California has opened its tip line to report federal officers, as Democratic leaders in the state attempt to push back on immigration enforcement measures by the Trump administration.
“My office created a portal that will allow Californians to report misconduct by federal agents,” Attorney General Rob Bonta posted to X on Wednesday, asking people to send in a tip if they “believe a federal agent is abusing their power or acting unlawfully.”
“Federal agents have broad authority to enforce federal laws, but they must do so lawfully,” he added.
The webpage specifically names Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the National Guard as examples of entities that could be reported to the state. However, it disclaims that it cannot guarantee it will “take any action” on a report.
The move was quickly blasted by Republicans, as there is a limited scope of what a state government can do regarding federal authorities.
“How about if you think state agents or officials have abused their power or committed unlawful acts?” Assemblyman James Gallagher said. “Asking for a friend.” Bonta is facing scrutiny for using roughly $500,000 in campaign dollars for legal assistance as part of a federal bribery case probe, <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/attorney-general-rob-bonta-campaign-funds-legal-help/69477723" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KCRA</a> reported.
“We have a portal too. People can report California state officials engaged in illegal activity at the following link,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli posted with a link to the FBI’s tip line. 
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The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-sues-to-block-california-laws-that-recklessly-endanger-lives-of-federal-agents">reported</a> last month that the Trump administration was suing the state over new laws seeking to stop federal agents from wearing masks and other measures that the administration says are meant to protect the safety and identity of agents who may be targeted while off the job.
“The No Secret Police Act and No Vigilantes Act directly regulate the Federal Government by dictating permissible uniforms for federal agents and forcing federal agencies to adopt specified policies,” the lawsuit stated. “But the Federal Government, not California, has authority to control its own agents and activities.”
At the time, Bonta raised concerns about Trump’s approach to immigration. The Golden State has been at the center of attention for the administration’s efforts, especially after anti-ICE riots broke out in Los Angeles earlier this summer, along with a tense raid at a pot farm leading to hundreds of arrests.
“It’s problematic when Californians can’t tell the difference between a law enforcement officer who is charged with protecting them and a criminal who is attempting to cause them harm,” Bonta’s office stated. “The FBI itself has warned that the practice of ICE agents obscuring their identity has led to a rise in copycats committing crimes, threatening public safety and eroding trust in law enforcement.”

ICE Raid At Southern California Farm Sparks Protests

California Opens Tip Line To Report Federal Immigration Agents, Quickly Blasted By GOP

Border Patrol

California

Democrats

Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

National Guard

Republicans

Trump Administration

Republican Governor Henry McMaster moved to end race-based government contracting in South Carolina and called for lawmakers to take action to codify his executive actions. 
McMaster signed an <a href="https://governor.sc.gov/sites/governor/files/Documents/Executive-Orders/2025-12-03%20FILED%20Executive%20Order%202025-40%20-%20Prohibiting%20Race-Based%20Discrimination%20in%20Government%20Contracting.pdf">executive order</a> on Wednesday calling for state agencies to stop awarding contracts based on race. Under current state law, each state agency is required to propose a budget that awards 10% of spending to minority-owned businesses. 
“Today, I have ordered state agencies to halt all future spending, procurement or contract decisions that are based on race. The state laws requiring these quotas and racial set-asides are unconstitutional and discriminatory. Business with state government should be awarded based on merit and value to the taxpayer,” McMaster <a href="https://x.com/henrymcmaster/status/1996273026841682158">wrote</a> on X. “Senate President Alexander and House Speaker Smith have agreed to lead the effort to repeal these laws when the General Assembly returns next month.”
South Carolina’s Department of Transportation is also required to hand out a minimum of 5% of its awards for certain contracts to minority-owned businesses. 
In his executive order, McMaster said that the state laws mandating race-based contracting “call for unlawful racial discrimination” and that they are policies that “rest on the false assumption that the solution to perceived historical wrongs is to racially discriminate against individuals in the present.” 
McMaster also said that the policies may violate President Donald Trump’s executive actions taking aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. 
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South Carolina Senate President Thomas Alexander and House Speaker Murrell Smith, both Republicans, said they would move in January to codify the governor’s actions. 
“We are a nation and a state dedicated to the principle that ‘all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator,’ as reflected in the Constitution’s requirement of equal protection of the laws,” Alexander said. “When existing laws no longer align with that constitutional command, it is our duty to correct them. I am confident my colleagues in the Senate share my belief that state government must reflect equality under the law in all its endeavors and ensure our statutes fully comply with the Constitution.”
South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman <a href="https://x.com/RalphNorman/status/1996286119034454330">praised</a> McMaster’s action and called for the state legislature to pass a “full DEI ban.”
Amid Trump’s war on DEI at the federal level, some lawmakers have turned to the state level to challenge programs that favor minority businesses. In October, Texas <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unless-youre-white-you-qualify-texas-suspends-business-program-that-excludes-white-males">suspended</a> a statewide program that prioritized non-white male businesses in state contracting. 
This was done through the Historically Underutilized Businesses, which received about 11% of state spending total. The total awards given to the businesses are over $4 billion, including $1.45 billion for women-owned businesses and $1.6 billion for Hispanic-owned businesses.

US-NEWS-SC-WILDFIRES-EMERGENCY-CS

Red State Governor Ends Race-Based Contracting, Calls For Lawmakers To Make Move Permanent

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Racial Discrimination

South Carolina

Prominent Democrats from across the country were campaigning for Tennessee Democrat Aftyn Behn on Monday night as the party hopes to pull off a &#8220;miracle&#8221; in Tuesday&#8217;s special election.
Behn, running against Republican Matt Van Epps for Tennessee&#8217;s 7th Congressional district seat, was joined on a Zoom call by some of the Left&#8217;s biggest names, including former vice president Al Gore, and far-left congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pramila Jayapal. The virtual rally was the final event of Behn&#8217;s special election campaign and was attended by around 1,200 people, many of whom appeared to be hopping on Zoom from out of state based on their comments in the video call&#8217;s chat.
Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged that it would take a &#8220;miracle&#8221; for Democrats to turn the Tennessee district blue, but added that Behn&#8217;s position in the race has shown that &#8220;miracles still happen.&#8221; The democratic socialist from New York urged Democrats in Tennessee to remain hopeful that politicians like Behn can successfully push leftist policies in deep red states as the Democratic Party looks ahead to the pivotal 2026 midterm elections.
Behn is hoping to win the deep red district despite pushing leftist policies in the past, including voicing support for abolishing police departments and saying that she was &#8220;fearful&#8221; for &#8220;trans communities&#8221; after a trans-identifying shooter killed three Christian schoolchildren and three staff members in Nashville.
Behn&#8217;s Republican opponent was rarely mentioned during the rally, as the Democratic speakers focused much of their attention on attacking President Donald Trump and his administration. Democrats are positioning the Tennessee special election as a referendum on Trump&#8217;s agenda, as the party is optimistic that Behn is within striking distance in a district that went for Trump by 22 points in 2024.
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The virtual rally got off to a bumpy start when Gore was introduced by Behn&#8217;s campaign manager, with the former vice president nowhere to be seen. After a few quiet and awkward moments, Gore&#8217;s face appeared on screen and he was introduced for a second time. Gore kicked off the rally by doubling down on that focus and painting the Trump White House as one of the most evil and corrupt administration&#8217;s in U.S. history.
Earlier on Monday, big name Republicans also gathered in the district to push Van Epps as the GOP and Trump emphasize the importance of the special election. At the Van Epps rally, Republicans were confident that they would win on Tuesday, but also acknowledged that the margins could be closer than what Republicans have come to expect in the district, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-reputation-of-our-state-is-on-the-line-gop-begins-final-push-before-critical-house-election?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=Original&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=%E2%80%98The+Reputation+Of+Our+State+Is+On+The+Line%E2%80%99%3A+GOP+Begins+Final+Push+Before+Critical+House+Election">reported</a>.
Republicans and Democrats have poured millions of dollars into the special House race, with Behn’s campaign raising over $1 million between October 1 and November 12, according to campaign finance records. In that same timeframe, Van Epps raised $591,000, but the Republican candidate is also getting a big boost from Trump-aligned outside groups that have spent over a million dollars on advertisements.
Over 84,000 voters cast their ballots during the early voting period, which lasted from November 12-26, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1169221962004705&amp;set=pcb.1169223325337902">according</a> to the Tennessee Secretary of State. A large chunk of Republicans and Democrats are still expected to head to the polls on Tuesday morning. Polling results from Emerson College and The Hill <a href="https://www.wsmv.com/2025/12/01/poll-shows-republican-van-epps-holding-slight-lead-over-democrat-behn-tennessees-special-congressional-race/">released</a> on Monday showed Van Epps with just a 2-point edge on Behn.
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Al Gore/Aftyn Behn/AOC

