Free Republic

President Trump defended White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in an exclusive interview with The Post Tuesday — saying she was right to tell Vanity Fair he has an “alcoholic’s personality” and that he has full faith in Wiles to continue in her role.Trump, 79, reiterated that he avoids alcohol, saying in the interview he has a “possessive and addictive type personality” and that he wasn’t offended by her word choice. “No, she meant that I’m — you see, I don’t drink alcohol. So everybody knows that — but I’ve often said that if I did, I’d have a...

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that he only learned of a second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat to finish off two survivors “a couple of hours later.” Hegseth disavowed responsibility amid a congressional outcry over the Sept. 2 follow-up attack on the wrecked vessel.

The scandal-scarred independents running for New York City mayor stand little chance against frontrunner Zohran Mamdani — even if the rivals team up against the socialist candidate, a shocking new poll found. Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman and Democratic nominee, is projected to handily win the November general election with 50% of likely voters in the latest survey, released Tuesday by Zenith Research/Public Progress Solutions. Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has decided to continue his comeback tour after his embarrassing June primary loss to 33-year-old Mamdani, came in a distant second at 22%, while the GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa pulled 13%. Mayor...

Musk and Gor disliked each other since before Trump reclaimed power on Jan. 20 — with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO describing Gor as “sleazy” during the transition and questioning his staffing picks. But the world’s richest man had the president’s ear and friendship through last week. Simmering behind the scenes was a grudge nursed by Gor over a March 6 Cabinet meeting, during which Musk “humiliated” him by slamming the pace of staffing the administration, said the sources, each of whom have interacted closely with Gor. “He was bragging to other people that he was going to get one...

President Trump is planning on parting ways with all traces of Elon Musk — including the Tesla he bought at full price on March 11. The president is looking to now sell or give away his red Tesla, a White House official confirmed to The Post. The vehicle is currently parked in the White House parking lot and was intended for staff use. Trump made a big show of buying the Tesla weeks ago to support Musk, who was suffering from nation-wide attacks on Tesla vehicles and buildings. But Trump is still hot over his massive fight with Musk that...

Hand it to the Ukrainians: They’re not only fighting heroically on, more than three years after Moscow launched its savage and utterly unprovoked war to destroy their nation, they’re fighting with cheek and style. The latest, of course, is Sunday’s surprise drone strikes on airbases deep inside Russia, targeting strategic warplanes that have been pummeling mostly-civilian targets in Ukraine. It counts as an intelligence coup, too: The drones were infiltrated to near their final targets over months, with Vladimir Putin’s massive internal-surveillance agencies left utterly in the dark. Then again, Vlad’s secret police were caught clueless back when the Wagner...

Robert De Niro’s daughter is speaking her truth. At 29, Airyn De Niro is coming out as a trans woman and discussing the surprising motivation that led her to follow through with her gender journey, which included beginning hormone therapy last November. Speaking candidly with Them in her first-ever interview, the movie star’s daughter, whom he shares with ex Toukie Smith, shared that Halle Bailey’s “The Little Mermaid” in 2023 had a huge impact on her. In the article, De Niro said the turning point came when she made her first appointment at a black hair salon after seeing Bailey...

The Trump administration has been mulling ways to get more Americans married and having kids — including a $5,000 “baby bonus” for every new mom after delivery, according to a report. White House officials have recently been brainstorming plans to tackle the declining birth and marriage rates — and push more Americans toward the traditional family values of Trump and his allies. Policy experts and advocates for boosting the birth rate have been meeting with White House aides to come up with plans to convince more women to have babies, four people who have been part of the meetings told...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has come a long way since 2018. When she first arrived on the political scene by beating out not just an incumbent, but a member of her party’s leadership in a Democratic primary contest, she was a rebel — an avatar of insurgent impulses within her coalition. And, among Republicans, something of a joke. Now, she’s the Democratic Party’s most popular elected official. A Yale University poll released this week found that among Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez boasts the single highest net favorability rating of all the party’s many potential 2028 presidential candidates — a sky-high 62%. In addition, 41%...

Donald Trump finally decided to take the proverbial “win” on trade and the stock market rallied nearly 3,000 points. You can thank the bond market, with an assist from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, for making it happen. We have been hyper-focused on how the stock market dropped ever since Trump declared trade war on the entire world, how he kept upping the ante, demanding ever higher degrees of compensation from our trade partners, even those who appeared to be acting in good faith and wanting to negotiate peace. He was also goaded by two of the most hawkish and protectionist...

