After Lying That Trump Wants to Cut Social Security, Dems Rush Bill That Will Cut Benefits – Need Biden to Sign Before Trump Arrives

By Samuel Short | The Western Journal

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters following the weekly Senate luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on December 17, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

Democrats have been caught doing the very thing they’ve been accusing President-elect Donald Trump of doing: Cutting Social Security.

On Wednesday, the U.K. Daily Mail reported Senate Democrats are trying to push through a Social Security reform bill they want to see signed by President Joe Biden before Trump takes office.

The Social Security Fairness Act aims to repeal provisions that reduce payouts to public sector employees like police officers, firefighters, teachers, and post workers. The Mail cites The Committee for a Responsible Budget in their article, and that group states this would make Social Security insolvent six months earlier than current projections by giving increased benefits to 3 million people who paid into their state or local pensions that did not pay Social Security.

The CRFB also states, “As a result, we estimate a typical dual-income couple retiring in 2033 would see their benefits cut by an additional $25,000 over their lifetime.”

The think tank says if Social Security runs out of money under this bill, as much as $400,000 in benefits would be lost for the average couple. CRFB states the cost for the bill over the next decade — citing the Congressional Budget Office — would be $190 billion

After already passing in the House of Representatives, the push for a vote in the Senate comes from Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer while Republican Sen. Rand Paul wants to add an amendment to the bill gradually raising the age of retirement to 70.

Paul spoke on the matter to The Hill.

“It speeds the bankruptcy of Social Security. Social Security is due to go bankrupt in 2034. This will speed it up by a year or so. It’s $200 billion added to a program that is already short of money,” he said, following up by commenting, “If you’re going to add to its mandate by expanding it, you should pay for it.”

Schumer tried to pose the effort on X in the most altruistic fashion last week, saying, “It would ensure Americans are not erroneously denied their well-earned social security benefits simply because they chose at some point to work in their careers in public service.”

Despite this appearing to be an expansion of Social Security, it is a short-term payoff for some that will ultimately be incredibly costly.

We have heard repeatedly from Democrats that it is Trump who goes after Social Security, not them. Days before election day, Vice President Kamala Harris posted to X accusing Trump of just that.

---

Post on X

Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris

Donald Trump tried to cut Medicare and Social Security every year he was president.

I believe that when people have worked hard their entire life, they deserve to retire with the benefits they have earned.

---

Biden gave similar statements in a press release from May, saying, “Medicare is stronger and Social Security remains strong. As long as I am President, I will keep strengthening Social Security and Medicare and protecting them from Republicans’ attempts to cut benefits Americans have earned.”

In July, Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries invoked to boogeyman that is Project 2025 to say Trump would be the end of Social Security.

He claimed, “Trump’s Project 2025 will end Social Security and Medicare as we know it.”

Despite looking to address excessive government spending, Trump stated earlier this month, “We’re not touching Social Security.”

Under Democrats’ bill, cuts will be made, and insolvency will be sped up.

It is unclear whether Democrats actually think this is helpful, or if they just want to create a massive disaster later — perhaps for the president-elect to “deal” with.

That all being said, there may be a far less conspiratorial explanation for this latest move from the Democrats.

Hanlon’s Razor states we, “shouldn’t attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

NEW: US Senate Passes Bipartisan Continuing Resolution Bill

By Becca Lower | RedState.com

Earlier on Friday afternoon, the House passed the third version (AKA Plan C) of a continuing resolution (CR) crafted by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, in an effort to avoid a partial government shutdown before many in Washington head home for winter recess. As RedState's Susie Moore wrote:

The House has now passed the "Plan C" CR, with a total vote of 366 to 34, with one voting "present." The 34 nay votes were Republicans. All Democrats voted in favor of it, save for the one who voted "present."

...The measure will now move onto the Senate, where, given the latest developments, it appears it will likely pass. 

Fox News' Capitol Hill reporter, Chad Pergram shared on his X account that some journalists were taking tongue-in-cheek wagers on when the Senate would begin voting on the CR:

From colleague Dan Scully. GOP NC Sen Tillis on timing for interim spending bill: I'll set the line at 12:45 and I'm taking the under

Ahead of the vote, several senators gave their take on the evening's agenda, which also included a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act:

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told POLITICO he suspects “there will be five or six amendments to the to the social security bill," and that the Senate will “go past midnight, but not much” while trying to finish its work before heading out of town.

Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in an afternoon speech, addressed his colleagues who were considering voting nay on the funding measure:

You never get everything you want, but often you can get quite a lot. And the folks who prefer to make a point have a funny habit of reminding us out loud how poorly they understand that fact.

