Free Republic

So far, American consumers have been shielded from much of the impact. But as the world of international shipping adjusts to his policies, the president is facing a potential reckoning. With the US-China trade war starting to gum up container traffic between the world’s two biggest economies, freight companies are warning of plunging bookings and a surge in “blank sailings” – where ports are skipped or voyages are called off altogether. Earlier this week, America’s most powerful retail executives trooped into the White House to deliver a blunt prognosis: tariffs on Chinese goods risked causing “empty shelves” in two weeks...

The vibe around President Trump’s second term has shifted, and it’s all his doing. The president entered office with a bit of a wind at his back. His polling was better than the first time around, protesters weren’t in the streets, and federal investigators weren’t after him. The GOP was more united than in 2016 and business leaders wanted to work with him, while the culture was generally heading in an anti-woke direction. Now, though, his polling is in a marked decline. His job approval rating is sliding. Depending on what poll you believe, it’s down to 44 percent (Fox...

This is intolerable the latest reports I'm hearing they've blockaded the Strip and food is running out (days away) meanwhile airstrikes continue and children are being killed. There are protests in Jerusalem DAILY by Israeli citizens against these brutal tactics and the war in general. The Israeli government says it is trying to pressure Hamas to hand over hostages. President Trump is going to have to intervene or there is going to be a massive crisis especially if the reports are right about them being days away from running out of food. Over 2.3 million Palestinians are affected.

Fox Business senior correspondent Charles Gasparino reported on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s administration is giving insider information to Wall Street executives about ongoing trade deals. Citing “senior Wall Street execs with ties to the White House,” Gasparino wrote on X that people within Trump’s administration have alerted business leaders about an “agreement in principle with India.” He further reported that the deal could be used as a template for other trade deals the administration is working on with Japan and other countries. Markets have taken sharp hits amid uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariffs and trade deals. “People inside the Trump...

President Trump continues to walk back his original tariff assault, and markets are pleased. They rose again Wednesday after Mr. Trump said he won’t fire the Federal Reserve Chairman and is likely to retreat from his highest China tariffs. Is this Mr. Trump’s François Mitterrand moment? Readers of a certain age will recall how the French Socialist President swept into power in 1981 promising a far left agenda of government control over the private economy. The market reaction was brutal. Within a year he had put socialism on pause and by 1983 he had abandoned most of it. He went...

US President Donald Trump has signaled a potential U-turn on his trade war with China amid continued market volatility, saying the high tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.” Trump’s remarks, made at a White House news event Tuesday, appear to mark a rhetorical climbdown after weeks of tough posturing and tit-for-tat retaliation that sent tariffs on China beyond a staggering 145%. “145% is very high and it won’t be that high,” Trump said in a question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office. “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down...

Washington -- The infighting and backstabbing that plagued President Donald Trump’s first term have returned as a threat to his second, with deepening fissures over trade, national security and questions of personal loyalty. The latest turmoil threatens to engulf the Pentagon, where Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed out top advisers and faces fresh controversy over sharing sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen outside of classified channels. A former Pentagon spokesperson who was ousted last week wrote in Politico that Trump should fire Hegseth for presiding over a “full-blown meltdown.” The interpersonal drama is not - at least yet -...

WASHINGTON — Many Republican lawmakers lie low when they have differences with President Trump. Sen. Rand Paul has taken the opposite approach. “Congress needs to grow a spine, and Congress needs to stand up for its prerogatives,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters, complaining that Trump relied on a national-emergency law to impose tariffs that Paul believes should be controlled by lawmakers. His comments came just days after he was one of only two GOP senators to vote against the party’s budget framework that is key to Trump’s tax cuts, saying it didn’t do enough to reduce the deficit. The libertarian...

“If the guys around Hegseth, if there’s indictments or investigations going on and there’s no indictments—there’s no release of the Epstein files and there’s no investigation of Brennan and the 51,” “And you’re not spending your time on that and it somehow gets diverted over to this, it is going to be a FIRESTORM from the MAGA base.” “I think people are fed up with it. I think Tom Fitton gives a lot of the frustration that in the first 100 days we’ve seen nothing out of that crowd. ZERO.” “With all the hard work that went in to get...

