TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-DEMONSTRATION

The ‘No Kings’ Protests Were A Disaster

The 'No Kings' Protests Were A Disaster

Democratic Party

Democrats

Donald Trump

Leftists

Los Angeles

Matt Walsh

Opinion

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Salt Lake City

Seattle

President Trump’s strategy regarding Iran has been remarkable.
The President of the United States has — with no use of American military personnel — devastated the Iranian nuclear resources to the point that Iran is begging the Americans to come to the table now.
Trump has said that all options are still on the table. It may be that if the Iranian nuclear site Fordow is still in operation a couple of weeks from now or a week from now, and the Iranians will not come to the table, there may be one B-2 sortie in Fordow — with no capacity for Iran to fire back because Israel has already destroyed all of the ballistic missiles that would be aimed at any place that threatens Americans.
The danger is that if Iran retains the nuclear fuel it has already enriched, as well as the centrifuges to enrich more, the country could sprint to make a bomb. This is where the United States comes in. Israel lacks the deep penetrating bombs and the heavy bombers to deliver them that could do more damage to buried sites such as Fordow. President Trump endorsed the initial Israeli attacks, but he continues to suggest the bombing could increase the chances of negotiating a deal to dismantle Iran&#8217;s nuclear program.
Meanwhile, President Trump is using the Israelis as the bad cop while he is the good cop.
He is saying to the Iranians that the Israelis are doing what they&#8217;re going to do, and we don&#8217;t control them. They&#8217;re their own country. They can do what they&#8217;re doing, and you can continue to weather that as best you can. But, he’s saying, at a certain point, if this continues and you won&#8217;t give up Fordow, there might be a B-2 headed your way. Or maybe we&#8217;ll find some other way with Israel. Maybe Israel will do it on its own. We just don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s going to happen next.
President Trump has played this absolutely brilliantly. If you had told people, just a few years ago, that Iran&#8217;s nuclear regime would be on the precipice of collapse with zero regional fallout — zero — and the United States would not have expended a single offensive missile in that effort, people would have thought that that was genius level stuff.
You know why?
Because it is genius level stuff.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2218-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Meanwhile, there are people on the Right who have now declared that they are the leaders of MAGA, not Donald Trump, that they are the great leaders of America First and MAGA.
Tucker Carlson put out a statement on Friday in his newsletter, in which he stated that President Trump was “complicit in the act of war.” The newsletter was dramatically titled, “This Could Be the Final Newsletter Before All-Out War,” suggesting World War III could break out as a result of the Israel-Iran war. 
He wrote:
<blockquote>While the American military may not have physically perpetrated the assault, years of funding and sending weapons to Israel, which Donald Trump just bragged about on Truth Social, undeniably place the U.S. at the center of last night’s events. Washington knew these attacks would happen. They aided Israel in carrying them out. Politicians purporting to be America First can’t now credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it. Our country is in deep.</blockquote>
While Donald Trump has been speaking about America First, only Tucker Carlson, who tours Moscow supermarkets to talk about how good the bread is and how he wishes that our subway system ran just like Moscow&#8217;s; only Tucker Carlson, who does interviews with the leadership of Qatar and talks about how they are an amazing ally to the United States while they simultaneously support Hamas; only Tucker Carlson, who hosts people like Darryl Cooper, whom he calls the “greatest and most honest historian in America” — the same guy who over the weekend suggested that America should launch missiles against Tel Aviv — only Tucker Carlson is truly America first, not Donald Trump.
Not Donald Trump, who built the America First movement, who built MAGA; only Tucker Carlson and his friends are truly MAGA in America First.
Over the weekend, Carlson doubled down, <a href="https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1933620743406801038">claiming:</a>
<blockquote>The real divide isn&#8217;t between people who support Israel and people who support around the Palestinians. The real divide is between those who casually encourage violence and those who seek to prevent it. Between warmongers and peacemakers.</blockquote>
This is Tucker’s shtick: that anyone who opposes him is a warmonger who wants more war, who just loves war.
Okay. Who are the people who love and desperately want war? <a href="https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1933620743406801038">He says</a>:
<blockquote>Who are the warmongers? They would include anyone who’s calling Donald Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct U.S. military involvement in a war with Iran. On that list: Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rupert Murdoch, Ike Perlmutter and Miriam Adelson. At some point they will all have to answer for this, but you should know their names now.</blockquote>
First of all, I&#8217;m not aware that any of those people are directly calling Donald Trump and saying that he must directly intervene in this current conflict. Second of all, he is suggesting that you&#8217;re a warmonger if you want the Iranian nuclear program to end.
So I guess Donald Trump is a warmonger because Donald Trump wants the nuclear program to end. And you know who said Trump wants the nuclear program to end? Donald Trump. You know who the actual leader of MAGA is? Donald Trump. He created MAGA.
It is Donald Trump who created the America First movement. 
It is not Tucker Carlson, and it is not Marjorie Taylor Greene, who similarly <a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1934375883332046933">put out a tweet</a> saying:
<blockquote>Everyone is finding out who are the real America First MAGA and who are fake and just said it bc it was popular. &#8230; Anyone slobbering for the U.S. to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/MAGA.</blockquote>
So Donald Trump is not the real America First MAGA. Only Marjorie Taylor Greene, an obscure congresswoman from Georgia until Donald Trump tapped her on the head, is the real America First MAGA.
By the way, who are the people who are slobbering for the U.S. to become “fully involved?”
No one has called for a ground invasion of Iran. No one has suggested that the United States ought to be fully involved in a gigantic takeover of Iran in regime rebuilding. No one is calling for that.
Even if you are calling for a single airstrike on Fordow, you know what that looks like? It looks like a single airstrike on Qasem Soleimani, which President Trump did in 2020 and was ripped by people like Tucker Carlson, who said that it was going to turn into a regional war.
Here&#8217;s my big question for folks like Tucker, when he suggests that there are these people who are calling Donald Trump and demanding he do things they want: Whom does he think is the decision-maker?
The decision maker in the White House is Donald J. Trump.
Donald Trump has taken the same position on the Iranian nuclear program since the first minute he came down the golden escalator. He has not changed one iota. 
What a low opinion Tucker Carlson must have of Donald Trump&#8217;s capacities. He thinks that he can manipulate him from the outside, or that others are manipulating him in that particular way.
President Trump fired back at all of this over the weekend. In an interview with The Atlantic, he responded to Carlson and others of his ilk, saying bluntly, “Well, considering that I’m the one that developed ‘America First,’ and considering that the term wasn’t used until I came along, I think I’m the one that decides that. For those people who say they want peace—you can’t have peace if Iran has a nuclear weapon. So for all of those wonderful people who don’t want to do anything about Iran having a nuclear weapon—that’s not peace.” 
The same people who are attacking Trump have predicted that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are going to get involved in this in some form or fashion.
President Trump is not one of those people because he&#8217;s not a stupid person.
Nothing has changed with Trump; he has been absolutely consistent on this issue.
As all the isolationists are horseshoeing around and having fun, happy times with all of their friends on the Left retweeting each other, you should take note of who these people are and what they actually believe about the President of the United States, about America First, and about MAGA.
Not to mention their complete acquiescence to the idea that a nuclear Iran would be fine for the world: an asinine notion rejected by anyone with half a brain.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Donald Trump Is America First