 The soon-to-be Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Whip, John Thune (R-SD) spoke on more granular matters related to the process, telling Fox News:

Well, there's a...several different amendments. It'll probably be considered on the social security bill, and then we'll see on the CR, but we're we're vetting them and getting them. We're trying to get the assessment of that. Hopefully soon we can start voting.

Sen. Schumer indicated he was optimistic about the CR's passage in the Upper Chamber:

Schumer said the legislation “does not include everything Democrats fought for” but still contains “major victories” since it would “provide emergency aid for communities battered by natural disasters, no debt ceiling, and it will keep the government open with no draconian cuts.”

Later in the evening, Schumer added:

We got some major things we wanted in the bill, particularly the, the what -- the disaster relief, which was bigger. President asked for 117. We got 100. We got, we kept the government open and we didn't get the debt ceiling. So there were three major victories. We didn't get everything we wanted. But I think if you look at the vote in the House, people felt pretty good.

 Then just before 8:30 p.m. EST, he shared that the Senate's time agreement would bring in the CR's passage "tonight, before the midnight deadline." But at around 20 minutes to midnight EST, it was clear the deadline would not be met on the dot. Pergram wrote on X:

"Very doubtful at the rate at which the Senate is voting that it votes on the stopgap spending package before the midnight deadline. That likely means a technical shutdown for a few minutes or an hour. But no crisis"

One of the amendments by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) "came close" to passing," per Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): 

By a vote of 76-20, the Social Security Fairness Act gained passage in a lay-up. 

Just after midnight the White House released a statement:

OMB has ceased shutdown preparations because there is a high degree of confidence that Congress will imminently pass the relevant appropriations and the President will sign the bill on Saturday. Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations.

Senators began voting on the stopgap government spending bill just before 12:30 a.m. EST. It will need 60 ayes to pass.

Now, the Senate has spoken:

The Senate has voted 85 to 11 to pass the stopgap spending bill approved in the House earlier today and keep the government open.

Here's some of what is (and isn't) in the bill:

The final bill did not include anything related to the debt limit, though House Republicans agreed to increase the borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion in exchange for $2.5 trillion in net cuts to mandatory spending. That would take place during next year’s budget reconciliation process. 

.... 

All told, the three-month stopgap bill included roughly $100 billion in aid for areas ravaged by natural disasters, including hurricanes Helene and Milton. Senators from North and South Carolina had threatened to hold up any bill that did not include the funds. 

Included in the disaster aid is nearly $29 billion in funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, which had seen its coffers become nearly empty recently. 

The CR also OK’d federal funds to help rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in March. 

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loans program, which businesses and homeowners rely on for low-interest loans to recover from disasters, also was replenished to the tune of about $2 billion.

The bill includes a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill after Congress failed again in passing a new, five-year version. Lawmakers also agreed to spend an additional $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, which comes after some Republicans in both chambers threatened not to vote for the measure without the further assistance.

At the same time, the roughly 120-page bill was significantly slimmed down from an initial bipartisan agreement struck earlier this week, which Trump ally Elon Musk also helped kill.

Among the notable provisions that were ultimately stripped from the final bill were a transfer of land surrounding Robert F. Kennedy Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia and language that would have ended a years-long freeze on cost-of-living adjustments for members.

 The White House indicated earlier on Friday evening after the House passed its bill, that President Biden was prepared to sign the Senate work product into law, once it reaches his desk. WH Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement:

“President Biden supports moving this legislation forward and ensuring that the vital services the government provides for hardworking Americans "from issuing Social Security checks to processing benefits for veterans.

"While it does not include everything we sought, it includes disaster relief that the President requested for the communities recovering from the storm, eliminates the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires, and would ensure that the government can continue to operate at full capacity."

 UPDATE: Here's a breakdown of the votes:

Post on X

Senate Press Gallery @SenatePress

As promised here is the breakdown - 

Senators voting against - Bruan, Crapo, Hawley, Johnson, Kennedy, Lee, Paul, Risch, Romney, Sanders, and Schmitt 

Senators Manchin, Rubio, Schiff and Vance did not vote.

By a vote of 85-11 the #Senate passed H.R. 10545 (The Continuing Resolution ) 

This was the last vote of the 118th Congress.

Exposed: The Tightly Controlled Operation That Hid Biden’s Cognitive Decline From America

By Jeff Charles | Townhall.com

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

An explosive new Wall Street Journal has exposed what most Americans already knew: President Joe Biden’s mental faculties have declined considerably, and the White House lied about it for his entire term in office.

The report details how members of the Biden administration were forced to adapt to the president’s advanced age and cognitive decline. It revealed a tightly managed operation to restrict access to him and meticulously manage his public appearances and interactions. The objective was to prevent the public from seeing his apparent weaknesses as president.

