Republicans took a victory lap when Matt Van Epps defeated leftist Democrat Aftyn Behn in Tennessee&#8217;s special election this month.
But what, if anything, does Van Epps&#8217;s victory mean for Republican prospects as we head into the 2026 midterm elections?
The Daily Wire asked three Republican strategists to share their key takeaways from this race. All three said that Democrats run the risk of killing any momentum they have if they nominate far-left candidates in primaries for competitive seats.
“For all the handwringing about margin of victory, this was nearly a double digit win. Special elections are special for a reason, and Republicans were wise to leave nothing to chance and sprint through the tape,” South &amp; Hill Strategies co-founder Colin Reed said, calling Van Epps the “type of candidate the GOP needs more of.”
“There are some useful lessons looking forward for both parties: for the GOP, the midterm political climate remains challenging, as it always does for the party in charge, and for the Democrats, they need to nominate less extreme candidates if they want to compete beyond the deep blue bastions of America,” he said.
“That’s a challenge for them because the far Left is where all the energy and enthusiasm resides.”
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The results of the 2026 midterms will shape the final two years of President Donald Trump’s time in the White House. Currently, there are 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats in the House of Representatives, with two seats that are vacant. The magic number for a majority is 218, which both parties are vying for both on the campaign trail and in mid-decade redistricting battles.
Van Epps won with roughly 54% of the vote, leaving Behn with just over 45%. In 2024, Rep. Mark Green, who resigned earlier this year, won the seat with 59.5% of the vote, with President Donald Trump also winning heavily. Van Epps was sworn in on Thursday.
The race led to surrogates campaigning left and right, from President Donald Trump phoning into a rally with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), to former Vice Presidents Kamala Harris and Al Gore hoping to rally the troops for Behn.
Despite her loss, Behn expressed confidence about the margin by which she lost, as she ran her campaign largely on affordability, but faced a wave of scrutiny for her past far-left comments on abolishing prisons, law enforcement, and abortion.
“Tonight, we did something everyone counted out. We proved to a nation that states like Tennessee are still worth fighting for,” Behn posted to X on Tuesday. “The margin was close, and that can only be attributed to the thousands of volunteers who showed out. This is just the beginning.”
Chris Burger, founder and CEO of the Tennessee-based Rotunda Public Affairs, said that “voters weren’t buying what she’s selling.” Burger pointed out how the Democrat was in a primary with three others: Darden Copeland and state Reps. Bo Mitchell and Vincent Dixie.
“This is what happens when you have four people in a Democratic primary, and they elect by a pretty close margin, the most extreme left-wing person in the race, and then all the far-left activists and the national media complex come together,” he added.
&#8220;They put all their attention and money into it, and they threw the kitchen sink at it. And you know, Aftyn&#8217;s a far-left socialist and she does not represent the Seventh District or Tennessee values at large,&#8221; he said.
A third GOP operative, who spoke with The Daily Wire on background, said that they are “very encouraged” by Tuesday night’s results, and said that “a nine-point margin is really strong compared to what we&#8217;re seeing in other elections this cycle.”
However, the operative cautioned that special elections are just that — special — and that turnout likely looks very different from that during a standard election. The operative also pointed out the major messaging pivot by Democrats between the start of the year and now, which went from focusing highly on Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to discussing the cost-of-living.
&#8220;Affordability, they call it, was a con job by the Democrats,&#8221; Trump said during his cabinet meeting earlier this week, as he often blames Democrats and the Biden administration for policies that triggered high inflation.
Burger said that the affordability argument from Democrats like Behn falls flat on its merits when people consider the &#8220;policy objective&#8221; the candidates are campaigning for.
&#8220;If you look at what the Democrats want to do: government involvement. And government involvement typically always drives the price up.