Big-Name Dems Make Final Pitch For Aftyn Behn, Hope For Tuesday ‘Miracle’ In Tennessee

Al Gore

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Election

Tennessee

The 2026 midterm elections are still a year away, but Republicans and Democrats are already in full election mode as an important U.S. House seat is up for grabs on Tuesday.
Democrats are optimistic their candidate will make some noise on December 2, when votes are counted for the special U.S. House election that will determine who represents Tennessee&#8217;s 7th Congressional District. The seat became empty after Republican Rep. Mark Green retired on July 20, shortly after voting to pass President Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221;
It&#8217;s a district that Democrats have no business winning and one that Republicans are counting on to help maintain their House majority come the 2026 midterm elections. For an off-year election in a deep red state, the stakes can&#8217;t get any higher, so here&#8217;s everything you need to know ahead of the December 2 election.
<h3>The Candidates</h3>
Republican candidate Matt Van Epps, 39, easily won the crowded GOP primary in October after an endorsement from President Trump. Van Epps is an Army helicopter pilot and combat veteran with years of experience in the Tennessee state government. He <a href="https://www.mattfortn.com/meet-matt">served</a> as the deputy chief operating officer for the Tennessee Governor&#8217;s Office. He was then tapped by Republican Governor Bill Lee to run the Tennessee Department of General Services, where he &#8220;oversaw statewide procurement, facilities management, and essential services that touch every department in Tennessee government.&#8221;
During the Republican primary, Van Epps was criticized by his opponents for working to implement strict COVID lockdown measures in the early days of the pandemic and was nicknamed &#8220;Tennessee Fauci.&#8221; That line of attack on Van Epps was ineffective, and he won the GOP primary by more than 25 points.
<div id="attachment_1005705" style="width: 586px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1005705" class="wp-image-1005705 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094309.502-576x576.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094309.502-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094309.502-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094309.502-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094309.502-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094309.502.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" />Matt Van Epps for Congress</div>
Van Epps <a href="https://www.mattfortn.com/issues">describes</a> himself as a &#8220;conservative warrior&#8221; who is focused on &#8220;advancing President Trump&#8217;s America First agenda.&#8221; Along with snagging Trump&#8217;s endorsement, the Republican candidate also boasts <a href="https://www.mattfortn.com/endorsements">endorsements</a> from Governor Lee, former Rep. Green, and Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan.
Democrats picked Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn as their nominee for the 7th district special election. Behn, 36, has served in the Tennessee state House since 2023. The Tennessee Democrat was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kamala-harris-returns-campaign-trail-trump-country-back-aoc-tennessee">dubbed</a> the &#8220;AOC of Tennessee&#8221; by Democratic activist David Hogg, referring to leftist New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. After socialist Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s stunning victory in the New York City mayor&#8217;s race, Democrats are hoping that the party&#8217;s younger and more radical candidates can win, even in deep-red states.
<div id="attachment_1005697" style="width: 586px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1005697" class="wp-image-1005697 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094027.635-576x576.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094027.635-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094027.635-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094027.635-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094027.635-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094027.635.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" />Aftyn Behn, Tennessee General Assembly</div>
Other prominent Democrats have come alongside Behn, campaigning for her in Nashville. Last week, former Vice President Kamala Harris made a <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2025/11/18/kamala-harris-nashville-aftyn-behn-7th-district-election/87324707007/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=false&amp;gca-epti=z114035p005050c005050u116535d00----v114035&amp;gca-ft=51&amp;gca-ds=sophi">surprise appearance</a> with Behn, returning to the Democratic campaign trail for the first time since her 2024 election loss.
Behn is not hiding from her leftist views. Earlier this year, she followed and filmed ICE agents and Tennessee Highway Patrol officers as they made immigration arrests around Nashville. She has <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJPrwJbpkoO/">called</a> Trump&#8217;s immigration operations &#8220;state-sponsored fear and violence.&#8221; Behn also voiced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-democrat-aftyn-behn-wont-take-back-support-for-burning-down-police-stations">support</a> for burning down police stations during the 2020 George Floyd riots. She recently refused to address the controversial social media post where she stated, “Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified.”
After three Christian schoolchildren and three staff members were killed by a trans-identifying shooter in Nashville in 2023, Behn <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-aftyn-behn-said-covenant-shooting-made-her-fearful-for-trans-communities">said</a> she was &#8220;fearful&#8221; for &#8220;trans communities.&#8221; Behn has also been slammed for saying in the past that she hates Nashville, parts of which she&#8217;s now running to represent.
<h3>The Location</h3>
The 7th district sits in the western part of what is considered Middle Tennessee. It spans from the state&#8217;s border with Kentucky, through north and west Nashville, and all the way to the Alabama state line. Voters in the 7th district went for President Donald Trump by 22 points in 2024, and the district has been safely in the hands of Republicans and Rep. Mark Green, who represented the 7th from 2019 until his surprise retirement earlier this year.
<div id="attachment_1005707" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1005707" class="wp-image-1005707 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094502.570-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094502.570-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094502.570-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094502.570-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-25T094502.570.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />TN 7th Congressional District, TN Secretary of State</div>
The various demographics inside the 7th district will be a key aspect to watch when results come in on Tuesday night. Much of District 7 covers rural areas, where Van Epps is expected to perform well, but it also covers north and west Nashville, which is far more liberal than the surrounding area. Behn will have to perform exceptionally well in those areas of Nashville and will need a high Democratic turnout for a chance to pull off an upset.
Last month&#8217;s primary election showed that turnout could be an issue for Democrats. Behn pulled off a narrow primary victory, receiving just over <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/07/us/elections/results-tennessee-us-house-7-special.html">8,600 votes</a>. Van Epps, meanwhile, pulled in over 19,000 votes in the primary as Republican turnout far outpaced that of the Democrats.
If Republicans show up in the counties surrounding Nashville and the more rural areas of the state as they have in recent House elections, Van Epps will likely cruise to victory. Tennessee&#8217;s 7th district includes areas such as part of wealthy Williamson County, which Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/2024-election/results/tennessee/">won</a> by more than 30 points in 2024, and rural Robertson County, which Trump won by 40 points.
The House Majority PAC, which is connected to House Democratic leadership, believes that Democratic wins in New Jersey and Virginia earlier this month show that &#8220;no Republican-held seat is safe.&#8221; Democrats are also hoping that Behn can reach independents and moderate Republicans with her focus on affordability and the economy.
<h3>The Spending</h3>
Republicans and Democrats have poured millions of dollars into the special House race, with Behn&#8217;s campaign raising over $1 million between October 1 and November 12, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/millions-pour-tennessee-special-election-ahead-december-vote-rcna244846">reported</a>. In that same timeframe, Van Epps raised $591,000. Outside groups have also dumped millions of dollars on the race, mostly in support of Van Epps and in opposition to Behn. The Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. has reportedly spent over $1 million on the race. The conservative group Club for Growth has also waded into the special House race to boost Van Epps.
Behn&#8217;s campaign has spent more than half a million dollars on advertisements, while the Democrat-aligned House Majority PAC and Your Community PAC have spent a combined $950,000 on additional ads, according to the <a href="https://nashvillebanner.com/2025/11/24/tennessee-7th-congressional-district-election-spending/">Nashville Banner</a>.
<h3>The Expectations</h3>
Earlier this month, Cook Political Report <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/house/race/485206">moved</a> Tennessee&#8217;s 7th district from &#8220;solid&#8221; Republican to &#8220;lean&#8221; Republican. Under its summary of the race, Cook Political Report states, &#8220;Sources roundly agree that Nashville Democrats are ravenous at the prospect of an upset, while many Republican voters are unaware an election is even taking place.&#8221;
Tennessee Republican Party Chair Scott Golden <a href="https://wpln.org/post/how-competitive-is-tennessees-special-congressional-race/">told</a> WPLN News last week that the race will come down to how many Republican voters show up to the polls. Golden stressed that the special election date and early voting running up against the Thanksgiving holiday make the GOP campaign&#8217;s job even tougher.
“Anytime you have a special election that is bracketed by the Thanksgiving holiday, you can’t afford to take a day off,” he said. “I think if there’s concern, it’s just that people aren’t aware that they have the opportunity to vote right now.”