Biden’s staff designed a highly insulated system to limit his exposure to outsiders – including members of Congress and the media. His senior advisers acted as intermediaries and gatekeepers, ensuring that meetings were short and focused so the president would not lose track of the conversation.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council head Lael Brainard frequently acted as proxies for Biden during important policy discussions. “Senior advisers were often put into roles that some administration officials and lawmakers thought Biden should occupy,” the report noted.

In many cases, “If the president was having an off day, meetings could be scrapped altogether,” according to the report.

The structure was also designed to prevent Biden, an undisciplined public speaker throughout his half-century political career, from making gaffes or missteps that could damage his image, create political headaches or upset the world order.

The Wall Street Journal noted how this system “put Biden at an unusual remove from cabinet secretaries, the chairs of congressional committees and other high-ranking officials.”

The president’s advanced age had a severe impact on his ability to meet the physical and mental demands of the presidency, the report highlighted. Staff had to adjust his schedule to accommodate his declining stamina, often delaying meetings to later in the day and keeping interactions as brief as possible.

Even though his staff took these actions to conceal his cognitive issues, his public appearances betrayed apparent inconsistencies in his memory and energy levels. “He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow,” a former national security official told the Wall Street Journal.

The report noted how “aides often repeated instructions to him, such as where to enter or exit a stage, that would be obvious to the average person.”

The charade was finally destroyed when Biden debated President-elect Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign.

Biden’s debate with Donald Trump on June 27 made his mental acuity an insurmountable issue. Much of the Democratic establishment had accepted the White House line that Biden was able to take the fight to Trump, even in the face of direct evidence to the contrary.

When Biden tanked in his performance against Trump, it was no longer possible to deceive the public into believing he was still fit for the job of president. This revelation prompted prominent Democrats to call on Biden to drop out of the race, which eventually happened.

Some suggested that Biden’s refusal to exit the race earlier and give another candidate a chance to take up the mantle was instrumental in bringing about the Democrats’ heavy losses on Election Day. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) criticized Biden for immediately endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor instead of allowing for a primary process. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” she told The New York Times.

As much as I hate to say it, Pelosi is 100 percent correct, as are others who said Biden shouldn’t have bothered to run for a second term. While the president’s cognitive issues were apparent to those who actively follow politics, it appears his team still had a considerable portion of the voting public fooled – until that disastrous debate performance.

The Democrats’ second mistake was rallying behind Kamala Harris, one of the worst presidential candidates in history. There was absolutely no way she could hope to defeat Trump in a fair fight, so to speak. But even with the Democrats using the justice system to prosecute the president-elect to influence the outcome of the election, the public could not stomach the idea of a Harris administration that would have been more of the same. After all, we know the definition of insanity, right?

Vance Gives Spicy Response to Second CR Failure, Others React Just As Strongly

By Nick Arama | RedState.com

Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance - AP Photo/Matt Rourke

We've been reporting on the government funding battle. 

After a push from President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP cut out a lot the pork. presenting a clean bill that included disaster relief and funded the government to March. 

But as we reported earlier, the bill failed to pass. So that leaves the Speaker Mike Johnson with having to come up with a Plan C.  

38 Republicans voted no, along with most of the Democrats. 

Musk placed the blame for the failure squarely on Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

__________

Post on X

Elon Musk @elonmusk

Shame on @RepJeffries

 for rejecting a fair & simple spending bill that is desperately needed by states suffering from hurricane damage!

--------

Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal

🚨🇺🇸 DEMS REJECT TRIMMED SPENDING BILL AFTER GOP KILLED THEIR VERSION

After Trump and Elon rallied opposition to the original 1,547-page package, Republicans offered a streamlined 116-page alternative—cutting congressional pay raises and stadium projects. 

Their response to a cleaner bill? 

Chanting "Hell no!"

The slimmed-down bill would've kept government open through March while providing $110B in disaster aid. 

But with their original deal scrapped, Democrats chose payback over compromise.

Now two million federal workers face holiday uncertainty as both sides play shutdown chicken.

Source: Fox, The Guardian

 Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) - AP Photo/Matt Rourke

________________

The fault is now squarely on the Democrats. If they wanted to pass disaster relief without the pork, there was their chance. So they can't talk. 

Vice President-elect JD Vance had a pretty spicy response. 

The Democrats just voted to shut down the government, even though we had a clean CR because they didn't want to give the president negotiating leverage during his first term or during the first year of his new term. And number two, because they would rather shut down the government and fight for global censorship bullshit. They've asked for a shutdown and I think that's exactly what they're going to get

Now,  Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) gave the rationale for why some of the Republicans voted no. 

It’s not the number of pages that matter - it’s what’s in those pages.

This CR had the same level of spending today as it did yesterday, but the debt ceiling was suspended, meaning there was no limit on the debt. I don’t trust Congress or the government to spend responsibly without any limits.