Ben Shapiro

Iran

Iran Nuclear Deal

Israel

Marjorie Taylor Greene

President Trump

Tucker Carlson

In stark contrast to the battle cries of antisemites, and now the loud chorus of pundits defending Iran and its terror network, our message as Christians is this: preserve Israel and all she defends. As friends of Israel — of freedom, democracy, human rights, holy and ancient tradition — our prayers in her defense must overwhelm the rockets aimed at her annihilation.
Right now, Israel’s enemies are loud. So her friends need to be louder. Because once again, Israel stands on the verge of destruction.
The Iranian regime has openly and repeatedly vowed to annihilate the State of Israel. Since the October 7 terror attacks, Iran-backed terrorists have wrought havoc, ruining their own country, Yemen, and others, while targeting Israeli civilians from afar. When their terrorist friends again launched dozens of rockets at Israel recently, with <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/houthi-missile-strikes-near-israeli-airport-after-evading-missile-defenses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one landing at Ben Gurion Airport</a>, at least eight individuals were seriously wounded. Over the weekend, Iran launched more missiles at Israel — and not at military targets, but as is typical for Iran, at innocent civilians and young children.
And now, Iran has reached the brink of producing nuclear weapons. This is not a theory. This is a very real, existential threat.
We must say it clearly: there will be no second Holocaust. No more helplessness. No more October 7 massacres.
With Iran as unhinged as ever before, the State of Israel was reborn for such a time as this — to be a refuge, a free nation with the ability to protect and defend the Jewish people. Israel has the moral and sovereign right to defend itself against those who seek its destruction.
We must stand in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters — not only because of shared values, but because of a shared God who calls us to be a light in the darkness. I am incredibly thankful for leaders like President Trump, who have stood firmly with Israel in its time of need. This is beyond politics and policies; this is about moral clarity. As followers of Christ, we are called to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, to stand against injustice, and to take action, proving that when we say, “Never again,” we mean it.
Our congregation and global partners have chosen to support the people of Israel by investing in the Northern Galilee Emergency Hospital, by donating to the construction of 800 safe houses throughout the Eshkol region, and by building other bomb shelters, civil defense centers, and psychological treatment centers throughout the country. But if you cannot donate funds, donate your voice to amplify our message of peace.
This is also a pivotal moment for Iran, particularly Iranian Christians. The global church must lift them up in prayer and find ways to support them right now. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of the tyranny and violence they have faced in their own country. We pray that the freedom to preach the Gospel there will finally be possible and that Christians can practice their faith within Iran without fear.
As Christians, Scripture guides us more than any fleeting opinion of man. In Genesis 12:3, we read this about the historic nation of Israel: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
So, our mandate is clear, and we must state it clearly: We will always stand side by side with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and we will always have their backs.
* * *
Pastor Jentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of Free Chapel and was recently appointed to President Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/05/president-donald-trump-names-advisory-board-members-to-the-religious-liverty-commission/">Religious Liberty Commission</a>. Each week, his television program, Kingdom Connection, is broadcast on major networks all over the world. He is also a New York Times best-selling author of several books.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

