The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pentagon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pentagon</a>&#8216;s dismissal of the claim that mystery drones flying over <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-jersey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Jersey</a> are linked to Iran was &#8220;amateur hour,&#8221; Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) said on Thursday.
Van Drew caused a stir on Wednesday when he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-congressman-sources-claim-mystery-drones-over-new-jersey-come-from-mothership-sent-by-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that &#8220;qualified sources&#8221; told him the drones are coming from an Iranian &#8220;mothership&#8221; off the East Coast of the U.S., but Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference there was &#8220;no truth&#8221; to the assertion.
&#8220;They&#8217;ve been incredibly stupid and incredibly weak with this,&#8221; Van Drew told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/nj-lawmaker-fires-back-after-pentagon-dismisses-claim-drones-may-linked-iran-weakness-stupidity">Fox News</a> on Thursday, adding that he thought the Pentagon&#8217;s Wednesday press conference &#8220;was amateur hour &#8230; No answers, no focus, no ideas.&#8221;
There have been reports of <a href="https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2024/12/10/what-are-the-car-sized-drones-flying-over-new-jersey-pennsylvania/76859459007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;car-sized&#8221;</a> drone sightings in New Jersey and elsewhere over the past couple of weeks. Some drones have been spotted near military sites and President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/new-jersey/drones-new-jersey-trump-bedminster-golf-course-fbi-20241206.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">golf club</a> in Bedminster. The FBI is investigating, but so far has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-clueless-about-mystery-drones-flying-over-new-jersey-official-tells-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no answers</a>.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a>
Van Drew said &#8220;of course&#8221; people are concerned and stressed that what he did was pass forward information from sources who possess a &#8220;high-security clearance.&#8221;
New Jersey Republican Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia <a href="https://x.com/DawnFantasia_NJ/status/1866896860578717994" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a> to X on Wednesday details from a briefing in which the drones were described as being up to 6 feet in diameter, operated in a coordinated manner, and appeared to avoid detection by helicopters and radio frequencies.
&#8220;We know nothing. PERIOD,&#8221; Fantasia emphasized. &#8220;To state that there is no known or credible threat is incredibly misleading, and I informed all officials of that sentiment.&#8221;
Singh said during her press briefing that the Pentagon had &#8220;no evidence&#8221; that the reported drone activity came from a foreign entity or adversary and insisted that no military installation had been threatened. She also denied that people were seeing U.S. military drones.
Van Drew argued the drone reports indicate they are too &#8220;sophisticated&#8221; to be flown by hobbyists or come from a U.S. company. He also contended the drones could be launched from a ship hundreds of miles out at sea, perhaps from China or another country, if not Iran.
&#8220;Why don&#8217;t they take one of them down, analyze it, and let us know what&#8217;s really happening,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I hope they know more than they&#8217;re telling us &#8230; It&#8217;s about time they leveled with the truth.&#8221;

