The following is an edited transcript excerpt of &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1909-treason-americans-trash-their-own-country-at-the-olympics?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show.</a>&#8220;
* * *
During the Bad Bunny halftime show at the Super Bowl a slogan appeared on the big billboard at Levi’s Stadium, right next to a Bud Light ad. Very fitting. 
The message was posted in all caps on a white background in black text and reads:
“THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE”
Then a guy on X <a href="https://x.com/WesleyBout/status/2020692160153370972">tweets</a> it out and writes this message above the image: “imagine getting mad about this and still thinking you’re a good person.”
The post has taken off and gone totally viral. Over 4 million views at this point.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Imagine getting mad about this and still thinking you’re a good person <a href="https://t.co/jWdNzJmCCE">pic.twitter.com/jWdNzJmCCE</a>
— Wesley (@WesleyBout) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesleyBout/status/2020692160153370972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @WesleyBout/X.com
Why would you get mad at the transvestite, anti-American, vulgar, degenerate rap singer babbling in a foreign tongue that the vast majority of Americans don’t understand, featuring two men grinding on each other in front of a sports game that is supposed to be viewed by children? 
Why would you get mad about that? How could you get mad about that when he put up a sign that said, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”?
Imagine getting mad about this meme. This is a meme that the Right uses to make fun of the Left, and the Left is just now doing it sincerely and unironically. And the meme is this: While they’re killing people, slaughtering babies, mutilating little children, flooding the country with rapists and poison peddlers and murderers, the Left comes out and says, Yeah, but we stand for love. We define everything we do as love and everything you do as hate. So we’re actually the good guys. Did you know that?
Did you know that when the libs redefined marriage for basically the first time anywhere in human history, they did so in such a way that excludes mothers from their children’s families — or alternately excludes fathers from families — and leads to all sorts of horrible things, up to and including creating children for the purpose of denying them their natural mother and father? Really heinous stuff. But what did they say? They said, Love is love. Love wins. How could you oppose love? We have defined the disordered things that we’re doing, that are contrary to reality and to the common good and human flourishing, we’ve defined them as love. And if you oppose us, you hate love.
Checkmate, conservatives.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1909-treason-americans-trash-their-own-country-at-the-olympics?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: &#8220;The Michael Knowles Show&#8221; on DailyWire+.</a></h3>
This is like when Anthony Kennedy decided to abdicate his responsibility to interpret the law as a Supreme Court justice. Instead, he decided to write cheap romantic poetry that is fitting for an eighth-grade English class. He decided that his interpretation of the Constitution was going to find a right to privacy, just as he earlier, in an abortion case, had found a right to define the sweet mystery of life somewhere in the Constitution.
I don’t know where it is.
And they say, Look, we support mystery, we support love, we support life.
That’s the key here. Because when your lib friends send that meme around — hate is worse than love, love beats hate — how could you get mad at that? 
At that point, you should tell them that you are pro-life. And they are angry at people who are pro-life. How? Imagine being against life and thinking you’re the good guy.
And what would they say? They’d say, No, no, no, but you’re not really pro-life. You’re anti-choice. You want to control women’s bodies.
They would use all of their own silly euphemisms.
That’s when you say to them: Okay, before we get into the abortion issue, I just want to point out you have granted me the premise. You have accepted the premise that sometimes people use words in ways that can be misleading or tell a partial truth, or at the very least can be euphemistic. You’ve granted that point, right? Okay, great. So you don’t like my phrase “pro-life”? I think pro-life is an honest phrase that accurately depicts what we’re talking about. But you dispute that. Okay, fine.
Then let’s dig into the real substance of it. I support the law coming in and restricting women from going to a medical professional to kill her baby. That’s what we’re talking about. You want to get past the euphemisms and the slogans? That’s what we’re talking about. And what you support is women being able to kill their babies in defense of their own disordered autonomy. Right? That’s what we’re talking about.
With marriage, you support excluding mothers or alternately fathers from marriage and denying babies their natural mothers or fathers. Okay. That’s what you support, along with other acts that we don’t even need to get into when it comes to gay marriage. I support that babies have a demonstrated right to their mothers and their fathers.
Nevertheless, I think you will find that the libs love to promote all their slogans: “love beats hate,” “love is love,” “love wins,” or whatever. I think you will find conservatives, on the other hand, are more than happy to put the slogans aside and talk about the real issue.
The libs will focus on more and more hyperbolic and preposterous slogans. They will do whatever they can to avoid looking at the real issue. They will only speak in euphemisms, and that very fact tells you everything you need to know.
Yes, all politicians use slogans, but the way they use them tells you everything you need to know about the issues.
Conservatives use slogans and euphemisms to try to convey the truth. The Left uses slogans and euphemisms to deny the truth.

Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show

When Super Bowl Slogans Replace Truth In American Politics

advertising

Bad Bunny

Conservatives

Democrats

Hate Speech

Leftists

Liberals

Michael Knowles

Opinion

Super Bowl

Breaking into the arts is difficult under any circumstances. Doing so as an openly conservative theater producer? Well, that’s nearly impossible. Robert Cooperman knows this better than anyone because he appears to be the only one who actually did.
Do a quick search of “conservative theater companies” and you’ll find just one response: <a href="http://stagert.org">Stage Right Theatrics</a> in Columbus, Ohio. Cooperman founded the company in 2016 with the mission of presenting plays that reflect a conservative point of view. For the past decade, that decision has come with predictable consequences.
Stage Right has been boycotted, mocked, marginalized, and largely ignored by the local theater establishment and media. Cooperman himself has been branded a “clown,” a “fascist,” a “racist,” a “homophobe,” and every other label that conservatives are usually called.
“Right from the start, I was considered unserious or dangerous by the theater community, said Cooperman. “One member said I was dismissive of theater being a safe space for marginalized people.”
But despite the valiant effort to trample it into the dust, Stage Right has survived, and even thrived, in a world where liberals believe they “own” the arts and entertainment.
<div id="attachment_1040369" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1040369" class="size-large wp-image-1040369" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/theater-864x576.jpg" alt="Stage Right Theatrics-The Uncanny.jpg: These are the lead characters, Sophia and Richard, in our 2022 production of Andrew Klavan's superb play, &quot;The Uncanny.&quot;" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/theater-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/theater-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/theater-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/theater-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/theater-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/theater-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/theater.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Stage Right Theatrics. &#8220;The Uncanny&#8221; by Andrew Klavan.</div>
In January 2017, the company staged its first Conservative Theatre Festival, a modest one-night event featuring six short plays by conservative writers from across the country. The name was intentional and unapologetic. Stage Right was announcing itself to an industry that prides itself on “diversity” while blatantly discriminating against conservatives at every turn.
To the surprise of no one, progressives responded with derision and outrage, while conservatives showed genuine curiosity. Stage Right offered something rarely seen before. Instead of presenting conservatives as caricatures, they were painted as multi-faceted, inherently interesting individuals. The work was pro-tradition, pro-culture, and anti-woke.
What followed over the next decade was more of the same. The Left’s treatment of Stage Right mirrors its approach to every conservative institution. They kept up with the intimidation, ridicule, shunning, and a smug moral superiority. Despite their best efforts, Stage Right kept right on existing and promoting values that used to be mainstream.
<div id="attachment_1040377" style="width: 877px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1040377" class="size-large wp-image-1040377" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stage-right-shop-867x576.jpg" alt="Donut Shop Dates.jpg: From my 2019 annual festival. That's me and my wife, Sandra, in the lead roles. The play, &quot;Donut Shop Dates,&quot; is by Jeff Strausser." width="867" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stage-right-shop-867x576.jpg 867w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stage-right-shop-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stage-right-shop-768x510.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stage-right-shop-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stage-right-shop.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px" />2019 annual theater festival. Robert and Sandra Cooperman in &#8220;Donut Shop Dates&#8221; by Jeff Strausser.</div>
After the 2024 election, Cooperman briefly held out hope that the cultural temperature might shift. It wasn’t just that Trump was elected president, but more that voters indicated their exhaustion with endless woke virtue signaling and the dismantling of Western traditions. Instead, the leftists came out kicking and screaming.
“I really thought, naively it turns out, that the Left would see very clearly the moral and philosophical direction the country embraced in the 2024 election, said Cooperman. “I thought they would realize that they have been losing audiences — and now voters — and that the election results might humble them a little bit to reach out to half the population they have been disparaging for years. I was wrong. They doubled down.”
One incident clearly illustrates the hostility.
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Cooperman dedicated three performances of Eugene O’Neill’s “Desire Under the Elms” to Kirk’s commitment to free speech. He framed the dedication as a celebration of the free exchange of ideas and invited post-show discussion.
<div id="attachment_1040383" style="width: 809px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1040383" class="size-large wp-image-1040383" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/eugene-ONeill-799x576.jpg" alt="Desire.jpg: From my 2025 production of Eugene O'Neill's &quot;Desire Under the Elms.&quot;" width="799" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/eugene-ONeill-799x576.jpg 799w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/eugene-ONeill-300x216.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/eugene-ONeill-768x554.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/eugene-ONeill-1536x1108.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/eugene-ONeill.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" />Stage Right Theatrics. Eugene O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s &#8220;Desire Under the Elms.&#8221;</div>
The response was ugly. Audience members shouted that the dedication was “inappropriate.” Someone scrawled “Bigot” on a box of playbills. A lead actor threatened to quit. Two patrons demanded refunds. Word spread quickly through the local theater community, further isolating Stage Right.
This cultural enforcement extends far beyond Columbus. When President Trump restructured the Kennedy Center’s board with the stated aim of broadening ideological inclusion and halting overtly woke productions from being staged, several prominent artists canceled their performances, claiming the institution had become “political.”
The irony was glaring. For decades, the Left has insisted that art is apolitical while simultaneously saying anything conservative is propaganda. Institutions like <a href="http://stagert.org">Stage Right</a> and the Trump-era Kennedy Center expose that lie.
While the hostility from the Left was expected, Cooperman now faces a new challenge as conservatives fracture over key political issues.
Cooperman says his pro-Israel stance has led some conservative and libertarian figures to distance themselves from the organization. A prominent podcaster declined an interview for that reason. A local classical academy backed away from a potential partnership. Cooperman now finds himself defending his principles on two fronts, both from friends and foes.
In 2026, Stage Right celebrated its tenth annual Conservative Theatre Festival. He hopes to encourage conservatives not only to criticize the state of the arts, but to engage in them.
There are conservative artists across the country who remain silent, fearing professional or personal fallout. Cooperman understands the fear, but insists that meaningful change requires courage. There will be consequences, but he insists that standing for something true and good is worth the cost.
The theater company&#8217;s motto says it plainly: “Disagreement Does Not Equal Hate.” 
Cooperman also hopes that one day there will be dozens of companies like his across the country.
&#8220;I&#8217;d love to see theatre companies that present counter programming to what is currently being offered by &#8220;mainstream&#8221; theatre,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m not talking about the &#8220;tied and true&#8221; classics that conservatives will generally attend, but experimental pieces and musicals that present a conservative worldview with hope and redemption built into their structure.&#8221;
After ten years, he has learned that no amount of wokeness, past or present, is going to bring him down.

theater

How One Conservative Built A Theater Company The Left Tried To Silence

Acting

Entertainment

Ohio

Theater

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1905-lib-mom-threatens-to-murder-her-kids-because-of-ice?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
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Five years ago, the big issue in America that showed the impaired judgment of Democrats was transgenderism. It&#8217;s not that guys playing on girls tennis teams or guys going into the girls bathroom were the biggest issues, it&#8217;s that those were the issues that most clearly showed the impairment of judgment among Democrats. You don&#8217;t know what a woman is? Then you don&#8217;t know anything. That&#8217;s why it was such a big issue.
Now, in 2026, the question is, what is an American? What is a nation?
The big issue has now shifted from transgenderism to immigration. And that&#8217;s what largely impelled Trump to a popular vote victory. It’s also what&#8217;s causing the riots in the streets, because most Americans voted for mass deportations. But the liberals don&#8217;t want to give up their mass migration strategy because they are counting on mass migration to fundamentally alter the demographics and the political order of America so that they can have a permanent electoral majority.
Which leads us to the protests over ICE.
Why are unhinged white liberal men and women going out and provoking cops to shoot them on behalf of protecting mass migration?
Why are mothers and CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/02/us/teenage-brothers-ice-watchers-minneapolis?Date=20260202&amp;Profile=CNN&amp;utm_content=1770064615&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter">encouraging</a> young teenage boys to skip school, to obstruct law enforcement and put themselves in dangerous situations?
What is the political unrest all about?
Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, just told us on C-SPAN.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA): &#8220;I have deep concerns about the fairness of our elections in &#8217;26 and &#8217;28…If it doesn’t scare the heck out of you, it should.&#8221;
<a href="https://t.co/kbLXQwnSD9">pic.twitter.com/kbLXQwnSD9</a>
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/2018754503424565342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @Breaking911/X.com
Senator Warner says,
<blockquote>I remember back, you know, a year ago at this time when people would often ask me when they were seeing the actions of the Trump administration, you know, do you think we&#8217;ll have free and fair elections in 26 or in 28? And my response at that point was, you know, I think you&#8217;re overreacting. I have deep concerns about the fairness of our elections in 26 and 28. Right now. I have concerns about the elections in primaries in our country. I have a lot of concerns about the elections that may take place in Virginia in terms of a redistricting referendum.</blockquote>
We were told for about five years that anyone who ever questions the legitimacy of elections is a terrible, insurrectionist traitor who needs to be thrown in solitary confinement.
And now Mark Warner, based on nothing, is already questioning the legitimacy of the 2026 and 2028 elections, including primaries.
It&#8217;s very strange, especially because when conservatives raised questions about the election in 2020, it was after the libs had changed all the election rules, in some cases illegally and unconstitutionally.
So there was this huge change. I think it was fair to question the elections in that specific, once in a lifetime circumstance where you just change all the election rules, you get rid of a lot of the protections that protect against fraud.
But before 2020, it was basically only the Democrats who questioned elections, and they questioned Bush v. Gore, taking that one all the way to the Supreme Court.
They didn&#8217;t really question in 2004 because Bush won it so handily. Then they won in 2008 and in 2012. They changed election rules in 2020. And now, just after the 2024 election, they&#8217;re already saying 2026 and 2028 are going to be rigged.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1905-lib-mom-threatens-to-murder-her-kids-because-of-ice?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show</a></h3>
So, it means they&#8217;re probably not feeling as good about the upcoming elections as they previously did. Also, they&#8217;re trying to set the stage for political violence, for political unrest. That&#8217;s why these riots are happening now.
Notice, the riots weren&#8217;t happening in the first part of the year with the Trump administration. You had mass deportations almost immediately and they weren&#8217;t really kicking up then. Well, it&#8217;s kicking up now that we&#8217;re looking ahead to the midterms, and they probably started it a little too early. Winter is not the best time to riot, especially when the libs who are too sensitive don&#8217;t like the cold that much.
But that&#8217;s what this is about. The reason the unrest is kicking up almost immediately after 2026 begins is because this is all about the elections they want to win. They have two objectives here: First, they want to create great instability that will allow them to exert more control over elections, which always opens up the question of fraud. Second, they want to make a threat. And the threat is: we&#8217;re going to keep violently rioting if we don&#8217;t get our way.
That&#8217;s what they&#8217;re after. It&#8217;s all about elections.
We will see if their strategy works. As an issue, however, the immigration matter works well for the GOP. Republicans are completely on the right side of immigration by basically any public opinion poll.
In terms of the political violence, though, the Left just might be able to ram their way through.
That remains to be seen.

