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

US-NEWS-TRUMP-BIRTHRIGHT-LAWSUIT-FR

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

CBS News

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Illegal Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Media

Politics

<div>
The era of the &#8220;paper of record&#8221; is officially dead, and the bank statements at 1301 K Street have the receipts to prove it.
</div>
<div>
The Washington Post, the crown jewel of the billionaire-funded activist press, reportedly hemorrhaged more than $100 million in 2025, according to a report from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/washington-post-losses-topped-100-million-in-2025-85076aae">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
</div>
<div>
This staggering deficit follows a $100 million loss the previous year, and a $77 million loss in 2023, highlighting a catastrophic downward spiral for the Jeff Bezos-owned outlet that has failed to find a pulse in the modern media landscape.
</div>
<div>
The financial bloodbath has already triggered a &#8220;painful&#8221; restructuring, with the Post slashing its staff by a massive 30% earlier this month. In a candid internal meeting held Wednesday, acting CEO Jeff D’Onofrio and Executive Editor Matt Murray laid bare the dysfunction. D&#8217;Onofrio revealed that while newsroom costs surged 16% over the last five years, productivity cratered; the number of stories published by the outlet has plummeted by 42% since 2020.
</div>
<div>
“We’re not a paper of record; there’s no such thing anymore in today’s world,” Murray told the shell-shocked newsroom, a stunning admission of defeat for a publication that once lived by the self-important slogan &#8220;Democracy Dies in Darkness.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
The financial ruin comes amid a total collapse of the Post’s internal leadership. Just weeks ago, CEO Will Lewis abruptly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/washington-post-ceo-steps-down-days-after-mass-layoffs">stepped down</a>, claiming he wanted to ensure a &#8220;sustainable future&#8221; for the company. His departure followed a brutal year of buyouts and resignations.
</div>
<div>
The Post has been &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/absolute-exodus-washington-post-bleeds-talent-as-experienced-staffers-take-buyout">bleeding talent</a>,&#8221; as veteran liberals—including columnists Jennifer Rubin and Jonathan Capehart—fled the building. Many of these exits were prompted by Bezos’ attempts to steer the paper back toward &#8220;timeless American values&#8221; and &#8220;personal liberties,&#8221; a move that reportedly infuriated a newsroom more accustomed to acting as a megaphone for the D.C. establishment than a balanced news source.
</div>
<div>
As the Post struggles to remain solvent, its desperate pivot to technology has only worsened its credibility crisis. The recent launch of &#8220;Your Personal Podcast,&#8221; a customizable AI-generated audio tool, turned into an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-washington-posts-ai-podcast-rollout-has-been-a-train-wreck">unmitigated disaster</a>. The AI began &#8220;spitting out fake quotes&#8221; and inventing commentary, forcing editors to scramble to fix errors delivered at scale.
</div>
<div>
Internal communications showed editors were &#8220;infuriated&#8221; by the botched rollout, which occurred just as the Trump administration intensified its criticism of the outlet as a top &#8220;media offender.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
The Post’s reporting has also faced embarrassing public rebuttals from the Pentagon. Earlier this year, the paper published a widely circulated hit piece on War Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging he gave a &#8220;kill them all&#8221; order during a naval operation. The report was swiftly and flatly refuted by Navy Admiral Mitch Bradley, who told Congress the order was never given, exposing the Post’s reliance on &#8220;anonymous sources&#8221; to push partisan narratives.
</div>
<div>
With sports departments shuttered and international bureaus shrinking, the Post is now attempting to reinvent itself as a lean, national-focused outlet. But as the &#8220;exodus&#8221; of both readers and writers continues, it remains to be seen if even the deep pockets of the Amazon founder can save a legacy institution that has effectively alienated half of its potential audience.
</div>

Washington Post Logo

DEATH OF A LEGACY: The Washington Post Hemorrhages $100M+

Jeff Bezos

Legacy Media

U.S.

