War Secretary Pete Hegseth called on the American public to lift up members of the United States Armed Forces — particularly those who might be in harm&#8217;s way — and received immediate criticism from CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan. But Hegseth&#8217;s request is far from unprecedented.
&#8220;Please pray for them, every day, on bended knee, with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2034605561983959295?s=20">Hegseth said</a>, closing out a Thursday morning press briefing on Iran alongside other military leaders.
Brennan, anchor of CBS&#8217; &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; responded by <a href="https://x.com/margbrennan/status/2034604792157192668">saying</a>, &#8220;The Secretary of Defense tells the American public to pray for our troops on bended knee and invoke Jesus&#8217; name &#8230;&#8221;
Brennan also accused the administration of using &#8220;religious references as justification for war,&#8221; responding to Hegseth&#8217;s comments describing the Iranian regime&#8217;s strategy as &#8220;a violent, messianic Islamist ideology chasing some sort of apocalyptic endgame.&#8221;
But prayer on the battlefield — and calls to prayer from both military and political leaders for those engaged in the fight — is nothing new.
On June 6, 1944, then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a radio address during which he invited the American people to <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/prayer-d-day">join him in prayer</a> for the Allied Forces as they stormed the beaches near Normandy, France. He finished that prayer by asking them to pray continuously for those men, both day and night, until their objective had been reached.
&#8220;Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity,&#8221; Roosevelt began. &#8220;Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.&#8221;
Roosevelt went on to pray for strength and courage in battle and acknowledged that many of those for whom he prayed would not ever return home.
&#8220;Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.&#8221;
Months later, with Allied efforts to liberate Europe well underway, <a href="https://www.historyonthenet.com/when-patton-enlisted-the-entire-third-army-to-pray-for-fair-weather">General George S. Patton</a> stood ready to lead his Third Army into battle — but the weather was a problem. In early December of 1944, just days before Patton arrived at the besieged town of Bastogne, Belgium, the general called Monsignor James H. O’Neill, the head chaplain: &#8220;This is General Patton; do you have a good prayer for weather? We must do something about those rains if we are to win the war.&#8221;
Patton&#8217;s deputy chief of staff, Colonel Paul Harkins, described the conversation that followed:
<blockquote>
Patton: &#8220;Chaplain, I want you to publish a prayer for good weather. I’m tired of these soldiers having to fight mud and floods as well as Germans. See if we can’t get God to work on our side.”
O’Neill: “Sir, it’s going to take a pretty thick rug for that kind of praying.”
Patton: “I don’t care if it takes a flying carpet. I want the praying done.”
O’Neill: “Yes, sir. May I say, General, that it usually isn’t a customary thing among men of my profession to pray for clear weather to kill fellow men.”
Patton: “Chaplain, are you trying to teach me theology or are you the Chaplain of the Third Army? I want a prayer.”
</blockquote>
The resulting prayer was printed on cards and distributed to as many of Patton&#8217;s men as possible: &#8220;Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations.&#8221;
Patton later explained his emphasis on prayer to O&#8217;Neill, saying that he believed men could work and plan down to the last detail, but there was always an unknown factor in play: &#8220;I call it God. God has his part, or margin, in everything.&#8221;
&#8220;I wish you would put out a Training Letter on this subject of Prayer to all the chaplains; write about nothing else, just the importance of prayer,&#8221; Patton directed O&#8217;Neill. &#8220;Let me see it before you send it. We’ve got to get not only the chaplains but every man in the Third Army to pray. We must ask God to stop these rains. These rains are that margin that holds defeat or victory. If we all pray, it will be like what Dr. Carrel said, it will be like plugging in on a current whose source is in Heaven. I believe that prayer completes that circuit. It is power.&#8221;
When General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President of the United States, he too raised the nation and those alongside him in its leadership in private prayer. The <a style="font-size: 16px;" href="https://wallbuilders.com/resource/dwight-d-eisenhowers-inaugural-prayer/">handwritten words he prayed</a> before his inauguration in 1953 can be found at his presidential library.
&#8220;As we stand here, at this moment, my associates in the Executive Branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng and their fellow citizens everywhere. Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby and by the laws of this land,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people, regardless of station, race or calling. May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who hold to differing political beliefs, so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and for Thy glory. Amen.&#8221;
One of the most famous examples of such prayer might be as <a href="https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/washington/prayer.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq3Fz4IWMbmDeWBfTzsQIhhby64psFLCaVW9wecIYn3p2rJrnsJ#google_vignette">much myth</a> as historical fact, but the story of then-General George Washington kneeling to pray at Valley Forge has nonetheless persisted as well. The story has several versions throughout history — none of which have ever been definitively confirmed or debunked — all suggesting that Washington knelt alone to pray for his beleaguered troops during the brutal winter as they camped just outside of Philadelphia. Different accounts claim that either the Marquis de Lafayette or a local resident happened upon the general in prayer, but the overall takeaway is the same: multiple accounts agree that Washington was known to leave the camp and spend time in solitude, whether that time was used for prayer or simply quiet reflection.

Hegseth Confirmation Hearing TW

Left Targets Hegseth For Asking Americans To Pray — The History Lesson They’re Ignoring