The Choice Is Crystal Clear: Christians Must Defend Israel As She Confronts Evil

Bible

Christianity

Christians

Jews

Middle East

October 7

Religious Liberty

We all inherit a legacy from the men who came before us. Some of that legacy is good — sacrifice, protection, provision. Some of it is painful — absence, misunderstanding, or failure. As sons, it’s easy to focus on what our fathers didn’t give us. But if we stay there, we risk carrying that pain into the next generation. There’s a better option than blame or bitterness: forgiveness. We must let go of old wounds and decide what kind of fathers — and men — we want to become. Generational growth starts with generational grace.
It is easy to look back and critique what we think our father should have done differently without considering how he was raised, the relational dynamics between his parents, and the communication, leadership, or relationship skills he did or didn’t develop.
My dad and I struggled to connect on a deeper level for most of my life, but we found common ground in motorcycles. That became our language — our way of understanding each other when words fell short. Just before he passed, we told each other, “I love you.” And I believe with all my heart that if he had known how to do better by me, he would have — because he loved me.
Yet, like many men, he wrestled with the memory of the 35-year-old version of himself — the man he wished he had been. But there’s no victory in battling a version of ourselves that no longer exists. Forgiving others is hard; forgiving ourselves is often harder. That’s where grace steps in.
I know men who are currently battling their 35-year-old fathers. The problem is, their father is now in his 70s. Our fathers have had to grapple with their inadequacies and failures, just as we have had to find our path to overcome the effects of those shortcomings. But we must go further and forgive our fathers for the unintentional missteps in raising us.
Raising and providing for my own family has helped me see my father in a different light. As kids, we don’t realize what it takes to raise children or appreciate the degree of sacrifice it requires.
During a conversation with men in my small group, one of the guys said, “Being married is hard. Raising kids is hard.” There was a pause, and I asked, “Would you want it to be easy?” Every man said no, because there is no value without effort. There’s no value in easy. We put in the work because our families are worth it. That means accepting our shortcomings and learning from them.
As a 35-year-old father, I made mistakes. Looking back now, I see that those mistakes were the fuel that helped me grow. I didn’t like the man I saw in the mirror, so I decided that he had to change.
Your life is being recorded. Whether we recognize it or not, we are teaching our boys what it means to be good sons, brothers, husbands and fathers with every word we speak and action we do or don’t take. They internalize how a marriage should function, how a man should talk and act. They are learning how to take care of others and what a God-centered family looks like. They are inclined to mimic us, and one day, they’ll play that footage back.
Realizing this is humbling and compels this exhortation to forgive our fathers. We can’t let the mistakes they made rob us from enjoying what they did correctly. That’s a lesson I hope my son has learned.
I’ve chosen not to judge my father by the missteps of his younger self. When he died, he wasn’t 35 — he was in his sixties, and by then, he was a good man. A man who had grown, who had tried, and who had loved the best way he knew how.
Carrying around unforgiveness is like me carrying around a hundred-pound backpack. I can’t play with my kids or show up for my family in the ways they need me when I’m lugging around the baggage of my past. They would be getting less the father they deserve and a more restricted, and exhausted shell of myself. To be all that I was created by God to be and to live with intention and purpose in the design of fatherhood, I must shed the unnecessary weight of unforgiveness.
Forgiveness doesn’t come naturally. It requires grace — a strength beyond ourselves. It calls us to let go of past pain and offenses, not once, but daily. It&#8217;s a continual act of surrender that frees us to move forward.
You are not the 35-year-old version of your father. You’re a new man — shaped by his story, refined by grace and guided by a higher calling. Forgive your father. Honor his journey, but don’t repeat his missteps. It’s time to lead with faith, wisdom, and redemption.
* * *
This article is adapted from “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Return-Man-Americas-Only-Original/dp/B0DPBWLQJB">The Return of Man: America’s Only Hope is in our Original Hope</a>.”
Jimmy Graham, CEO of <a href="https://ableshepherd.com/">Able Shepherd</a>, is a veteran Navy SEAL and former CIA Global Response Staff Protective Officer with over two decades of experience in high-risk environments worldwide. He is author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Return-Man-Americas-Only-Original/dp/B0DPBWLQJB">The Return of Man</a>.”
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Caucasian father watching son repairing motorcycle in garage

Forgiving Our Dads Is Part Of Fathering The Future

Children

family

fatherhood

Fathers

Parenting

This Father’s Day, we should do more than hand out neckties and grill steaks. We should confront the truth: America leads the developed world in a heartbreaking and preventable trend — the collapse of fatherhood in the home.
According to a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/">Pew Research Center</a> study of 130 countries, nearly one in four children in the United States grows up in homes without a father or any other adult present. That is more than three times the global average. And the cost to our society is staggering.
America is the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, but when it comes to our children, we are falling short in the most fundamental way. 
Children who grow up <a href="https://takechargeus.com/the-truth-behind-the-crisis-the-moynihan-report/">without a father</a> are more likely to live in poverty, drop out of school, engage in crime, and struggle with emotional and behavioral issues. This is not a theory. These outcomes are well-documented across decades of research.
The cancer that is this crisis has been fostered for years as society has normalized the lack of a father’s involvement, especially in the black community. It is about a breakdown in our culture, a turning away from the values that once anchored families. We have abandoned the idea that fathers matter.
Government policies in the 1960s, while intended to provide support, ended up disincentivizing marriage and promoting dependence on the state. Nowhere has this been more destructive than in minority communities. In 1965, nearly 80% of Black children were raised in two-parent homes. Today, more than 70% grow up without their fathers.
At <a href="https://takechargeus.com/">TakeCharge</a>, we reject the idea that these outcomes are the inevitable result of systemic racism. Often, they are the result of choices — choices made by all levels of our American society that have chipped away at the foundational role of fathers.
Single mothers are not to blame. Many are doing incredible work under difficult circumstances. But a child should not have to rely on one parent when two are meant to be present. Fathers are not optional. They are essential.
<div id="attachment_934347" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-934347" class="size-large wp-image-934347" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-857786372-864x576.jpg" alt="gradyreese. Getty Images." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-857786372-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-857786372-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-857786372-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-857786372-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-857786372-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-857786372-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-857786372-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />gradyreese. Getty Images.</div>
The path forward begins with rebuilding what we have lost. We need to revive a culture that respects marriage, celebrates fatherhood, and teaches boys to become responsible men. The foundation of any strong society is strong families.
We must also return to the values that once made our communities thrive: faith, family, education, and personal responsibility. TakeCharge is committed to restoring these values. Through advocacy, education, and direct community engagement, we help families reclaim their identity and purpose.
This issue is not limited to any one group. Fatherlessness affects all races and income levels. But the consequences are particularly severe in low-income and minority communities, where the absence of fathers contributes to cycles of poverty and dysfunction.
That is why we support solutions rooted in personal responsibility, not dependency. We promote school choice, academic excellence, and the power of free enterprise. We believe the promise of America still works — but only when the family is restored.
This Father’s Day, we ask you to do more than say “thank you” to the fathers in your life. We ask you to join a movement to rebuild fatherhood in America. Encourage young men to see fatherhood as a gift and a calling. Support policies that promote marriage and family stability. Mentor a boy who needs a man to look up to. Advocate for cultural change that uplifts the role of dads.
Until we address the fatherhood crisis in America, no program or policy will be enough to fix what is broken.
Our families depend on fathers who show up, stand firm, and lead with love and responsibility. Let’s make this Father’s Day a turning point.
* * *
Kendall Qualls is the founder and President of <a href="https://takechargeus.com/">TakeCharge</a>, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring Black Americans to take charge of their lives by embracing the core principles of faith, family, education, and free enterprise.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Excited child sitting with american flag on shoulders of father reunited with family