Washington Post

The day after President Donald Trump&#8217;s 2026 State of the Union address, the hosts of ABC&#8217;s &#8220;The View&#8221; first made it clear that they were not impressed with him, but then reserved some of their sharpest critiques for Democrats like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who &#8220;gave him his moment.&#8221;
Cohost Joy Behar complained that the whole thing had made her &#8220;furious and scared,&#8221; adding that she was &#8220;physically ill from it and more nauseous than usual watching him.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sunny Hostin whines about Trump using the term &#8216;illegals&#8217; to accurately describe illegals and falsely claims everyone had stopped using it before Trump came along. She also complains that Democrats even attended the address because they looked bad: 
&#8220;That saying that people are… <a href="https://t.co/zqUlybiz1c">pic.twitter.com/zqUlybiz1c</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/2026697528079515709?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sunny Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, began her review by complaining that the president insists upon using the term &#8220;illegal&#8221; when referring to people who have entered the United States illegally.
&#8220;That saying that people are illegal, illegal aliens. That really matters,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We haven&#8217;t used that term for so long. Now it&#8217;s back in vogue. You are not illegal as a human being just because you&#8217;re undocumented, and so that for me, that felt dehumanizing to our immigrant population.&#8221;
Hostin then recalled a conversation from the day before — when Behar argued that Democrats should boycott the speech entirely to avoid giving Trump the appearance of legitimacy — and said that although she&#8217;d disagreed at the time, watching the president speak had changed her mind.
&#8220;Someone like Ilhan Omar, who fiercely is protective of Minnesotans and Somalians in particular, she gave him that moment that he wanted when the Democrats wouldn&#8217;t stand because he was calling people illegal aliens, they didn&#8217;t stand, and he called them crazy. They gave him all these moments,&#8221; Hostin complained. &#8220;They were used as props. It was disgusting.&#8221;

The View’s “Behind The Table” Podcast

WATCH: The Day After Trump’s SOTU Address, ‘The View’ Hosts Are Mad At Democrats

WATCH: The Day After Trump's SOTU Address, 'The View' Hosts Are Mad At ... Democrats

Donald Trump

State of the Union

Sunny Hostin

The View

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) voiced his frustration on Wednesday after most of his party effectively sat on their hands during President Donald Trump&#8217;s State of the Union address, refusing to stand or even applaud issues he believes stretch across party lines.
Fetterman defended his own decision to applaud a number of key moments during Trump&#8217;s speech, saying he was always going to clap for the things he believed were worth applauding, regardless of the party of the person delivering the remarks.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 BREAKING: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) says he was one of the Democrats to stand up for Iryna Zarutska and Erika Kirk at Trump&#8217;s State of the Union
&#8220;Even Erika Kirk. Can&#8217;t we just be more kind to a WIDOW? How can&#8217;t we acknowledge that?&#8221; 💯
&#8220;I clapped for the family that lost… <a href="https://t.co/VMCMIBY8VC">pic.twitter.com/VMCMIBY8VC</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2026670101206814804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Fetterman noted that most of the Democrats in the chamber on Tuesday evening — those who did not attend an alternate event or boycott the evening&#8217;s festivities altogether — had chosen not to stand or applaud during Trump&#8217;s remarks, even when he discussed issues both parties wanted addressed.
&#8220;I clapped for a lot of those things &#8230; like I stood up and I clapped to recognize the family that lost their daughter, the Ukrainian girl that was stabbed to death in North Carolina,&#8221; Fetterman explained. &#8220;And I stood up, and I clapped for that political prisoner from Venezuela, you know, how you can&#8217;t celebrate those kinds of things. I also celebrated all the veterans that were in the audience as well.&#8221;
Fetterman went on to say that even when things got political, he still stood and applauded when he felt it was appropriate to do so.
&#8220;Like Erika Kirk, I stood up, and then I clapped for her &#8230; can&#8217;t we just be more kind to a widow?&#8221; Fetterman asked, noting that Kirk had just lost her husband — murdered Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk — very recently, and still had young children to care for. &#8220;How we can&#8217;t just acknowledge that?&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m always going to stand up and clap for things I agree with, like striking the Iranian sites,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And if I don&#8217;t agree with it or whatever, I&#8217;m certainly not going to yell and scream and disrupt the whole thing.&#8221;

President Trump Delivers The State Of The Union Address

Once Again, Fetterman Breaks With Theatrics To Stand For American Values

WATCH: John Fetterman Baffled As His Party Refuses To Stand Up For American Values

