epaddon
2 hours ago
"Incapable of human feeling." Says the race hustler who was incapable of human feeling for what he did to Stephen Pagones when he defamed him with lies in the Tawana Brawley hoax. That this disgusting POS has never been out of the public eye since then is of itself an example of DEI with its racist black privilege that made possible BLM rioters and looters never having to be accountable for any of their crimes.

Lance Parkertip
2 hours ago
Al Sharpton, the man who incited violence against Jews over a traffic accident? The man who is as racist as the Grand Dragon of the KKK? The fake reverend who hasn't paid taxes in years? The fake Christian who is racist against his fellow man? He has brass ones to be looking down his pointy nose at others.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees, to be applied throughout the executive branch. As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law. Except as provided below, this freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of their sources of operational and programmatic funding.

This order does not apply to military personnel of the armed forces or to positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety. Moreover, nothing in this memorandum shall adversely impact the provision of Social Security, Medicare, or Veterans’ benefits. In addition, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant exemptions from this freeze where those exemptions are otherwise necessary.

"The bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 directs the Administration to hire the maximum number of air traffic controllers. That’s what the law says, so the Administration must rescind this ridiculous executive order,” Ranking Member Larsen said. “Hiring air traffic controllers is the number one safety issue according to the entire aviation industry. Instead of working to improve aviation safety and lower costs for hardworking American families, the Administration is choosing to spread bogus DEI claims to justify this decision. I'm not surprised by the President’s dangerous and divisive actions, but the Administration must reverse course. Let’s get back to aviation safety and allow the FAA to do its job protecting the flying public.”

January 27, 2025

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration camp in Poland that stood at the center of the Holocaust and focus for their systematic slaughter of the Jewish people. Between 1940 and 1945, more than one million Jews, religious leaders, disabled persons, and other innocent victims were viciously and mercilessly executed in Auschwitz at the hands of the evil Nazi regime — culminating in one of the darkest chapters in human history. On this solemn day, America joins the Jewish community, the people of Poland, and the entire world in mourning the lives lost, the souls battered, the heroes forgotten, and the countless men and women who gave their lives for the cause of freedom. //

As we commemorate this somber occasion, we pay tribute to the undying spirit of the Jewish community. We reaffirm our commitment to educating our children and every future generation about the horrors that took place within the confines of Auschwitz and other concentration and death camps. We renew our resolve to end anti-Semitism and religious bigotry of all forms. We proudly reassert our strong bonds of friendship with the State of Israel. And we declare the timeless truth that every human being is a child of God and inherently worthy of dignity and respect.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 27, 2025, as a National Day of Remembrance of the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. On this day, I call upon every American citizen to observe this day with programs, ceremonies, and prayers commemorating the victims of the Holocaust and honoring the sacrifices of the men and women who helped liberate the victims of the Nazis at Auschwitz.

PROTECTING CIVIL RIGHTS AND EXPANDING INDIVIDUAL OPPORTUNITY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an historic Executive Order that protects the civil rights of all Americans and expands individual opportunity by terminating radical DEI preferencing in federal contracting and directing federal agencies to relentlessly combat private sector discrimination. It enforces long-standing federal statutes and faithfully advances the Constitution’s promise of colorblind equality before the law. This comprehensive order is the most important federal civil rights measure in decades: //

RESTORING THE VALUES OF INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY, HARD WORK, AND EXCELLENCE: Individual dignity, hard work, and excellence are fundamental to American greatness. This Executive Order reaffirms these values by ending the Biden-Harris Administration’s anti-constitutional and deeply demeaning “equity” mandates, terminating DEI, and protecting civil rights:

Reversing the progress made in the decades since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 toward a colorblind and competence-based workplace, radical DEI has dangerously tainted many of our critical businesses and influential institutions, including the federal government.