CBS News

Christianity

Donald Trump

Dwight D. Eisenhower

George Patton

Iran

Media

Military

Pete Hegseth

Politics

Prayer

Democrats and the legacy media have been spinning since the very beginning of President Donald Trump&#8217;s military actions against the Iranian regime. Over the span of two weeks, they have pulled out all the stops to win the battle of narratives and convince the world that it was wrong to strike Iran — or if it was right to strike Iran, this was the wrong time. And if it was the right time to strike Iran, then Trump is doing it wrong.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
On ABC News, for example, Martha Raddatz spoke with Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA). He agreed that Iran was &#8220;a problem,&#8221; but immediately pivoted to argue that &#8220;war&#8221; was not the proper response to every problem. He then went on to draw a comparison between Iran and previous military actions in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan — and he argued that they were all essentially the same.
&#8220;Yes, Iran is a problem. A problem that needs to be contained. But what we should have learned from Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein and the Taliban is, you can have a threat and not have a military solution that’s going to make it better.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING: Rep. Adam Smith tells Martha Raddatz that “war is not always the answer to a problem.”
“Yes, Iran is a problem. A problem that needs to be contained. But what we should have learned from Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein and the Taliban… <a href="https://t.co/C5oi0rvSQy">pic.twitter.com/C5oi0rvSQy</a>
— Axel Vesa (@AxelVesa1) <a href="https://twitter.com/AxelVesa1/status/2033209072921481404?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Smith also offered a comparison to Venezuela and the recent operation to extract former President Nicolás Maduro, adding, &#8220;Iran is not Venezuela. We can’t just fly in, snatch the president and make things change.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rep. Adam Smith on President Trump’s foreign policy: “Iran is not Venezuela. We can’t just fly in, snatch the president and make things change.” <a href="https://t.co/LLgvsyy61S">https://t.co/LLgvsyy61S</a> <a href="https://t.co/ns5XiVOxU0">pic.twitter.com/ns5XiVOxU0</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2033191028044271657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; anchor Jake Tapper brought in former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who promptly declared that the action in Iran was proof that &#8220;this is clearly amateur hour at the Pentagon and in the White House.&#8221;
Buttigieg, after claiming that former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden had secured nuclear deals that prevented Iran from gaining access to nuclear weapons, argued that President Trump had rushed into war because he was unable to get &#8220;a better deal&#8221; and had done so without any kind of planning or preparation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Pete Buttigieg on the war with Iran: &#8220;This is clearly amateur hour at the Pentagon and in the White House&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/liOQlGQ50w">pic.twitter.com/liOQlGQ50w</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2033192256820121841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Tapper took a pause to defend the media&#8217;s oppositional stance, arguing that he and others doing the same were not being critical because they wanted the United States to lose, but because they were just doing their jobs.
&#8220;Every reporter that I know wants the United States to succeed in every way, and the way that reporters help that happen is by asking questions of people in power and not blindly cheering on leaders who take the nation to war,&#8221; he claimed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
TAPPER: “Every reporter that I know wants the United States to succeed in every way, and the way that reporters help that happen is by asking questions of people in power and not blindly cheering on leaders who take the nation to war.” <a href="https://t.co/KtfZYSnBJU">pic.twitter.com/KtfZYSnBJU</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2033185159428591690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Margaret Brennan, on &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; spoke to several who reinforced the Democrat-driven narrative that the Trump administration was in over its head in Iran.
Former CIA operative Joey Gannon told her that Iran had moved to keep supreme leadership in the Khamenei family because it sent a signal to the world that the regime still had complete control.
&#8220;So, he was a gatekeeper for the supreme leader&#8217;s office in the past. He has strong ties to the IRGC and the Basij, he knows how power actually operates, and he is, effectively, a symbol of continuity right now,&#8221; he explained.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Former CIA operative Jonny Gannon says the decision to appoint Motjaba Khameini as the new supreme leader “is the message from the regime that they are still in control.”
Mojtaba Khamenei is clearly not a charming public face; what he is is a systems operator,” he says. “So, he… <a href="https://t.co/oP6zveXtvO">pic.twitter.com/oP6zveXtvO</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2033222131090084297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Samantha Vinograd, an Obama administration alum, took the same posture when she argued that Iran was essentially outwitting the United States strategically.
&#8220;The Iranian regime has demonstrated an incredible capacity to be flexible and adaptive,&#8221; she said, adding, &#8220;They played a long game here. They have invested in propaganda and tools in this country, as well as hiring people to do their dirty work for them, to such an extent that I am concerned that they have the intent and capability to, if not direct attacks here in the homeland, to inspire them .&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Former Homeland Security official Samantha Vinograd says “the Iranian regime has demonstrated an incredible capacity to be flexible and adaptive” in the way they carry out attacks.
“They played a long game here. They have invested in propaganda and tools in this country, as… <a href="https://t.co/GgKqrE9CEG">pic.twitter.com/GgKqrE9CEG</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2033219553694503149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) told Brennan that he did not believe the Iranian regime — despite a 47-year record of Iran and its proxies killing over 1,000 American service members and civilians and a recent boast that the regime had nearly enough enriched uranium for almost a dozen nuclear bombs — posed an &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States. What&#8217;s more, Warner argued that Iran did not pose an immediate threat to Israel — despite Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah striking Israeli targets on a regular basis.
&#8220;There was no imminent threat to the United States, and I don&#8217;t believe there was even an imminent threat to Israel from Iran,&#8221; Warner declared. &#8220;Over a period of time, particularly with the ballistic missile capability, Israel would be more under threat. The decision to go to war in this case was a choice by President Trump.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) says he stands by the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment by U.S. intelligence leaders who testified at the time that Iran had not reauthorized their nuclear weapons program.
“There was no imminent threat to the United States, and I don&#8217;t believe there was… <a href="https://t.co/MLJA4YT5Gc">pic.twitter.com/MLJA4YT5Gc</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2033215927228002331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Jake Tapper

Spin Cycle: Dems, Media Wage War Over Who Controls The Narrative In Iran

ABC News

Democrats

Israel

Middle East

NBC News

American military action in Iran has entered its second week — and the political war at home is in full swing. Democrats and legacy media are racing to brand President Donald Trump the architect of yet another “forever war,” accusing him of violating the Constitution and demanding he seek congressional approval if he wants to continue bombing Iran.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their weekends glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
In addition to complaining about Trump taking action without first getting the support of Congress, the key note struck by legacy media outlets was the notion that war with Iran — which has thus far lasted just over a week — will necessarily snowball into the same kind of long, drawn-out affair the United States saw in Iraq and Afghanistan: a &#8220;forever war.&#8221;
To kick off the weekend, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) sat down with HBO host and comedian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-bill-maher-tricks-adam-schiff-who-thought-he-was-criticizing-donald-trump">Bill Maher</a>, where he repeated the same refrain being sung by most Democrats: Trump must first go to Congress.
Maher quickly laid a rhetorical trap for the lawmaker: &#8220;This statement from the administration: ‘The president had the constitutional authority to direct the use of military force because he could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest.’ That’s too vague for you?”
“Totally vague,” Schiff agreed.
Maher dropped the other shoe then, saying, “OK. Because that’s from Obama about Libya.”
Schiff scrambled, saying that then-President Barack Obama had taken the issue to Congress when he wanted to take action in Syria in 2013. He ignored Obama&#8217;s 2011 actions in Libya entirely, largely because the Obama administration continued those actions for months without ever getting congressional approval.
By Sunday morning, the narrative had shifted to focus on whether or not Iran would be another &#8220;forever war.&#8221;
On ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; anchor Martha Raddatz spoke with correspondent Ian Pannell about the objectives — which they said were thus far unclear — and suggested that it would be difficult to evaluate whether the U.S. and Israeli coalition had &#8220;won,&#8221; and if so, when.
&#8220;The president tells us we’re winning. How do we know that we’re winning, and if we don’t know that, how do we know when it ends?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ABC News’ Ian Pannell joins Martha Raddatz in Jerusalem as the UAE joins the U.S. and Israel in firing shots into Iran: “The president tells us we’re winning. How do we know that we’re winning, and if we don’t know that, how do we know when it ends?” <a href="https://t.co/zjSQAcbPh6">https://t.co/zjSQAcbPh6</a> <a href="https://t.co/1XV7irvDGi">pic.twitter.com/1XV7irvDGi</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2030643012712235099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz pushed back on Raddatz later in the show, explaining that the objectives in Iran were fairly straightforward. The Trump administration, he says, is &#8220;focused on an Iran that can no longer pose a threat to Americans, in an American-first foreign policy, but also no longer pose a threat to our allies in the region.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz tells Martha Raddatz that President Trump “is focused on an Iran that can no longer pose a threat to Americans, in an American-first foreign policy, but also no longer pose a threat to our allies in the region.” <a href="https://t.co/FIig18PSLv">https://t.co/FIig18PSLv</a> <a href="https://t.co/wHxMAznCAY">pic.twitter.com/wHxMAznCAY</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2030646528130380055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Admiral (Ret.) Mike Mullen, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the end of former President George W. Bush&#8217;s last term and the beginning of former President Barack Obama&#8217;s first, warned that wars can start small and grow quickly, especially if the declared objectives change in any way.
&#8220;Wars expand, objectives change, circumstances come up that you didn&#8217;t expect,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that he worries the current war with Iran could drag on for years: “Wars expand, objectives change, circumstances come up that you didn&#8217;t expect.” <a href="https://t.co/6dNhTiUoMP">https://t.co/6dNhTiUoMP</a> <a href="https://t.co/UG2pVmwtjy">pic.twitter.com/UG2pVmwtjy</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2030656131920507184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Yes, the [Iranian] supreme leader is dead, but I don&#8217;t think the regime change that we&#8217;re talking about is represented just by that,&#8221; Mullen added, saying that &#8220;the regime is embedded, deep, dedicated, and sees this war as a war of survival for Iran.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“Yes, the [Iranian] supreme leader is dead, but I don&#8217;t think the regime change that we&#8217;re talking about is represented just by that.” Ret. Admiral Mike Mullen says that he thinks “the regime is embedded, deep, dedicated, and sees this war as a war of survival for Iran.” <a href="https://t.co/F5yMWOLhcf">pic.twitter.com/F5yMWOLhcf</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2030656639414460636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; anchor Jake Tapper pressed Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) on his vow to vote against funding for any military action in Iran.
&#8220;You have said you&#8217;re a &#8216;hell no&#8217; on funding the war. We have seen this movie before. We know that vote will be cast as — especially if you run for higher office — you voting against the troops,&#8221; Tapper prompted.
&#8220;Oh come on I mean, the American people don&#8217;t want this war,&#8221; Murphy scoffed. &#8220;They don&#8217;t want this war. They have seen what happens when American troops go into places like Iraq, places like Afghanistan. Ultimately we get a lot of people killed, we waste a lot of dollars, the one thing the American people are clear about is they do not want the United States dragged into another long term war in the Middle East.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
TAPPER: &#8220;You have said you&#8217;re a &#8216;hell no&#8217; on funding the war. We have seen this movie before. We know that vote will be cast as &#8211; especially if you run for higher office &#8211; you voting against the troops.&#8221;
MURPHY: &#8220;Oh come on I mean, the American people don&#8217;t want this war.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/lTB5isM8I7">pic.twitter.com/lTB5isM8I7</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2030640466153107679?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Although President Trump has said that he is willing to continue military action in Iran as long as it takes to achieve his objectives, his initial assessment was that the entire thing could be handled in a matter of weeks.