Charlie Kirk

Democrats

John Fetterman

When CNN anchor Jake Tapper contrasted President Trump’s blunt remarks with those of past presidents, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy didn’t hesitate. He delivered a sharp counterpunch that instantly reframed the moment.
Tapper glossed over the behavior of Democrats at Tuesday evening&#8217;s State of the Union address by suggesting that the real problem was the fact that President Donald Trump had noticed — and dared to say something about it. Speaking to Duffy after the speech, he complained that Trump effectively shattered the fourth wall when he spoke directly to the American people about the Democrats in the chamber who refused to stand for even the most basic of shared values.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
JAKE TAPPER: &#8220;He said, &#8216;these people are crazy I&#8217;m telling you, they&#8217;re crazy.&#8217; That&#8217;s not something we ever heard from Obama or Biden from that that stage.&#8221;
SEAN DUFFY: &#8220;We&#8217;ve never had a Speaker rip up a speech either&#8221;
This is why Trump likes TV guys in his cabinet. <a href="https://t.co/4c2NrUvHGu">pic.twitter.com/4c2NrUvHGu</a>
— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThomasMHern/status/2026524857668649365?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;He said, quote, &#8216;These people are crazy, I&#8217;m telling you, they&#8217;re crazy,'&#8221; Tapper said, referencing Trump&#8217;s brief departure from his remarks to call out Democrats who would not stand in support of key policies. &#8220;I mean, but that&#8217;s not something we ever heard from Obama or Biden from that stage.&#8221;
&#8220;Yeah. We&#8217;ve never had a Speaker rip up a speech either,&#8221; Duffy punched right back, referencing former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s performance during the 2020 State of the Union, when she dramatically ripped up her copy as Trump concluded his remarks.
Duffy went on to argue that what Trump was saying at the time — addressing concerns about illegal aliens being given commercial driver&#8217;s licenses and putting American citizens at risk — should not have been a partisan issue.
&#8220;You have states that are issuing driver&#8217;s licenses to illegals — illegals who haven&#8217;t been trained to drive an 80,000-pound truck on an American road,&#8221; Duffy continued. &#8220;We have a little girl that has been — had her life impacted for the rest of her life — and she&#8217;s five years old, it was an illegal who hit her. I think the question becomes, why doesn&#8217;t every Democrat stand up and go, &#8216;No, we want well-qualified drivers on American roads.'&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s not partisan,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want illegals who can&#8217;t speak the language, contrary to American law for decades, to be on American roads. I think these are easy issues, Jake, and I don&#8217;t think we saw Democrats stand up and support them.&#8221;
Duffy noted that there was one truly bipartisan moment during the speech — when the U.S. Olympic hockey team entered the chamber after winning gold for the first time in 46 years — and said that was truly &#8220;too bad.&#8221;
&#8220;If inflation is down, Democrats should applaud it. If real incomes are up, Democrats should applaud it. Those are good things that we should support as Americans,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Just because Donald Trump&#8217;s in office doesn&#8217;t mean you have to sit on your hands.&#8221;

