First lady Melania Trump elevated the important role that families and the home play within society at the unveiling of former first lady Barbara Bush’s U.S. postage stamp on Thursday.   “Strong American families are the foundation of a healthy society and served as a steppingstone towards building a better world,” the first lady told a crowd seated in the East Room of the White House.   “The dynamics within American households shape our nation’s core values, strengths, and collective wisdom,” Mrs. Trump said. “It is within the privacy of our homes that the principles of morality, ambition, and empathy take root.”   Standing beside a large poster of Mrs. Bush’s Postal Service stamp, Melania Trump praised the former first lady for being a “devoted mother” and leaving an undeniable mark on U.S. history. She was the wife of President George H.W. Bush, and the mother of President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. First lady Melania Trump speaks Thursday in the East Room of the White House. (Virginia Allen/The Daily Signal) “Mrs. Bush’s legacy is marked by her respect for tradition, while also breaking with convention,” she said. “While she is known for championing literacy, she also supported women’s empowerment, changed the national conversation on AIDS, and took a stand supporting gay rights.”  A photo of the former first lady holding a baby with AIDS at a hospice for children in 1989 is one of the most iconic images of Mrs. Bush. First lady from 1989 to 1993 and a mother of six, she was well known for championing children’s literacy.   As Mrs. Trump noted, Barbara Bush, who passed away in 2018, called for America to elect a female president.   “Who knows?” Mrs. Trump said, “Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the White House, and I wish him well,” she said as laughter was heard across the room.   Earlier on Thursday, the first lady hosted an event at the White House honoring military mothers. America’s military moms are “filled with stories of personal sacrifice, determination, loss, and healing,” she said. “Certainly, only military mothers have experienced this level of grace and resilience, of American life.”   The post At Tribute to Another First Lady, Melania Trump Calls Families ‘Foundation of a Healthy Society’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. Recently, the German government announced that it is going to label or maybe relabel the Alternative für Deutschland—the Alternative for Germany—the conservative party that has an antithetical agenda both to the German government of both liberal and conservative factions, but also to the EU in general. Anyway, it is announced that it will classify it as a dangerous far-right organization. And that will cement this aura that no government, under their parliamentary democracy system, will ask them to join to form a majority government. So, the process of ostracism and demonization of this party continues. And what is the party advocating? The party is advocating an alternative for the way that Germany is going. And very briefly, we’ve talked about this, but if you look at what has become of Germany, it has had two years of essentially no growth or negative growth. Only recently, last year, did it finally, after 30 years, invest a measly 2% of its gross domestic product as it had promised in 2014. It had not met that goal. It just barely did it. It’s had a systematic decommission of its nuclear power plants. And how anybody could rely on solar power in Germany—but yet the German government invested heavily in it. And the result is that German power, electricity—heating, cooling, and industrial use—is about four times what the average power cost is in the United States. And you can see what that’s gonna do to German investment. They had been also sort of noncommittal about Chinese mercantilism. Because Germany—remember 10 years ago, eight years ago—started to get massive exportation to China for things like cars, especially electric vehicles, and solar panels and industrial equipment. And they didn’t quite think that China was going to do to them what China had done to us a decade earlier. And that is invite in a country to supply them with quality goods and plants in China and be very profitable as the Chinese mastered that craft, mastered that industry, both this material side of production and the bureaucratic and corporate management. And when China did that, they began to create German-like EVs, German-like solar panels at a much less cost and then started to export it and ruin much of Germany’s export market. What am I getting at? Germany, in terms of power, in terms of a border that has been open, in terms of about 16% to 18% of the population that was not born in Germany and is not fully assimilated—these are refugees. Or I don’t think they’re refugees—they’re illegal immigrants from the volatile Middle East. Most of them are Muslim. Most of them do not have an intention of assimilating, intermarrying, and integrating fully in German society. And you add all this up—and I’m not being critical. It’s very tragic because for years Germany was the powerhouse, the cohesive economic power that kept the EU together. And during the Cold War it fielded one of the best NATO armies, West Germany. Well over 400,000 troops. It’s almost literally disarmed. It cannot fulfill even its meager commitments to help Ukraine. And out of this tension, if it was a normal democratic society, you would have a variety of vocal opponents, proponents, give and take, yin and yang, and there