Peter Navarro, who spent four months in federal prison for a contempt of Congress order over the Jan. 6 investigations and now serves as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, said in an interview about his newest book “I Went to Prison So You Won’t Have To: A Love and Lawfare Story in Trump Land” that despite being convicted and jailed, he never broke. It is a sentiment he still carries with him today. The book is a vivid tale; he unpacks how he was a victim of a weaponized justice system while detailing his experiences in what he calls a flawed minimum-security federal prison in Miami. The book also draws the reader in through a series of emotional letters and diary accounts shared between him and his fiancee and coauthor Bonnie “Pixie” Brenner that describe the emotional effect of his prison time. A diligent note-keeper, Navarro said that at the time, he realized it would likely become a landmark constitutional case at the Supreme Court on the constitutional separation of powers and executive privilege. “And so I kept very detailed notes through the legal process,” he explained. Brenner said watching this play out in real time stretched her emotions in a way she did not know possible. “The first time I was able to visit him at the visiting room in prison, I was part of that long line, mostly women and children, that were waiting to see their loved ones,” she said. She had no idea what to expect when she finally saw him come out. “Was he going to be wearing an orange jumpsuit or black and white stripes?” she asked. “I didn’t know.” When she saw a parade of men emerge, including Navarro, all in green jumpsuits, she said her heart broke. “I had tears in my eyes because, not only for Peter, but all the children that were heading to see their families or fathers,” she said. “And then I started to wonder, how do they get to this level to be locked up?” Navarro said in an interview that the book serves as a warning: If this could happen to a senior White House official, then what is stopping the justice system from allowing this to happen to anyone? He and Brenner called what happened to the economist a wake-up call for all Americans. The book is raw, personal, and detailed, giving a good argument for transparency in justice system oversight as well as meaningful justice reform. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM The post Peter Navarro’s Book Is a Raw Retelling of His Experience in Prison appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Next year doesn’t just mark the 250th anniversary of the United States—it also means another year of President Donald Trump’s second term and impending midterm elections. This year, we’ve seen the same leftist groups that staffed and advised the Biden administration gear up to oppose the president’s agenda, from filing lawsuits to block his executive orders to advising illegal aliens on how to evade immigration officers. Trump is remaking the executive branch and planning another bill for the reconciliation process, but the Left won’t just bend over. Here are a few left-wing activist groups to watch in the year ahead. The ACLU Many left-wing groups have sued the Trump administration this past year, but the American Civil Liberties Union stands out. In its 2025 annual report, the ACLU touted having filed “over 110 lawsuits—53 of them within the first 100 days of the president’s second term.” Thanks to rogue district court judges, the ACLU celebrated having “defeated, diluted, or delayed President Trump’s unconstitutional agenda” in 70% of cases. Many of these victories involved a judge issuing a temporary injunction against the administration, only to have the injunction lifted on appeal. The ACLU fought to block Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportations; it sued to protect the “birthright citizenship” abuse of the 14th Amendment; it claimed the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act must cover abortion; and it sued on redistricting to enhance “Black voting power” in Alabama and Louisiana. It also released videos training illegal aliens to avoid immigration officials. Every time the Trump administration acts to restore sanity in government, expect the ACLU to take Trump to court. Sixteen Thirty Fund Sixteen Thirty Fund, a key arm of the Left’s dark money network, bankrolls left-leaning groups, Democrat campaigns, and ballot initiatives across the U.S. Sixteen Thirty Fund spent nearly $311 million in the 2024 election cycle, funding super PACs that supported Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats running for U.S. Senate in red states. It backed an abortion ballot initiative in Florida and opposed redistricting in Ohio. The dark money nonprofit also sponsors a project called Chorus, which trains pro-Democrat social media influencers. Arabella Advisors, which provided management services to Sixteen Thirty Fund and other left-leaning nonprofits, has ostensibly disappeared, but one of its successor organizations (Sunflower Services) is still working with the 501(c)(3) “sisters” of Sixteen Thirty Fund. It remains unclear whether Sixteen Thirty Fund will have any relationship with Sunflower Services or with Vital Impact, the firm led by Arabella Advisors’ former CEO. Sixteen Thirty Fund will likely support Democrats running for Senate, ballot initiatives, and redistricting campaigns ahead of the 2026 midterms. The Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress, an influential leftist think tank that fed dozens of staff into the Biden administration, has also opposed Trump. In April, the Center for American Progress launched a map showing which congressional districts were ostensibly hurt by the grants terminated due to the Department of Government Efficiency. In December, the center released a report condemning “climate deniers” in Congress and in the administration, suggesting everyone in positions of authority must agree with the climate alarmist narrative. Expect the Center for American Progress to make more moves ahead of the midterms. National Democratic Redistricting Committee Trump is attempting to shore up Republicans’ slim majority in the House of Representatives by engaging in redistricting, the process of redrawing the maps of congressional districts, after the 2020 census short-changed Republican-leaning states. Meanwhile, many on the Left have long pushed redistricting for political purposes. Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder, for example, established a nonprofit dedicated to giving Democrats an edge in redistricting. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee gave $150,000 to the Virginia House Democratic Caucus and another $150,000 to Democrat candidate Abigail Spanberger’s campaign before the off-year elections this past November, and Virginia Democrats backed a redistricting constitutional amendment one day afterward. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee has opposed redistricting efforts in Texas and Florida, and it celebrated the failure of Indiana’s redistricting bill. In July, the committee released a list of 13 priority states for 2025 and 2026, targeting next year’s governor’s races in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. The Council on American-Islamic Relations The Council on American-Islamic Relations bills itself as the largest Muslim civil rights group in America, but it recently sued Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida because they designated CAIR a foreign terrorist organization. CAIR has pushed the narrative that Israel is engaging in genocide in Gaza, opposed Trump’s deportations, and designated a sitting Republican U.S. senator an “anti-Muslim extremist.“ CAIR does not align with other leftist groups on every issue. Notably, it defends Muslim parents’ rights to opt their kids out of LGBTQ lessons in school. However, it often teams up with other left-wing groups, particularly the Southern Poverty Law Center. Following the Minnesota fraud scandals, which heavily involved the majority Muslim Somali community, and the Afghan national’s November attack on National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Republicans are raising the alarm about radical Islam. Expect CAIR to lead the charge in demonizing these concerns. The Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center has weaponized its history of suing Ku Klux Klan groups into bankruptcy, putting mainstream conservative and Christian groups on a “hate map” with Klan chapters. This map allows the SPLC to demonize its opponents and scare donors into ponying up cash. This strategy has contributed to the SPLC’s massive wealth, even while the “hate map” has inspired violence against conservatives. Republicans have rightly drawn attention to the SPLC’s close relationship with the Biden administration, hosting a hearing on the SPLC. Under Trump, the FBI has sworn off the SPLC, and the SPLC appears to be losing influence in corporate America, as well. That said, many on the Left still defend the organization, and it seems likely the SPLC will break new ground in demonizing conservatives next year. This year, it added Turning Point USA to the “hate map,” just months before Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The American Federation of Government Employees The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest public-sector union in the federal government, has fought to insulate the bureaucracy from Trump’s agenda. In doing so, it seeks to protect what amounts to a fourth branch of government, unaccountable to the people’s elected representatives. AFGE sued to block Trump’s reductions in force, his executive order blocking collective bargaining for federal employees in national security roles, the termination of contracts that unions negotiated in the final days of the Biden administration, and to undermine his DOGE efforts. The union claimed that the president attacked “science itself” when questioning climate alarmism. It claimed Trump’s decision to eliminate so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion offices in the federal government was a “smokescreen for firing civil servants.” When Senate Democrats refused to pass a clean continuing resolution to fund the government during budget negotiations, leading to the longest government shutdown in American history, AFGE eventually tired of the charade and called on Congress to reopen the government. Expect AFGE to continue to oppose Trump’s efforts to reform the federal government, advancing Democrat narratives against the president. The post 7 Left-Wing Groups to Watch in 2026 appeared first on The Daily Signal.

President Donald Trump celebrated the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, explaining how U.S. forces extradited the dictator and brought him to the U.S. to face narcoterrorism charges. “All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless,” as U.S. forces “successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night,” he announced. Trump said both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been captured and would face legal charges in the Southern District of New York. He called the operation “one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history.” “It was an assault against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas,” Venezuela’s capital. He said no operation like it has been “seen since World War II.” “Not a single American service member was killed and not a single piece of American equipment was lost,” Trump added. “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” the president posted on Truth Social Saturday morning. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been indicted in the Southern District of New York. “Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States,” she wrote. “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.” Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess…— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 3, 2026 The charges against Maduro date back to 2020, when the Justice Department under Trump announced indictments of Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials. Maduro’s wife’s name does not appear on that list, though it is possible the Justice Department is now pursuing charges against her. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly confirmed that Maduro is in U.S. custody. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that Rubio had told him that Maduro “has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.” “This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” Lee added. Just got off the phone with @SecRubioHe informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant… https://t.co/lXCxhPoKSZ— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 3, 2026 Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., claimed Trump was “starting an illegal war with Venezuela that Americans didn’t ask for and has nothing to do with our security.” “What is the actual security threat to the United States? And what happens next in Venezuela?” Murphy asked. “He cannot answer those questions—and that’s why there was no briefing to Congress to explain this action, and no briefing scheduled.” The senator suggested Trump made the extradition to satisfy his “vanity,” to enrich “Trump’s oil industry backers,” and to distract “voters from [Jeffrey] Epstein and rising costs.” President Trump thinks he is above the law. He steals from taxpayers. He thumbs his nose at the law.And now, he is starting an illegal war with Venezuela that Americans didn’t ask for and has nothing to do with our security. How does going to war in South America help…— Chris Murphy ? (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 3, 2026 Vice President JD Vance pushed back against claims that the extradition was “illegal.” “Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism,” Vance posted on X. “You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.” In July, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles a specially designated global terrorist group, mentioning that Maduro heads the organization. The State Department designated the cartel a foreign terrorist organization on Nov. 24. Last month, the White House designated Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal gang, a foreign terrorist organization. The White House stated that members of Tren de Aragua “are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.” The White House designation went on to claim that Venezuelan authorities “have ceded ever-greater control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA. The result is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States, and which poses a substantial danger to the United States.” The Maduro regime dates back to the 1998 election of Hugo Chavez, who led the Bolivarian Revolution and established a new constitution for the country. Chavez openly embraced socialism and began nationalizing industries. Maduro succeeded Chavez after his death, and conditions in the country have steadily worsened. An economic crisis of hyperinflation, famine, disease, and crime has sparked a mass exodus from the country. “Maduro should be questioned about his regime’s campaign to destabilize our streets not just with narcotics but also through political unrest,” Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow for national security at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in a statement Saturday. “Specifically, Maduro must come clean about the nature of the regime’s relationship with Black Lives Matter and Antifa.” Critics have accused Maduro of manipulating the results of the July 28, 2024 presidential election. Authorities disqualified María Corina Machado, a candidate for president, from running, and she supported the opposition’s alternative candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. She won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her efforts. One Democrat celebrated Maduro’s ouster. “The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuela’s people is welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled this violent, lawless, and disastrous rule,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., wrote on X. She criticized Trump for failing to notify Congress, and warned that “cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows.” The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuela's people is welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled his violent, lawless, and disastrous rule.However, cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows.…— Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@RepDWStweets) January 3, 2026 This is a breaking news article and it will be updated. The post BREAKING: Trump Announces Major Victory in Venezuelan Drug War appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The world changed forever in 2025. President Donald Trump returned to the White House and immediately began implementing his “America First” agenda, including closing the southern border and removing woke policies from every corner of the government.   On the international stage, Trump took an active role in ending multiple wars and conflicts, including bombing three key Iranian nuclear sites, significantly degrading Iran’s threat to Israel and the world.   On this week’s edition of “Problematic Women,” we ring in the New Year reflecting on the biggest wins of 2025 and eat some humble pie as we expose our biggest personal failures from last year. Plus, we give you some tips for goal setting in 2026.   Also on today’s show, we explain what you need to know about the year of “America 250” and how you can be a part of the celebration in Washington, D.C.   Happy New Year and enjoy the show! The post Autopsy on America: 2025’s HUGE Wins and Loses   appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you want to develop human intelligence, you can’t let students rely on artificial intelligence. Generative AI will transform the world, even if no one is quite sure what the end product will look like. These are artificial intelligence programs that create new content based on prompts or questions submitted by a user. You can imagine the problems this has created for schools and teachers. Programs like ChatGPT can solve a student’s hardest math problem and spit out papers in seconds. Some in the education establishment believe the best path forward is to teach students how to incorporate AI into their learning. In Nevada, the school district that includes Las Vegas has begun testing AI in the classroom. In April, President Donald Trump issued an executive order “promoting the appropriate integration of AI into education.” In 2024, more than a quarter of teens said they had used ChatGPT for homework. While some uses of AI in education could be beneficial, there is a real danger here. Education has two main purposes. The first is to provide moral instruction. The second is to train students to think. Consider this: Imagine your son is lost in a forest, miles from safety. First, he needs to know where to go—that’s the moral compass. Second, he needs to know how to hike and overcome the obstacles on his path—that’s the intellectual training. Schools have long since abandoned their duty to pass along society’s broad moral values. AI won’t fix that problem. But perhaps generative AI could help with academics. With ChatGPT, even a “D” student can produce an “A”-quality paper on the major themes of “Romeo and Juliet.” Shouldn’t schools teach students how to accomplish their tasks more efficiently? This confuses ends and means. When a student has to write a paper on “Macbeth,” she views the paper as the goal. But it’s actually the means to a far more important end. The key product of a school paper is a mind sharpened by the task of writing. Writing forces you to research a topic. It forces you to organize your thoughts. It often forces you to present and defend a thesis. It makes you do all this in a way that can be understood by other people. Then that writing is improved by review and revision. These are incredibly useful mental abilities. A student’s English teacher isn’t hoping for some ground-breaking insight when she reads her 500th paper on “Hamlet.” The grade and feedback she gives on papers show students what they need to work on in this process. Think of it this way. Why does a football player bench press? After all, some machines can lift far more weight than he could ever hope to. Plus, he’ll never bench press in a game. Football involves running and tackling, not lying down in one spot. Yet no one thinks it’s odd for football players to hit the weight room. Lifting weights builds the muscles that allow players to perform better. The brain is a muscle, too. Schools need to demand students exercise this muscle through papers, tests and homework, not outsource their thinking to ChatGPT. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post How AI Undermines Education appeared first on The Daily Signal.