Rep. Jeff Van Drew

‘Amateur Hour’: GOP Rep Calls BS On Pentagon’s Response To Mystery Drones

Congress

Drones

Jeff Van Drew

National Security

New Jersey

Pentagon

Politics

Mystery drones flying over <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-jersey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Jersey</a> are coming from a &#8220;mothership&#8221; off the East Coast of the United States sent by Iran, a U.S. congressman asserted on Wednesday, citing &#8220;qualified sources.&#8221;
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) made the stunning claim during an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday, a day after a senior FBI official <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-clueless-about-mystery-drones-flying-over-new-jersey-official-tells-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Congress</a> that the bureau was clueless about the sightings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING REPORT &#8211; DRONES OVER NEW JERSEY ARE FROM IRAN: Congressman Jeff Van Drew claims Iran has stationed a &quot;mothership&quot; off the U.S. East Coast, reportedly launching drones now flying over New Jersey. <a href="https://t.co/ayV8tYioXA">pic.twitter.com/ayV8tYioXA</a>
&mdash; Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1866898908267618644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Here&#8217;s the real deal,&#8221; Van Drew said before noting that he sits on the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and he&#8217;s &#8220;gotten to know people.&#8221;
He said: &#8220;From very high sources, very qualified sources, very responsible sources, I&#8217;m going to tell you the real deal: Iran launched a mothership, probably about a month ago, that contains these drones.&#8221;
The &#8220;mothership&#8221; is located off the East Coast and has been launching the drones, Van Drew said, again citing his &#8220;high sources&#8221; and noting that he did not &#8220;say this lightly.&#8221;
Van Drew said there was a &#8220;probability&#8221; that the drones were coming from &#8220;our own government,&#8221; but he contended that is not the case &#8220;because they would have let us know.&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a>
The congressman also said the drones could have come from a &#8220;really glorified hobbyist or hobbyists that were doing something unbelievable,&#8221; but he stated they &#8220;don&#8217;t have the technology.&#8221;
Van Drew said Iran &#8220;made a deal with China to purchase drones, motherships, and technology.&#8221; He added that he cannot reveal his sources &#8220;because they are speaking to me in confidentiality.&#8221;
Drones have been spotted mainly over New Jersey but also in New York. The sightings have been reported near military sites, a power plant, and President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/new-jersey/drones-new-jersey-trump-bedminster-golf-course-fbi-20241206.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">golf club</a> in Bedminster.
Van Drew, a former Democrat who decided to join the Republican Party while opposing the Ukraine-focused impeachment effort against Trump several years ago, said the drones &#8220;should be shot down.&#8221;
During the Tuesday hearing, an FBI official said the bureau was flummoxed by the sightings. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) said a sheriff told him an officer saw 50 drones &#8220;come in off the ocean.&#8221;
Smith also spoke about a commanding officer in the Coast Guard claiming a 47-foot motor lifeboat &#8220;was followed by between 12 and 30 of these drones as they went through the water.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NJ Rep. Chris Smith to Military: Please Shoot Down One Of These Drones And Find Out What It Is
Read more &#8211; <a href="https://t.co/SLKjvH569s">https://t.co/SLKjvH569s</a>
&quot;I know you have the capability to identify and bring down drones. Why can’t you deploy them, at least to the ocean, bring one of these down, and… <a href="https://t.co/wtEmn34f5u">https://t.co/wtEmn34f5u</a> <a href="https://t.co/lDRBzQ41qt">pic.twitter.com/lDRBzQ41qt</a>
&mdash; RCP Video (@rcpvideo) <a href="https://twitter.com/rcpvideo/status/1866633767374262531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The congressman said he asked about the rules of engagement, noting the officer would engage &#8220;if you&#8217;re fighting against a narco-trafficker or something,&#8221; and the officer said, &#8220;We don&#8217;t know, we don&#8217;t have any.&#8221;
Smith then recalled a &#8220;very good conversation&#8221; with the commanding officer at a joint base in his district, Col. Anthony Smith of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and the 87th Air Base Wing.
&#8220;I said, &#8216;I know you have the capability &#8230; to identify and bring down drones. Why can’t you deploy them, at least to the ocean, bring one of these down, and find out who’s doing it? They have the capability.'&#8221;
Smith continued: &#8220;He said, &#8216;We don’t have the authority, only within the parameters of our base.&#8217; Well, there’s a national interest here. Our jets fly over the ocean all the time for training &#8230;&#8221;
The congressman said he wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, &#8220;asking that the capability that may be sitting in a closet somewhere — I know they use it all the time — but, you know, bring it out.&#8221;
Smith emphasized that he was not saying that the military needs to &#8220;share it&#8221; with the sheriffs,&#8221; but added, &#8220;It’d be nice.&#8221; He went on to say: &#8220;Just do it yourself in the interests of the American public.&#8221;
The Pentagon acknowledged on Wednesday that it was aware of reports about the sightings, but insisted that it did not know whether the drones had come from a U.S. adversary such as Iran.
&#8220;At this time, we have no evidence that these activities are coming from a foreign entity or the work of an adversary,&#8221; Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh <a href="https://x.com/HighPeaks77/status/1866927532324401254" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
PENTAGON: NO Evidence the drones are from a foreign entity or adversary. They are NOT US Military either. <a href="https://t.co/loGglbwcd2">pic.twitter.com/loGglbwcd2</a>
&mdash; UAP News (@HighPeaks77) <a href="https://twitter.com/HighPeaks77/status/1866927532324401254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Singh said the Pentagon will continue to monitor the flying objects, claimed that &#8220;at no point were our installations threatened when this activity was occurring,&#8221; and denied they are U.S. military drones.
Asked about Van Drew&#8217;s comments, Singh said there was &#8220;no truth&#8221; to the claim and denied there being an &#8220;Iran ship off the coast of the United States&#8221; or a &#8220;mothership&#8221; launching drones towards the U.S.
When asked for comment about the suspected drone sightings over New Jersey, a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson shared the following statement with The Daily Wire:
<blockquote>&#8220;We are aware and monitoring the reports of unauthorized drone flights in the vicinity of military installations in New Jersey to include Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle, and we refer you to those installations for information on any efforts they are may be conducting to ensure the safety and security of their personnel and operations. Local law enforcement and the FBI are currently investigating.
U.S. Northern Command conducted a deliberate analysis of the events, in consultation with other military organizations and interagency partners, and at this time we have not been requested to assist with these events. If these incidents require additional DoD assistance, the Secretary of the Military Department or relevant DoD component head concerned can coordinate with USNORTHCOM for an enhanced or increased response. USNORTHCOM, in conjunction with our interagency partners, will continue to assess further information and is prepared to respond when asked or should the situation escalate to threaten any DoD installations
As Ms. Singh stated during the Pentagon press conference, there is no truth to the assertion regarding an Iranian mothership. Further, USNORTHCOM has no evidence or credible intelligence that any ship from either Iran or other known adversary is involved in any way with the recent reports of drone activity near the New York or New Jersey area.&#8221;</blockquote>

