WASHINGTON—If you spent any time on social media in November, you may have noticed that many Americans put up their Christmas decorations early this year. First Lady Melania Trump joined the ranks of those early decorators last week, when she received the White House Christmas Tree in a festive celebration. .@FLOTUS receives the White House Christmas Tree? pic.twitter.com/MUx0rmySw8 — Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 24, 2025 Melania walked from the White House to meet the tree delivery. She spoke to the handlers of the fir, which was grown at Korson’s Tree Farms in Michigan, named the National Grand Champion by the National Christmas Tree Association. She then wished the crowd a Merry Christmas before departing. It was a nice moment, and par for the course for our First Lady, who, unlike her Democratic predecessors, doesn’t like to spend a lot of time yapping with the press. In other words, Melania was polite, inoffensive, and just the right amount of festive — so, naturally, the media were unhappy. “It seems that Melania Trump has yet to warm up to the holiday spirit,” The Daily Beast reported, joking that this year’s White House Christmas decor “should be more minimal compared to years past, given the destruction of the White House’s East Wing, which typically housed the display.” “Melania Is Already Suffering Through Christmas,” The Cut proclaimed, while The Daily Beast reported that “Grinch Melania Spends Two Minutes and 50 Seconds at Christmas Event Before Fleeing.” For context, the official White House video of the Christmas tree installation ceremony ran three minutes and seventeen seconds. Last year’s official video featuring former First Lady Jill Biden was four minutes and fifty-six seconds. The first ladies’ remarks were essentially identical. Of course, The Daily Beast didn’t slam Jill Biden for the duration of her remarks last year or any other year. In 2022 their headline read simply “Jill Biden Unveils 2022 White House Christmas Decorations.” Nor did the Beast have anything to say about the White House Christmas display the Bidens forced on the nation their final year in office — a “bizarre,” “freaky,” and “cringey” performance by a New York City-based dance troupe that encourages support of groups like Black Lives Matter. The publication, like the rest of the mainstream media, was also silent last year when Dr. Jill imposed upon a farm affected by Hurricane Helene for the White House Christmas Tree. Naturally, though, several publications took this year’s ceremony to recall Melania’s 2018 decorations, which included a number of festive red trees that, for some reason, the entire internet chose to mock. Red trees, it seems, are creepy. But nightmare-inducing circus freaks are the perfect embodiment of, as the Biden White House called it last year, “A Season of Peace and Light.” Melania wasn’t bothered by the coverage in 2018, and she seems unbothered by this year’s media reaction too. Days after the Christmas tree ceremony, the first lady joined her husband at the annual White House Turkey Pardon. The Daily Wire was on hand for the ceremony, during which President Donald Trump poked fun at his political opponents and praised Gobble, this year’s National Thanksgiving Turkey. The Trumps never let the haters get them before, and they aren’t going to start now. It looks like it’ll be another festive Christmas season at the White House — no matter what The Daily Beast has to say.

When Nicki Minaj stepped up to the podium at the United Nations on November 18th, wearing a somber black suit instead of her usual bubblegum pink, one of the world’s most influential rap artists became one of the most unexpected voices to join the fight against Christian persecution in Nigeria. “In Nigeria, hundreds of communities live in fear simply because of how they worship,” she said. “Protecting Christians is not about taking sides, and it is not about dividing people. It is about uniting humanity.” Her appearance was arranged by United Nations Ambassador Michael Waltz, who has spent the past several months pushing world leaders to acknowledge the religious genocide in Africa’s most populous and economically successful nation. “We are witnessing atrocities,” Waltz declared earlier in the session. “One bullet at a time, one torched Bible at a time.” The unlikely partnership between the superstar and former counterterrorism officer came at a moment when the mass Christian killings in Nigeria have triggered the most direct American criticism of Nigeria’s government in decades. President Donald Trump recently reinstated Nigeria’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern,” a formal label that opens the door to sanctions, aid restrictions, and military pressure. A Crisis Long in the Making Violence in Nigeria’s central and northern regions is not new, and the perpetrators come from a variety of Muslim groups, from Fulani herder militias in the Middle Belt to Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province jihadis in the North. Leery of seeming critical of Islam, legacy media outlets have for years regurgitated the narrative of the Nigerian government, shying away from characterizing the attacks as religious