A Fatherless Nation Cannot Prosper

Crime

Family Values

Social Issues

This Sunday marks my second Father’s Day without my son, Bar. It feels unthinkable to even write that sentence. And yet, it is true.
Over 617 agonizing days and sleepless nights have passed since I last held my son, heard his voice, or felt the warmth of his presence. Bar Kuperstein was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, at the Nova Music Festival, and has been held captive in Gaza ever since, under brutal, inhumane conditions. He is one of 55 hostages still held by Hamas.
This Father’s Day, like the last, arrives with a crushing weight. There is no hug. No smile. No message, no call, no card. Only aching emptiness and the harrowing silence of uncertainty, absence, and despair.
Bar is 23 years old. He is my firstborn, the eldest of five siblings. He is not just my son, he is my heart, my compass, my light. A gentle giant with a kind soul. On that horrific morning of October 7, while rockets flew and bullets tore through the sky at the Nova Music Festival, Bar did not flee. He stayed behind to help. He tended the wounded, calmed the frightened, and helped others escape. He insisted on staying with the injured, even as the gunfire drew closer.
He had a chance to run, but he didn’t take it. That’s who Bar is — brave, selfless, and good to his core.
<div id="attachment_913445" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-913445" class="size-large wp-image-913445" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-1024x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Kupershtein family. Bar Kupershtein." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Credit: Kupershtein family.</div>
Bar has always been strong. In 2019, I was severely injured in a car accident while rushing to resuscitate a four-year-old girl as a volunteer medic. I lost my ability to walk and speak. Bar immediately stepped into the space where I could no longer stand and became our family’s rock. At just 18, he helped raise his siblings, supported our home, and brought light into our lives despite the darkness.
But even a young man like Bar cannot survive forever in the darkness of underground tunnels, without food, water, or minimal humanitarian conditions.
Several months ago, we saw a Hamas propaganda video in which Bar appeared silent, frightened, thin and hollow-eyed. My son, the love of my life, buried alive. A survivor who continues to suffer.
Since Bar’s abduction, I’ve made it my mission to be his voice. I’ve spent the past year relearning how to speak — not for myself, but for Bar. Last month, I sat in my wheelchair at the Gaza border, near Kibbutz Nir Oz, and shouted through tears: “Bar! I am speaking again! You can come back!”
To all the fathers celebrating this weekend: I hope you hold your children tight. I hope you tell them how much they mean to you. Because there are fathers like me who can only dream of that embrace.
To the international community, I say this: The lives of our children cannot be negotiable. Their freedom cannot be delayed. We need the world’s moral courage now — to stand with the families of hostages and demand their safe return. Indifference is a form of complicity.
And especially to you, President Trump: you too are a father. You know what it means to protect your children, to love them beyond words. I plead with your heart: Please, help us end this nightmare. We believe you have the power. Help put an end to this war and the suffering on both sides. Use your influence, your strength, your voice — to bring back my son Bar, and the 54 other hostages still held in Gaza.
<div id="attachment_934375" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-934375" class="size-large wp-image-934375" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2216851996-864x576.jpg" alt="TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - MAY 28: Barak Oz, the cousin of hostage Tel Kupershtein, hugs Bar's father, Tal Kupershtein, during a press conference with former hostages and families of hostages 600 days after the deadly Oct 7 Hamas attack, on May 28, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. The event was attended by former hostages who were taken captive by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, as well as family members of current hostages. It is believed Hamas still holds 58 hostages who were among the roughly 250 people originally taken captive. Israel has continued its retaliatory war against in Gaza, where at least 53,000 people have been killed, according to the territory's health ministry. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2216851996-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2216851996-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2216851996-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2216851996.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Amir Levy/Getty Images</div>
No family should endure this. No child should be left to languish in darkness while the world moves on.
If Bar is freed, I will rise from this wheelchair. I will stand with every ounce of strength left in me and walk to him. I will wrap my arms around him and say, “Welcome home, son. You were never forgotten.”
Please bring back the happy in my Father’s Day. Bring back the sunshine of my life.
Bring Bar home. BRING HIM HOME NOW.
* * *
Tal Kupershtein is the father of Bar Kuperstein, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Tal Kupershtein

