Free Republic

President Trump's second term has been a payday for the powerful, exposing a disconnect in his promise to deliver for "the forgotten man" of America's working class. Why it matters: The populist paradox at the heart of MAGA — a movement fueled by economic grievance and championed by a New York billionaire — has never been more pronounced, Axios' Tal Axelrod and Zachary Basu report. ⚡ Trump's blue-collar base remains fiercely loyal, energized by his hardline stances on immigration, trade and culture — and patient that his economic "Golden Age" will materialize.

Top Democrats tell us their party is in its deepest hole in nearly 50 years — and they fear things could actually get worse:

Elon Musk pledged Friday night to go to "war" to defend the H-1B visa program for foreign tech workers, branding some Republican opponents as "hateful, unrepentant racists."

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei inspired and energized a National Press Club gala with a passionate, ad-libbed defense of free and fearless reporting, warning that "everything we do is under fire." "I hate this damn debate about: Oh, we don't need the media," he said Thursday night as he and co-founder Mike Allen accepted the Fourth Estate Award for lifetime achievement. "It's not true." What they're saying: "I love this country," Jim added. "I'm a beneficiary of this country. Some dipsh*t from Wisconsin can come and start two companies, be up here, win an award." SNIP

We're now in uncharted, historic waters: President Biden — backed by first lady Jill Biden and his convicted son, Hunter, who's serving as de facto gatekeeper for longtime friends — says that nothing, besides an act of God, will persuade him to quit his re-election campaign.But outside Biden's protective bubble, a fast-growing number of Democrats are praying for —and plotting — a more earthly intervention. They want everyone from the Obamas to congressional leaders to beg Biden to drop out by this Friday. Why it matters: Biden and his Democratic critics share one common passion — the intensity, certainty and...

If former President Trump wins in November, top supporters will push him to investigate, prosecute — and even try to imprison — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), who won Trump's conviction in the hush-money case. "Of course [Bragg] should be — and will be — jailed," Steve Bannon, one of the top voices of the MAGA movement, told us — saying for the record what many Trump supporters are privately plotting. Why it matters: This column has reported extensively about all the norms Trump plans to shatter if returned to the White House. Nowhere would that be truer than...

If Republicans step back and look beyond the legal and social-media spectacle of Donald J. Trump, they'll see screaming political sirens everywhere they gaze. Why it matters: The GOP's political trouble has been unfolding slowly but unmistakably, starting even before Trump's loss to Joe Biden in 2020. First, the 2018 House elections were a disaster for Republicans: Democrats had a net gain of 40 seats to take over the House — their largest gain since the post-Watergate election of 1974. Then Trump lost the presidency. Next, Republicans blew two runoff elections in Georgia and lost control of the U.S. Senate....

VIDEOPolitico White House Correspondent Mike Allen made a bold midterm elections prediction. Watch how it worked out for the Nostradamus of our times.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum will endorse Dave McCormick for the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania. Details: "I know Pennsylvania and I know conservatives. Dave McCormick will be the next senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He has my full endorsement," Santorum said in a statement provided by the McCormick campaign.

Former President Trump — in a taped interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News that was shared with Axios — defended, quite extensively, supporters who threatened to "hang" former Vice President Mike Pence. Why it matters: Well, it is unprecedented for a former president to openly say it was OK to threaten the life of his vice president.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, lacing up for a possible presidential run in 2024, told "Axios on HBO" he won't back down from a fight with former President Donald Trump, taunting his longtime friend for losing the last election. "I've never walked away from an argument, no matter who stood on the other side," Christie told me during a wide-ranging interview in New Jersey. Why it matters: This is the first hand-to-hand combat of the 2024 Republican presidential race. Many Republican candidates fear crossing Trump. But Christie — who said he still considers Trump a friend, despite their falling-out...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) tells me in an interview for Sunday's "Axios on HBO" that cryptocurrency could eventually replace the dollar as "the reserve currency of the world." Why it matters: The senator says he's begun to ask that question as more and more people lose confidence in governments, which used to have a monopoly on money. Context: When Paul ran for president in 2016, he accepted donations in Bitcoin — part of what gave his campaign its youthful appeal.