• In the private sector, many corporations and universities use DEI as an excuse for biased and unlawful employment practices and illegal admissions preferences, ignoring the fact that DEI’s foundational rhetoric and ideas foster intergroup hostility and authoritarianism.
• Billions of dollars are spent annually on DEI, but rather than reducing bias and promoting inclusion, DEI creates and then amplifies prejudicial hostility and exacerbates interpersonal conflict.

Many bureaucracies within the federal government are stocked with people who believe they are above being accountable to voters, and one of the worst is the Government Services Administration (GSA). While it ostensibly exists to manage federal workspaces, it has long been run by far-left lunatics who seek to subvert any attempts at reform while pushing woke nonsense. //

Remember that viral video from 2022 of Kamala Harris telling people at a meeting that her pronouns are "she and her," and that she's "wearing a blue suit"? That was the doing of 18F's policies. //

neverenoughcaffeine
an hour ago
Anyone wonder what PDT was doing over the last 4 years besides fighting lawsuits and criminal prosecutions? I'd say he was learning a whole lot about the crap that goes on inside the US government and then hiring the peole who clued him in. No other way he could have uncovered this nonsense and done what he has in less then 2 weeks. //

Cafeblue32
an hour ago
I think describing people for the blind is hilarious. What if they're born blind or have been from infancy? How does a born blind person know what the color purple looks like? I don't know. For me, describing things to blind people they can't see and that they never asked for is just one more reminder of the world they're missing out on.

Describing a color is impossible. We know what they do and scientifically how they are made, but the actual color itself defies description. Thus, it is all for the sighted people in the room to approve of their virtue. //

Tech in RL
41 minutes ago
GSA was in Trump's crosshairs because of the documents "scandal." The National Archives and the GSA have a service for every outgoing president to organize and ship their documents. GSA has offered this service to every president but Trump. They didn't coordinate with Trump's transition team but just jammed documents randomly into boxes so that no one knew what was in any of them. That's how napkins and magazine articles ended up in the same boxes as classified documents. I doubt Trump even knew half of the documents that went to Mar-a-lago because GSA didn't bother to organize them.

The Trump team probably thinks GSA set the trap for an FBI raid by stuffing classified documents in places no one expected. That is their incentive to gut that agency.

While we wait for Attorney General Nominee Pam Bondi to hopefully be confirmed, Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. isn’t sitting around sipping tea, and on late Friday afternoon, he axed about 30 federal prosecutors who worked on J6 cases over the last four years. Different accounts are reporting different numbers, but at this hour, the Associated Press calls it “dozens” of personnel fired while the Washington Post reports “about 30.” //

The prosecutors were on probationary status after being converted to full-time from shorter-term positions after Election Day under circumstances the Trump administration is investigating, according to documents from Martin and acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove that were emailed around 5 p.m. and viewed by The Washington Post. //

That wasn’t Martin’s only move, however, and on January 21 he sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) inquiring about Schumer’s incendiary comments aimed at the Supreme Court in 2020 when he appeared to call for violence against the justices. //

“We take threats against public officials very seriously. I look forward to your cooperation,” Martin wrote Schumer in a Jan. 21 letter obtained by The Post.

Sean Spicer
@seanspicer
·
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@POTUS @realDonaldTrump kicks off #BlackHistoryMonth with a proclamation from @WhiteHouse recognizing the work of Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass
6:47 PM · Jan 31, 2025

Throughout our history, black Americans have been among our country’s most consequential leaders, shaping the cultural and political destiny of our Nation in profound ways. American heroes such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Thomas Sowell, Justice Clarence Thomas, and countless others represent what is best in America and her citizens. Their achievements, which have monumentally advanced the tradition of equality under the law in our great country, continue to serve as an inspiration for all Americans. We will also never forget the achievements of American greats like Tiger Woods, who have pushed the boundaries of excellence in their respective fields, paving the way for others to follow.

This National Black History Month, as America prepares to enter a historic Golden Age, I want to extend my tremendous gratitude to black Americans for all they have done to bring us to this moment, and for the many future contributions they will make as we advance into a future of limitless possibility under my Administration.

