Free Republic

Whoever came up with the phrase “useful idiots” — it’s often credited to Lenin, but there’s no evidence he ever said it — was on to something. There are times when dangerous political movements derive important support from people who will, if these movements achieve and hold power, be among their biggest victims. Certainly I found myself thinking of the phrase when I read about the Trump fund-raiser held at the Hamptons home of Stephen Ross, chairman of a company that holds controlling stakes in Equinox and SoulCycle.Most reporting on the Ross event has focused on the possible adverse effects on his business empire:...

President Trump on Tuesday disputed that he's profiting off the presidency, arguing instead that lawsuits alleging he's violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution amount to "presidential harassment" and are costing him significant legal fees. "I got sued on a thing called emoluments. Emoluments. You ever hear of the word? Nobody ever heard of it before," Trump said at a Shell petrochemical plant in Pennsylvania. "And what it is is presidential harassment, because this thing is costing me a fortune, and I love it," Trump added. "I love it because I’m making the lives of other people much, much better."...

Two California counties on Tuesday filed the first lawsuit against the Trump administration's new "public charge" rule that allows the government to deny entry or green cards to immigrants based on their use of public programs like food stamps and Medicaid. Representatives for Santa Clara County and San Francisco filed the suit seeking a temporary injunction in the District Court for the Northern District of California. The counties allege the rule change hurts "critical public health and safety-net systems, is arbitrary and capricious, flouts federal law, and seeks to usurp Congress’ authority by administratively repealing its longstanding family-based immigration system."...

FULL TITLE: Trump heaps MORE scorn on 'out-of-control animal' Chris Cuomo following CNN host's F-bombing threats to beat up a heckler who called him 'Fredo' – and says 'I would not have wanted to see a weapon in his hand!' Donald Trump continued kicking CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Tuesday, suggesting that he's too mentally unstable to own a firearm and proved it in a curse-laden rant, flying off the handle and threatening to throw a heckler down a flight of stairs for calling him 'Fredo.' 'I think that what Chris Cuomo did was horrible. His language was horrible. He...

FULL TITLE: 'I'm tired of seeing our taxpayer paying for people to come into the country and immediately go on to welfare.' Donald Trump defends his move to ban immigrants on food stamps from getting green cards Donald Trump offered his first defense of his new policy that cracks down on immigrants on food stamps seeking green cards, arguing tax payers should not have to pay for people to come into the country and 'immediately go on welfare.' 'I'm tired of seeing our taxpayer paying for people to come into the country and immediately go on to welfare and various...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is delaying some tariffs on Chinese imports ahead of the Christmas season to stem their potential impact on holiday shopping. The Trump administration announced hours earlier that it would delay until Dec. 15 some of the tariffs that were originally scheduled to come into effect Sept. 1. “We’re doing this for the Christmas season,” Trump told reporters on an airport tarmac around noon Tuesday. “Just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on U.S. customers.” “But so far they’ve had virtually none,” the president added. “But just in case they...

CNN's Reza Aslan called "Trump's supporters—ALL OF THEM—white nationalist terror supporters" who "must be eradicated from society." Aslan insisted he wasn't advocating violence: "I'm not necessarily saying they should be murdered in death camps as some have suggested. I think we go the re-education route that has been successfully employed by China. If we seize their wealth that would clip their wings. Then, if they can learn to keep quiet and behave themselves I see no need for their physical elimination." Meanwhile, fliers urging that Trump supporters be sent to death camps were posted at various locations throughout Long Island,...

Air Force one just rolled up.

Would Chris Cuomo be given a Red Flag for his recent rant? Filthy language and a total loss of control. He shouldn’t be allowed to have any weapon. He’s nuts!

Republican Rep. Paul Gosar is a conspiracy theorist who pals around with bigots and hate groups. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) promoted a nonsensical conspiracy theory Monday, in which he accused the FBI of being part of an elaborate plot as part of an attack against America. "I have a tip," he wrote on Twitter. "I think high level FBI agents may have colluded with British agents and Democrat operatives to initiate an illegal coup against @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. I mean at least this bears a cursory review." The conspiracy theorizing echoes months of Fox News and Trump defenders in Congress...