Aftyn Behn and Matt Van Epps

Three GOP Strategists Explain Why Aftyn Behn Lost — And What It Means For 2026

Aftyn Behn

Congress

Elections

Matt Van Epps

Politics

Tennessee

U.S. House of Representatives

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) called the Inspector General report on the “so-called scandal” surrounding War Secretary Pete Hegseth&#8217;s use of a Signal chat a “nothingburger” on Sunday.
On ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos asked Schmitt about the Signal issue, quoting the Inspector General report.
“Here&#8217;s a quote from the Department of Defense Inspector General report on that release of sensitive information over the Signal app. According to the inspector general, ‘the Secretary sent information identifying the quantity and strike times of manned U.S. aircraft over hostile territory over an unapproved, unsecure network approximately two to four hours before the execution of those strikes. The Secretary&#8217;s actions created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots.’ Isn&#8217;t that a concern?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“I reviewed the IG report, and it&#8217;s a nothingburger. The fact is, there was allegations that this was confidential or classified information. &#8230; It wasn&#8217;t. There was no operational integrity problems,” Schmitt said, going on to note that both operations Rough Rider and Midnight Hammer were “executed flawlessly.”
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“There&#8217;s no confidential or classified information that was disclosed,” the senator added before pivoting to highlight the legitimate scandal from the Biden administration in which former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin underwent an undisclosed medical procedure without notifying the president.
“Literally, we had a Secretary of Defense that wasn&#8217;t on duty, and nobody knew about it. Like, that&#8217;s a real problem. This was a nothingburger, and that&#8217;s what the IG report that I read last week in the SCIF indicated.”
Stephanopoulos pressed further, but Schmitt reiterated that no classified information was disclosed, and that Signal was “approved by the U.S. government for communications” before the &#8220;so-called scandal started.&#8221;
“But I think the bigger issue was, you know, in the previous administration, you had real operational risk, you had a department, you had a Secretary of Defense that was incapacitated in a surgery, and nobody knew about it for days. That&#8217;s a problem,” Schmitt concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sen. Eric Schmitt tells George Stephanopoulos that he reviewed the IG&#8217;s report on the alleged release of sensitive information on the Signal messaging app: &#8220;There&#8217;s no confidential or classified information that was disclosed &#8230; This was a nothing burger.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/ZNfL4aWoP6">pic.twitter.com/ZNfL4aWoP6</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1997693761074143538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The 2024 Republican National Convention

‘A Nothingburger’: Republican Senator Blasts Dem Hypocrisy Over ‘So-Called’ Signal Scandal

Republican Senator Blasts Dem Hypocrisy Over 'So-Called' Signal Scandal, Calling It 'A Nothingburger

ABC News

Biden Administration

Executive

Lloyd Austin

Pete Hegseth

Signal

Trump Administration

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether President Donald Trump&#8217;s push to end birthright citizenship is legal, according to reports.
Upon re-entering the White House, Trump signed an executive order to prevent the children of illegal immigrants or foreigners with temporary visas from receiving citizenship upon birth.
It quickly faced a slew of lawsuits arguing that the order violated the 14th Amendment, which affords citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil regardless of their parents&#8217; immigration status.
The high court is now expected to decide in late June or early July on the longtime interpretation of the 14th Amendment, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-birthright-citizenship.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The New York Times.
In June, the high court justices <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a884_8n59.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> 6-3 along ideological lines to allow Trump to try to end birthright citizenship in some parts of the country.
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The ruling, however, did not address the question of birthright citizenship itself, which is the practice of granting automatic citizenship rights for babies born on United States soil, regardless of their parents’ citizenship status.
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-asks-supreme-court-to-hear-birthright-citizenship-case?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Asks+Supreme+Court+To+Hear+Birthright+Citizenship+Case">asked</a> the Supreme Court in September to take up the case after several lower courts paused the order.
“The lower court’s decisions invalidated a policy of prime importance to the President and his Administration in a manner that undermines our border security. Those decisions confer, without lawful justification, the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people,” the Justice Department wrote in the appeals at the time.