would be a lively mix-up. And they would come to a consensus that these were the masters of nuclear power. Twenty years ago, German physicists were the top in the world—nuclear physicists. They would start investing again in nuclear power. They would start up natural gas generation. Wind and solar would be integral, but a small part, because they would need reliable, cheap energy to compete on the world market. They would join the United States and look at China and say, “This is intolerable, this system of mercantilism.” They would close their borders. They would go to an assimilationist model and require immigrants that came legally to fully become Germans. They would do all of that. But instead, when one party is advocating much of what I just talked about, they demonize it because it’s out of the norm. And the norm, unfortunately, in Germany today is national suicide. Unfortunately, this is not going to end well for Germany. And it’s not gonna end well for us. We need a powerful, friendly Germany. And we wish it well. But the reaction to needed reform—economic, political, social, cultural, military, diplomatic—is not to essentially ban a political party’s freedom of expression. That shows weakness and fear rather than confidence in the future. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Germany’s Descent From ‘Europe’s Powerhouse’ to ‘National Suicide’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The liberals and the mainstream media are using scare tactics to upend efforts to bring much needed transparency, accountability and fairness to the Medicaid program. In reality, it is the blind defense of the status quo that will ultimately undermine the Medicaid program for those who need it. A key proposal being considered by the House is whether federal funding for Medicaid expansion should remain as is or whether it is time for Congress to bring federal funding for this added category of enrollees in line with other Medicaid populations. This debate ties back to Obamacare where the authors not only attempted to bribe the states to expand their Medicaid programs with an enormous bump in federal support but also attempted to punish those states that did not expand by threatening to remove all their Medicaid funding. The Supreme Court stepped in and struck the provision that would have states lose all their Medicaid funding but left in place the new federal enhanced funding. Today, for states that expanded their Medicaid programs as directed, the federal government assumes 90% of the cost for the new expansion group. To put this funding shift into context, the historical categories of Medicaid enrollees—low-income pregnant women, children, elderly and disabled—receive the standard federal match rate which ranges from 50% to 76%, depending on the state. This funding scheme creates a cascade of distortions and unintended consequences. Most notably, since they get more federal money for the new group, it means states are more likely to seek out and enroll the expansion population over other groups. Enrollment data shows the shift that has occurred. In 2013, the year before passage of Obamacare, there were 61.1 million Americans on the program. Ten years later, the number jumped to 85.5 million. Furthermore, the makeup of the program has shifted. In 2013, before the expansion, there were 27 million low-income children, 10 million adults, five million disabled, and four million elderly on the program. By 2021, the new expansion population surpassed all groups, except children, reaching 19 million enrollees. This funding scheme also leads to more costly care. Per person spending for the adults in the new expansion group is significantly more than non-expansion adults in the program. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicaid spent $3,630 per enrollee for adults in the traditional enrollment category where Medicaid spent $7,630 per enrollee for adults in the new Medicaid expansion category. Thus, in addition to the 90% match rate fueling increased enrollment away from traditional Medicaid enrollees, it appears to also lead to more costly and more expensive care settings such as hospital emergency rooms. Recently, hospitals have raised concerns and complaints about the change in federal funding, claiming these changes would result in hospital closures. It is important to note that Medicaid is not the sole source of funding for hospitals. Hospitals receive funding from both public and private sources. Rather than using Medicaid as a band aid for its shortfalls, if there are genuine funding needs, Congress should conduct an audit of the funding sources and identify the needs of specific hospitals. Research by colleagues at The Heritage Foundation found that federal funding programs to hospitals for caring for the disadvantaged is a black box and there needs to be greater transparency and accountability for how those funds are allocated. Returning the match rate to a standard match rate also does not mean there will be mandatory disenrollment. It’s worth noting that the Congressional Budget Office released a letter where they estimate that the vast majority of the expansion group would either stay on Medicaid or shift to alternative coverage, such as employer-sponsored coverage or coverage through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. Further, many states might find they have greater flexibility to design and tailor benefits more appropriately for this group. Two states, Wisconsin and Georgia, received waivers from the federal government