Chris Murphy

Spin Cycle: Media, Dems Dub Iran ‘Forever War’ As Conflict Expands To Second Week

Spin Cycle: Media, Dems Dub Iran 'Forever War' As Conflict Expands To Second Week

Several prominent Democrats decried the fact that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended a number of DACA (Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals) recipients during the first year of President Donald Trump&#8217;s second term, demanding that they be given a &#8220;path to citizenship&#8221; in spite of data showing the &#8220;vast majority&#8221; of them had criminal histories.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released a <a href="https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/kelly-durbin-padilla-blast-dhs-for-wrongfully-targeting-and-removing-daca-recipients/">joint statement</a> with Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), protesting the arrests and casting doubt on Homeland Security&#8217;s assertion that 92% had criminal histories outside of immigration-related civil violations.
<blockquote>News of DACA recipients being arrested and deported is deeply troubling. These arrests disrupt families, harm communities, and inflict unnecessary social, emotional, and economic costs. And it is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Secretary Noem’s response to our letter claims that 241 of the 261 DACA recipients arrested had ‘criminal histories,’ without providing any further details. DACA recipients go through strict background checks every time they renew this protection, and the Trump Administration has not hesitated to arrest immigrants with no serious criminal convictions and falsely label them the &#8220;worst of the worst.&#8221; In the face of this Administration’s actions, it is important for Congress to protect young people who know no other home than the United States and continue the critical work to find a pathway to citizenship for them. We won’t accept partial information, and we demand that Secretary Noem provide more information on their basis for arresting and deporting DACA holders immediately.</blockquote>
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in her letter to Durbin, explained, &#8220;[DACA] comes with no right or entitlement to remain in the United States indefinitely. Aliens with certain criminal histories will not be considered for DACA. Further, those who violate the terms are also subject to termination and removal.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/daca-recipients-ice-arrested-2025-trump-administration/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&amp;linkId=911656717">data compiled</a> by the federal government and shared in Noem&#8217;s letter to Durbin, immigration agents arrested 261 DACA recipients in the first ten months of 2025 — and 241 (92%) of those arrested had criminal histories apart from civil immigration violations. Just over one-third (86) of those arrested were subsequently deported.
Durbin responded by claiming that the arrests were &#8220;wrongful,&#8221; despite the overwhelming number with criminal histories, and that &#8220;Dreamers&#8221; should be given a path to citizenship.
&#8220;The Trump Administration just admitted to wrongfully arresting 261 DACA recipients. 86 were deported. Dreamers deserve a path to citizenship, not deportation,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/SenatorDurbin/status/2027074465197174847">posted</a> on X on Thursday.
DACA was a program implemented by former President Barack Obama&#8217;s administration, and offered work permits and temporary deportation protections for those who either entered the United States illegally or overstayed their visas when they were children. President Trump&#8217;s first-term attempt to terminate DACA altogether was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2020.

US-NEWS-TRUMP-BIRTHRIGHT-LAWSUIT-FR

Dems Want DACA Recipients With Criminal Records Given A Shot At Citizenship

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Illegal Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

President Donald Trump is barely into his second year of his second term, and Democrats and the legacy media are still pulling out all the stops to cast doubt on the people he has chosen to serve as Cabinet members across his administration.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
There was no shortage of breaking news on Sunday — from coverage of the Winter Olympics to the latest on the suspected kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie — but that didn&#8217;t stop the Sunday political talk shows from focusing on a few key members of the president Trump&#8217;s Cabinet. Several high profile politicians took to the airwaves to express their concern in the ability of certain Cabinet members to carry out their responsibilities.
On ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; host Martha Raddatz spoke with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) about a combative exchange he&#8217;d had with Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier in the week, and asked whether he still had &#8220;confidence&#8221; in her ability to serve in that particular role.
&#8220;I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi,&#8221; Massie said. &#8220;She wasn&#8217;t confident to engage in anything but name-calling in the hearing, so no, I don&#8217;t have confidence in her. She doesn&#8217;t have any sort of accountability there at the DOJ.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
When asked by ABC News’ Martha Raddatz whether he has confidence in Pam Bondi as attorney general, Rep. Massie responded: “I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi.” <a href="https://t.co/v6q311NGOu">https://t.co/v6q311NGOu</a> <a href="https://t.co/vqhcQ9kV3r">pic.twitter.com/vqhcQ9kV3r</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2023055290904543673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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At Raddatz&#8217;s suggestion, Massie went on to criticize Bondi for failing to address the victims of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, some of whom were present in the Capitol Hill hearing — and he argued that it was &#8220;cold&#8221; on her part and that she may have been afraid to do so.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rep. Thomas Massie reacts to the image of Attorney General Pam Bondi not looking at the Epstein victims behind her during a hearing: “I think she was afraid to.” <a href="https://t.co/eiC9PK4xdH">https://t.co/eiC9PK4xdH</a> <a href="https://t.co/FgRK4lyPiS">pic.twitter.com/FgRK4lyPiS</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2023052573532447151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On CBS News, &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; host Margaret Brennan pressed Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) to weigh in on discrepancies between previous admissions made by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and information that has come out of the recently-released Epstein-related documents.
Garcia said that he and some others in Congress would like to speak with Lutnick — who has conceded that he had &#8220;limited interactions&#8221; with Epstein — but that he&#8217;s gotten no response from Republicans on how and when that might come about.
&#8220;Not only did [Lutnick] visit the island, he had tons of communication with Jeffrey Epstein after it was already known that Jeffrey Epstein was essentially convicted for preying on children. So, it is shameful that he is actually in our government. He should not be the commerce secretary. He should come talk to the Oversight Committee,&#8221; Garcia said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) says the House Oversight Committee has asked Republican Chairman James Comer (R-KY) to “bring in [Commerce Secretary] Lutnick” for questioning on his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but “have had no response.”
“Not only did… <a href="https://t.co/PSkJpmwOpN">pic.twitter.com/PSkJpmwOpN</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2023094193409646947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @FaceTheNation/X.com
CNN anchor Jake Tapper raised the question regarding Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, asking several guests about recent comments she made on making sure &#8220;the right people&#8221; were voting in American elections.
Noem herself explained that she was talking about the role played by the Department of Homeland Security in ensuring that elections were secure — primarily by preventing illegal aliens from remaining in the United States and voting in American elections — and accused media personalities of &#8220;manufacturing&#8221; outrage over something that should have been straightforward.
&#8220;It must be exhausting to regularly manufacture outrage even over the most commonsense statement,&#8221; she said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to Noem&#8217;s statement, saying, &#8220;That&#8217;s a lot of bull.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;That&#8217;s a lot of bull.&#8221;
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reacts to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem&#8217;s comments about making sure &#8220;we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/6bjFePUPBr">pic.twitter.com/6bjFePUPBr</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2023039537056788898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @CNNSOTU/X.com
Tapper pressed Border Czar Tom Homan to answer for Noem as well, but he wasn&#8217;t having it. Instead, he told Tapper that he&#8217;d have to ask Noem directly if he wanted to know what she&#8217;d meant.
&#8220;That would be a question for the secretary&#8230; That would be something she&#8217;d have to answer,&#8221; Homan said, later adding, &#8220;Do me and Secretary Noem agree on everything? No &#8230; It&#8217;s one team, one fight. I&#8217;m not going to divide this administration.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
TAPPER: &#8220;What does [Noem] mean when she says &#8216;electing the right leaders&#8217;? That&#8217;s not really immigration enforcement or DHS responsibility.&#8221;
HOMAN: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know. That would be a question for the secretary&#8230; That would be something she&#8217;d have to answer.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Btz1dpSf0i">pic.twitter.com/Btz1dpSf0i</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2023068352369803597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @CNNSOTU/X.com
Tapper also raised the same question with Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY), who called Noem&#8217;s comments &#8220;un-American.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Gov. Beshear says DHS Secretary Kristi Noem&#8217;s comments about &#8220;electing the right leaders&#8221; are &#8220;wild and they are un-American.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EOW55pqBAv">pic.twitter.com/EOW55pqBAv</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2023070275126853884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @CNNSOTU/X.com