This is a long time coming. For years, the accomplishments of black Americans like Thomas and Sowell have been overlooked, downplayed, and blatantly ignored by the left, who seemingly can't handle any black person who doesn't fall into line with their radical policies. Back in 2016, the Smithsonian opened the National Museum of African American History and Culture with nary a word about Clarence Thomas to be found in the entire building, something Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) later called an "irresponsible bias." The Smithsonian eventually added Justice Thomas to an existing display about Justice Thurgood Marshall. Mighty nice of them. //

Ronster
3 hours ago
Since the very first time I heard the phrase "celebrate diversity" I have asked why not celebrate unity. As in United States. But then that's the Leftist/Marxist/Democrat way: diversity = divide and conquer.

Baja Sun Ronster
2 hours ago
Diversity is the key to controlling the population.
The more diverse the cultures, the less likely we are to stand united against a tyrannical government.
Divide and conquer.

Whale Psychiatrist ™️ @k_ovfefe2
·
Today President Trump fired everyone at the DOJ who persecuted people for walking through the open capitol building on January 6th and then he fired everyone at the FBI who raided his bedroom and then he rescued 6 hostages from Venezuela and then he flew to Florida to spend the weekend with his supermodel wife. What a boss.
8:00 PM · Jan 31, 2025

President Donald Trump is taking further action against the 50 former intelligence officials who falsely suggested Hunter Biden’s laptop was “part of a Russian disinformation campaign,” instructing agencies to also ban those individuals from stepping foot in secure U.S. government facilities, according to a memo obtained by The Daily Wire.

The Jan. 29 cabinet memorandum, first obtained by The Daily Wire, expands Trump’s day-one executive order, which revoked the security clearance for the 50 individuals. Sent “on behalf of the President,” it orders the country’s top national security agencies to “revoke unescorted access to secure U.S. Government facilities from the 50 former intelligence officials named in the Executive Order.” //

NorCalGC
6 hours ago
This seems to suggest that one or more on the list visited a secure facility after they had their security clearances revoked. //

It’s a dry heat
5 hours ago
"despite the fact they had no solid evidence to support that conclusion."

That suggests they had some "evidence" but it just wasn't "solid." The truth is far more damning. They not only didn't have any "solid evidence," but that they had no evidence at all, and what evidence there was established precisely the contrary. There was ample evidence, solid, concrete, irrefutable and otherwise, that the Hunter laptop was genuine and that its owner was a genuine criminal, drug addled dipwad. //

GBenton
5 hours ago edited
Trump should have a gallows built with 51 nooses just to send a message to the traitors.

Getting your hall passes yanked is getting off far easier than you deserve.

What happened in 2020 was beyond election interference. It was a color revolution and with China and Iran and other nations involved I'd argue they are guilty of treason.

They may not actually be publicly hanged but in an earlier era they know they could have and they should be reminded of that.

In the last 20 years or so people got waaaay too comfortable engaging in treasonous and anti-American activities and that really does need to stop.

How hard they need to learn that lesson is up to them for now.

Is this too harsh of language? Welp, they tried to imprison Trump after convicting him of made up crimes and then they tried assasination - and they stole the last election.

I'd argue that not being clear about the boundaries is how we got where we are.

Keep in mind, we won in 2024 but if we'd lost the country would have been lost or we might have had to fight our way back to freedom. It's all fun and games until the Marxists consolidate power and we MUST never let that happen.

We won the Cold War. If WE became the force for Communism around the world humanity is basically over.

Play time for traitors is over. And Trump appears to be serious about making the necessary reforms and kicking out the bad actors. Full disclosure of what they did is next, IMO.

GBenton NavyVet
an hour ago
How I really feel is we need to make people fear the consequences of betraying the people and engaging in sedition, corruption, and yes, treason. There's a long list of folks who did all of the above who are used to being rewarded for it and they need to get their minds right.

I'm being somewhat tongue in cheek about the gallows, somewhat, since these cretins got Americans imprisoned and even killed during the Biden years in an illegitimate presidency that could have sent our nation into an age of darkness.

