Free Republic

Ron DeSantis has further alienated the America First conservatives he hoped to win over from Donald Trump’s base by disparaging January 6th protestors, denying they were motivated by patriotism.Speaking at a CNN town hall, the Florida Governor was asked if “the January 6th insurrections display[ed] patriotism, as some of them claim they did” by an audience member.“No, of course not,” DeSantis replied immediately. “I mean, that was not a good day for the country. I think the media has taken that, and I think the left has taken that, and really tried to politicize it, but it was not a...

Kathy Barnette is not a MAGA Republicanhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBr-Qluuh_U

Barnette, in her bio on her webpage, says: "Appearing regularly on national TV and radio, Kathy Barnette is a veteran, former adjunct professor of corporate finance, sought-after conference speaker, and conservative political commentator. Next up — Kathy is taking on Washington D.C. and is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania." The bio also reads: "Kathy served her country proudly for 10 years in the Armed Forces Reserves where she was accepted into Officer Candidacy School. She worked with two major financial firms in corporate America and sat on the board of a pregnancy crisis center for five years." The...

Lightfoot refused to elaborate on the specific threats, but said she receives them daily against herself, her wife and her home. Comparisons to how the Police Department has protected previous mayors’ homes, such as Rahm Emanuel’s Ravenswood residence, are unfair because “this is a different time like no other,” Lightfoot told reporters.

A statue of Christopher Columbus in Chicago was removed under cover of darkness today after drawing chaotic protests in a wave of violence which has led to Donald Trump's deployment of federal forces in the city. Hours after news spread that mayor Lori Lightfoot had sanctioned the statue's removal, crews used a large crane to remove the monument from its Grant Park pedestal in the early hours of this morning. The statue of Columbus, seen by many as a symbol of racial oppression, had already been covered in a plastic wrap to protect it from vandals and was at the...

The Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park was removed hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot called for its removal. Two cranes pulled their way up to the statue just before 2 a.m. Friday, after hours of vocal confrontations between protestors and supporters of the statue, including John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7. The decision to take down two monuments to Columbus came after violent clashes between police and protesters broke out last week when activists attempted to tear down a statue of the Italian explorer in Grant Park. “This statue coming down is because of the...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city will not tolerate vigilantism after groups of mostly white men patrolled the streets of the Bridgeport neighborhood on Wednesday night in response to a nearby city protest. Multiple streets were blocked in the Bridgeport neighborhood Wednesday night as nearby protests dispersed. Near West Pershing Road, water gushed from an open fire hydrant as small groups gathered on corners. Some of the men held bats. One wore a shirt that said “All Lives Matter,” one sipped a beer and another waved at an officer as he drove by. Additional groups of people, some armed...

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, says he will vote to convict President Trump in the Senate's impeachment trial.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris said she supports having a third gender option on federal ID forms as she continues to campaign heavily on social justice issues. The California Democrat was asked about the issue during an event at Keene State College in New Hampshire on Tuesday. “Sure,” she replied, according to multiple media reports.

Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot said illegal immigrants are always welcomed to her city, even if President Trump is the one sending them there. On Friday, Trump confirmed reports that he was seriously considering relocating asylum seekers who exceeded their 20 days in custody to Democratically controlled sanctuary cities nationwide. Lightfoot, who was recently elected mayor, appeared on CNN and reaffirmed the sanctuary policies in her city. She dismissed Trump as being “provocative” and told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper that her city has been dealing with asylum seekers for decades. Trump's threats are “much ado about nothing.”

President Donald Trump is again attacking Texas Democratic Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke ahead of his Houston rally supporting incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. The president tweeted Friday, “Beto O’Rourke is a total lightweight compared to Ted Cruz, and he comes nowhere near representing the values and desires” of Texans. Trump added: “He will never be allowed to turn Texas into Venezuela!” […] Polls have O’Rourke staying within 10 points of Cruz in deep-red Texas. …

President Barack Obama’s doctor says the president’s health remains excellent overall and that he has even improved from his last physical by lowering his cholesterol level and gaining muscle. Obama, 54, weighs in at 175 pounds, about five pounds less than from his last assessment in 2014. Dr. Ronny Jackson, the president’s physician, says the “president continues to focus on healthy lifestyle choices.” …

I'm beginning to think that if Trump is the nominee, there is a good chance that he may pick Rubio as his running mate. Naturally, this is just a guess on my part but I have two reasons to speculate on this: 1. While Trump liberally criticizes Cruz, Kasich and Bush, I rarely hear him lambast Rubio. And, conversely, I don't recall Rubio going after Trump. At least not nearly as much as he does some of the other candidates. 2. The Trump campaign team thinking may be that having Rubio on the ticket would draw in more Hispanic votes...

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...

Howard was crafty as he handed Megyn three fellow Fox personalities: Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck. Megyn's answers? The "F" goes to Bill O'Reilly. She'd marry Hannity, and kill Glenn Beck. By way of explanation, Megyn said Hannity's "got the most dough and he's the youngest, right?" and that O'Reilly "wrote a book that had some saucy sex scenes."

Earlier tonight Donald Trump made this comment about Megyn Kelly on CNN’s show with Don Lemon: “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her… wherever.” Now apparently I’m in the minority as I don’t think it’s solid that he meant her period. But everyone else apparently does. And tonight Carly Fiorina took to Twitter to call Trump out for it: Even Erick Erickson agrees, saying he has disinvited Trump to the Red State Gathering because of it: As much as I do personally like Donald Trump, his comment about Megyn Kelly on...

Fox News host Sean Hannity continues his streak as conservative king maker, as the network announced Thursday that he will have the first interview with Jeb Bush after his presidential campaign announcement next week. The former Florida governor is expected to announce his presidential campaign Monday in Florida. On Tuesday, Hannity will interview Bush. Bush will also appear on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" that same night. Bush campaign spokespeople confirmed that Bush will not hold any interviews Monday and that Hannity will be his first.

The star of a pro-Obama super PAC ad is speaking out against ... President Barack Obama. "I could really care less about Obama," Donnie Box says of President Obama, according to In These Times. "I think Obama is a jerk, a pantywaist, a lightweight, a blowhard. He hasn't done a goddamn thing that he said he would do. When he had a Democratic Senate and Democratic Congress, he didn't do a damn thing. He doesn't have the guts to say what’s on his mind." Box, In These Times reports, won't be voting for Obama. Here's the pro-Obama, anti-Bain Capital ad...

The star of a pro-Obama super PAC ad is speaking out against ... President Barack Obama. "I could really care less about Obama," Donnie Box says of President Obama, according to In These Times. "I think Obama is a jerk, a pantywaist, a lightweight, a blowhard. He hasn't done a goddamn thing that he said he would do. When he had a Democratic Senate and Democratic Congress, he didn't do a damn thing. He doesn't have the guts to say what’s on his mind." Box, In These Times reports, won't be voting for Obama. Here's the pro-Obama, anti-Bain Capital ad...

The star of a pro-Obama super PAC ad is speaking out against ... President Barack Obama. "I could really care less about Obama," Donnie Box says of President Obama, according to In These Times. "I think Obama is a jerk, a pantywaist, a lightweight, a blowhard. He hasn't done a goddamn thing that he said he would do. When he had a Democratic Senate and Democratic Congress, he didn't do a damn thing. He doesn't have the guts to say what’s on his mind." Box, In These Times reports, won't be voting for Obama. Here's the pro-Obama, anti-Bain Capital ad...