Free Republic

PORT HURON, Michigan, Oct 25 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump on Sunday escalated ​his invective against Norway, calling it a "shit house country" and ‌saying Norwegian immigrants were not welcome in the United States because the Nobel committee, based in the capital Oslo, had not awarded him a Peace ​Prize. Trump made the comments at a political rally in Port ​Huron, Michigan, ahead of next week's midterm elections Attributing recent unrest in ⁠France to immigration, Trump said he would welcome immigrants from some ​countries but not from Norway "because I didn't get the Nobel Prize ... ​So I don't...

US President Donald Trump endorsed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nine days before Israel's October 27 election, praising his leadership and warning that the United States would have to confront Iran without Israel's support if Netanyahu were replaced, he said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. "To the great people of Israel," Trump began, "Bibi Netanyahu has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combating the Islamic Republic of Iran, with its 51-year-old chant, “Death to Israel, Death to America! We will destroy the Little Satan and the Big Satan."The endorsement marks a...

President Donald Trump told Newsmax on Thursday he is "not a big fan" of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and considers him more difficult to negotiate with than Russian President Vladimir Putin, criticizing Ukraine's decision to resume attacks on Russian oil refineries amid efforts to end the war. "Zelenskyy is not a good guy for us to deal with," Trump said in an exclusive interview on "Finnerty" from the White House. "He doesn't want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't. No, I'm not a big fan of Zelenskyy." Ukraine resumed strikes Thursday on Russian oil infrastructure....

Speaking to broadcaster Newsmax, the president blamed Volodymyr Zelensky for the war, claiming he – not Vladimir Putin – had 'destroyed' Ukraine. It came after Mr Zelensky resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries after hitting out at Mr Trump's 'betrayal' at a time of intense Russian attacks. In an interview with the Financial Times, the Ukrainian leader said the cutting off of US intelligence sharing and the simultaneous weakening of the Starlink satellite internet service was 'dangerous' for civilians. He added: 'The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done.' 'Well, I think that's a disgrace,' Trump said yesterday, adding...

Two top appointees of President Donald Trump, including the deputy secretary of State, have been embroiled in a monthslong fight that includes accusations of leaks to the media and “bizarre” threats of defamation — all over emails that at times included more than a dozen administration officials. The conflict centers on Paolo Zampolli, a personal friend of Trump’s and a special envoy at the State Department, and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, according to the messages obtained by POLITICO. The emails stretch over almost a year and show Zampolli and Landau disagreeing over chains of command as Landau admonishes...

Former Vice President Mike Pence called on President Donald Trump to “rescind” his agreement to lift sanctions on Russian diesel fuel and stand up to “Russian aggression,” as Pence believes he did in his first term. “For our National Security, for the security of our Allies in Europe including Ukraine, President Trump should rescind this deal immediately and return to the strong policies of our four years in the White House; impose harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy and work with our allies to ensure Ukraine has the military support it needs to repel and defeat this Russian...

When President Trump’s former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, married a Turkish businessman last month, the lavish ceremony cemented their status as a power couple. Ms. Habba, 42, a longtime Trump loyalist, and Turhan Mildon, 29, an investor, hosted some of Washington’s most powerful people, including Attorney General Todd Blanche, the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, and Will Scharf, the White House counsel. At that point, his patrons could no longer protect him. Mr. Maduro was not only out of power, but sitting in an American jail. Mr. Saab, Mr. Mildon’s most powerful ally in Venezuela, was arrested and extradited to the...

The notion that conservatives care about discrimination against whites is merely a “myth,” according to an article published last week by Law & Liberty. Citing the 2024 American National Election Survey, which asked voters a battery of questions on many topics but included questions like, “How important is being white to your identity?” and gauged their perceptions of discrimination based on whiteness, author George Hawley tries to make the case that the GOP should move on from these concerns and away from the MAGA coalition that won the presidency for Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Hawley notes that in...

California Democrats slammed Donald Trump after he joked the US should let Iran 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego at a rally in Nebraska on Monday. The President campaigned in Grand Island alongside GOP Senator Pete Ricketts, who is running against an independent candidate backed by national Democrats. Trump was defending the Iran War and explaining that higher gas prices - which he hopes to lower with an Executive Order ⁠expanding ​access to tax-exempt ​diesel - are a small price to pay to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon. 'And again, remember, with the war, it's just artificial....