Senator Warner Speaks To Reporters On Intelligence Oversight

Why Are Democrats Already Questioning The 2026 And 2028 Elections?

2026 Midterms

2028 presidential election

Elections

Illegal Immigation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Mark Warner

Transgender

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1904-zohran-mamdani-freezes-16-new-yorkers-to-death?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
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Zohran Mamdani just made a really sad and totally predictable announcement.
When the recent winter cold front made it to New York, it was not nearly as bad as the ice storm Nashville residents experienced. There was very little ice in New York, mostly just snow. Nevertheless, 16 homeless New Yorkers died during that brief little cold snap.
Here is the new mayor of New York:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mayor Mamdani confirms sixteen deaths during dangerously cold weather in NYC <a href="https://t.co/pQ0L9i5Yzz">https://t.co/pQ0L9i5Yzz</a> <a href="https://t.co/zHAPfvu95u">pic.twitter.com/zHAPfvu95u</a>
— New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/2018388455508656233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @nypost/X.com
Mayor Mamdani says,
<blockquote>A severe cold front continues to bear down on our city. Today is our 11th consecutive day of below freezing weather, and we could very well be in the middle of the longest period of consecutive sub-32-degree weather in our city&#8217;s entire history. Without temperatures rising above freezing, snow has hardened into blocks of ice. But the greatest danger posed by the sustained cold is to vulnerable New Yorkers who remain exposed to the elements. As of this morning, 16 of our fellow New Yorkers have passed away outside during this brutal stretch of cold. In 13 of these cases, preliminary findings indicate that hypothermia played a role, and three of these deaths appear to be overdose deaths. We await final results from the medical examiner&#8217;s office and will inform New Yorkers as we learn more. Each of these lives lost is a tragedy. My heart was with the family of those mourning their loved ones.</blockquote>
Mamdani blames the deaths mostly on nature, though he admits a few of them were drug deaths. 
Unlike other areas of the country where recent ice storms knocked out power for weeks, New York City is built for cold weather. Cold weather hits New York every single year. New Yorkers knows how to deal with cold weather, especially when they have competent management and government.
The people who died in New York did not die because their power went out. New York didn&#8217;t lose power. They died because they were left to die on the streets. Why were they left to die on the streets? Is this just some immutable characteristic of New York? What can we do? Throw our arms up in the air? A long-standing problem?
No, it&#8217;s not.
They were left to die on the streets specifically because Zohran Mamdani, who has been in office for just one month now, left them to die on the streets. In fact campaigned to leave them to die on the streets.
Don&#8217;t take my word for it. Here is CBS News.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Mamdani says he&#039;ll end homeless encampment sweeps in NYC" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CWjUfoi6YCg?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: @CBSNewYork/YouTube.com
The reporter states,
<blockquote>Local New York Mayor Alexander Mamdani says that he will end the Adams administration&#8217;s practice of removing homeless encampments from city sidewalks. But advocates argue it will be a step backwards for the city&#8217;s quality of life. Ali Bauman questioned the mayor-elect about this tonight. For the past three years, the NYPD has been systematically removing homeless encampments from New York City sidewalks, a practice mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani vows to end once he takes office — vows to end it.</blockquote>
This is Mamdani campaigning and saying we are intentionally going to leave the homeless — who are almost entirely drug addicts and mentally ill — on the streets. And this is supposedly going to be compassionate. That&#8217;s a change of policy from the previous administration, which just left office.
A little history of New York City during the 1970s and 80s may be helpful. Back then, there were a lot of bums, a lot of criminals, and a lot of homeless people on the streets. Then-mayor Rudy Giuliani came in in the 1990s and got rid of all that. He said, No, no, no — if you&#8217;re homeless, you need to go to shelters or we&#8217;re going to arrest you, but we&#8217;re not going to leave you on the streets.
After he was mayor of New York, Giuliani reiterated the same idea about the Occupy Wall Street protests. When people set up encampments all over the city, he said, No, no, no, you can&#8217;t do this. Sleeping on the street is a dysfunctional act which harms society and the individual.
In other words, letting the homeless stay on the street is contrary to the common good.
It&#8217;s not just that letting the homeless stay on the street is good for the homeless but bad for the rest of the New Yorkers who don&#8217;t want to see them — that&#8217;s how Mamdani is presenting it. The real argument, however, is no, it&#8217;s actually bad for everyone. Because it&#8217;s bad for the law-abiding New Yorkers who don&#8217;t want criminals and drug addicts and crazy people running around the streets all the time.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1904-zohran-mamdani-freezes-16-new-yorkers-to-death?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show</a></h3>
It’s also bad for the homeless because they&#8217;re susceptible to crime — susceptible to being assaulted or raped or killed. And they&#8217;re also vulnerable to the elements. It&#8217;s very, very dangerous to leave them on the streets year round, especially in the winter. And now we see the results.  This is the “warmth of collectivism.”
This is the compassion that Mamdani has promised. Leaving 16 New Yorkers dead during a totally predictable, minor cold front. And he even gives away the game in his speech by trying to mitigate his culpability by saying, “In 13 of these cases, preliminary findings indicate that hypothermia played a role, and three of these deaths appear to be overdose deaths.”
They basically froze like Jack Nicholson at the end of “The Shining.”
He then seems to avoid taking responsibility by saying, “&#8230;and three of these deaths appear to be overdose deaths.”
Like that&#8217;s better. Like it’s good that they chose to die, as if they were consenting adults. First of all, you can&#8217;t consent when you&#8217;re crazy, or when you&#8217;re addicted to all kinds of vices, or when you&#8217;re underage, or when there are all sorts of things that compromise our consent.
So Mayor Mamdani&#8217;s whole policy is based on a misconception of freedom — what freedom really is. Like all liberals, he thinks freedom is just neutrality in choosing. Well, some people choose not to do heroin, but some people choose to do heroin, and who are we to say which is the better choice?
It&#8217;s a misconception of freedom. It&#8217;s a misconception of the common good. It&#8217;s a misconception of what&#8217;s good for everybody. The common good is not just the random collection of all the individual goods of people, some of which are contrary to each other. In this kind of utilitarian calculation that tries to lead to the greatest utility for the greatest number, the common good is what we all share — what is good for all of us, what is not diminished by any individual good.
It’s also a misunderstanding of compassion. It is not compassionate to just ignore people. It&#8217;s funny because the Left accuses the Right of this: you just ignore people. You retreat to your nice neighborhoods and your penthouses and your money, and you ignore your common man. You don&#8217;t think you&#8217;re your brother&#8217;s keeper.
Sometimes the Right is guilty of that, especially the more Libertarian Right. The Left is just as guilty of that. Oh, just leave people to their degradation. Leave people to their vices. Leave people to their destructive behaviors — be it sexual ideologies, be it just license more broadly, be it with regard to living on the street — just leave them there.
It&#8217;s fine. You know, who are you to intervene? Who am I?
Well, I&#8217;m a reasonable person, and I&#8217;m a member of society, and I&#8217;m a citizen. And the consequences of all three of those misconceptions from Zohran Mamdani are that 16 people die on the street, whether from drugs or from exposure. That&#8217;s the “warmth of collectivism.”
What would have been more compassionate for the homeless: Zohran Mamdani, who says all sorts of sweet things about the homeless and leaves them to die on the street, or Rudy Giuliani, who talks a little tougher, who seems a little bit meaner, but who protects those people?
Where&#8217;s the real compassion?
That&#8217;s it. We&#8217;re one month into Mamdani — one month in — and you&#8217;ve got homeless ice cubes lining the streets of New York, some of which also have heroin and fentanyl in their blood.
We&#8217;re in for a real treat with Mamdani.

