This past weekend in Barcelona, Spain, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took the stage alongside Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at a summit their organizers titled, without apparent irony, the &#8220;Global Progressive Mobilisation forum&#8221; in defense of democracy. The event was marketed as a progressive counterpart to President Donald Trump’s Shield of the Americas meeting in Miami last month. In reality, the leftist meeting was a gallery of leaders who have destroyed the very democratic institutions they now claim to champion, and all oppose the interests of the United States.
Two elected American Democrats flew across the Atlantic to lend their credibility to that anti-American gallery. They should be asked to explain it.
Start with the host. Pedro Sánchez leads a government engulfed in the worst corruption crisis since Spain&#8217;s return to democracy. His wife has been formally <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260413-spanish-pm-pedro-sanchez-wife-charged-corruption-years-long-probe">charged</a> with influence peddling and corruption. His brother is on trial in a <a href="https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20250428/jueza-badajoz-procesa-hermano-pedro-sanchez-prevaricacion-trafico-influencias/16557415.shtml">separate case</a> because he was given a government job he didn&#8217;t show up for by Socialist officials in his brother&#8217;s party. His former right-hand man is also <a href="https://www.elespanol.com/espana/tribunales/20260304/abalos-antigua-mano-derecha-pedro-sanchez-juzgado-abril-supremo-rechaza-enviar-caso-audiencia/1003744154431_0.html">on trial</a> over alleged kickbacks on public contracts and prostitution. His attorney general has himself been convicted of leaking confidential information. None of this stopped Sánchez from lecturing the world about the dangers of the &#8220;populist right.&#8221;
But the worst part of Sanchez for America is not his internal destruction of Spain, but that he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-aircraft-leave-spain-after-government-says-bases-cannot-be-used-iran-attacks-2026-03-02/">prohibited</a> the United States from using the two American military bases in the country during the military conflict with Iran. An American senator and a sitting governor saw all of this and decided it was a good look to support him.
Next to Sánchez stood Lula da Silva. Lula was convicted of corruption and money laundering by a Brazilian court in 2017, had the conviction upheld and the sentence increased on appeal in 2018, and served nearly 600 days in prison. His convictions were later annulled on procedural grounds, but he was never acquitted on the merits. He is no doubt guilty. He returned to the presidency and has spent the last three years fast-tracking Brazil’s descent into tyranny with an allied Supreme Court that censors social media and has imprisoned his main political opponent, former President Jair Bolsonaro. But Murphy and Waltz pretend to lecture us about democracy.
Next up was Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president and a former member of the M-19, a Marxist guerrilla group whose career highlights included the <a href="https://cja.org/what-we-do/litigation/palace-of-justice/">1985 seizure</a> of Colombia&#8217;s Palace of Justice, during which 11 Supreme Court justices were killed. Petro aligned his government with former Venezuelan narco-tyrant Nicolás Maduro. Testimony from Venezuela&#8217;s former military intelligence chief, Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal, <a href="https://thecitypaperbogota.com/news/did-venezuelas-ex-spymaster-hugo-carvajal-spark-ofac-sanctions-against-petro/">alleges</a> that Chávez and Maduro financed Petro&#8217;s presidential campaigns. A U.S. senator sharing a dais with him is not a defense of democracy; it is an act of diplomatic malpractice.
Finally, there was Claudia Sheinbaum, who implemented a constitutional overhaul that ended judicial independence in Mexico. In June 2025, Mexico became the only country on Earth to have its population elect all federal judges, including the Supreme Court. Turnout at that constitutional referendum was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/world/americas/mexico-judicial-election-low-turnout.html">13 percent</a>. This is not democracy; it is the dictatorship of the majority, something the American Founders warned about. Of course, Tim Waltz and Chris Murphy must enthusiastically support this because it aligns with their agenda to pack the U.S. Supreme Court to change the meaning of the Constitution.
Perhaps the best part of the “Progressive” Defense of Democracy meeting in Barcelona last Saturday was that the actual citizens of Latin America didn’t care for them. While these wannabe leftist tyrants met in Barcelona, tens of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants were rallying in support of democracy in Spain’s capital, Madrid. They were there in support of a transition in Venezuela that is possible thanks to the support of the United States and President Trump’s military action to arrest Nicolas Maduro.
Truthfully, I would have expected a speech and support for this anti-American meeting from the likes of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Bernie Sanders, or a video message by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, but I did not expect Murphy and Walz to lend credibility to this meeting of criminals. Murphy is often mentioned as a 2028 presidential contender. Walz was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. When they stand with these leaders and call it a defense of democracy, they are telling American voters something important about what they believe democracy looks like.
Daniel Di Martino (@DanielDiMartino) is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and an economist.

