Free Republic

This weekend, first lady Jill Biden is traveling in Eastern Europe, meeting with Ukrainian refugees, humanitarian aid workers and others impacted by Russia's war in Ukraine. As the Biden administration continues to express its unwavering support for Ukraine's battle to preserve its independence, the first lady's trip is another opportunity to demonstrate America's commitment to Ukraine. It also will serve as an important reminder to all American and NATO allies that US commitment to Ukraine will extend well into the postwar period -- whenever that might be. Jill Biden's first ladyship is a long way from cookie bake-offs and state...

That Donald Trump acknowledged some responsibility for the January 6 insurrection, according to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, pulls back the curtain on a former president who has publicly downplayed actions of his supporters at the US Capitol that day and shown little remorse for pushing the lie that the 2020 election was "stolen." Republican leaders McCarthy and Mitch McConnell were privately angry with Trump in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection -- only to publicly gloss over the incident in following weeks. According to audio recordings obtained by two New York Times reporters, McCarthy . . . Similarly, McConnell...

With the nation in the middle of a horrendous pandemic, President Donald Trump has decided to devote much of his time fueling the "Obamagate" conspiracy. Trump went on a Twitter rampage this past week, sharing falsehoods and misleading claims that promote the conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama led a supposed "coup" to sabotage his presidency. But when a Washington Post reporter pressed Trump earlier this week to explain what Obama did, the President failed to clarify and said, "You know what the crime is. The crime is obvious to everybody. All you have to do is read the...

(CNN)The media have spent several days covering the noxious chant -- "Send them back" -- that broke out at President Donald Trump's North Carolina rally. The chant was inspired by a tweet from the President, saying that congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rahida Tlaib should "go back" to the "broken and crime infested places from which they came."

It becomes clearer every day that Barack Obama, a historic president, presided over a somewhat less than historic presidency. With only one major legislative achievement (Obamacare)—and a fragile one at that—the legacy of Obama’s presidency mainly rests on its tremendous symbolic importance and the fate of a patchwork of executive actions. How much of that was due to fate and how much was due to Obama’s own shortcomings as a politician is up for debate and is a question that emerges from Princeton historian Julian Zelizer’s new edited volume, The Presidency of Barack Obama. With contributions from seventeen historians, the...

This has been a crazy year in American politics, perhaps the most tumultuous year since 1968. When, in the early morning hours of November 9, the outcome of the 2016 election became clear, almost everyone -- experts and non-experts alike -- felt that the political earth had trembled beneath their feet. Here are thirteen of the most shocking moments since Donald Trump won the election. 1. On November 27, 2016, President Trump tweets that "I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally." 2. As he takes office, President Trump refuses to create a...

Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and "Governing America." (CNN) -- ...The weaknesses of both men—Cruz in terms of his style and Paul in terms of his rhetoric—point out how desperate the GOP is to find someone who can build a broad coalition, something that is essential for a presidential victory, particularly when Republicans will likely be facing a formidable candidate. The problems of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have been a huge blow to the party, and there are not many alternatives at...