. The president struck an optimistic tone while rallying for the GOP in Vandalia, Ohio on Saturday evening. He said Republicans will be just fine, as long as conservatives don’t stay at home on Election Day. “They’re in for a big surprise. It’s very simple: You gotta get out and vote. You gotta get out. You...

Hilton went on offense from the start, pressing Becerra on his record as attorney general and as Biden HHS secretary The debate Wednesday night on CNN was the only scheduled head-to-head between Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, moderated by Dana Bash and Jake Tapper. It was an hour long, with no studio audience. And Steve Hilton was up against three opponents. It was heated, got personal, and focused on California’s cost of living, the housing crisis, high taxes, illegal immigration, and AI. Anyone watching the debate between Becerra and Hilton, candidates for California Governor, could see that CNN’s Dana Bash...