U.S. Congressman: Sources Claim Mystery Drones Over New Jersey Come From ‘Mothership’ Sent By Iran

China

Iran

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), has released audio of a threatening phone message left by Ocean City-based freelance columnist John McCall, who has also written about the congressman’s death in his columns.
In <a href="https://vandrewforcongress.com/2021/03/15/van-drew-draws-a-line-in-the-sand-receiving-death-threats-from-local-media-member-is-despicable-and-has-no-place-in-our-society/">a press release</a>, Van Drew included transcripts of the phone call as well as what McCall has written in his columns this year targeting the congressman, who switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 2020. McCall insisted in two columns that Van Drew should be killed for alleged treason and that his wife should be sexually assaulted.
On January 13, McCall wrote a guest column in the Ocean City Sentinel titled “Hold Trump Loyalist Officials Accountable.” In the column, McCall accused Van Drew of treason and being a “Trump loyalist,” suggesting he be executed for the alleged crime.
“Accountability is all-important in politics. Like all Trump loyalists, Van Drew and DeVlieger are guilty of subverting the peaceful and equitable functioning of our government. This is not just a moral failing.  This is treason. And the penalty for treason is execution. That applies to the great and the small, to presidents, congressmen and smalltown councilmen. It’s the trickle down theory of responsibility,” McCall wrote.
McCall then questioned whether “conscientious critics take a cue from the armed Republican rioters, storm his house, smash everything, violate his family, and walk away laughing?” McCall wrote this in response to Van Drew saying it was “silly” to call on him to resign.
Further, McCall used former President Thomas Jefferson’s statement about the tree of liberty to again suggest Van Drew be killed.
“As democratic defenders of the Republic, facing enemies with no respect for our electoral process or the truth, we are forced to ponder Thomas Jefferson’s grim directive that, for the good of our nation, the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of tyrants and traitors,” McCall wrote.
The column no longer appears on the Sentinel’s website.
On the night of February 28, McCall left a voicemail on Van Drew’s phone, calling himself a member of the New Jersey Press Association and labeling the congressman as a traitor who deserves “the fate of all traitors.”
“I would swear to your demise as a politician and I believe that you personally are a degenerate. As a member of the New Jersey Press Association, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are deposed if not dead. Anything I can do to basically get you out of office, I will do. You are a traitor Jeff Van Drew and you deserve the fate of all traitors,” McCall said in the message, at times yelling.
Paul D&#8217;Ambrosio, president of the New Jersey Press Association, told the <a href="https://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/news/2021/03/15/u-s-rep-jeff-van-drew-says-newspaper-columnist-left-threats-voicemail/4698919001/">Vineland Daily Journal</a> that McCall is not a member and &#8220;has never been a member of NJPA, as the association does not have individual journalist members.&#8221;
Van Drew called the police about the message, prompting another column from McCall in which the writer suggested someone sexually assault the congressman’s wife:
<blockquote>Two Ocean City police officers showed up at our door last week, dispatched by Congressman Jeff Van Drew, purportedly fearing for his life. Mini-Trump’s pretense of feeling threatened so that he could further harass my family was a calculated reaction to a phone message I left on his answering machine. My act was instigated by his own countless intrusions into our home by email and phone touting the anti-American agenda of his fellow Republican extremists and the disgraced, deposed traitor Donald Trump…Now he claims to be scared s***less when the incendiary language of his mentor is turned against him…This is why police don’t like him. These we seemed to agree, are mini-Trump’s political methods, not mine, far more threatening to the welfare of American citizens then a phone call to some pissant politician…If I was a cop, I’d tell Van Drew to go hang.
