The WNBA has a new punching bag — Sophie Cunningham. The Indiana Fever star had the temerity <a href="https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49306657/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba">to suggest</a> that locker rooms for girls be restricted to girls. For that statement, she’s been labeled a transphobe and, for good measure, <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/her-whiteness-sells-sophie-cunningham-004719034.html">a racist</a>. When she recently took an elbow to the face while defending Nia Coffey of the Minnesota Lynx, she was called for the foul.
Now Caitlin Clark, the original punching bag and Cunningham’s teammate, is being called <a href="https://x.com/megynkelly/status/2084283918702841939">a coward</a> by Megyn Kelly for sidestepping a question about Cunningham’s statements. Instead of wading into the issue, Clark responded with “it&#8217;s for the leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions.” And while she’s taking some other shots online for dodging the question, Clark did absolutely nothing wrong here.
As Dave Portnoy, speaking with his normal measured and reserved style, <a href="https://x.com/stoolpresidente/status/2084342199139910075">said of the &#8220;coward&#8221; take</a>: “Absolute moron/idiot to call Caitlin a coward for this answer. 1st of all you don’t even know how she feels on this issue and more importantly she doesn’t owe it to you or anybody else to be your political talking point. She just wants to play ball. Total coward cheap shot to call her a coward for not being your puppet.”
This is exactly right. If Cunningham wants to speak out, she can. If Clark doesn’t want to comment on Cunningham, she’s equally free. For starters, as Portnoy noted, they’re basketball players. Second, nothing either of them says is really going to move the needle. Politics may be downstream of culture, but we’re talking about the WNBA. Even as it’s <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/07/27/wnba-tv-audience-up-12-in-year-1-of-new-rights-deal-with-caitlin-clark-still-a-big-draw/">more popular now</a> than it’s ever been, largely thanks to Clark, it’s still not that popular.
Sorry, but that’s the cold truth. NBA games average 1.78 million viewers and Kamala Harris lost even with Steph Curry’s endorsement. With the WNBA up to an average of 742,000 viewers per game, the reach just isn’t there. It’s not just about popularity, though. Nor is it about “shut up and play.” It’s not even <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29130478/michael-jordan-stands-firm-republicans-buy-sneakers-too-quote-says-was-made-jest">Michael Jordan’s</a> “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”
It’s that the players themselves are free, or at least should be, to discuss whatever they want. It’s also that we shouldn’t expect everything to be all politics, all the time. It’s unhealthy. One’s convictions shouldn’t be tied to what celebrities and pro athletes believe. If you need Caitlin Clark to validate your positions, that’s a you problem, not a Clark problem.
Similarly, it’s fine to praise Cunningham for taking a principled and correct stand. It’s already an issue that roughly 85% of the population agrees with, though. It’s not the most popular position in the WNBA — Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wore a “Trans Kids Belong” T-shirt when the team played the Fever — so Cunningham deserves some credit for speaking up. Yet, doing so doesn’t exactly make her a hero.
Cunningham and Clark play games to distract and entertain people. Their decisions and opinions do not affect the wide world outside of sports. They don’t owe anyone other than their owners and teammates anything. To paraphrase Portnoy, they aren’t anyone’s puppets.
Also, as another basketball star once said in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2lseCPPCP4">a Nike commercial</a>, “I am not a role model &#8230; just because I dunk a basketball doesn&#8217;t mean I should raise your kids.” WNBA stars may not be great at dunking, but we still shouldn’t expect them to raise our kids, even if Cunningham’s offense was focused on protecting them. That’s a job for parents. They are the ones who can choose not to drive their kids to the locker rooms that Cunningham was discussing. And they are free to make that choice regardless of what any WNBA player says or does not say.
***
Rich Cromwell is a writer living in Northwest Arkansas. He produces the Cookin&#8217; Up a Story podcast, which you can listen to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cookin-up-a-story/id1624969096">here</a>. You can also follow him on X: @rcromwell4