President Trump touted former pitcher Curt Schilling on Tuesday after he announced he was “absolutely considering” running for Congress as a Republican in Arizona. “Curt Schilling, a great pitcher and patriot, is considering a run for Congress in Arizona. Terrific!” Trump tweeted. The president’s Twitter encouragement comes just hours after the Arizona Republic published a report saying Schilling was mulling a run.

The Republican Party has long been panned by its detractors as the party of big money and big donors -- but donation patterns have changed measurably under President Trump, a Fox News analysis of campaign finance data shows. Sixty-one percent of money raised directly by the Trump campaign this election cycle came from small donors (donations under $200), according to Federal Election Commission figures. That is similar to the proportion Trump raised during the 2016 election cycle, when 65 percent of donations were under $200. And this is dramatically higher than previous Republican nominees. Mitt Romney raised 26 percent of...

Video at link.

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) - Trying to hold support in the manufacturing towns that helped him win the White House in 2016, President Donald Trump is showcasing growing efforts to capitalize on western Pennsylvania's natural gas deposits by turning gas into plastics. Trump will be in Monaca, about 40 minutes north of Pittsburgh, on Tuesday to tour Shell's soon-to-be completed Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex. The facility, which critics claim will become the largest air polluter in western Pennsylvania, is being built in an area hungry for investment. The focus is part of a continued push by the Trump administration to increase...

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) *WARNING: NSFW* Ok, don’t watch the video below if you are sensitive to the “f” word. – Because the “f” word appears to be about half of CNN host Chris Cuomo’s vocabulary whenever he is not on air. On Sunday, some Trump supporter called him “Fredo” – the nickname Rush Limbaugh hilariously bestowed on the dimmest Cuomo sibling years ago – at a public venue, and Chris decided to go all Sonny Corleone on the guy Here’s the full and uncensored video – be sure to get all the kids out of...

A Republican member of Congress tweeted about an "illegal coup" against President Trump on Monday, responding to an account that has spread conspiracy theory content. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona said on Monday he has a "tip" about how FBI agents have "colluded" with British agents and Democratic operatives. "I have a tip. I think high level FBI agents may have colluded with British agents and Democrat operatives to initiate an illegal coup against @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. I mean at least this bears a cursory review. Perhaps. Maybe," the congressman tweeted from his verified account, tagging Trump's accounts. number of...

WASHINGTON—Immigrants legally in the U.S. will be ineligible for green cards if they use any of an array of social programs, and prospective immigrants will be barred from entry if they can’t convince a consular officer that they will never use such programs, as part of a final rule published by the Trump administration. The rule, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, is one of the most ambitious and sweeping elements of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, according to administration officials as well as immigrant-rights advocates opposed to the change. The administration was all but guaranteeing fresh criticism from...

New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet on Monday admitted during a newsroom meeting that an original headline focused on President Trump's response to mass shootings last week was a "f---ing mess," according to The Daily Beast. Baquet made the comment during a meeting with newsroom staff that addressed an array of issues, including how the newspaper has covered Trump and race. But the meeting mainly focused on a print headline — "Trump Urges Unity Against Racism" — describing Trump's response to a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, that left 22 people dead earlier this month, The Daily Beast...

Full title: Gregg Jarrett: Comey's FBI was running a secret counterintelligence operation against Trump, new docs showNewly obtained documents confirm that James Comey’s FBI was running a secret and corrupt counterintelligence operation against the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016 and repeatedly deceiving the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) thereafter in order to wiretap a Trump campaign associate. The disclosure was the result of a federal lawsuit and a year of litigation. Despite efforts by FBI Director Christopher Wray to obstruct, a federal court issued an order that forced the FBI and Department of Justice to produce the records...

The United States is not doing enough to promote free trade and the elimination of trade barriers around the world. In fact, it’s doing just the opposite and imposing barriers on billions of dollars’ worth of imports. As a result, new trade restrictions implemented by World Trade Organization member countries have reached historic highs. Over the last two review periods, new trade restrictions totaled $588.3 billion and $339.5 billion, respectively. For the previous two periods, new trade restrictions totaled roughly $100 billion or less. The latest figures present a worrisome and unpredictable climate that is harming the overall health of...