I cannot in good conscience vote to continue Joe Biden spending levels months into Trump’s presidency.

If we did a very short CR that took us to Jan. 20th only or if we had single subject votes on the spending measures inside the bill - there likely would have been a lot more support. 

We are $36 trillion in debt. We have to get this right. It’s now or never.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) who voted "no" wants one bill for each item. 

_____________

Post on X

Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie

This isn’t complicated.

Separate the bills and vote on them individually.

one vote on the clean CR 

one vote on the debt limit 

one vote on disaster relief

one vote on farm bailouts

Radical right? Individual bills for each issue.

_____________

RELATED ARTICLE

House Republicans in time crunch to finalize spending deal with just hours until shutdown

By Cami Mondeaux | The Washington Examiner

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson - AP Photo/Matt Rourke

House Republican leadership is in a race against time to finalize some sort of spending deal before the clock strikes midnight and a government shutdown is scheduled to take place, halting funding for several government agencies. 

GOP leaders met behind closed doors on Thursday night after their latest funding bill failed to pass the lower chamber due to objections from House Democrats and over 30 members of the Republican conference. Now, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) must return to the drawing board to craft some sort of spending agreement that can appease his right flank while also gaining the approval of President-elect Donald Trump. 

“We will regroup, and we will come up with another solution. So stay tuned,” Johnson told reporters after the vote failed. 

However, Johnson emerged from his office hours later with no new proposal — and a narrowing timeline to get a deal passed before the deadline. 

When asked if there would be another bill ready for the House floor by Friday, Johnson merely said: “We’ll see.”

Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) assured they would “keep trying.” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) told reporters that lawmakers would “work through the night to figure out a plan moving forward.” 

After scrapping their initial funding bill that was negotiated by both parties in the House and Senate, House Republican leaders put forward their own proposal that sought to keep the government open while also including a demand from Trump to suspend the debt ceiling for two years — a provision that caught many lawmakers off guard, especially deficit hawks in the House who are staunchly opposed to raising the debt limit. 

The House shot down the Trump-backed CR, with 38 Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in opposing the measure. 

Conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus held their own closed-door meeting on Thursday night to concoct a new funding proposal, emerging with a plan to present options to the speaker on Friday to negotiate a new deal. 

“We haven’t landed on anything yet,” Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) said. “I think we want to give them a couple — two to three options that we would be willing to vote for.”

It’s not entirely clear what those proposals would include. But it’s likely none would involve a provision related to the debt ceiling.

Instead, Burlison said the House could deal with the debt ceiling when they return in early January before Trump is inaugurated, satisfying the president-elect’s demand to relieve him from dealing with it. 

By omitting the debt ceiling, some Republicans say it could appease enough conservatives to support the bill. 

“What’s thrown everybody into [disagreement] is the debt ceiling,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said. “Throwing that in there at the last minute, you can’t do.”

Another idea being floated by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is to separate the main components of the funding package into separate bills and hold votes on each portion. That would mean individual votes on the clean stopgap spending bill, the debt limit suspension, disaster relief, and farmers’ assistance. 

Burlison and Norman both said they’d support that move, although it’s not clear if it’s been considered by House GOP leadership. 

Republicans will continue their negotiations on Friday, and House Democrats are also scheduled to hold a caucus meeting in the morning — their third such gathering in the last 24 hours. Democrats have said they would vote against any spending bill other than the original continuing resolution finalized earlier this week.

The absence of an agreement makes it all the more likely the government will shut down, as a spending agreement must be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president to avoid one.

NEW: Fani Willis Was Just Officially Disqualified From the Prosection of Donald Trump

By Bonchie | RedState.com

Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP

In a major blow to the prosecution against Donald Trump in Georgia, Fulton County DA Fani Willis has been officially disqualified from the case. An appeals court ruled on Thursday morning that her conflicts of interest were simply too great for her to remain involved. 

That comes after a years-long fight involving Willis' affair with Nathan Wade, a lawyer she had hired to be part of the prosecutorial team. Questions about how much taxpayer money he was paid and the impropriety of their relationship infected the process and led to the Trump team seeking Willis' disqualification. 

This represents a significant defeat for Willis and the prosecution of Trump and various associates. A lower court had previously allowed her to stay on the case, instead only forcing the ouster of Wade. With the Fulton County DA now out of the mix, the entire strategy, including whether to keep pursuing these prosecutions at all, will be reassessed. 

Willis had told the lower court that her relationship with Wade was over, yet he showed up on the side of the road when the DA's daughter was arrested back in September. That called into question her truthfulness and whether she lied under oath. Willis has also faced significant questions about her use of campaign and government money over the years, with one whistleblower revealing possible criminal conduct. 