WNBA: JUL 22 Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever

Sophie Cunningham Is No One’s Culture War Punching Bag

Caitlin Clark

Dave Portnoy

DW Opinion

Indiana Fever

Megyn Kelly

Sophie Cunningham

WNBA

Women's Basketball

In Roman riding, the rider stands with one foot on each of two horses as they gallop side by side. The rider controls both horses simultaneously while balancing across them. That&#8217;s what Megyn Kelly has been doing for almost a year: straddling two very different personas.
One horse is Megyn 1.0 — the common-sense legal analyst and pro-Western conservative commentator.
The other is Megyn 2.0 — increasingly indulgent of anti-Israel narratives, defending the spread of Islam in the West, and joining the ranks of Candace Owens&#8217; defenders.
Last week, during Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing, those horses drifted too far apart, and Kelly landed on her ass.
Kelly opened the preliminary hearing with this promise to her audience:
<blockquote>
As we go through this preliminary hearing this week, we&#8217;re gonna be sticking to the proof that is offered by both sides&#8230; while you can have suspicions about somebody else&#8217;s role in a murder like this one, you cannot get that into evidence unless you have real proof and a legitimate good-faith basis for raising it&#8230; that&#8217;s where we begin today.
</blockquote>
There is, of course, nothing controversial about this.
Except that only last December, Kelly told her audience to &#8220;go f*ck themselves&#8221; for expecting her to call out Owens&#8217; conspiracy theories and months-long campaign of harassment and accusations against Charlie Kirk&#8217;s friends, family, employees — and pretty much everyone else under the sun.
This followed months of Kelly moving the goalposts in defense of Owens&#8217; reprehensible behavior after Charlie Kirk&#8217;s death.
When first confronted about Owens&#8217; conduct on The Fifth Column podcast, Kelly said she wouldn&#8217;t criticize her because &#8220;she&#8217;s a young mom&#8221; —  a standard that has never stopped Kelly from attacking Meghan Markle, for example.
Next came Ben Shapiro, who appeared to be the first person to tell Kelly that Owens was targeting TPUSA, Kirk’s friends, and even Erika Kirk.
Kelly acted shocked, insisting she wasn&#8217;t &#8220;the mother of the internet.&#8221;
She then followed it up by confidently assuring her audience, &#8220;It&#8217;s not true. Candace has, in fact, been defending Erika.”
That statement has aged like milk in a heatwave.
Kelly then revealed that she had been working behind the scenes to broker peace between Candace Owens and Erika Kirk, the newly widowed young mother.
It was at this time that Kelly berated viewers who questioned her continued defense of Owens, unleashing profanity and showing them the door.
Not since Neville Chamberlain has there been a more gullible or unsuccessful peace negotiator.
Ben Shapiro accused Kelly of moral cowardice at TPUSA’s AmFest, and rather than reconsidering her position, Kelly bizarrely transformed her unwillingness to criticize Owens into a principled stand against &#8220;bending the knee to Israel.&#8221;
Once again, she told her critics to &#8220;go f*ck themselves.&#8221;
It wasn’t long after this that Megyn Kelly’s Israel Derangement Syndrome metastasized. Megyn 2.0 earned the moniker “Grandma Groyper,” stating:
<blockquote>
How much of the narrative that is in our news today has been spoon-fed to me by people who are super pro-Israel at all costs, who won’t tell the truth about Israel, no matter what it is&#8230; I’m just starting from square one basically on Israel right now.
</blockquote>
Only a year earlier, Kelly had hosted Charlie Kirk, warning about the threat of Islam in the West. Fast forward a year, and she was openly eyeing Tucker Carlson&#8217;s significant Muslim audience, saying on Next Up with Mark Halperin, “Like he’s gotten very, very popular lately, I read, with Muslim viewers because he’s been standing up for Islam.”
Then came Tyler Robinson&#8217;s preliminary hearing.
Almost overnight, Megyn 1.0 reappeared.
On the second day of the hearing, she argued, &#8220;There is no disproving a conspiracy theory in the mind of a true conspiracy theorist. It&#8217;s not possible. They will just continue moving the goalposts.&#8221;
By day four, Kelly was urging those attacking Erika Kirk to show some humanity. &#8220;Every night Erika goes home to Charlie&#8217;s two children who have no father&#8230; it&#8217;s just beyond human what is being asked of the family.&#8221;
For a moment, Kelly sounded exactly like the careful legal analyst who made her reputation.
Unfortunately, this is where things fell apart.
Kelly&#8217;s guest, former prosecutor Matt Murphy, politely but directly challenged the person driving many of the Charlie Kirk conspiracy theories — not anonymous internet trolls, or even leftists, but young mom Candace Owens herself.
Murphy said, &#8220;I&#8217;ve seen some insane things on the internet, mostly championed by Candace Owens, that are so loony, tinfoil-hat out there. And I think that&#8217;s hard on the victim&#8217;s family.&#8221;
He accurately described those embracing the conspiracy slop as &#8220;actual lunatics.&#8221;
Murphy also pointed out that Owens had said she would stop spreading baseless conspiracies if Erika Kirk asked her to; Erika Kirk repeatedly did, and Owens ignored her.
Instead, Owens responded by accusing Erika of being a child groomer, a human trafficker, connected to Jeffrey Epstein, mocking her by pretending to cry over death threats she’d received, and implicating her in her own husband&#8217;s murder — all without credible evidence.
This treatment of Erika, by the way, is ongoing.
Kelly immediately rushed to defend Owens: &#8220;I think she&#8217;s in her own search for what she believes happened here, and she has zero trust in official words on anything.&#8221;
Murphy continued and actually delivered on what Kelly had promised at the start of the week, being unbiased and objective.
But when Murphy dismissed Israel&#8217;s alleged involvement outright — &#8220;Israel didn&#8217;t kill Charlie Kirk. Sorry. They just didn’t.&#8221; — Megyn 2.0 returned.
Kelly immediately defended not simply Owens, but the legitimacy of continuing to speculate about Israel&#8217;s possible involvement, pointing to Charlie Kirk&#8217;s criticisms of some Jewish donors before his death and reports of Israeli-only cell phones allegedly being present at Utah Valley University.
The shift was striking. In fact, it’s a surprise she didn’t begin going on about maroon shirts or Egyptian planes.
The same Kelly who had spent days insisting that conspiracy theories require evidence was now arguing on behalf of conspiracy theories.
The same Kelly who argued for compassion and humanity toward Erika Kirk was arguing on behalf of someone who has actively profited from tormenting Erika Kirk.
Everything Kelly had started the week promising to do, she was now doing the polar opposite of.
This is where Kelly&#8217;s two personas collide. The legal analyst who demands evidence gives way to the commentator willing to excuse wild, even harmful, speculation when it comes from her friend.
Kelly has repeatedly shown that she knows exactly how evidence should be evaluated. She understands legal standards. She recognizes how conspiracy theories move the goalposts whenever facts become inconvenient.
As she put it: &#8220;There is no disproving a conspiracy theory in the mind of a true conspiracy theorist.&#8221;
Yet only days later, Megyn 1.0 resurfaced.
Referring to those who continued denying Tyler Robinson&#8217;s guilt despite the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, Kelly remarked, &#8220;Some people who refuse to believe that Tyler Robinson did this have been saying for quite some time, &#8216;Oh, but there&#8217;s no video of the actual shooting&#8217;&#8230; and still they won&#8217;t accept it. We&#8217;re never gonna get through to them. I don&#8217;t even really care about them, to be honest.&#8221;
It&#8217;s enough to give her remaining audience whiplash.
The balancing act isn&#8217;t sustainable. Eventually, one of these two Megyn Kellys will prevail. Judging by who she&#8217;s repeatedly told to &#8220;go f*ck themselves,&#8221; she&#8217;s already made her choice.
***
Nathan Livingstone is an Australian filmmaker and video editor who creates short films, commentary, and investigative pieces. Follow him on X:<a href="https://x.com/@themilkbartv"> @TheMilkBarTV</a>

Will The Real Megyn Kelly Please Stand Up?