AftynVanEppsFinal

Everything You Need To Know For The Crucial Tennessee Special House Election

U.S. House of Representatives

Thanksgiving is a time when families thrive, and our conservative movement can learn key lessons from this uniquely American tradition as we move forward together.
Let’s begin with what’s best about the day: a shared table, familiar laughter, and the quiet grace of gratitude. Gratitude is not the fruit of harmony; it is the seed. Traditions renew; children grow up knowing the laugh of a cousin; and an uncle regales with stories of where the family came from. The mystic chords of memory, those invisible threads that bind generations, grow stronger and endure.
Thanksgiving is meant to be practiced. The meaningful work of breaking bread with people who vote differently, pray differently, and have different points of view preserves more than a holiday tradition. Amongst people you don’t always like but with whom you share a deep bond is where public deliberation starts — a practice foundational to American self-government. We keep the muscle memory of belonging to something larger than ourselves.
What’s true for our families is, of course, also true for our conservative movement and the nation we all endeavor to save.
Ronald Reagan is often remembered for saying, &#8220;All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” What is left out, however, is the line that follows: “So, tomorrow night in the kitchen, I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven&#8217;t been teaching you what it means to be an American, let &#8217;em know and nail &#8217;em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.&#8221;
Let the talking begin this week — and let our conversations be an invitation to those we love to once again find unity in our purpose, first as families and then as a nation. At Heritage, we’ve started this family conversation, centered around four questions plain enough to ask around the dinner table and significant enough to guide a movement and save a republic:
What does it mean to be a flourishing American family?
What does it mean to honor the dignity of work and secure the future of free enterprise?
What does it mean to have true national security?
What does it mean to be an American citizen?
At Heritage, we have a point of view, confident in our thinking and our institution’s 52 years of robust intellectual history. We believe that united, good-faith conservatives will engage in this discussion. We are also certain we know what a restored America looks like:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Marriage and family celebrated, not ignored or mocked.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Work dignified, wages rising, and two incomes a family choice, not a necessity.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Borders secure, military strong, enemies deterred.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Children learning truth — not ideology — in educational institutions that parents control.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Faith respected, civic virtue restored, patriotism the norm.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Government limited, debt shrinking, freedom expanding.</li>
</ul>
We call this Heritage 2.0 inside our organization, where every colleague contributed to its creation. We present it to you as our battle plan to save America.
Let there be no mistake; we are taking back Washington to save America. That puts a target on us — from the uniparty, the entrenched bureaucracy, and the deep state. Now may be a suitable time to reiterate with clarity our message to the purveyors of the status quo: Bring it on.
We sweat not for the elites, but for everyday Americans. We toil not to be keyboard warriors but to chart a course of national renewal. The future of conservatism — a fusion of old and new right — will succeed when we return power to the people.
Today’s populism didn&#8217;t emerge in a vacuum. It arose from failed leadership, calcified institutions, and elites who prioritized bureaucracy over everyday Americans. The people aren&#8217;t seeking minor fixes; they&#8217;re challenging the very credibility of the system, and often, they&#8217;re spot on. This ought to inspire our movement!
The clearest path to returning power to the people is through a wholehearted rejuvenation of federalism. We will never lose sight of the many millions who feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. More than any organization across the country, Heritage is fully engaged in the work required to ensure a free, self-governing people can raise families and engage in community and commerce with peace, principles, and prosperity.
Of course, the people will decide our future, as President Trump last week noted, appealing to the beauty of our American system. We are clear-eyed that our effort comes at a time of cultural and civic strain. But we’ve been here before. My friend and predecessor Ed Feulner wrote in his book The March of Freedom that conservatism is “a broad social movement of diverse but reinforcing beliefs, gathering travelers on the same journey — pilgrims who argue over the topography of their promised land but move in the same direction.”
As Vice President Vance also said, the forces arrayed against conservatives of all stripes have massive resources, and there is a point where infighting becomes counterproductive.
So, let us pull up chairs at the family table. Let us channel that turbulent passion and refine it with cool reason through public deliberation. Let us all be builders of a better America. Just as we will nurture the family tree through open dialogue, let us build America’s next 250 years under a thriving canopy of vibrant, interconnected branches rooted in self-governance.
Our Heritage is our future. Through it, together, we will save the republic and secure its future.
* * *
Kevin Roberts, Ph.D., is president of the Heritage Foundation.
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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Roberts III