Inaugural Global Progressive Mobilisation Held In Barcelona

Chris Murphy and Tim Walz Cozy Up To Wannabe Tyrants At Communist Rally

Democracy

foreign affairs

MI x DW

For the first time in 47 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran is leaderless.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — the regime’s 86-year-old supreme dictator — is gone. Eliminated following sustained American and Israeli strikes, his death has shattered the central pillar of Tehran’s theocracy.
The regime hurriedly announced an “Interim Leadership Council” composed of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Guardian Council cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi. But there is no such thing as collective supreme leadership in the Islamic Republic.
The Supreme Leader is not ceremonial. He is the system. Under Iran’s constitution, he controls the armed forces, the judiciary, the intelligence services, the Guardian Council, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He sets ideology, arbitrates factional warfare, and guarantees regime survival.
You cannot divide that authority among three men and expect stability. What you get instead is rivalry, paralysis, and fear.
And fear is spreading rapidly in Tehran.
For years, rumors circulated that Khamenei intended to install his radical son, Mojtaba, as successor — a dynastic maneuver that would have formalized what many believed was already happening behind the scenes.
That does not simplify succession. It makes it far more volatile.
There is no obvious clerical heavyweight waiting in the wings. No consensus candidate. No undisputed center of gravity. The Assembly of Experts — the 88-member body responsible for selecting the next Supreme Leader — now faces a vacuum unprecedented in the Islamic Republic’s history.
When clerics cannot agree, power does not disappear. It shifts.
The most likely beneficiary of sustained instability is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC already controls major sectors of Iran’s economy, its missile forces, its intelligence networks, and its regional proxy militias. With the clerical hierarchy fractured and no dynastic successor available, the Guards may conclude that preserving the revolution requires sidelining the robes entirely. What began as a theocracy could harden into an overt military dictatorship.
That is why the strategic imperative is clear. If the objective is lasting change rather than temporary disruption, the pressure cannot stop with symbolic decapitation. The United States and Israel must continue dismantling the IRGC’s command structure — not just eliminating those at the top, but degrading leadership layers down the chain of command. Authoritarian systems regenerate from their mid-levels. If that layer survives intact, the regime reconstitutes.
In short, decapitation without systemic degradation is a pause button, not an outcome.
At the same time, a smarter strategy recognizes that not every official inside the Iranian state is a hardened ideologue with blood on his hands. Iran’s bureaucracy is vast. It includes technocrats and administrators who served the system but did not design its crimes.
There is an alternative path.
Preserve those who are not irredeemably compromised. Keep parts of the state machinery intact. Under sustained American and allied pressure, compel them to cooperate with credible Iranian opposition figures — including Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah — to usher in a transition toward a more democratic and representative government. The terms would be simple: you can keep your life and you can keep your money — but only if you facilitate a peaceful transition and stand down from repression. Play ball, or face consequences.
Transitions succeed when they split regimes. They fail when they force everyone inside the system to fight to the death.
This is not Iraq in 2003. But we must also learn from Iraq in 2003. We cannot repeat the mistake of sweeping de-Baathification that stripped hundreds of thousands of Iraqis of their livelihoods overnight and drove many into the insurgency that bloodied Americans and Iraqis for years. A maximalist purge in Iran would risk creating the very instability we seek to prevent.
Totalitarian systems do not reform themselves. They either fracture from within or harden into something worse. As long as the Islamic Republic’s governing architecture survives intact — whether led by a cleric or a general — its core objectives will remain nuclear capability, ballistic missile expansion, regional terror sponsorship, and violent repression at home.
What makes this moment different is that the succession mechanism itself is cracking. The aura of inevitability is gone. Iranians have already taken to the streets celebrating Khamenei’s death. The regime looks vulnerable in a way it has not since 1979.
History has opened a narrow window in Iran.
It could close with the consolidation of a military junta. Or it could open into something transformative.
Mark Dubowitz is chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Ben Cohen is a research fellow.

Anti-U.S.-Israel War On Iran Protest In Yemen 2026

Iran Stands At A Crossroads. What Comes Next Could Change Everything.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran

IRGC

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Pro-democracy newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong on Monday under a national security law imposed by Beijing and widely used to crack down on critics of the Chinese Communist Party. 
Lai, a 78-year-old Chinese-born British citizen and media tycoon, was convicted in December 2025 of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material. His newspaper, Apple Daily, was published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021, when authorities froze its assets and arrested top executives, forcing it to shut down.  
China governs Hong Kong as a special administrative region, but Beijing has tightened its grip in recent years, imposing the law used to prosecute and sentence Lai.
Lai was accused of supporting the massive pro-democracy protests that broke out in Hong Kong in 2019 and has been detained since his arrest in August 2020, spending more than 1800 days in solitary confinement. He was held under the 2020 National Security Law, which punishes speech or conduct that the government claims threatens its authority. 
“We welcome the court’s heavy sentence of 20 years for Jimmy Lai. It highlights his role as the mastermind and behind-the-scenes manipulator,” Hong Kong police official Steve Li after the sentencing on Monday. 
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02/08/world/jimmy-lai-sentenced-hong-kong">reported</a> that Lai smiled and waved to supporters in the courtroom gallery after his sentencing. Six former Apple Daily employees were also sentenced Monday, receiving prison terms ranging from six to ten years.  
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper <a href="https://x.com/FCDOGovUK/status/2020740332262961171">said</a> Lai’s prosecution was “politically motivated” and that he was punished for expressing his viewpoints. 
&#8220;For the 78-year-old, this is tantamount to a life sentence. I remain deeply concerned for Mr Lai’s health, and I again call on the Hong Kong authorities to end his appalling ordeal and release him on humanitarian grounds, so that he may be reunited with his family,” she said. 
Claire Lai, Jimmy Lai’s daughter, called the sentence “heartbreakingly cruel.” 
“If this sentence is carried out, he will die a martyr behind bars,” she said. 
Sebastian Lai said that his father had &#8220;decided to dedicate his life to defending the freedoms of Hong Kong&#8221;.
&#8220;For that heroism, he&#8217;s being punished, he&#8217;s essentially getting a death sentence for that,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cq5yv581e9yt">told</a> the BBC. &#8220;Surely a man who has given so much for liberty, for freedom, deserves a bit of it himself.&#8221;
The State Department condemned the sentencing and called for Lai&#8217;s release. 
&#8220;The Hong Kong High Court’s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case. It shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, casting aside the international commitments Beijing made in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration,&#8221; Marco Rubio said. &#8220;After enduring a trial lasting two years, and detention in prison for more than five, Mr. Lai and his family have suffered enough.  The United States urges the authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole.&#8221;
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), the chair of the House Select Committee on China, said that the sentencing was the “latest stain on the human rights record of the Chinese Communist Party.” 
“Lai and his Apple Daily colleagues are being punished for exposing the truth about the CCP&#8217;s attacks on the rights of Hong Kongers,” he said. “President Trump made it abundantly clear to General Secretary Xi in October that Lai should be freed and allowed to leave Hong Kong to be with his family.”

China Imposes National Security Law In Hong Kong

Hong Kong Court Sends CCP Critic, Pro-Democracy Publisher Jimmy Lai To Prison For 20 Years

Beijing-Imposed Law Sends 78-Year-Old CCP Critic, Pro-Democracy Publisher To Prison For 20 Years