Donald Trump/Supreme Court

Supreme Court To Rule On Trump’s Push To End Birthright Citizenship

birthright citizenship

Courts

Donald Trump

Illegal Immigration

Supreme Court

Testifying before Congress on Thursday, Navy Adm. Frank M. Bradley flatly denied that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a &#8220;kill all&#8221; order for strikes on a vessel carrying alleged drug-smuggling Venezuelan narco-terrorists in the Caribbean in early September, pushing back against accusations of war crimes.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said that the strikes on September 2 were “entirely lawful and needful and they were exactly what we would expect our military commanders to do.” Cotton added that during a classified briefing with Bradley, he witnessed “two survivors trying to flip a boat” after the first strike and “board it with drugs.”
&#8220;Admiral Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order to give no quarter or kill them all,” Cotton added.
The Washington Post published an anonymously-sourced story on Saturday claiming that things had gone very differently, however.
According to the initial story, a direct order to “kill them all” was attributed to Secretary Hegseth — and the scenario described suggested that two survivors had been clinging to wreckage when a second strike was ordered to ensure that they weren’t left alive.
Democrats and legacy media outlets were only too happy to run with that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spin-cycle-wapo-hit-piece-targets-pete-hegseth-and-legacy-outlets-fall-in-line" target="_blank" rel="noopener">narrative</a>, and they spent much of the week declaring Hegseth — along with anyone who had been involved in carrying out his order — was likely guilty of war crimes and continued with those questions after viewing video of the second strike on Thursday.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) said the second strike on the boat was “one of the most troubling things I&#8217;ve seen in my time in public service. You have two individuals in clear distress, without any means of locomotion with a destroyed vessel, who were killed by the United States.”
&#8220;Now there&#8217;s a whole set of contextual items that the admiral explained. Yes, they were carrying drugs. They were not in the position to continue their mission in any way,” he continued.
&#8220;Based on what I&#8217;ve seen, I am deeply concerned about the legality of the strike,&#8221; Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) told PBS News on Thursday. “I’m deeply concerned about the legality of the entire operation, and it needs a further investigation for a possible war crime.&#8221;
Following the briefings on Thursday, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell demanded that the Washington Post retract their piece.
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“The Washington Post must retract their story which led to this latest hoax against Secretary Hegseth,” he posted. “It’s an insult to the American People &amp; to everyone who wears the uniform of our country.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) called the outrage from Democrats “manufactured and disingenuous” after <a href="https://x.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1996745632287977536">mocking</a> the war crime accusations on social media.
Virginia Kruta contributed to this report.

Adm. Frank Bradley Visits Capitol Hill To Brief Lawmakers On Venezuelan Boat Strike

Admiral Denies ‘Kill All’ Order As Left Spins ‘War Crime’ Narrative

drug boat

narcoterrorists

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Friday to <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115667445871563304">announce</a> with typical gusto that he had “approved TINY CARS&#8221; to be manufactured in the United States.
“I have just approved TINY CARS to be built in America,” Trump wrote. “Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries. They can be propelled by gasoline, electric, or hybrid. These cars of the very near future are inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and, quite simply, AMAZING!!! START BUILDING THEM NOW!”
Trump’s directive came just two days after <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/what-they-are-saying-president-donald-j-trump-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy">unveiling</a> his administration’s “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” initiative — a sweeping reset of federal fuel economy standards designed to roll back what he called the Biden-Buttigieg “illegal backdoor EV mandate.” The new plan, Trump argued, would free American families from inflated car prices driven by government coercion and environmental overreach.
The announcement sparked fresh debate after Trump <a href="https://gearjunkie.com/motors/trump-kei-cars-statement">elaborated</a> that he wanted to see the kind of ultra-compact “tiny cars” popular in Japan and South Korea in the United States — effectively endorsing kei cars, the pint-sized, lightweight vehicles that dot Asia’s urban streets. “They’re really cute,” Trump said, likening them to the classic Volkswagen Beetle and praising models by Honda and Toyota.
Trump told Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to “clear the regulations” so automakers could begin production immediately.
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The reality is complex. Under existing law, kei cars can only be imported if they are 25 years old, and even then, individual states often block their registration. They routinely fail to meet federal safety and emissions standards — rules governing everything from crumple zones to axle width. Legalizing them would require a massive overhaul of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or special exemptions — processes that can take years. Even if permitted federally, states could still ban their operation on public roads.
Industry analysts also question whether there’s a viable American market for such microcars. Compact vehicles already make up less than 10 percent of new car sales, with American consumers favoring trucks and SUVs. Thirty percent may say they’d consider a small car, but only four percent ever buy one. Meanwhile, retooling plants to build kei-class vehicles would demand billions in new investment for uncertain returns.
Still, Trump’s pitch — equal parts populism and nostalgia — hits a familiar chord: freedom of choice, affordability, and defiance of regulatory elites. Whether the dream of “cute, tiny cars made in America” materializes or fades like past promises of cheap, simple mobility remains to be seen. But with average car prices now approaching $50,000, there’s no mistaking the political potency of promising that freedom really can fit in a smaller package.

