Free Republic

Abby Huntsman announced on Monday she’s quitting “The View” to join her father, Jon Huntsman Jr., on his Utah gubernatorial campaign. But Page Six is told that the campaign isn’t the real reason for her exit from the ABC fixture, which has recently been rocked by a breakdown in the relationship between Meghan McCain and her fellow panelists. “It’s an unhealthy environment — just the way that things are handled during shows and how people deal with each other,” said an insider familiar with Huntsman’s thinking. “It’s intense.” “Abby made an issue [to executives] about the overall environment. She’s felt...

It is time for conservative Republicans to start looking for a replacement for Mitt Romney. He has proven an embarrassment for the state of Utah and the people who elected him. He has shown himself to be a Republican in name only (RINO), in the model of John McCain. He has not supported the president or his policies which he should do. Instead his narcissism pushes him to always keep in the limelight by whatever means instead of representing the people here. In contrast, Mike Lee keeps on track and does his job. We hardly hear about his work except...

North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un says the US acted in "bad faith" during his February summit meeting with President Trump in Hanoi...... The Muslim cleric wanted in connection with last Sunday's terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka is dead..... Former Vice-President Joe Biden in the race for president in 2020 attacking President Trump...... The FBI raided the home of Baltimore's mayor Catherine Pugh Thursday morning..... A federal appeals court panel has ruled that 34 congressional and state legislative districts in Michigan are gerrymandered in favor of Republicans..... In Massachusetts, a state judge and a retired court official entered not guilty pleas...

One of the most pointed and poignant attacks on the Trump presidency so far has been revealed this week thanks to an anonymous New York Times op-ed piece. Trending: White House Saboteur Gets Unbelievable Tongue Lashing from Melania In the article, a supposed “senior” White House official spilled the alleged beans about a plan to disrupt the agenda of the elected President, and undermine the work of the Commander in Chief. This still unknown rabble rouser has been espoused as “cowardly” by First Lady Melania Trump, and called “gutless” by the President himself. Meanwhile, a frantic search continues inside the...

{snip} "...I have taken an unscientific survey among my colleagues, whom you reference, about whether I should resign. The laughter told me everything I needed to know. It also underscores the fragile nature of this moment. As for my sons, active-duty naval officers whom you also call out, I honor their courageous service each time I salute the Marine guards protecting our large embassy compound. Their words when asked if I should resign are unprintable." Sincerely, Jon M. Huntsman

A summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is in the works, Fox News has learned. Trying to organize the meeting between the two world leaders “has been an ongoing project” for Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, sources told Fox News on Friday. The ambassador has reportedly been in Washington working on the plans. “This has been an ongoing project of Ambassador Huntsman, stretching back months, of getting a formal meeting between Putin and Trump,” a source told the Wall Street Journal. The plans are reportedly at an early stage, as neither a date nor...

President Donald Trump's pick for US ambassador to Russia, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, told lawmakers Tuesday that there is "no question Russia interfered in the US election last summer." Appearing in his nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Huntsman said the interference in the election has directly led to the low level of trust between Moscow and Washington. The US government publicly announced in October that it was "confident" Russia orchestrated the hacking of the Democratic National Committee in the lead-up to the election. And in January, days before President Donald Trump took office, the US intelligence...

Once called on Trump to drop out of the presidential raceFormer Utah Governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman accepted an offer on Wednesday from President Donald Trump to be the United States’ next ambassador to Russia. Huntsman served as ambassador to China under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011 and was ambassador to Singapore in the early 1990s under presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The former presidential candidate endorsed Donald Trump for the office in April of last year days before the billionaire businessman won enough delegates to secure the nomination. In October, Huntsman withdrew...

Former Utah governor and Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. has accepted President Trump's offer to be the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Fox News has confirmed. Sources told Fox that Trump called Huntsman Monday to offer him the job. If confirmed, Huntsman would head to Moscow at a time when relations between the U.S. and Russia have reached a low point in the post-Cold War era. Hunstman's acceptance also ends speculation about a possible primary challenge against Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who is up for re-election next year. Huntsman previously served as U.S. Ambassador to China between 2009 and 2011,...

Jon Huntsman, the former Republican governor of Utah who served in the Obama administration, thinks the GOP should stop fighting. “We’ve had enough intraparty fighting. Now’s the time to stitch together a winning coalition,” Huntsman said, according to Politico. “And it’s been clear almost from the beginning that Donald Trump has the ability to assemble a nontraditional bloc of supporters,” he added. “The ability to cut across traditional party boundaries — like ’80, ’92 and 2008 — will be key, and Trump is much better positioned to achieve that.” Huntsman was U.S. Ambassador to China under President Obama. His 2012...