persecution. Instead, they’ve cited secondary causes — land disputes, ethnic tensions, weather-related displacement — that sometimes overlap with religious motives. But in several recent congressional hearings, press briefings, and policy papers, consistent evidence has emerged that Christian communities, particularly in rural regions, are being disproportionately targeted specifically because they are Christians. The numbers vary, depending on the source, but even the most conservative estimates are grim. Advocacy organizations report 7,000 Christians killed and 7,900 abducted this year alone, with more than 19,000 churches destroyed. In a resolution condemning the religious violence, Texas Congressman Riley Moore noted that as many as 100,000 Christians have been killed since 2009. Humanitarian groups like Open Doors stress that more Christians are killed every year in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined, making it the most dangerous nation on earth for Christ followers. Yet under the Obama and Biden administrations, the federal government refused to classify the violence as persecution, with Biden reversing the first Trump administration’s designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern.” Texas Senator Ted Cruz has spent years trying to convince his fellow lawmakers to adopt a clearer, more confrontational response to the Nigerian government’s ongoing refusal to address the violence. He told The Daily Wire the Nigerian government has not simply turned a blind eye to the situation but in some cases are complicit in the persecution and murder of Christians. Cruz’s advocacy has helped initiate a wave of renewed interest in the crisis that was further amplified once Minaj and Ambassador Waltz moved the conversation to the global stage. Cruz recounted that when Senate Republicans were invited to breakfast at the White House shortly before the Country of Particular Concern designation was reinstated, he pulled the president aside and personally thanked him. “This unlocks targeted sanctions,” he explained. “It unlocks the ability to use deep economic leverage. It allows the administration to say enough is enough.” He added that Nigeria has 12 states enforcing Sharia-based laws and maintains a federal blasphemy statute. According to Cruz, these legal structures “are used to persecute Christians” and create an environment where extremist groups can operate with impunity. The senator takes particular issue with outlets like the Associated Press reporting that the data does not support a Christian genocide. “I think you could actually teach [the AP report] in a journalism class as an example of pure political hackery and dishonest reporting,” he said. Cruz believes the media reluctance stems from a worldview that downplays religious persecution when the victims are Christian. He compared it to coverage of the war in Gaza, alleging that some outlets report atrocities selectively depending on who commits them. To bolster the strength of the Country of Particular Concern designation, Cruz has introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which will place targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials who enforce Sharia law and facilitate violence against Christians and other minority groups. The View from the Ground In Abuja, officials maintain that the crisis cannot be reduced to persecution and accuse some in Washington of using Nigeria as a “political football.” Government spokesmen insist the country’s constitution forbids religious discrimination and that Muslim communities also sometimes suffer violence at the hands of more extreme Muslims. These are the claims regularly echoed by major American media. But those on the ground in Nigeria say that while it’s true other Muslims are sometimes targeted for not being “Muslim enough,” there’s no question that Christians are disproportionately targeted. Judd Saul, founder of Equipping the Persecuted, ministers on the ground in Nigeria, and he told The Daily Wire that the Nigerian government regularly fails to act to protect Christians, even with ample forewarning. Yet outlets like the AP and Reuters are content to echo their talking points. “The mainstream media never shows up. They just take the government’s word for it, and every time Christians are killed, it’s always ‘unknown gunmen.’ But we know who’s doing it,” Saul said. He added that legacy reporters need to visit Nigeria to see the situation on the ground for themselves. “They need to see the dead bodies, hug the wounded, hug the survivors, be there feeding them when they’re starving, like I have,” he added. Other Americans ministering in Nigeria echo Saul’s sentiment. “Let’s not forget, [Nigerian] Christians are second class citizens,” Pastor Brad Brandon, who leads a Christian relief organization Across Nigeria, told The Daily Wire. “Oftentimes, they have trouble even buying food at the market or getting medical care or education for their children simply because they’re Christians.” He further pointed out that of the 3.5 million people in Nigeria’s displaced persons camps, eighty percent are Christians who are there because their homes and their villages have been destroyed by Muslim