Free Republic

Officially, the top world leaders who gather Thursday at the Group of 7 summit meeting will talk about shared concerns, like global trade or the Islamic State. But their private discussions are likely to cover a topic that is not on the agenda: Donald J. Trump. President Obama now hears questions in his meetings with world leaders about whether Mr. Trump has a realistic shot at becoming president. For months, Mr. Obama has answered those questions with an emphatic “no.” But this week’s summit meeting in Japan is the first among major allies since Mr. Trump moved decisively toward securing...

What are the Democrats hiding? Watch the just-released trailer for "Hillary's America: The Secret History Of The Democratic Party." The movie hits theaters nationwide this July.

Univision’s May 19, 2016 edition of its late-night national news show Edición Nocturna featured a completely favorable story about drug legalization activist Jerónimo Saldaña, the creator and vendor of baseball caps that are stamped with the slogan “Make America Mexico Again.” Saldaña says he was inspired to start making and selling the hats after first seeing one on the Latino Rebels Facebook page and because, as he puts it, he just flat-out doesn’t like Trump. Surprising nobody, in its report Univision included no critical or opposing views against the hat. Not only did Univision give Saldaña their platform to promote...

Utahns aren't feeling the Bern so much anymore as it looks like they're starting to line up behind the presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. One month after a poll showing Bernie Sanders would beat Donald Trump head-to-head in Utah, Trump has opened a lead over Sanders. He also leads Hillary Clinton after that same poll showed him tied with the likely Democratic nominee. Trump leads Sanders 43-37%, which is a significant reversal from April when Sanders led Trump 49-34%. 20% are undecided between the two. In April, Trump was tied with Hillary Clinton at 38% apiece. Now, Trump leads Clinton...

Republican presidential candidate John Kasich insisted Tuesday he would not consider running for the vice presidency. “Zero chance, just stop there, zero chance,” he told Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.,” specifically referencing Donald Trump. “I have no interest,” Kasich added. "I’m going to be governor of Ohio. There is zero chance I will be anybody’s vice presidential candidate — period, end of story.”

A Donald Trump-Sen. Ted Cruz unity ticket seems less likely now that Cruz told the Good Morning America audience on Monday that he has “zero interest, whatsoever” in being Trump’s pick for vice-president. Bonnie Pointer, who was described as an undecided voter from Vacaville, California, asked Cruz via video, “Would you accept being Donald Trump’s Vice President?” Cruz thanked Bonnie for her question saying, “Let me just answer very simply, I have zero interest, whatsoever, in doing it.”

Mike Lee(R-Utah) said Wednesday that he is not ready to endorse presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump "I have not supported Donald Trump up to this point, I have not endorsed him," Lee said, according to The Washington Examiner. "I have some concerns with him. He scares me to death; so does Hillary Clinton . There is no easy choice right now." Lee had previously endorsed Ted Cruz , before the Texas senator ended his presidential bid earlier this month. At the time, he said Cruz had a "proven record of fighting for our conservative values and for the issues that...

Contrary to a Washington Post report, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is not leading Trump’s search for a running mate, according to campaign insiders. The Post cited two unnamed Republicans on Tuesday who claimed Lewandowski is in charge of the vetting team, but Trump insider Roger Stone told the Chicago Tribune that Lewandowski is “overselling” his role in the VP search. *snip* Trump is the only one in charge, Stone insisted, noting the candidate will “interview everyone who’s a serious contender.” “That’s why the choice will be outside the box. I think it’ll be daring.” Trump himself, in an Associated Press...

n. Ted Cruz is right: He is the most successful Republican this year not named Donald Trump. After Super Tuesday, he has won four GOP contests, including the primary in his delegate-rich home state, Texas. Marco Rubio has won just one contest, the Minnesota caucus, and John Kasich has won bupkis. The Republican nomination race has been a three-man fight for at least two weeks now, since Jeb Bush threw in the towel, and in his Texas-Oklahoma victory speech, Cruz asked his remaining non-Trump rivals — meaning Rubio, mostly — to "prayerfully consider" leaving him to fight Trump mano a...