All I Want For Father’s Day Is My Son Back

Hamas

Hostages

Israel’s recent strikes on Iranian terrorist infrastructure have predictably reignited debates about the legality of preemptive self-defense under international law. Let’s dispense with the posturing: these strikes were not only lawful, they were necessary, and there is nothing controversial about what happened — legally, morally, or strategically.
The concept of preemptive self-defense has long occupied a contested space in legal scholarship. Article 51 of the UN Charter affirms that:
<blockquote>Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs&#8230;</blockquote>
Critics argue that this language imposes a strict temporal requirement: self-defense can only begin after an armed attack has already occurred. But this interpretation has always been tenuous — and increasingly divorced from operational realities. The law is not meant to incentivize victimhood, which is why many scholars, more rooted in reality, point out that waiting for a missile to land before acting is not international law — it’s international suicide.
That debate, however, is irrelevant here. Because Israel’s right to self-defense is not merely being invoked preemptively.
For decades Iran has openly vowed to destroy the State of Israel, and they have taken many steps to assure the world that they actually mean it. Since October 7, Iran and its proxy forces — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and militias in Syria and Iraq — have launched thousands of missiles and rockets at Israeli population centers. Each launch was not merely a political provocation, but a war crime: a direct attack on civilians. Under any reading of Article 51, these constitute armed attacks in the strictest legal sense.
And that brings us to the next question: Once the right to self-defense has been triggered, what exactly are its limits?
Customary international law, particularly as articulated in the Caroline doctrine, imposes two key conditions: necessity and proportionality. As Professor Amos Shapira has explained, the central issue is “the dimensions of the risk created by the adversary and the means reasonably necessary to repel, or remove, that risk.” Likewise, Hans Kelsen rightly warned that a right to self-defense that does not allow for the neutralization of the underlying threat is no right at all.
Israel’s response to persistent attacks falls squarely within this framework. The threat is not hypothetical. It is ongoing, declared, and demonstrated. Iran has openly vowed to destroy the State of Israel. Its proxies act constantly to make good on that promise. In recent days Iran has enriched enough uranium to build 15 nuclear bombs. The existential threat is, as the law requires, “instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation.”
In that context, Israel’s latest actions were proportionate and disciplined. Legally, Israel would have been justified in going much further. But it chose targeted, calibrated strikes instead — demonstrating not only military precision, but also strategic restraint.
Some commentators will nonetheless characterize these operations as escalatory or destabilizing. But that critique inverts the causality. The destabilization began with Iranian aggression. Israel’s actions are a stabilizing response — aimed at restoring deterrence and preventing further loss of life.
History has made one lesson painfully clear: peace is not the product of goodwill gestures or international declarations. It is secured by credible deterrence. The idea of peace through strength — long dismissed by the willfully naive — has never been more relevant. Israel’s recent actions embody this principle. When faced with an implacable adversary whose stated goal is your annihilation, strength is not a provocation; it’s a prerequisite for survival. And demonstrating that strength, responsibly and with restraint, is not just a legal right — it is a moral obligation to one’s citizens and allies.
To be clear, deterrence only works if it is believable. That is why the Israeli response was not just defensive—it was declarative. It sent a message not only to Tehran, but to every state and non-state actor watching: We are not passive targets. We will not wait quietly for missiles to rain down or for uranium to be weaponized. We will act, decisively and proportionately, to protect our people. That is how peace is preserved — not by appeasement, but by the unmistakable resolve to uphold red lines and enforce consequences.
There are only two sides in this war: Those who want to kill millions of innocent people, and those who do not. Each person must choose who they want to stand with. But regardless, the international legal system recognizes the right of states to defend themselves. That right is not a theoretical construct, nor is it a suicide pact. It exists for precisely moments like this one.
If the international community is genuinely committed to law and order, then Israel’s actions should not just be understood. They should be affirmed. In addition, Iranian leaders and regime-aligned institutions have repeatedly issued statements calling for the destruction or downfall of both America and Europe. If anything, the world should say thank you.
* * *
John Spencer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point and host of the &#8221;Urban Warfare Project Podcast.&#8221; He is the co-author of &#8221;Understanding Urban Warfare.” 
Mark Goldfeder is Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center and a law professor at Touro University.
Arsen Ostrovsky is a human rights attorney who serves as CEO of The International Legal Forum and senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

United Nations Security Council Meets To Discuss Israel’s Strikes On Iran

Israel’s Preemptive Strikes Were Legal And Necessary. You’re Welcome.

Israel's Preemptive Strikes Were Legal And Necessary. You're Welcome.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Hezbollah

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

United Nations

You know, sometimes, in the hurly burly argle bargle mumbo jumbo of divisive political discourse, it becomes too easy for us to stop listening to the arguments of our opponents. Remember: we all want to see America thrive, and THEY all want to see America particlized in a self-aggrandizing orgy of violent destruction, then set on fire to destroy even the remaining traces of the personal liberty and prosperity we once spread not only from sea to shining sea but all around the world, so they can sweep away our flawed but magnificent nation and replace it with a socialist paradise that will quickly devolve into the hell of oppression and terror that has been the fate of every other socialist paradise while their misbegotten, ignorant and self-deceiving idealism slowly reveals itself to be nothing more than a ravenous hunger for power with its attendant sadistic cruelties.
But for a moment, let’s put those minor differences between us aside and see if we can try to understand our friends on the Left so we can begin to appreciate the goals and ideas that have turned them into such flaming dirt-bags.
For instance, take the riots in Los Angeles. They began when some Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers tried to arrest a number of illegal migrants for the purposes of deportation. Now sure, you could say the migrants had broken federal laws and the ICE agents are duly appointed federal law enforcement officers, working to roll back the slow-motion invasion of our country by unvetted illegals that took place during an administration run by sinister and faceless leftist operatives hiding behind the mindless shell of a once-sentient machine politician who had been propped up for half a century by an unimaginably corrupt corporate news media.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
But let’s look at the other side of the argument. We can’t just go around randomly sending child molesters and drug dealers back to their native countries. These are jobs Americans won’t do because they’re largely civilized people. And who will mow our lawns in order to weasel their way into our confidence and get closer to our children? You don’t want an untidy lawn, do you? And when you think of it in that larger context, you can see why masked thugs are pelting federal officers with rocks and torching cars and looting businesses while waving foreign flags to signal the fact they want to destroy the last best hope of civilization and replace it with whatever gangster-ocracy they just escaped from.
Now some of you might ask: who in the world would believe a crazy-ass argument like that?  But let me ask you something: Did you know that 56% of young liberal white women have been treated for mental illness. Think about that the next time one of these ladies posts her support for the rioters. See, when you first hear that most liberal white girls are mentally ill, you probably think the mental illness is just something a little neurotic like when they won’t let you pay for dinner but then sleep with you anyway. But no, it turns out that talking to some of these dames is more like being trapped in Arkham Asylum desperately trying to escape from a shrieking Admiral Levine who’s coming after you with one of those emasculators they use to castrate bulls, and then just as you lock yourself in an abandoned broom closet and think you’ve escaped him or her or whatever the hell he is, you turn around and there’s some 21-year-old from UCLA screaming “globalize the intifada” and voting for Gavin Newsom, and just as you think you’re done for, you wake up in your own bed and whisper, “Oh thank God, it was only a dream,” and then roll over and, holy crap, she’s lying right next to you. And you didn’t even pay for dinner. And also Los Angeles is on fire.
So now that we understand that these riots have the full and enthusiastic support of young leftist white women shrieking at us unintelligibly from whatever enclave of privilege has made it possible for them to believe the nutty crap they believe, I think we can begin to have more civilized and serious conversations about providing air support to the National Guard.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>
Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Woman Underground.</a>” His most recent nonfiction release is “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Cain-Finding-Literature-Darkness/dp/0310368340/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=nMYjR&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_p=bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_r=133-8344803-2786917&amp;pd_rd_wg=7a8J3&amp;pd_rd_r=5791ea0f-6d96-4732-9d6a-3a4e6b348bb5&amp;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness.</a>” (May 2025, Zondervan/HarperCollins).