Van Drew’s mentor has said it’s cool to greet women by grabbing them between the legs. Should we test the acceptability of this remark and get the direct response of a prominent GOP female by greeting Van Drew’s wife with the Republican high-five, lifting her over the hood of her car and objectively recording her physical reaction to the tickle when she lands?
Now mini-Trump whimpers when loyal Americans shoot back, disclose his lies, and hold him accountable for his hate-mongering treason. And as a traitor, he has forfeit his right to protection under the law. Know this V.D.: It doesn’t stop here… God save you.</blockquote>
On Monday, Van Drew held <a href="https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/van-drew-says-he-and-family-are-targets-of-death-sexual-assault-threats-from-ocean/article_513d4581-95b4-57c0-bd31-0a2876b610ca.html">a press conference</a> condemning McCall’s columns and demanding a retraction from the Sentinel.
“For far too long calls for violence have gone unchallenged, but today, right here in Cape May County we are drawing a line in the sand. You can come after me with loud words and threats, but if anyone, let alone a member of the Press, thinks they can threaten my wife and my family they’ve got another thing coming,” Van Drew said. “When I was asked to run for office a long time ago, I did it to make sure my neighbors always had someone looking out for them, whether I was representing them at town hall, in Trenton or now Washington. I am calling on the New Jersey Press Association and the Ocean City Sentinel to forcefully denounce and condemn the threats McCall made against me and my family, to immediately retract his hate-filled editorials, and issue a public apology to my family – until then any and all legal options remain on the table.”
Cape May County Sheriff Bob Nolan also spoke at the press conference, denouncing what he called “threats of violence.”
“As Sheriff it is my sworn duty to ensure the safety of everyone who lives in, works in, or visits Cape May County,” Nolan said. “Congressman Van Drew didn’t offer himself or his family up for public service to be a target of threats or violence by anyone, let alone a newspaper columnist. The Cape May County Sheriff’s Office takes all threats seriously and political violence of any kind will not be tolerated.”
In response to Van Drew’s statements, Ocean City Sentinel Editor and Publisher David Nahan issued an apology, saying he didn’t think McCall’s second column included any threats but acknowledged that Van Drew felt threatened.
“Because you felt threatened and felt your wife was threatened, I am sorry. There are no two ways about that. I blame that on my judgment. I knew in advance that the guest column was vitriolic and highly critical of you and your support for the former president. The way it was written, I do not believe it contains any threats of harm because if I did, I would not have allowed it to appear in my newspaper,” Nahan wrote. “However, you disagree to the point that rather than call me up directly to ask for an apology, you held a public press conference to blast this newspaper and the man who wrote it. But that is fair. You have every right to respond.”
Nahan later said he had “let the readers down” by publishing McCall’s column.
“The partisan vitriol has become so extreme, it is easy to get desensitized to what is being said. I am fully aware of that. I have written in this space in both editorials and columns that we all need to tone down the political anger that is dividing our country. By not editing this column – or asking the guest writer to edit it – in a way that would ensure the congressman and his wife did not feel threatened, the net result is adding to the anger, not diminishing it,” Nahan wrote. “That does not contribute to a dialogue, serve our readers or our Democracy.”
McCall has not apologized for his remarks, taking an opportunity to again attack Van Drew in comments to The Press of Atlantic City.
“[Van Drew is] a grandstanding jack*** who, like his mentor Donald Trump, is attempting to censor the free press for criticizing his radical, disingenuous behavior in strong language,” McCall said.
This article has been updated to include comment from the New Jersey Press Association&#8217;s president.