Candace Owens

Charlie Kirk

Conspiracy Theory

Erika Kirk

Tucker Carlson says he no longer supports the Republican Party.
That’s the same as Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
For a long time, I&#8217;ve been talking about ideological borders for conservatives, because words have meanings and political movements must have borders. It turns out these “Republicans” are self-deporting, which is a good thing, because what we don&#8217;t need in the party are people who won&#8217;t assimilate to our culture or our values and who would like our enemies to win.
Good riddance.
Vice President JD Vance was recently on Megyn Kelly&#8217;s show in order to trot out his defense of the Iran deal, and he said something interesting: that even if you disagree with the administration, you should vote Republican, because the alternative is to put Democrats in power. That makes sense.
Let’s put aside all of the nonsense that the vice president was peddling about how we really need a bunch of people who love the Iran deal to stay in, because otherwise the neocons are going to win, etc., etc.
The whole point of what people on the horseshoe Right, or the woke Right, are doing is to destroy the Republican Party from within, to throw their support to someone else in order to get the Republican Party to run after them.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/the-ben-shapiro-show-episode-2451?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-981859" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner.avif" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner.avif 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner-768x128.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
I&#8217;m okay with people who are rabidly anti-American leaving the party. I don&#8217;t think we need them here. I think that if you came into the Republican Party because you were a refugee from your home party or from your home ideology, and we brought you in here as a kindness, and then you proceeded to take advantage of our system and proceeded to believe that we were going to change all of our principles for you, it&#8217;s time for you to self-deport.
Now, Tucker Carlson is self-deporting from the Republican Party. He&#8217;s very upset with the administration because the administration is not pro-Russia or pro-Iran enough for him.
Yesterday, he announced on the “Can&#8217;t Be Censored” podcast — I have to admit, I find it somewhat hilarious that there are podcasts with sizable audiences that claim that they&#8217;re being “censored” — that he no longer supports the Republican Party; he can&#8217;t because it&#8217;s just too immoral. A moral Republican Party would have sided with Hezbollah, Iran, and the Russians.
Don&#8217;t let the door hit you on the way out.
He said:
<blockquote>How could I or any American voters support a political party that&#8217;s not loyal to the United States, that puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens &#8230; 
I voted Republican my entire life. &#8230; I&#8217;ve been a consistent defender for 35 years of the Republican Party. &#8230; But there&#8217;s no defending this because it&#8217;s immoral. And it&#8217;s exactly the opposite of what a political party in a democracy is charged with doing, which is representing its own voters, its own citizens, its own nation. And they&#8217;re not doing that. So no, I&#8217;m out.</blockquote>
Tucker acts like he&#8217;s been a Republican for 35 years. That&#8217;s weird, because he was a registered Democrat from 2006 to 2020. He said he did that so he could vote for the Democrats in primaries and manipulate the system — except that Washington, D.C., where he was living, has a closed primary system.
I have some questions.
If the Republican Party will not support Vladimir Putin&#8217;s aspirations in Ukraine, if the Republican Party will not sing the glories of Russian bread and Russian subways and Russian hamburgers, if the Republican Party will not bend over for Qatar completely, if the Republican Party refuses to just cheer on the Iranians as they foster terrorism throughout the region, my goodness, what are we even doing here?
Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed, “There is [sic] a lot of us that are absolutely fed up and will not support a party that betrays its voters and country. That does not mean we are turning into Democrats either. But we are done with the America Last Republican Party.”
Megyn Kelly told JD Vance that she never believed she should simply leave because she&#8217;s upset over what the Republicans are doing. But two weeks ago, she was with Sean Ryan talking about forming a horseshoe coalition with Ana Kasparian, who has tweeted support for terrorism.
The important point is that the Republican Party has certain principles. If you do not accord with those centralizing principles, e.g., peace through strength, then probably you shouldn&#8217;t be here. That&#8217;s okay. You can leave.
But you should not be the lodestar of a new Republican Party.
Self-deportation is a good policy for people who joined up for the wrong reasons in the first place.

tucker_divorce_padded_left (1)