Sean Duffy

WATCH: Sean Duffy Torches Tapper With One Brutal SOTU Reminder

Jake Tapper

Nancy Pelosi

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
For a brief moment on Sunday, America was united. After the final Olympic hockey showdown between the United States and Canada went into overtime, Americans watched with glee as we <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usa-wins-olympic-hockey-gold-in-ot-thriller-over-canada?author=Andie+Valdes&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=USA+Wins+Olympic+Hockey+Gold+In+OT+Thriller+Over+Canada">beat</a> our northern neighbors at their own game. Forward Jack Hughes, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gold-lost-teeth-and-a-true-grit-american-moment-from-jack-hughes">sacrificed</a> at least half a tooth for the win, <a href="https://x.com/NHL/status/2025609617401667925">flashed</a> us an iconic, bloody smile, and people across the nation celebrated yet another Olympic gold.
Then, in less time than it probably took for Hughes to call his dentist, the unity shattered. While the team celebrated in the locker room, President Donald Trump called to congratulate the players on their win and invite them to Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Then, Trump being Trump, he made a joke.
“I must tell you, we&#8217;re going to have to bring the women’s team. You do know that?” he said. If he didn’t invite the team, he said, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
A <a href="https://x.com/HarrisonKrank/status/2025740079319175508">video</a> of the call went viral, and commentators grew gravely indignant on behalf of the women’s gold medal-winning team. But instead of criticizing Trump, the person who actually made the churlish remark, they went after the players.
“The USA men’s hockey team utterly failed to meet the cultural moment,” <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2026/02/23/united-states-mens-hockey-team-olympics-donald-trump-call-kash-patel-failure/88824415007/">declared</a> a USA Today writer. “The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team won gold — and then lost the room,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7068426/2026/02/24/usa-mens-olympics-hockey-gold-donald-trump/">whined</a> a columnist at the New York Times. Incredibly, Vox <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/480181/alysa-liu-eileen-gu-winter-olympics-gold-medal-winenrs-losers">released</a> a list of the winners and losers of the Olympics, fawning over Eileen Gu, an American who chose to represent communist China, as a “winner,” and declaring the U.S. men’s hockey team a “loser.” Various internet onlookers demanded that the team <a href="https://x.com/simpjd74/status/2026323059783708914">“do better”</a> and <a href="https://x.com/IanKennedyCK/status/2026156754288120197">“apologize for laughing.”</a>
Perhaps the funniest development was the solemn response of Twitter fan page “daily jack hughes,” which <a href="https://x.com/dailyjhugh/status/2025988408586150189">posted</a>, “hi, honestly I am unsure of what to do with this account right now. I will figure it out eventually, but there will be no daily content happening. linked below are some important resources. lastly, f*ck ice and this administration. never stop supporting women.”
These critics’ demands were many. The team must explicitly denounce Trump and his administration, refuse his invitation to the State of the Union like the women’s hockey team did (apparently for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-gold-medal-teams-two-very-different-responses-to-trumps-invitation">scheduling conflicts</a>), personally apologize for Trump’s joke, and probably invent a time machine and smash the cell phone Trump called them on. 
No matter that the players have been supportive of their female peers. On Sunday, Hughes <a href="https://www.outkick.com/sports/jack-hughes-megan-keller-first-person-thought-of-gold-medal-winning-goal-olympics">said</a> the first person he thought of after scoring the winning goal was Megan Keller, who had just cinched the win for the U.S. women’s team. Even in the video, one player can be heard chanting “two for two!” in honor of both teams’ wins.
Hughes, for his part, has responded to the controversy like a champ. “They&#8217;ve got busy schedules, too,” he <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/winterolympics/article-15586847/jack-hughes-team-usa-hockey-trump.html">said</a> of the women’s team in response to criticism of their declining the White House invitation. “Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today.”
This, he suggested, is a non-controversy. “People are so negative out there, and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing,” he said. 
Hughes’s mother, a former hockey player herself, also refused to take the bait. &#8220;These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she <a href="https://www.today.com/news/sports/ellen-hughes-mom-jack-quinn-hughes-trump-mens-hockey-video-controversy-rcna260398">said</a>.
It’s not really worth arguing over to what degree President Trump’s joke was in poor taste. The U.S. men’s team could have immediately embarked on the cable news apology circuit and made a fat donation to the National Organization for Women, and it still wouldn’t have been good enough. Short of posting Luigi Mangione fanfiction, there is no way for them to redeem themselves in the eyes of progressives, for whom everything, always, is political.
Of course, there were no such controversies when former President Joe Biden hosted Olympians in 2024 and 2022. For all of our faults, we conservatives tend not to compare our presidents to Nazis and demand that athletes and celebrities refrain from fraternizing with them. Not so for our counterparts across the aisle. 
To the legacy media and some keyboard warriors on Twitter, there is no such thing as neutrality. “This isn’t a neutral climate,” wrote the New York Times columnist in his criticism of the men’s hockey team. “This isn’t a neutral president.”
But the president is never neutral. He has always represented a particular party with its own ambitions that might be served by latching on to the good publicity of an Olympic win. What has changed is that certain figures in the media have decided that you’re only allowed to engage with one side, the “good” side, which is therefore neutral. The best you can hope for as a public figure is for no one to ask you about politics. That game isn’t as simple as hockey. If the mob comes for you, there is no way to win.
***
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Have an idea for Upstream? We welcome submissions; interested writers can send pitches to upstream@dailywire.com.

Ice Hockey – Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: Day 16

From Gold Medal Glory To Progressive Public Enemies: Why The Leftist Mob Came For Team USA