Democrat-Turned-Republican Congressman Receives Threatening Messages From Opinion Columnist

Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), the former elected Democrat who bucked his party last year to join the GOP, has been declared the winner of his New Jersey congressional district, a seat that he helped flip blue when he was first elected back in 2018.
The Associated Press declared Van Drew as the winner, defeating Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy, shortly after 12pm EST. According to <a href="https://results.decisiondeskhq.com/2020/general/new_jersey">DecisionDeskHQ</a>, which has also called the race, Van Drew leads Kennedy by about 5% of the vote.
Van Drew was one of two House Democrats to vote against the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, and after switching parties, he promptly faced a slew of Democratic challengers, including from the wife of ex-Congressman Patrick Kennedy.
In an election where Democrats expected to make gains up and down the ballot, Van Drew represents just one of the many toss-up seats the GOP managed to defend.
According to data from The New York Times, no congressional races considered toss-ups have been won by Democrats so far, and four races that the Times believed would lean toward Democrats have flipped red as of Friday evening.
Amidst the party’s lackluster performance in House races, Democrats have started finger-pointing. During a caucus call on Thursday afternoon, Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who represents a lean-Democrat seat that has yet to be called, blasted the “socialism” and “defunding the police” sloganeering-wing of the party.
Back in December, Van Drew explained that part of his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jeff-van-drew-reveals-he-was-tempted-to-switch-parties-for-years-heres-why">motivation for joining the GOP</a> was the Democratic Party’s push toward the Left.
“I’m a capitalist,” said Van Drew. “Socialism, in my opinion, has no place in the United States of America, and I think everyone should know that. I believe that this country can afford people opportunity and give them that opportunity so that they can succeed.”
“I believe [that] the [Green New Deal] is something that we should never, ever, even think about doing,” he said. “I don’t even know how anybody could bring that up. We can have a strong and good environment, and we can have a good economy at the same time, and that’s something that I think Republicanism represents.”
Meanwhile, in the post-election Democratic Party, some Democratic caucus members have started vocally pushing back against the idea that the party should moderate itself going forward, or even present itself in a more professional manner. 
“It’s unrealistic and unprofessional to be okay with people dying because air pollution is causing cancer in their communities. It’s unrealistic and unprofessional to look away while Black folks get gunned down in the streets by police,” tweeted Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in response to a quote from a Democratic congressman pushing back against radical messaging. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It’s unrealistic and unprofessional to be okay with people dying because air pollution is causing cancer in their communities. It’s unrealistic and unprofessional to look away while Black folks get gunned down in the streets by police. <a href="https://t.co/Qd9FV12P4u">https://t.co/Qd9FV12P4u</a>
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) <a href="https://twitter.com/RashidaTlaib/status/1324543869141327872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
“When it comes to &#8216;Defund” &amp; “Socialism&#8217; attacks, people need to realize these are racial resentment attacks. You’re not gonna make that go away. You can make it less effective,” declared Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in a lengthy Twitter thread Friday morning.  “How do you make it less effective? Invest in year-round deep canvassing. Data shows that this kind of work helps blunt the force of racial resentment at the polls.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
So the whole “progressivism is bad” argument just doesn’t have any compelling evidence that I’ve seen.
When it comes to “Defund” &amp; “Socialism” attacks, people need to realize these are racial resentment attacks. You’re not gonna make that go away. You can make it less effective.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1324698828944138243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2020</a></blockquote>

