Free Republic

I was asked this week how I can be a Christian and support Donald Trump throwing out thousands of illegal aliens. But one of the toughest things about being a Christian is trying to be a citizen. No — scratch that. I mean trying to be a good citizen. Saint Paul was a citizen, too, but I don’t think he cared a bit about the Roman Empire. He gave the impression that if the Gauls invaded tomorrow, he would just shrug his shoulders and try to baptize them, too. And although he was the polar opposite of Thomas Paine in...

Donald Trump used videos of a Marxist firebrand politician to highlight the alleged persecution of white farmers in South Africa as the country’s president sat beside him. The US president dimmed the lights at an Oval Office meeting to play clips of Julius Malema, known for his anti-white rhetoric, who was this month blocked from visiting Britain. Mr Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party won just under 10 per cent of the vote at last year’s general election with a platform feeding on the disillusionment of many young black voters who have not seen their lives improve, despite the abolition...

Sen. Rand Paul renewed his skepticism Tuesday of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, asserting that the Trump administration has not justified the $46 billion for construction included in the pending House budget reconciliation package. The Kentucky Republican, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made the comments at the tail end of an oversight hearing intended to evaluate President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request on homeland security and immigration.“So I know that the wall has a great symbolic value, but I think we should reassess … what we want to do and how much it costs,” Paul...

Sen. Rand Paul attacked the economic logic of President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy on Sunday — and agreed that the policies raise constitutional concerns. The Kentucky Republican said Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners are based on “an economic fallacy” about trade deficits and objected to the president’s move to pursue them without congressional approval during an interview on ABC’s “The Week.” “In the past, the court has allowed these things, but I think it’ll be an interesting thing because most tariffs in our history have been passed by Congress,” he said. “We’ve never had widespread tariffs that...

Countries around the world are actively seeking alternatives to the US dollar for international trade and reserves. This trend has dramatically increased in 2025 as numerous countries are adopting different approaches to wean themselves off the American currency, reflecting a vital change in the world’s financial system since World War II.….. …… of writing, major economies from Asia, Africa, South America, and even some parts of Europe are following their own footsteps in leaving the dollar hegemony behind. This movement is fundamentally altering global trade patterns and also putting into question the international monetary arrangement which has been around for...

Walmart – the nation’s largest private employer – warned of possible price hikes on Thursday given the uncertainty in the tariff environment. "We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement as the retailer reported its first quarter results, which met Wall Street expectations. Consumers could see price hikes as soon as the end of May, Walmart Chief...

When Donald Trump entered his second term as president, he found a full-throated supporter in South Africa’s chief rabbi. Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein said in February that South Africans “should welcome the Trump administration’s interventions” in the country’s affairs, praising the president in a widely distributed video message. A vocal critic of the South African government, Goldstein backed Trump’s opposition to South Africa for its cooperation with Iran and its new land expropriation law, which Goldstein believes will slow the country’s already sluggish economy. But since Trump decided to admit some white South Africans into the United States as refugees...

Drugmakers' shares fell globally after President Trump said he would sign an executive order to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Shares of Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, which gets about a third of revenue from the U.S., dropped around 8%. Other Japanese drug stocks also fell.

In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar -- a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News. The gift is expected to be announced next week, when Trump...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) drops a bombshell about the Epstein files during an interview with far-left blowhard Cenk Uygur on his show The Young Turks. Greene raised serious questions about the fate of the elusive Jeffrey Epstein files and the decades-long cover-up protecting the powerful elite. Greene didn’t mince words when asked about the Epstein case — asserting that the vast majority of the evidence has likely been destroyed and suggesting that foreign governments like Israel and the United Kingdom may be sitting on crucial information. Cenk Uygur: Okay, so, one more thing here, along these lines — Epstein...