Thanksgiving, The Family Table, And A Playbook For The Work Ahead

Border

Conservatives

Education

Faith

Family Values

Heritage Foundation

Marriage

The Trump administration unveiled a new plan last week to ramp up offshore drilling off the coasts of Alaska, California, and Florida as the president seeks to usher in a U.S. energy boom. But some members of President Donald Trump&#8217;s party, including the Florida governor, aren&#8217;t thrilled about the administration&#8217;s goal to drill for oil near the Sunshine State&#8217;s beaches and military bases.
The U.S. Department of the Interior <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-launches-expansive-11th-national-offshore-leasing-program-advance-us-energy">directed</a> the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last Thursday to open up seven additional lease areas in the Eastern Gulf for offshore drilling, an area in the Gulf of America around 100 miles off of Florida&#8217;s coast. The Trump administration also plans to open up 21 areas for lease off the coast of Alaska and six areas off the Pacific coast.
Florida Republicans, including Governor Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott, and Sen. Ashley Moody, are urging the administration to pump the brakes on the new plan. The Florida leaders want the federal government to reconsider the policy President Trump enacted during his first term, which banned offshore oil leasing off the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina through 2032.
&#8220;President Trump’s 2020 memorandum protecting Florida’s eastern Gulf waters represents a thoughtful approach to the issue. The Interior Department should not depart from the 2020 policy,&#8221; DeSantis <a href="https://x.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1991648106254069903">said</a>. The governor&#8217;s office added that the Gulf coast of Florida does &#8220;not have the same oil and gas reserves as other states in the region&#8221; and that the state &#8220;has active sites where drilling occurs on land.&#8221;
Florida politicians argue that the new oil leases threaten Florida&#8217;s pristine beaches, which attract millions of tourists each year, while also interfering with &#8220;critical&#8221; U.S. military bases on the state&#8217;s coast.
Scott, Florida&#8217;s senior senator and former governor, echoed DeSantis, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickScottSenOffice/posts/floridas-beautiful-beaches-and-coastal-waters-are-so-important-to-our-states-eco/1386895662794430/">arguing</a>, &#8220;Florida’s beautiful beaches and coastal waters are so important to our state’s economy, environment, and military community, which is why I have fought for years to keep drilling off Florida’s coasts and worked closely with President Trump during his first term to extend the moratorium banning oil drilling off Florida’s coasts through 2032.&#8221;
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&#8220;I have been speaking to Secretary Burgum and made my expectations clear that this moratorium must remain in place, and that in any plan, Florida’s coasts must remain off the table for oil drilling to protect Florida’s tourism, environment, and military training opportunities,&#8221; Scott added.
Senator Moody said the Trump administration&#8217;s move was &#8220;HIGHLY concerning,&#8221; adding that she &#8220;will be engaging directly with the [Interior Department] on this issue.&#8221;
The Interior Department&#8217;s move to free up more areas for offshore drilling is a response to former President Joe Biden&#8217;s &#8220;restrictive&#8221; oil and gas policies, according to the Trump administration.
“Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years of planning, investment, and hard work before barrels reach the market,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production. By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.”
Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-027-8408?originationContext=knowHow&amp;transitionType=KnowHowItem&amp;contextData=(sc.Default)&amp;firstPage=true">2020 memorandum</a> prevented areas off the Florida coast from being considered for &#8220;leasing for purposes of exploration, development, or production&#8221; until 2032. After signing the memorandum in 2020, Trump was criticized by some people who believed the president was seeking to gain political favor among Floridians ahead of the 2020 election.
During his 2024 presidential campaign and after returning to the White House in early 2025, Trump vowed to ramp up American energy production and bring down energy costs for Americans. To accomplish this, Trump said it was time for the United States to &#8220;drill, baby, drill,&#8221; and on his first day back in the White House in January, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-energy-emergency/">declared</a> a national energy emergency.
&#8220;A major focus of our fight to reduce inflation is rapidly reducing the cost of energy. The previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95%, slowed pipeline construction to a halt, and closed more than 100 power plants,&#8221; Trump said during his address to Congress in early March.
A group of Florida GOP representatives, including some of Trump&#8217;s most loyal supporters in Congress, also <a href="https://x.com/FBSaunders/status/1991623831610618051/photo/1">signed</a> a letter urging the president to reconsider the Interior Department&#8217;s latest directive.
&#8220;While we wholeheartedly support your push for American energy independence and expanded oil and gas production, the [Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range] is critical to advanced weapons development, flight testing, and joint exercises essential to maintaining America&#8217;s military superiority,&#8221; the letter states.

Florida Oil Drilling

Florida Republicans Aren’t Happy With Trump’s Offshore Drilling Plan

Florida Republicans Aren't Happy With Trump's Offshore Drilling Plan

Donald Trump

Florida

Oil and Gas

Rick Scott

Ron DeSantis

Republicans in California have had a notoriously uphill battle when it comes to getting elected in recent years. However, the Democratic field in the 2026 gubernatorial race continues to grow larger, and it could spell trouble for the party with the state’s unusual “top two” primary system.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) entered the race this week, with fellow Democrats including former Rep. Katie Porter, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond being among the long list of people in the race, with former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco being the two major Republican names in the race.
If the field does not thin out before the June 2 primary election, it could result in an uncomfortably close primary victory margin for the Democrat who makes it to the top two – or an even seemingly unlikely scenario of both Hilton and Bianco advancing to the general.
Primary polling has shown both of the Republicans alternating between first and third place spots, depending upon the poll, with Porter usually in coming in second. The field is so large that the margins between the candidates are fairly narrow.
The former congresswoman’s campaign has been marred by controversy following a botched viral interview with CBS News and a Politico report of a video of her telling a staffer to “Get out of my f***ing shot!”
It’s unclear if the Democrats will consolidate, given that many of the Democrats in the race took a shot at Porter amid the controversy, and she also took aim at billionaire climate change activist Tom Steyer’s entrance into the race earlier this week.
“I don’t think it’s impacted my race. I think all along we truly have believed that we are going to be number one in this race anyway. And so really, it’s going down to number two. Honestly, what we’re seeing is complete disarray in the Democrat Party,” Bianco told The Daily Wire.
He further added that “yes, it’s very possible with the right campaign that two Republicans end at the top,” saying that he’s heard from moderate Democrats wanting to back his campaign over the issue of public safety.
“I mean, my starting point is that I’m very confident not just that I’m gonna get into the top two for the general election, but I’m actually gonna win this race, because California is just so sick of what’s going on,” Hilton told The Daily Wire, noting that the state of the race “reflects the arrogance and corruption and entitlement of the years of one-party rule.”
“These Democrats assume that if they can just get into the top two, they’re gonna win,” he added.
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“I’ve heard this speculation that there may be two Republicans in the top two. We’ll see, but I’m just fighting to make sure I’m in the top two,” he later added, saying that issues like cutting taxes and lowering gas prices have been sticking points of his campaign.
There’s even been statewide races in California where only Democrats have made it to the top two, such as Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez in the 2016 Senate race.
Outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom has yet to endorse a replacement, and Sen. Alex Padilla notably decided against running for the position. Earlier this month, Proposition 50, which would add five Democrat-favored congressional seats to its map for the next three election cycles, passed by a wide margin, but Hilton says it should not be considered an indicator in the gubernatorial race.
“In the end, the Prop. 50 campaign wasn’t really about the lives of Californians and how they’re being made so difficult by the Democrats,” he said.
“I’m guaranteeing you, there’s going to be more, it’s not gonna stop here,” Bianco said regarding the pool of Democrats in the race.

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter election watch party 2022

Democrats Keep Jumping Into California Gov Race. It Might Accidentally Boost Republicans.