Kristi Noem

Spin Cycle: In Shocking Twist, Dems And Media Still Don’t Like Trump’s Cabinet

Spin Cycle: In Shocking Twist, Dems And Media Still Don't Like Trump's Cabinet

Epstein Files

Jeffrey Epstein

Pam Bondi

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1912-gen-z-attacks-jesus-because-he-has-a-god-complex?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
* * *
There is some good news on immigration.
CBS News published a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-detention-voluntary-departures-record-high/">new report</a> on the rise of self-deportations.
As you know, CBS has made a move closer to the center. Historically, CBS has been a pretty left-wing news source that is until the hiring of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief. Bari is more center-Left. She’s not center-Right and she&#8217;s not a conservative in any way. But she is far more reasonable than her predecessors.
Well, CBS has a story on a record number of illegal-alien detainees giving up their cases and voluntarily leaving the country, and that figure only appears to be climbing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
CBS NEWS: &#8220;A record number of detainees are giving up their cases and voluntarily leaving the country&#8230; That figure only appears to be climbing.&#8221; 👍🏻 <a href="https://t.co/zv4OVq6RXP">pic.twitter.com/zv4OVq6RXP</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2021945082417492108?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Here we have the percentage of detained cases that end in voluntary removal — illegal immigrants who receive due process and then say, you know what, whatever, I give up, I&#8217;m going back to Venezuela.
As you can see from the chart, it started in 1985 with around 6 or 7%. Then, by the end of the Reagan era, it jumped to 19%.
But then, after Reagan amnesty, it all goes way, way down. By the ’90s you&#8217;re looking at 3%, 2%, and it kind of hovers around there for a little while. We see more activity after Donald Trump’s first term, getting up to 21%. Then it starts to go back down as we have trouble enforcing the border. And then, when Trump gets reelected in 2024, it spikes again to 28%.
So last year president Trump formally removed something like 525,000 illegal aliens, which are much better numbers certainly than Joe Biden or even Barack Obama. If you will recall, liberals called Obama the “deporter-in-chief,” but that wasn’t entirely true because Obama was counting the illegals he turned away at the border, so he artificially inflated his numbers. In any case, 525,000 is a good start, however, we have something like 20 million illegals in the country.
The real story, though, is the number of self-deportations, a lot of people choosing to just leave the country.
Some people on the Right were skeptical of this. They didn&#8217;t totally believe it. But we&#8217;re seeing this verified in labor numbers. We&#8217;re seeing it come up in reports from think tanks. We&#8217;re now seeing this reported by CBS News: 28% of these detainees are just choosing to remove themselves. Again, those numbers are not included in the formal deportation totals, but that&#8217;s a pretty good number.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1912-gen-z-attacks-jesus-because-he-has-a-god-complex?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show on DailyWire+.</a></h3>
So why is this happening? 
Other people on the Right have criticized the White House for putting on a “show” of deportations but not really carrying them out.
So you put on the show — the “cruelty is the point” of these really cool edits that come out from the DHS and ICE social media accounts. Videos of them taking illegals to the ground and cuffing them up. Like the big show of force we see in Minneapolis, which the Left tried to fight Trump on. Ultimately, though, I think it was either a draw or Trump won because he got the locals to start handing over the criminals.
In any case, many people on the Right say, I don&#8217;t want the show, I want the deportations.
We all want more deportations. But the show is important.
Look at the wonderful leader of El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele. We send a lot of illegal aliens to El Salvador. When Bukele started rounding up the criminals in his country — face-tattooed gangsters, in some cases Satan-worshiping gangsters — when he started doing that, he didn&#8217;t just kind of do it quietly. He made these great videos absolutely humiliating these people. He even made videos of destroying the graves of their members and family members, going in with sledgehammers and smashing their gravestones and treating these people like cockroaches and sending a message.
And the message was heard because El Salvador went from being the most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere to one of the safest. Very impressive.
The flamboyance was the point.
Sometimes the libs say the cruelty is the point, as if Republicans are just sadists or something. No, cruelty is not the point. We don&#8217;t want to be cruel. We don&#8217;t want to be unjust. But the flamboyance is the point. The showmanship is the point. It serves a practical, strategic purpose.
When you have videos of ICE agents showing up and getting a little rough with people — totally within the confines of the law, but a little rough — that sends a message. When you show leftists trying to attack ICE by driving their cars into agents — and the agents finally protecting themselves, following the law and shooting back — that sends a message. And the law is a real teacher.
So then the question becomes: Well, is the flamboyance really paying off, or is it just a way to mollify conservatives who aren&#8217;t getting enough deportations?
The numbers are pretty clear here and they are resulting in self-deportations, in people voluntarily leaving.