NYC Mamdani Holds News Conference On Healthcare At New York City Health Clinic

The Deadly Consequences Of Zohran Mamdani’s Homelessness Policy

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Abigail Spanberger’s inauguration as the Old Dominion’s 75th governor on January 17 and the subsequent unveiling of her legislative agenda shared by her Democrat colleagues in the legislature have once again proven a very important point: You cannot take Democrats at their word when they claim to be moderate. Once they win, they will drop the mask.
During last year’s campaign for governor, Virginians were told again and again that Spanberger was a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/abigail-spanberger-thinks-that-democrats-need-to-listen-more?utm_source=chatgpt.com">moderate</a>, a <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/the-new-democrat-divide-socialist-mamdani-v-security-moms-kn38qjgfk?utm_source=chatgpt.com">pragmatist</a>, a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/democrats-spanberger-sherrill-virginia-new-jersey-trump-5869ac164d05f00f4ca07d7919e3960b">bipartisan problem-solver</a> who would govern from the center and resist the ideological excesses of today’s Democrat Party.
The New Yorker ran <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/abigail-spanberger-thinks-that-democrats-need-to-listen-more?utm_source=chatgpt.com">an article</a> just two days before election day titled: 
<blockquote>Abigail Spanberger Thinks That Democrats Need to Listen More: The front-runner for Virginia governor has long made the case for moderation.</blockquote>
In an interview with The Times of London, a liberal pundit <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/the-new-democrat-divide-socialist-mamdani-v-security-moms-kn38qjgfk?utm_source=chatgpt.com">said this</a> about Spanberger:
<blockquote>“The last word you would use [about] Spanberger is populist,” says Colin Mortimer, founder and director of the Centre for New Liberalism. “She is a pragmatic, grounded, moderate Democrat who is hyper-focused on delivering results for Virginia.</blockquote>
Voters were assured that campaign slogans about “working across the aisle” and choosing “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/791441170380360">pragmatism over partisanship</a>” meant something real, as Spanberger herself emphasized on the campaign trail and on election night.
Now that the election is over and governing has begun, Virginians can see the truth clearly: Spanberger’s promises of moderation should be thrown into the trash, where they belong.
The <a href="https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2013350008733487510">legislative agenda</a> now being advanced by <a href="https://vahousedems.org/2025/11/17/virginia-house-democratic-caucus-announce-first-bills-and-legislation-for-2026-session/">Democrats in the General Assembly</a> is not by any means a moderate agenda. It is not a centrist agenda. It is not a pragmatic agenda. It is a radical leftist agenda, clearly aligned with priorities laid out by Democrat leadership in Richmond.
<div id="attachment_1037217" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1037217" class="size-large wp-image-1037217" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2256776000-864x576.jpg" alt="RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - JANUARY 17: Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger speaks after being sworn into office at the Virginia State Capitol January 17, 2026 in Richmond, Virginia. Spanberger is the first woman elected to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s highest office. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2256776000-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2256776000-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2256776000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2256776000.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Win McNamee/Getty Images</div>
Even though outgoing governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, left the new governor with a <a href="https://wydaily.com/latest/2025/07/31/virginia-closes-budget-year-with-a-nearly-2-7b-surplus/">$2.7 billion budget surplus</a>, Virginia’s Democrats want new and higher taxes on income, investments, landscaping equipment, food deliveries, and hotel stays.
Spanberger’s <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/january-releases/name-1111414-en.html">agenda</a> also includes new restrictions on free speech near abortion clinics, taxpayer-funded education for illegal aliens, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, lowering the criminal penalties for robbery, and potentially eliminating Virginia’s right-to-work protections.
Spanberger also wants to change the way elections are administered in Virginia. She wants to <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/session-details/20261/committee-information/S08/dockets/20933">extend</a> the time absentee ballots can be received and counted after Election Day, extend the deadline for ballot curing, ban the hand counting of machine-readable paper ballots, allow people to cast votes electronically, and <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB965">add Virginia</a> to the National Popular Vote Compact, which destroys the Founders’ vision for the Electoral College.
This is not a bait-and-switch in theory; it is bait-and-switch in practice.
That should not surprise anyone who has been paying attention to how modern Democrats govern. It should matter to voters, however, who were explicitly told that this governor would be different.
The agenda now being pushed through the General Assembly reflects the same ideological commitments we have seen from Democrats nationwide: more government, more mandates, more power centralized in Richmond, and less deference to parents, taxpayers, and local communities. It reflects a belief that government knows best, and that, once the election is over, dissenting voices should be ignored.
This is the fundamental problem with the “moderate Democrat” brand. It exists entirely as a campaign tactic. Once power is secured, the mask comes off, the talking points fade, and the base demands results. And when the leftist base of today’s Democrat Party demands results, it demands policies that are anything but moderate – a reality <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5694763-progressive-populism-democratic-party/">even acknowledged by</a> some of the Democrat Party’s best strategic thinkers.
Virginia voters were told they were electing a governor who would check the excesses of her party. Instead, they are watching a governor who appears ready to sign off on those excesses.
To be clear, this is not about one bill or one issue. It is about an overall governing philosophy. Taken as a whole, the legislative package being rapidly advanced by Democrats in Richmond represents a sharp turn to the radical Left – on spending, on regulation, on social policy, and on the role of government in everyday life.
This is not what Virginians were promised.
Elections have consequences, and governors are entitled to advance their priorities. But voters are also entitled to honesty. If a candidate intends to govern as a reliable partner of radical leftist lawmakers, voters deserve to know that before Election Day, not the morning after the inaugural ball.
We should all take note and remember that when it comes to Democrat governance, moderation is just a campaign costume, discarded the moment the votes are counted.
* * *
Jenny Beth Martin is Honorary Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action and host of <a href="https://jennybethshow.com/">The Jenny Beth Show</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Abigail Spanberger Is Sworn In As First Female Virginia Governor

