Free Republic

While running for president in 2016, Donald Trump promised he would be a different kind of Republican, particularly when it came to foreign policy. Running on an “America First” platform, he promised to tear up trade deals championed by both parties, misleadingly bragged that he had always been against the Iraq War and promised to have a “very, very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also questioned the relevance of the NATO alliance. “We’re taking care of, as an example, the Ukraine. I mean, the countries over there don’t seem to be so interested,” Trump said when discussing...

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Republican politicians, conservative pundits and fossil fuel industry leaders have accused President Biden of weakening the U.S.’s economic power against Russia by reducing oil and gas production. Last week, for example, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said, “Joe Biden has given up the best defense we had against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s evil vision for the world — energy independence.” But a data dashboard unveiled Wednesday by the Center for Western Priorities shows that the opposite is true. The federal government has been issuing oil and gas drilling permits more willingly than it...

… If we took this seriously, all news coverage of warfare would include its environmental impacts and the extent to which military activity, cyber warfare and sanctions inhibit nations’ ability to meet climate mitigation targets necessary for human survival. The consequences for human life include millions of people alive today. Polluting events — the burning and demolition of power plants, industrial facilities, mines, water systems, and the ecological impact of bombardments, fires and fuel spills — are all just an introduction. The long-term climatic effects of war include appalling greenhouse gas emissions. There are estimates that 2 to 3 percent...

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, had ties to organizers of a January 6, 2021 rally in support of President Donald Trump as well as to efforts to subvert the 2020 election results, according to a New York Times Magazine report published on Tuesday. The Times revealed details about Thomas' role, which had been previously unreported. Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, played a peacemaking role between rally organizers "so that there wouldn't be any division around January 6," Dustin Stockton, who helped organized the Ellipse rally, told The Times. The Ellipse rally took place shortly before a...

Legendary investor Charlie Munger, speaking with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer in an exclusive interview, spoke bluntly about vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. “I have been appalled by the fear of vaccination by a big chunk of the nation,” the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman said when asked about the COVID-19 pandemic. “Speaking for myself, I couldn’t wait to be vaccinated. And I think the risks of being vaccinated are way less than the risk of not being vaccinated." According to the CDC, there’s a minuscule 0.002% chance of the vaccine causing death while approximately 5 people per one million vaccinated...

Despite a mountain of evidence showing the 2020 presidential contest wasn’t rigged against Donald Trump, nearly 6 in 10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (57 percent) now say they will not vote in upcoming elections for any candidate who admits that Joe Biden won the presidency "fair and square." Only 17 percent say they would consider voting for a candidate who accurately characterizes Biden’s victory as legitimate. These numbers underscore the degree to which Trump’s “big lie” claiming Biden cheated his way into the White House — a falsehood that three-quarters of Trump voters (74 percent) now believe — has become...

Portugal’s health care system was on the verge of collapse. Hospitals in the capital, Lisbon, were overflowing and authorities were asking people to treat themselves at home. In the last week of January, nearly 2,000 people died as the virus spread. The country’s vaccine program was in a shambles, so the government turned to Vice Adm. Henrique Gouveia e Melo, a former submarine squadron commander, to right the ship. Eight months later, Portugal is among the world’s leaders in vaccinations, with roughly 86% of its population of 10.3 million fully vaccinated. About 98% of all of those eligible for vaccines...

As Democrats and Republicans ready themselves for 2022 midterm elections, some GOP congressmembers are facing a steeper-than-usual uphill battle, despite consistently-conservative voting records and reports of caucus-wide respect. The punishing variable? Criticism of former President Donald Trump, however slight. Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican with values largely in touch with his GOP base, denounces President Biden's administration every chance he gets. He supported the recent outster of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her position in House leadership, and decries the Equality Act. Yet he may still lose primary support among voters following his Jan. 6 vote to certify the...

As the two fringe cable TV outlets battle for former President Donald Trump’s affections, several high-profile One America News staffers have jumped ship to Newsmax—not just in pursuit of a larger audience, insiders said, but also as a respite from OAN’s increasing extremism. Already known for its cartoonishly bonkers MAGA propagandizing, OAN in recent months has veered even further into unhinged right-wing territory. And Newsmax—which is often just as obsequiously pro-Trump in its commentary—has pulled back on its wildest election conspiracy theories while hoovering up some of OAN’s top on-air talent: news anchor Alex Salvi, correspondent Jenn Pellegrino, and reporter...