US Repatriation Flights To Venezuela Resume

What Even CBS Just Admitted About Trump’s Latest Impact

Deportations

El Salvador

illegal immigrants

Nayib Bukele

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mks-ep-1907?elementPosition=3&amp;row=6&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
* * *
There is an interesting development in the Epstein case and it comes from CBS News.
The official accounts about who did or did not enter Epstein&#8217;s jail cell on the night of his death have been contradicted a myriad of times. 
If you’ll recall, we were first told there were cameras on Epstein’s jail cell and on his floor, but that they weren’t working, so there was no footage to release. Later, officials released closed-circuit footage from the night of his death and claimed it was uninterrupted. Shortly afterward, we were told that a minute of the video was missing. That missing minute was eventually restored, and we were assured the footage was original — despite clear signs it had been edited using video software.
So what&#8217;s the latest? Well, newly released video logs appear to contradict official accounts.
This is from <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein-files-jail-cell-death-video-logs/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&amp;linkId=903657594">CBS News</a>:
<blockquote>Newly released Department of Justice documents show that investigators reviewing surveillance footage from the night of Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s death observed an orange-colored shape moving up a staircase toward the isolated, locked tier where his cell was located at approximately 10:39 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019.</blockquote>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Questions swirl as video logs show person may have entered Epstein jail tier the night he died" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EN1TmI5F1hs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Credit: CBS Mornings/YouTube.com
I love the way they&#8217;re describing it: &#8220;An orange-colored shape.&#8221;
 So some people, probably on the Left, are imagining that this is just Trump himself. Yes, a vaguely mango-colored, you know, blond-haired, had a very nice Brioni suit on with a slightly too-long red tie.
Or no, that would be the live version of what we on the Right all imagine.
What is probably meant is that the person is wearing an orange jumpsuit, or maybe carrying something orange.
This isn&#8217;t particularly new information. I was covering Epstein months and months ago when some of this footage came out, and we noticed the strange figures that were moving around. Okay, now we can zoom in, and we see this weird orange figure. 
CBS <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein-files-jail-cell-death-video-logs/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&amp;linkId=903657594">goes on</a>:
<blockquote>Thomas told investigators he discovered Epstein in his cell shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Aug.10 and that he &#8220;ripped&#8221; Epstein down from the hanging position.
Investigators asked what happened to the noose. 
&#8220;I don&#8217;t recall taking the noose off. I really don&#8217;t,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;I don&#8217;t recall taking the thing from around his neck.&#8221;</blockquote>
That&#8217;s a little weird, right?
I guess what you could say is it&#8217;s always shocking to see a dead body, but it was especially shocking here. This is one of the most wanted, talked-about criminals in all of America, in all of the world and you find him dead in his cell, and maybe, who knows, your hormones are spiking. You have a surge of adrenaline, you&#8217;re shocked, you&#8217;re sick, and you forget. Maybe he just forgot.
It gets weirder.
<blockquote>Noel, who remained standing at the cell entrance, told investigators she saw Thomas lower Epstein to the floor but did not see a noose around his neck.</blockquote>
Hold on. 
So now it&#8217;s not just the guy who discovers Epstein and takes him down. It&#8217;s also the observer standing a little bit further back. 
<blockquote>The noose Epstein allegedly used has never been definitively identified. According to the inspector general&#8217;s report, a noose collected at the scene was later determined not to be the ligature used in Epstein&#8217;s death.</blockquote>
The guy who took him down never saw the noose.
The lady watching him take him down never saw a noose.
And investigators never even found the noose.
Add on at least one medical examiner saying that the breaks in his neck were more consistent with strangulation than with hanging.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1907-new-video-someone-entered-epstein-s-cell-the-night-he-died?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show</a></h3>
Everyone is focusing on the aspects of his life — Epstein had a connection to Russia; he had a connection to Israel; he had a connection to the CIA, and so on.
Some of the accounts actually contradict each other. Was he a super spy? Was he just a sex-freak rich guy? Was he really trafficking women? Was he really trading secrets? Was he really dealing with the Arabs and the Israelis, or was it the Russians or the Americans, or was it the British?
You’ve got to put that aside for a second. We now have every theory covered. Yes, we’ve connected him to every country on earth, every intelligence agency, every vice. And that’s not getting us anywhere.
If you want to get to the heart of the Epstein story, the first thing you have to ascertain is the end of the story, not how the story begins.
Not a lot of people want to focus on how a guy who dropped out of college ended up becoming a math teacher, who was hired by Bill Barr’s father at The Dalton School, but then became some kind of trader at Bear Stearns? How? He then went on to become the money manager for Les Wexner, where he said he would only have clients who were investing over $1 billion.
And then he worked with intelligence agencies.
And then he helped this sheikh in Arabia.
And then he — 
Don’t look at the beginning of the story. That is going to lead you down a billion different trails, especially with a guy who seemed to be connected to every powerful person on earth.
I think you have to start at the end of the story. 
And curious, isn’t it, that the shadiest part, the part that has been most covered up, that has been most contradicted, is not found at the beginning of the story. No one is asking, &#8220;Did Epstein work at Bear Stearns?&#8221; &#8220;Did Epstein know Ghislaine Maxwell?&#8221; &#8220;Did Epstein pal around with Bill?&#8221; It’s none of that.
The part that has been most assiduously covered up is the end of the story.
How did he die?
Who killed him?
Why don’t we have the noose?
That’s it. I don’t think we’re going to get an answer on it. And that&#8217;s been my consistent position from the beginning. Either Epstein is who they say he is, in which case we know everything about him, or he’s something more, in which case we know everything we’re ever going to know, because they’re not going to let it out. 
But if we could ascertain who killed him, that would help us to answer: why was he killed? That would help us to answer what purpose he primarily served in world politics. That would help us to answer who, chiefly, he was working for.
That would help us to answer what the Epstein operation was really about.
But the only way you’re going to get those big answers is by going backward. You’re not going to get it by going forward.
Now we’re getting some little, little tasty hints — but nothing definitive.
And if you want me to put some money on the table, I don’t think we’re going to get much more than that.

Two Prison Guards Charged With Falsifying Records In Jeffrey Epstein’s Death

Who Was The Orange Figure That Appeared In Epstein’s Cellblock?

Who Was The Orange Figure That Appeared In Epstein's Cellblock?

Jail

Michael Knowles

New York City

Opinion

Prison

While Democrats move to potentially trigger yet another government shutdown over the Trump&#8217;s administration insistence in allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal immigration law, former CNN host Don Lemon says he &#8220;ain&#8217;t worried&#8221; that his connection to a church-disrupting protest could land him behind bars.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
Across multiple media outlets, the Trump administration&#8217;s continued efforts to apprehend and deport criminal illegal aliens are still front page, above-the-fold news. Flashpoints in areas facing major crackdowns — such as Minneapolis — have resulted in a series of viral narratives that all too often have beaten the truth to the punch.
On Sunday, a week after Alex Pretti was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis and just days after Lemon was arrested in connection with a protest at Cities Church, much of the commentary was focused on the Democrats in Congress and whether they would leverage the threat of another government shutdown against funding for the Department of Homeland Security — specifically: ICE.
On ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for extensive reforms within the Department of Homeland Security — including a measure that requires federal agents to not wear masks despite exponential increases in assaults against federal agents and threats against them and their families.
Jeffries also called for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-how-democrats-could-cripple-ice-without-defunding-dhs">judicial warrants</a> to be required for immigration arrests — a move that, by most accounts, would cripple efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens in a timely fashion.
&#8220;There would be no more immigration arrests,” a source within Immigration and Customs Enforcement told The Daily Wire. “It’s the functional equivalent of getting a warrant before issuing a speeding ticket. It’s the entire reason why ‘administrative’ arrests exist in the first place. If every single illegal alien who is charged with ‘Entry without Inspection’ was treated like a criminal arrest then they would have, among other things, right to counsel provided by the United States would be impossible.”
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) echoed that sentiment on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union, telling CNN anchor Dana Bash, &#8220;Demanding judicial warrants is [Democrats&#8217;] sneaky way of basically neutering our ability to enforce any immigration laws.&#8221;
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GOP Sen. Ron Johnson: &#8220;Demanding judicial warrants is [Democrats&#8217;] sneaky way of basically neutering our ability to enforce any immigration laws.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/SQjQjavb16">pic.twitter.com/SQjQjavb16</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2017994421996834826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @CNNSOTU/X.com
But Jeffries was adamant: &#8220;ICE agents should conduct themselves like every other law enforcement agency in the country as opposed to running around — masked thugs, in many instances unleashing brutality on law-abiding American citizens.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries calls the Senate-passed funding deal “a meaningful step in the right direction,” but adds that “we need a robust path toward dramatic reform. The administration can&#8217;t just talk the talk. They need to walk the walk.” <a href="https://t.co/ewJ2fbuHm5">pic.twitter.com/ewJ2fbuHm5</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2017999655968121137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Democrat operative-turned ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos also spoke with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche during Sunday&#8217;s broadcast, asking him to defend Don Lemon&#8217;s arrest. Stephanopoulos asked Blanche if perhaps the Justice Department was in the wrong by suggesting Lemon had crossed the line between reporting on the protest and becoming a part of it.
Blanche pushed back, saying that Lemon&#8217;s indictment was public and anyone who chose to do so could read the charges for themselves.
&#8220;Nobody in this country should feel comfortable storming into a church while it&#8217;s ongoing and disrupting that church service and thinking that we&#8217;re just going to stand by and let that happen,&#8221; Blanche added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Deputy AG Todd Blanche on the arrest of journalist Don Lemon: “Nobody in this country should feel comfortable storming into a church while it&#8217;s ongoing and disrupting that church service and thinking that we&#8217;re just going to stand by and let that happen.” <a href="https://t.co/3BFEBVPRR2">https://t.co/3BFEBVPRR2</a> <a href="https://t.co/AaRU7EuApD">pic.twitter.com/AaRU7EuApD</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2017983385147212029?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Lemon also took to the airwaves to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/don-lemon-aint-even-worried-about-getting-locked-up-after-arrest">address his arrest</a>, telling his audience that his arrest had only helped him to see things more clearly — and that he was only going to be more outspoken in the future.
&#8220;So I know that there are people who think like oh, you know, do this, and I’m going to be locked up or whatever. I ain’t worried about that. You heard the truth, and the truth shall make you free. I ain’t even worried about that. Like not. Don’t even think about it,&#8221; Lemon said.
CNN anchor Dana Bash pressed Blanche on Lemon&#8217;s arrest as well, asking whether it might have been done because Lemon and Trump have often been at odds rather than because Lemon had done anything that warranted such a response.
&#8220;Was it about trying to make an example out of somebody who the President has sparred with?&#8221; Bash asked.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t even know that the President has even ever thought of Don Lemon,&#8221; Blanche replied.
Trump, aboard Air Force One on Saturday, made it clear that he did not care for Lemon — but he also said that he&#8217;d had no advance knowledge that the former CNN host was going to be arrested.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dana Bash pushes Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on the arrest of former CNN journalist Don Lemon:
BASH: &#8220;Was it about trying to make an example out of somebody who the President has sparred with?&#8221;
BLANCHE: &#8220;I don&#8217;t even know that the President has even ever thought of… <a href="https://t.co/pA2bCGgVjC">pic.twitter.com/pA2bCGgVjC</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2017970465508122635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @CNNSOTU/X.com
On &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan hosted a roundtable discussion with several mayors from around the United States to talk about the tensions between federal and local authorities with regard to immigration enforcement.
&#8220;Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, a Republican, said that “mayors are certainly caught in a little bit of an impossible situation &#8230; When the federal government and federal law enforcement comes into your city, we are fully subservient to that in the eyes of the law, and we also believe in the rule of law. So, we get caught kind of in the middle of these tensions, and we need a federal government who will use discretion and restraint with that power.&#8221;
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Republican Oklahoma City, OK, Mayor David Holt said that “mayors are certainly caught in a little bit of an impossible situation” with federal law enforcement in cities.
“When the federal government and federal law enforcement comes into your city, we are fully subservient to… <a href="https://t.co/xB4nk6oOPj">pic.twitter.com/xB4nk6oOPj</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2018016343803445466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @FaceTheNation/X.com
In the last week, Trump has shaken up the personnel on the ground in Minneapolis, sending border czar Tom Homan in to oversee the efforts.
And if we know Tom Homan, we know he &#8220;ain&#8217;t worried.&#8221;