attackers. “When somebody denies that this is a genocide or Christians are being targeted, like the AP has done, if it wasn’t so serious and horrific, it would be laughable,” Brandon said, citing the Yelwata massacre where 250 Christians were slaughtered in a single night. “Entire villages were razed, houses burned, women and children shot as they fled the flames,” he said. Brandon himself witnessed the violence close up in 2021 when a Nigerian colleague was hacked to death in his bed by extremists after they torched his church and home during a ministry tour. “We’ve lost friends, scouts, partners. We’re constantly in and out of massacre sites,” Brandon added. It’s a reality that has led some Nigerian pastors to carry weapons during worship services, prepared to protect their flocks physically if need be. A Growing Movement As recognition of the crisis in Nigeria has grown, American churches have begun organizing prayer vigils, fundraising campaigns, and policy petitions. Ambassador Waltz is preparing for closed-door consultations with his UN counterparts in hopes of securing a multilateral fact-finding mission. Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have called for a parliamentary inquiry into Nigeria’s security situation, while several members of the European Parliament have urged the European Union to reassess its aid strategy. Yet for survivors and displaced families in Nigeria, the long-awaited international response can feel distant and lack urgency. Viral videos circulating online show Nigerian pastors standing in mass graves pleading for help, describing ruined congregations and inaccessible hospitals. One recent clip showed a rural priest surrounded by makeshift wooden crosses, mourning dozens of victims buried less than a day earlier. Whether Minaj’s intervention will translate into sustainable policy outcomes remains unclear. Celebrity involvement has, historically, produced mixed results for international crises. But for now, what she has undeniably done is thrust Nigeria’s crisis into headlines it had rarely reached. Her UN appearance led to days of debate across cable news and radio programs. Editorial boards that had not covered Nigeria’s rural violence in months published opinion pieces after her social media posts praising President Trump for his action. Lawmakers previously unfamiliar with the issue requested briefings. As Waltz put it afterward, “Sometimes the world pays attention only when someone unexpected steps forward.” In the wake of the UN event, the Trump administration is reportedly considering targeted sanctions on specific Nigerian officials accused of failing to prevent extremist violence. The State Department is preparing a report on blasphemy laws and religious-freedom restrictions in Nigeria’s northern states. Ambassador Waltz has indicated that he hopes to formalize new security conditions for future arms sales. Nigeria, facing diplomatic and economic pressure, is weighing how to respond. Officials have hinted that they will accept additional counterterrorism support but will resist any effort to frame the conflict primarily as religious. Meanwhile, advocates like Saul say the crisis cannot wait for geopolitical negotiations. He argues that international pressure must intensify immediately, before more villages are burned and more families displaced. International Stakes and China’s Influence One complicating factor, though, is China’s expanding presence on the African continent. China is Nigeria’s largest bilateral lender and a key investor in infrastructure, energy, and mining, and it benefits from the status quo. Cruz believes that economic relationship gives the United States further geopolitical incentive to put pressure on Nigerian officials to stop the violence. “Communist China is the single largest geopolitical threat facing the United States for the next hundred years,” Cruz said. “Their objective is unequivocal. They’re not shy about it. It is global domination. It is economic domination. It is military domination. And Africa is one of the major battlegrounds where China is trying to exert its influence.” According to Cruz, China benefits from a weakened or destabilized Nigeria because radical Islamist factions tend to resent Western influence more than Chinese investment. “Chinese communists are perfectly fine with persecuting Christians,” he said. “The Chinese communist government persecutes Christians in China. They also recognize that the more influence radical Islamists have in Nigeria, the less likely Nigeria is to align with America because radical Islam hates America. And so, from China’s perspective, if they want Nigeria to side with the communists, one of the ways of doing so is trying to strengthen the forces that hate Americans, that hate Christians, that hate the West. And sadly, that’s exactly what China is doing.” For Cruz, Waltz, and scores of humanitarian workers, the moment to stake a clear position on Nigerian persecution feels long overdue. And for the families living through nightly attacks, fleeing burned homes, or burying loved ones in village clearings, it is simply another chapter in a long struggle for survival — one they hope the world, finally, has begun to see.