Japan Mobility Show Press Day

Trump Launches ‘Tiny Car’ Revolution, Says It Will Give Americans Affordable Wheels

Auto Companies

Economy

tiny cars

New York City&#8217;s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, promised on Thursday to end homeless encampment sweeps when he takes over next month.
Mamdani said he would discontinue a priority enacted by current Mayor Eric Adams, who attempted to clear out &#8220;makeshift, unsafe houses&#8221; that have popped up throughout the city, The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/04/us-news/mamdani-to-stop-all-sweeps-of-homeless-encampments-as-nyc-mayor/">reported</a>. The mayor-elect will stop the sweeps despite city officials receiving more than 45,000 complaints about the homeless encampments so far this year.
Mamdani argued that the Adams administration&#8217;s policy has failed because it did not connect &#8220;homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need.&#8221;
“We are going to take an approach that understands its mission is connecting those New Yorkers to housing,” Mamdani added. “Whether it’s supportive housing, whether it’s rental housing, whatever kind of housing it is, because what we have seen is the treatment of homelessness as if it is a natural part of living in this city, when in fact, it’s more often a reflection of a political choice being made.”
New York City currently <a href="https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-02253">urges</a> residents to &#8220;report homeless people who have established encampments on public property,&#8221; adding, &#8220;In New York City, obstructions and encampments are not allowed.&#8221;
Mamdani cruised to a landslide mayoral election victory over former New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa last month in part because of his focus on affordability and housing. Mamdani vowed to build more affordable housing in the city and said he would push to freeze rents in some apartment buildings.
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He did not specify how he would address complaints about homeless encampments or if he would remove the city&#8217;s online complaint portal. New York City&#8217;s homeless population has skyrocketed in recent years, largely due to the massive influx of illegal immigrants, <a href="https://www.osc.ny.gov/press/releases/2025/01/dinapoli-numbers-homeless-population-doubled-new-york">according</a> to the New York state government. In January 2022, an estimated 45,343 people were in the city&#8217;s homeless shelters. Just two years later, there were nearly 90,000.
Mamdani&#8217;s opposition to the sweeps is partly based on a 2023 audit released by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, which found that during Mayor Adams&#8217; homeless encampment raids, only a small percentage of homeless people removed from their makeshift housing accepted temporary shelter with the city, Fox News reported.
&#8220;The evidence is clear: by every measure, the homeless sweeps failed,&#8221; Lander argued.
The Adams administration has pushed back on the audit, saying that Lander&#8217;s findings took the data &#8220;out of context.&#8221;
“Cherry-picking numbers and sharing them out of context paint a disingenuous picture as these cleanups have actually connected more than 500 New Yorkers to safe, stable housing,” City Hall said on Thursday.
“New York City continues to have the lowest rate of unsheltered homelessness of any major city in the nation,” City Hall added.

Zohran Mamdani

Mamdani Sides With Homeless Encampments Over NYC Taxpayers

Homeless

Homelessness

New York

New York City

Social Issues

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Texas could forge ahead with its newly redrawn congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26338616/25a608-order.pdf">initial order</a> was unsigned, and declared that the lower court&#8217;s decision to block the map — which favors Republicans — had been made in error. A brief concurring opinion followed that was joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson joined together in dissent.
The order opened with a brief explanation, noting that a three-judge District Court had granted the League of Latin American Voters&#8217; request for an injunction — which would have prevented the state from implementing the new map — and stated that the Court intended to stay the injunction, as requested by the state of Texas. &#8220;The District Court failed to honor the presumption of legislative good faith by construing ambiguous direct and circumstantial evidence against the legislature,&#8221; the explanation read, in part.
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Justice Alito, in his concurring opinion, argued that the lower court&#8217;s determination — that the Republican-drawn map was based on race rather than politics — was made in error. He wrote that it was &#8220;indisputable&#8221; that the &#8220;impetus for the adoption of the Texas map (like the map subsequently adopted in California) was partisan advantage pure and simple&#8221; — and that being the case, the state should be permitted to move forward with that map. Thomas and Gorsuch agreed.
&#8220;When the asserted reason for a map is political, it is critical for challengers to produce an alternative map that serves the State’s allegedly partisan aim just as well as the map the State adopted. Id., at 34; Easley v. Cromartie, 532 U. S. 234, 258 (2001). Although respondents’ experts could have easily produced such a map if that were possible, they did not, giving rise to a strong inference that the State’s map was indeed based on partisanship, not race,&#8221; their concurring opinion continued.
Justice Kagan, in her lengthy dissent, complained that the ruling had declared the redrawn maps to not be based on race, as the lower court had found, but had instead justified them being drawn for political reasons.
The ruling, she said, &#8220;disserves the millions of Texans whom the District Court found were assigned to their new districts based on their race.&#8221;