MixCollage-30-Jan-2026-03-55-PM-1994

Spin Cycle: Don Lemon ‘Ain’t Worried’ And DOJ Takes The Heat On ICE

Spin Cycle: Don Lemon, On ICE

Don Lemon

While Winter Storm Fern blanketed much of the southeastern United States with snow — and, of course, ice — media outlets continued to foment panic over President Donald Trump&#8217;s use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (the other kind of ICE) and Border Patrol in major cities like Minneapolis.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
Tensions ramped up over the weekend after a fatal shooting involving Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, where federal immigration officials continue their efforts to apprehend and remove criminal illegal aliens. Sanctuary policies — promoted both by Mayor Jacob Frey and by failed vice presidential candidate and Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) — have left federal agents working not only without the coordination and cooperation of local law enforcement, but sometimes directly in opposition to them.
The end result is the impasse that made a surge of federal resources and personnel necessary in the first place: local officials claim that having federal agents in the streets make the people less safe, while federal officials maintain that if state and local police would honor ICE detainers and allow federal officers to apprehend criminal illegals in jails and courthouses, federal officers would not need to be on the streets.
By Sunday, the lines in the snow had been drawn and reinforced — and the legacy media outlets brought in Democrats (and a few Republicans) who would question the Trump administration, at least in light of the latest fatal confrontation.
ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl began his broadcast of &#8220;This Week&#8221; with a brief profile of Alex Pretti, 37, who was shot by Border Patrol agents — and quoted Pretti&#8217;s mother as saying, &#8220;He loved his country, but he hated what people were doing to it.&#8221;
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“He loved his country, but he hated what people were doing to it,” Alex Pretti’s mother told the AP.
ABC News’ <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> reports on what we know about the 37‑year‑old, who was shot and killed by federal agents Saturday in Minneapolis. <a href="https://t.co/nzQJ9tYzE4">pic.twitter.com/nzQJ9tYzE4</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2015456870299742298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Karl then brought in Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) — who is expected to jump into the gubernatorial race in the coming months — to discuss the situation. Klobuchar claimed she would have supported efforts to root out fraud and to apprehend the worst of the worst when it came to criminal illegal aliens — but she believed it was clear that was not what the Trump administration had been doing.
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“If your goal was to go after fraud, that’s a righteous goal. But that’s not what this is. If your goal was to apprehend violent offenders — good. But that’s not what you’re doing anymore.”
Sen. Klobuchar’s message to federal officials after escalating tensions in Minneapolis. <a href="https://t.co/FRz5VoRNvy">pic.twitter.com/FRz5VoRNvy</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2015457301939802182?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Klobuchar addressed the Pretti shooting directly, saying that some Republicans had spoken to her quietly about their concerns regarding the actions of federal agents but that was not enough. &#8220;At this point, silence is complicity,&#8221; she said, claiming that federal agents were violating constitutional rights at every turn.
Klobuchar argued, among other things, that the agents cracking down on violent protests were violating First Amendment rights to assemble — and then claimed that Border Patrol agents were violating the Second Amendment because Pretti had been a legally-permitted gun-owner.
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar criticizes her Republican colleagues who she says have not spoken about the federal actions in Minneapolis: “At this point, silence is complicity.” <a href="https://t.co/Q4LlxAFJW9">https://t.co/Q4LlxAFJW9</a> <a href="https://t.co/Jmda2AVYSx">pic.twitter.com/Jmda2AVYSx</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2015466555245498871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Karl wrapped up the broadcast by giving New York City&#8217;s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani a chance to double down on his calls to defund ICE. &#8220;ICE is an organization that cares little for the rules. It&#8217;s an organization that operates with reckless impunity and seems to revel in the flouting of those kinds of rules. And that&#8217;s what gives people a real sense of fear,&#8221; Mamdani claimed.
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NYC Mayor Mamdani on his calls to abolish ICE: “ICE is an organization that cares little for the rules. It&#8217;s an organization that operates with reckless impunity and seems to revel in the flouting of those kinds of rules. And that&#8217;s what gives people a real sense of fear.” <a href="https://t.co/i3n9c6Np6N">pic.twitter.com/i3n9c6Np6N</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2015483794371789101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On CBS News, &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; host Margaret Brennan brought in Senator Angus King (I-ME) to discuss the surge of agents coming to his state in the same way they&#8217;d dispatched to Minnesota, and he drew a hard line: &#8220;I believe what we&#8217;re seeing is an attempt to intimidate the American people. Again, armed people with masks and telling people they can&#8217;t photograph what they are doing and intimidating protesters, that&#8217;s not American.&#8221;
King joined Democrats making noise about another possible government shutdown as he said that he couldn&#8217;t possibly vote for a bill that funded ICE.
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Sen. Angus King (I-ME) says he “can&#8217;t vote for a bill that includes ICE funding in these circumstances, what they are doing in my state, what we saw yesterday in Minneapolis.”
“I believe what we&#8217;re seeing is an attempt to intimidate the American people,” King says. “Again, armed… <a href="https://t.co/ESbH4QMwzX">pic.twitter.com/ESbH4QMwzX</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2015470479973216473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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King claimed that there was a way for federal authorities to enforce immigration law without &#8220;ransacking our cities and terrorizing our residents,&#8221; but he did not say how he expected that to happen while local and state authorities were refusing to cooperate with the feds – and while Democrat leaders were actively encouraging civilians to obstruct and push back on the federal agents attempting to do their jobs.
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When asked how the state and federal government can work together on immigration, Sen. Angus King (I-ME) says federal authorities “can enforce the laws against illegal immigration and people that are criminals without ransacking our cities and terrorizing our residents.”
“There… <a href="https://t.co/yH2uHNj1sf">pic.twitter.com/yH2uHNj1sf</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2015469864622731720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Brennan also spoke with Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O&#8217;Hara, who suggested that the federal agents were going about things the wrong way.
&#8220;The Minneapolis Police Department went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds and hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn&#8217;t shoot anyone,&#8221; he claimed, but he failed to address the fact that the city was still awash in criminal illegal aliens that he and his department had done nothing about.
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After two U.S. citizens were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks, the city’s police chief, Brian O’Hara, says the people of Minneapolis “have had enough” of ICE’s Operation Metro Surge.
“The Minneapolis Police Department went the entire year last year… <a href="https://t.co/dX3DKVtHbe">pic.twitter.com/dX3DKVtHbe</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2015458221582852432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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And on CNN, anchor Dana Bash discussed the situation with newly-elected Governor Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ). Asking Sherrill about the fact that her state was home to numerous &#8220;sanctuary&#8221; jurisdictions — and was likely to face surges of federal agents as well, Bash asked how she planned to handle such actions.
Sherrill&#8217;s response was to compare ICE to the communist STASI, East Germany&#8217;s brutal secret police.
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Sherrill on ICE: &#8220;This is about a basically Stasi-type force of secret police that wear masks, that are unidentifiable, that are unaccountable, that have leadership in the Trump administration blatantly lying about what&#8217;s going on, when the American people can see the videos… <a href="https://t.co/oRnMsIUEDE">pic.twitter.com/oRnMsIUEDE</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2015475979393593555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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ICE Protest