US-POLITICS-IMMIGRATION

This Riot Is Brought To You By Shrieking Young Leftist White Women

Andrew Klavan

Hollywood

Humor

Liberals

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As President Trump attempted to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, it became clearer and clearer that the deal was not possible. Trump was never going to sign a JCPOA 2.0. deal.
Some people on the Right were complaining that President Trump wasn&#8217;t acting like Barack Obama. But it was never a MAGA position to be Barack Obama. Donald Trump said for ten years that the JCPOA was the worst deal in American history. He was never going back to it.
As new details emerge as the levels of coordination and talking between the United States and Israel over this current wave of attacks, it is clear that President Trump was actually playing 4D chess with all of this.
He put Iran in a box to keep them there and allow for the possibility of Israel to destroy their nuclear facilities and large swaths of their military capability, with no risk to American troops.
The president was asked by the Wall Street Journal about whether he was given a heads-up by the Israeli government. He replied, “Heads-up? It wasn&#8217;t a heads-up. It was, ‘We know what&#8217;s going on.’”
President Trump is being very clear about this. It appears the United States was not just read in on the operation. Think of the extent to which this was a 4D chess plan, in which the appearance of negotiations with Steve Witkoff was actively put forward by the United States in order to sucker the Iranians into going to sleep after it was clear that the Iranians were not making a deal.
It&#8217;s quite plausible that the United States was involved in a disinformation operation targeted directly at the Iranian government.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2217?elementPosition=1&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
In any case, tactical surprise was not only achieved, it was achieved in historic fashion. And that looks a lot like 4D chess with plausible deniability from the United States. That&#8217;s what it looks like from the outside and from all of the information that&#8217;s being released, including from President Trump.
On Friday morning, President Trump put out a series of statements. He <a href="https://x.com/jonkarl/status/1933483871422632218">told</a> Jon Karl of ABC:
<blockquote>I think it&#8217;s been excellent. We gave them a chance. And they didn&#8217;t take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you&#8217;re going to get hit. And there is more to come, a lot more.</blockquote>
President Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114675456780398208">first statement</a> came last night:
<blockquote>I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to “just do it,” but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come &#8211; And they know how to use it. Certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!</blockquote>
Remember peace through strength? This is what it looks like. This is what Trump&#8217;s foreign policy looks like. It&#8217;s what it&#8217;s always looked like. Anyone who is surprised by this has been ignoring what President Trump has been saying and doing for his entire time as president of the United States.
<blockquote>There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!</blockquote>
President Trump&#8217;s first response to the Israeli attack was:
<blockquote>Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb. We hope to return to the negotiating table. We&#8217;ll see. There are some people in the leadership who won&#8217;t return.</blockquote>
Yup.
Trump said <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114675841423085927">this morning:</a>
<blockquote>Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!</blockquote>
What Iran should do, if they had any brains at all, would be to come to President Trump on bended knee and beg him, beg him to let them give up their nuclear program in exchange for the ayatollahs remaining alive and the regime not being threatened and the elimination of sanctions. The Iranian regime does not have any forward operating capacity. They just don&#8217;t.
President Trump has made it clear over and over and over that Iran could have stopped this at any time. All they had to do was say, “Fine, no nuclear program,” and that would have been the end of it. Instead, they decided they were going to keep pushing and keep pushing and keep pushing.
And President Trump played this absolutely perfectly. Israel acted alone. Israel acted with its own capacity. Israel is doing this by itself. And the United States is saying, “Listen, Israel is our ally. Our interests and the Israeli interests align on Iran not having a nuclear weapon. But this is Israel&#8217;s fight predominantly and foremost. And Israel is an independent country making its own decisions.”
And this is what really matters here. Israel is saying to the entire region that if you screw with Israel, these will be the consequences.
And Donald Trump, the most supportive American president Israel has ever known, had their back.