China

Chinese Communist Party

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The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1902-no-shame-democrat-leader-calls-for-the-murder-of-kristi-noem?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
* * *
Sometimes the Democrats wish for things they should not wish for. One of those things is body cameras.
Alec Karakatsanis is a liberal author who is anti-police and wants to abolish a multitude of law enforcement agencies. He recently appeared on “Democracy Now!” to explain why body cams on cops are terrible.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Leftist author says “well-meaning liberals” have been fooled into supporting bodycams, which should stop being used.
“They have been an essential propaganda tool.&#8221;
Yet leftists want every one of their militant wingnuts filming law enforcement.
Interesting how that works. <a href="https://t.co/650QTEuh0l">pic.twitter.com/650QTEuh0l</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/2016205866244956592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @WesternLensman/X.com
He begins by saying, “they push for these body cameras.” 
Who are ‘they’? Or, to quote a Kanye West interview, “who is ‘they,’ though?” 
What do you mean they were pushing for body cameras? The people who pushed for body cameras were the Democrats. It was only the Democrats who said we needed them.
Initially, some Republicans were okay with it. But in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown, things changed. Now, the Michael Brown shooting was completely justified. The so-called &#8220;gentle giant&#8221; Michael Brown, this young man who just robbed a store and then grabbed a cop&#8217;s gun and actually discharged it in the car, according to grand juries and eyewitnesses, and then walked away only to turn around and charge at the cop — only then did the cop shoot him.
The Democrats immediately made up, out of whole cloth, a story about how Michael Brown was a sweet little boy who put his hands up and said “hands up, don’t shoot,” and the cop just executed him like the Grand Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan. Just a complete fictional narrative. That’s when the Dems said, &#8220;We need body cameras on cops.&#8221;
And some Republicans disagreed, but the clever Republicans said, “Okay, okay, great.” Why? Because it was a test. A test of reality. The Democrats who called themselves the smart Democrats did not call for body cameras. The really clever ones did not want body cameras because body cameras were always going to show you the reality of criminals and law enforcement. And the reality of criminals and law enforcement doesn’t look good for the criminals, and it does look good for law enforcement.
If you don’t remember, this is a clip from CNN. Barack Obama, right out of the horse’s mouth:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="OBAMA FERGUSON MTG: BODY CAMERAS" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DL6f-qVjxVg?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: CNN/YouTube.com
So the sincere liberals really believed that more transparency would help their argument because it would show people the reality of the situation. They believed the reality of the situation was going to buttress their side of the argument, not the conservative side. 
Mind you, this is the party that thinks boys can be girls. 
Mind you, this is the party that thinks babies aren’t really babies.
They thought that reality was going to back them up. And then what happened? They put the body cameras on, and it turns out the criminals are just awful. And 999,999 times out of a million, the criminals who get beat up or shot while they’re being arrested are getting exactly what they deserve, and the cops usually are the ones showing restraint.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1902-no-shame-democrat-leader-calls-for-the-murder-of-kristi-noem?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show</a></h3>
The libs thought transparency would help them. It actually hurt them. This is the same with every single issue.
The libs want to make a big show out of LGBT. We need more inclusion. We need more transparency. We need more visibility for transgenderism and LGBT. 
And then you know what happens? We see the visibility of what transgenderism means.
It means lopping the breasts off little girls. It means castrating little boys. The reality of it is anxiety, depression, suicidality, sterility, and early death. That’s the reality of LGBT-ism. The reality of LGBT-ism is social discord and child abuse. That’s the reality of it. 
So you want more visibility? Be my guest.
We’ve had a lot of visibility. There is no question. Let’s go back to &#8220;Will &amp; Grace,&#8221; back in 1999. &#8220;Will &amp; Grace&#8221; all the way up through Gavin Newsom saying, “I want to see more trans kids,” like a freak.
We’ve had a lot of visibility. What happened in that time? First, there was an increase in support for LGBT until just a few years ago, and then, when that visibility really broke through, there was a massive decrease on every front — certainly transgender kids, transgender generally, same-sex marriage — the list goes on and on. The visibility did not help them.
Same thing on abortion. You want visibility on abortion? Look at the little baby. Look at what the baby really looks like in the womb. This is why pro-abortion advocates don’t want the reality of abortion ever to be seen. They don’t want to use real words like baby or even fetus. They want to say “clump of cells” or whatever, because the visibility, the transparency, hurts them. Because reality is not on their side.
What about immigration? The reality of immigration is that the people who are coming to this country &#8230; generally, not the most ideal people. The Left talks about it, though, like they&#8217;re all dreamy, wonderful future engineers and doctors who want to salute the flag and shoot off fireworks on the Fourth of July. The reality is more like face-tattooed rapists, human traffickers, and drug dealers.
That’s the reality. So you bring in the visibility, the transparency — what happens? Trump wins the popular vote running on mass deportations.

St. Patricks Day Parade in New York City

Liberal Author Calls Police Body Cameras ‘Essential Propaganda Tool’

Barack Obama

Democrats

Michael Brown

Michael Knowles

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policing

In 1946, not too long after the end of World War II, Winston Churchill famously spoke of a “special relationship” between the United Kingdom and the United States — not only as a bond of history and language, but as a partnership grounded in shared principles and moral duty. That same sense of duty must guide us today as we confront the world’s leading state sponsor of terror: the clerical regime in Iran.
Historically, when facing totalitarian regimes, Britain, the US, and other Western powers have placed local dissidents at the center of any discussion about the future of oppressed nations. Yet Iran remains a glaring exception. For reasons that defy logic and morality, successive governments have marginalized the voices of Iranian democrats.
I am one of a growing number of Western politicians on both sides of the Atlantic who believe this should change and to this end, I will speak at the Free Iran Convention in Washington, D.C., on November 15, where more than one thousand Iranian experts, professionals, and academicians from all over the US, will present their vision for a free, democratic Iran.
For nearly half a century, Western policy toward Tehran has prioritized negotiation over accountability, assuming the clerical regime’s grip on power was unshakeable. Many believed Iran’s rulers would never meet the same fate as the Shah — at least not without chaos in the absence of a viable alternative.
That assumption was flawed from the outset. In the immediate aftermath of the 1979 revolution, the forces that helped topple the Shah — chief among them the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) — remained active, popular, and determined to oppose the theocracy that hijacked the revolution’s promise. The regime responded with brutal repression throughout the 1980s, culminating in the horrific 1988 massacre of around 30,000 political prisoners, most of them MEK members and supporters.
This atrocity was meant to eliminate organized opposition once and for all. It failed. The MEK survived and went on to form the backbone of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a broad coalition advocating regime change and democratic transition. Yet, tragically, the massacre convinced much of the international community that internal resistance had been extinguished — and that engagement with Tehran was the only realistic path forward.
Encouraged by that misperception (echoed by the regime’s protagonists and lobbyists), the regime deepened its repression at home and aggression abroad. It became the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the nation with the highest per-capita rate of executions, and the only non-nuclear-armed state enriching uranium to 60% purity — just short of weapons-grade.
Ironically, by assuming the regime’s permanence, Western leaders helped create a situation where regime change has become essential for global security and human rights. Some progress is evident: the UK, France, and Germany recently triggered the re-imposition of UN sanctions following Washington’s return to a “maximum pressure” strategy.
But it remains unclear whether today’s policymakers grasp how profoundly their predecessors misread the regime’s vulnerability.
That misunderstanding can no longer be excused. Three nationwide uprisings — in 2018, 2019, and 2022 — have shown the Iranian people’s enduring commitment to democratic change. The unity and persistence of their demands reveal the strength of an organized opposition that, despite deadly crackdowns and decades of dismissal by Western analysts, continues to challenge the regime from within.
The Free Iran Convention in Washington builds on this momentum. It follows major gatherings in Brussels and across Europe, where Iranian youth and dissidents reaffirmed their readiness for a democratic transition. The movement’s supporters will call for a coherent Western policy — one that recognizes the NCRI as a credible alternative and supports the Iranian people’s right to determine their future.
Many of us in public life have already joined this cause. In parliaments on both sides of the Atlantic, lawmakers have endorsed resolutions recognizing the NCRI as a legitimate democratic alternative to the current regime and affirming the Iranian people’s right to establish a secular, non-nuclear republic. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the NCRI, has articulated a ten-point plan as a roadmap for a future democratic republic of Iran. It has gained cross-party support of the majority of members of both the US House of Representatives and the UK House of Commons.
It is time for policymakers to act accordingly. The UK and European Union must designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, and democratic governments should hold Tehran’s leaders accountable for crimes against humanity. Most importantly, the West must acknowledge the Iranian people’s right to overthrow tyranny and build a democratic future.
Appeasement has never delivered stability. Courage, clarity, and solidarity with the Iranian people just might.
* * *
Rt. Hon. John Bercow was the Speaker of the UK House of Commons from 2009 to 2019.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Protest Against U.S. Attacks On Iran