In Virginia, The Mask Comes Off The ‘Moderate’ Democrat

In Virginia, The Mask Comes Off The 'Moderate' Democrat

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As tensions in Minnesota continue to flare up over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions and allegations of rampant fraud, far-Left actors and activists have decided that it would be expedient to inflame the issues further. So, it shouldn&#8217;t come as a shock that the teachers unions and their activist allies have chosen to join in and provoke further unrest and strife.
In fact, a recent <a href="https://x.com/BGOnTheScene/status/2011524444905435353">video</a> posted on X claims to show K-12 students and teachers in Saint Paul, Minnesota walking out of school in protest over ICE. Days later the Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE) put out a <a href="https://x.com/JennaReports/status/2011493535812338109?s=20">statement</a> calling for its members to engage in a “Day of Action” and stating that there would be “no work, no school, and no shopping.” Unsurprisingly, the communiqué comes with a list of demands such as the removal of ICE from the state and the defunding of the federal agency.
The organization of “educators” then publicly proclaimed that it was “on the side” of the students, while simultaneously shutting down schools in a district where roughly 70% of all elementary students are not <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/minnesota/districts/saint-paul-public-schools-104201">proficient</a> in math and reading. However, SPFE and its members are sending a clear message that their top priority is not the education of the children and families they serve, but far-Left social justice activism.
Unfortunately, this is a feature, not a bug, of the dominant ideology permeating the Gopher State’s education system writ large. Social justice activism is now the primary ethos of a system corrupted by Left-wing political actors who have been turning classrooms into street activist training programs in service to a Revolutionary Industrial Complex.
In the Colleges of Education, for instance, teacher candidates are conditioned into far-Left political ideas that are often sold to budding educators as “best practices.” Future K-12 instructors are then expected to incorporate these ideas into their own methodologies.
For example, Minnesota State University Mankato’s College of Education <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/minnesota-state-university-mankato-corrupted/">states</a> in its “Conceptual Framework” that the teacher training program’s vision is to “inspire lifelong learning and professional engagement through racial consciousness, social justice, and inclusion.” The program aims to prepare “anti-racist practitioners” by using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a foundational framework focusing on privilege, oppression, systemic racism, and social justice activism. In fact, future elementary school teachers are required to take a course titled “ED 101 – Introduction to Critical Race Theory in Education.”
But it is not just the training of teachers that is problematic. Some university programs are offering free lesson plans and resources to K-12 teachers that promote Left-wing biases and agendas.
Such is the case with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities’ Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender &amp; Sexuality Studies (RIDGS) program, which has <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/liberated-university-of-minnesota-twin-cities/">created</a> and made publicly available ethnic studies lesson plans for K-12 schools that are riddled with far-Left ideologies promoting youth activism. For instance, a sixth-grade lesson titled “Protest Art &amp; the Movement for Black Life” focuses on the Black Lives Matter movement and how to “create their own protest art for a cause of their choice.” The multi-day plan reads like a revolutionary training program meant to prepare eleven-year-olds for some yet to be determined protest.
However, if there is any doubt about these ideologies trickling out of the universities and into K-12, look no further than Saint Paul Public Schools’ (SPPS) <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/liberated-saint-paul-public-schools/">critical ethnic studies</a> curriculum. A 2023 RIDGS report on the deeply divisive course highlights the “seven principles” students are taught throughout the year, including “critical consciousness” and “resistance.” According to statements included in the document, students learned about “protests” and “civil disobedience” and were inspired by the Third World Liberation Front.
Like SPPS, Minneapolis Public Schools’ (MPS) <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/minneapolis-public-schools-ethnic-studies-course-teaches-students-that-capitalism-and-western-culture-is-exploitative-and-leads-to-slavery-colonialism-genocide-and-white-supremacy/">ethnic studies</a> courses are also saturated with revolutionary dogmas. In one of the classes, students learn to “challenge the ‘white savior’ narrative” and that slavery, genocide, and white supremacy all stem from capitalism and Western culture. Naturally, the course in question also includes student activism.
So, it should come as little surprise that K-12 students from both SPPS and MPS appear to be <a href="https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026_Twin-Cities-Student-ICE-protest-chat.pdf">planning</a> their own mass &#8220;strike” and “walkout” over ICE. Of course, it is highly probable that they are getting “guidance” from parents, teachers, and local activists.
While Minnesota’s streets heat up during the dead of winter, parents and the public need to be aware that far-Left actors inside and outside the education system have been preparing teachers and students for years to be street activists and protestors.
Local and national leaders, first and foremost, need to ensure that the youth and their teachers can peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights safely. But there also needs to be investigations into the Revolutionary Industrial Complex that has taken over Minnesota’s entire education system. Families, students, and communities deserve better from their education system.
 * * * 
Rhyen Staley is a researcher for Defending Education. He holds a master&#8217;s degree in elementary education and has over a decade of classroom experience in both public and private schools. He has over 25 years of volleyball coaching experience from Women’s Division I down to junior high.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

St. Paul, Minnesota student anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) demonstrations, January 2026

