Free Republic

President Donald Trump has spent months touting his planned White House ballroom, but this week the public gets its first chance to formally offer him their thoughts. The verdict: They don’t like it. Members of the public sent more than 35,000 comments about the project to the National Capital Planning Commission ahead of its Thursday hearing to review the ballroom, according to a Washington Post analysis of comments posted on the commission’s website. The “vast majority” of comments came from those who oppose the plan, commission staff said. The Post found that more than 97 percent of comments were critical...

In the wake of Iranian Supreme Leader Aylatollah Khamenei coming down with a killer headache after getting a U.S. warhead on his forehead, on Saturday, The Washington Post published one of their infamous glowing remembrances of Islamic terrorists. The paper fondly remembered the brutal Islamic dictator as a “avuncular figure” with an “easy smile” and love for “Persian poetry.” Readers might remember when The Post fluffed up the former leader of ISIS as an “austere religious scholar”; well, they're back at it again with Khamenei in their obituary titled: “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, is dead at 86.” The...

Stay up to date with live coverage of the Trump administration and national politics Thursday as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the House Oversight Committee as part of their investigation into late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The interview, which will not be open for the public, is happening at an office in Chappaqua, New York, the city where the Clintons have a house. Former President Bill Clinton will give his testimony Friday. Questions are slated to begin at 11 a.m. EST. SNIP The House Oversight Committee briefly paused a deposition of Hillary Clinton after Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.)...

Washington — A commission that advises the federal government on architecture and the arts voted Thursday to approve President Trump's overhaul of the White House East Wing, clearing a key hurdle before above-ground construction can begin on a new ballroom. Six members of the Commission of Fine Arts voted to give final approval of the project after discussing the plans at a virtual meeting. One member, the original architect of the ballroom, recused himself. All of the members were appointed by the president after he fired the previous members in October.

A fierce Washington, DC, grandmother stole the show at President Trump’s Black History Month celebration, defending him against charges of racism. Forlesia Cook, whose grandson was killed in a 2017 shooting, took to the stage to praise Trump’s tough stance on crime and fired back at those who would criticize his treatment of black Americans. “I love him. I don’t want to hear nothing you got to say about that racist stuff,” she said. Her voice got louder as her defense of Trump continued: “And don’t be looking at me on the news, hating me because I’m standing up for...

An 18-year-old man armed with a loaded shotgun allegedly rushed toward the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, prompting a swift interception by U.S. Capitol Police. U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said that just before noon, the suspect got out of a Mercedes SUV and started running toward the capitol carrying a loaded shotgun and additional rounds. Officers intercepted the man, ordered him to drop the weapon, and took him into custody, according to Sullivan. The man, whose identity has not yet been released, was wearing a tactical vest, tactical gloves and had a Kevlar helmet and...

YORBA LINDA, California — Fifty yards from Richard Nixon’s grave, which sits not quite in the shadow of the modest home where he was born, a series of exhibits at his presidential library describe him as a psychologically unbalanced fool. The Nixon White House, museum display panels announce, was consumed by “a climate of deep suspicion.” The infamous Plumbers took action against “perceived political opponents within the Federal Government.” A video display allows visitors to choose clips on the theme of Nixon’s “Conspiracy Thinking.” Paranoid, the president mindlessly lashed out at enemies that he hallucinated. This is still the official...

A federal grand jury in Washington DC declined to indict the seditious six Democrat lawmakers who called on members of military to defy President Trump’s orders. In November, without offering any specifics, Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), along with Democrat Reps. Maggie Goodlander (NH), Jason Crow (CO), Chris Deluzio (PA), and Chrissy Houlahan (PA) repeatedly stated, “You can refuse illegal orders,” or “You must refuse illegal orders,” in a viral video. WATCH: CBS News and The New York Times reported that a grand jury declined to indict the ‘Seditious Six.’ CBS News reported: A federal grand jury...

It is not momentous events that are the most meme-worthy. Rather, it is moments when liberals show their true colors and embarrass themselves, often in relatively trivial ways, that set meme-creators to work. This week, along with the ongoing fiasco in Minnesota, we had severel such events. The Washington Post, hemorrhaging losses, laid off a large portion of its staff, causing its newly-unemployed reporters to demonstrate outside the building. They marched in defense of the moral principle that Jeff Bezos is obliged to support them forever, no matter how much money they lose. I wonder whether some of the newly-laid-off...

The Washington Post Publisher and Chief Executive Will Lewis announced Saturday evening he would depart after just two years at the paper, a tenure marked by controversy and crisis.Lewis called his time "two years of transformation" in his resignation note, but it was defined by turbulence rather than a clear path, and it ended with brutal job cuts. The paper's chief financial officer, Jeff D'Onofrio, will serve as acting CEO. More than a third of the newsroom was laid off Wednesday after Lewis' promises of radical innovations failed to staunch several years of annual losses in the tens of millions...