to add a similar group to their Medicaid programs but did so under normal match rates. Congress and the administration could offer a pathway for states to transition and ensure minimal disruption. Fifteen years have gone by since the passage of Obamacare. The goal of Obamacare to bribe the states to expand their Medicaid programs has run its course. Today, 41 states have expanded and 10 have rejected expansion. It is time for Congress to stop prioritizing the Obamacare enrollees over the traditional groups and remove the incentive for the states to favor able-bodied, childless adults over pregnant women, children, elderly and disabled. The post Protecting Medicaid Means Ending Preferential Federal Funding    appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Disney, which once dared to attack Florida Republicans for the sin of wanting to preserve kindergarteners’ innocence, is now opening a new park in a nation where homosexuality is a crime. Hypocrisy much? Disney announced Wednesday it would be opening its seventh park in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. “This seventh Disney theme park resort will combine Disney’s iconic stories, characters and attractions with Abu Dhabi’s vibrant culture, stunning shorelines, and breathtaking architecture,” exults the Disney press release. Left unmentioned is that Abu Dhabi’s “vibrant culture” bans same-sex marriage, adoption of children by same-sex couples, production of or sharing of pro-LGBT material, and well, homosexual sex, according to Equaldex, which tracks countries’ laws on LGBTQ matters. In the United Arab Emirates, “[s]ame-sex sexual activity may also be penalized under Sharia law, under which the death penalty is possible, though there is no evidence that this has been used against LGBT people,” states the Human Dignity Trust, a British-based organization that provides legal aid to bolster LGBT rights. (The U.S. embassy for the United Arab Emirates did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Equaldex and Human Dignity Trust’s analysis of its laws.) Remember: Florida’s unfairly infamous 2022 bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” by critics, simply prevented kids in kindergarten through third grade from having planned classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in school. Which is, you know, a bit of far cry from having the death penalty for people having gay or lesbian sex. Yet Disney acted like Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was some kind of persecutor of the LGBT community. Then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek said he called DeSantis “to express our disappointment and concern that if the legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary and transgender kids and families.”  Bob Iger, who both preceded and succeeded Chapek as CEO, shared on X an absurd post from then President Joe Biden stating, “I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve.” Iger responded, “I’m with the President on this! If passed, this bill will put vulnerable, young LGBTQ people in jeopardy.” Just to recap: This bill simply banned planned classroom teaching on gender identity and sexual orientation for kindergarteners to third graders in schools. Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro with Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi (CEO of Miral), His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak (Chairman of Miral), and His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi) pic.twitter.com/TetOHISNlX— Boardwalk Times (@BoardwalkTimes) May 7, 2025 Compared to the United Arab Emirates, Florida is an absolute bastion of tolerance when it comes to LGBTQ matters. So is Disney planning to build in the UAE, but also speak out against the nation’s laws? Doesn’t appear so, as Disney communications did not respond by deadline to a press request I emailed asking them about their choice of the United Arab Emirates as the location for their seventh park given the country’s laws about LGBTQ behavior. Of course, this isn’t the first time Disney seems to espouse one set of values in the United States and another set of values elsewhere. Disney has two parks in China, which allows partnerships, but not marriages, for same-sex couples, among other restrictions, according to Equaldex. China’s overall human rights record is dismal. According to a 2023 State Department report, China has “[s]ignificant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings by the government; enforced disappearances by the government; torture by the government … harsh and life-threatening prison and detention conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention by the government including, since 2017, of more than one million Uyghurs and members of other predominantly Muslim minority groups in extrajudicial internment camps, prisons, and an additional unknown number subjected to daytime-only ‘re-education’ training; … and existence of some of the worst forms of child labor.” But apparently none of that keeps Disney executives up at night, not the same way that someone trying not to confuse a kindergartner about her gender does. In some ways, Disney, perhaps jolted by the blowback to its Florida stance, has tried to become less woke. In 2022, Disney released “Lightyear,” a children’s movie which featured a same-sex kiss. (The UAE banned “Lightyear,” incidentally.) That movie flopped and since then, Disney, which seems to perhaps love the profits more than the wokeness, has pivoted somewhat. A Pixar TV