Free Republic

Donald Trump's opponents are increasingly targeting him in a slew of TV attack ads that throw shade on his business ventures and conservative credentials and draw attention to some of his un-presidential qualities on the campaign trail - like his use of the f-bomb. In large part, that is unsurprising. Mr. Trump is the front-runner heading into the South Carolina primary on Feb. 20 and the ads are ratcheting up the pressure - aimed at dislodging the billionaire real estate tycoon from the top of voter survey polls. Another wealthy Republican candidate faced a similar barrage of TV attacks four...

A lot has been written about how Donald Trump’s asset churning and bombastic attacks on partners and takeover targets in Atlantic City may have profited him personally, but ultimately led to the demise of his Atlantic City casino empire, costing small investors, contractors and suppliers millions of dollars and throwing thousands of employees out of work. But as our friend, and former Justice Department lawyer J. Christian Adams has documented, Atlantic City isn’t Trump’s only failed enterprise, nor is it the only example of how Donald Trump has made money by duping Donald Trumpand bullying the little guys he now...

The incoming fire appears to have taken a toll in South Carolina, a state that had been seen as favorable territory for Cruz due to its conservative and evangelical bent. But new polls released this week show Cruz trailing by double digits, with Trump poised for a huge win in the state on Saturday. Wednesday's Monmouth University poll gives Trump 35 percent support, nearly doubling Cruz, who garnered just 19 percent. Trump's lead extends to the very evangelical community that Cruz had expected to win in large numbers.

Seneca, South Carolina (CNN)Ted Cruz is calling Donald Trump's bluff.Cruz slammed Marco Rubio and Donald Trump during a dramatic press conference Wednesday that underscored the escalating tension among Republicans ahead of Saturday's South Carolina primary. But it was his broadside against Trump that sounded like a challenge: sue me."I have to say to Mr. Trump you have been threatening frivolous lawsuits for your entire adult life," Cruz said at a press conference in South Carolina. "If you want to file a lawsuit ... file the lawsuit."He said Wednesday said that Trump's lawyers have sent his campaign a cease and desist...

My best guess, based upon the issues that Scalia held near and dear to his heart, Scalia would have voted for Ted Cruz, or at least greatly supported him. Here are some reasons why...

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump knew a man he named as a senior business adviser in 2010 had been convicted in a major Mafia-linked stock fraud scheme, according to Associated Press interviews and a review of court records. Trump had worked with Felix Sater previously during the man's stint as an executive at Bayrock Group LLC, a real estate development firm that partnered with Trump on numerous projects after renting office space from the Trump Organization. But Sater's past was not widely known at the time because he was working as a government cooperator on mob cases and the judge overseeing...

Ted Cruz won last week's Iowa caucuses, exceeding expectations and capturing an impressive 27 percent of the vote. Donald Trump took second place, while Marco Rubio took third. What happened next?...

With lawsuits pending and shady partners, Trump's business empire could not withstand the scrutiny of a presidential campaign, and even his kids might have been muddied. Editor's Note, 8/10/15: Four years ago, Wayne Barett reported shady business deals ahead of Trump's flirtation with a White House run. After first exposing Trump’s ties to organized crime in his 1992 book, Barrett looked into his most recent business dealings and discovered the following: One associate who was an "unindicted co-conspirator" in a massive 2000 stock swindle-and escaped prison only by helping to convict 19 others, including six members of New York crime...

I have to admit that I found one aspect of the Trump campaign compelling: his claim that he was self-funding and therefore free of any obligations to his financiers. Any regular reader of mine knows my obsession with money in American politics. Money may not be the root of all evil, but it is the catalyst that produces the most evil in American politics! However my gut tells me to process anything coming from The Donald’s mouth with a healthy dose of skepticism. On face value I mistrust Trump. He looks slimy to me and has a history of being...

A White Supremacist Group pushes New Hampshire voters to support Donald Trump by sending out robocalls. The American National Super PAC is funding the robocall effort, which is organized under a separate group called the American Freedom Party. Robocalls are going out with the following messages: "The American National Super Pac makes this phone call to support Donald Trump." "We don't need Muslims, we need smart, educated white people." "I am a farmer and White Nationalist. Support Donald Trump. This call is not authorized by Donald Trump." No word on how many homes in New Hampshire received the calls. Donald...

Politics is a full-contact sport, but it’s not OK to hit below the belt. Ben Carson, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio spent last week blaming frontrunner Sen. Ted Cruz for a problem that originated from Team Carson’s own disorganization—even after media records and Iowa exit poll data cleared Cruz. Before you vote in your primary, you deserve the truth...

What a glum, drab debate. ABC clearly tried to make all the candidates look bad, and the bad blood between the candidates left over from Iowa meant that they just did not care about showing any level of solidarity against the media, as they often do. Christie successfully tore down Marco Rubio for the first hour of the debate, but made himself look like a royal, braying jerk in the process. Normally in these posts, I have three winners and three losers, but I don't think there even were three winners - but there were a whole bunch of losers....

Good political ads create two reactions. They make voters stand up and cheer. Or they make them cringe and think, "That's gonna leave a mark.... aanndd I need to watch that again." Such is the nature of the ad Chris Christie dropped on Marco Rubio this evening. So grab some popcorn and a chair and watch "It's A Simple Question." For full disclosure, I am helping the Keep the Promise PAC team. Link to Ad Video Link to You Tube

MUSCATINE, Iowa -- Whether or not he was aware that it was not the same branch of Presbyterianism he claims to follow, Donald Trump obtained a lesson in "humility" during a reading at a "gay-affirming" Presbyterian USA congregation on Sunday, followed by a sermon from a woman pastor that included talk on welcoming refugees. "We talked about humility in church today," Trump told reporters following the service at First Presbyterian Church of Muscatine (PCUSA), which he visited prior to a campaign rally in the city, just days before the Iowa Caucus. "I don't know if that was aimed at me....

There's a reason why nearly zero Republican Senators are rushing to the microphones to endorse Ted Cruz. Compared to his bold attempts to topple the president's middle-class-crushing, business-squashing, government-dependency-boosting, liberty-erasing imperialism, they look like the Lollipop Guild all obediently singing to Obama's tune. So they hate Ted Cruz. Americans want to know why they overwhelmingly voted to send Republicans to Congress to smash a presidency that nearly 67% oppose and they're furious that it seems nothing is ever done. Except by Ted Cruz. Senator Cruz led the fight against the Gang of Eight Bill that would have essentially handed amnesty...

New York billionaire Donald Trump promises "forward motion" on so called gay rights if elected president. While speaking with Bay Windows publisher Sue O'Connell Friday, Trump spoke about his wishes to unite the country on gay and lesbian issues. According to a report by Bay Windows: O'Connell, who is also Bay Windows' Publisher, identified herself as a lesbian in a question that noted the progress the LGBT community has made in the last two decades and asked Trump if voters can expect him to continue that momentum if elected "When President Trump is in office can we look for more...

Our buddy Rick Shaftan just forwarded us the latest spot that his messaging shop has put together for the pro-Ted Cruz Courageous Conservatives PAC, and it’s really something. It frames the GOP race for the folks in New Hampshire as a three-way contest – with Marco Rubio as the lightweight, Donald Trump as the deadweight and Cruz as the heavyweight. And its critique of Rubio and Trump – namely, that while Rubio is likable he doesn’t have a whole lot of accomplishments on his resume signifying his fitness to be president (Rubio probably has more than the ad gives him...