2026 election

Elections

Politics

Democrats currently have a massive advantage in Congress for 2026. According to the latest <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/11/19/nx-s1-5611088/poll-democrats-republicans-trump-approval-inflation">NPR/PBS News/Marist poll</a>, this is their largest advantage since 2017 in terms of whom people would vote for on the congressional ballot.
When you actually go to the polling place to cast your vote, you are not voting on a generic member of Congress, you are voting on your congressperson. Thus, it&#8217;s possible that widespread dissatisfaction with the Republican Party doesn&#8217;t necessarily translate into your individual congressperson losing his or her seat.
Democrats, however, currently hold a 14-point advantage in this poll — a very, very large advantage. If that were to stick in the generic congressional ballot, then we’re looking at a Democratic wave in 2026.
President Trump’s approval rating is just 39%, which is his lowest since right after January 6.
A combined 6 in 10 people blamed congressional Republicans or Trump for the government shutdown, which is likely the result of the legacy media spinning a completely Democrat-caused government shutdown into a story about President Trump and Republicans.
Nearly 6 in 10 say that Trump&#8217;s top priority should be lowering prices. No other issue comes close.
So, those are very bad numbers for the Republicans right now. What does that mean for the 2026 election? 
In fall 2022, Democrats had a lead in the generic congressional ballot. They ended up losing nine House seats to the Republicans. In 2018, during Trump&#8217;s first term, the Democrats’ lead was somewhere between 6 and 12 points, and they also ended up winning 40 seats. In 2014, when Obama was president, Republicans had a five-point advantage, and the GOP gained 13 seats. So, the number of actual vulnerable districts has shrunk dramatically.
So, even if Democrats have a gigantic advantage in the generic congressional balloting, the way the districts are stacked up, there are a lot more solid dem districts and a lot more solid Republican districts and fewer swing districts overall. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2322-uh-oh-democrats-pull-ahead-in-2026-race?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Democrats need three seats to take control of the House. So, what is the most likely outcome?
The upper end of disaster for Republicans would be 20 to 25 seats, which would put Democrats pretty solidly in control of the House. Now, it would take a massive Democratic wave for them to take over the Senate. The two most vulnerable seats are in Maine and in North Carolina.
Senator Susan Collins — who is frequently a target for many dyspeptic Republicans who don&#8217;t understand that if you want a Republican to hold the seat in Maine, that Republican is not going to look like Tom Cotton or Rick Scott — is a battler and a survivor up in Maine. She is the only Republican incumbent running in a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024. Collins is facing a radical democratic socialist, Graham Platner, who is a disaster area for a wide variety of reasons.
In North Carolina, the seat is open because Thom Tillis, a frequent target of the president, has decided that he is not going to run for reelection. Perhaps that seat swivels blue.
If the Democrats take both those seats, they still won’t have the upper hand because Republicans hold 53 seats, which means that in order for Democrats to take control of the Senate, they would need to take two more. It’s not totally out of the range of possibility for Democrats to win the Senate, but it would take a lot.
But losing the House would be bad enough; if the GOP loses the House, that&#8217;s the end of major legislation from the Trump administration. It means endless investigations. It means that the House becomes a baton to wield against everything the Trump administration is trying to do on the executive level.
There’s a brand new <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-lowest-his-term-over-prices-epstein-files-reutersipsos-poll-2025-11-18/">Reuters/Ipsos poll</a> that shows similar numbers, with Trump at 38%, which, again, is the lowest rating he has had since he returned to power in January.
Why is President Trump lagging in the polls now? Why is he at 39%-40%?
The reason is not what people think it is. It’s not his foreign policy or that Trump&#8217;s foreign policy is tearing apart the Republican Party. In fact, he only part of his policy right now that is wildly popular, at least by Trumpian standards, is his foreign policy. In fact, his approval ratings on foreign policy are better than any prior president of the modern era at this point in his term, which is extraordinary.
For the amount of crap that he is currently taking in the very online spaces, you guys should get out and touch grass. It turns out many Americans like the stuff that President Trump has been doing on foreign policy,
It isn&#8217;t immigration either. The president&#8217;s net approval ratings on immigration have gone down, but that&#8217;s largely because he has solved the immigration crisis in the United States. He solved the problem of the southern border. If Americans were thinking about the southern border in comparison to Biden, Trump’s approval ratings would be 80%.
The reason Trump’s approval ratings are low are two: The economy and the Epstein files.
He has slid 24 points since February of 2025 on the economy and 59% of Americans do not approve of his handling of the Epstein files.
The reason president Trump’s approval ratings have dropped on the Epstein files is because there are actors trying to use the Epstein files as a club against the president in order to seize control of the MAGA movement. That&#8217;s what&#8217;s happening.
Trump, however, has not done anything radically different from Joe Biden when it comes to Epstein. In fact, he has been significantly more transparent than Joe Biden ever was.
It’s notable that many of the big advocates on the Epstein matters are either directly implicated by the Epstein files, like Steve Bannon, or are people who had no qualms about Epstein and were not talking about Epstein a year and a half ago. There were no major motions from Rep. Thomas Massie, for example, to the Biden administration asking for the release of the Epstein files.
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Now there are a bunch of angry critics of the president&#8217;s foreign policy who are attempting to use the Epstein files as a way to undermine him.
That doesn&#8217;t mean people don&#8217;t have open questions; of course, that&#8217;s true. But the people who have elevated this to the top of the issue stack are people who, shall we say, do not like the president&#8217;s foreign policy decisions.
Why do you think Abby Phillip is now massaging Marjorie Taylor Greene? You can tell who&#8217;s getting the strange new respect these days when you&#8217;re on the same side as Abby Phillip.
There are also popular podcasters and voices who continue to malign the president without saying his name because they&#8217;re cowards who continue to say that the administration is covering up the Epstein files, but don’t say Trump&#8217;s name because they don&#8217;t want to offend Trump. They&#8217;re afraid that Trump will reach over like King Kong and crush them.
Instead, they simply imply and imply and imply, without just saying the thing they want to say, out of pure, unbridled cowardice.
It&#8217;s pretty impressive.
But it’s not right.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-SHUTDOWN