President Donald Trump said he doesn’t care what the polls and the “fake news” are showing: he is confident the Republicans are going to shock the world — and the Democrats, in particular — and perform much better than expected in the 2026 midterm elections. The president struck an optimistic tone while rallying for the GOP in Vandalia, Ohio on Saturday evening. He said Republicans will be just fine, as long as conservatives don’t stay at home on Election Day. “They’re in for a big surprise. It’s very simple: You gotta get out and vote. You gotta get out. You...

One month until Election Day, voter dissatisfaction with the economy, concerns about political extremism and frustration with President Trump have Democrats within reach of flipping four Republican-held governorships, opening a wide lead in Iowa and an expanding advantage in Ohio among likely voters, according to new polls by The New York Times and Siena University. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican fixture in the state for decades, is now narrowly behind his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa. The Democratic candidate also has an advantage in the race for governor of Alaska. The only place surveyed where the Republican is ahead...

President Donald Trump on Saturday reiterated his pledge to give every adult U.S. citizen $5,000 if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in next month's midterm elections, while warning of an economic "disaster" if Democrats win."Our country is doing so well under Republican leadership that only I can make you this promise," Trump said in a video posted on Truth Social. "If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate, I'm going to give all adult citizens in the United States of America $5,000.""But Democrat policies won't allow this to happen," Trump said. "In fact, the opposite...

The nation’s two largest states by land area gave Democrats a boost in the battle for Senate control Saturday, with candidates in Texas and Alaska hitting 50% or more in new polls. Both races would represent pickups if Democrats are able to hold on and win on Nov. 3, which is just a month away. In Texas, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico leads Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, 51% to 45%, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday. President Trump’s approval rating in the state stands at 40%, compared with 57% who disapprove. The poll, which examined...

Donald Trump attempted to turn up the heat on fellow Republican Tom Cotton in the fight to change daylight saving time, even giving out what appeared to be the Arkansas senator's personal cell phone number. The President spent much of Saturday speaking out in favor of The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. The bill passed the House in July but faces roadblocks among Republicans, including Cotton, who is strongly opposed. 'For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill and, in the Senate, it´s very easy to do, it only takes one!' Trump wrote on social...

President Trump on Thursday said “it’s possible” the Iran war could cost him the November midterm elections by risking Republican control of the House, Senate or both. “Well, it’s possible. It should help,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before heading to a campaign rally in the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. “Because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. So when you say, ‘Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ I would say 100 percent of the people say no, including worldwide. So, when you say it that way, it would help. If you don’t say...

President Donald Trump again insulted Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, calling him “a pain in the a**” before wondering aloud, “Is he here, by the way?” The president has used similar lines countless times before, including at his Republican midterm convention in Dallas, where he declared, “He may not dress right. He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen, but you know what he is? He’s the greatest attorney general in America, and he deserves to be your next senator.” His latest remarks came as he returned to Denton, Texas,...

Ken Paxton, one of the party’s top Senate candidates and a Trump loyalist, said that “everybody’s numbers dropped” after the event, according to audio obtained by The Times. Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, told a group of conservative donors and lobbyists last week that President Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas had hurt Mr. Paxton politically, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times. The recording, which is muffled at times, captures Mr. Paxton being asked, “Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” It is not clear from the audio...

Adding stay-at-home parents to the eligibility list for federal child care subsidies would not require additional funding. It would simply reshuffle who receives subsidies. If every state implemented the administration’s plan and prioritized the newly eligible parents, our simulation estimates that roughly 195,000 children’s subsidies would move from single-parent households that qualify through work to households that qualify because one member is not working. This scenario is politically and legally unlikely. But it illustrates how the proposal treats federal welfare as a tool for winning the culture war without regard for the broader economic damage caused by the policy change.

Vice president’s appeal to dissatisfied Republicans aims to mend fences and rally supporters against Democrats for the midterms—and beyondThe midterms are approaching and the vice president is Vance-splaining. JD Vance is smoothing the harder edges of President Trump’s words, or expanding on them, as he reaches out to dissatisfied conservatives and urges them to stick with Republicans in the midterms. Asked about Trump saying last week he was “proudly banning” CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House, Vance on Monday replied: “I take some issue with the premise, he’s not banning media outlets,” and said it was a...

"US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is quietly removing some of the recruits it hired during last year’s rapid expansion, raising fresh questions about a hiring campaign that brought thousands of new employees into the agency — and about what happens to the generous incentives offered to attract them. An investigation by The Washington Post found that ICE has begun firing some employees recruited during the push to expand its immigration enforcement workforce. The campaign was launched to provide additional manpower for the Trump administration’s mass-deportation programme. The rapid recruitment drive was backed by unusually large financial incentives. What happens to...