Olympics

Upstream

Winter Olympics

Former Vice President Kamala Harris hinted on Tuesday at a possible return to the presidential campaign trail in 2028, saying that she &#8220;might&#8221; throw her hat into what&#8217;s likely to be a crowded Democratic primary ring.
Harris spoke with podcast host and author Sharon McMahon, and was asked point blank whether she planned — after bowing out of the 2020 primary before the first vote and then losing in spectacular fashion in 2024 — to run for president a third time.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Harris on running in 2028: “I might” <a href="https://t.co/PbPalTRHsw">pic.twitter.com/PbPalTRHsw</a>
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexThomp/status/2026408268155740247?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Will you run again?&#8221; McMahon asked.
&#8220;I haven&#8217;t decided,&#8221; Harris replied.
&#8220;You&#8217;re still thinking about it,&#8221; McMahon added.
&#8220;I might,&#8221; Harris said, her voice creeping up an octave as she shrugged.
McMahon said she&#8217;d expected no less, adding, &#8220;That&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve been saying. That&#8217;s what — I&#8217;m like — I closed the book and I&#8217;m like, oh, she wants to, she&#8217;s just thinking about it.&#8221;
Early polls, according to CNN chief data analyst <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/theyve-lost-cnn-chief-data-guru-says-2028-democrat-bench-is-a-total-clown-car">Harry Enten</a>, have not been kind to the twice-failed candidate. He told host John Berman that Harris, polling at just 18% — and second to Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) — was in a precarious position if she intended to drop in on a Democratic primary. In addition to Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are polling at 13% and 12%, respectively.
&#8220;Quite a weak number for [Harris], given that, of course, she was the nominee last time around,&#8221; Enten said, adding, &#8220;This is just a total clown car. It is a total mess. There is no clear frontrunner at this particular point on the Democratic side. Who the heck knows who the nominee is going to be in two years?&#8221;
Enten also suggested that flagging interest in Newsom — despite his new memoir just hitting bookstores — meant that even the likely favorite was &#8220;flailing&#8221; a bit.
Newsom, during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gavin-newsom-laughs-off-potential-face-off-with-kamala-in-2028-thats-fate-if-it-happens">recent interview</a>, spoke with CNN anchor Dana Bash about the upcoming presidential election cycle and how he might handle it if his career path ended up on a collision course with that of his old friend, Harris.
&#8220;That’s — you know, fate will determine that,” Newsom shrugged. “And I’ve never gotten in the way of her ambition, ever. I haven’t. And I don’t imagine I would in the future. But I don’t —”
&#8220;But if you run against each other for president —” Bash tried again.
&#8220;That’s fate,” Newsom said again.
But during another recent interview, the California Governor took a swipe at Harris — and attributed her rapid rise in the California political world to her romantic relationship with then San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Governor Newsom tonight: &#8220;You would not know Kamala Harris without Willie Brown&#8221;
Fact-check: TRUE 😂🤣 <a href="https://t.co/VEoRtcyGLB">pic.twitter.com/VEoRtcyGLB</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2026092664546799693?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;For those that don&#8217;t know Willie Brown — you wouldn&#8217;t know Kamala Harris without Willie Brown,&#8221; Newsom said during a recent book event.

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris Fuels 2028 Speculation With Two-Word Tease

2028 presidential election

In a week where American dominance on the ice reached levels not seen in nearly half a century, the legacy media found itself predictably obsessed with a joke. But while the &#8220;outrage machine&#8221; spun over a phone call from President Donald Trump, the woman at the center of the Hughes hockey dynasty, Ellen Hughes, was busy reminding the country what actually matters: patriotism and winning.
Team USA didn’t just beat Canada in Milan—they delivered a double dose of overtime heartbreak to our neighbors to the north and sent the Stars and Stripes soaring. First, the women’s team reclaimed gold in a sudden-death thriller. Days later, the men ended a 46-year drought with an overtime &#8220;Golden Goal&#8221; of their own.
And yes, President Trump noticed.
After the men’s team clinched the top spot on the podium—thanks to a Jack Hughes game-winner for the ages—Trump called to offer his congratulations. During the now-viral call, the President joked that he’d better invite the women’s team to the State of the Union as well, quipping that if he didn&#8217;t, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
While the &#8220;political class&#8221; immediately fainted onto their couches, Ellen Hughes—mother of NHL stars Jack and Quinn and a player development consultant for the gold medal-winning women’s squad—responded with the kind of grace and perspective rarely found in Washington.
<a href="https://www.today.com/news/sports/ellen-hughes-mom-jack-quinn-hughes-trump-mens-hockey-video-controversy-rcna260398">Appearing</a> on NBC’s &#8220;TODAY,&#8221; Hughes brushed past the partisan bickering to focus on the achievement of the athletes.
“At the end of the day, it’s just about the country,” she said. “I think the moment that these players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country—people that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side—that’s all both teams care about.”
Inside the Olympic bubble, Hughes described a refreshing scene of genuine camaraderie that stands in stark contrast to today’s hyper-polarized climate. The men’s and women’s teams shared dorms, cheered each other on from the stands, and celebrated as one American unit.
“It couldn’t have gone better,” Hughes said. “Both teams going undefeated. We couldn’t have written a better story.”
Her son, Jack Hughes, echoed that sentiment, making it clear that the bond between the two squads is far deeper than any political headline.
&#8220;If there&#8217;s a camera on me and Quinn when the women&#8217;s team won, we look like the biggest superfans of all time,&#8221; Jack said. &#8220;We were just jumping up and down. We couldn&#8217;t believe it. We locked in and said goodbye to everyone because we had a game the next night &#8230; but I remember I saw [Megan Keller] the night after they won. I was just like, &#8216;Megan, I&#8217;m so proud of you. I&#8217;m so happy for you.&#8217; When mine went in, one of my first thoughts was her &#8230; I&#8217;m so proud to join her as a gold medalist.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Jack Hughes on supporting the U.S. women’s hockey team&#8230;
“I wish — if there&#39;s a camera on me and Quinn when the women&#39;s team won, we’d look like the biggest superfans of all time. We were just jumping up and down. We couldn&#39;t believe it. And we locked in, said goodbye because… <a href="https://t.co/41Z8PnEjnd">pic.twitter.com/41Z8PnEjnd</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/2026332796671672559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
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While the women’s team ultimately declined the State of the Union invitation due to professional and academic scheduling conflicts, they remained &#8220;sincerely grateful&#8221; for the recognition. Meanwhile, the men’s team is expected to be in attendance tonight at the U.S. Capitol, &#8220;somehow, some way,&#8221; according to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Despite the media’s best efforts to turn a historic sporting achievement into a partisan wedge issue, the Hughes family and Team USA have stayed focused on the mission.
Two gold medals. Two overtime wins over Canada. One country celebrating together. In the end, it was a rare moment where excellence and patriotism took a front seat, and the political noise was left in the locker room.
Not bad for a couple of hockey games.