Spin Cycle: Forecast Calls For More Snow And ICE In Minneapolis

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to acquire Greenland for the United States, and while his administration has insisted the goal is a negotiated purchase of the strategically-located island from Denmark, critics in the media and the Democratic Party have nonetheless suggested he will use the military to take the island by force.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
The renewed furor over Greenland began with a Saturday <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115911344443637897">Truth Social post</a> from the president leveraging tariffs against a number of European nations until an agreement is reached for the United States to purchase it.
&#8220;The United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades,&#8221; Trump said.
Following a week of military buildup in Greenland — as European nations attempt to help Denmark shore up defenses against a U.S. invasion that the Trump administration has repeatedly stated is not coming — anchors and guests across the legacy networks discussed the fate of the island nation as if an invasion was imminent.
Anchor Jonathan Karl raised the question with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; asking what he made of the president&#8217;s rhetoric regarding gaining control of Greenland.
&#8220;I want to put your foreign affairs hat on — what do you make of what&#8217;s going on with the president and Greenland? And how he&#8217;s slapped tariffs on eight of our allies in Europe? He&#8217;s not rolling out military force to get Greenland?&#8221; he asked, his tone almost one of disbelief.
McCaul quickly pointed out the fact that American presidents had considered Greenland to be a strategic purchase since the United States acquired Alaska, adding, &#8220;It is very strategic right now from a national security standpoint against China and Russia. But in 1951 we signed a treaty with Denmark that allows us full access to Greenland — to protect Greenland, and this was after World War II — President Truman initially was involved and then President Eisenhower.&#8221;
&#8220;The fact is, the president has full military access to Greenland to protect us from any threats,&#8221; McCaul added, noting that Trump could increase the American military presence in Greenland without the United States officially taking ownership of the territory. &#8220;If he wants to purchase Greenland, that&#8217;s one thing. But for him to militarily invade would turn Article 5 of NATO on its very head, in essence, put us at war with NATO itself.&#8221;
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GOP Rep. Michael McCaul on President Trump’s proposed action in Greenland: “If we want to put more military in there, we can, we don&#8217;t have to invade it. If you want to buy it, that&#8217;s fine. But I don&#8217;t see a willing seller right now.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/XjdJpMxs7P">https://t.co/XjdJpMxs7P</a> <a href="https://t.co/VuenM5BGQA">pic.twitter.com/VuenM5BGQA</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2012910723244888229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Karl also brought in Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to discuss the situation, and he immediately accused the president of an attempted land grab with regard to Greenland.
&#8220;Donald Trump wants to get his hands on the minerals and other resources of Greenland, just like the real reason he went into Venezuela had nothing to do with stopping drugs from coming,&#8221; he claimed.
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Sen. Chris Van Hollen calls President Trump’s pursuit of Greenland a “land grab.”
“Donald Trump wants to get his hands on the minerals and other resources of Greenland, just like the real reason he went into Venezuela had nothing to do with stopping drugs from coming.” <a href="https://t.co/c1JOw3UudA">pic.twitter.com/c1JOw3UudA</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2012916694298079330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) also joined Karl on Sunday morning, and she argued that it would be unfair to the people of New Jersey for Trump to spend federal funds — some of which come out of her state — on a strategic purchase like Greenland.
&#8220;There is not one person in New Jersey that wakes up in the morning and says, ‘Gee, I hope today&#8217;s the day that the president dumps billions of dollars into buying Greenland,&#8221; she added.
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“There is not one person in New Jersey that wakes up in the morning and says, ‘Gee, I hope today&#8217;s the day that the president dumps billions of dollars into buying Greenland.”
NJ Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill criticizes President Trump’s use of federal funds. <a href="https://t.co/jWAURz3lDw">pic.twitter.com/jWAURz3lDw</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2012931291994350023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) threatened a vote on a bill that would prevent Trump from using federal funds to exert control over Greenland — and claimed that there was no threat to Greenland from Russia or China. Ignoring the fact that the Trump administration&#8217;s assertion is that the three is not to Greenland but to the United States – and that Greenland, protected solely by Denmark, is the weak link in the security chain — Warner claimed that the only actual threat to Greenland was coming from Donald Trump.
&#8220;There is no current security threat from Russia or China to Greenland. The only security threat to Greenland right now is the United States,&#8221; he told &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; anchor Margaret Brennan on CBS News.
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Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, says he would “of course” vote in support of a bill proposed by Sens. Shaheen and Murkowski that would prohibit the use of federal funds to assert control over the territory of a NATO state. But Warner tells… <a href="https://t.co/bzXWVgwf23">pic.twitter.com/bzXWVgwf23</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2012934974203199978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Brennan also ran with a new CBS News poll that showed Americans were largely opposed to possible U.S. military action in Greenland, and worried that such action would likely &#8220;create more instability in the world.&#8221;
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There’s widespread bipartisan opposition to the prospect of U.S. military action in Greenland, with many Americans saying the implications would create more instability in the world, a new CBS News poll finds. <a href="https://t.co/a6pikO0swy">https://t.co/a6pikO0swy</a> <a href="https://t.co/EnQZgoFnpP">pic.twitter.com/EnQZgoFnpP</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2012942648055566729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On CNN, anchor Jake Tapper brought in former Vice President Mike Pence to push back on Trump&#8217;s apparent plan. Pence argued that while it was perfectly reasonable to look at Greenland as a strategic objective, the issue was how President Trump might go about bringing Denmark to heel.
&#8220;Well, look, I think it&#8217;s a question right now, Jake, not of what the president&#8217;s trying to accomplish, but how? And I have concerns about using what I think is a questionable constitutional authority, imposing unilateral tariffs on NATO allies to achieve this objective,&#8221; he explained.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence questions President Trump threatening new tariffs on allies over Greenland:
&#8220;Well, look, I think it&#8217;s a question right now, Jake, not of what the president&#8217;s trying to accomplish, but how? And I have concerns about using what I think is a… <a href="https://t.co/2MYQrcpZTb">pic.twitter.com/2MYQrcpZTb</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2012896195752968501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) rounded out the conversation with Tapper by complaining about the use of federal funds to gain a strategic foothold in the Arctic.
&#8220;The idea that we&#8217;re going to waste money for everything we want is the dumbest decision we can make. The only person who can make a decision this dumb is someone who could let a casino go under, and guess who is President right now?&#8221; he said.
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Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego on Trump&#8217;s push to acquire Greenland:
&#8220;The idea that we&#8217;re going to waste money for everything we want is the dumbest decision we can make. The only person who can make a decision this dumb is someone who could let a casino go under, and guess… <a href="https://t.co/uubEY1KMMC">pic.twitter.com/uubEY1KMMC</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2012901242503127129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Spin Cycle: As Trump Escalates On Greenland, Media Speculates

