Free Republic

Everywhere you look in American politics, you’ll see two things. First are polls, predictions, and posturing around the concept that MAGA is finished, the Democrats are ascendant, and the midterm elections will be an absolute wipeout. And second are concrete examples showing that the Democrat Party is a collection of unmitigated angry, malignant clowns. I’m going to trust that I don’t have to take the reader through the endless litany of examples of the first contention. You’ve surely seen enough of that. Rather, I’ll focus on the second. And then take some time to relate it to the first. And...

President Donald Trump announced Thursday afternoon a ten-day pause in his threat to order strikes against Iranian energy plants to give more time for the “ongoing” talks to potentially reach a deal. The strikes against Iran, jointly conducted by the U.S. and Israel, have been controversial. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in one of the strikes and another hit an elementary school, killing at least 175 people, mostly young girls who were students there. Trump denied responsibility but media reports have shown it was a Tomahawk missile that hit the school, a weapon that only the U.S. has,...

But what it is, is entirely unclear. President Trump has announced a breakthrough in negotiations with Iran: President Trump said Iran has agreed to his biggest demand in order to stop the war: no nuclear weapons. “They’ve agreed,” he said. “They will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that.” Tehran has not stated that publicly — and denied even talking to the US. But Trump has made clear that the no-nukes demand is necessary for the US to stop its military campaign. *** “We’re actually talking to the right people and they want to make a deal so...

Iran has agreed to never have nuclear weapons, President Donald Trump said Thursday, signaling that Tehran has met a key U.S. demand to help end the war. The conflict has raised global concerns over nuclear proliferation, as Iran’s nuclear program has been a central issue for the president. “They’ve agreed,” he said. “They will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that.” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are involved in ongoing peace talks with Iran. The president had originally tapped special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to lead talks with Tehran. However, Iranian officials refused to negotiate with Witkoff and Kushner, according to the Guardian. “We’re in negotiations right now. They’re doing it, along with Marco and JD; we have a number of people doing it,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office. “The other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal....

*** The promise from President Donald Trump was clear: expose it, clean it up, and drain the swamp. Now more than a year into Trump’s second term, many voters are beginning to ask a simple question: Where are the results? ***Approval ratings for FBI Director Kash Patel are slipping. Only 40 percent of likely voters view Patel favorably. Even more striking, just 32 percent believe he is performing better than previous FBI directors, while 37 percent think he is doing worse.[Rasmussen Reports] *** During the campaign, Trump promised unprecedented transparency on a series of long-running controversies that many Americans believe...

Iran has launched missiles at Israel after it ominously warned Donald Trump that it has 'special plans' for him and the US's allies in the Gulf, following the American president's threat to attack the nation's power plants. A source told the state-run Fars News Agency: 'Tonight, special events are planned for Tel Aviv and some regional allies of the US and Israel that will completely remove the hope of negotiations from the minds of the aggressors.' Iran appears to have made good on the threat, firing missiles at Eilat area in southern Israel, as well as the cities of Dimona...

President Donald Trump floated joint control of the Strait of Hormuz and suggested he didn't know who was currently leading Iran when responding to a reporter on Monday morning. Trump spoke to journalists on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport as he departed Florida after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago and was asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins who was in control of the Strait of Hormuz. The President answered that the Strait would be open 'real soon' if a deal he's teased with Iran works. 'It'll be jointly controlled,' he said of the waterway. When asked who would be...

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump's public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground. The war is "very complete, pretty much", Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit - are moving into the region. It is "winding down", but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world's oil export travels, is a "simple military...

An Iranian missile bearing a heavy warhead on Saturday night directly hit a building where Gur hasidim live in the southern city of Arad, after the IAF failed to intercept it. Magen David Adom (MDA) reported that 75 people injured at the scene, suffering varying degrees of injury. It is believed that there are people missing and trapped, and rescue forces are operating at the scene. Among the injured are some whose condition is serious and others whose condition is critical; there are also people trapped under the rubble. MDA reported that thus far, 68 people have been evacuated to...