No doubt, the Trump team is happy with this development. Not only is it a big legal win, but it is a big PR win as well. It provides evidence for everything they've said about Willis and her corruption. That could go a long way to seeing this prosecution scuttled in some form or fashion.

Breaking News: Former part-time McDonald's fry cook donates next 4 years of salary ($1.8 million) to support homeless veterans

 

Mayor Adams Drops Truth Bomb About How Luigi Mangione Was Radicalized, and Dems Won't Like It

 By Matt Margolis | PJ Media

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

It’s been nearly two weeks since UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan. Thankfully, his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, 26, was captured after someone recognized him at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa.

While the evidence all appears to confirm Mangione is the killer, in a lot of ways, it just doesn’t make sense why this kid, who grew up privileged and went to an Ivy League school and everything, would be driven to murder.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has something to say on that issue that the Democrats won’t be happy about. Adams bluntly described a disturbing trend he’s witnessed among young people in America. Speaking candidly about the radicalization of youth, he addressed the troubling case of Mangione, drawing a direct line between the shooter’s upbringing and the toxic influence of the education system that led to his violent actions.

Adams was quick to point out that Mangione’s background doesn’t fit the typical profile of someone prone to radicalization. “Ivy League, grew up in an affluent household,” he said, emphasizing the disconnect between the shooter’s privileged life and his eventual descent into hatred. 

“His manifesto clearly is showing some signs of hating,” Adams continued, underscoring that even those with seemingly ideal circumstances can be consumed by a dangerous ideology.

The mayor then turned his focus to the broader problem at hand: the radicalization of America’s youth. “Our children are being radicalized,” Adams stated, “I said this over and over again, and everybody’s like, you know, ‘What are you talking about, Eric?’” His frustration with the lack of attention to the issue was clear, but his message was undeniable. This isn’t just a fringe problem; it’s becoming a mainstream crisis.

Adams explained how young people, even those with every opportunity, are being led to despise the country that gave them so much. “Our children are being radicalized to hate America, to hate the country that put them where they are,” he said. 

Despite growing up with privileges that many would envy, Mangione’s hatred for everything that made his life possible led to a devastating outcome. “This person had all that one wants to have, but he hated everything to the point of shooting someone,” Adams said.

I can’t begin to tell you how refreshing it is to hear him say this. This is what conservatives have been saying for a long time now. It’s not just the young people who have been radicalized. We’ve seen adults on the left who have been sympathetic to Mangione, suggesting he was justified. 

But Adams didn’t stop there. He warned that society is ignoring the signs of radicalization, with far-reaching consequences. “We better deal with the radicalization of our young people,” he urged. “And people could. They could complain that I’m saying it, but I’m seeing it.” 

His concern goes beyond just one tragic event. Adams sees a larger cultural shift where young people are being taught to reject the very values that have allowed them to succeed. And it’s the same one conservatives have been warning about for years.

And then he admitted where it’s coming from.

“I'm seeing our bench is hating the team,” he said. "And we better start acknowledging and focusing on that.”

Adams’ words are a wake-up call to those who have long ignored the radicalization of the younger generation. His unflinching honesty brings a much-needed spotlight to the problem, one that the left often dismisses or downplays. The mayor’s message is clear: the radicalization of young Americans is real, and if we don’t start confronting it head-on, we will continue to see more tragic and senseless violence. Bravo to him for speaking the truth!

'You Have To Do It': Trump Says He'll Continue to Sue the Pants Off the Lying, Leftist Media

By Teri Christoph | RedState.com

Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP, File

If you didn't catch President-elect Donald Trump's Monday press conference from Mar-a-Lago, you missed one humdinger of a media event. The purpose of the event, as covered by RedState's Ward Clark, was to announce a $100 billion investment by the Japanese technology firm SoftBank, a move that is expected to create more than 100,000 American jobs.

Once that triumphant announcement was made, Trump did what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have long been afraid to do — he took questions from the assembled media without having the answers written down for him. It was a thing to behold; it was Trump at his best, easily handling the questions being thrown at him and putting hostile reporters in their places.

No topic was off limits, and a lot of ground was covered, from drones and deportations to border wall sell-offs and CEO murders. One topic that elicited a long answer from the president-elect was in reply to a question about his big $15 million win against ABC, which he sued for defamation. RedState's Bonchie had the details on that big Trump win:

Donald Trump has won again. ABC News and George Stephanopoulos have settled the defamation lawsuit brought by the incoming president, with the news network agreeing to pay  $15 million in damages while also issuing an apology.

The lawsuit was first filed after Stephanopoulos claimed as a matter of fact that Trump had “raped” E. Jean Carroll. The comment came during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace.

A reporter at Mar-a-Lago asked Trump if he intended to keep pursuing lawsuits against media outlets — whether it be newspapers, cable networks, or social media influencers — once he's back in the White House.