It’s Time To Challenge Tehran’s Illusion Of Strength With Reality

European Union

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Joy Behar claimed on Friday that democracy had simply stopped &#8220;working&#8221; when President Donald Trump took office after winning the 2024 presidential election.
Citing a poll that said a majority of Americans believed democracy &#8220;wasn&#8217;t working,&#8221; Behar insisted that everything had been fine when former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden had been in the Oval Office, and that everything had obviously gone sideways because of Trump.
&#8220;So if you&#8217;re worried about where the country is heading, you&#8217;re not alone,&#8221; Behar began. &#8220;Seventy-nine percent of American voters think that the U.S. is in a state of political crisis, and more than half think democracy isn&#8217;t working.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s funny, under Obama and Biden it was working. All of a sudden it&#8217;s not working. Gee, what happened?!&#8221; she asked.
Cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin pushed back, saying she didn&#8217;t think that was what the poll was really saying.
&#8220;I know but I&#8217;m saying it! I&#8217;m saying that!&#8221; Behar protested.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ana Navarro whines that stupid Americans &#8220;had forgotten&#8221; how much of an &#8220;authoritarian&#8221; Trump is. <a href="https://t.co/XfRRb1u1Xm">pic.twitter.com/XfRRb1u1Xm</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/1971596104652173721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Cohost Ana Navarro claimed that Trump had only gotten reelected in 2024 because he&#8217;d been out of office for four years, and in that time, people &#8220;had forgotten how bad Trump was. I think it meant a lot to people in 2020 when Joe Biden was first running because we were just surviving that first Trump term.&#8221;
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&#8220;I think if someone was running now against Trump when people have been painfully reminded of what an authoritarian he is, it would be very different,&#8221; she claimed, arguing that the entire system of checks and balances had also stopped working — and that the American people were starting to see that. She voiced her disappointment in the fact that the federal district courts issuing orders against Trump did not &#8220;have the teeth&#8221; to more effectively enforce those rulings.