Greenland

All the Hollywood celebrities are out and showing their absolute rage — but not at the Iranian government mowing people down in the streets.
As cataclysmic events take place in Iran, with apparently hundreds or thousands of protesters being shot to death, a number that has even been estimated to be 10,000, it’s good to know the folks in Hollywood have their priorities straight. 
The Golden Globes were held on Sunday night, providing an opportunity for members of the Hollywood contingent — who prize their pseudo-morality over everyone else&#8217;s — to make a stand.
After all, they&#8217;ve made stands on issues as far back as Tibet in the 1990s (which they conveniently have now forgotten all about).
Remember when last year, a bunch of Hollywood celebrities pranced around like fools, claiming that a genocide that was not happening was, in fact, happening, and criticized the State of Israel for defending its own existence. 
This year, they have a different cause because, hey, new day, new cause. Now, what could that cause be?
The cause of the Iranian people who are out in the streets risking their own deaths to defy the mullahs? The people of Iran, many of whom are secular and westernized in their attitudes toward the state? Are those the people toward whom Hollywood directs all of its sympathies? Are they sparing a moment for those people? 
Of course not. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2344-gross-hollywood-attacks-ice-ignores-slaughter-in-iran?elementPosition=4&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Hollywood put on a show at the Golden Globes, and everything was about ICE and LGBTQ and Bari Weiss taking over CBS, because, you see, these are the real threats. 
According to people in Hollywood, you should have your eyes focused like a laser beam on the predations of ICEt enforcing the law with regard to illegal immigration and deporting people for welfare fraud.
You should have your eyes focused like a laser beam on Bari Weiss taking over CBS News and preventing it from its long history of inaccurately reporting the news. 
You should be focused like a laser beam on the terrible predations that affect LGBTQ+- people all over the United States.
It is an act of bravery to stand up at the Golden Globes and virtue signal on behalf of the LGBTQ+- community.
So last night, a bunch of celebs showed up and decided — as our Moral Guideposts, the lodestars of our civilization — that the chief things you need to worry about as an American are ICE, LGBTQ+-, and Bari Weiss.
Hostess Nikki Glaser began the evening by going after the most deserving target, who deserved her absolute rage: Bari Weiss and CBS News.
Mark Ruffalo showed up and said it was hard to pretend anymore that we don&#8217;t live in a “dictatorship.”
Thus saith the man who wears a tux at the Golden Globes and gets paid millions of dollars to play the same character that he has played in every other miniseries and movie for the last two decades.
“We have a woman, Renee Good, was murdered in our streets of America today, and we got literally stormtroopers running around terrorizing. And as much as I love all this, I can&#8217;t. I don&#8217;t know if I can pretend like this crazy stuff isn&#8217;t happening. It&#8217;s so hard to pretend anymore,” he complained.
It&#8217;s hard for him to pretend? He’s an actor.
This is a person who spent the last two years basically standing on behalf of terrorist groups in the Middle East. But it&#8217;s very hard for him to pretend that there aren&#8217;t “stormtroopers” wandering the streets.
You know what&#8217;s cool about being able to say that sort of thing? There aren&#8217;t stormtroopers wandering the streets — because throughout history, when there were stormtroopers wandering the streets, celebrities didn&#8217;t get to go on camera and talk about how there were stormtroopers wandering the streets.
In fact, there are many places on Earth where the stormtroopers do wander the streets. For example, Iran, where there are stormtroopers shooting people in the head for protesting.
Did Ruffalo have a word for them?
Nope. He had a little pin that read, “Be Good,” referencing Renee Good.
Hollywood always seems to pick the side that opposes law enforcement or opposes the West.
“The guy’s a convicted felon or convicted rapist. He&#8217;s a pedophile,” Ruffalo said of President Trump. “He&#8217;s the worst human being. If we&#8217;re relying on this guy&#8217;s morality for the most powerful country in the world, then we&#8217;re all in a lot of trouble. So this is for her. This is for the people in the United States who are terrorized and scared today. I know I&#8217;m one of them. I love this country. And what I&#8217;m seeing here happening is not America.”
He slandered the president of the United States as a pedophile, called him the worst person in the world, for, among other things, extraditing Nicolás Maduro — a Marxist dictator responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands and probably hundreds of thousands of people and the exile of literally millions of people. That, to Mark Ruffalo, is a big moral problem.
Not a word to spare for the millions marching in the streets in Iran right now, thousands of whom are getting mowed down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Ariana Grande also showed up wearing her ICE Out pin, the new hot thing in Hollywood.
Frankly, any amount of weight added to her garment puts her at risk of falling over.
Wanda Sykes showed up to talk about LGBTQ+-, saying, “You know, there&#8217;s some people pissed off that a queer black woman is up here doing the job of two mediocre white guys.”
This is where Hollywood puts its priorities. There are people on earth literally putting their lives at risk, their bodies on the line for their own freedom.
And Hollywood has nothing to say to them. Nothing.
Are you seeing protests on campuses in favor of the Iranian people right now? Have you seen a single protest?
You have not.
Have you seen a single mass protest by all of these international-law-loving, human rights-adoring left-wingers, the Zohran Mamdani wing of the Democratic Party, in favor of the protesters in Iran, who simply want their horrifying theocratic regime gone?
You have not.
Have you seen a single comment from Democrats, beyond a kind of “thoughts and prayers?”
You have not.
Have you seen protests in the streets?
You have not.
Have you seen calls for material aid?
You have not.
It’s sad-sack nonsense, because there are people in the world who are doing something courageous and incredible right now.
And Hollywood and the Left are gladly looking the other way.

CBS’s Coverage of the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards – Arrivals

Hollywood Attacks ICE, Ignores Slaughter In Iran

Bari Weiss

Ben Shapiro

Golden Globes

Hollywood

Leftists

LGBTQ

Mark Ruffalo

Minneapolis

Minnesota

Wanda Sykes

Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser used her time on stage to mock the network broadcasting the Hollywood awards show.
&#8220;I cannot believe the amount of star power we have in this room tonight. It&#8217;s insane,&#8221; Glaser said during her opening monologue. &#8220;There are so many A-listers, and by A-list, I do mean a list that has been heavily redacted. And the Golden Globe for Best Editing goes to the Justice Department. Yes. Congratulations.&#8221;
The host was seemingly referencing the redacted 30,000 documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein released by the Justice Department just days before Christmas.
&#8220;And the award for most editing goes to CBS News,&#8221; the comedian added as the audience laughed and applauded. &#8220;Yes, CBS News, America&#8217;s newest place to see BS news. We needed another.&#8221;
This dig likely referenced CBS News, under the new leadership of Bari Weiss, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-news-pulls-60-minutes-segment-on-notorious-el-salvador-prison-needed-additional-reporting">yanking a “60 Minutes” segment</a> on the Salvadoran prison where the Trump administration has sent hundreds of illegal immigrants. Critics <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5659963-bari-weiss-cbs-60-minutes-segment/">said</a> the move &#8220;reeks of political pressure.&#8221;
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Glaser’s comments come one week after anchor Tony Dokoupil began hosting &#8220;CBS Evening News&#8221; and months after the network welcomed Weiss, the new Editor-in-Chief, who formerly worked at The New York Times and founded The Free Press. Weiss was offered the job by David Ellison, the founder of Skydance and Paramount&#8217;s chairman, following a merger.
Dokoupil delivered a New Year’s Day message promising changes in coverage at the legacy media network, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-news-anchor-announces-new-direction-for-2026-actual-journalism?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=CBS+News+Anchor+Announces+New+Direction+For+2026%3A+Actual+Journalism">reported</a>.
“On too many stories, the press has missed the story. Because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you,” the anchor said in part. “And I know this because, at certain points, I have been you. I have felt this way, too. I have felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the news didn’t reflect what I was seeing and hearing in my own life — and that the most urgent questions simply weren’t being asked.”
“So here’s my promise to you,” Dokoupil continued. “You come first. Not advertisers, not politicians, not corporate interests. And yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you — which means I tell you what I know, when I know it, and how I know it. And when I get it wrong, I’ll tell you that, too.”
Many mainstream leftists have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-news-anchor-announces-new-direction-for-2026-actual-journalism">critical</a> of the changes at CBS and pushed back against their proposed new direction of responsible, factual journalism that&#8217;s free from bias.
Stars at the Golden Globes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hollywood-virtue-signaling-leftist-stars-attack-ice-trump-at-golden-globes?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Hollywood+Virtue+Signaling%3A+Leftist+Stars+Attack+ICE%2C+Trump+At+Golden+Globes">used the red carpet</a> to signal their leftist virtues and air their grievances against President Donald Trump’s enforcement of immigration law. Following the shooting death of anti-ICE activist Renee Good during a confrontation with ICE agents — an incident the administration maintains was self-defense — the red carpet on Sunday transformed into a sea of “Be Good” and “ICE OUT” pins.
Several celebrities mentioned ICE and Trump during red carpet interviews at the event on Sunday night.

Nikki Glaser

Golden Globes Host Mocks CBS News On Awards Show Broadcast By CBS

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