Impeachment Vote

Jeff Van Drew, Dem Congressman Who Switched To GOP, Wins Re-Election

2020 Election

On Monday’s episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” the Daily Wire editor-in-chief talks about Congressman Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Democrat who plans on switching to the Republican Party amidst impeachment, and the Democratic Party’s reaction to his decision. Video and partial transcript below: 
Meanwhile, Representative Jeff Van Drew, who&#8217;s an anti-impeachment Democrat, is now going to switch parties. This demonstrates, again, that these Democrats are not quite as popular on this thing among independents as they say they are. 
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/14/us/politics/jeff-van-drew-democrat-republican.html">The New York Times</a>: 
<blockquote>Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, a moderate Democrat who is among the party&#8217;s staunchest opponents of impeaching President Trump, told aides on Saturday that he is planning to switch parties and declare himself a Republican as soon as next week, just as the House is casting its historic vote on articles of impeachment.
At a White House meeting on Friday, Mr. Van Drew sought Mr. Trump&#8217;s blessing for the move, which could be critical to his ability to avoid a primary challenge next year, and the president urged him to make the jump, according to two Democrats and one Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks were intended to be private.
Mr. Van Drew has spoken with senior advisers to Mr. Trump about announcing his switch at an event at the White House either immediately before or just after the House votes on two articles of impeachment, which is expected to happen on Wednesday, according to Republicans and Democrats.</blockquote>
Now typically, when a member of a big political party has switched, that&#8217;s been big news all the way back to Jim Jeffords switching parties, and the switch in control of the Senate of the United States back in the early 2000s. But this is obviously big news in the middle of an impeachment hearing. You have a guy who is a blue vote in a red district in New Jersey switching parties because he believes that he&#8217;s not gonna be able to win re-election if he supports the impeachment. 
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sQGAgGEXFp4?start=2140" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<blockquote>&#8230; the move would also provide a silver lining for Mr. Trump as he becomes the third president ever to be impeached &#8230;
The decision by Mr. Van Drew reflects the heavy political consequences hanging over next week&#8217;s impeachment vote, particularly for moderate Democrats in districts that supported Mr. Trump in 2016.</blockquote>
About 30 Democrats are sitting in districts that supported Trump, [and] Republicans are targeting those districts heavily, the impeachment vote could come back to haunt all of those people. Jerry Nadler, for his part leading the House Judiciary Committee, ripped into Van Drew, saying that the real reason he&#8217;s not doing this, the real reason he&#8217;s switching is not out of principle, it&#8217;s out of political fear. 
<blockquote>NADLER: He&#8217;s reacting to the public polling that shows he can&#8217;t get renominated in his electorate, his district is 24% to renominate him and 60% to nominate somebody else. To more of the point, this is not political. We should not be looking at those things. This is the defense of our democracy. Do we stay a democratic republic or do we turn into a tyranny? </blockquote>
What is fascinating here is that members of Van Drew’s own constituency — Michael Suleyman, the Atlantic County Democratic chairman, actually wrote a letter to Van Drew, saying [according to the Times] “I&#8217;m imploring you to vote in favor of impeachment,” and that “a ‘no’ vote on impeachment will suppress Democratic turnout down-ballot, which my organization cannot sustain.” 
In other words, if they tried this impeachment and it turns out to come to nothing, that could actually suppress the Democratic efforts to get out the vote. Everybody is so depressed — and it is interesting, the Democrats are, this early, playing the card that they almost expect Trump to win if he&#8217;s not impeached. That&#8217;s the only reason they put out there the preventative message that if Trump is elected, it&#8217;s illegitimate, because you actually expect that he&#8217;s going to win. 
Meanwhile in the Senate, Chuck Schumer is attempting to militate, but he has no power in the Senate, so it doesn&#8217;t really matter. 
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ben-shapiro-show/id1047335260">Listen to full episodes of “The Ben Shapiro Show” on iTunes. 
</a><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-ben-shapiro-show">Watch “The Ben Shapiro Show” on-demand!</a>