Trump's answer? "I think you have to do it because they're very dishonest."

He continued:

"You need fair elections, you need borders and you need a fair press. I have a few others [lawsuits] that I'm doing. I'm not doing this because I want to, I'm doing this because I feel I have an obligation to."

 One person he apparently has in his sights is pollster Ann Selzer and her newspaper, The Des Moines Register. Although he didn't name Selzer specifically, Trump called foul on her extremely faulty polling that showed Kamala Harris with a very surprising lead in Iowa going into Election Day, saying, "In my opinion, it was fraud and it was election interference." Per the president-elect, "We'll probably be filing a major lawsuit against them today or tomorrow."

It gets better. CBS News' very rotten, no good, horrible year is about to get that much worse.

"We're filing one on "60 Minutes," you know about that. They took Kamala's answer, which was a crazy answer, a horrible answer, and they took the whole answer out and they replaced it with something else she said later on in the interview. Which wasn't a great answer, but it wasn't like the first one. The first one was grossly incompetent. It was weird."

 Trump said the "60 Minutes" edit scandal was "fraud and election interference." 

But, wait, there's more.

"We’re involved in one that has been going on for awhile, and very successfully, against Bob Woodward where he didn't quote me properly from the tapes and then, on top of everything else, he sold the tapes, which he wasn't allowed to do. He could only use them for reporting purposes, not for sale purposes and he admits that and I think we’ll be successful on that one."

 It's definitely worth a watch:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO.

The best part about all of this is that Trump said it in front of a roomful of media, essentially putting each and every one of them on notice that he has had enough of the lying. He noted that he shouldn't have to be doing the suing, saying that should be the job of the Justice Department, but that he would in order to "straighten out the press."

Trump ended his remarks on future defamation lawsuits, correctly concluding, "Our press is very corrupt, almost as corrupt as our elections.”

ABC News Apologizes to Trump, Pays Large Settlement in Defamation Suit

By Bonchie | RedState.com

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Donald Trump has won again. ABC News and George Stephanopoulos have settled the defamation lawsuit brought by the incoming president, with the news network agreeing to pay  $15 million in damages while also issuing an apology.

The lawsuit was first filed after Stephanopoulos claimed as a matter of fact that Trump had “raped” E. Jean Carroll. The comment came during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace. 

Of course, the issue was that Trump has never been charged or convicted of rape criminally nor has he been found liable for rape in any civil suit. Stephanopoulos made it up in an attempt to bait Mace, and it ended up being the basis of the now-settled civil suit against he and ABC News. 

The apology issued as part of the settlement was tepid, but an apology nonetheless.

"ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024," the statement reads. 

Aside from the $15 million, ABC News will also pay $1 million worth of Trump’s legal fees.

The settlement was publicly filed on Saturday, revealing that the two parties have come to an agreement and avoided a costly trial. According to the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a "Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past." Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in Trump's attorney fees.

 Perhaps this will serve as some kind of deterrent to news networks letting their political biases get in the way of truthful reporting. CNN and Jake Tapper are also facing a lawsuit after the host claimed a man who was helping evacuate people from Afghanistan was being “exploitative” and committing “illegal” acts.

Attack Of The Drones

By Kevin McCullough | Townhall.com

AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File

“There’s one now,” I heard the words come out my mouth as our group of friends made their way to their cars.

We had just wrapped up a fun night of Christmas caroling to some neighbors and before that at a senior living facility in the suburbs of the New York Tri-state area.

A month ago I had seen one lone report on local news coverage where people who live in the area of the Trump-owned Bedminster golf course saw a flying craft thought to be the size of a small SUV flying and hovering in the region. A day later another first hand report with personally captured footage not far from the locale of the first one. 

A few nights later my social media feed was becoming populated with more personal footage from a half dozen people adding theirs to the mix. I didn’t really know any of them personally but now this story felt like it was metastasizing. Speaking of which I then see on Fox News footage from Dr. Nicole Saphier. Wait a minute. I know her. She’s a decorated radiologist and weekend host on Fox News Channel. She’s not some nutty conspiracy—war of the worlds—kook.

A day or so later Congressman Jeff Van Drew is speaking out. Two days after that friends from our church who live twenty minutes away. The next day reports in Philadelphia. The evening after that someone spotted one in Connecticut. That same evening a candidate for Congress in this past election who had just barely lost texts my bride with footage she had just taken from above her own home. This last Friday evening John Calvelli of the Bronx Zoo, and former Bloomberg administrator, and head of the Arthur Avenue Business District Peter Madonia bring them up on my radio show with Cristyne Nicholas. Later that night I get word that good friends of ours in Park Ridge, New Jersey grabbed footage of one. And Saturday evening as our small group of friends gather to go caroling one of the wives relays she and her husband’s personal account from the night before of seeing a drone about the size of a car hover over their back yard, then zig zag off into the woods behind their property. We go caroling and upon return the husband of yet a different couple hands his phone to me and says, “look, this is someone crossing the George Washington bridge just now!” I take the phone and see one of these—what appears to be a drone—keeping pace with the vehicle of the photographer as it crosses the nearly 2 mile span. 