Unity Over Politics: Ellen Hughes Schools Media After Team USA’s Historic ‘Double Gold’ Sweep

General

Men's Hockey

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is not impressed with the Democratic bench going into the 2028 presidential election cycle — and he&#8217;s not holding back his overall assessment of the likely candidates: &#8220;a total clown car.&#8221;
Enten joined CNN anchor John Berman on Tuesday to discuss the likely candidates just as a new memoir from Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) — considered a heavy favorite to jump in the race — hit shelves, and his take was that Newsom was &#8220;flailing.&#8221;
WATCH:
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CNN&#8217;s Harry Enten just ROASTED Gavin Newsom&#8217;s 2028 ambitions &#8220;He&#8217;s definitely flailing&#8221;:
&#8220;This is just a downright clown car at this point on the Democratic side.&#8221;
&#8220;This is just a total clown car. It is a total mess. There is no clear front-runner at this particular point on… <a href="https://t.co/TYijTMGKWt">pic.twitter.com/TYijTMGKWt</a>
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewKolvet/status/2026310210013286885?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Enten&#8217;s concern, as he broke down the numbers for Berman, was that there was no clear leader in the Democratic Party — and no one seemed poise for the kind of surge that would be necessary to push them to the front of the pack going into the 2028 primaries.
&#8220;Yeah, they’re all running and this is just a downright clown car at this point on the Democratic side,&#8221; Enten said, noting that the early polls showed Newsom (at 19%) just barely in the lead over former Vice President Kamala Harris (at 18%) and that his advantage was slim enough to be within the margin of error.
&#8220;Quite a weak number for [Harris], given that, of course, she was the nominee last time around,&#8221; Enten noted.
He went on to say that other likely contenders — such as former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who polled at 13% and 12%, respectively — were not doing any better.
&#8220;This is just a total clown car. It is a total mess. There is no clear frontrunner at this particular point on the Democratic side. Who the heck knows who the nominee is going to be in two years?&#8221; Enten added. &#8220;It was been a long time, this is very unusual for the Democratic side to not have a clear frontrunner at this point. You have to go all the way back, all the way back from when I wasn’t even in elementary school yet, not even in pre-K yet, to 1992, that was the last cycle in which there was no clear frontrunner at this point. Very unusual.&#8221;
The analyst then singled out Newsom, saying that in particular, he appeared to be losing ground — and popularity — even as he moves to market his memoir.
&#8220;It seems to me that Gavin Newsom is flailing a little bit, at least compared to where he was prior,” he said, explaining that betting markets were cooling off as far as Newsom was concerned. &#8220;Three months ago, according to the prediction market, look at that, it was a 37% chance, now it’s just at 28%. Down he goes. He’s definitely flailing a little bit.&#8221;

California Governor Gavin Newsom Interview

They’ve Lost CNN: Chief Data Guru Says 2028 Democrat Bench Is A ‘Total Clown Car’

They've Lost CNN: Chief Data Guru Says 2028 Democrat Bench Is A 'Total Clown Car'

