Free Republic

What can Donald Trump do to stop morphing into Joe Biden? The two presidents could hardly be more different in most ways—but in the one that counts most with voters, Trump is in danger of resembling his predecessor. Americans rejected Biden and the Democrats last year because they were incensed at the lousy state of the economy. Right now, they’re not much happier with Trump’s economy. Inflation was the No. 1 concern on voters’ minds last year, and it’s still a top concern today. Trump’s team say they plan to tout “affordability” as a theme Republicans can win on in...

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik says she is dropping out of the New York governor’s race and will not run for reelection to the House after finishing her term in office.

Inflation is only at 2.6% year-over-year. This means that nearly 100% of the cost of tariffs has been eaten by the foreign manufacturers and importers. Which is exactly what I’ve been arguing would happen. Let me explain what is happening: The notion that tariffs would be passed onto customers has always been laughable on its face, once you understand that manufacturing is only 20% to 40% of the price of an item for sale. The rest includes advertising, warehousing, transportation and sales markup. (Importers have high transportation costs to get the product to America, but that’s all part of replacing...

Trump’s tariffs and immigration raids are driving the latest farm crisis. White farmers have stood by him year after year—and still do. On Monday, Donald Trump announced that his administration will give farmers a $12 billion bailout—a tacit admission that his trade policies suck. Farmers have spent much of the last year complaining about rising production costs, falling crop prices and the loss of multiple markets due to Trump’s tariffs and the trade wars they have launched. All in all, farmers are projected to lose roughly $44 billion in profits this year, in large part because of Trump administration policies....

My guest today is Andrew Kolvet, who was Kirk’s close confidant. Since the assassination, he’s taken on many of Kirk’s responsibilities, including hosting “The Charlie Kirk Show.” Andrew Kolvet: …“Now, Charlie’s mission was to say: Hey, before us are two roads. You can either go grievance politics, socialism, free stuff populism, Mangione-ism, Mamdani-ism, or you can go MAGA.“ …“I think this is the through line for Israel — is you do not have to support Israel to belong to the team, at least in a traditional historical sense…I’m an American. I’m born in this country. My kids are going to...

Working Americans are going to get “very large refunds” of $1,000 to $2,000 per household early in the new year, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The checks will come in the first quarter of 2026 as a result of tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s sweeping, budget-focused One Big Beautiful Bill Act, he said. “I think we’re going to see $100-$150 billion of refunds, which could be between $1,000, $2,000 per household,” Bessent said Wednesday.

Kimball highlighted the political dynamics among younger voters: "Ohio voters who did not participate in the 2024 election, most of whom are under 30, are more likely to identify as Republicans rather than Democrats. In addition, 31% of voters under 30 align with independents or Democrats, while 38% identify with Republicans, though this group still breaks for Democrats on the ballot by about 12 points." President Donald Trump's job approval rating in Ohio stands at 46%, with a disapproval rating of 48%. Since August, Trump's approval has decreased by three points, while his disapproval has risen by six points. Gov....

Democrats continued their run of successes in special elections by flipping a state House seat in Georgia Tuesday, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk. The Democratic victory, in a district that voted for President Donald Trump by about 12 percentage points last year, comes ahead of next year’s critical midterms, when Georgians will vote in closely watched races for Senate and governor. Eric Gisler, a Democrat who owns a local olive oil store, will defeat Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest in the 121st House District, in the northeastern part of the state, near the college town of Athens....

Democrats just flipped the Miami mayorship from 🟥🔜🟦. The last time democrats won Miami was 1998. Republicans are completely squandering all of the work we did to win the 2024 elections. It’s especially frustrating as democrats are raising taxes in New Jersey & Pennsylvania.

NEW YORK — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday predicted that the administration still will be able to implement its tariff agenda regardless of whether it prevails in a pending case before the Supreme Court. Repeating assertions he had made prior to the high court hearing a month ago, Bessent cited several sections of 1962 Trade Act that give the president sweeping powers over import duties. “We can recreate the exact tariff structure with [sections] 301, with 232, with 122,” he said during an onstage interview at The New York Times DealBook Summit. Asked by host Andrew Ross Sorkin —...