And that catches me up to the one I spotted above my home personally (with the other couples witnessing it) as we walked them to their cars.

So in one quick flash I went from discounting some nutty report on the local news, to having a series of people that got deeper and deeper into my own personal circle of credible friends, to seeing one with my naked eye, in roughly a month.

And I’m not even that socially fluid.

I started to imagine people with far bigger circles of friends and how utterly common my experience has to be. 

I also realize how utterly incomprehensible our administration’s response has been. Local law enforcement don’t have the tools or technology to chase these things down. Especially in smaller suburbs and rural and sparse areas. Congressman Jeff Van Drew publicly raised the possibility of Iran, but he was more asking than asserting. Biden’s national advisor and spokesperson on national security John Kirby first claimed that (like the Chinese spy balloon) there was nothing to really see, then when pressed by Martha MacCallum (who is no sufferer of fools) the following day tried to weasel his way free of what he had already intimated.

I understand the difficulty this puts the authorities in. If they don’t know anything—they look like they are asleep at the helm. If it is a foreign entity and they haven’t figured it out yet, revealing so might jeopardize their ability to find out who. And if they are doing it to us directly the hell-to-pay would dwarf the anger in the election. 

Bottom line however (and there definitely is one) is quite simply—this is too big of an issue to gaslight us. You owe us an explanation of what you know. And we have the right to ring your bell and give you migraines until you start talking.

To that end I had Paul Benne, a security expert who plans and runs security of large scale events, and who personally possesses not one but two mobile command units that have drone detection technology, on my show last night—from his mobile command—while he has been continuing his look into the phenomenon. 

From Benne’s perspective we know these drones are not emitting normal RF transmissions. This means from a consumer level drone’s perspective they’re not communicating data back to a mothership. That is unless they are doing so at a military/National Security level where they are using undetectable satellite encryption. After watching numbers of these over a few nights Benne also came to the conclusion that they are also possibly autonomously programmed pre-take-off to run a defined mission and return without the need for RF transmission.

“This is pretty nefarious,” were Benne’s words to me when we were off the air. (And this from a man who I would say rebuffs the definition of sensationalism or conspiracy.)

And that’s my real problem.

Too many people I know personally, none of whom would I say frequent the waters of conspiratorial nonsense, have now taken footage for themselves for me to ignore it anymore.

I also happen to frequently have decorated national security experts, retired military heads on my show discussing many of the technological dangers of the day. I’ve had too many of these conversations to know that many theories of what these are would not be far-fetched if true. I have sources inside our current military who are familiar with our tech-based weapons systems to know that we probably know way more than what John Q. Public is being told.

In the two separate attacks in Israel, our situation room was able to identify drones as they left Tehran and headed for Tel Aviv. We helped shoot some of them down as they headed to the air space of our ally Israel. We and Israel were able to track where they originated. And Israel went and eliminated that site. 

So for Kirby to attempt cutesy comedic responses with MacCallum this week and convince us all that “they just don’t know” is unacceptable.

We know it.

And it’s about a month late, but it’s time for answers!

(To demand answers from your Congressional and U.S. Senate officials: 202.224.3121.)

Biden’s final days in the Oval Office offer a perfect metaphor for everything that was wrong with his tenure

 By Michael Goodwin | The New York Post

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the latest developments in Syria from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 8, 2024 in Washington, DC.

- Getty Images

“‘This is the way the world ends,” T.S. Eliot famously wrote.

“Not with a bang but a whimper.”

He might have been talking about Joe Biden’s presidency.

As he prepares to slink out the door, Biden’s final days in the Oval Office offer a perfect metaphor for everything that was wrong with his tenure.

He pardoned his convicted-criminal son after vowing not to and his mass commutations included one for a judge convicted of taking kickbacks to send juveniles to for-profit detention facilities.

The judge was in Scranton, Pa., meaning Biden even betrayed distraught parents in his hometown.

How’s that for a legacy?

His most recent dereliction fits another pattern.

Just as he paid no attention to raging inflation, the open border and the decline of America’s global standing, Biden has gone missing as swarms of drones spark fears among millions of Americans on the East Coast.

Biden has said nothing, Vice President Kamala Harris has disappeared since losing the election and the White House offers only bland assurances that there’s nothing to worry about.

But asked who is behind the noisy, bright and large drone presence expanding night after night, the administration says it doesn’t know.