Call me crazy, but we really need to make sure that never happens again and bad actors respond to consequences so examples need to be made. Destroy their reputations, strip their access to power and money (already in progress), and yeah, some of them belong in prison - shunned from society, cautionary tales to future scumbags who consider selling out our country for money and power.

The only people who pay a price in this country are the law abiding ciitizens who believe in our Founding values - that has to change or one day we'll wake up and not have a country.

Political Polls
@Politics_Polls
·
Follow
Trump Job Approval:

Approve 49%
Disapprove 41%

.@EmersonPolling, 1,000 RV, 1/27-28
https://emersoncollegepolling.com/january-2025-national-poll-trump-starts-term-with-49-approval-41-disapproval-rating/
1:56 AM · Jan 31, 2025

But even more amazing was the response to a question in the same poll about whether the country is now on the right track. They had numbers from earlier in January -- before Trump was inaugurated -- that had 67 percent saying it was on the wrong track, and only 33 percent thought it was on the right track.

But now -- with Trump in office -- there was a 19-point shift, to a majority of Americans -- 52 percent -- thinking the country is now on the right track, with 48 percent saying it's on the wrong track. That's a huge and significant shift, and it's an indication they're embracing/approving Trump's actions, that they believe good things are happening and are going to happen. //

According to a Quinnipiac poll, 57 percent of registered voters have an unfavorable opinion about Democrats. Only 31 percent are favorable. That's the worst for the Democrats since Quinnipiac started asking the question in 2008. Meanwhile, according to Axios, they didn't ask this question about the unfavorability of Democrats between August 2019 and January 2025. That says so much right there. Gee, I wonder why that would be?

Forty-three percent have a favorable opinion of the Republicans versus the 31 percent favorability for the Democrats, also the largest favorability gap favoring the Republicans since 2008. And 58 percent of Democrats or independents leaning Democrat think the party needs "major changes or to be completely reformed." //

media is corrupt
6 hours ago
Biden did not campaign on being woke. Once he got into office, he and his "handlers" threw open the border and went wild with leftist "woke" policies. He was not the Moderate he ran as.
Trump told everyone what he would do when he ran for office. No one should be shocked that he's actually doing what he promised on the campaign trail.

A team including current and former employees of Musk assumed command of OPM on Jan. 20, the day Trump took office. They have moved sofa beds onto the fifth floor of the agency's headquarters, which contains the director's office and can only be accessed with a security badge or a security escort, one of the OPM employees said.

The sofa beds have been installed so the team can work around the clock, the employee said. //

Musk wrote:

Before even getting to timed scripts, the number of government jobs that could be replaced simply with a mouse macro is astounding!

ConservativeInMinnesota
4 hours ago
This is very good news. I’ll bet Musk told Trump to so. I work in InfoSec and this is best practice when there’s a risk of employees sabotaging systems.

Locking out HR means they want to review historical records like job titles without interference. The HR data will help expose deep state operatives via unearned promotions as well as DEI hires.

Expect to see a lot of people let go who worked on DEI, for hiding DEI hires or sneaking political appointees into non-political positions. This is a solid win.

TK421 ConservativeInMinnesota
4 hours ago
Preventing them from hiding what they were doing, especially with respect to DEI crap, does seem like the most likely reason for this action.b

Kneeman TK421
2 hours ago
In Trump 1 he was resisted by the deep state in the shadows of the government. Trump 2: shine lights in those shadows before they have a chance to destroy evidence like the J-6 committee did. They never thought he would lock up the HR records on day 1. Who is working from ‘home’ and charging 20 hours of OT per pay period. Who applied for accommodations for a new disability after Nov. 5 so they could keep working from home. Etc.

stripmallgrackle ConservativeInMinnesota
an hour ago
Post J6. How much research? How many interviews? How many task forces assembled? How much does Trump know that he didn't know at the end of the first term?