ABC’s “The View” – Season 25

Joy Behar: Democracy Suddenly Stopped ‘Working’ When Trump Took Office

Joy Behar: Democracy Suddenly Stopped 'Working’ When Trump Took Office

Donald Trump

Joy Behar

Politics

The View

Closing arguments were finally <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/asia/jimmy-lai-hong-kong-trial-intl-hnk">completed</a> at the end of August in the National Security Law trial of Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai. Mr. Lai stands accused of colluding with foreign powers and faces life in prison. In all likelihood, the court will find Jimmy Lai guilty and sentence him to prison. 
While we await the final verdict, the West should make a plan to help free Jimmy Lai.
To say Jimmy Lai has lived a remarkable life is an understatement. Born in mainland China, the now 77-year-old Lai moved to British Hong Kong when he was 12, where he believed he would have a better future. Starting out working in a factory, Lai worked his way up, eventually owning his own factory before starting the world-famous fashion brand, Giordano. As a billionaire with homes in London, Paris, and New York, Lai could have easily rested on his laurels and enjoyed a quiet retirement. However, Lai had a great appreciation for the political and economic system that allowed him to build his wealth.
As a British colony, Hong Kong enjoyed the rule of law and free market economics that allowed it to thrive. However, the handover of the city back to communist China loomed large. In an effort to fight for the values that made Hong Kong great, Jimmy Lai founded the Apple Daily newspaper. Becoming one of the largest pro-democracy newspapers in Hong Kong, Apple Daily and its founder fell in the crosshairs of the communists in mainland China through its pro-liberty content. Lai himself drew attention through his annual commemoration of the Tiananmen Massacre, a huge sore spot for Beijing.
While <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/hong-kong-freedoms-democracy-protests-china-crackdown">promised</a> a degree of autonomy for 50 years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has gradually encroached on the freedoms of Hong Kong, a city of 7.4 million people. The Basic Law, Hong Kong’s constitution, promises freedom of speech and rule of law; the past few decades, however, have seen a gradual erosion of these rights. For example, millions of Hong Kongers took to the streets to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49340717">protest</a> a proposed law that would allow Hong Kongers to be extradited for trials in mainland China. While this law was retracted, it wasn’t long before something similar was implemented to take its place.
That brings us to the <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/03/what-is-hong-kongs-article-23-law-10-things-you-need-to-know/">National Security Law</a> (NSL), which came into effect in 2020. Essentially, the NSL criminalizes any speech or behavior that the government sees as threatening its authority. For Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy activists, this put them in danger. As was feared, the NSL has resulted in the arrest of hundreds of people. In a city once famous for its independent courts, the NSL has seen a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/china/hong-kong-47-verdict-intl-hnk">conviction rate</a> near 100%.
It was shortly after the implementation of the NSL that Jimmy Lai found himself in legal trouble. In August 2020, Lai was <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/10/900758905/prominent-hong-kong-publisher-arrested-under-new-national-security-law">arrested</a> and paraded through Apple Daily’s office, allegedly for colluding with foreign powers. The truth, however, was that Lai objects to the authoritarianism of the CCP and wants to fight to preserve the freedoms that made Hong Kong great.
<div id="attachment_971739" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-971739" class="size-large wp-image-971739" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1227987205-866x576.jpg" alt="HONG KONG, CHINA - AUGUST 10: A handout photo from Apple Daily showing Hong Kong business tycoon Jimmy Lai led by police officers during a search at the headquarters of Apple Daily after Lai, was arrested at his home on August 10, 2020 in Hong Kong, China. Hong Kong police arrested seven people, including business tycoon Jimmy Lai on Monday on charges of violating the territory's new national security law. Police officers raided the pro-democracy newspapers headquarter while leading Mr. Lai and the company's chief executive, Cheung Kim-hung, through the offices in handcuffs. (Photo by Handout/Getty Images)" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1227987205-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1227987205-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1227987205-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1227987205.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />Handout/Getty Images</div>
It isn’t just the cause that makes Jimmy Lai a hero: Lai didn’t need to face the risk of arrest. In addition to his various homes around the world, Lai is a British passport holder. He could have fled Hong Kong at any time after the NSL became law. Many Hong Kongers already have. Running, however, is not in Jimmy Lai’s nature. As he <a href="https://www.hoover.org/research/jimmy-lai-and-fight-freedom-hong-kong-1">put it</a>, “I am one of the troublemakers. I cannot cause trouble and then leave.” Lai risked everything by fighting for liberty and again risked it by staying when he could have left.
Even while he waits for a verdict, Lai faces terrible <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2025/09/04/jimmy-lais-life-at-serious-and-immediate-risk-in-detention/">prison conditions</a>. He is being held in solitary confinement, 23 hours a day. He has significant health problems but is being denied proper care. There is a good possibility that Lai could die in prison simply due to the conditions of his imprisonment, which is why the West must act quickly.
What can be done? For starters, political figures across the West should continue calling for Lai’s release. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/13/china/trump-jimmy-lai-closing-arguments-intl-hnk">President Trump</a> has joined the chorus of <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/the-dissident-beijing-cant-break-jimmy-lai-hong-kong">international voices</a> calling for Lai’s freedom. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer needs to fulfill his country’s obligation to stand up for Hong Kong’s autonomy. Lai is a British passport holder and therefore he is Starmer’s responsibility. In addition to public pressure, Starmer must also pause the construction of a new <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c864w2942vdo">Chinese mega embassy</a> in London. China should not be allowed a larger presence in the British capital while it actively persecutes dissidents.
Western governments can also sanction those involved in the administration of NSL trials. The U.S. has already <a href="https://www.state.gov/u-s-sanctions-six-individuals-for-undermining-hong-kongs-autonomy">sanctioned</a> several Hong Kong officials, but it can expand them to include senior HK officials such as Chief Executive John Lee, as well as the judges involved in these trials. The “One Country, Two Systems” framework promises Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, something the NSL interferes with.
Finally, other economic tools can also be applied. Legislatures should consider efforts such as tariffs on Chinese goods as a way to put pressure on Beijing. Restricting the flow of advanced microchips into China would hit the Chinese government where it hurts and impose a cost for its oppression of Hong Kongers like Jimmy Lai.
The Chinese will, of course, counter by saying this is foreign interference in an internal matter. The problem with that argument is that China’s promises to Hong Kong are recorded in a legally binding international treaty, the <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8616/">Sino-British Joint Declaration</a>. Sanctions are an appropriate response to breaking that treaty.
So, why should the West care about what happens to Jimmy Lai? First, what happens in Hong Kong doesn’t necessarily stay there. The Chinese government already has an extensive network set up to threaten dissidents living abroad. The construction of the mega embassy means these efforts will only continue and affect more British citizens. Second, Lai represents a voice for liberty in Hong Kong and China as a whole. If we want freedom to thrive, the world needs people like Jimmy Lai.
The clock is ticking for Jimmy Lai. Any day now, the judges hearing his case could sentence him to life in prison. His health and prison conditions mean his stay behind bars could quickly lead to his death. If the West wants to preserve its own freedom and that of Hong Kong’s, it needs to act to save Jimmy Lai.
* * *
<a href="https://www.joinyv.org/talent/matthew-cookson">Matt Cookson</a> is an alumnus of the Young Voices Contributor Program and was a Middle East History and Policy Fellow with Young Voices. He also works in the supply chain for a U.S. Defense Contractor. His commentary has appeared in the Mises Institute, Real Clear Politics, the National Interest, Providence Magazine, China Source, and the Idaho Freedom Foundation. You can follow him on X @<a href="https://x.com/MattCookson95">MattCookson95</a> and Substack @<a href="https://substack.com/@thewaythecookiecrumbles?utm_source=user-menu">thewaythecookiecrumbles</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The Clock Is Ticking For Jimmy Lai. Time For The West To Act.