In other words, we don’t know and we don’t really care, but trust us anyway.

Sorry, it’s too late in the game for that, especially when drones forced the White Plains airport to close runways Friday night.

Even the usually somnolent Gov. Hochul stirred to demand answers.

Contrast of leadership

Only a fool would deny that something unprecedented is happening, and it’s doubly worrisome when the blanket assurances come from Alejandro Mayorkas, head of Homeland Security.

Recall it was Mayorkas who insisted repeatedly, under oath, that “the border is secure” even as more than 10 million unvetted migrants poured across.

So when he says “don’t worry,” we should worry.

The incident also illustrates why there is so much excitement about Donald Trump’s return.

Politics is ultimately about contrasts, and there is an extraordinarily stark contrast between the current and next president.

It goes far beyond the usual changing of the guard.

Although Biden is just four years older than Trump, it feels as if the torch is being passed to a new generation.

And that joy has switched sides.

Action at ‘MAGA Largo’

That’s certainly the vibe at Mar-a-Lago, or, as reader John Peter Zavez calls it, MAGA Largo.

With a steady stream of well-wishers, tech moguls, captains of industry, donors and media arriving daily, the historic estate is living up to its designation as the Winter White House.

The impression of a president ready to hit the ground running is underscored by Trump’s business-like approach to shaping his administration.

His lightning-speed rollout of his Cabinet and other top picks is supplanting the usual thumb-sucking post-mortems about the campaign.

There’s little point in dwelling on the past when the future is taking shape so quickly.

The announcement by FBI chief Christopher Wray that he will resign reflects the momentum.

He could have fought to finish his 10-year term, but it would have been futile.

And for what purpose?

Wray was a deeply flawed leader of the troubled FBI, but he at least got the point — there’s a new sheriff in Washington.

Trump, with a landslide win in the Electoral College and victory in the popular vote, expressed the futility of looking backwards.

In an interview with Time magazine for its issue naming him Person of the Year, he was asked what he thought were Harris’ worst mistakes.

Without hesitation, he answered: “Taking the assignment. Number one, because you have to know what you’re good at.”

Next question!

His answer could be applied to the entire Democratic Party.

It proved to be terrible at governing, with the so-called moderates signing on to the most radical agenda in US history.

The tail wagged the dog right out of power.

Here they go again

And here they go again.

Many congressional Dems are saying they will boycott Trump’s inauguration.

That’s a repeat of 2017, when more than 50 of them failed to show up for the transfer of power.

Some even made threats to impeach him, a promise they kept when they won the House majority two years later.

Axios reports that 13 Dems have pledged to stay away this time, and 20 others are undecided.

My hope is that sanity will prevail and the movement will fizzle.

Again, what’s the argument for staying away?

The public spoke with a clear voice, so those who boycott are proving they haven’t learned their lesson and are giving voters another reason to consign the party to a long sentence on the sidelines.

Look to France

Dems should take a cue from the foreign leaders who embraced Trump in Paris.

French President Emanuel Macron invited him to the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral while Biden stayed in Washington.

Trump had a friendly chat there with Jill Biden and upbeat meetings with European leaders, especially Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.

Newsweek said of Trump’s meeting with Great Britain’s Prince William that the prince “turned into a fanboy.”

All those encounters were a far cry from the cold shoulders Trump often got in his first term, so his domestic critics would be wise to knock off the juvenile antics.

They could also take a lesson from Eric Adams.

The decision by Gotham’s Dem mayor to meet with Tom Homan, the incoming tough-as-nails border czar, about the plan for mass deportations of illegal immigrants was wise and instructive.

Although Adams’ motive is somewhat suspect given that he was indicted by the Department of Justice, the move also reflects his desperation to fix the terrible mess created by the Biden-Harris open border.

New York taxpayers have shelled out billions of dollars for a problem the White House created, and Adams claims he was targeted by prosecutors because he complained the president hadn’t done enough to help pay for an invasion of over 200,000 illegal crossers to New York, not a few of whom committed crimes here.

As Adams put it in a TV interview, “We now have an administration we can work with.”

There is also a political lesson for Dems in J.D. Vance’s invitation for Daniel Penny to join him and Trump at Saturday’s Army-Navy game.

Penny was acquitted after being unfairly prosecuted in the death of Jordan Neely, the psychotic subway rider who threatened to kill other passengers.

A former Marine like Vance, Penny has become a folk hero for his selfless courage in protecting himself and other riders and for prevailing in the disgraceful race-based case.

It’s also not a small point that he and Trump have a common foe in Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted them.

Both cases brought by the Manhattan DA were devoid of fairness and displayed how Bragg corrupts his office to target people who don’t fit his far-left politics.

For now, he’s the face of the Democrats’ brand.

Good luck defending that.