Democrats Pull Ahead In 2026 Race

Ben Shapiro

Congress

Opinion

Polls

U.S. Senate

There&#8217;s something very fishy about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
I&#8217;m not talking about just the scandal itself, which, of course, remains incredibly fishy. We don&#8217;t know where Jeffrey Epstein got his gigantic oodles of money from in the first place. We don&#8217;t know who he was trafficking to, if anyone besides himself. We don&#8217;t know a lot of things about Jeffrey Epstein.
What I am talking about is the response to Jeffrey Epstein. Many of the figures who have been largely associated with the question-asking about Jeffrey Epstein were, in fact, associates of Jeffrey Epstein.
This is where things start to get weird in Conspiracy Land, because Conspiracy Land suggests that there are the people who are in on the conspiracy, and then there are the people who are outside attempting to crack the code on the conspiracy.
But when you are talking about a hoax — and I’m not saying that everything associated with Jeffrey Epstein is a hoax — I&#8217;m talking about the political optics directed at President Trump, specifically regarding Jeffrey Epstein.
One of the ways you can tell when people are in on the hoax is when they themselves were close associates of the person at issue, and now they&#8217;ve decided to try and weaponize that same person as a weapon against the people whom they are targeting.
Case in point: Steve Bannon. I&#8217;ve known Steve for a very, very long time, having first met him in 2012 — Steve Bannon is not the easiest human being, to put it mildly.
Steve Bannon has a long history of attempting to associate himself with more powerful people, glomming on to them, and then making his way up the chain. He made a documentary about then-Congresswoman Michele Bachmann; after that documentary was made, he then used that as an entry card to make a documentary about Sarah Palin. After that documentary was made, he then used that as an entry card to make a documentary about Andrew Breitbart. He used that documentary in order to become a prominent person at Breitbart itself.
Andrew tragically passed away, and then Bannon used that position in order to leverage a position for himself in the first Trump administration. He ended by being ousted by the first Trump administration; President Trump, rather famously, called him “Sloppy Steve.”
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Bannon then went through a period in the wilderness where he was associating with some rather shady figures. He ended up doing a very short stint of jail time. And now he has his show, “The War Room,” where the media call him up routinely for quasi-leaks — I&#8217;m not sure how really empowered his access is to the administration — but the media is constantly using him as a window into the supposed dark side of the Trump administration, which is something that he really loves.
The reason that Steve has become an issue is because Steve — along with many other people who are attempting to wrest control of the MAGA movement away from President Trump — is making the assumption that President Trump is in the waning days of his political power, that President Trump is now close to being, if he is not already, a lame duck.
That means that the future of the Republican Party is going to be fought in an internal war, which will involve a war of people who have different perspectives on foreign policy and economics. Steve presumably believes that he is going to have a heavy voice in deciding the future of the MAGA movement without President Trump.
Let me be clear: There is no MAGA movement without President Trump. It does not exist. President Trump is MAGA. President Trump, as I have said before, is sui generis. It is the president of the United States who decides the direction of MAGA.
Every attempt to intellectualize or philosophize about President Trump, to turn his impulses, his instincts into a coherent political program, has failed. Why? Because the president holds a bunch of different, conflicting thoughts at the same time, and then he tends to come down on the side of pragmatic populism. He will try things. If they don&#8217;t work, he will then move away from them. He is not ideological. 
Thus, any attempt to peg President Trump to a “MAGA ideology” is destined to fail because President Trump could, for example, at one point articulate a version of MAGA in which support for Ukraine is bad, and then, when Russia is intransigent, articulate a version of MAGA in which support for Ukraine is good.
President Trump is not just the leader of MAGA. He is the definition of MAGA. There is no MAGA aside from President Trump. He&#8217;s very much like Barack Obama in this way. Barack Obama was able to kind of gloss over all of the various divisions inside the Democratic Party without a necessarily cohesive program. All attempts to boil Trump down into a philosophical or ideological package, which can then be transferred over to another candidate, whether that candidate is JD Vance or Ted Cruz or Steve Bannon or anyone else, are bound to fail because President Trump is too big for that. 
You can&#8217;t just take what Trump is, shrink-wrap it, put it in an ideological box, and then hand it over to the next guy.
One of the things that Steve Bannon has been trying to do for years is claim that he&#8217;s the intellectual mover and shaker behind MAGA, which is silly. There is no shadow president to President Trump. There is no one who is defining Trump’s program except for President Trump. 
The reason I bring this up is because Steve Bannon is one of many other people opposed to some elements of Trump&#8217;s agenda and trying to run a bizarre operation inside the Republican Party to remove support from Trump and move it over to his version of MAGA.
He, among other people, has been quite vocal about the so-called Epstein scandal. He&#8217;s been very vocal about this. He&#8217;s talked about it a lot.
But it turns out, again, that so much of what is happening right now is just fibbery. February. According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/15/steve-bannon-jeffrey-epstein-text-messages-publicity">The Guardian</a>:
<blockquote>Hundreds of texts over almost a year show Maga influencer Steve Bannon and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein workshopping legal and media strategies to protect Epstein from the legal and publicity quagmire that enveloped him in the last year of his life.
The texts, released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday, show that as early as June 2018, the pair were devising responses to the gathering storm of public outrage about Epstein’s criminal history, his favorable treatment by the justice system, and his friendships with powerful figures in business, politics and academia.</blockquote>
Remember, that&#8217;s 2018, ten years after Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s first conviction, after the controversial plea deal that he cut with Alex Acosta. 
We&#8217;re not talking about Donald Trump hobnobbing with Jeffrey Epstein in the late 90s. We&#8217;re not talking about going to parties with Jeffrey Epstein in Mar-A-Lago in 2004. We are talking about the fact that ten years after it was obvious to everyone that Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile, Bannon was acting not just as a friend, but as a confidante and PR advisor.
Which says something about somebody.
If you&#8217;re acting as a confidante and PR adviser to a convicted sex offender like Jeffrey Epstein, who was well-known to be into underage girls, I don&#8217;t know what that says about you or why you should have any level of authority in any future Republican Party.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/15/steve-bannon-jeffrey-epstein-text-messages-publicity">The Guardian</a> continued:
<blockquote>The texts, released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday, show that as early as June 2018, the pair were devising responses to the gathering storm of public outrage about Epstein’s criminal history, his favorable treatment by the justice system, and his friendships with powerful figures in business, politics and academia.
Bannon conspiratorially described the renewed scrutiny of Epstein as a “sophisticated op”, and over time he counseled Epstein in his adversarial responses to media outlets, the justice system and his victims.
All the while, both men were also strategizing how best to promote Bannon’s rightwing populist agenda, and the political fortunes of its standard bearer, Donald Trump. In all of Epstein’s messages, the identity of his correspondent is redacted. But Bannon’s identity in the threads cited in this reporting is clear from contextual clues including his documented activities at the time, details of his business and media pursuits, and other disclosures. In one document, the sender’s phone number is not redacted – and it is the same number linked to Bannon in a legal case against Trump adviser Roger Stone. &#8230;
The men were discussing Epstein’s problems even before he came to broader public awareness as a notorious sex criminal with odd connections to the Trump administration. Bannon left the Trump White House in late summer 2017, but enjoyed a vibrant career as a Maga influencer. On 22 June 2018, days after Epstein had been the focus of an anti-Trump protest at a Trump speech, the men began discussing the scandal that was beginning to loom over Epstein. 
At first they treated it as a publicity problem, with Bannon seeing it as an orchestrated campaign. &#8230; Bannon asked Epstein: “Who is running this op on u something serious going on.” Epstein replied: “First a protest at Clinton and then at trump. Lots of people very angry at our friendship.” Bannon responded: “It’s an op dude – I do this for a living – the pieces that are dropping are deeply researched,” adding: “This is sophisticated op.”</blockquote>
They were having these back-and-forths in which Bannon was attempting to guide Epstein. We know for a fact that there are hours and hours of tape between Epstein and Bannon that have not yet been released, which is strange.
What does this mean? It means that certain people are less trustworthy than others in political media.
And the fact that Steve Bannon has spent his entire career trying to find more powerful people to advise and glom onto in order to advance his own agenda says something about him and about his attempts to hijack the MAGA movement beyond President Trump.