Free Speech

Opinion

While global attention has remained fixed on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the threat they pose to international peace, a nationwide strike by tens of thousands of Iranian truck drivers — launched around May 21, 2025 — has signaled deeper unrest brewing inside the country.
Far from faltering under the weight of violent reprisals, judicial intimidation, and empty promises from the clerical regime, the protests swelled, spreading to 140 cities across 30 provinces and inspiring solidarity across diverse sectors. This burgeoning unrest, now encompassing bakers, retirees, teachers, oil workers, nurses, women, and activists, signals a profound challenge to the Islamic Republic’s authority. With its echoes of past uprisings and its potential to galvanize a broader pro-democracy movement, the current wave of labor protests demands urgent international attention and support to amplify the Iranian people’s aspirations for a free and representative government.
The truckers’ strike, which has paralyzed key transit highways, reflects deep-seated grievances rooted in the regime’s economic mismanagement and disregard for its citizens’ livelihoods. The catalyst for this unprecedented action was the government’s plan to restructure diesel subsidies under the guise of combating smuggling — a policy that would devastate truckers’ already precarious incomes. This move mirrors the 2019 decision to hike gasoline prices, which ignited protests in over 200 cities and laid bare the regime’s prioritization of its own power over the needs of ordinary Iranians. That uprising saw the regime unleash lethal force, killing approximately 1,500 protesters in a matter of days, a brutal reminder of its willingness to suppress dissent at all costs.
<div id="attachment_931999" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-931999" class="wp-image-931999 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1782800695-768x576.jpg" alt="11/16/2019 Shiraz, Iran. Protest after authorities raised gasoline prices, across all around the country of Iran. Demonstrators angered by a 200% increase in government-set gasoline prices blocked traffic in major cities and occasionally clashed with police after a night of demonstrations punctuated by gunfire. (Photo by Anonymous / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by ANONYMOUS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1782800695-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1782800695-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1782800695.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />11/16/2019 Shiraz, Iran. Protest after authorities raised gasoline prices, across all around the country of Iran. ANONYMOUS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images</div>
Yet, the current protests reveal a regime wary of repeating such overt bloodshed. While arrests have been reported in cities like Isfahan, Hormozgan, Fars, Kermanshah, Ardabil, and Khuzestan, and the IRGC has deployed convoys to break the strike, there have been few reports of fatalities thus far. This restraint may reflect the regime’s fear of domestic and international backlash or uncertainty about the repressive capacity of institutions like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, as the protests grow — bolstered by statements of solidarity from diverse groups, including child rights advocates and anti-execution activists — the likelihood of escalation looms. The regime’s threats, which vowed to seize fuel cards and impound vehicles, underscore its desperation to quash the movement.
The scope of these protests recalls the 2019 uprising and the even more seismic unrest of September 2022, sparked by the morality police’s killing of Mahsa Amini for allegedly improper hijab-wearing. That movement, widely regarded as the greatest challenge to the regime since the 1979 revolution, saw millions demand systemic change. Despite its suppression, which claimed hundreds of lives, the 2022 uprising galvanized a network of “Resistance Units” affiliated with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48433">leading pro-democracy</a> opposition group. These units, undeterred by the regime’s crackdowns, have continued to organize and are likely a driving force behind the current labor protests. The strike’s expansion to new cities coupled with its cross-sectoral support, suggests a movement on the cusp of transforming into a nationwide pro-democracy uprising.
The regime’s response has been a mix of coercion and hollow promises. Officials like Reza Rostami and parliamentary leaders have pledged to review freight rates, insurance, and fuel issues by June 21, 2025, but truckers have rejected these overtures as ploys to fracture their resolve. Meanwhile, repressive measures intensify: the IRGC has arrested individuals filming strikes in Bandar Imam, and Yazd’s transport authorities have threatened to suspend services for non-compliant drivers. Such tactics reveal a regime acutely aware of the strike’s threat to Iran’s road-based supply chain, which, as the state-run Donya-ye-Eqtesad noted on May 29, 2025, is “the lifeblood of production” in an economy where over 90% of goods are transported by road.
This moment is a clarion call for the international community to act decisively. The 2022 uprising was a missed opportunity, as the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and others criticized Western democracies for their tepid response. Explicit public support from the United States, Britain, and the European Union, coupled with maximal economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime, could have tipped the scales toward regime change. Today, the same opportunity beckons. The Iranian people, led by workers and bolstered by the MEK’s Resistance Units, are voicing a universal demand for a government that rules by consent and serves its citizens’ needs. The international community must not repeat past mistakes. By recognizing the Iranian people’s right to resist tyranny and by amplifying their call for democracy, global leaders can empower this movement to achieve a historic victory — a free, democratic Iran that reflects the aspirations of its entire population.
* * *
Dr. Kazem Kazerounian, a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut and Dean of the College of Engineering from 2012 to 2024, is an expert on Iran and the Middle East. He has contributed widely through scholarly articles, invited talks, and media interviews on regional affairs and the democratic movement in Iran.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>

Truck waiting to cross from Turkey into Iran at border to Bazargan.

From Fuel To Freedom: Iranian Truckers Lead Wave Of Labor Strikes In Islamic Republic

Iran Nuclear Deal

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

Protests

President Donald Trump blasted Harvard University on Thursday, calling the Ivy League school &#8220;Anti-Semitic,&#8221; &#8220;Far-Left,&#8221; and &#8220;a threat to Democracy.&#8221;
The president is in the midst of a legal battle with Harvard after the Trump administration revoked billions of dollars in federal funding. The Trump administration froze more than $2 billion in financing for Harvard after it rejected demands to dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and do more to curb student anti-Israel protests.
&#8220;Harvard is an Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institution, as are numerous others, with students being accepted from all over the World that want to rip our Country apart. The place is a Liberal mess, allowing a certain group of crazed lunatics to enter and exit the classroom and spew fake ANGER AND HATE. It is truly horrific! &#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114393194962253226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on Truth Social.
&#8220;Now, since our filings began, they act like they are all &#8216;American Apple Pie,'&#8221; the president added. &#8220;Harvard is a threat to Democracy, with a lawyer, who represents me, who should therefore be forced to resign, immediately, or be fired. He’s not that good, anyway, and I hope that my very big and beautiful company, now run by my sons, gets rid of him ASAP!&#8221;
Harvard was at the center of anti-Israel protests that emerged across the country in the fall of 2023 and the spring of 2024. The university was accused of ignoring antisemitism on campus, and in 2023, then-Harvard President Claudine Gay refused to say before Congress that calling for genocide against Jews violated Harvard’s rules. Gay later apologized for her testimony and shortly after, resigned from her position in the wake of a plagiarism scandal.
Last week, Harvard President Alan M. Garber <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-rejects-trumps-demands-as-white-house-considers-yanking-billions-in-federal-funding?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Harvard+Rejects+Trump%E2%80%99s+Demands+As+White+House+Considers+Yanking+Billions+In+Federal+Funding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rejected</a> Trump&#8217;s demands for more government oversight of the university, writing, &#8220;No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.&#8221;
Lawyers representing the university pushed back on the Trump administration&#8217;s demands, arguing that they “circumvent Harvard’s statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law.” Harvard <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/20/us/harvard-white-house-funding/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed a lawsuit</a> against the Trump administration on Monday, arguing that the federal government is executing &#8220;a pressure campaign&#8221; that &#8220;violates Harvard’s constitutional rights.&#8221;
The Trump administration is also reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-wants-irs-to-quash-harvards-tax-exempt-status-report?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Admin+Wants+IRS+To+Quash+Harvard%E2%80%99s+Tax-Exempt+Status%3A+Report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urging</a> the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to revoke Harvard&#8217;s tax-exempt status, and the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services have told the university that it &#8220;must adopt and implement merit-based hiring policies, and cease all preferences based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin&#8221; by August of this year.