Teachers Unions Shut Down Minnesota Schools For Activism

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Liberals have taken many radical, nonsensical positions in recent years. Few are as baffling as their outrage over President Trump’s removal of Nicolás Maduro, the illegitimate, narco-terrorist dictator of Venezuela — a move the long-suffering citizens of Venezuela are openly cheering.
But not so among progressives, such as the clueless governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, <a href="https://x.com/GovPritzker/status/2007864220017115141?s=20">who claims</a> Trump&#8217;s action was designed, &#8220;To distract from Epstein, the explosion of health and homeowners insurance costs, and the tariffs that are decimating small businesses &#8230;&#8221;
Or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who downplays Maduro’s tyrannical brutality <a href="https://x.com/AOC/status/2007472955882692798">by claiming,</a>&#8221; It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.&#8221;
So, who exactly are Pritzker, AOC, and others of their ilk defending? Why are they saying we should have left him in power?
In 2023, Joe Biden&#8217;s State Department produced a 76-page <a href="https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/528267_VENEZUELA-2023-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf">assessment</a> of specific human rights abuses committed by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his thugs (many of whom were apparently Cuban mercenaries) against their hapless victims. The assessment documents a staggering range of abuses, including:
<blockquote>&#8230;unlawful or arbitrary killings… enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention by security forces… political prisoners… punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative… use of children by illegal armed groups; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists… harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations; extensive gender-based violence… trafficking in persons… and the worst forms of child labor.</blockquote>
The report makes for a tough read, given its summation of the viciousness, cruelty, and ruthlessness of Maduro and his henchmen. 
Want more? What about the details in the federal <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1422326/dl">criminal indictment</a> of Maduro issued by a grand jury in New York?
The superseding indictment charges Maduro and a host of other confederates with running a drug cartel “to import tons of cocaine into the United States.” Makes sense from Maduro’s point of view: his disastrous policies turned Venezuela into an economic basket case, making a once-prosperous country a bankrupt third-world hellhole. Thus, Maduro had to get money from somewhere to line his pockets and finance his depredations.
According to the indictment, Maduro essentially turned the Venezuelan government into a massive drug and illegal weapons smuggling operation, doing everything from using Venezuelan law enforcement to protect his distribution system to issuing “diplomatic passports to drug traffickers” and providing “diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds.”
All of the money was used to enrich himself, his family, and the “political and military elite” who kept him in power. That also included partnering “with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world,” extremely dangerous criminal cartels and terrorist groups that have kidnapped and murdered Americans, like FARC, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, or Cartel del Noreste, and Tren de Aragua.
By the way, the Caribbean drug smugglers that our military has been taking out? Part of the indictment talks about the 200 to 250 tons of cocaine “trafficked” to the U.S. annually by Maduro and his cartel cronies through “maritime shipments…north from Venezuela’s coastline using go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.” Additionally, “air shipments were often dispatched from clandestine airstrips, typically made of dirt or grass, and also from commercial airports under the control” of Maduro and his corrupt officials.
I don’t think the majority of Americans have a lot of sympathy for the criminals smuggling drugs on these “go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.”
From the drugs poisoning our citizens, especially our youth, to the citizens of Venezuela who have been censored, arrested, tortured, and killed, Maduro has been a scourge who has caused untold harm and suffering.
The political parties and both sides of the political aisle may disagree on many domestic issues. But when it comes to the removal of Nicolás Maduro Moros, progressives, liberals, and Democrats, along with conservatives and Republicans, should be praising the president for finally taking action to rid our hemisphere of this menace.
* * *
Hans von Spakovsky is a Senior Legal Fellow in the Meese Institute for the Rule of Law at Advancing American Freedom.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-US-VENEZUELA-POLITICS-TRUMP

Why Are Democrats Defending A Narco-Terrorist Dictator?

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Actress Sydney Sweeney just addressed the viral backlash against her following the American Eagle jeans campaign, not explicitly admitting to being woke but instead saying she is “against hate.”
Mostly, the 28-year-old star just expressed confusion about why everyone was up in arms over the ad campaign.
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction,” Sweeney <a href="https://people.com/sydney-sweeney-shares-emotional-response-to-american-eagle-jeans-campaign-exclusive-11863206">told</a> People in an interview published over the weekend. “I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true.”
“Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness,” she continued. “In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it. So I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us.”
The comments come after many assumed Sweeney was a closet conservative, as evidenced by her being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftists-melt-down-after-report-that-sydney-sweeney-is-registered-republican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">registered as a Republican</a> and her unwillingness to comment on the American Eagle controversy when it happened, including when <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sydney-sweeney-praised-for-keeping-her-cool-as-gq-reporter-tries-to-shame-her" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confronted</a> by an aggressive GQ journalist last month in a viral exchange. 
Controversy erupted over the summer over an ad campaign featuring Sweeney in various seductive poses while saying she had “good jeans.” The double entendre with the word “genes” made leftists deem the ad racist, noting that Sweeney is white with blond hair and blue eyes.
In one of the ads, Sweeney says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
American Eagle responded to the backlash by issuing a simple statement: “&#8217;Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
The denim collection did exceptionally well, with most of the featured pieces selling out despite calls from leftists for a boycott.

Sydney Sweeney

‘I’m Against Hate’: Sydney Sweeney Speaks On Viral Jeans Ad Controversy

Sydney Sweeney Speaks On Viral Jeans Ad Controversy, Says She's 'Against Hate' 

