Free Republic

For a decade, the network and the president have fueled each other’s rise. As the midterms approach, both are learning who really owns the Republican base.During President Trump’s “executive time” on a recent Sunday evening, one of the missives during a marathon Truth Social posting spree told the story of what was eating him as the week began. His centerpiece post carried overtones of heartbreak and its target was one that had long taunted him from inside the room: Fox News — his constant companion, his comfort zone, the powerful media engine that took a chance on him a decade...

It's entirely possible that Trump, the "Art of the Deal" master, never saw the details of the MoU --brokered by fake "friends" Qatar/Pakistan-- before blindly placing his confidence in JD Vance. Yet virtually no one argues that this deal is good for America. There is broad consensus across Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, and many others that the sole beneficiary would be Iran's oppressive regime and its jihadist proxies. No one believes that the $300 billion would simply be spent on "reconstruction." Just like the regime has been doing with Obama's cash release for its annihilation nuclear program, ballistic missiles, shahed drones...

President Donald Trump kicked off his Thursday morning by lashing out at critics of his 14-point deal with Iran, calling them “fools.” On Truth Social, Trump bragged about stock market gains this week and average gas prices falling slightly since the announcement of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), which can be read here. The deal has found critics on both sides of the political aisle, with some arguing that the deal is not tough enough on Iran. Others have also red-flagged framework in the deal that would set up a $300 billion reconstruction fund, as well as sanctions being lifted...

Senior U.S. officials on Wednesday dictated the 14 points of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, reading the text of the agreement to reporters on a phone call. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. Iran has not officially released the memorandum. Key points of the deal include: *Both sides agreed to "the immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon." *Iran can begin exporting oil as soon as the MOU is signed. *Iran "will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge...

To some extent, Mohamed Hussein knew he was preparing to enter the lion’s den. But he made the decision to attend the Republican Party of Texas Convention to confirm for himself that he had a place in the GOP, even as members of the party have railed for months about the urgency of ending Sharia Law and the so-called “Islamification” of Texas. What he found was a party that didn’t want him. He arrived with hope but left in tears after being told explicitly that he should leave the country. Hussein was among at least four Muslims who arrived at...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump last year that he was the “greatest friend Israel ever had in the White House.” Now, as Trump tries to finalize a deal to end the war with Iran, he’s unloading on Netanyahu with rhetoric that no other American leader has dared to use publicly. He claimed credit for Israel’s existence — “without me, there would be no Israel” — and cursed his judgment in interviews. He even described him as “crazy.” The tension comes as Trump criticizes recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which threatened to jeopardize negotiations between Washington and...

The amount of oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve plunged last week to the lowest level since 1983 as the Trump administration continues to deploy emergency oil to minimize the damage from the war with Iran. According to federal data released Monday, US officials released another 8.9 million barrels from the SPR last week alone. That leaves the US emergency oil reserve with 340.3 million barrels of crude, taking out the prior low set in July 2023 under President Joe Biden after Russia invaded Ukraine. The last time the SPR had less oil than today was July 1983, when...

The US secretly approved a financial and maritime arrangement between Qatar and Iran, under which billions of dollars were paid to Tehran in exchange for free passage for Qatari tankers and ships through the Strait of Hormuz, three diplomatic officials now confirm. This was a deliberate and conscious course of action by the US administration, which allowed its navy to turn a blind eye to the arrangement, in complete contradiction of its declared policy. The move was intended to ease the crisis in global energy markets and curb rising oil prices. The current revelation proves that the White House had...

The amount of oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve plunged last week to the lowest level since 1983 as the Trump administration continues to deploy emergency oil to minimize the damage from the war with Iran. According to federal data released Monday, US officials released another 8.9 million barrels from the SPR last week alone. “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases, combined with releases by other governments and China reducing its exports, have prevented the Armageddon scenario of $150 oil from happening to date.” The emergency oil released since the war with Iran start will have to get replaced over...

The picturesque shores of Lake Geneva are bracing for a diplomatic storm, with an ornery President Donald Trump flying to France in a combative mood fresh off hosting a UFC cage fight on the White House lawn. When world leaders gather in Evian-les-Bains for the three-day G7 summit, they will do so under the suffocating shadow of global war and financial panic, sparked by Iran's closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz and Trump's ongoing threat of sweeping tariffs. Trump is set to go face-to-face with traditional foils like France's Emmanuel Macron and the UK's Keir Starmer, while navigating freshly...