RUSH: Do you remember the book by Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth? Remember that “bombshell book,” how that was gonna bring down the Trump administration? Remember that book? And then whatever happened…? Remember the New York Times or Washington Post (I forget which) published an op-ed from “Anonymous” that basically said, “Look, there are some adults in here, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure this guy Trump doesn’t go off and ruin things. Count on us! We can’t tell you who we are.” Well, then this person writes a book, and it was gonna be a “bombshell.” It was gonna...

Like week-old meat left in a hot car, the stench of defeat is starting to overpower the swag pens and stifled giggles in the Democrats' impeachment project. Axios has fresh news about how bad it is: Officials in both parties tell me that — barring surprise new information — President Trump is on a glide path to swift acquittal at his Senate impeachment trial, despite a blizzard of evidence bolstering Democrats' accusations. Why it matters: Trump has a decent chance of avoiding witnesses and of losing zero Republican votes on conviction. Think about that: When the news broke, did anyone...

Well, well, well, what a pretty picture we have with Democrats these days, with radical Democrats now looking at primary fights with utterly crazy socialist ones. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be planning to primary her fellow New York Democrats for a Senate seat, getting ready to target Sen. Chuck Schumer or Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.  That's what Mike Allen at Axios is reporting, citing what's apparently an upcoming Axios on HBO segment, citing "top Democrats," who "buzz." He writes: Top Democrats tell "Axios on HBO" they expect Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may eventually primary one of the two New York senators —...

Joe Biden advisers believe coverage of allegations of inappropriate behavior is being stoked by rival Democrats — a dynamic that could actually fire up the vice president at a time when others see success as increasingly improbable. Why it matters: Several around Biden think advisers to Bernie Sanders are at least partly behind the anti-Biden campaign. One prominent backer thinks Biden will run, and "is ready to kill Bernie."

Mike Allen, co-founder of Axios, tried to claim that the economy is headed into a recession on the same day the October jobs report delivered spectacular news. Allen dropped the following headline: “1 big thing: New signs the booming economy could slide into recession.” Details: Allen cherry-picked data to backfill his hysteria. The big picture: Something else the “experts” were telling us as recently as last week: the economy only added 190,000 jobs in October. But Reality actually added 250,000 jobs. My favorite is this: And U.S. economic growth is already slowing: In the third quarter, GDP growth retreated to...

It drives the media, Democrats and more than half of America mad, but President Trump's unorthodox, jam-your-opponent style can be effective. What he's done: He erased NAFTA, as a word, and replaced the trade pact with a different name (the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA) and better terms for America. Sure, he infuriated Canada and Justin Trudeau, but he delivered the goods. (And helped some farm-state candidates just before midterms.) Show less His tax cut, jammed through last year, continues to juice a red hot economy that has consumers confident, stocks soaring, joblessness sinking. His wild, improvisational press conferences and...

With speculation hot among the president's legal team that today could be a day for action by Bob Mueller (last working day before Labor Day), remember all the evidence the special counsel has — or could have — that we haven't seen. Why it matters, from Bob Bauer, former White House counsel to President Obama, and now an NYU Law professor: "Investigators have the skills and resources to turn up evidence, including witness testimony, that goes beyond what anyone on the outside can imagine in the daily speculation about the Mueller probe." "How many had heard of George Papadopoulos —...

Marjory Stoneman Douglas student and #NeverAgain activist David Hogg told Axios founder Mike Allen at an event in Washington on Friday that his high school feels "like a prison" since the shooting last month, with "hundreds of police officers" patrolling the campus. He said this is a problem because the police are racist against black students: "What I'm very concerned about is the racial disparity between white and black students. For example, black students get suspended at a rate three times higher than white students."