Consider the last four years a gift. Add one bumbling figurehead and a successor that instilled no confidence, and the colossal loss to the democrat brand just ices the cake. //

anon-onh5
5 hours ago
"The systems include a vast database called Enterprise Human Resources Integration, which contains dates of birth, Social Security numbers, appraisals, home addresses, pay grades and length of service of government workers, the officials said."

I'm gonna stop right there and ask what in the hell those systems were doing unlocked?! After all Obama sold my info once, it's not like it's any better the second time. //

GALTean
5 hours ago
This is to keep malicious actors from’Leaking’ personal information and blaming it on DOGE…this ain’t checkers ya taxpayer fatted dingleberries!

While Democrats don't get it because they like to pretend we have an endless pile of money that we can hand out, former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta gets it and may just have delivered the best remarks I have ever seen from a foreign leader on the subject. His remarks have gone viral, and it's easy to see why. He's talking about countries/leaders who are upset about the freeze on the money and that Trump might not just give out blank checks anymore.

Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok
·
Former president of Kenya mocks countries who are upset Trump that said he won’t give blank checks anymore to foreign governments.

“Why are you crying? It’s not your government! He has no reason to give you anything. You don’t pay taxes in America.”

11:33 AM · Jan 29, 2025

"Why are you crying? It's not your government, it's not your country," he says to cheers from the audience he was speaking on Wednesday at the East Africa Health Security Summit in Mombasa, Kenya.

"He has no reason to give you anything...You don't pay taxes in America. He's appealing to his people," he continued.

"This is a wake-up call for you to say, 'What are we going to do to help ourselves, instead of crying,'" he declared to more clapping.

"What are we going to do, yah, to support ourselves? Because nobody is going to continue holding out a hand there to give you. It is time to use our resources for the right things. We are the ones using them for the wrong things."

The director of employee and labor relations at the US Agency for International Development has been placed on administrative leave after a stunning refusal to follow directions given by President Trump's transition team.

Brytek
4 hours ago
As a “brown” person, I see DEI for what it is - A sustainable means to keep brown and other peoples down and ignorant, forever needing these white elites hand ups. As a brown person I compete quite well against any and all takers in my chosen profession, without the need for some a-hole lefty looking to “help” me out of my dignity and self worth. DEI is an apartheid tool masquerading as manna from heaven. Did it help KJP, no, as it set all who look like her who are competent back a generation, back into the chattel pens of the democrats. DEI is the Democrats Evil Indoctrination system. //

anon-fl4c
4 hours ago
Do you see what Trump is doing here? JD is going to be part of the package at every turn. Not the guy in the back looking stern or smiling and nodding when the situation calls for it. Trump is going to make JD the most recognized VP in history so that by 2028, everyone knows JD Vance. Brilliant move.

stripmallgrackle anon-fl4c
an hour ago edited
Vance will have a record he can run on. He will not only speak for Trump, he will be given credit for his input on decisions made, and he will be given the latitude to rise or fail. In short, he will have credentials when he runs in '28.

I vaguely remember a think piece I read, probably during the Carter excursion, about the need for a co-presidency as an answer to the increasingly complex responsibilities of the president. I suspect this presidency will be just that.

Wherever Trump goes there will be at least one man in the room who knows, with every fiber of his being, that he isn't a lame duck. Anyone who believes he can't buck history needs to rewatch The Apprentice.

anon-fl4c stripmallgrackle
an hour ago
And this is why I think this is so extraordinary. I was a teenager in the Carter years so I didn’t read what you are referencing but I will say this, there has never been a promotion of a VP like this in my lifetime. The ego of Clinton would not permit it, and the disastrous choices of Bush 43 and Obama would not allow it. Vance is being groomed by Trump for good reason, as is the rest of his cabinet choices. Trump is protecting the future legacy of MAGA for us all. A beautiful thing indeed.

stripmallgrackle anon-fl4c
an hour ago
Add to that, that whatever remains of conventional wisdom in the DNC forced Biden to choose Kamigula II as his running mate. Clearly, there is a difference between craving power and knowing how to use it.

