Free Republic

Let’s put the events of the last 72 hours into context.On Monday and Tuesday, Russian oil refineries in NATO countries Hungary and Romania suddenly, and simultaneously, have mysterious explosions and catastrophic fires {citation}}. On Wednesday, NATO head Mark Rutte comes to visit President Trump in the White House, and at the end of the day, the same Russian company, Lukoil, whose refinery exploded in Romania, suddenly becomes sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. These events are not disconnected.President Trump then disputes a Wall Street Journal report, further saying he did not give approval, nor does he know where NATO long-range missiles...

“What do you expect when you sue the president?” Hearing that comment, some people may guess the comment was made by someone addressing one of President Trump’s political opponents who has been targeted for federal prosecution. That quote, though, is much older. It is from an IRS agent addressing officials of a conservative organization that was being audited during Bill Clinton’s presidency. This illustrates that the use of federal agencies to punish presidents’ enemies did not start with President Trump. The administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt used tax investigations against political opponents. Targeted individuals included publishers of newspapers that...

The White House has admitted that the East Wing will be totally demolished to make way for Donald Trump's new ballroom. Trump had originally claimed that the 83-year-old building wouldn't be touched in the construction of the $250 million privately-funded ballroom. But when a backhoe was pictured on Monday smashing through the walls of the historic building it set off alarm bells. Now the White House is confirming that it will be cheaper and more structurally sound to demolish the entire wing, rather than build an extension, an official told The New York Times. The White House was initially cagey...

<p>President Donald Trump scolded America’s cattle ranchers in a Wednesday Truth Social rant that saw him declare that they’d be in dire straits without him.</p><p>Trump has faced criticism over his suggestion that the United States might buy more beef from Argentina.</p>

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has urged President Donald Trump to reconsider a newly imposed $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, warning that the policy could harm American innovation and competitiveness. In a letter sent to the White House and the Department of Commerce on October 21, seven members of Congress, including both Democrats and Republicans, expressed concern that the fee would disproportionately affect early-stage employers and small companies, particularly those that have not yet become profitable. -snip- The letter sent to the President was signed by Representatives Sam Liccardo of California, Jay Obernolte of California, Maria Elvira...

The Republican Party's pro-Israel allies are going all-out to unseat Rep. Thomas Massie. He's responded by making those attacks a centerpiece of his campaign. The GOP's mega-donor ranks are filled with backers of Israel, and they're showing they're willing to invest in defeating lawmakers who are critical of Israel. They're also aligning themselves with President Trump, who has singled out Massie (R-Ky.) — a rare congressional Republican Trump critic — for defeat. Massie has vocally criticized Israel's handling of the war in Gaza and voted against providing U.S. aid to Israel. He also skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's July...

@RandPaul On @MeetThePress, I made it clear: America needs diplomacy over endless war, real debate before military action, and fiscal sanity, not $2–3 trillion deficits from either party. I’ll stand with President Trump when he’s right and stand up to government overreach when he’s not.

@beinlibertarian Dear MAGA, Nothing will lose libertarian support for Republicans like Trump taking uncalled for shots at Constitutional Conservatives like Rand Paul and Thomas Massie while supporting Lindsey Graham and Fauci. That might not be as big as the incentive is to take Miriam Adelson and assorted Epstein client list billionaire money… But the swamp needs to be drained, not fertilized. Trump won’t be President forever. Some of you MAGA loyalists are going to feel bad for selling your soul to the cult of personality when his term is up. At some point “he’s better than Kamala and Biden” isn’t...

President Trump said his proposed 100% additional tariffs on goods from China were "not sustainable."

Amid the U.S. H-1B visa crunch, India sees an unexpected upside. Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh’s IT minister, told Moneycontrol, “This is an opportunity for India for brain gain,” highlighting the potential for the country to attract skilled professionals who might otherwise head to the United States. The minister emphasized that India’s appeal goes beyond cheap labor. “If you look at Global Capability Centers in India, the product they’re offering, it’s for the globe,” he added. His remarks come against the backdrop of turbulence in the H-1B visa program under the Trump administration. The visa, long criticized for drawing skilled Indians...

Monday was a festive day, with the whole world seemingly celebrating the dawn of peace in the Middle East and hailing President Trump for bringing it about. The president himself, while speaking about the release of the hostages in his speech to the Knesset, promised a bright new world unencumbered by past hatred and animosities: “After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families. Twenty-eight more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time. And after so many years...

In 1914, Europe stumbled into a war no one wanted and few understood;a war that destroyed empires and redefined civilization.Today, Washington risks repeating that mistake, this time with nuclear weapons on the table. Through arrogance, ignorance, or incompetence, the United States is drifting toward direct confrontation with Russia, the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with consequences that could be apocalyptic.President Trump last week said he has “sort of” made a decision about supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine or NATO allies.He wants to learn more about “what they are doing with them” before making a final decision. His goal is to...

America’s largest business lobby, the US Chamber of Commerce, is exploring legal action against the Trump administration’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, Bloomberg reported. The move has reignited debate on the role of Indian professionals in the US economy and the political calculations behind Washington’s tightening visa rules. Chamber officials this week consulted member companies in a series of calls and virtual meetings to test support for a lawsuit. The consultations reflect widespread unease among large corporations, particularly technology firms, which are the heaviest users of the H-1B programme. The Chamber had previously challenged...

@RepThomasMassie Trump asked dual citizen Miriam Adelson, a billionaire running nasty ads against me in Kentucky, “what do you love more, the United States or Israel?” She refused to answer him. He says that might mean she loves Israel more. This isn’t AI, it’s real video…

“China’s stance is consistent,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement posted online. “We do not want a tariff war but we are not afraid of one.”China signaled Sunday that it would not back down in the face of a 100% tariff threat from US President Donald Trump, urging the US to resolve differences through negotiations instead of threats. “China’s stance is consistent,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement posted online. “We do not want a tariff war but we are not afraid of one.” The response came two days after Trump threatened to increase the tax...

On September 1862, weeks before he issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln wrestled with the enormous dilemma of whether to change the stakes of the Civil War…In a private document found after his death, the president struggled to understand what God expected of him and of the nation. “The will of God prevails,” Lincoln began. “In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong. God can not be for, and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is...

With the cost of higher education in the US rising steadily, California-based USC Marshall School of Business is taking concrete steps to support Indian students through expanded scholarships. Aimed at attracting philanthropic funding for scholarships for students, the university has plans to set up a not-for-profit initiative in India. In an exclusive interaction with The Indian Express, Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of USC Marshall School of Business, emphasised that increased scholarship support helps attract high-quality students from a broader cross-section of the population, as ‘ability-to-pay’ is no longer the primary filter for admissions. Elaborating on ways to ensure such support, Garrett...

An old tweet by Charlie Kirk has resurfaced after Donald Trump signed a proclamation requiring companies to pay $100,000 yearly for H-1B visas for foreign employees. Shared just six days before he was shot and killed at a Utah college event, the conservative influencer posted that “America does not need more visas for people from India.” “Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first,” he tweeted on September 2. He was fatally shot on September 10 while debating gun violence during an...

Among issues Charlie Kirk took a strong stand against was immigration, even legal immigration stemming from H1B visas that many Indian students and professionals use. “America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first,” he said in a post on X on September 1 He was responding to a Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham’s post suggesting that a US-India trade deal might involve more visas for Indian professionals. In a subsequent post on...