Trump Calls Harvard ‘An Anti-Semitic…Threat To Democracy’

antisemitism

Education

Executive

Harvard

Trump Administration

Trump’s tariffs go into effect at midnight as foreign leaders and state governors scramble to negotiate last-minute deals. Populist leader Marine Le Pen is banned from running for office in France after being found guilty of embezzlement. And, Elon Musk says he&#8217;s uncovered millions of non-citizens on the social security rolls, including thousands who allegedly voted.
It’s Tuesday, April 1st, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tariff-time-marine-le-pen-convicted-in-france-4-1-25/id1576594336?i=1000701702406" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>Trump Tariffs Take Hold</h2>
<div id="attachment_900809" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-900809" class="size-large wp-image-900809" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Trump-Tariff-EO-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Trump-Tariff-EO-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Trump-Tariff-EO-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Trump-Tariff-EO-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Trump-Tariff-EO-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Trump-Tariff-EO-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Trump-Tariff-EO-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Trump-Tariff-EO-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Just hours from Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day,” consumers, corporations, and international trading partners are preparing for a slew of new tariffs that could reshape the global economy.
For weeks now, the president has floated various ideas on tariffs, sometimes saying he’d match the rates set by other countries, then floating the idea of a universal 20 percent rate, before saying that he could be “much more generous” with our trading partners. We’re still not entirely sure what the details of Trump’s “Liberation Day” policy will be – that ambiguity is almost certainly intentional.
The Art of the Deal: By waiting until the last minute, Trump has left the door open for negotiating. On Friday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum met with Trump officials to discuss her plans to improve border security, clearly hoping to ease looming tariffs on her country. The president has fielded calls from the prime ministers of Canada and Great Britain — both men reportedly made their last-minute pitches seeking to dodge tariffs. In the last 72 hours, lawmakers in both parties have also been calling the White House to lobby for exemptions for particular industries in their states, and a flood of business leaders have made their case to the president, some vowing to bring manufacturing stateside and pour money into investments and jobs in exchange for lower tariffs.
While that shifting picture might benefit Trump from a negotiating standpoint, it has spooked markets. Wall Street saw its second worst day of the year on Friday and continued to see-saw Monday:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The DOW Jones was <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/djia">up 1%</a> at market close after a tumultuous day of trading</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The NASDAQ was down <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/">0.14%</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/spx">S&amp;P 500</a> was up by 0.55%</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Japan’s <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/nik?countrycode=jp">NIKKEI 225 index</a> was down by more than 4%</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Various <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/data-news/european-stocks-weaken-for-fourth-day-7859828b-bf1ee26684a5?mod=mw_quote_news">European stock exchanges</a> have been trending down for days</li>
</ul>
Amid the market swings and concerns over potential price increases from these tariffs, there’s no doubt that more voters have soured on President Trump’s handling of the economy — the issue he’s typically been the most popular on. Numerous polls show his approval rating on the economy lower now than at any point in his first or second term. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-poll-immigration-tariffs-trade-b7a430909606d6b8b27cfbc5049a32b4">The Associated Press</a>, for example, had him at 40%. If Liberation Day results in considerable price increases, there’s a real risk those numbers could fall even further.
<h2>French Opposition Leader Banned</h2>
<div id="attachment_900815" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-900815" class="size-large wp-image-900815" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Le-What-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Le-What-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Le-What-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Le-What-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Le-What-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Le-What-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Le-What-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Le-What-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Tom Nicholson/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Marine Le Pen, the populist frontrunner for France’s 2027 presidential race, has been convicted of embezzlement and banned from seeking office for five years.
Marine Le Pen is the leader of the National Rally, a right-wing political party in France. She has generally been characterized by the leaders of France’s establishment parties as an extremist but has proved to be very popular. She came in first place in the first round of the last French presidential election, and <a href="https://www.ifop.com/publication/les-intentions-de-vote-a-lelection-presidentielle-5/">polling</a> continues to show that more than 1 in 3 French voters back her and her party, more than any of the other prospective candidates. National Rally also holds a plurality of seats in France’s national assembly, 126/577, although they have been consistently kept out of government by coalitions of other parties.
Le Pen was found guilty of misappropriating several million euros in European Union funds. Her party was entitled to a certain amount of EU funding to pay staff to work for general European political operations, but the court determined she used that money to the benefit of her party rather than restricting it to EU-related expenses.
However: Ellen Fantini, managing editor of The European Conservative, told Morning Wire that virtually every major party in Europe uses these funds similarly. She says the way the conviction is being carried out makes it very clear that this is about sidelining Le Pen as a candidate.
“Under French law, of course, she can appeal the conviction, like in the United States,” Fantini said. “But the prohibition on running for office is in execution as of basically today, even though she has the right to appeal. So it&#8217;s obvious that that&#8217;s the real thing they wanted.”
Critics of the case against Le Pen have condemned it as a blatant weaponization of the justice system against a political opponent and compared the legal battle to the various efforts to convict Donald Trump on state and federal charges in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Leaders of right-wing parties across Europe have spoken up in support of Le Pen:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">On Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted, “Je suis Marine!” [I am Marine].</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing populist League party, called the ruling a “declaration of war by Brussels.”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“I am shocked by the incredibly tough verdict against Marine Le Pen,” Geert Wilders of the Netherlands’ right-wing Party for Freedom, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/le-pen-fall-far-right-france-3650ad8276aaee462c8e92f2904f400f">said</a>. “I support and believe in her 100% and I trust she will win the appeal and become President of France.”</li>
</ul>
Le Pen has already indicated that she will appeal the case, although her chances of overturning the ban before the 2027 election deadline are slim.
“This evening, millions of French people are indignant, indignant to an unimaginable extent seeing that France, the country of human rights, judges have implemented practices that were thought to be the reserve of authoritarian regimes,” Le Pen said in an interview on Monday.
<h2>Non-Citizen Social Security</h2>
<div id="attachment_900819" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-900819" class="wp-image-900819 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Social-Security-Stock-Photo-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Social-Security-Stock-Photo-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Social-Security-Stock-Photo-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Social-Security-Stock-Photo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Social-Security-Stock-Photo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Social-Security-Stock-Photo-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Social-Security-Stock-Photo-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Social-Security-Stock-Photo-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Douglas Sacha via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Elon Musk and venture capitalist Antonio Gracias have alleged widespread fraud in the Social Security system.
Senior figures within the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project claimed to have uncovered millions of non-citizens who were collecting Social Security benefits and potentially voting in American elections. Musk and Gracias said on Sunday that 2.1 million non-citizens received Social Security Numbers last year alone, and 4.8 million received SSNs over the last four years. That alone isn’t necessarily evidence of fraud – non-citizens in the country under certain rules are eligible for Social Security Numbers – but the number of non-citizens receiving them surged under the Biden administration.
“The defaults in the system from Social Security to all of the benefit programs have been set to max inclusion, max pay for these people, and minimum collection,” Gracias <a href="https://x.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1906675223304228870">sai</a>d on Sunday. “We found 1.3 million of them already on Medicaid as an example.”
Social Security is currently deep in the red – the trust fund that handles retirement benefits, for instance, is expected to run out of money in 2033.
Musk claimed that the surge in illegal immigration and increased access to government benefits during the Biden years were intentional government policy. “They weren&#8217;t asleep at the switch. It was a massive, large-scale program to import as many illegals as possible, ultimately to change the entire voting map of the United States and disenfranchise the American people and make it a permanent deep blue one party state.”
Gracias says that some of these non-citizens who received Social Security numbers showed up to vote. “We actually just took a sample and looked at voter registration records and we found people here registered to vote,” Gracias said. “We found some by sampling that actually did vote, and we have referred them to prosecution.”