Greg Abbott

Red State Wins Massive Supreme Court Victory On Redistricting

2026 Midterms

Redistricting

SCOTUS

Texas

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, widely recognized as a leading figure in AI, gives credit not to himself, but to President Trump for saving the AI industry.
“The fact that he came into office and the first thing that he said was: drill, baby, drill. His point is we need energy growth. … Without energy growth, we can have no industrial growth. And that was it, saved it, saved the AI industry,” Huang told podcaster Joe Rogan. “I gotta tell you flat out, if not for his pro-growth energy policy, we would not be able to build factories for AI.”
On the first night of his presidency, Trump wasted no time addressing American energy. He <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-energy-emergency/">declared</a> a “National Energy emergency,” stating, “An affordable and reliable domestic supply of energy is a fundamental requirement for the national and economic security of any nation.”
While Huang told Rogan that long-term, “the amount of energy necessary for artificial intelligence for most people will be minuscule, utterly minuscule,” he made it clear that today, energy “is the bottleneck” for AI growth.
His warning is backed by Wall Street. Goldman Sachs <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/AI-poised-to-drive-160-increase-in-power-demand">estimates</a> that power demand from data centers could rise by 160% by the end of the decade due to AI.
Trump has spoken openly about the scale of that challenge. In a speech discussing the future of AI, the president recalled learning how much electricity AI plants would require. “You got to be kidding. Double what we produce right now for everything.”
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Preparing the nation for a surge in energy demand, Trump passed an executive order, titled “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/unleashing-american-energy/">Unleashing American Energy</a>.” The order calls for expanded energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters and instructs federal agencies to review existing regulations, orders, and policies. Federal agencies are directed to revise or rescind actions that “impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy with particular attention to oil, natural gas coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources.&#8221; The order also paused Biden-era funding and subsidies for many “green” initiatives.
Five days before President Biden left office, his administration issued the AI Diffusion Rule, creating new compliance and export requirements for advanced AI technology. Nvidia quickly condemned the rule and later supported the Trump administration’s decision to rescind it. “This last-minute Biden administration policy would be a legacy that will be criticized by U.S. industry and the global community,” stated Nvidia&#8217;s vice president of government affairs in a statement <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/4393980-nvidia-criticizes-biden-administrations-plan-for-ai-chip-export-curbs">shared</a> with Seeking Alpha. “We would encourage President Biden to not preempt incoming President Trump by enacting a policy that will only harm the U.S. economy, set America back. And play into the hands of U.S. adversaries.”
Exactly two months after Biden’s AI Diffusion Rule had been in place, and three months before it would have taken effect, the Trump administration rescinded the rule.
The rule, issued on January 15, 2025, was scheduled to take effect on May 15. The Bureau of Industry and Security, which has authority over the rule, later rescinded it, stating that the requirements would have stifled American innovation by burdening U.S. companies with heavy regulatory costs.
Complimentary of the administration’s policies, Huang also noted he was surprised by President Trump.
“The one-on-one President Trump is very different,” the CEO explained. “He surprised me. First of all, he’s an incredibly good listener. Almost everything I’ve ever said to him he’s remembered.”