"This press conference is solely for those pieces of **** who are right there!" Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods exploded on a reporter who ignored the subject of his press conference -- a sting conducted to capture child sex offenders -- and asked about an unrelated case.

German public broadcaster ZDF accused Elon Musk and British right-wing activist Tommy Robinson of inciting anti-immigrant violence in Belfast following a brutal stabbing attack that triggered days of riots across Northern Ireland. A 30-year-old Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid, was charged with attempted murder, possession of a knife and making threats to kill. He entered Northern Ireland in 2023, applied for asylum and was granted refugee status the same year, with leave to remain until 2028, a Home Office spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek. The victim — a man in his 40s — was hospitalized with serious injuries to his eyes, face...

Pete Hegseth has been left humiliated and out of his depth after video footage emerged on X of him clearly struggling to bench press in front of US soldiers. The video shows a sweaty Hegseth clearly having a hard time lifting weights while a soldier spots him from behind. The footage, shared by X account Republicans Against Trump, showed the Defense Secretary during his recent visit to Guantanamo Bay, and was captioned: “What is Pete Hegseth doing?” The thread was filled with replies, some defending Hegseth while the vast majority of people seemed to be agreeing the clip was humiliating....

On Thursday, Sheryl Gay Stolberg from The New York Times published a nasty, highly inaccurate hit piece on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The title of the hatchet job is, "Kennedy Shows Minimal Engagement in Vast Health Portfolio" The entire hit piece was filled with attacks from former disgruntled employees many of whom are anonymous or fired for their performance in her leftist screed. In her NY Times hit piece Stolberg argues that HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy displayed minimal attention to the Ebola crisis in Africa. She uses fired employees in her attacks. It is the...

The foul odor of TDS is definitely in the air when the editor of the Washington Monthly, published on the pages of Friday's Atlantic magazine website, can somehow connect the actions of an enraged Democrat congressman in 1856 caning anti-slavery Republican Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate to President Donald Trump.The author of the hit piece incorporating an incident from a couple of centuries ago is careful to discount the idea of making historical comparisons but that was exactly what Rob Wolfe did in "The Vicious Beating That Reshaped America."

Donald Trump has been booed at a basketball match in New York as he became the first sitting US president to attend the NBA Finals. The catcalls came after frustrated ticketholders waited for hours in queues that stretched more than two blocks outside Madison Square Garden on Monday due to the intense security restrictions that came with the US president's appearance. The New York Knicks lost 111-115 to the San Antonio Spurs in game three of the best-of-seven NBA finals, cutting the Knicks' lead in the series to 2-1. After the game, Trump told reporters: "It was, I think, mostly...

The conversation every Black parent dreads is happening right now in living rooms across America, ignited by a single word echoed in a Texas courtroom: guilty. 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony was convicted of murder in the death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. But while the verdict closed the legal chapter, it opened a painful, urgent dialogue inside Black homes—one centered on a parent’s deepest fear. For many, the verdict has forced an agonizing acceleration of Black childhood, forcing parents to strip away their kid’s innocence in exchange for survival. Popular TikTok Influencer, Just Wayne, spoke about...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a bill into law on Wednesday that gives his immigration and deportation agenda a nearly $70 billion boost for the rest of his time in the White House. The bill provides $38 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $26 billion for the Border Patrol. An additional $5 billion would cover unforeseen costs, according to the White House. Trump signed the legislation in the Oval Office a day after House Republicans pushed the measure through by a 214-212 vote over the objections of Democrats. His signature ended a nearly six-month fight over...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the crash involving a US Apache helicopter was not a “major incident” and that the pilot was safe, while affirming that sanctions and restrictions targeting Iranian ports would remain in place for as long as necessary. [ snip ] Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied Iranian involvement in the incident over the Strait of Hormuz, stating that “Iran was not behind the attack” and that there had been no deliberate action targeting the aircraft.

Given its oft-proclaimed calling as a peace project, the European Union can sound oddly bellicose when it sets about crafting policy. There are trade and fiscal “bazookas” to blast away crises, “silver bullet” solutions for every problem, and “nuclear options” to be used as a last resort. Yet in the absence of an EU army or even a police force, the pen-wielding Eurocracy rarely gets its hands on anything that looks like an actual weapon. The only exception—tellingly—is the club’s border-patrol agency. For over a decade after it was founded in 2005, Frontex agents wielded little more than whistles and...