TOPSHOT-US-JORDAN-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-ABDULLAH II

The 4D Chess Of President Trump

Air Force

Dying civilizations reveal themselves in familiar ways. Faith is abandoned, culture is drained of meaning, and the will to defend the home is eroded. But there are two unmistakable signs that a civilization is in mortal danger: when its people cease to build families — and when it tolerates invasion without resistance.
In 2006, Pat Buchanan raised a warning to the American people: “We are entered upon the final act of our civilization. The last scene is the deconstruction of the nations. The penultimate scene, now well underway, is the invasion unresisted.”
What the American people are witnessing in Los Angeles is that penultimate scene. Flying the flags of foreign lands, the barbarians have stormed the gates. They bear no loyalty to America, no reverence for her inheritance, and no desire to become part of her family.
Millions of deportable aliens fill American cities and hold American jobs, but they are strangers in our midst. Not because sanctuary cities like Los Angeles have failed to welcome them, but because they intend to tear down the permanent things that make this nation worth belonging to.
The Republic has been invaded. We need mass deportations. Not someday. Now.
Mass deportations are fiscally responsible, morally just, and <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/poll-trump-deportation-program-nets-positive-approval-contrasting-views-on-scope/ar-AA1GjePH?ocid=BingNewsSerp">politically popular</a>. Flying someone safely home is possibly the most merciful consequence for violating our laws. Mass deportation is not extreme — it is the moderate, moral alternative to chaos that any serious nation would take to defend its borders. And while some might criticize the amount of funding that this endeavor requires, you can’t put a price on the safety and well-being of the American people.
Approximately <a href="https://www.fairus.org/issue/how-many-illegal-aliens-are-united-states-2025-update">18.6 million</a> illegal aliens reside in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a backlog of more than nine million pending immigration benefit applications. Another 3.5 million cases are backlogged in the DOJ immigration court system. To restore our immigration system (both legal and illegal), we should <a href="https://static.heritage.org/-2025/NewAmericanImmigration_Booklet.pdf?_gl=1*tgx60l*_gcl_au*Nzg2MzEyMDc1LjE3NDIzMTI3MjU.*_ga*MTgxNTg1ODk1MS4xNzM0NDUwMTI4*_ga_W14BT6YQ87*czE3NDk1MjMzMzckbzE0MCRnMSR0MTc0OTUyMzM0MSRqNTYkbDAkaDA.">pause intake</a> of additional applications, including employment authorization documents. In the meantime, the administration can work to remove all deportable aliens between now and January 19, 2029.
This will take both resources and courage — but the American people support the goal. Six months into the Trump administration, the President’s <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1932107479976128956">approval rating</a> on immigration is “surging like a rocket,” according to CNN.
Now, Congress must act — and pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with urgency.
The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, is <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1931834653889134879">calling for protests</a> in the United States and threatening mobilizations over a minuscule 3.5% tax on remittances. In response to such threats, Congress should use reconciliation to increase the remittance tax to at least 15% — as Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) has rightfully <a href="https://x.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1931880241188024476">proposed</a>. It is immoral for foreigners to break our laws, only to then wire dollars that ultimately fund the regimes and networks undermining us.
Congress must also do its job and deliver all the resources necessary to enforce our laws and restore order: expanded ICE funding for detention beds, agents, transportation, and legal support; the permanent codification of President Trump’s proven border policies; and the end of legal gamesmanship that allows illegal aliens to exploit endless appeals and paralyze the system.
Deportable aliens who are put into removal proceedings should not be granted endless chances to delay justice. They previously had due process opportunities to apply for a visa or refugee protection to lawfully enter the U.S. and, once in the U.S., to seek a lawful benefit, including asylum, with DHS. Once an alien is in removal proceedings, the only question should be: is the alien deportable as charged?
The days of surrendering our sovereignty to process lawyers and activist judges must end.
We must institute mandatory E-Verify. No work permits should be granted unless — and until — an immigration benefit has been lawfully approved. Simply filing an application must not become a backdoor pass to employment in the United States. The rule must be simple: no approval, no work.
Asylum fraud is the Trojan horse of the current crisis. We must close it.
And we must <a href="https://www.heritage.org/immigration/commentary/birthright-citizenship-fundamental-misunderstanding-the-14th-amendment">end</a> universal birthright citizenship and chain migration. Only the children of American citizens should have automatic birthright citizenship. And family-based immigration means nuclear family only. Gone will be the days of migration chains that allow aliens, not Americans, to decide who comes here permanently.
Mass deportations are necessary not only to bring back law and order and protect the working class, but also to restore the full political rights of every American. While the Trump administration has rightfully prioritized the deportations of violent criminals, mass deportations require extending far beyond that. Allowing any illegal alien to stay not only erodes law and order but undermines the blessings of American citizenship — especially for those in deep-blue states.
The American people are ready. The President is ready. Now Congress must be ready.
We will not witness the end of the American Republic — unless we choose to.
* * *
Kevin Roberts, Ph.D., is president of The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Protests Erupt In L.A. County Sparked By Federal Immigration Raids

Why America Needs Mass Deportations Now

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Department of Homeland Security