Democrat

Gavin Newsom

Harry Enten

Pete Buttigieg

Not even 48 hours after they clinched their first gold medal in 46 years, the men of the U.S. Olympic hockey team landed on American soil — and proceeded with gusto to paint the Miami club scene red, white, and blue.
Videos quickly circulated on X of the team descending on the popular Miami hotspot E11even, where they led the crowd in a loud, raucous rendition of &#8220;The Star-Spangled Banner.&#8221;
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The US hockey team rolled into E11ven night club in Miami and led the club in singing the national anthem. This is phenomenal: <a href="https://t.co/Fq3oa3NwZN">pic.twitter.com/Fq3oa3NwZN</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/2026186773030678923?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The boisterous — and clearly infectious — patriotism didn&#8217;t stop there, as members of the team then went on to lead the crowd in singing Lee Greenwood&#8217;s &#8220;God Bless the U.S.A.&#8221;
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US hockey team leads Miami’s E11ven night club in singing Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” <a href="https://t.co/tV7tx338df">pic.twitter.com/tV7tx338df</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/2026295728897740859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The team led the singing themselves, pouring drinks for fans as they sang along. And when the song came to the iconic line — &#8220;I will gladly stand up next to you, and defend her still today&#8221; — every single member of Team USA stopped and stood tall.
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Elite patriotic awareness from the US gold medal hockey team during Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” last night. You’ve gotta skate to where the puck is going, not where it is. <a href="https://t.co/o6ze96AHuh">pic.twitter.com/o6ze96AHuh</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/2026308752912404583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The late country star Toby Keith&#8217;s &#8220;Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue&#8221; also got a nod during the celebration.
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US men’s gold medal hockey team leads E11ven night club in singing along to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” <a href="https://t.co/SPx32kKbk3">pic.twitter.com/SPx32kKbk3</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/2026306274573644002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The team is also set to join the crowd on Tuesday evening for President Donald Trump&#8217;s State of the Union Address. Trump issued the invitation during a post-game call to the locker room just after Team USA clinched the gold in a nail-biter of a game. He was barely able to get the words out before members of the team interrupted to tell him, &#8220;We&#8217;re in!&#8221;
Team member <a href="https://x.com/curtishouck/status/2026280462759436783">Quinn Hughes</a> — alongside his brother and teammate Jack Hughes — told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday that everyone was looking forward to attending the president&#8217;s address.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know how much we&#8217;re allowed to say, but yes. Yeah, we&#8217;re excited to go. Something you don&#8217;t get to do — I don&#8217;t know what today is — every Tuesday. But yeah — but, it&#8217;s going to be special for us, but I&#8217;m glad you mentioned the women&#8217;s team again. You know, we&#8217;re really happy for them. Obviously, a lot going on on social media surrounding our team and their team. But, you know, the last couple we&#8217;ve done a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well. We&#8217;re extremely happy to come,&#8221; he said.
Jack Hughes, upon landing in Miami on Monday, spoke to a reporter about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gold-lost-teeth-and-a-true-grit-american-moment-from-jack-hughes">losing teeth</a> in the gold-medal game and still going on to score the game-winning goal.
&#8220;It sounds like definitely crazy for you guys because just different profession, but in hockey, like, if you lose your teeth, it’s not even a question of, like, coming back and playing,” Hughes said. “That’s like an automatic.&#8221;
&#8220;The Gold Medal is for all the guys that have come before us, and all the young kids that are going to come after us,” he added. “We want to leave USA Hockey in a better place than when we first got there.&#8221;

USA Men’s Hockey Team Celebrate Their Olympic Gold At E11EVEN Miami

SEE IT: Fresh Off Olympic Gold, USA Hockey Brings Red-White-And-Blue Swagger To Club In Miami