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

Nvidia CEO Says Trump’s Energy Policy Saved American AI

Artificial Intelligence

Business

Nvidia

Sports and politics analyst Stephen A. Smith ripped into Democrats on Wednesday, saying that it was impossible not to give President Donald Trump credit for political savvy after he pardoned Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).
Smith gave his assessment on his Sirius XM show &#8220;Straight Shooter with Stephen A.,&#8221; saying that Trump was essentially &#8220;giving the Democratic Party lessons&#8221; in how to navigate the complicated political climate in the United States.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨NEW: Stephen A. Smith says Trump &#8220;BRILLIANT&#8221; to pardon Dem Rep. Henry Cuellar🚨
&#8220;At some point in time, we just have to give the man credit. He&#8217;s shrewd as h*ll. He really is. I mean, he is giving the Democratic Party lessons! Lessons!&#8221;
&#8220;You can&#8217;t sit up there and talk about… <a href="https://t.co/Um30i8zTEG">pic.twitter.com/Um30i8zTEG</a>
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonJournoDC/status/1996575942257291520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;[H]ow do the Democrats look when they now try to attack Trump because they say he pays no attention to the facts? How do they look now when they say he doesn’t provide leadership?&#8221; Smith asked. &#8220;How do they sound now when they accuse him of lawlessness?&#8221;
&#8220;I mean, at some point in time, we just have to give the man credit,&#8221; Smith continued. &#8220;He’s shrewd as hell. He really is. I mean, he is giving the Democratic Party lessons! Lessons! I mean, school is in session on how to manipulate minds and coax folks into thinking along the lines of his way of thinking.&#8221;
Smith pivoted to address the situation with Cuellar directly, and noted, as Trump did, that Cuellar had been at odds with former President Joe Biden over his handling of the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border. Trump, along with a number of others, alleged that Biden&#8217;s Justice Department had targeted Cuellar largely because of that.
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&#8220;You can’t sit up there and talk about how everything is partisan when the man sits up there and lets you off the hook and you&#8217;re on the opposite party. Now granted, that same Representative Cuellar was the same guy that spoke out against the Biden administration when it came to immigration issues and our borders. So again, that falls in line with Trump and we get that part. But he’s still a Democrat,&#8221; Smith said.
Smith concluded by noting that he&#8217;d long been advising Democrats that they needed to move to the center if they ever wanted to win — and argued that Trump, by extending his pardon power across party lines, had beaten them to the punch.
&#8220;What have I been saying about the Democrats? Get away from the far Left. Move towards the center. And Trump beat them to it. He beat them to it. That’s what he’s doing! That’s what he’s doing! It’s brilliant! Absolutely, positively brilliant politics! Nothing compares!&#8221;

Stephen A. Smith

‘School Is In Session!’: Stephen A. Smith Raves About Trump Decision To Pardon Democrat

'School Is In Session!': Stephen A. Smith Raves About Trump Decision To Pardon Democrat