Leaders In Finance And Business Attend Semafor World Economy Summit

The Bannon-Epstein Connection Revealed

Jeffrey Epstein

MAGA

Steve Bannon

Over the weekend, the long-simmering feud between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and the president of the United States finally boiled over.
Greene — the Jewish space laser lady — has been attempting to run her own knockoff version of MAGA. She&#8217;s been out retailing it to &#8220;The View.&#8221; She&#8217;s been out retailing it to CNN and MSNBC.
She&#8217;s become the hot new thing in the legacy media. They now have “strange new respect” for Marjorie Taylor Greene because she has decided that she is going to attack Trump full-time.
President Trump put out a statement on Saturday slamming Greene for trying to undermine his administration. He wrote on Truth Social: 
<blockquote>Lightweight Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Brown (Green grass turns Brown when it begins to ROT!), betrayed the entire Republican Party when she turned Left, performed poorly on the pathetic View, and became the RINO that we all know she always was.</blockquote>
That followed Greene’s repeated attacks on President Trump, particularly over Jeffrey Epstein. 
On Friday, Greene <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-blasts-government-over-epstein-working-harder-to-protect-pedophiles-than-victims/">suggested</a> on CBS that the president of the United States was attempting to protect pedophiles, saying: 
<blockquote>The American people deserve to see transparency from their government. The Rich, powerful people should not be protected. That is completely wrong. And it&#8217;s a message to victims everywhere. Victims of rape, human trafficking, and children who are trapped in terrible situations that the government will not protect the predators, that we will work hard to protect the victims.</blockquote>
It is ridiculous to suggest the president of the United States is trying to protect predators. This line has been retailed by a wide variety of people who are supposedly allies of President Trump who have turned on him, using the Epstein files as a way of getting at him.
Thus, the president withdrew his support for Marjorie Taylor Greene and suggested that he might back her opponent in the primary.
Greene wouldn’t be known if it had not been for the president of the United States touting her, treating her as an ally and building her up. She got very angry because she wanted to run for Senate in Georgia and he pointed out to her she was going to lose by 20 points to Jon Ossoff if she ran for Senate in Georgia.
This ticked her off. So President Trump finally lost it on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115551127714537339">Truth Social</a>, writing: 
<blockquote>I am withdrawing my support and Endorsement of “Congresswoman” Marjorie Taylor Greene, of the Great State of Georgia. &#8230; all I see ‘Wacky’ Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN! It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn’t have a chance (unless, of course, she had my Endorsement — which she wasn’t about to get!). She has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore, but with 219 Congressmen/women, 53 U.S. Senators, 24 Cabinet Members, almost 200 Countries, and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day.
I understand that wonderful, Conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her District of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my Complete and Unyielding Support,” he continued. “She has gone Far Left, even doing The View, with their Low IQ Republican hating Anchors.</blockquote>
Greene was excited about this because she&#8217;s attempting again to run an anti-Trump campaign inside the Republican Party.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2319-mtg-revolts-against-trump-maga?elementPosition=4&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
She <a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1989518703507963940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1989518703507963940%7Ctwgr%5E03448d1ad5006003a5ba80f2ee8c4fbcf3b68dd7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybeast.com%2Fmtg-shares-messy-breakup-texts-with-trump-over-epstein%2F">responded</a> by saying, “President Trump just attacked me and lied about me.&#8221;
Always playing the victim.
<blockquote>I haven&#8217;t called him at all, but I did send these text messages today,” she stated. “Apparently, this is what sent him over the edge. The Epstein files. And of course, he&#8217;s coming hard after me to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next week&#8217;s vote to release the Epstein files. It&#8217;s astonishing, really, how hard he&#8217;s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level. But really, most Americans wish you would fight this hard to help the forgotten men and women of America who are fed up with foreign wars and foreign causes, are going broke trying to feed their families, and are losing hope of ever achieving the American dream.</blockquote>
What she is saying, that the president is trying to cover up the Epstein files, is not true. The president made absolutely clear on Sunday that that was not the case. He put out a post on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115562626931599548">Truth Social</a> that read:
<blockquote>As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat “Shutdown.” The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on ‘Epstein,’ are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!</blockquote>
Over the weekend, talking with CNN&#8217;s Dana Bash, Greene slammed President Trump for calling her a traitor, even though she has spent the last several months beating up on President Trump over and over and over.
“The most hurtful thing he said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor,” she said. “And that is so extremely wrong. And those are the types of words used that can radicalize people against me and put my life in danger.”
The new line that&#8217;s being retailed by people like Marjorie Taylor Greene is that criticism of her puts her life in danger.
Greene&#8217;s idea is that President Trump has not only betrayed MAGA because of Epstein, but also has betrayed MAGA — because she has a different definition of MAGA.
And this brings us to what&#8217;s really going on under the surface: Marjorie Taylor Greene started caring about the Epstein files in a serious way with regard to President Trump about the same time she got angry at the president&#8217;s foreign policy with regard to the Middle East.
She, Thomas Massie, and a wide variety of commentators seemed to get very exercised about President Trump and the Epstein files by claiming that President Trump is in thrall to Israel, and that the Epstein files is somehow indicate some sort of Mossad agency operation.
What made them mad is that President Trump is not anti-Israel in the same way they are.
I&#8217;m in favor of all Jeffrey Epstein files being released. I believe the president didn&#8217;t want all of them released because he was tired of talking about it, and because his own FBI had told him there was nothing there.
But the evidence-free nature of this supposed conspiracy is the reason it&#8217;s being trafficked by people like Marjorie Taylor Greene. She thinks President Trump is somehow controlled by the Israelis.
The Israeli government would likely have been on board with the idea of toppling the Iranian regime. The president, however, was not, and that was that. The people making arguments like Greene’s are the same people who suggested that bombing the Fordow nuclear reactor was somehow going to lead to World War III and full-scale American involvement in Middle East warfare.
Which, of course, never happened.
This is the reason why they&#8217;re focused on Epstein. Let&#8217;s be clear about this — it is not because of Epstein. The Epstein files have been out there. None of these people were screaming bloody murder about the Epstein files when Joe Biden was president of the United States.
President Trump comes on the scene, doesn&#8217;t do the foreign policy they want, and suddenly they start screaming at the top of their lungs about the Epstein files.
This is all part of an attempt to turn MAGA into something it isn&#8217;t.
Let&#8217;s be clear about what MAGA is: President Trump, period. End of story.
All attempts to reduce MAGA to some ideological form or fashion are bound to fail because President Trump is sui generis: He contains multitudes. Which means that many people who voted for President Trump disagree with him on a lot of issues.
I have disagreed with the president of the United States quite frequently on matters ranging from foreign policy to domestic policy. 
But only the president defines what MAGA is. He has always defined what MAGA is.
There&#8217;s a new movement afoot to try and cobble together pieces of Trump&#8217;s coalition and move forward into something different, but to claim the mantle of Trumpism without Trump is a bizarre and ridiculous move.

President Trump Participates In National Day Of Prayer Event At White House

MTG Revolts Against MAGA. Trump Has Had Enough.