The Political Divorce Everyone Saw Coming

Ben Shapiro

Conservatism

JD Vance

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Nick Fuentes

Opinion

Republicans

Tucker Carlson

Woke Right

A Democratic congresswoman highlighted criticism of President Donald Trump from podcasters Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Candace Owens while questioning War Secretary Pete Hegseth during a fiery committee hearing on Wednesday.
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) asked Hegseth if he believes Trump &#8220;is mentally stable enough to be the commander-in-chief&#8221; and brought up a number of former Trump-supporting podcasters who are now questioning the president&#8217;s mental acuity.
&#8220;In fact, many, many Republicans have had the same questions,&#8221; Jacobs said. &#8220;Marjorie Taylor Greene said he&#8217;s out of control and he&#8217;s gone insane. Candace Owens said the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked — Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, who you used to work with, Alex Jones, Stephanie Grisham, the list could go on.&#8221;
Hegseth dismissed Jacobs&#8217; question and ripped Democrats for raising questions on Trump&#8217;s ability to lead after the party turned a blind eye to issues around former President Joe Biden.
&#8220;Did you ask the same question of Joe Biden for four years?&#8221; Hegseth shot back. &#8220;You did not, and I won&#8217;t even engage with the level of disparagement that you&#8217;re putting on the commander-in-chief &#8230; he&#8217;s the sharpest and most insightful commander-in-chief we&#8217;ve had in generations. And you want to ask that question after you and your fellow Democrats defended Joe Biden, who could barely speak and didn&#8217;t know what day of the week it was. He governed with an autopen. You had a secretary of defense who went AWOL for a week.&#8221;
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;"><iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/wk00Wi7eYHJt3xm7TsGYPoUKIbc201MWXv?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=991c8a03-a2fb-4ee7-b6a4-641bbb0ba42d&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=Democrat%20Invokes%20Tucker%20Carlson%2C%20Megyn%20Kelly%2C%20Candace%20Owens%20&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2Fde2bee5a-a85a-44e4-867a-f20892c8e0a1.png&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
The heated exchange took place during a House Armed Services Committee hearing, where Hegseth and Gen. Dan &#8220;Razin&#8221; Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, faced questions about the ongoing war in Iran.
The war has enraged Democrats and podcasters who used to support Trump — like Carlson, Kelly, and Owens — who have ramped up their criticism of Trump in recent weeks. Carlson, who recently apologized for endorsing Trump in 2024, has repeatedly accused Trump of conducting the military operation in Iran at Israel&#8217;s bidding. He also claimed earlier this month that Trump was considering using a weapon of mass destruction “on the population of Iran.” Kelly has also claimed that Trump is being played by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said the president is “too weak” and “too gullible” to push back on Israel&#8217;s demands.
Owens, meanwhile, has called the Trump administration &#8220;satanic&#8221; and referred to Trump as a &#8220;Mad King,&#8221; while urging the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove the president from office.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-goes-nuclear-on-tucker-megyn-and-candace?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Goes+Nuclear+On+Tucker%2C+Megyn%2C+And+Candace">blasted</a> the podcasters earlier this month, calling them &#8220;nut jobs,&#8221; &#8220;troublemakers,&#8221; and &#8220;stupid people.&#8221; The president also pointed out that the podcasters are being hailed by the Left for their opposition to his administration.
“These so-called ‘pundits’ are LOSERS, and they always will be! Now Fake News CNN, The Failing New York Times, and all of the other Radical Left ‘News’ Organizations, are ‘hailing’ them, and giving them ‘positive’ press for the first time in their lives,” Trump said. “They’re not ‘MAGA,’ they’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA.”

Democrat Invokes Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens In Heated Hearing

Congress

Democrats

Donald Trump

Pete Hegseth

President Donald Trump lashed out on Thursday, asking via Truth Social who was “dumber” — former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson or former intelligence official Joe Kent.
“Who’s dumber, Tucker Carlson or Joe Kent? It’s very interesting!” Trump’s post began, and he went on to lay out his case for Kent.
The president explained that he’d first met Kent at Dover Air Force Base during the dignified transfer of Kent&#8217;s late wife, who was killed by Iranian terror proxies in Syria.
“Her casket was being brought to Dover, along with the rest, although he married again, quite quickly, in my opinion,” Trump continued, jabbing at Kent over his Congressional losses. “In any event, a number of years later, I noticed the same person was running for Congress in Washington State, and lost. I then noticed a couple of years later, he was running again, and lost.”
Trump then explained that he’d felt bad for Kent, who had run as a Republican, and for that reason had offered him a position in the administration.
“I told my people, ‘Hire him for the White House. Give him a job, make him feel good, he lost his wife and two Elections.’ They did so and, while I rarely saw him, I certainly didn’t expect disloyalty, but that’s what I got,” Trump added. “He was really a SLEAZEBAG, and some would say, on top of it all, A LEAKER!”
Trump concluded by suggesting that he would no longer make hiring decisions just because he felt bad for someone: “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”
Lumping in several other relatively recent critics, Trump compared Kent to Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Candace Owens as well: “Kent is a LOSER, just like Tucker, Candace, Megyn, and the rest of them are LOSERS — You’re born that way, LOW IQ, and there’s not a damn thing they’re going to be able to do about it!”
Kent, who recently resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, cited disagreements over the Trump administration&#8217;s actions in Iran as the reason for his exit and claimed that the United States was acting in Israel&#8217;s interest.

KentTrump

Donald Trump Poses Question To World: ‘Who’s Dumber, Tucker Carlson Or Joe Kent?’