Henry Cuellar

Joe Biden

Media

Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN) suggested on Wednesday that Trump supporters might use violence against Somali migrants, while she brushed off a massive Somali-connected fraud scandal in Minnesota that cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Omar <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/03/us/video/donald-trump-immigration-somali-somalia-ice-deportation-border-illegal-jake-tapper-lead">told</a> CNN host Jake Tapper that Trump&#8217;s comments about the fraud scandal, and, in particular, Somali immigrants, &#8220;creates fear.&#8221;
&#8220;And there is a possible danger that a lot of the people who follow the president have exhibited violence in many cases, especially in my case, whenever he has said something about me that is derogatory or says I&#8217;m a threat to the country, I have gotten death threats,&#8221; the Democrat said.
&#8220;There are so many people that have been incarcerated over the years that have been encouraged by the president&#8217;s words,&#8221; Omar claimed. &#8220;And so there is fear for Somalis, not just in Minnesota, but across the country, that some of these people might attack and harm them.&#8221;
&#8220;And so, to me, it is important for us, one, to remind folks that we are Americans,&#8221; she added. &#8220;We’re not going anywhere, and we will continue to be in this country. And two, that Minnesotans are resilient, and we will continue to thrive.&#8221;
Further, Omar brushed off the fraud scandal when she was pressed about its concentration in Minnesota by Tapper. The rep merely blamed a lack of &#8220;guardrails&#8221; because the schemes started during COVID, though Omar notably did not condemn the fraud during the segment.
The fraud scheme in Minnesota deals with billions of stolen taxpayer dollars during the tenure of Democrat Gov. Tim Walz. Notably, it&#8217;s been largely tied to the Somali community, and some stolen money was allegedly funneled to Al-Shabaab terrorists, according to <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/minnesota-welfare-fraud-somalia-al-shabaab">City Journal</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨🇺🇸 JAKE TAPPER ASKS OMAR WHY MINNESOTA FRAUD GOT SO OUT OF CONTROL&#8230; SHE BLAMES &#8220;GUARDRAILS&#8221;
CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper pressed Rep. Ilhan Omar on why the $1 billion Feeding Our Future fraud scheme involving mostly Somali perpetrators spiraled so badly in her state.
Her answer… <a href="https://t.co/wacQffwL8S">pic.twitter.com/wacQffwL8S</a>
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1996395142001864889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
Trump on Tuesday railed against Somali migrants, who he said &#8220;ripped off&#8221; taxpayers and, generally, contribute &#8220;nothing&#8221; to the U.S., citing a welfare rate of 88%.
&#8220;I hear &#8230; Somalians ripped off that state for billions of dollars, billions, every year,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;And they contribute nothing. Their welfare [rate] is like 88% — they contribute nothing.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t want &#8217;em in our country, I&#8217;ll be honest with you. Some will say, &#8216;Oh, that&#8217;s not politically correct.&#8217; I don&#8217;t care,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want them in our country.&#8221;
&#8220;Their country is no good for a reason, their country stinks, and we don&#8217;t want them in our country. I could say that about other countries, too,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have to rebuild our country — our country is at a tipping point. We can go one way or the other, and we are gonna go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country.&#8221;
50% off DailyWire+ annual memberships will not return for another year, so don’t miss this deal! Join now at <a class="c-link" href="http://dailywire.com/cyberweek" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://DailyWire.com/cyberweek" data-sk="tooltip_parent">DailyWire.com/cyberweek</a>.
Referring to Omar and &#8220;her friends,&#8221; Trump added, &#8220;These aren&#8217;t people who work; these aren&#8217;t people who say, &#8216;Let&#8217;s go, let&#8217;s make this place great.&#8217; These are people who do nothing but complain, and from where they came from, they got nothing.&#8221;
&#8220;When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but b****, we don&#8217;t want them in our country. Let them go back from where they came from and fix it. We don&#8217;t want them in our country,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨BREAKING: President Trump has HAD IT with these illegal aliens that are RIPPING-OFF our Country.
&#8220;Somalians—They contribute nothing!&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t want them in our country, I&#8217;ll be honest with you. Some will say that it is not politically correct. I DON&#8217;T CARE!&#8221;
&#8220;Their country… <a href="https://t.co/SjUf4M8XT6">pic.twitter.com/SjUf4M8XT6</a>
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePatriotOasis/status/1995934088042082811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
Reacting to Trump&#8217;s comments, Omar claimed Trump often uses &#8220;very bigoted, xenophobic, Islamophobic, racist rhetoric.&#8221;
&#8220;I’m not shocked, because we know that the president oftentimes resorts to very bigoted, xenophobic, Islamophobic, racist rhetoric when he is trying to scapegoat and deflect from the actual failures that he has himself,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We know that this administration has not fulfilled the majority of the promises that they’ve made, whether it is bringing costs down, whether it is the tariffs that are decimating businesses in the United States, whether it is the possible war crimes that his defense secretary is committing.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Rep. Ilhan Omar responds to Trump&#8217;s attacks: He&#8217;s trying to &#8216;deflect&#8217; from his &#8216;failures&#8217; 
Watch the full video: <a href="https://t.co/v0DRknaiiC">https://t.co/v0DRknaiiC</a> <a href="https://t.co/bpZ0KxMxLf">pic.twitter.com/bpZ0KxMxLf</a>
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheLeadCNN/status/1996373733494382763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
Omar has notably used extreme language when it comes to President Trump. Just last month, the rep seemed to openly threaten anyone &#8220;collaborating&#8221; with the Trump administration.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Shockingly dangerous: Ilhan Omar openly threatens anyone &#8220;collaborating&#8221; with the Trump administration during a recent organizing call for May Day Strong.
She tells her radical base to make them &#8220;pay a costly price&#8221; at a time when their &#8220;price&#8221; is increasingly assassination. <a href="https://t.co/NpAghfrAV1">pic.twitter.com/NpAghfrAV1</a>
— Tudor Dixon (@TudorDixon) <a href="https://twitter.com/TudorDixon/status/1996583701744959943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tim-walz-just-unleashed-a-paid-leave-plan-for-minnesota-that-includes-illegal-immigrants?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tim+Walz+Just+Unleashed+A+Paid+Leave+Plan+For+Minnesota+That+Includes+Illegal+Immigrants">Tim Walz Just Unleashed A Paid Leave Plan For Minnesota That Includes Illegal Immigrants</a>

Rep. Ilhan Omar Holds News Conference To Discusses Changes Required To Address Systemic Racism