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There was a time not so long ago when Americans debated ideas around dinner tables, not timelines. We wrestled with differences in living rooms, classrooms, and church halls. But now? We live in the age of &#8220;I don’t believe you. Prove me wrong.&#8221; The default mode of curious conversation has turned into combat.
Scroll through any comment section and you’ll see it: people don’t log on to learn, they log on to win. They enter digital arenas, not classrooms. Social media has turned intellectual inquiry into an Olympic sport of outrage where every disagreement demands a takedown, every nuance is flattened into a meme, and every opponent becomes an enemy. That shift—from curiosity to cynicism—is quietly dismantling the very foundation of a free society: Trust.
Once upon a time, conservatism—and really, American discourse as a whole—was built on questions. Our Founders argued fiercely, but the goal was understanding. Debate was an act of discovery, not destruction. “Teach me” was the posture of a citizen who loved truth more than tribe.
Today, that posture is rare. We’ve mistaken being informed for being inflexible. We say, “I’ve done my research,” but really mean “I’ve read five posts that agree with me.” We talk about “owning the libs” or “crushing the cons,” but what we’ve really destroyed is the middle ground where reason used to live. This new culture doesn’t seek understanding. Rather, it seeks affirmation. The tragedy is that the tools meant to connect us have been weaponized to divide us.
Let’s be honest: social media isn’t a modern-day marketplace of ideas. It’s a slot machine that rewards outrage. Every swipe and tap feeds a machine designed to give you more of what you already like. It’s not expanding your mind; it’s tightening your echo chamber.
As a capitalist, I have no problem with profit. Platforms are businesses, not ministries. Their product is attention—and they’ve mastered the art of keeping it. But when the free market of attention becomes the only market that matters, ideas become entertainment, and truth becomes whatever gets the most clicks. The algorithm doesn’t care if you’re right—it cares if you’re riled up. It feeds you more of what you think you want instead of what you might need. It’s like a spiritual diet of junk food: easy to consume, but hard on the soul.
And look, I get it. I have social media, too. (<a href="https://x.com/GatesGarciaFL">Please follow me</a> before I sound too self-righteous.) But it’s time we’re honest about what these platforms are and what they aren’t. They aren’t designed to elevate ideas; they’re designed to amplify emotion.
At 40 years old, I still remember what life looked like before all this—before the dopamine hits, before algorithms knew our habits better than our parents did. I remember when you actually had to call someone to argue about politics, when disagreement came with a voice, a tone, a relationship. But we’re now raising entire generations that only know a world filtered through social media. And the ramifications of that are enormous. Kids are learning to form their identities in front of an audience instead of within a family. They’re measuring truth in likes, not logic.
The answer, though, isn’t to abandon social media altogether. Like any tool, it can build or destroy depending on who’s holding it. Used well, it’s the most powerful communications platform in human history. It can spread truth faster than tyranny, unify movements for good, and give a voice to people long ignored by legacy media.
That’s the paradox of our age: we have the means to hold the world’s largest conversation, yet we’ve reduced it to a shouting match. Free markets are supposed to thrive on innovation and exchange, but our digital marketplace has become a monopoly of emotion. And that’s not capitalism. That’s chaos.
As conservatives, we should be leading the charge to reclaim these platforms for dialogue, not diatribe. Free speech is more than the right to speak. It’s the responsibility to listen. We should want social media to be the world’s public square, not its virtual food fight.
Imagine if, instead of “prove me wrong,” we started from “help me understand.” Imagine a culture where humility was a virtue again, not a weakness. That’s not naïve—it’s necessary.
Before social media, you couldn’t just parachute into a conversation armed with rage and a Wi-Fi connection. You had to engage face-to-face. There were natural filters: manners, context, tone. You couldn’t just drop a bomb and vanish into anonymity. Those days weren’t perfect, but our debates had weight. They demanded patience, presence, and perspective. Today, our political culture is built for the opposite. Speed over thought. Visibility over virtue. Snark over substance.
We used to shake hands after arguments. Now we block people. That’s not progress. That’s paralysis.
The challenge before us isn’t simply to win elections; it’s to win back curiosity. To remind a cynical culture that disagreement isn’t dangerous—it’s democratic and that the purpose of argument is not annihilation but illumination.
If conservatives want to shape the next generation, we have to model what it means to seek truth, not just victory. We can defend principles and still learn from people. We can hold convictions without closing our minds.
There’s nothing “soft” about humility. Jesus Himself—who held the ultimate truth—still asked questions, still taught through dialogue, still invited people to understand. Maybe that’s the model we need again.
So, here’s my modest proposal: the next time someone says something you disagree with online, try answering with, “I don’t understand, teach me.” It won’t always work. Some people will still argue in bad faith. But if enough of us adopt that posture, we might just start rebuilding the bridges that algorithms have burned.
Because at the end of the day, a nation built on freedom depends on the free exchange of ideas. Not just the loud ones. The honest ones.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go post this on social media. And please—prove me wrong by following me there.
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast We The People. Follow him on IG and X @GatesGarciaFL
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Social Media And Messaging Apps

From ‘Teach Me’ To ‘Prove Me Wrong’: How Social Media Killed Curiosity

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A clip from Sydney Sweeney’s interview with GQ has gone viral on social media, with most viewers applauding her refusal to take the virtue signaling bait.
In the clip, interviewer Kat Stoeffel scrunched up her face and pressed Sweeney on her viral American Eagle ad campaign. Stoeffel tried a variety of different tactics to get the actress to apologize and denounce white supremacy. Commenters praised Sweeney for remaining cool and collected.
“This is the slimiest journalist I’ve ever seen. This entire &#8216;interview&#8217; is a bad faith gotcha where she’s trying to trap Sydney into admitting she’s conservative lol what a psychopath,” TP USA podcast host Alex Clark <a href="https://x.com/yoalexrapz/status/1986703753605751061?s=43">wrote</a> in response to the clip.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
This is the slimiest journalist I’ve ever seen. This entire “interview” is a bad faith gotcha where she’s trying to trap Sydney into admitting she’s conservative lol what a psychopath <a href="https://t.co/xX8HU7I0Ox">https://t.co/xX8HU7I0Ox</a>
— Alex Clark (@yoalexrapz) <a href="https://twitter.com/yoalexrapz/status/1986703753605751061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“GQ Reporter: why aren’t you ashamed that people will think you’re a conservative? You should be. Sydney Sweeney: Next question,” Jennifer Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics <a href="https://x.com/jennifersey/status/1986556246627897714?s=43">wrote</a>. 
“To me, the most interesting aspect of this conversation is the smug progressive woman who lives in a bubble and says stupid stuff because it seems to her like the most natural thing in the world,” Dinesh D’Souza <a href="https://x.com/dineshdsouza/status/1986563463695515781?s=43">shared</a>. “I’m sure she’s still wondering why Sydney Sweeney didn’t go along.”
Another commenter pointed out that liberals don’t expect conservatives to be real people, but instead assume they are just caricatures as the media portrays them.
“The thing you have to remember about this woman and those like her is that she genuinely doesn’t know that anyone disagrees with her basic worldview. She doesn’t even see it as a worldview. It’s just the obvious truth,” Hunter Ash on X <a href="https://x.com/artemisconsort/status/1986551356673687697?s=43">observed</a>.
“Of course she knows abstractly that half the country voted for Trump. But those aren’t people. Those are cartoon characters. They’re either fat slobbering rednecks in klan hoods, or mustache-twirling robber barons manipulating the rednecks for profit,” Ash continued. “Anyone she might actually sit down and talk to is, of course, a person, and therefore agrees with The Obvious Truth. It is inconceivable to her that anyone capable of being a pleasant dinner party guest would not share her basic beliefs and values.”
The commenter argued that the question wasn’t meant to be a “gotcha” but rather came from the interviewer assuming that Sweeney “got mixed up in the whole jeans/genes fiasco by mistake.”
At another point in the interview, the actress was asked what it was like when President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the campaign. Sweeney gave a one-word answer: “Surreal.”
Controversy erupted over the summer over an ad spot featuring Sweeney in various seductive poses while saying she had “good jeans.” The double entendre with the word “genes” made leftists deem the ad racist, noting that Sweeney is white with blond hair and blue eyes.
In one of the ads, Sweeney says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
American Eagle responded to the backlash by issuing a simple statement: “&#8217;Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans&#8217; is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”