Donald Trump has slipped to fourth place among Utah Republicans in the presidential contest following his controversial statements on Muslims being allowed into the U.S., a new UtahPolicy poll finds. And among those who say they are “very active” LDS, Trump has dropped considerably, finds Dan Jones & Associates in a new survey.

Maybe I’m overselling it a tiny bit in the headline. Watch the clip below, from 3:05 to 5:00, and tell me what he’s saying. When he’s asked who he’d vote for in a Trump/Hillary election, he emphasizes that he’s a Republican but he won’t give a straight answer about supporting Trump. He wants to see if Trump, as nominee, blossoms into a “problem-solver” during the general election campaign, in which case then, it seems, he’ll support him. But what if Trump doesn’t become that guy? Huntsman says no when asked about an independent run but then adds, “I’m not ready...

Fox News has hired Abby Huntsman as a new reporter to the network. Mediaite has learned that Huntsman will be joining Fox News as a general assignment reporter for the network. We reached out to Fox and a network spokesperson confirmed the hire.

John Kasich is a highly popular governor of a vital swing state, possessed of national experience and long-standing ties to his party’s financial and ideological elite. He is launching a presidential campaign that stands virtually no chance of success, if you define “success” to mean acquiring the nomination. It looks increasingly likely, however, that Kasich defines success as something else altogether. Kasich began his career in a dissident role. As the Republican Party careened in the 1980s and 1990s toward militant supply-side economics, Kasich carved out an identity as an old-fashioned deficit hawk. Kasich was evangelical on the subject of...

And I do mean “noted.” With the possible exception of Steve Schmidt, no Republican advisor is better known to the right for sneering at the right than John Weaver. Re-read this old post, written when Weaver was helping to steer Huntsman 2012 to a third-place flameout in New Hampshire, for some of his greatest hits. He advised McCain in 2000, when Maverick was at his media-friendly right-baiting zenith, then caught on with Huntsman during the last cycle to try the ol’ what-our-party-really-needs-is-a-better-base approach again. He’s known for being a difficult boss, losing lots of races (with some notable successes, like...

Would conservatives support a presidential bid by David Petraeus? The Iraq surge architect isn't a candidate. But for years prominent conservatives from Rep. Peter King to Andrew Breitbart have touted the soldier-scholar as a dream conservative candidate to take on Barack Obama. The question is, if Petraeus had run, would his service in the Obama administration -- first as head of U.S. Central Command, then as Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan and now as CIA Director -- have counted against him? It's safe to say conservatives wouldn't have re-purposed the old "General Betray-Us" moniker for the man who has...

Sen. Mike Lee would have quite the fight on his hands if he were to face off against former Rep. Jim Matheson in 2016. The latest UtahPolicy.com shows 48% of Utahns would support Lee while 42% would back Matheson. 10% are undecided. Matheson's electoral calculus has always been the same in heavily Republican Utah. Win a majority of Democrats, pick off some Republicans and get a majority of the independent vote. The survey shows Matheson would win 87% of Democrats, 20% of Republicans and 57% of independents. He would likely need to increase the numbers among Republican and independent voters...

As a declared presidential candidate, Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) should generate even bigger headlines when he addresses black audiences, as he has at Howard University and other venues. When he was executive of mainly Democratic Milwaukee County, Governor Scott Walker (R., Wis.) appealed to black voters; his reelection majorities consistently increased. These and other Republicans should ask black Americans for their votes from now through November 2016. They should do so by challenging blacks to ask themselves an honest question: “What, exactly, have you gained by handing Obama 95 percent of your votes in 2008 and 93 percent in...

e New York Times just published one of the more rough-handed pieces we’ve yet seen regarding “gay Christianity.” In “Bigotry, the Bible and the Lessons of Indiana,” opinion writer Frank Bruni takes the gloves off and seeks to bully Christians into caving on homosexuality. The column is frank, direct, and brutalizing.Let’s consider five takeaways from this striking article.1. Here’s what Bruni believes opposition to “gay Christianity” is based in: raw prejudice. He says as much: But in the end, the continued view of gays, lesbians and bisexuals as sinners is a decision. It’s a choice. It prioritizes scattered passages of ancient texts over all...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog With help from 80 years of self-described “progressives,” Obama is now waging the biggest war against medical marijuana of any president in history Anyone who has been following the self-described “progressive” politicians since FDR should not be surprised at Obama’s war against medical marijuana.Obama’s war against medical marijuana is a direct result of the policies of the self-described “progressives” in the White House, Congress, and the U.S. Supreme Court, going all the way back to FDR’s New Deal.During the Great Depression, while millions of Americans were hungry, the self-described “progressives” who controlled the federal government passed...