House Democrats Elect New Leaders

SHAPIRO: Dems Rip Democratic Congressman For His Impeachment Stance

Democratic Party

Impeachment

Republican Party

Democrats began to attack New Jersey Democratic Representative Jeff Van Drew – whose staff has started to resign – on Sunday after reports surfaced over the weekend that Van Drew was leaving the party and joining the Republican Party.
&#8220;I think Jeff Van Drew is making a serious mistake. I understand that he feels if he votes against impeachment, he&#8217;ll lose in a Democratic primary [and] he could,&#8221; Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen (TN) told CNN on Sunday. &#8220;But you know he got elected with Democratic votes under a Democratic banner which he ran under for 30 years or so. I think he was a senator and a mayor and a representative and all, and he got Democratic money including Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee money, and to turn and go to be a Republican, it&#8217;s kind of strange.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve heard of rats jumping off a sinking ship, but very few of them jump onto a sinking ship,&#8221; Cohen continued. &#8220;The Republicans are in the minority, for his district. Instead of having a congressman who&#8217;s in the majority and he gets something done for his district, they&#8217;re gonna have a congressman in the minority who can&#8217;t get anything done. The lowest thing that there is in the Congress is somebody in the minority side who was a traitor to the majority.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Impeachment has broken the Democrat Party. 
Dem Rep. Steve Cohen calls Rep. Van Drew a “traitor” and a “rat” for opposing the Democrats’ impeachment sham. <a href="https://t.co/05xV0Rsa1S">pic.twitter.com/05xV0Rsa1S</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1206371831340507136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-democrat-congressman-leaves-party-over-impeachment-becomes-republican">reported</a> on Saturday that Van Drew was leaving the Democratic Party over  impeachment, which he said was tearing the country apart, and that he was joining the Republican Party after meeting with President Donald Trump.
CNN&#8217;s Manu Raju reported late on Sunday that at least five members of Van Drew&#8217;s staff resigned in protest over his decision to leave the Democratic Party.
&#8220;We greatly appreciate the opportunities that the Congressman has given us, and we are proud of the work we&#8217;ve done together on behalf of the people of New Jersey&#8217;s Second Congressional District,&#8221; the letter said. &#8220;Sadly, Congressman Van Drew&#8217;s decision to join the ranks of the Republican Party led by Donald Trump does not align with the values we brought to this job when we joined his office.&#8221;
&#8220;We greatly respect Congressman Van Drew and are deeply saddened and disappointed by his decision,&#8221; the letter concluded. &#8220;As such, we can no longer in good conscience continue our service in this Congressman’s employ.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Five of Jeff Van Drew’s staff members announced their resignation Sunday after the congressman privately indicated he would switch parties, saying they are “deeply saddened and disappointed” by the decision <a href="https://t.co/TnlbUakEp1">pic.twitter.com/TnlbUakEp1</a>
&mdash; Manu Raju (@mkraju) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1206371842593894401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
After news broke that Van Drew was switching parties, many online noted how significant a blow it was to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Federalist co-founder Sean Davis tweeted: “Nancy Pelosi isn’t just hemorrhaging votes for her impeachment gambit, she’s now facing wholesale defections from the Democrat party because of its impeachment hysteria.”
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1205949015734575104
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Doug Collins wrote on Twitter: &#8220;Chairman Nadler told us to consult our consciences before voting on impeachment articles, then seemingly dismisses Jeff Van Drew for doing just that. When your own party rejects your sham impeachment, you’re probably on the wrong side of history.&#8221;
Trump responded to the news by writing on Twitter: &#8220;Thank you for your honesty Jeff. All of the Democrats know you are right, but unlike you, they don’t have the &#8216;guts&#8217; to say so!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank you for your honesty Jeff. All of the Democrats know you are right, but unlike you, they don’t have the “guts” to say so! <a href="https://t.co/OUc46HUwPq">https://t.co/OUc46HUwPq</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1206083025018277889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Democrats Attack ‘Traitor’ ‘Rat’ Jeff Van Drew For Leaving Party, Staff Resigns