Billionaire Republican megadonor and Home Depot founder Ken Langone has ripped the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs as “bulls–t” — claiming the president has been ill-advised amid the raging trade war. “I don’t understand the Goddamn formula,” Langone, a veteran GOP campaign donor, told the Financial Times on Monday. “I believe he’s been poorly advised by his advisers about this trade situation — and the formula they’re applying.”

WASHINGTON — President Trump spoke Friday with Canada’s new prime minister as the US prepares to slap 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports — and referred to Mark Carney by his title, dropping the “governor” moniker he applied to predecessor Justin Trudeau. “I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States...

Recently fired US Agency for International Development (USAID) staff scrawled messages on boxes full of their personal belongings Friday — and several ex-employees were seen beaming as they were cheered on by supporters on their last day in the office. “You can take the humanitarians out of USAID but you can’t take the humanity out of the humanitarians,” read one upbeat message on a former worker’s box that held a large plant among other items. “We are abandoning the world,” read another note on the container of a different ex-federal employee’s belongings. The axed employees were applauded by former USAID...

The good news: The Trump administration is still rounding up bad hombres in New York, nabbing a whopping 100 criminal migrants in the first week. The bad news: Not everyone is happy about it. Albany politicians are in a tizzy, arguing over when and how much the state should get in ICE’s way. It’s pure madness. The migrants getting scooped by the feds are kidnappers, sexual assaulters, murders and Tren de Aragua gangbangers — the worst-of-the-worst. Getting these sickos out of New York shouldn’t be controversial, it’s common sense. But while some sane-minded members of the Legislature are advocating to...

It was less than a year ago, in April 2024, that then-candidate Donald Trump went on a late-night tear against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “I lived with RFK Jr. in New York and watched him convince Governor Cuomo to make Environmental moves that were outright NASTY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Upstate New York was not allowed to drill or frack as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and others ripped off New York Energy. Because of this, prices have skyrocketed all over that part of the Country.” “I’d even take Biden over Junior, because our Country would last a year or two longer...

It was less than a year ago, in April 2024, that then-candidate Donald Trump went on a late-night tear against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “I lived with RFK Jr. in New York and watched him convince Governor Cuomo to make Environmental moves that were outright NASTY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Upstate New York was not allowed to drill or frack as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and others ripped off New York Energy. Because of this, prices have skyrocketed all over that part of the Country.” “I’d even take Biden over Junior, because our Country would last a year or two longer...

Melania Trump has accused the Obamas of trying to hijack her husband Donald Trump’s first term in the White House. The incoming first lady made a cutting dig while saying she feels more confident of her husband’s fast-approaching second term now former President Barack Obama is not there to make things difficult. “The first time was challenging, we didn’t have much of the information,” the incoming first lady told “Fox & Friends” of when her husband was first sworn into office in 2017. “The information was withheld from us by the previous administration,” she said of Obama — whose wife,...

President-elect Trump told The Post Saturday he supports immigration visas for highly skilled workers, appearing to side with Elon Musk in the roiling intra-MAGA debate on the issue. “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said by phone, referring to the H-1B program, which permits companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” added Trump, who restricted access to foreign worker visas in...

President-elect Donald Trump used a “forceful hand” to get his Drug Enforcement Agency pick to drop out on Tuesday after hearing “concerns” about the Floridian’s record, sources familiar told The Post — leading outgoing Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) to make a bid for the position. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister issued a lengthy statement indicating he was withdrawing his name for the DEA slot — but did not reveal the specific reason he was dropping out of the confirmation process after just three days. “Everyone knows President Trump calls the shots,” a well-placed source spilled. “The president heard the concerns...

Trump considered replacing Pete Hegseth with Ron Desnatos as Defense Secretary: President-elect Donald Trump is considering replacing Pete Hegseth, his controversial pick to lead the Pentagon, with one-time 2024 rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, people familiar with the discussions told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday. The move comes as Hegseth, a 44-year-old Army veteran and former Fox News personality, faces increasing scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement. Trump is reportedly weighing Ron DeSantis as secretary of defense. REUTERS Trump is reportedly weighing Ron DeSantis as secretary of defense. REUTERS Pete Hegseth has become embattled with controversy and...