series set to feature a trans character was reportedly altered to remove gender identity as part of that character’s arc. Yet two Disney shows featuring lesbian moms, “Firebuds,” and “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures,” were nominated in January for the GLAAD Media Award for Kids and Family Programming. Furthermore, in March, Disney shareholders rejected a proposal by the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Free Enterprise Project to end the company’s participation in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index. “Though HRC – which Disney has a paid partnership with – claims the [Corporate Equality Index] is just a ‘benchmarking tool on corporate policies… pertinent to LGBT employees,’ in reality, it functions like a social credit score for corporations,” the proposal stated. “The threat of a bad score is wielded against corporations to force them to do the political bidding of HRC and others (like GLSEN, the Trevor Project and GLAAD, which Disney also has paid partnerships with) that seek to sow gender confusion in children, encourage irreversible surgical procedures on confused teens, effectively eliminate girls’ and women’s sports and bathrooms and roll back longstanding religious liberties.” Disney shareholders refused to stop the company’s participation in the controversial index. So Disney is both continuing at least some wokeness … and simultaneously expanding in a country where homosexuality is criminalized. It doesn’t make sense—unless you realize that the highest value of Disney is getting cash, regardless of what moral compromises that entails. That type of moral hierarchy should make Disney a disappointment to both LGBTQ activists and traditional conservatives—and should certainly make Disney’s LGBTQ preaching against U.S. conservatives even more risible. The post Disney Picks Anti-LGBTQ Middle Eastern Country for New Park appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: Following a rise in antisemitism at universities, Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., has introduced legislation aimed at stopping antisemitic harassment on college campuses.   “I think if people are troubled by antisemitism on college campuses, this is the easiest way to stop it,” Fine said of his bill.  Universities have been aggressive in efforts to protect various minority populations, and yet some institutions “seem to lose all interest when it comes to protecting Jews,” according to Fine.  His legislation aims to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit religious discrimination “under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” according to the text. If passed, the bill would also amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide means of “rigorous enforcement” against antisemitism on college campuses.  If university programs are found to have violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and engaged in antisemitic discrimination, the university could face financial fines.   “This bill would simply say that a Jewish kid deserves the same protections as a black kid or a Hispanic kid or woman or any other group of people,” Fine, who is Jewish, told The Daily Signal. “And unfortunately, colleges won’t do the right thing on their own, so we’re going to make them do it.”  Fine was clear that the bill would “restrict people’s ability to say whatever they want” on college campuses in the same way “you can’t say whatever you want about women or black students or gay students or anybody else.” Before being elected to Congress on April 1 in a special election, Fine served in the Florida state legislature, which passed a similar bill with bipartisan support.   The introduction of the bill in Congress comes on the heels of a long series of pro-Palestine and antisemitic protests and demonstrations on college campuses following the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.   The bill, ‘‘Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act of 2025,’’ is the House version of Sen. Rick Scott’s Senate bill of the same name.   “Following Iran-backed Hamas’ attack on Israel, we saw a drastic rise in antisemitic attacks in the United States with anti-Israel mobs taking over campuses, and we’ve seen an unacceptable failure from leadership at higher education institutions to take action to condemn these mobs and protect Jewish students,” Scott, R-Fla., told The Daily Signal.   Scott called the “disturbing debacle at Columbia University,” in which pro-Palestine protesters forcibly entered a campus library and declared it a “liberation zone,” just “one more example of pro-terrorist mobs blockading Jewish students from going to class and studying for finals, fearful of the violence this lawlessness presents. That can’t happen.” The Trump administration has announced an end to funding for a number of colleges and universities over failure to combat antisemitism on campus. In March, for example, the administration cut $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University.   “President Trump is completely right to withhold federal funding from higher education institutions that refuse to enforce the law on their campuses and enable antisemitic hate to flourish, and I’m proud to join my colleague, Rep. Randy Fine, on this bill to build on the president’s efforts,” Scott said. “These people must be held accountable.” The post EXCLUSIVE: GOP Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Combat Antisemitism on College Campuses   appeared first on The Daily Signal.