Ted Cruz: “This is a campaign designed to change the electoral map."

Progressives have long been hostile to the idea of the words "under God" being included in the Pledge of Allegiance. Atheist groups, for example, have long sought to eliminate the two words from public places through the U.S. court system. At a recent campaign stop at Camden County College in New Jersey, Hillary Clinton didn't appear to be unsympathetic to the anti-under God crowd. When being introduced at the event, the person introducing her seems to purposefully leave out "under God" when reciting part of the pledge of allegiance. Hillary's response? She laughed.

Americans, collectively, are not as angry as watching cable TV would lead you to believe. But many poorer, less-educated folks who have been left behind in the 21st century—the ones who have seen their wages stagnate, their opportunities for upward mobility disappear and their life expectancies shorten—are looking to disrupt a status quo that has not worked for them. That’s what Sanders and Trump are both promising to do. And that’s the main reason why Bernie beat Hillary Clinton in yesterday’s West Virginia Democratic primary by 15.4 points. He carried every single county in the Mountaineer State, which by every...

"We are a very different country than we were 200 years ago," [Hillary] Clinton said. "I believe strongly that in a democracy, we should respect the will of the people and to me, that means it's time to do away with the Electoral College and move to the popular election of our president."

Donald Trump announced on Monday that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will serve as the chairman of the transition team. Christie will oversee the team preparing to take over the White House in the fall, according to a statement. Trump made the announcement as he focuses on the general election after rivals Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas suspended their campaigns last week. "Governor Christie is an extremely knowledgeable and loyal person with the tools and resources to put together an unparalleled Transition Team, one that will be prepared to take over the White House when...

Interesting. I was just polled by a national firm and given a somewhat extensive poll about my reaction if Ted Cruz un-suspended his campaign. Someone thinks it’s an idea worth exploring. At least, enough to run a poll on.

Republicans have a major electoral-map problem in November. Major. Donald Trump’s victory last week in Indiana’s primary not only effectively sealed the GOP nomination for the real estate billionaire but also brought into sharp relief how difficult it will be for any Republican to get to 270 electoral votes and beat Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president this fall. Start here: Eighteen states plus the District of Columbia have voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election between 1992 and 2012. Add them up, and you get 242 electoral votes.

(Newser) – Mitt Romney and William Kristol met privately "over glasses of water" Thursday to discuss running a third-party candidate and the possibility that candidate might be Romney himself, the Washington Post reports. Kristol, a conservative commentator and editor of the Weekly Standard, has been a major part of the #NeverTrump movement, according to Time. “[Romney] came pretty close to being elected president, so I thought he may consider doing it, especially since he has been very forthright in explaining why Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton should not be president of the United States,” Kristol tells the Post. Romney announced...

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has said Israel should continue building in Judea and Samaria, insisting the Jewish state should "keep moving forward" in response to Arab terrorism. Speaking to the UK's Daily Mail, Trump emphasized his support for the State of Israel, and appeared to veer away from previous comments in which he declared that he would stay "neutral" on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Trump referenced the "thousands of missiles being launched into Israel," by Arab terrorists prior to the 2014 Gaza war, asking rhetorically: "Who would put up with that? Who would stand for it?" He also said he...

With Indiana primary voters headed to the polls in less than 24 hours, Ted Cruz said he will "absolutely" have a path to victory even if he loses the next GOP presidential nominating contest. "We intend to do absolutely everything possible to win tomorrow. It's gonna be up to the people of Indiana," Cruz told ABC News while campaigning in Osceola, Indiana. "The polls have been all over the place. There has literally been a 30-point swing depending on what poll you are looking at. We are neck-and-neck right now in the state of Indiana."

<p>Ted Cruz's conservative crusade for the presidency fought for new life Monday ahead of an Indiana vote that could effectively end the GOP's primary season. The fiery Texas senator hinted at an exit strategy, even as he vowed to compete to the end against surging Republican front-runner Donald Trump.</p>