Operation Epic Fury could be coming to an end, President Donald Trump hinted on Friday.President Trump posted a March 20 statement on TruthSocial affirming that the United States is getting close to meeting its goals with the joint U.S.-Israel operation against the terrorist Iranian regime. The president also discussed some future plans regarding the strategic Strait of Hormuz.“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran,” Trump began. He then provided a list of those objectives, starting with, “Completely...

Republican candidate for governor in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, trails Democrat Amy Acton by 10 points, a new poll from EMC Research, Inc., shows on Thursday. Newsweek reached out to political analysts via email for comment. Why It Matters Ohio has not elected a Democratic governor since 2006. Ramaswamy, a wealthy entrepreneur and former presidential candidate, comes with name recognition while Acton, a physician and former state health director, shows solid numbers with key groups in recent surveys. Ramaswamy, a supporter of President Donald Trump, was tapped to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk in Trump's second term....

President Trump on Saturday said Iran is begging for an end to the war, but he’s not ready to strike a deal with Tehran until they get serious about the proposed terms. “Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Trump told NBC News, adding that any agreement would require Iran to completely abandon any nuclear ambitions. The president said the conditions of an agreement with Iran have to be “very solid” before he’ll agree to halt the US-Israel military campaign — and even questioned whether their new...

https://x.com/jammles9/status/2032804438889398634 Jammles@jammles9·8h🚨 🎥 26 years ago Donald Trump said this to Cuban Americans.“One day Cuba will be free.”In the same speech he laughed and said:“Maybe I’ll end up the greatest developer in the country… or maybe the greatest president.”Now look at what’s happening.Cubans are rising up against the Communist government and taking to the streets.And today Trump is widely seen as one of the best presidents in modern history.How many times has Trump said something years before everyone else saw it?March 14, 2026

Thanks to the U.S. president’s keen political acumen, the Islamic Republic has lost a key point of leverage. What makes this attack so shocking is not just the target; it is who got targeted. Oman is the Gulf state closest to Iran politically, and it has long served as the main mediator between Iran and the West. Yet Tehran still went after its oil infrastructure... ...Iran’s message is clear: No oil infrastructure in the Gulf is off limits. And this is not new behavior. Iran has previously targeted oil production even in countries that are not openly hostile. Saudi Arabia,...

President Donald Trump reportedly told Group of Seven leaders this week that Iran is "about to surrender," as the U.S. and Israel continue a sweeping military campaign against the regime's military infrastructure.According to Axios, Trump made the remark during a virtual call Wednesday, boasting about the results of the ongoing U.S.-led military operation targeting Iran’s missile forces, navy, and defense industry."I got rid of a cancer that was threatening us all," Trump reportedly told the leaders, referring to "Operation Epic Fury" and the strikes that have hammered Iranian military targets over the past two weeks.

The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. President Donald Trump’s national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration, the sources said. And now it may be weeks before the administration’s efforts to alleviate the intensifying economic fallout take hold, officials said Thursday, including high-risk naval escorts of oil tankers through the strait that the Pentagon...

Khamenei's ability to govern questioned after injuries U.S. strikes target Iran's missile, drone capabilities Hegseth vows no mercy, reshapes military justice system Iranian drones reported in Kuwait, Iraq, UAE, Bahrain, Oman Six U.S. service members die in Iraq aircraft crash WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded ‌and likely disfigured, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday, questioning Khamenei's ability to govern after nearly two weeks of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. No images have been released of Khamenei since an Israeli strike at the start of the war that killed much...

Donald Trump’s apparent interest in regime change in Iran is a welcome development. The opening days of the US-Israeli military campaign against the ayatollahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”) have proceeded beyond expectations, although harder days undoubtedly lie ahead. The Pentagon’s planning and professionalism are on full display. By contrast, the political side of this politico-military assault on the Tehran regime is hurting.