Sydney Sweeney Praised For Keeping Her Cool As GQ Reporter Tries To Shame Her

Journalism

What do you call seven million old white people gathering all over the country?
Not a Barry Manilow reunion tour.
It is, of course, the “No Kings” rallies, which happened over the course of Saturday with seven million protesters, nearly all of them members of the AARP, gathering around the nation in order to protest kings.
You may have noticed we don&#8217;t have kings here in the United States. We have a constitutional republic.
No matter what you think of Donald Trump, Donald Trump has been subject to the dictates of Congress. He has been subject to the dictates of courts. There are actual laws and regulations on the books that prevent the president of the United States from instituting tyrannical power over the rest of the country.
One of the most amusing things about these “No Kings” rallies is the supposition by the Left that they stand in opposition to grand expansions of executive power.
That is absolute bull. It is nonsense. I&#8217;m old enough to remember Barack Obama. I&#8217;m old enough to remember Joe Biden, who tried to use the Occupational Safety and Health Organization in order to cram down vaccine mandates on 80 million Americans, and our company had to sue to stop him.
I remember President Biden telling the Supreme Court that while they were attempting to stop him from getting rid of student loans, he would circumvent them and find another way to do it.
The idea that these people who are opposed to Donald Trump do so to oppose expanded executive power is ridiculous. It is the Democratic Party in the United States which has, writ large, expanded the power of the executive branch wholesale over the course of the last century. Since Woodrow Wilson, the expansion of the executive branch of government has been nonstop. It has sometimes been paused under some Republicans, but it is rarely reversed.
When it comes to the modern Democratic Party, the idea that they want to delegate power back to the states or delegate power back to Congress is a lie. As soon as a Democrat is in power, they simply want to run roughshod over the Constitution of the United States.
Thus the very premise of these “No Kings” rallies is false.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2299-old-white-people-rally-against-kings"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Left-wing Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/18/no-kings-protests-october-18-turnout">reported</a>:  “According to a statement from the ‘No Kings’ protest organizers, Saturday&#8217;s turnout was ‘one of the largest single-day demonstrations in U.S. history’ with over two million more people taking part than participated in similar protests in June of this year.”
Of course, you remember how much of a difference it made when they protested in June.
You don&#8217;t? You forgot already?
You forgot already because it didn&#8217;t matter at all. It is now Monday and everyone already forgot.
“More than 2,700 events were planned as part of the protests across 50 states as of Saturday, as well as several internationally, including in London, Paris, Rome and Lisbon, Portugal.”
I get a kick out of places that actually have kings saying that they&#8217;re going to have “No Kings” rallies.
These rallies are ridiculous. If you look at the pictures of people who are dressed up as lobsters in Massachusetts or Superman in New York City or inflatable chickens, you think to yourself, “I don&#8217;t think these are the folks who are going to change America in any real way.”
<div id="attachment_988687" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-988687" class="size-large wp-image-988687" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241486145-864x576.jpg" alt="People participate in a &quot;No Kings&quot; national day of protest in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 18, 2025. From New York to San Francisco, millions of Americans are expected to hit the streets to voice their anger over President Donald Trump's policies at nationwide &quot;No Kings&quot; protests. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241486145-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241486145-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241486145-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241486145.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images</div>
And that&#8217;s putting aside the people who arrived at these rallies in order to promote violence against the president of the United States, or against people on the right-wing. Those people were in plentiful supply. Politicians showed up. They spoke alongside radical agitators and organizers.
We&#8217;re all supposed to pretend that that never happened, speaking alongside terrorist supporters, people who despise the country. If you&#8217;re a politician, like Bernie Sanders or Chris Murphy from Connecticut, and you speak alongside Qatari mouthpiece Mehdi Hasan, or you speak alongside people who have openly promoted terrorism, that&#8217;s kind of a big deal.
My favorite moment of media coverage came when MSNBC <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/msnbc-interviews-a-unicorn-and-bear-at-no-kings-rally-looking-as-ridiculous-as-we-can-to-protest-ridiculous-trump/">interviewed</a> a person dressed up as a unicorn.
(A rally is truly serious when people dress up as inflatable unicorns.)
<blockquote>Reporter: Angel, I&#8217;ve never interviewed a unicorn live on MSNBC.
Unicorn: Always a first time for everything.
Reporter: Angel. Talk as loud as you can. Because you got kind of a big snout here. … I&#8217;ll say that again. I said it&#8217;s hard to hear you, but tell me what brings you out and to be inside this high unicorn costume today?
Unicorn: Well, we&#8217;re here to represent the loving, hardworking community of Los Angeles. We&#8217;re here peacefully protesting, looking as ridiculous as we can, just so maybe we appeal to the president because he is a ridiculous leader that is normalizing abuse of power, and we cannot stand and act like nothing is happening.
Reporter: I&#8217;ve never heard a more serious message come out of a pink unicorn.</blockquote>
I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s true because I think that half of the MSNBC staff are pink unicorns.
It was an impressive showing, with great intellects. People like actor John Cusack, who was last relevant when he was standing outside a bedroom window holding a boombox in a movie from 1989.
But if you thought that Cusack was the only old actor who showed up to pay tribute to the “No Kings” rally, I present to you: (drum roll) Robert De Niro, who seems to have chosen poorly when he drank from his choice of Holy Grails. He is now aging extraordinarily rapidly and also apparently turning into a hobbit.
He praised Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, for saying F.U. to Trump, (which she may be saying from jail soon, depending on how her mortgage falsification case goes).
“I like what Letitia James is doing,” he declared “She&#8217;s fighting back. She&#8217;s saying F*** you. &#8230; I will not be taken down by this person. I am not afraid of him.” He also had comments about Stephen Miller, calling Miller, who happens to be Jewish, a Nazi.
Bernie Sanders yelled, “We&#8217;re here because we&#8217;re going to do everything we can to honor the sacrifices of millions of men and women who, over the last 250 years, fought and sometimes died.”
I can&#8217;t take him seriously. Nothing you do can make me take him seriously, because he&#8217;s not a serious person. The fact that the Democratic Party has elevated him as an ideological thought leader after spending his entire life being a useless pustule on the ass of American society is indeed a reflection of what their party stands for.
Sanders spoke of how much these people loved America.
Yet there were a shocking number of non-American flags over the Washington, DC rally. There was a giant Palestinian flag in solidarity with Hamas, of course. In Los Angeles there were tons of Mexican flags, so many that the CNN reporter noted it.
Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts decided that he was going to give a speech while donning a trans flag. J.B. Pritzker, the would-be presidential candidate from Illinois (who typically has to be lowered into these things by crane) stood in front of a bunch of signs, including a F*** ICE sign.
For the sake of his bodily health, I hope it was a very short march.
A Barry Manilow reunion tour would have been a heck of a lot less screechy.

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