Free Republic

Republican Steve Hilton launched his general election campaign for California governor Wednesday with a gambit to win over left-leaning voters who dominate the state: Even if they loathe President Donald Trump, he said, they should consider voting for him. During an event in Los Angeles ... he vowed to bring the price of gasoline down to $3 a gallon, about half the current cost, cut residents’ utility bills in half, now among the nation’s highest, and eliminate state income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings... In his campaign remarks and ads he took out in leading newspapers throughout the...

Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting on Friday, a source familiar with the matter and a US official told CNN. On Friday night, the US appeared to pause its bombing campaign on Iran after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of strikes. Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense source told CNN on Saturday. On Friday, Caine specifically raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile and other potential...

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani admits he lacks the legal authority to arrest the Israeli prime minister. But what does the episode say about the Democratic socialist's worldview? Plus, what can the GOP still accomplish this year in Congress? New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been running a campaign to demonize Israel and its supporters for committing “genocide[sic].” He should reconsider after Thursday’s double-stabbing in New York, which included a kippah-wearing Jew attacked after exiting a synagogue. Police arrested Raul Morales in connection with the stabbings. The mayor said victim and witness statements allege that Mr. Morales yelled “Allahu...

The president came, he saw, he joked, he insulted and talked too long. And yet, Donald Trump’s presence was the major reason why the White House Correspondents’ dinner was such a smashing success.

As President Trump threatens a major escalation in Iran, signs are mounting that the U.S. military is preparing for a potential return to major military operations. But experts are skeptical that an intensified air strike campaign — even if it takes out bridges, water facilities and electricity plants — will break Tehran or force tough concessions at the negotiating table. "I don't think it will change Iran's calculation in any way, because from Iran's perspective, this is when they said it publicly, that this is a war of survival for them. So bombing from the air is not going to...

As JD Vance prepares to make a decision about his 2028 plans, the vice president is facing a barrage of online attacks from within his party, criticism his allies say appears to be part of a coordinated attempt to poison the well for him politically.His detractors have adopted the “Never Vance” slogan and flooded social media, especially over the past week, with attacks including claims that Vance is “unfit” to be vice president due to his efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Iran. They have asserted, without evidence, that Vance is making policy decisions not supported by President Donald...

Over the summer months, 5 million people will visit London, with its free museums and galleries, massive events featuring the biggest names in music and sport, and everything Britain’s capital city has to offer. And, as new figures released today show, they’ll be able to do so knowing London is one of the safest cities of its size in the world. On social media, a dark blizzard of disinformation – much of it coordinated and amplified by extreme groups and hostile foreign actors – has seen bots and trolls depict London as a “lawless” city where crime goes unpunished and...

If you care so much about immigrants, maybe we should discuss your time at HHS, Xavier’ Hey Cal Chamber, how do you feel about your endorsement of Xavier Becerra for Governor now? “Candidate for California Governor Xavier Becerra is prioritizing illegal immigrants over legal residents’ investment in brick and mortar businesses. Every policy he actually addresses favors people who are here illegally,” the Globe noted on X. Candidate for CA Governor @XavierBecerra is prioritizing illegal immigrants over legal residents' investment in brick and mortar businesses. Every policy he actually addresses favors people who are here illegally. https://t.co/WfgZOI1JVd — Katy Grimes...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., came under fire after claiming the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would "merge parts of our military with the Israel Defense Forces," drawing accusations that she distorted what the legislation actually does. The fight centers on Section 219 of the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, a provision that calls for deeper U.S.-Israel defense integration through expanded cooperation on military technology, supply chains, research, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and joint exercises. On Wednesday, the House passed its version of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act in a 219-206 vote, leaving Section 219 intact. But ahead of the...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has voted repeatedly for resolutions to withdraw U.S. troops from the military conflict with Iran, told reporters Wednesday that the United States is “worse off” than it was before President Trump launched the war in late February. “I think the Iran war has not been a success. I’ve been opposed to the Iran war from the beginning. I think by any objective measure we’re worse off than we were before the war,” Paul said on Capitol Hill. “If you look at the militarization of the Strait of Hormuz, that’s never happened before,” he said. “There’s...

Warning! If you plan on visiting the nation’s capital this summer, skip the American History Museum. According to a new report by the Domestic Policy Council, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History has failed in its fundamental mission — to instill in visitors a deeper respect for the American story. Below are the five most disturbing things about the Smithsonian’s American History Museum, according to the report. 1. Villainizing Our Founding and Founding Fathers If you’re going to the museum to learn about history, best go elsewhere. Sorely lacking are exhibits dedicated to the Pilgrims or Puritans, or...

