Free Republic

MARGARET BRENNAN: ... Is the President holding himself to the same standard that he is asking of others when it comes to dialing back dangerous rhetoric? PAUL: You know, everybody knows that the President is famous for his unfiltered social media. But if you take at face value the idea that calling your opponents traitors and then specifically saying that it warrants the death penalty is reckless, inappropriate, irresponsible, there are a number of other ways to describe it, but it’s not something that is helping the country heal wounds. I think it stirs things up and- and really, I...

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said he thought “a hundred or more” House Republicans could vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.Host Jonathan Karl said, “President Trump fought long and hard to prevent your discharge petition from going through. You won that battle. Now what happens? How many Republicans in the House follow your lead and defy the president on this?”Massie said, “I think we could have a deluge of Republicans, a hundred or more. I hope to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote. The president’s been saying...

Rep. Eric Swalwell predicted Democrats will win the House majority in the 2026 midterms hold Trump officials accountable. Swalwell being referred to the Justice Department on allegations of mortgage fraud, co-host Symone Sanders asked, “You put out a statement shortly after this, after this was made public, saying, ‘Of course I will not end my lawsuit against him.’ Your statement seemed defiant. You are resolute, that you are not afraid. No fear. And I know earlier this year you noted that you knew you could be a target. Now that this is out there for, and it’s been out for...

Friday on CNN’s “News Central,” former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she was not “concerned” about former President Joe Biden’s mental capacity during her tenure. Partial transcript as follows: BRIANNA KEILAR: According to my colleague Jake Tapper, who wrote a book with Alex Thompson, looking back on that, cabinet secretaries were telling them that Biden wasn’t up to the task of the proverbial 2 a.m. phone call. George Clooney said Biden didn’t even recognize him at the fundraiser that he was hosting. I mean, we’re talking 2023, 2024, why didn’t you see — why didn’t you have concerns?...

Thursday on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) comments about the ongoing government shutdown were “going to get someone killed.” A day earlier on CNN, Johnson said, “No, we’re not going to allow Chuck Schumer to play selfish political games and hold the American people hostage. We will not negotiate with legislative terrorists.” Jeffries said, “That type of language is reckless, it’s irresponsible, and it’s going to get someone killed. What do these folks not understand as it relates to the language that they continue to use? We should be...

Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) said the Trump administration was attempting to make Chicago a war zone to justify sending in more troops. Pritzker said, “Instead of going after the bad guys, they’re just picking up people who are brown and black and then checking their credentials. Are you a U.S. citizen? I don’t know about you, but I don’t carry around papers that say I’m a U.S. citizen. So you can imagine people are getting detained. They’re getting arrested, U.S. citizens. And they did this, of course, when they raided a building in the middle of the night in South...

Saturday on MSNBC’s “Velshi,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) claimed Republicans had taken their hoods off in President Donald Trump’s second term. Crockett said, “It’s not just even the fact that it’s gerrymandering. I want to be clear, this is racial gerrymandering, specifically in the state of Texas.” Host Ali Velshi said, “Do you hear the stuff they’re saying about Gene Wu, by the way, talking about Asians, like how he’s connected to the Chinese Communist Party, like the racism. They’re not doing a great job at keeping it, you know, keeping the lid on that pot.”

Wednesday on MSNBC’s “The Weeknight,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) said Democrats would “fight fire with fire” by matching any Republican redistricting effort for House of Representatives seats. Padilla said, “Why are they doing this in Texas anyway? It must be that’s how desperate they are and the lengths to which they will go to hold on to power. They know that the Midterms are going to be here before we know it. The margin in the House of Representatives is close enough that this could sway the balance of the House of Representatives next year. They’re not trying to run...

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that President Donald Trump’s spending bill has given the Democrats a message to run on. Christie said, “This is what happens when you have events as the president has pushed them in a way that he wanted to see it done, and you have a very compliant majority in the Congress, as we saw on the bill that got passed this week.” He continued, “So this is a great couple of weeks for the president in terms of what he wants to accomplish, short-term wins. Long-term concerns, though,...

Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he was considering running for president in 2028. Host Dana Bash said, “Governor, you’ve committed to serving out your term as governor, which is slated to end December 2027. Your name frequently comes up as a contender for the 2028 Democratic primary for president. You said, I’ll think about it after next year. What will make you decide that that’s going to be a yes, you’ll run for president?” Beshear said, “So my primary obligation and what I’m putting all my energy towards is to be the...

Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) said Monday on MSNBC’s “All In” that he was not bothered by President Donald Trump’s criticisms because he had developed what he called “Trump antibodies.” Host Chris Hayes said, “You obviously, you’ve taken some votes that have really put you on an island, I think it’s fair to say. You’re the single, solitary, no vote on that on that Big, Beautiful Bill that was coming through the House.” He asked, “I’m not going to read the entirety of this long post from the president, but he said he’s called you a simple minded grandstander. That MAGA...

Tuesday on MSNBC’s “The Briefing,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said she would assist the Trump administration with deporting violent criminals from her state, but not employed immigrants seeking asylum. Hochul said, “I will work with the Trump Administration to remove the people he said he was going after. I will help you get the criminals out of here, the ones who are violent criminals who are hurting other people, the human traffickers, the people who are dealing in drugs, people with guns. I want them gone. I’ll help you, but don’t take the home health care aides, the...

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said Monday on CNN’s “News Central” that President Donald Trump “promoted” the violent environment that brought the shootings of Minnesota lawmakers over the weekend. Co-host John Berman said, “There was a state representative, Democratic leader of the state legislature in Minnesota killed over the weekend, a state senator shot. How would you describe the current political atmosphere in this country this morning?” Merkley said, “I feel like Trump has really popped the lid off of the rhetoric and the the sense of hate and violence and promoted this type of an environment. It’s profoundly disturbing for...

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he was not a “big fan” of Saturday’s parade celebrating the 250th birthday of the Army. Host Kristen Welker said, “Let’s turn to what we witnessed in Washington, D.C., the Nation’s Capitol on Saturday, a military parade celebrating the 250th birthday of the Army here in Washington yesterday. You expressed some doubt ahead of the parade. President Trump was to showcase the army’s military might, and even to inspire a new generation to sign up for military service. Senator, what do you say about that argument? Could the...

CNN host Dana Bash said Friday on “The Situation Room” that during a phone conversation, President Donald Trump said the hardline negotiators he was dealing with in Iran were killed in Israel’s military strike. Bash said, “Well, my first question, it was a very brief conversation, but my first question was about the secretary of state’s remarks last night. His statement, which you mentioned in the open to the show, which explicitly said that the U.S. was notified about the Israeli strikes shortly before they happened, certainly warned Iran not to retaliate against U.S. assets. But the boilerplate language that...

Recently indicted Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) claimed Thursday on MSNBC’s “The Weeknight” that “Republicans have sold their soul for Donald Trump.” Discussing Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) being forcibly removed from a press conference, McIver said, “It was disgraceful. I mean, to see it honestly brought tears to my eyes. someone had dropped it in a chat to me. I watched the whole video and just the idea of how they were handling him with no regard, just throwing him on the floor, his hands up. I mean, it just brought back just a time that you don’t want to be...

Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) claimed Wednesday on CNN’s “News Central” that President Donald Trump caused the Los Angeles immigration unrest. Waters said, “The backup plan is the President of the United States should do what he didn’t do when we were invaded in the Capitol. When they had the insurrection that he led, he should get on the phone and talk to the local police, he should talk to the people that he’s had deployed there. And he has a responsibility in all of this. He started this. There should be no violence. He should not continue to support violence.”...

Tuesday on CNN’s “News Central,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) claimed President Donald Trump was “unlawfully” escalating the situation in Los Angeles. Padilla said, “I think what’s also important to remind ourselves of is it didn’t have to get to this point. This is absolutely a crisis that has been made intentionally by Donald Trump, beginning with the increasingly aggressive and theatrical immigration enforcement activities, the ICE raids in elementary schools and houses of worship, please, to him looking or creating any opportunity to further and further escalate. ” He continued, “The federalization of National Guard troops is not only unnecessary,...

On Saturday on MSNBC’s “Velshi,” one of President Donald Trump’s former lawyers, Michael Cohen, said Tesla CEO Elon Musk will lose in his feud with the president. Cohen said, “Elon said that he’s the one that delivered the election. I’m not so sure we can say that, but he certainly didn’t hurt.” He continued, “You know where Elon Musk is making a mistake? The feud should not have gone on the way that it did. And I say that because while Elon Musk may be the richest man in the world, Donald Trump is the most powerful man in the...

Friday on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” chief political correspondent Dana Bash detailed her morning phone conversation with President Donald Trump. Co-host Wolf Blitzer asked, “You had a chance to speak with the president this morning. How did that go?” Bash said, “Well, look, the headline in our conversation about Elon Musk is that the president says that he has no plans to speak with Musk, and he said that he thinks that Musk has got a problem. So the reason why that is the question right now is maybe, perhaps very obvious but behind the scenes, the push is on...