Georgia

Marjorie Taylor Greene

When the news broke on Thursday that Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) had suffered a fall in his home town of Braddock, Pennsylvania, the response on social media was immediate: conservatives flooded the platform with well wishes for the Democratic senator, and the lefties on BlueSky mocked him and complained that he&#8217;d lived.
Fetterman&#8217;s team announced that he&#8217;d simply suffered a &#8220;ventricular fibrillation flare-up,&#8221; and then fell because he&#8217;d felt light-headed. He sustained minor injuries to his face and is expected to recover. Fetterman himself seemed to be in good spirits, quipping, &#8220;If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!&#8221;
Conservative commentator Steve Guest shared a screenshot showing a few of the posts from BlueSky responding to the news — and they ranged from simply mocking him to wishing he&#8217;d been unable to get up again.
&#8220;Blue Sky is an absolute cesspool right now in the wake of the news about John Fetterman&#8217;s fall,&#8221; he posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Blue Sky is an absolute cesspool right now in the wake of the news about John Fetterman&#8217;s fall. <a href="https://t.co/fNKhvXEGuQ">pic.twitter.com/fNKhvXEGuQ</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1989041566275760554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Tragically, he&#8217;s expected to live,&#8221; one post read, and another said, &#8220;Karma is a bitch, ain&#8217;t it, Fetterman? Looks like he&#8217;s not getting enough oxygen to his brain, I could have told you that &#8230;&#8221;
Commenting on a headline about the injuries to Fetterman&#8217;s face, another asked, &#8220;How the f*** could anyone tell?&#8221;
&#8220;Damn, I hope the pavement is ok,&#8221; another posted.
Meanwhile, Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham offered well wishes via X. &#8220;Wishing Sen. Fetterman a full and speedy recovery. Health scares are no joke. Glad he’s doing well and under care,&#8221; she said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Wishing Sen. Fetterman a full and speedy recovery. Health scares are no joke. Glad he’s doing well and under care. <a href="https://t.co/E8ODdn7vUm">pic.twitter.com/E8ODdn7vUm</a>
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) <a href="https://twitter.com/IngrahamAngle/status/1989055505390809113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I reached out to Senator Fetterman and Dina has spoken to Gisele. John is a tough Pittsburgher and is already on the mend. We are thinking of him, Gisele, and their entire family — looking forward to seeing my good friend in the coming days,&#8221; Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I reached out to Senator Fetterman and Dina has spoken to Gisele. John is a tough Pittsburgher and is already on the mend. We are thinking of him, Gisele, and their entire family — looking forward to seeing my good friend in the coming days.
— Senator Dave McCormick (@SenMcCormickPA) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMcCormickPA/status/1989068482194076112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Senator Lindsey Graham offered his thoughts as well, adding, &#8220;Like so many who know and appreciate Senator Fetterman, I’m wishing him a speedy and full recovery. Praying for John and his wonderful family.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Like so many who know and appreciate Senator Fetterman, I’m wishing him a speedy and full recovery.
Praying for John and his wonderful family. <a href="https://t.co/iuSsCwQakB">https://t.co/iuSsCwQakB</a>
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1989092534094819786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The decidedly meaner comments from the Left only served to back up what Fetterman said a day earlier during an interview with CNN&#8217;s Dana Bash, when he explained just how much more vicious the attacks from the Left had been compared to the attacks from the Right.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨NEW: John Fetterman *STUNS* CNN&#8217;s Dana Bash by telling her how Left crueler than Right🚨
FETTERMAN: &#8220;The Right would say really rough things and names &#8230; but on the Left, it was like they want me to die or that &#8216;We&#8217;re cheering for your next stroke&#8217; &#8230; they even have a gif… <a href="https://t.co/iMRyVTssgs">pic.twitter.com/iMRyVTssgs</a>
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonJournoDC/status/1988670736924336374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The Right would say really rough things and names,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;But on the Left, it was like they want me to die or that &#8216;We&#8217;re cheering for your next stroke.'&#8221;

Sen. John Fetterman

Conservatives Rally Around Fetterman After Fall, Lefties Can’t Get The Knives Out Fast Enough

Conservatives Rally Around Fetterman After Fall, Lefties Can't Get The Knives Out Fast Enough

John Fetterman

Social Media

Utah is expected to get a Democrat-favored congressional district following a court ruling earlier this week on redistricting maps, adding yet another complicated layer to the nationwide gerrymandering battle.
Utah Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled on Monday in favor of a map that went against the map proposed by Republicans in the legislature, who are expected to appeal the ruling, which sides with the plaintiffs, Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG) and the League of Women Voters, <a href="https://www.ksl.com/article/51403648/utah-judge-selects-new-congressional-map-tossing-map-drawn-by-lawmakers">KSL</a> reported.
“In the coming hours and days, there will be many who will try to frame this victory through the lens of partisanship. Some will co-opt this as a win for their party, and others will see this as a loss and use it as a rallying cry for theirs. Let us be clear about what this case has always been about for MWEG: MWEG stands firmly opposed to gerrymandering, no matter which party initiates or benefits from it,” the Mormon Women for Ethical Government said in a statement.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said that he would back a legal appeal to the judge’s decision.
“The Utah Constitution clearly states that it is the responsibility of the Legislature to divide the state into congressional districts,” the governor posted to X on Tuesday. “While I respect the Court’s role in our system, no judge, and certainly no advocacy group, can usurp that constitutional authority. For this reason, I fully support the Legislature appealing the Court’s decision.”
In the meantime, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said that the process is kicking off to make sure candidates can file to run for the congressional seat properly early next year at the state level.
“There will likely be an emergency appeal, but the process of finalizing new boundary details will take weeks of meticulous work on the part of state and county officials,” Henderson posted Tuesday. “Barring an appellate court ruling, we must begin without delay to ensure that everything is in place for candidate filing in January. The people of Utah deserve an orderly and fair election and we will do everything in our power to administer one.”
Democrats in Utah are already chomping at the bit for a chance at the seat, as the Beehive State currently has four Republican representatives in the House, and the map the judge ruled on encompasses the Salt Lake City area.
“I’ve done it before, to stand up against Trump when it was hard, not just when it was expected,” former Rep. Ben McAdams said in a campaign launch video Thursday morning. McAdams was elected to Congress in 2018 by defeating late Rep. Mia Love, and then lost to Rep. Burgess Owens in 2020 – both of which were competitive races prior to the redrawing after the 2020 census. McAdams previously served as mayor of Salt Lake County.
In addition, Utah Democratic Sen. Kathleen Riebe also launched her bid for a seat this week.
The ongoing legal battle in the state is only one element of how the 2026 congressional maps across the country could end up looking very different in the coming weeks. Other states have taken major steps toward voluntary mid-decade redistricting, including in Texas and California, especially with the passage of Proposition 50 in the Golden State.
Red states and blue states are reworking their maps, which some say could benefit Republicans, whereas others caution it could just end up making the numbers look similar to where they are now, despite a potential party flip in the chamber. Republicans hold a narrow 219-214 majority in the House.
“The whole thing might come out to be a wash anyway,” Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-redistricting-battle-keeps-getting-messier">The Daily Wire</a> earlier this month.
“I am continuing to advocate for my legislation to stop this whole redistricting domino effect. I think it’s a really bad thing for the country. I think it is degrading democracy in every state where it happens. I think gerrymandering is wrong, and we need to just put an end to this,” Kiley added, explaining his proposal to create a federal law against mid-decade redistricting, as it&#8217;s typically only done each decade with new census data.

US President Joe Biden hosts governors and their spouses in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington

Utah Might Get A Democrat In Congress After Controversial Court Ruling

Redistricting

Spencer Cox

Utah

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