Democratic Senate candidates James Talarico and Jon Ossoff are facing scrutiny over significant donations from Reid Hoffman, a billionaire mega-investor with former associations to Jeffrey Epstein, after both accused Republicans of representing the billionaire "Epstein class" over working Americans. Both Talarico, running in Texas, and Ossoff, running in Georgia, have repeatedly criticized billionaires’ involvement in politics and charged Republicans with being beholden to the "Epstein class" instead of the American people. Meanwhile, Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn who has previously admitted to spending a night on Epstein’s Caribbean island, has heavily invested in both campaigns. In the Texas Senate race,...

Carlson is effectively telling Iran: The man who would replace Trump does not support this war and would not have taken these actions. What conclusion does he expect Iran to draw from that? [What did Carlson say about Vance? ➤ Why is Carlson's statement dangerous? ➤ Did Tucker Carlson undermine Trump's deterrence? ➤ What was Trump's warning to Iran? ➤] By Duvi Honig. July 22, 2026. Tucker Carlson says that if JD Vance were president, the United States would not be at war with Iran. He missed the most critical point: We might instead be facing a nuclear Iran. Carlson...

Nearly half of Americans say they believe the Supreme Court is ruling on President Trump’s policies based on ideology instead of the law, according to a new poll. The Washington Post/Ipsos survey, conducted July 8-13, found that 46 percent of 2,648 respondents said they believe the nine justices are ruling on cases impacting the president’s agenda based on ideology. A quarter of respondents said the high court is ruling on those cases based on the law, while 28 percent had no opinion and 1 percent skipped the question.The Supreme Court has given Trump multiple unfavorable rulings during his second term....

In the summer of 2018, almost no one thought Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could beat Joe Crowley. Crowley was a 10-term incumbent, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House, a man some thought would one day be speaker. A 28-year-old former bartender and democratic socialist was the longest of long shots to succeed him. But ever since she did, the political establishment has been trying to decide whether to take her seriously.For a while it decided not to. The Missouri representative Emanuel Cleaver said the Democratic caucus did not need her “sniping”, while the then senator Claire McCaskill dismissed her as a “bright...

A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling that freed Columbia student and pro-Palestinian protester Mohsen Mahdawi from ICE custody. A Second Circuit panel, made up of one George W. Bush judge and two Donald Trump first-term appointees, determined that Mahdawi should not have been released from ICE custody in 2025. They argued that the Vermont-based federal judge that made the initial ruling lacked jurisdiction to do so. The panel concluded that only an immigration court could oversee Mahdawi's detention challenge, as the case was inextricably linked to his deportation suit. Mahdawi was arrested by masked agents...

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday said two "deviant" oil tankers exploded after passing through the Strait of Hormuz.The IRGC said the ships exploded after they tried to enter and exit the strait through an "unsafe route," according to the state-run Fars News Agency. The outlet added that the tankers were "instigated and forced by the United States" to enter the strait and violate the designated routes through the crucial waterway."If they break their oaths after their covenant and attack your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief; indeed, they have no oaths; perhaps they will cease," the...

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Saturday slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s post commemorating two U.S. service members killed in Jordan as a result of Iranian strikes. “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve,” Hegseth wrote on social platform X. Greene said it was inappropriate to deem their deaths a “sacrifice.” “Sacrifice?? What the f— are you talking about?? They did not willingly sacrifice themselves. They were killed because of the war you, Trump, and the admin, are waging on behalf of a FOREIGN COUNTRY, Israel,” Greene wrote in a response on X. “You mean their deaths fuel...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was accused of putting on an accent during a Memphis rally last week, with critics on social media comparing her to former Vice President Kamala Harris. Ocasio-Cortez was speaking at a campaign rally in Memphis on Friday for progressive U.S. House candidate Justin Pearson, who currently serves as a Tennessee state representative. "We cannot afford to leave Tennessee behind," she said. "We cannot afford to leave Kentucky behind, Alabama behind, Mississippi behind, Georgia behind, South Carolina behind. There is no country where we are split apart." "About a month or two ago, we were in Montgomery,...

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city’s second-youngest mayor, sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from George Deek and preaches hate. George Deek is an anomaly: a young Christian Arab who became Israel’s first Christian Arab ambassador when he was appointed envoy to Azerbaijan in 2019. He could have been raised to hate Jews and Israel. He could have despised America. His journey is one everyone should know. He represents a generation of young people who are becoming today’s leaders. While attending a private event at the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem to mark the launch of...