Joe Kent

Ben Shapiro laid into the “low IQ grievance ideology” of Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly on Tuesday night, urging a packed crowd of college students to reject the conspiracy theories, doomsday predictions, and anti-Trump rage being pushed by the podcasters.
During a speech at the University of Pennsylvania, the Daily Wire founder said that the three are pushing “a grievance-based view of the world in which they and those like them are perennial victims of the American system.” 
Shapiro’s speech came just a few days after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-goes-nuclear-on-tucker-megyn-and-candace?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Goes+Nuclear+On+Tucker%2C+Megyn%2C+And+Candace">ripped</a> Carlson, Owens, and Kelly, saying they all have “Low IQs.” 
“They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 
Shapiro expanded on the president’s observation and argued that the group of anti-Trump podcasters has bought into “conspiratorial grievance politics,” which he compared to a “zombie infection.” 
“The attraction of low IQ ideology is envy,” Shapiro said. “A belief that lack of success is somehow a reflection not of bad decision-making or the hardship of life, but of a cruel system, designed by a nefarious cadre of evildoers. Envy. As Adam Smith put it, envy is ‘that passion which views with malignant dislike the superiority of those who are really entitled to all the superiority they possess.’” 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2Q54Jt70-Xo?si=PlQxntGbfSkVmRvp" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Some of these beliefs have recently been demonstrated by Carlson, Owens, and Kelly, Shapiro said, giving multiple examples of how they have pushed conspiratorial grievance politics. 
“You are indeed rolling in low IQ horesh*t if you believe, as Tucker Carlson does, that the president is a ‘slave’ to Israel, or that Alex Jones is a ‘prophet,’ or that the chief opposition to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro was ‘globohomo,’ or that Russia is wonderfully run, or that Sharia Law produces wonderfully clean and robust civilizations, or that Winston Churchill was the villain of World War II, or that Nick Fuentes is less evil than Ted Cruz.” 
Shapiro then called out the “low IQ slop” and “conspiratorial trash” pushed by Owens, who has suggested that Erika Kirk and Turning Point USA, along with the Israeli government, were involved in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Shapiro also blasted Owens for saying that Charlie Kirk appeared to her in a dream and for latching onto the conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron “has testicles.” 
“And worst of all, you are preying on low-IQ people when you cynically humor all of the foregoing for clicks and cash, as Megyn Kelly does,” Shapiro continued. “Nobody is upset with Megyn Kelly’s facile, trite, hackneyed takes on Middle Eastern politics. People are upset with her absolute cowardice and annoyed by the fact that, as a 55-year-old person, she cosplays courage like a clout-chasing 16-year-old girl.” 
Shapiro said the “low IQ grievance ideology” pushed by Carlson, Owens, and Kelly opposes the basic principles of what Shapiro called “high IQ conservatism.”
“High IQ conservatism rests on four foundations: free minds, free markets, public virtue, and a properly constructed government designed to protect these first three values,” he said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
To Make America Great Again, we need high IQ Conservatives. <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benshapiro</a> <a href="https://t.co/YZ56hkT1ie">pic.twitter.com/YZ56hkT1ie</a>
— YAF (@yaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/yaf/status/2044558892617597251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“But low IQ grievance ideology rejects the fundamental basis of these central principles,” Shapiro added. 
He broke down how “low IQ grievance ideology” attempts to tear down free minds by arguing “that we are all victims of a sort of Marxist false consciousness, implanted in us by nefarious outside forces.” The ideology also attacks free markets “in true Marxist style.” 
“Low IQ grievance ideology also argues that public virtue is a sham. The church your parents sent you to as a child? It’s probably fundamentally broken. Either it’s cucked, or it’s intolerant,” Shapiro said.
The ideology says “the people we really need to emulate are true heroes like alleged rapist Andrew Tate and role models like Clavicular,” Shapiro added. “Or people spouting new forms of Christianity that are actually old forms of non-Christianity that revive the Marcion heresy and revel in attributing literally everything to demons, from aliens to underwater sea creatures to strange nighttime dog scratches.”
The line for Shapiro&#8217;s speech at UPenn, his first college speech this year, stretched around the block.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Students are lining up around the block to see <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benshapiro</a> speak tonight at the University of Pennsylvania! <a href="https://t.co/qTakAnsrNt">pic.twitter.com/qTakAnsrNt</a>
— YAF (@yaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/yaf/status/2044185131716325859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
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ben low iq

Ben Shapiro Lays Into The ‘Low IQ’ Podcast Class

College

President Donald Trump blasted his former allies Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones on Thursday, calling the podcasters &#8220;nut jobs and troublemakers&#8221; over their comments on Trump&#8217;s recent actions.
Trump published a nearly 500-word post on Truth Social blasting his former supporters for their attacks on the administration, which have gained the attention of legacy media outlets and leftists.
&#8220;I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon — Because they have one thing in common, Low IQs. They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!&#8221; Trump wrote.
All four of the commentators have become increasingly critical of the president over his decision to launch &#8220;Operation Epic Fury&#8221; and attack Iran. Earlier this week, Carlson urged U.S. military members to refuse Trump&#8217;s orders and claimed that Trump was considering using a weapon of mass destruction &#8220;on the population of Iran.&#8221; Kelly said on Wednesday that Trump was &#8220;bamboozled&#8221; by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and blasted the president as &#8220;too weak&#8221; and &#8220;too gullible&#8221; to push back on Netanyahu&#8217;s argument to attack Iran.
On Sunday, Owens called the Trump administration &#8220;satanic&#8221; and said, &#8220;satanic Zionists occupy the White House and Congress.&#8221; She also called for &#8220;Mad King Trump&#8221; to be removed from office. Jones has similarly called for Trump to be removed from office through the 25th Amendment.
&#8220;Look at their past, look at their record. They don’t have what it takes, and they never did!&#8221; Trump said of the four podcasters. &#8220;They’ve all been thrown off Television, lost their Shows, and aren’t even invited on TV because nobody cares about them, they’re NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS, and will say anything necessary for some &#8216;free&#8217; and cheap publicity. Now they think they get some &#8216;clicks&#8217; because they have Third Rate Podcasts, but nobody’s talking about them, and their views are the opposite of MAGA — Or I wouldn’t have won the Presidential Election in a LANDSLIDE.&#8221;
Trump added that Carlson has &#8220;never been the same&#8221; since he was fired from Fox News and suggested that he &#8220;see a good psychiatrist.&#8221; He also ripped Owens over her claims that French President Emmanuel Macron&#8217;s wife is a man, adding that he hopes Macron&#8217;s wife wins her lawsuit against Owens.
&#8220;Actually, to me, the First Lady of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace, in fact, it’s not even close!&#8221; Trump added.
Trump then ripped Jones over his &#8220;horrendous&#8221; Sandy Hook conspiracy theory, which led to a court ordering Jones to pay $1.5 billion in damages to the families of the mass shooting victims.
&#8220;These so-called &#8216;pundits&#8217; are LOSERS, and they always will be! Now Fake News CNN, The Failing New York Times, and all of the other Radical Left &#8216;News&#8217; Organizations, are &#8216;hailing&#8217; them, and giving them &#8216;positive&#8217; press for the first time in their lives,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;They’re not &#8216;MAGA,&#8217; they’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA.&#8221;
&#8220;As President, I could get them on my side anytime I want to, but when they call, I don’t return their calls because I’m too busy on World and Country Affairs and, after a few times, they go &#8216;nasty,&#8217; just like Marjorie &#8216;Traitor&#8217; Brown, but I no longer care about that stuff, I only care about doing right for our Country,&#8221; he added. &#8220;MAGA is about WINNING and STRENGTH in not allowing Iran to have Nuclear Weapons. MAGA is about MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and these people have no idea how to do that, BUT I DO, because THE UNITED STATES IS NOW THE “HOTTEST” COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!&#8221;