“That’s Not What We Voted For!": Grading Pam Bondi's and Kash Patel's Performance So Far

Long before she was a Fox News host who pushed pro-Trump election conspiracy theories, Jeanine Pirro was an ambitious New York politician whose career stalled after she was recorded plotting to bug her then-husband’s boat to catch him in an affair. The revelation rocked Pirro’s campaign for New York attorney general nearly 20 years ago, resulting in days of front-page headlines in the city’s tabloids (“BUG THIS LOVE BOAT!” blared the Daily News cover). The conversation took place in 2005 between Pirro and the former commissioner of the New York Police Department, Bernard Kerik, a close ally of Rudy Giuliani’s....

President Donald Trump announced this week that he would end the Digital Equity Act, which provided $2.5 billion in grants to ensure everyone had equal access to the digital economy. "I have spoken with my wonderful Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and we agree that the Biden/Harris so-called 'Digital Equity Act' is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL," Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social. "No more woke handouts based on race!" "The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway. I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!" he added. The act, signed into law by former...

Ford Motor has hiked prices on three of its Mexico-produced models effective May 2, becoming one of the first major automakers to adjust sticker prices following U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Prices on the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pickup and Bronco Sport will increase by as much as $2,000 on some models, according to a notice sent to dealers, which was reviewed by Reuters. Ford earlier this week said Trump's trade war would add about $2.5 billion in costs for 2025, but it expects to reduce that exposure by around $1 billion. Rival General Motors said last week that...

Trump is furious about what he views as an attempt by Netanyahu and his team to pressure National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has since been dismissed from his position, toward military action in Iran. Netanyahu claimed in response to the publication of this matter in The Washington Post that he spoke with Waltz only once. However, Trump remained unconvinced. The president's anger likely explains Israel's exclusion from both the announcement regarding the ceasefire with the Houthis and Israel's inclusion in the agreement. It's worth noting that even after Trump announced the agreement with the Houthis, Israeli representatives handling relations...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will replace interim U.S. attorney Ed Martin, his embattled nominee to serve as the top prosecutor for D.C., after 15 tumultuous weeks in office marked by his threats to investigate Trump’s perceived political adversaries and firings and demotions of career prosecutors who investigated the president and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Martin, 55, an ardent Trump loyalist whom the president named to a 120-day interim post on Inauguration Day, can serve until May 20. Addressing reporters, Trump praised Martin and expressed disappointment at the Senate’s refusal to advance his nomination. “I just...

President Trump hosted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House this week, and again floated his idea to make Canada “the 51st state,” to which Carney replied, “There are some places that are never for sale.” Trump’s reply to that was, “Time will tell.” This insulting idea that one country can simple “acquire” another one–even if that country is not interested in being acquired–has become almost casual standard operating procedure for President Trump, and though Democrats / liberal-Leftists are generally appalled by it; strangely, I don’t see much pushback from Republicans / conservatives. Instead, I hear excuses such...

The United States has reportedly encouraged intelligence agencies to ramp up spying efforts in Greenland amid President Donald Trump repeatedly floating the idea of taking over the Arctic island.... The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two sources, that high-ranking officials working under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Habbard sent a "collection of emphasis message" to the heads of various intelligence agencies last week. Intelligence agencies have been directed to learn more about the independence movement on the island and the general attitude of the Greenlanders towards American resource extraction, the Journal added. The agencies have been asked to use tools...

When Americans were experiencing inflation and shortages during the Biden presidency, there was an internet meme going around that juxtaposed a paltry egg with the iconic 2019 image of a grinning Donald Trump, welcoming the national championship–winning Clemson Tigers to the White House, spreading his arms to display a massive bounty of burgers piled in front of him. The underlying message behind that joke became a central part of the 2024 campaign: Under Trump, Americans had plenty; under Biden-Harris, they had less. Yet bizarrely, the man who for decades has been a symbol of unapologetic American excess is now defending...

Oil producing countries are bracing for a bumpy ride this year, with a precipitous drop in prices to the lowest levels in four years seen as the initial, alarming sign of looming turmoil. A price drop benefits any country seeking to cut its fuel bill. But in oil producing nations, lower prices can feed economic troubles, and sometimes political unrest, as governments slash spending. Analysts who had already been predicting lower oil prices because of softening demand amid increased global production said the possibility of a tariff trade war and the overall climate of uncertainty could well deepen producers’ woes....