Hockey

Sports

WASHINGTON—Michael Knowles and Isabel Brown will attend the State of the Union on Tuesday, the latest sign of The Daily Wire&#8217;s growing influence in the nation&#8217;s capital.
Brown will join West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore (R), while Knowles will attend as a guest of House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“Michael Knowles is one of America’s most influential commentators on politics and culture and a major asset to the conservative movement,” Johnson said. “As an author, podcaster, and commentator, Michael has done exceptional work advancing our cause and speaking truth with clarity and conviction. It’s my distinct honor to host him at the Capitol for President Trump’s State of the Union address.”
This will be Knowles&#8217; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michael-knowles-to-attend-state-of-the-union-with-tennessee-congressman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second time</a> attending the State of the Union, having previously been the guest of Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) in 2024. It&#8217;s the first State of the Union for Brown, whom Moore praised for her steadfast defense of conservative values.
“I am honored to announce that Isabel Brown will join me as my guest for President Trump’s State of the Union address,” Moore said. “Isabel is a devout Catholic who stands firm in her beliefs and works continuously to promote faith, family, and freedom in her work at The Daily Wire. Isabel inspires countless Americans to stand firm in their faith, and I am glad to welcome her as my guest.”
The Daily Wire&#8217;s presence at the State of the Union is the latest sign of the site&#8217;s growing cachet in Washington, D.C. Mary Margaret Olohan was named The Daily Wire&#8217;s first White House correspondent minutes after President Trump returned to office. Her reporting has brought her around the country with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, and earned The Daily Wire a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-briefing-room-gets-facelift-daily-wire-gets-permanent-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> permanent seat</a> in the White House Briefing Room.
Knowles and Brown have each participated in new media events at the White House, interviewing such figures as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Brown has become a regular sight on Pennsylvania Avenue, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUEZnQUj_Ht/?hl=en&amp;img_index=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moderating</a> a panel with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and others on Trump Accounts.
Outside the White House, Daily Wire reporters have interviewed figures including Senate Majority Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thune-previews-major-hurdle-to-start-2026-after-momentous-first-year-as-majority-leader" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Thune</a> and Democratic Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-daily-wire-sits-down-with-john-fetterman-who-doesnt-hear-from-democrats-anymore?author=Tim+Rice&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+Daily+Wire+Sits+Down+With+John+Fetterman%2C+Who+Doesn%E2%80%99t+Hear+From+Democrats+Anymore" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Fetterman</a>. In December, Brown joined Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at Reagan National Airport to discuss the Trump administration&#8217;s efforts to improve air travel.
In addition to Knowles and Brown, Republican guests for the evening include members of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team, whom President Trump invited personally shortly after their gold medal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-mens-olympic-hockey-team-snags-win-in-overtime-thriller?author=Andie+Valdes&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Men%E2%80%99s+Olympic+Hockey+Team+Snags+Win+In+Overtime+Thriller">win</a> in Milan.
Democrats are taking a slightly different tack to the evening’s address, which has Washington abuzz. In addition to the usual opposition response, which this year will be delivered by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D), Democrats are planning a day&#8217;s worth of events to protest the president.
The slate of Democrat counter-programming begins Tuesday morning with a &#8220;prebuttal&#8221; from New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver (D). The address will be streamed on the left-leaning site MeidasTouch, which is also hosting a &#8220;People&#8217;s State Of The Union&#8221; rally on the National Mall during Trump&#8217;s speech. Prominent Democrat lawmakers, including California Senator Adam Schiff, have said they will skip the State of the Union to attend the alternative event.
The Daily Wire will be broadcasting live from that rally, as well as from inside the Capitol and throughout Washington on Tuesday evening. Be sure to tune in to our live coverage beginning at 7:45 p.m. ET, and follow along all day with our live blog, where our reporters will be bringing you all the news you need to know before, during, and after the speech.

Untitled design – 2026-02-23T175137.582

Michael Knowles, Isabel Brown To Attend State Of The Union

Isabel Brown

Michael Knowles

Washington D.C.

Team USA Hockey star Jack Hughes explained during a Monday interview why it never occurred to him not to keep playing after he lost his front tooth in the gold medal matchup against rival Canada.
Hughes, taking the question after he and his teammates returned to the United States, said he knew that to anyone in any other profession, he might &#8220;sound crazy,&#8221; and, though disappointed about losing a tooth, there was no way he would have come off the ice for that.
WATCH:
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Team USA star Jack Hughes was asked about the moment he lost his tooth during the Olympic gold medal game.
He said he never even questioned whether he would continue playing after.
HUGHES: “Yeah. I mean it sounds like definitely crazy for you guys because just different… <a href="https://t.co/d4aMKnnhPt">pic.twitter.com/d4aMKnnhPt</a>
— Overton (@overton_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/overton_news/status/2026039414195990921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The question was a simple one: &#8220;You get hit in the face. You lose a tooth or two. You still maintained your composure and stayed in the game. You&#8217;re tough enough to keep playing, you scored the winning goal &#8230; what is that like?&#8221;
&#8220;Yeah. I mean, it sounds like definitely crazy for you guys because just different profession, but in hockey, like, if you lose your teeth, it’s not even a question of, like, coming back and playing,&#8221; Hughes replied. &#8220;That’s like an automatic.&#8221;
Hughes described the moment he realized what had happened, saying, &#8220;I just, like, was feeling around my mouth and I was just disappointed I lost my teeth.&#8221;
&#8220;But it is what it is now, so,&#8221; he added with a laugh.
When asked whether he planned to keep his newly rearranged grin, he said, &#8220;No, I’m going to fix these things, I want my good smile back.&#8221;
Pressed for a smile so that everyone could get a good look at the damage, Hughes said no — but clearly struggled not to smile.
Hughes stepped up when asked to add a message for his &#8220;young fans,&#8221; saying that the hard-fought gold medal — the first for Team USA Hockey since 1980 — was not just for him and his teammates, but for all the young aspiring hockey players who would come after them.
&#8220;The Gold Medal is for all the guys that have come before us, and all the young kids that are going to come after us,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We want to leave USA Hockey in a better place than when we first got there.&#8221;

Gold, Lost Teeth, And A True-Grit American Moment From Jack Hughes

Gold, Lost Teeth And A True-Grit American Moment From Jack Hughes

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