Chaos erupted in New York City on Saturday, when hundreds of anti-ICE protesters trapped federal immigration officers inside a parking garage for hours, apparently foiling an immigration raid. Starting around 11 a.m., protesters gathered outside of a parking garage on the edge of Chinatown, after seeing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers (ICE) officers in the garage. The crowd of activists — which grew to an estimated 200 or so — shouted anti-ICE slogans, blocked the garage opening, and piled up trash bags to also stand in the way, according to The New York Times. ICE still FROZEN at Centre St & Howard in lower Manhattan right now as calls continue circulating for people to join. NYPD arriving with barricades. pic.twitter.com/pCAsEyVnI9 — Talia Jane ❤️‍? (@taliaotg) November 29, 2025 ? BREAKING: Anti-ICE protestors currently have federal agents and vehicles BLOCKED inside a garage in NYC as they scream “ICE out of New York” The fact they’re allowed to get away with this is why they keep doing it! ARREST THEM ALL! pic.twitter.com/frwdNdZug2 — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 29, 2025 It wasn’t until after 1 p.m. that ICE agents left the garage in their vehicles, while being chased by protesters, who threw things like garbage cans at the vehicles. New York Police Department officers tried to quell the riot but were generally unsuccessful, encountering physical pushback at times. According to the Times, several protesters were arrested, but an apparent ICE raid was foiled. ? BREAKING: Utter CHAOS is breaking out against federal agents in NYC as anti-ICE rioters STORM the barricades Their lives are in danger. WE NEED MASS ARRESTS NOW or they will keep doing this! pic.twitter.com/Yo6nuMTAD3 — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 29, 2025 Attacks on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents from Left-wing activists have spiked exponentially since President Donald Trump took office this term. Right now, DailyWire+ annual memberships are fifty percent off during our Black Friday sale. Join now at dailywire.com/blackfriday. Earlier this month, border patrol agents conducting immigration enforcement operations in Chicago were shot at by an unknown male driving a black Jeep, the Department of Homeland Security said at the time. DHS also noted that an “unknown number of agitators also threw a paint can and bricks at Border Patrol’s vehicles.” “Over the past two months, we’ve seen an increase in assaults and obstruction targeting federal law enforcement during operations,” DHS said. “These confrontations highlight the dangers our agents face daily and the escalating aggression toward law enforcement. The violence must end.” In October, ICE officers were similarly targeted in an armed attack in Chicago. Assistant Secretary Dept. of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said officers were “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars” and agents were forced to exit their vehicles on foot. Related: ‘The Violence Must End’: Man Opens Fire On Border Patrol Agents In Chicago, Chaos Erupts

Imagine tuning into a Sunday football game. Amid the flurry of touchdowns and tackles, the commercials are filled with familiar names — State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, and Farmers — vying for your dollars to cover your cars, homes, and personal liability. You have choices, and the competing advertisements are evidence of a robust marketplace where consumers benefit from price competition and innovation. But imagine if, alongside those ads, you could also shop for your health insurance — across state lines, no different than car or home coverage. Here lies a fundamental problem in American healthcare: you cannot buy most health insurance plans outside your own state. Unlike auto and home insurance, which have broad risk pools and interstate competition, health insurance markets remain balkanized, resulting in fewer choices and higher costs for consumers. The roots of this uniquely American challenge date back to World War II, when the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration instituted wage and price controls to curb inflation. Employers, competing for talent but unable to boost salaries, began offering health insurance as a fringe benefit — a decision that intertwined employment and insurance in a way that persists today. At the time, it may have seemed like progress, but it has left countless Americans dependent on their employers for coverage. When jobs change, so does coverage, leaving those between jobs exposed and often without affordable options. Those ineligible for Medicaid — because their income is just above the cutoff — are especially at risk for being uninsured. Decades later, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, commonly known as “Obamacare,” sought to address the coverage and affordability crisis — most acutely faced by people with preexisting conditions who previously found insurance unattainable unless provided through an employer. The ACA succeeded in expanding insurance coverage to millions, particularly through Medicaid expansion and the establishment of insurance marketplaces. However, for those who do not qualify for federal subsidies, premiums and deductibles have soared. In many instances, families can face monthly premiums in the thousands, coupled with out-of-pocket costs so high that insurance feels more like catastrophic “coverage” than true protection. So while the ACA has done some good, it has not even come close to solving the affordability problem for which it is named. The reasons for these persistent affordability issues are not mysterious. The underlying dynamics are straightforward, even as the system itself grows ever more complex. First, the ACA left state-level insurance monopolies untouched. Insurers still must navigate and adhere to rules that keep them within state lines, limiting the competitive