Donald Trump/Tucker Carlson/Megyn Kelly/Candace Owens

Trump Goes Nuclear On Tucker, Megyn, And Candace

Alex Jones

Executive

Politics

Attorney General Pam Bondi botched the investigation into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, failing to deliver on hype she created around the convicted child sex offender, according to Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro.
Shapiro blasted Bondi during an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tclssk--CLk">appearance</a> on “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Monday, arguing that Bondi placed the FBI, and by extension the Trump administration, in a no-win situation by teasing documents and evidence on Epstein and his alleged conspirators that she could not deliver.
“I think that Pam Bondi botched this eight ways from Sunday. I have not seen a bigger botchery of a rollout of a story maybe ever,” said Shapiro.
“I&#8217;m not blaming anybody who&#8217;s upset with the fact that they were told by Pam Bondi, at least by implication, that there was an Epstein list, that there were tens of thousands of hours of tapes, that there are 1,000 victims, that there was more coming. And then nothing happens, right?” the Daily Wire host said. “That seems to be on Pam Bondi.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“I have not seen a bigger botchery of a roll-out of a story maybe ever…”<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BenShapiro</a> on how the Epstein debacle, Bongino, and Bondi.
Watch below, and subscribe:<a href="https://t.co/Y12z2uLeBJ">https://t.co/Y12z2uLeBJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/Tjxnz4nVgA">pic.twitter.com/Tjxnz4nVgA</a>
— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/MegynKellyShow/status/1944848620714647641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bondi’s public messaging in the months leading up to the release of the Department of Justice’s final conclusions on Epstein created a gulf between expectations and reality, according to Shapiro.
“Pam Bondi went on Fox News, at the very best was unclear when she said the Epstein list is on my desk,” he said, referring to a February interview in which Bondi <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bondi-says-epstein-client-list-sitting-my-desk-right-now-reviewing-jfk-mlk-files">said</a>, in response to a question about Epstein’s “client list”: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.”
“‘It,’ she claims, was like, all the papers for Epstein. Okay, fine, but you were very, very not clear about that, at best,” Shapiro added.
Later in February, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/right-wing-influencers-get-binders-labeled-the-epstein-files-but-downplay-revelations/">handed</a> out binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” to right-wing influencers in a White House event. The binders handed out carried little to no new information on Epstein. After receiving blowback, Bondi clarified in a statement that the binders contained “documents that have been previously leaked, but never released in a formal capacity by the U.S. Government.”
Shapiro said the event was “much more damning” than Bondi’s poorly-worded Fox News interview.
“She had a bunch of influencers in the White House, she hands them a binder filled with old crap – all redacted. And then they trot out and hold it up to the cameras like, ‘Hey, look, this is our big prize.’ And then it turns out that there’s nothing new there,” the Daily Wire host said.
Hours after the event with right-wing influencers, Bondi released a letter she sent to FBI Director Kash Patel accusing his agency of misleading her about a trove of files on Epstein. The letter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pam-bondi-says-fbi-lied-to-her-about-turning-over-all-of-the-epstein-files">said</a> that the FBI field office in New York withheld “thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein.”
The issue was resolved less than a week later when the attorney general <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pam-bondi-says-she-received-a-truckload-of-epstein-files-after-accusing-fbi-of-lying">said</a> she received “a truckload” of Epstein files from the FBI.
Shapiro expressed skepticism over Bondi’s public rebuke of the FBI. “There is no evidence that there are all these documents that Kash Patel was hiding somewhere in the basement that he had not given Pam Bondi,” Shapiro pointed out.
“And then all we get is this two-page letter that, basically, is supposed to put everything to bed,” he continued, referring to a Department of Justice memo released last week <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-drops-11-hour-video-of-jeffrey-epsteins-prison-cell-on-night-he-died">concluding</a> that Epstein did not keep a “client list” and that the disgraced financier died by suicide in 2019.
The Trump administration has been embroiled in criticism since the Department of Justice released its findings on July 6, much of the fire coming from supporters of President Donald Trump.
The fiasco has led to fissures within the Justice Department, with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino reportedly threatening to quit unless Bondi steps down. Nobody has yet exited the administration, and the president has publicly attempted to soothe criticism and downplay divisions in the administration.
If Bongino’s version of events is accurate – that Bondi oversold what the FBI had on Epstein and placed the agency and its leadership in an impossible situation – “then, obviously, I&#8217;m very much on Dan Bongino&#8217;s side and Kash Patel&#8217;s side,” said Shapiro.
Bondi’s handling of the Epstein investigation “makes Dan look bad, it makes Kash look bad, it makes the president look bad, and all the rest,” he said. “I think that Pam Bondi pretty clearly to the public made a bunch of statements that were unrepresentative of the final DOJ-FBI memo that was released.”

Pam Bondi

Ben Shapiro: Pam Bondi ‘Botched’ Epstein Rollout ‘Eight Ways From Sunday’

Department of Justice

Media

U.S.