Deportations

Heritage Foundation

illegal alien

Illegal Immigation

Stop the fight!
The Legacy Media and the Left (but we repeat ourselves) declared war on “Harry Potter” author <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jk-rowling">J.K. Rowling</a> in 2019 after she questioned elements of the trans agenda.
Rowling, a certified progressive on cultural and political matters, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/5-years-ago-j-k-rowling-took-a-stand-against-trans-activists-she-hasnt-backed-down">refused to rubber stamp every aspect of the movement</a>.
<blockquote>Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?</blockquote>
For that, she was canceled in every way possible, over and again.
<a href="https://thehill.com/video/jk-rowling-speaks-out-on-death-threats-from-pro-trans-activists-rape-murder-and-violence/10265832/">Some attempts proved literal.</a> She was the queen of the TERFS to the Left — Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists.
Now, nearly six years later, she’s emerged as a leading voice for sanity in the trans arena. She repeatedly speaks her mind on X, fights back against her legion of critics and is a key player behind one of the most anticipated streaming shows of our time.
HBO Max&#8217;s new <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/06/harry-potter-tv-series-max-release-date-cast-1235323284/">“Harry Potter” series,</a> due in either late 2026 or 2027, will retell the seven-book series captured in the epic eight-part film saga.
The battle rages on all the same, and she refuses to apologize. Still.
She’s blasted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jk-rowling-calls-out-trans-activist-creep-over-womens-bathroom-selfies">a “creepy” trans activist</a> for bathroom selfies, slammed attempts to conflate the Pope’s name with an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jk-rowling-says-shes-found-the-most-bat-s-gender-identity-argument-yet">absurd trans argument</a> and stated the obvious when it comes to casting the new “Potter” series.
She responded to a journalist’s provocative narrative suggesting she wouldn’t hire an actor who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jk-rowling-said-she-wouldnt-fire-actor-from-harry-potter-series-for-being-pro-trans">disagreed with her trans issues</a>.
<blockquote>I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did … I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.</blockquote>
That likely would have been a staunchly liberal stance 20 years ago. Those comments sound positively conservative in 2025, even though Rowling has never identified herself as conservative.
Either way, it’s refreshing to see an author embrace free speech.
<div id="attachment_503922" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-503922" class="size-large wp-image-503922" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/GettyImages-1193618855-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 12: J.K. Rowling arrives at the 2019 RFK Ripple of Hope Awards at New York Hilton Midtown on December 12, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/GettyImages-1193618855-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/GettyImages-1193618855-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/GettyImages-1193618855-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/GettyImages-1193618855.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images</div>
Actors linked to the “Harry Potter” universe, either the existing films or the future TV show, are continually asked about Rowling’s views on trans issues. The media remains obsessed with Rowling’s willingness to speak her mind and share views considered mainstream by many.
Future “Harry Potter” star Nick Frost – he is tentatively set to play Hagrid in the TV series – blazed a <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/global/harry-potter-nick-frost-jk-rowling-trans-views-dont-align-1236423365/">mature path on the matter</a>.
<blockquote>She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine, they just don’t align in any way, shape or form.</blockquote>
Translation: A gig’s a gig, most likely. Frost still suggested in the same interview we need to “educate ourselves” on trans issues. The sight of too many trans female athletes dominating biological females may be all the learning we need, Hagrid 2.0.
Tom Felton, who played the wicked Draco Malfoy in the original films, sidestepped a leading question on the red carpet while throwing his support behind Rowling. He’s co-starring in a Broadway adaption of Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
He didn’t share his stance on trans issues with the scribe. He simply praised an author who made his <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/06/09/tom-felton-jk-rowling-broadway-harry-potter/84111570007/">career shine impossibly brighter</a>.
<blockquote>The only thing I always remind myself is that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world. Here I am in New York … and I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter, and she’s responsible for that. So I’m incredibly grateful.</blockquote>
Compare that to the verbal brickbats thrown by the original Harry Potter and Hermione, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, at Rowling over her trans views.
<div id="attachment_934305" style="width: 897px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-934305" class="size-large wp-image-934305" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-118421523-887x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Actor Daniel Radcliffe, writer J.K. Rowling, actress Emma Watson and actor Rupert Grint attend the &quot;Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2&quot; world premiere at Trafalgar Square on July 7, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Jon Furniss/WireImage)" width="887" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-118421523-887x576.jpg 887w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-118421523-300x195.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-118421523-768x499.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-118421523.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 887px) 100vw, 887px" />Jon Furniss/WireImage</div>
Here’s the former Harry Potter <a href="https://ew.com/daniel-radcliffe-j-k-rowlings-anti-trans-rhetoric-really-sad-8641559">taking her to task for her views</a>.
<blockquote>It makes me really sad, ultimately … I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic.</blockquote>
HBO Max has had Rowling’s back for some time. The streamer also sees a shifting cultural landscape. The Warner Bros. Discovery platform might have chafed at joining forces with Rowling four or five years ago.
That was before Riley Gaines struck endless blows on behalf of biological women and Matt Walsh’s groundbreaking documentary “What Is a Woman?” had yet to be released.
Remember the tiny role Rowling played in the 2022 “Harry Potter” reunion special on HBO Max? Rowling said she <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/jk-rowling-harry-potter-anniversary-special-absence-explained-1235352807/">declined an invitation to appear</a>, but her archival footage proved brief and perfunctory.
Surely there’s countless footage of the author exploring the magical universe that transported countless children while teaching them to love reading?
Now, the streamer is desperate to stay in her good graces and wring every eyeball possible from the upcoming series. <a href="https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/hbo-makes-decision-on-relationship-with-j-k-rowling">HBO CEO Casey Bloys</a> made that obvious earlier this year.
<blockquote>It’s pretty clear that those are her personal, political views. She’s entitled to them. ‘Harry Potter’ is not secretly being infused with anything. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.</blockquote>
Rowling never wavered through it all. One could argue she has enough money to ignore Cancel Culture and the media, but others with very deep pockets bowed to the progressive mob in short order.
Take Stephen King. The <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-7936237/Stephen-King-apologizes-controversial-tweets-diversity-Oscars.html">horror maestro backpedaled</a> when progressives attacked him for suggesting merit matters more in the arts than diversity box checking. He even penned a mewling apology/essay in The Washington Post to keep the Cancel Culture mob at bay.
Scarlett Johansson, arguably the most popular actress in the country, similarly did the Hostage Apology routine after <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/scarlett-johansson-says-she-mishandled-transgender-casting-controversy-n1092131">she briefly accepted a gig playing a trans person</a>. That film, “Rub and Tug,” never got made sans the actress’ clout and star power.
Rowling has stayed true to her beliefs and has only grown bolder since the 2019 dustup. She trusted “Harry Potter” fans, or enough of them at least, would have her back.
She was right.
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Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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