President Trump has always defied the laws of political gravity, seemingly impervious to setbacks that would sink any other figure and immune from the traditional ebb and flow of campaign cycles. But his capitulation in the fight over releasing the Epstein files, and other recent developments, suggest that, when it comes to Congress, the president is subject to at least some of the same currents as his predecessors, as the first signs of his lame duck status emerge. The willingness of congressional Republicans to defy Mr. Trump and back legislation requiring the disclosure of federal files on Jeffrey Epstein, the...

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump was unapologetic about putting America first. He promised to secure the nation’s borders, strengthen the domestic workforce and be tough on countries he thought were taking advantage of the United States.Now, 10 months into his second term, the president is facing backlash from some conservatives who say he is too focused on matters abroad, whether it’s seeking regime change in Venezuela, brokering peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza or extending a $20-billion currency swap for Argentina. The criticism has grown in recent days after Trump expressed support for granting more visas to foreign students...

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order allowing a range of food products, including coffee, bananas and beef, to escape his sweeping tariffs. The move comes as his administration faces mounting pressure over rising prices. While Trump previously downplayed concerns about the cost of living, he has focused on the issue since his Republican Party's poor performance in last week's elections. The dozens of products included on the White House's list of exemptions range from avocados and tomatoes to coconuts and mangoes. These goods, the Trump administration said on Friday, cannot be produced in sufficient quantities domestically. Trump...

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States faces an economic and national security catastrophe if the Supreme Court nullifies his use of an emergency powers statute to place tariffs on most nations. Trump also said his administration is looking into $2,000 stipends to lower- and middle-income Americans through tariff dividends, as well as paying off the national debt. “All money left over from the $2000 payments made to low and middle income USA Citizens, from the massive Tariff Income pouring into our Country from foreign countries, which will be substantial, will be used to SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN...

The most important thing to know about the Trump administration’s defense of its hotly contested use of tariffs to bring allies and opponents to heel is not that it is a novel and unprecedented legal argument but rather a full-throated articulation of the campaign themes that got the president elected – in both 2016 and 2000. In its legal documents, and in the oral arguments that took place before the Supreme Court Wednesday, the Trump administration paints a picture of America under siege. Once thriving industrial towns in the Midwest hollowed out. Factories dismantled as supply chains have been moved...

With a social-media post that said “STOP LYIN” about there being an affordability crisis, President Trump claims he’s whipped inflation. But consumers are still feeling the squeeze. Target’s prices are up 5.5% nationwide this year and Walmart’s are up 5.3%, according to an analysis by DataWeave, which looked at roughly 16,000 items across each retailer’s website. Amazon’s price hikes have averaged more than 12%, according to a report. After seven months under Trump’s tariffs, Americans are paying more for nearly everything — from a cup of joe and plush living room sofas to children’s toys. Inflation for food has been...

In the most significant economic case to reach the Supreme Court in years, Trump’s authority to issue emergency tariffs faced deep skepticism from key conservatives — including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. • While justices had tough questions for both sides, a majority expressed reservations about the administration relying on declared emergencies to issue the unchecked tariffs. • As plaintiffs presented their case, Kavanaugh repeatedly noted that courts had previously allowed then-President Richard Nixon to use similar emergency powers to impose tariffs during his administration. • Both sides previously framed the...

Following numerous victories for Democrats in last night’s elections, prediction markets are showing more favorability for Democrats to regain control of the House of Representatives in 2026. Prediction market Kalshi now projects that the Democratic Party has a 69% chance of winning the House next year, compared to Republicans’ 31% chance. Numbers for Democrats are up significantly from the estimates on Election Day, which gave the Democratic Party a 59.5% chance of winning compared to Republicans’ 40.5% chance. Off-year elections are often seen as a barometer of the country’s pulse on the current leadership. After several resounding victories, Democrats are...

President Donald Trump's use of sweeping tariffs faced sharp questioning at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, in a case with major implications for the president's agenda and the global economy. A majority of justices, including several conservatives, expressed doubts about the White House's justification of the import duties, which the president has said are necessary to restore America's manufacturing base and fix its trade imbalance. The measures are being challenged by a number of small businesses and a group of states, which contend that the president has overstepped his authority in imposing the levies, which are in effect a tax....

Tonight we have observed the revival of the Democrat party...The Trump administration along with the GOP have set the stage for a disaster come 2026.