The public is reacting to Sean “Diddy” Combs being found not guilty of the more serious charges against him and only being found guilty of violating the Mann Act.
Many commentators agree that while Combs didn’t get off scot-free, he did escape a life sentence, which was a possibility if he’d been found guilty of all charges.
“This is f***ng ridiculous,” journalist Megyn Kelly <a href="https://www.megynkelly.com/2025/07/02/megyn-kelly-reacts-to-shock-verdict-in-sean-diddy-combs-trial/">said</a>, reacting to what transpired in the courtroom. “I just find it absolutely outrageous the amount of crime that this guy just got away with.”
She went on, “I believe he committed arson. He definitely battered [ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura]. He battered Jane, too. The statute of limitations for battery in Los Angeles, California, is one year. So if they didn&#8217;t charge him for battery within one year, and they couldn&#8217;t, because he bought the tape and it remained hidden thanks to those security guards out there, then they could never charge him with that again.”
“He was a famous man, and they didn&#8217;t want to find him guilty,” Kelly said at another point, adding that she plans to make it her “personal mission” to “maintain his humiliation in the minds of all Americans.” 
Actress Rosie O’Donnell also weighed in on the situation, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm-n2ZpnzG/">writing</a> on Instagram, &#8220;i guess a jury just never wants to believe that a woman stays because of power and coercion—wow—they just think women stay because what? money—fame—‘they love the abuse&#8217; &#8211; what a f***ing joke. this decision got me angry.&#8221;
Rapper 50 Cent, who has been openly critical of Diddy throughout the trial, also <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm_dgduIbQ/">posted</a> on Instagram about the verdict. &#8220;Diddy beat the Rico, that boy a bad man !&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;he like the Gay John Gotti.&#8221;
Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor, also shared a statement: &#8220;This entire criminal process started when our client Cassie Ventura had the courage to file her civil complaint in November 2023. Although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution. By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/cassie-venturas-lawyer-releases-statement-diddy-split-verdict-123351258">wrote</a>, per Good Morning America.
He went on, &#8220;We must repeat – with no reservation – that we believe and support our client who showed exemplary courage throughout this trial. She displayed unquestionable strength and brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion. This case proved that change is long overdue, and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors.&#8221;
According to some <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/cnn-reports-people-are-pouring-baby-oil-on-each-other-outside-diddy-courtroom-and-chanting-its-not-rico-its-freak-o/">reports</a>, people outside the courthouse reacted to the “not guilty” verdict by pouring baby oil on themselves in celebration. This was a reference to the vast amounts of baby oil reportedly recovered from Combs’ residence, which was used during his infamous “freak off” sex parties.

Diddy

‘F***ing Ridiculous’: Megyn Kelly, Others React To Diddy Verdict

'F***ing Ridiculous': Megyn Kelly, Others React To Diddy 'Not Guilty' Verdict

Entertainment

Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Sex Crimes

Journalist Megyn Kelly weighed in on former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announcing that she was leaving the Democratic party and becoming an independent.
“You&#8217;ve got to be kidding me. … What a lie. … She&#8217;s going to tell us what it&#8217;s like to be an independent?” Kelly said on Wednesday’s episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show.” She went on to explain her own history as an independent, describing Jean-Pierre’s abrupt rebranding as having the “stank of desperation,” considering how she worked for the Obama and Biden administrations. 
“She ran for the hills trying to pretend she knows what independence is,” Kelly added.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Karine Jean-Pierre Writes Book Rebranding Herself as &quot;Independent,&quot; w/ Halperin, Spicer, Turrentine" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rCDFQRVStFM?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>
Kelly went on to speak on others who had been in the role and how Jean-Pierre compares.
“You have had press secretaries &#8230; Dana Perino, Kayleigh McEnany, Tony Snow back in the day &#8230; who are smart people. Who are not, really, let&#8217;s face it, utter morons who are just out there as mouthpiece,” Kelly said. 
She added, “Obviously. Karoline Leavitt … very smart person. But Karine Jean Pierre is not on the list. All right? Even Jen Psaki, she&#8217;s not a moron, but Karine Jean Pierre is a total moron. You only need to have watched her for two days to pick that up.” 
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
“There is literally nobody in the country who wants to hear her political analysis on anything,” Kelly said. 
The journalist was reacting to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-press-sec-karine-jean-pierre-says-shes-leaving-democrats-selling-inside-look-at-broken-wh">news</a> of Jean-Pierre’s new memoir, “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines.” 
“In a country obsessed with blind loyalty to a two-party democratic system, Karine Jean-Pierre, former White House press secretary to the Biden-Harris administration, shares why Americans must step beyond party lines to embrace life as Independents (sic),” the book description says. “Jean-Pierre didn’t come to her decision to be an Independent (sic) lightly. She has served two American presidents, Obama and Biden.” 
In the book, Jean-Pierre “urges Americans to think outside of the blue-and-red box as we consider what’s next to save our democracy,” per the description.
&nbsp;

Jean-Pierre and Kelly

Megyn Kelly Reacts To Karine Jean-Pierre Abandoning Dems: ‘Ran For The Hills’

Megyn Kelly Reacts To Karine Jean Pierre Abandoning Dems: 'Ran For The Hills'