That last part may be the most MAGA thing I've ever said.

mopani stripmallgrackle
2 minutes ago
Exactly. Trump doesn't crave power, and so he is not afraid to share it, to share the spotlight. Just like he gave his podium to the victims in North Carolina, he gives his VP the podium and the limelight.

Staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” according to an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report about the collision that was reviewed by The New York Times.

The controller who was handling helicopters in the airport’s vicinity Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways. Those jobs typically are assigned to two controllers, rather than one.

...

The tower [at Reagan] was nearly a third below targeted staff levels, with 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023, according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan, an annual report to Congress that contains target and actual staffing levels. The targets set by the F.A.A. and the controllers’ union call for 30. //

This shocking event follows problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Obama Administration implemented a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude. During my first term, my Administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence. But the Biden Administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous "diversity equity and inclusion" tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with "severe intellectual" disabilities in the FAA.

On my second day in office, I ordered an immediate return to merit-based recruitment, hiring, and promotion, elevating safety and ability as the paramount standard. Yesterday's devastating accident tragically underscores the need to elevate safety and competence as the priority of the FAA.

DaveGinOly | January 29, 2025 at 4:26 pm
Remember, Milley created a bottleneck in the chain of command during the final hours of the Trump administration, requiring that only orders issued or approved by him were to be followed, effectively elevating himself above the POTUS, the lawful civilian authority at the top of the military chain of command. He can’t be tried for this criminality, but he should be demoted for it. (Nancy Pelosi encouraged him in this venture, and she remains exposed to prosecution for her part in it.)

(((Harry Enten))) @ForecasterEnten
·

"Big League" for Trump. His approval rating is significantly higher at the start of his second term than at the start of his first.

Moreover, Trump's made history as the first president to be more popular at the start of his second term than at ANY point in his first term.

11:22 AM · Jan 24, 2025

Abortion has been a notoriously divisive issue in America, but actually I see an emerging consensus: that abortion should be legal up until a certain number of weeks, and restricted thereafter. Even in the reddest of red states, voters reject total abortion bans. And in blue states, almost no one supports third-trimester abortions except to save the life of the mother. And so I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point. 

But I also believe that we can reduce more abortions in America by choice than by force. This is at the heart of the “More Choices, More Life” policy we’ve developed. Every abortion is a tragedy, and by better supporting mothers, parents, and families, we can dramatically reduce abortions across the board. //

I'm going to support President Trump's policies on Title 10. I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me he wants to end late-term abortion, he wants to protect conscience exemptions, and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions here and abroad as Title 10 states. I serve at the pleasure of the president, I'm going to implement his policies. //

Lankford asked, "Will you step in and say that healthcare individuals have the right of conscience again as the federal law allows?"

Kennedy responded:

The first thing that occurs to me when you ask that question is what patient would want somebody doing a surgery on them that believes the surgery is against their conscience being forced to perform that. I don't know anybody who would want a doctor to perform a surgery that the doctor is morally opposed to.

Kennedy took his argument further: that recognition of conscience exemptions is a part of the diversity of thought that the country needs to return to. //

LANKFORD: Will FDA move to be able to actually give transparency to the America people and to say, "this drug is no different than any other drug, we're not going to protect it just because it's political to some folks." People should know side effects on this drug and there should be reporting?

KENNEDY: It's against everything we believe in this country that patients or doctors should not be reporting adverse events. We need to know what adverse events are, we need to understand the safety of every drug, Mifepristone and every other drug. And President Trump has made it clear to me, one of the things, he has not taken a position yet on Mifepristone—a detailed position, but he's made it clear to me that he wants me to look at the safety issues, and I will ask NIH/FDA to do that. //