WASHINGTON — Minutes before U.S. fighter jets took off to begin strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last month, Army Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, who leads U.S. Central Command, used a secure U.S. government system to send detailed information about the operation to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The material Kurilla sent included details about when U.S. fighters would take off and when they would hit their targets — details that could, if they fell into the wrong hands, put the pilots of those fighters in grave danger. But he was doing exactly what he was supposed to: providing Hegseth,...

Trump's tariff announcement introduced uncertainty to the markets. Leading to the worst April performance in a long long time for stocks. The media believe this is a threat to Trump's support, but is it?

Sen. Ron Johnson is actively investigating 9/11. A day after the Wisconsin Republican went on a far-right podcast promoting conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, a spokesperson for Johnson said the lawmaker is currently seeking information and documentation in order to hold hearings on the event nearly 25 years later. He would do so in his capacity as chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, one of Congress’s most storied and powerful panels with far-reaching jurisdiction that gives its chair wide latitude to probe a diverse array of matters. It has...

China is doubling down: China has just announced that they will be pulling back from US private equity investments. Chinese state-backed funds are halting new investments in US PE firms due to government pressure. According to PE executives, funds like China Investment Corporation (CIC) have already begun withdrawing planned commitments. Chinese investors are also avoiding US-linked deals, even when managed by non-US based PE funds. Just 24 hours ago, China warned they would retaliate against countries that cooperate with the US in ways that compromise their interests. It's very clear what's happening here: China is seeking to isolate the US...

@PeterSchiff Gold is not just any commodity, it's money. Under normal circumstances gold does not move the way it is now. It's already up another $58 tonight, trading above $3,483. This is the end of the U.S. dollar's dominance. Life in America is about to change in ways few can imagine.

If the White House wanted a test of how firing Jerome Powell would go over in the markets, it succeeded on Monday. U.S. stocks and the dollar plunged while yields on long-term Treasurys climbed after President Trump renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve Chairman. Monday was the first full trading day for markets to absorb National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett’s comments Friday that the White House is studying if Mr. Powell can legally be fired. On Monday Mr. Trump demanded again that Mr. Powell make “pre-emptive” interest rate cuts to avoid a slowdown. Cue the meltdown in stocks,...

Dan Caldwell was one of the strongest voices at the Pentagon opposing war with Iran. Then he was falsely accused of leaking classified documents and fired. (0:00) Introduction (1:10) What Would Happen if the US Went to War With Iran? (9:13) The Real Reason the US Invaded Iraq (15:38) The Military Power of Iran (22:25) The Global Coalition Iran Has Formed Because of the US (26:37) Is This Evil or Stupidity? (31:10) How Trump Exposed Regime Change Wars (41:37) Caldwell’s Experience in the Marine Corps (50:31) The Impact of the Iraq War on Veterans (1:00:59) How Caldwell Helped Pete...

Kash Patel in words and actions 2025, "98% of FBI agents are courageous apolitical warriors for justice."

Their big news “hook” is that after a solid few rounds of grappling, I injured my shoulder. Because it’s Adam Goldman, you can generally assume he’s wrong, and he is, again. The instructor I was grappling with got the best of me, because he’s incredibly talented. That’s why he’s there. And it was my not an “injury” but a bit of swelling in my right elbow, not shoulder, because I’m 50 years old and I can’t recover like I used to. But I felt it was important to get on the mats any way, because that’s what men do. But...

They needed to get the president alone. On April 9, financial markets were going haywire. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wanted President Trump to put a pause on his aggressive global tariff plan. But there was a big obstacle: Peter Navarro, Trump’s tariff-loving trade adviser, who was constantly hovering around the Oval Office. Navarro isn’t one to back down during policy debates and had stridently urged Trump to keep tariffs in place, even as corporate chieftains and other advisers urged him to relent. And Navarro had been regularly around the Oval Office since Trump’s “Liberation Day”...

After the 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Gracia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, made the first appearance since his arrest, US President Donald Trump took to social media to share an alleged altered photo of Kilmar's hand and linked it to the MS-13 gang, stating he is “not fine and innocent”. The photo of Abrego Garcia w/Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) from Thurs clearly shows no “MS-13” tattoo shop on either hand - nor in earlier photos”. Another said, ”Why did Donald Trump just lie to the American people even more about Kilmar Ábrego García being a gang member? Just...