Democrat

Joe Biden

The Megyn Kelly Show

White House

Dave Portnoy is again weighing in on the viral Bill Belichick interview and fallout, saying there’s a “zero percent chance” Belichick wrote the statement accusing CBS News of &#8220;selectively editing.&#8221;
The Barstool Sports founder sat down with journalist Megyn Kelly to provide insight into the situation, adding that he knows the 73-year-old North Carolina head football coach and his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, “personally.”
“He lives on Nantucket. I live on Nantucket. I&#8217;ve met Jordon, so it&#8217;s a very awkward thing to see,” Portnoy told Kelly on her Thursday podcast.  
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Dave Portnoy Tells Megyn New Details on Bill Belichick&#039;s Relationship with 24-Year-Old Girlfriend" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ib08734cRdc?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>
&#8220;In my years following Bill Belichick, I would say my knowledge of him, there’s roughly zero percent chance he wrote that,” he said of the statement. “But he just doesn’t care generally what anyone thinks about him,” Portnoy continued. “So to go write that —  my guess would be Jordon wrote that.”
“I was not expecting this interview,” he added. “I was squirming. I don&#8217;t know what to expect. I don&#8217;t know what to think about it. It certainly was awkward … I don&#8217;t know why she&#8217;s so involved, I really don&#8217;t. I&#8217;ve met her. She&#8217;s nice enough, she&#8217;s running the whole show.” 
Portnoy said, “Every piece of Bill Belichick business goes through her … Like if that was maybe not in a romantic relationship, and that&#8217;s his PR manager … nobody&#8217;s blinking at that … It’s just a very awkward situation. The age gap is huge, clearly, but she runs the show.”
“It&#8217;s such a juxtaposition of a guy who seemingly had no media savvy, but was always just straightforward, no time for the media. Now, having his life run by a [24-year-old], it certainly it’s eye-opening for a guy like me,” he added.
“I also know I&#8217;m gonna run into them in Nantucket, and I&#8217;m gonna be carrying my watermelon out of Stop-and-Shop, and I don&#8217;t want it to be an awkward conversation,” Portnoy told Kelly.  “It went super viral. It&#8217;s all anybody&#8217;s talking about … because it&#8217;s just such a departure from how a sports fan page or fan everybody thought of Bill Belichick.”
Kelly said Hudson’s actions had entered the realm of “elder abuse” and gave her “Dr. Jill [Biden]” vibes. 
She said if the “situation were reversed” and it was an older woman dating a controlling younger man, “we’d be accusing him of elder abuse and asking whether he’s guilty of coercive control, and whether this woman is OK.”
Belichick released a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-belichick-accuses-cbs-of-selectively-editing-interview-to-make-younger-girlfriend-look-bad">statement</a> following the tense interview going viral, saying they had previously agreed to only discuss topics related to the book and not his relationship but those requests were “not honored.” 
“[Hudson] was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track,” he continued, saying the interview was “selectively edited” in an effort to “suggest a false narrative.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
My Sunday morning routine is always coffee and CBS Sunday Morning. It’s a feel good show. The opposite of controversial. So image my surprise this morning when they had the most awkward Bill Belichick interview I’ve ever seen. Like I was squirming in my seat <a href="https://t.co/1p6XjwsTfk">pic.twitter.com/1p6XjwsTfk</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1916506436806312044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Belichick and Hudson

Dave Portnoy Says There’s A ‘0% Chance’ Bill Belichick Wrote Statement On Disastrous CBS Interview

Dave Portnoy Says There's A '0% Chance' Bill Belichick Wrote Statement On Disastrous CBS Interview 

Bill Belichick

CBS News

Celebrities

Football

Sports

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday called for the United States to stop funding gain-of-function research at biolabs around the world.
Gabbard made the comments during an interview with podcast host Megyn Kelly, as they discussed the likelihood that the United States directly funded the research that led to the creation of COVID-19 and the state of the ongoing probe into the lab leak that released the virus. It is now widely accepted by American officials that a lab leak stemming from gain-of-function research triggered the 2020 pandemic.
“The reason why this is so important is not just what has happened in the past, it&#8217;s because this gain-of-function is happening in biolabs around the world,” Gabbard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMKTSYxto_Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, pointing to her previous warnings about U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine.
“In order to prevent another COVID-like pandemic or another major health incident that could effect us in the world, we have to end this gain-of-function research and provide the evidence that shows exactly why and how it’s in our best interests, the American people’s best interest, to bring an end to it,” she added.
Gain-of-function research is a process in which scientists genetically alter an organism to study how it responds under specific conditions. It can involve increasing transmissibility, virulence, and other characteristics of a pathogen.
Gabbard did not specifically name which American-funded labs she said were performing gain-of-function research.
Gabbard told Kelly that she still had an intelligence team working with National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya and Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to investigate direct links between U.S.-funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, and the pandemic.
Kelly asked when the public could expect to find out the &#8220;exact experiment&#8221; that led to COVID. Gabbard replied that her team was working on it with Bhattacharya and would release the information &#8220;hopefully very soon.&#8221;
Based on the increasing consensus that the lab leak was the cause, Gabbard said she was not surprised that Dr. Anthony Fauci had been pardoned preemptively as President Joe Biden left office. “Is it any wonder that he sought a preemptive pardon for anything during a certain period of time by President Biden before he left office?” she said.
In May 2021, Fauci <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/20/if-anybody-is-lying-here-senator-it-is-you-fauci-tells-sen-paul-in-heated-exchange-at-senate-hearing.html">said</a> that the NIH “has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.” However, later evidence from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic determined that the EcoHealth Alliance used NIH dollars to fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan. EcoHealth is currently under investigation by the Justice Department and has been barred from receiving any further federal grant dollars.
Gabbard said that much of the research her team has conducted can be found at <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-true-origins-of-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID.gov</a>, where the Trump administration has compiled a page explaining how the coronavirus is believed to have originated in a Chinese lab.
In addition to the COVID investigation, Gabbard said that her team was looking at other instances of the United States funding &#8220;dangerous&#8221; gain-of-function research that &#8220;in many examples has resulted in either a pandemic or some other major health crisis.”

President Trump Presides Over Cabinet Meeting

Tulsi Gabbard Reveals When Her Team Will Pinpoint Exact Moment Of COVID Lab Leak

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