Indylawyer
6 hours ago
Those are the sorts of responses I was hoping to hear. I do not expect the federal government to eliminate abortion by legislative fiat anytime soon, and certainly not by administrative fiat. But the Democrats and RINOs have long been twisting law and policy in all sorts of hideous directions in order to promote and encourage abortion. Our abortion policy at the federal level ought to be similar to what Lincoln sought to do with slavery - recognize that it is immoral and contrary to natural law while acknowledging it that states have certain sovereign powers and we need to temporarily permit them to exercise their discretion not to protect unborn life within their borders until we can build a true national consensus that abortion has to be eliminated. RFK Jr.'s responses sound consistent with that. //

St. Joseph, Terror of Demons
7 hours ago
And so I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point.
There is no “emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point.” As a practicing Catholic, I believe all abortions are immoral, even in the incredibly rare cases of rape or incest. The child is innocent, has an immortal soul, and deserves a chance to live his or her life. Note: Some pregnancies are not viable (e.g., ectopic pregnancies), and in those sad cases, it is permissible for a doctor to terminate the pregnancy to save the mother’s life. //

With the Electoral College votes now cast, here is a recap of how Americans voted in 2024. //

Trump won 77,284,118 votes, or 49.8 percent of the votes cast for president. That is the second highest vote total in U.S. history, trailing only the 81,284,666 votes that Joe Biden won in 2020. Trump won 3,059,799 more popular votes in 2024 than he won in 2020 and 14,299,293 more than he won in 2016. He now holds the record for the most cumulative popular votes won by any presidential candidate in U.S. history, surpassing Barack Obama. Running three times for the White House obviously helps.

Kamala Harris won 74,999,166 votes or 48.3 percent of the votes cast. That was 6,285,500 fewer popular votes than Biden won in 2020, but 774,847 more than Trump won in 2020.

More than 155 million Americans voted in 2024: 156,302,318 to be exact. That’s the second largest total voter turnout in U.S. history in absolute terms. It is also just the second time that more than 140 million people voted in a presidential election.

In relative terms, voter turnout nationally in 2024 was 63.9 percent. That is below the 66.6 percent voter turnout recorded in 2020, which was the highest voter turnout rate in a U.S. presidential election since 1900. Nonetheless, turnout in 2024 was still high by modern standards. The 1960 election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon (63.8 percent) is the only other election in the last 112 years to exceed 63 percent voter turnout. If you are wondering, the election of 1876 holds the record for the highest percentage voter turnout: 82.6 percent. That was one of America’s most controversial and consequential elections—and not in a good way. It was also an election in which more than half the adult-age population was ineligible to vote.

Wisconsin holds the place of pride as the state with the highest voter turnout in 2024—76.93 percent of eligible voters in the Badger State voted. Five of the six battleground states that switched from Biden to Trump saw their turnout exceed the national average; only Arizona (63.6 percent) was below, and then just barely. Hawaii holds the distinction of being the state with the lowest voter turnout. Just 50 percent of Hawaiians voted.

A Landslide Election or Not?

Early election coverage described Trump’s victory as a landslide. But whether you go by the Electoral College vote or the popular vote, it was anything but. The 312 Electoral College votes that Trump won are just six more than Joe Biden won in 2020, twenty less than Barack Obama won in 2012, and fifty-three less than Obama won in 2008. Trump’s Electoral College performance pales in comparison to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s landslide victory in 1936 (523 electoral votes), Lyndon Johnson’s in 1964 (486), Richard Nixon’s in 1972 (520), or Ronald Reagan’s in 1984 (525). In terms of the popular vote, more people voted for someone not named Trump for president than voted for Trump in 2024, and his margin of victory over Harris was 1.5 percentage points. That is the fifth smallest margin of victory in the thirty-two presidential races held since 1900. //

The 2024 election was the tenth presidential election in a row in which the margin of victory in the popular vote was in the single digits. That is a record. The longest prior streak began in 1876, when seven consecutive elections were decided by single digits. The last person to win the presidency by a double-digit margin was Ronald Reagan in 1984. He won by eighteen percentage points. The last time someone won the presidency by more than five percentage points was Barack Obama in 2008. He won by seven percentage points. The bottom line is that whatever one makes of the mandate that Trump did or did not win last month, the United States remains deeply divided politically.