pressure that could lower costs. Second, the oft-repeated promise from President Obama — “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan” — proved optimistic at best. The law introduced 10 “essential health benefits” that all compliant plans had to cover, forcing many consumers off less expensive plans that no longer met federal guidelines. As a result, they and many others have found themselves paying more for benefits they did not want or need, in effect subsidizing coverage for others. The state of California even brags that most of those who are subsidized are provided with “Silver” plans, but doesn’t say how this is on the backs of those who can only afford “Bronze” plans. This is due to how the subsidy thresholds and cross-subsidization mechanisms work, which is grossly unfair. Third, the entire model of private health insurance negotiation keeps true prices obscured from patients. When a patient asks for the “cash price” for a procedure, providers often cannot answer because what any individual owes depends on secretive agreements negotiated between insurers and healthcare providers. This lack of transparency keeps patients in the dark and undermines genuine market discipline. So why, after all these years, have costs continued to rise with little improvement in affordability? The answer lies in political paralysis and conflicting priorities. Democrats, many of whom see the ACA as a bridge to “single-payer” or “Medicare for All,” have settled for more federal entanglement in healthcare. They frame healthcare as a universal right; yet, rights in a constitutional sense do not compel one party to render goods or services to another. Insurance, whether for health or property, is fundamentally a contract — a product someone may buy, not an entitlement. Republicans, for their part, have ardently opposed the ACA for over a decade, but rarely offer comprehensive, workable alternatives. Their efforts have focused on repeal rather than reform, missing opportunities to build consensus around real improvements in price transparency, portability, and increased consumer choice. What might genuine reform look like? First, Congress should act to preempt state laws that prevent insurers from selling across state lines. This change would foster true competition, broaden risk pools, and, by analogy to auto and home insurance, drive down costs for most consumers. Second, policymakers should require transparent pricing from healthcare providers. Using the negotiated prices that already appear on every patient statement as a baseline, providers could set clear, upfront prices for services, allowing consumers to shop and plan accordingly. Third, the government should remove the “10 essential benefits” coverage requirement, letting consumers tailor plans to individual needs — just as with any other form of insurance — while maintaining the current requirement to cover those with preexisting conditions. High-risk pools, already used effectively in auto insurance for drivers with numerous or serious violations, could support those with extraordinary health risks without distorting the broader market. In sum, addressing the high cost of American healthcare requires breaking up monopolies, shining a light on real prices, and empowering consumers to choose products that suit their needs, providing health insurance portability, and eventually ending employer-sponsored healthcare. Instead, employers could offer to cover or enhance existing employee policies as a fringe benefit, but the employee’s health insurance would no longer rely on any employer. Only then can Americans enjoy a health insurance marketplace as dynamic — and as affordable — as the ones that already exist for our cars and homes. * * * Walter Myers III is a Southern California-based Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. * * * Right now, DailyWire+ annual memberships are fifty percent off during our Black Friday sale. Join now at dailywire.com/blackfriday.

The suspect in Wednesday’s horrific shooting in Washington, D.C., is expected to survive according to a local law enforcement official. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, opened fire on National Guard soldiers just blocks from the White House and struck two of them, one fatally. Another soldier returned fire, injuring and then subduing Lakanwal at the scene. An unnamed law enforcement official told The New York Post that the Afghan national had undergone surgery but was expected to make a full recovery. “I think the guy’s going to live. Nobody’s going to be able to say anything and he’s going to stand trial,” the official said, adding, “I know that he underwent surgery the night it happened.” Right now, DailyWire+ annual memberships are fifty percent off during our Black Friday sale. Join now at dailywire.com/blackfriday. Meanwhile, SPC Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia has succumbed to her injuries — and Andrew Wolfe, the other National Guardsman who was shot, continues to fight for his life. Following the news that Beckstrom had died, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that the charges against Lakanwal had been upgraded to include first-degree murder. “There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree,” Pirro said. “It is a premeditated murder. There was an ambush with a gun toward people who didn’t know what was coming.” President Donald Trump, upon learning that Lakanwal was an Afghan national who entered the United States  in 2021 following former President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, took immediate action and declared a halt to “migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.” Trump also called for a review of the vetting process for those who entered the United States during and after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and promised that his administration would “deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”