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Morning Brief: Trump’s Tariffs, Le Pen Barred & Social Security Fraud?

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

DOGE

Europe

France

Marine Le Pen

Social Security

Tariffs

Trade War

The newest cringe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a> endorsement ad comes courtesy of some stars of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marvel">Marvel</a> film, “Avengers: Endgame.” The staged phone call between the actors was posted to leftist activist Mark Ruffalo’s X page on Thursday.
Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Danai Gurira, Don Cheadle, and Paul Bettany participated in the project.
&#8220;We&#8217;re back. Let&#8217;s #AssembleForDemocracy. In the #ElectionEndgame, every <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/2024-election">vote</a> counts,&#8221; Ruffalo wrote in the post caption. 
“Don’t sit this one out. It’s the one where we will lose big: Project 2025, women’s reproductive rights, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, public education, student debt relief, Affordable Care Act, Social Security, and as of today, life saving vaccines. This s*** is real and it’s going to come for you,” the actor continued in a <a href="https://x.com/MarkRuffalo/status/1852086652753035272">follow-up</a>. “Take 3 friends and know, no matter what you are a hero. Always give it all.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We&#39;re back. Let&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AssembleForDemocracy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AssembleForDemocracy</a>. In the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionEndgame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElectionEndgame</a>, every vote counts 🗳️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VoteBlue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VoteBlue</a>! Vote <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KamalaHarris</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Tim_Walz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Tim_Walz</a> <a href="https://t.co/Xp7YdUEqxa">pic.twitter.com/Xp7YdUEqxa</a>
&mdash; Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkRuffalo/status/1852086517596119453?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The video included the Marvel stars discussing a new potential catchphrase for Harris. 
&#8220;How about this? I’m just off the top of my head: ‘I can do this all day,’&#8221; Evans said.
&#8220;What about something punchier like—&#8221; Downey said.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
&#8220;Boom! You looking for this?&#8221; Cheadle suggested.
&#8220;Kamala forever,&#8221; Gurira said.
&#8220;How about ‘I’m down with democracy?&#8217; It’s clean and simple,&#8221; Bettany chimed in. 
&#8220;I’m Kamala Harris and I say down with democracy,&#8221; Cheadle said jokingly. &#8220;Yeah, together we got to tear down democracy.&#8221;
By the end of the video, their suggested slogan had been revised to, &#8220;I’m Kamala Harris, and I am down with democracy.&#8221;
The social media mockery of the new ad was swift and fierce.
“Um, a little too much honesty here… Kamala Harris ‘tearing down democracy!’” Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz <a href="https://x.com/tedcruz/status/1852148187760410757">posted</a> on X.
“I believe we can safely say Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the Hollywood douchenozzle vote,” another reaction <a href="https://x.com/CarmineSabia/status/1852116791947927844">said</a>. 
This isn’t the first time these stars participated in a video supporting the Democratic candidate for president. In 2016, Downey Jr., Johansson, Ruffalo, and Cheadle joined other celebrities in an ad <a href="https://youtu.be/nRp1CK_X_Yw">attacking Donald Trump</a>. 
In that video, Cheadle described Trump as a &#8220;racist, abusive coward who could permanently damage the fabric of our society.&#8221;

Avengers

‘Avengers’ Stars Assemble For Latest Awkward Kamala Endorsement Video

'Avengers' Stars Assemble For Latest Awkward Kamala Endorsement Video

2024 Election

Elections

Entertainment

Kamala Harris

Mark Ruffalo

Marvel

Robert Downey Jr.

More Americans now believe that former President Donald Trump was merely “exercising his right to contest the [2020] election” than they did a few years ago, while fewer believe he “went so far that he threatened American democracy,” according to a newly-released survey.
More Americans still believe the latter over the former, but the gap between the two beliefs has closed in recent years, according to the latest New York Times/Siena National <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/27/us/elections/times-siena-poll-toplines.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> on the question. This same poll has asked registered voters the question since at least July 2022, and since then, voters have shifted toward the belief that Trump had every right to contest the election and away from the belief that he threatened democracy.
When the question was asked in early July 2022, 39% of respondents said they thought Trump was exercising his right, while 55% said he threatened democracy. This was more than a year after the events of January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters entered the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop then-Vice President Mike Pence from certifying the 2020 election results as questions about the validity of the ballots remained.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
Now, however, the number of people who believe Trump was just exercising his rights has risen to 46%, while the number who believe he threatened democracy has dropped to 49%. The number of people who said they were unsure or refused to answer has also dropped nearly in half, from 7% in July 2022 to just 4% now.
The latest poll with the question was conducted just after news broke that former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney had communicated with an anti-Trump January 6 hearing witness. Cheney, then representing Wyoming, communicated with the “star witness” of the hearing behind the witness’ attorney’s back, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/liz-cheney-communicated-with-anti-trump-j6-witness-behind-her-lawyers-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The initial communication was facilitated by then-Trump strategic communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, but Cheney later communicated directly with the witness, Cassidy Hutchison.
“Cheney interacted with the witness, former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, through ex-Trump strategic communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin — and later directly — in an effort to compel further testimony …” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/10/15/us-news/ex-rep-liz-cheney-talked-to-jan-6-committee-star-witness-behind-lawyers-back-damning-texts-show/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“Though she worked behind the scenes to obtain Hutchinson’s juiciest allegations in 2022, some of which were <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/11/us-news/house-gop-report-debunks-ex-trump-aide-cassidy-hutchinson-testimony-to-jan-6-panel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">later found to be false</a>, Cheney never mentioned the backchannel talks with Hutchinson or Griffin in her book ‘<a href="https://r.nypostlink.com/?btn_ref=org-19984c113c692001&amp;btn_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FOath-Honor-Warning-Liz-Cheney%2Fdp%2F0316572063%3Ftag%3Dnypost-20%26asc_refurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2024%2F10%2F15%2Fus-news%2Fex-rep-liz-cheney-talked-to-jan-6-committee-star-witness-behind-lawyers-back-damning-texts-show%2F%26asc_source%3Dweb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oath and Honor</a>’ about the riot,” the Post added.
The conversations between Hutchinson and Griffin began two months before the hearing began. Hutchinson’s communications with Cheney started three days before the hearing.

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