New Jersey Democratic Congressman Jeff Van Drew, who has strongly opposed the Democrats&#8217; impeachment efforts, is leaving the Democratic Party and becoming a member of the Republican Party after meeting with President Donald Trump.
&#8220;Van Drew’s congressional and campaign staff were informed he was planning to switch parties on Saturday, according to Democratic sources,&#8221; Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/14/jeff-van-drew-change-parties-085036">reported</a>. &#8220;The question was now when, not if, Van Drew was joining the Republican Party, according to several Democrats with knowledge of the ongoing conversations.&#8221;
Van Drew reportedly met &#8220;at length&#8221; with Trump on Friday and his decision to switch parties is supposed to be officially announced in the near future, a top GOP source told Politico.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trump-urges-rep-van-drew-anti-impeachment-democrat-to-switch-parties/2019/12/14/b201bb4a-1ea0-11ea-8d58-5ac3600967a1_story.html">reported</a> that his decision to switch parties delivered &#8220;a political jolt to Democrats ahead of next week’s expected vote to impeach the president.&#8221;
News of Van Drew&#8217;s defection went viral online moments after the story broke with many noting that the move is highly damaging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s impeachment efforts.
Federalist co-founder Sean Davis tweeted: &#8220;Nancy Pelosi isn&#8217;t just hemorrhaging votes for her impeachment gambit, she&#8217;s now facing wholesale defections from the Democrat party because of its impeachment hysteria.&#8221;
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1205949015734575104
Bryan Dean Wright, a Democrat and former CIA officer, responded to the news by writing on Twitter: &#8220;Turns out people get tired of defending a party that’s spent the past three years embracing Socialists, anti-Semites, and hysteria.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Turns out people get tired of defending a party that’s spent the past three years embracing Socialists, anti-Semites, and hysteria. <a href="https://t.co/8Wnr0Vw1EH">https://t.co/8Wnr0Vw1EH</a>
&mdash; BDW (@BryanDeanWright) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanDeanWright/status/1205957528040833024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In a recent interview with USA Today, Van Drew <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-congressman-warns-his-party-be-careful-what-you-wish-for-on-impeachment-its-tearing-the-nation-apart">said</a>, “My job isn’t really to like or dislike him. My job is to exact as much goodwill and help for my district and for this nation and for this world that I possibly can while he’s president.”
On the issue of impeachment, Van Drew said, “To some folks, that’s reminiscent of what was done to kings and queens many years ago. Everything our country doesn’t stand for.”
Speaking on impeachment this week, Van Drew told reporters: “It was supposed to be bipartisan, it was supposed to be incontrovertible. It was supposed to be something that was always on the rarest of circumstances. Well it’s not bipartisan.”
Van Drew is not the only Democrat to warn his party on impeachment, Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-warns-party-not-to-impeach-trump-because-of-who-gop-will-nominate-in-2020">warned</a> the Democrats that if Trump gets removed from office that it could be a bad move politically because of who the Democrats may have to face from the GOP in 2020.
“I do think that it’s the right thing to do to remove him from office. I believe he is an imminent danger to this country and to our democracy, but I was saying that the political consequences may not be very good for the Democrats,” Yarmuth said. “I will guarantee you the Republican Party would not nominate Mike Pence to succeed him. They would nominate someone like Nikki Haley who would be much more difficult for Democrats to defeat.”
In late November, Democrat Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI) said that Trump should be censured but not removed from office.
“You can censure, you don’t have to remove the president,” Lawrence <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tide-turning-on-impeachment-as-democrat-congresswoman-flips-i-dont-see-the-value-of-kicking-him-out-of-office">said</a>. “We are so close to an election. I will tell you, sitting here, knowing how divided this country is, I don’t see the value of kicking him out of office, but I do see the value of putting down a marker saying his behavior is not acceptable.”

Menu