Ilhan Omar Says Trump Supporters Might Attack Somalis, Brushes Off Fraud Scandal

Crime

Fraud

Ilhan Omar

Islam

Minneapolis

Minnesota

Somalia

Some hopeful news emerged, even as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on. First Lady Melania Trump’s office just announced that seven additional children — six boys and one girl — have been reunited with their families in Ukraine as part of a humanitarian effort.
The first lady released the following statement on the news: “My dedication to guaranteeing the safe return of children to their families in this region is unwavering.”
Trump <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/seven-more-children-returned-families-ukraine-melania-trump-says-2025-12-04/">revealed</a> in October that eight Ukrainian children who had been displaced during the conflict were reunited with their families, bringing the total number of reunited families to 15. 
“I commend the leadership and persistent diplomacy of Russia and Ukraine in the pursuit of the reunification of children and families,” the statement continued. “Their bridge-building has created a tangible collaborative environment — an anchor for optimism. This cooperation will continue to drive the process forward through the next phase.”
“In close partnership, my representative and I have provided humanitarian support from the United States to enhance the reunification initiative’s outcome. My hope is that, ultimately, our collective efforts will lead to broader regional stability.”
The Kremlin’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, <a href="https://t.me/malvovabelova/6040">posted</a> on Telegram, thanking the first lady for her “unwavering commitment and involvement in the effort.”
Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, President Trump said that his team is making “tremendous progress” toward ending the years-long Russia-Ukraine war, offering updates on his peace negotiations.  
Trump confirmed that no more meetings would take place until Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reached the final stages of a resolution, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-vows-no-meetings-with-putin-zelensky-until-the-deal-to-end-this-war-is-final">reported</a>.
“Let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” Trump said in part in a statement last week.
The president’s statement came after news that Ukraine has agreed to the terms of a potential peace deal, negotiated by the Trump White House, that could end the years-long war with Russia.
“The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll told ABC News on November 25. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal.”
Mary Margaret Olohan contributed to this report.

First Lady Melania Trump

Melania Trump Says 7 More Ukrainian Children Reunited With Their Families

Melania Trump Announces 7 More Ukrainian Children Were Reunited With Their Families

Melania Trump

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

An unreleased video of a second strike on suspected narco-terrorists appears to support War Secretary Pete Hegseth and the War Department, according to ABC News. The report suggests that a second strike was not only justified, it was necessary to complete the intended mission.
ABC News anchor Martha Raddatz weighed in on the new information from an anonymous source on Wednesday evening, saying that it supported reports of two survivors remaining after a first strike on a suspected drug-running boat in the Caribbean. Where the new intelligence diverged, she reported, was that the suspected narco-terrorists were not simply clinging to the wreckage. The two appeared to be making attempts to salvage their illicit cargo and may have remained in contact with others in their network once their vessel had been disabled.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Wednesday’s ‘World News Tonight’ about drug boat-gate: “And tonight, new information: According to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back on to the boat after the initial strike. They were believed to be potentially in… <a href="https://t.co/R5eHFzzDql">pic.twitter.com/R5eHFzzDql</a>
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1996369433569161520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;And tonight, new information: According to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back on to the boat after the initial strike,&#8221; Raddatz told host David Muir on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;World News Tonight.&#8221;
&#8220;They were believed to be potentially in communication with others, and salvaging some of the drugs,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;Because of that, it was determined they were still in the fight and valid targets. A JAG officer was also giving legal advice. So, again, David, that video will be key, and Admiral Bradley will be on the Hill tomorrow behind closed doors.&#8221;
The Washington Post published an anonymously-sourced &#8220;exclusive&#8221; on Saturday claiming that things had gone very differently, however.
According to the initial story, a direct order to “kill them all” was attributed to Secretary Hegseth — and the scenario described suggested that two survivors had been clinging to wreckage when a second strike was ordered to ensure that they weren’t left alive.
Democrats and legacy media outlets were only too happy to run with that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spin-cycle-wapo-hit-piece-targets-pete-hegseth-and-legacy-outlets-fall-in-line">narrative</a>, and they spent much of the day Sunday declaring Hegseth — along with anyone who had been involved in carrying out his order — was likely guilty of war crimes.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whoopi-goldberg-says-pete-hegseth-set-soldiers-up-to-face-war-crimes-charges">narrative</a> continued into the week as the hosts of ABC’s “The View” not only proclaimed Hegseth guilty of “war crimes,” but insisted that if other military service members were eventually tried for war crimes, it would be because Hegseth’s orders had effectively “set them up.”

President Trump Holds Cabinet Meeting At The White House

New Intel Appears To Support Actions Taken In Second Strike Against Drug Boat

Drug Boat Survivors Were Trying To Salvage Cocaine When Second Strike Was Ordered

Military

narco-terrorism

Washington Post

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