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos didn’t really buy the Washington Post to keep democracy out of darkness or whatever, he bought it to build influence and decided that the Resistance branding was poison in the post-woke era of the second Trump administration. His staff doubled down. So he tried bringing in editors and people from conservative British papers and Washington Post staffers worked to sabotage them. The ongoing battle over the Washington Post between its actual owner, Jeff Bezos, the 2nd wealthiest man in the world, who paid $250 million for it, and the staff, show that, at least when it...

Today, I am rejoicing about the Washington Post existential spasms. Here is what I said on Free Republic ("Post Mortem" was the title, over 20 years ago!) about the Washington Post and its relentless imbedded leftist bias. "The millstones of the gods grind late, but they grind fine . . ." ========= "POST MORTEM" (transcript of letter to the WAPO editor; posted 10/29/04) On October 27, 2004 Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. penned an op-ed entitled, “A Strict Separation”. Therein Mr. Downie, the self-described “ultimate gatekeeper” (Post, “Live Online” 10/6/04) for everything printed in the newspaper, reassures readers...

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) on Sunday moved to end her reelection campaign after 35 years on Capitol Hill. Holmes Norton, 88, filed a termination report with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday morning. The move, first reported by NOTUS, comes as the congresswoman has faced mounting calls to retire. The Hill reached out to Holmes Norton’s office and campaign for comment. Former senior aide of the D.C. Democrat, Trent Holbrook, launched a bid for her seat earlier this month, while Robert White, a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, announced his intention to run for the...

Sen. Bernie Sanders has served on the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s board for 18 years, but hasn’t attended a single meeting — inspiring a bipartisan push to oust him, The Post has learned. Sanders (I-Vt.) was appointed in 2007 to the Holocaust Memorial Council, which meets twice a year to oversee the landmark DC museum located about 2 miles from the Capitol. Records supplied to The Post by museum staff show that Sanders, who mainstreamed democratic socialism with grassroots campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, has missed every meeting of the board since his appointment. “There...

Jonathan Franklin, a current University adjunct professor & former NPR correspondent who built his career on issues of race, culture, & justice, was recorded making openly racist remarks during an undercover date with James O’Keefe. Franklin, scheduled to teach a Georgetown course on interviewing & sourcing, labeled Black conservatives such as Candace Owens, Lawrence Jones, & Clarence Thomas as “coons,” & mocked his colleagues, saying he “works with stupid white people.” During the confrontation, Franklin attempted to assault an OMG cameraman before fleeing. Georgetown University records confirm Franklin is currently teaching students how to “interview sources effectively,” even as he...

Sometimes leftist media outlets try to out-dumb themselves like it’s some sort of prestigious competition for who can churn out the most ignoramus hot take of the year. The Washington Post is definitely in the running for first place with its latest stupidity about inflation. Post reporter Julie Zauzmer Weil published a piece of propaganda with a headline that defied any modicum of common sense: “Why you may not want lower prices as much as you think you do.” Her sub-headline was just as bad: “Though Americans might be clamoring for relief on groceries, housing and energy costs, economists say...

DALLAS — Improper maintenance led to a brake system "anomaly" that caused an American Airlines plane to overrun a runway at DFW Airport in February 2024, a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board detailed. The agency's final report on the incident was released Monday, Nov. 10. The incident happened Feb. 10, 2024, after American Airlines flight 1632 from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and lost "braking effectiveness," causing it to come to a stop on the paved overrun area on the south end of runway 17L. No one was injured in the...

It’s unclear whether the measure will pass after administration officials tried to reassure Republicans who signaled they may support the effort.The Senate will vote Thursday on a bipartisan measure to block President Donald Trump from attacking Venezuelan territory in a new test of Republicans’ willingness to oppose his use of military force in Latin America. It is unclear whether the largely symbolic effort will attract enough GOP support to pass, or whether a recent push by the administration to walk back Trump’s repeated threats of escalation has reassured those lawmakers who have suggested they might join the effort. On Wednesday,...

It’s too good. It’s beyond comical. For the past week or so, liberal America has been apoplectic over President Trump’s new addition to the White House. He’s renovating the East Room so that a proper ballroom can be on the grounds, a venue that can accommodate at least 650 people. The president of the United States will forever have a place for official state dinners and other events—no more tents on the lawn. And yet, you’d think Trump ordered a slash-and-burn of the entire residence. Other presidents have done this—it’s not a big deal. The project is being funded by...

The White House announced plans to construct a 90,000-square-foot ballroom that will cost approximately $200 million. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said construction will begin in September. “President Trump, and other patriot donors, have generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200 million dollar structure. The United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications,” the White House said in a release. 🚨Just in: The White House has announced plans to construct a new 90,000 sq. ft. ballroom, with construction set to begin in September. The $200 million project will be fully...