'We've got to lower the political temperature'

Democrats regaining the House would significantly diminish his presidential powers.

'Lack common sense'

Subscribe to VDH’s own YouTube channel to watch past episodes.Join host Jack Fowler as he fills in for Victor Davis Hanson and welcomes renowned sculptor Sabin Howard for an insightful discussion on art, culture, and patriotism. Howard critiques modern art’s nihilism and highlights his commitment to creating art that honors American values and elevates human consciousness on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” The post Sabin Howard: Art Hasn’t Recovered After Abandoning Human Greatness | Victor Davis Hanson appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Sen. John Barrasso delivered the following speech about the Medicaid fraud schemes in Minnesota. Watch the speech, below, or read his remarks, lightly edited. When the government wastes even a dollar of your taxpayer money, you have a right to know what happened. When emboldened criminals steal money intended to help single moms and children in poverty, you have a right to be angry. Americans are infuriated by the staggering fraud unfolding today in the state of Minnesota. The past few weeks have shown how deep the corruption has turned out to be. Investigators have uncovered fraud schemes across 14 Minnesota Medicaid programs. Joe Thompson—U.S. Attorney in Minnesota—has spent his career prosecuting fraud. Based on his extensive investigation, he believes criminals have stolen at least $9 billion from those Minnesota Medicaid programs. That is half of the total amount of money Minnesota spends for Medicaid programs in that state. Today, the fraud is so prevalent that Thompson says the state has “developed a fraud tourism industry.” Can you imagine such a thing? A “Fraud Tourism Industry.” Here’s how these schemes work. Fraudsters set up fake businesses and nonprofit organizations. The criminals claim to provide services such as housing, food, and healthcare assistance. Then, they bill Medicaid for services they never provided. They enroll children in programs they don’t need.  In 2021, taxpayers paid $4.6 million for something called Minnesota’s Integrated Community Support Medicaid Program. Three years later—due to criminal fraud—spending for that program ballooned to more than $170 million. That’s 37 times as much in just three years.  Taxpayers similarly paid $21 million in 2021 for something called Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services. In the first six months of 2025—due to criminal fraud—taxpayers paid nearly triple that amount. A Medicaid program claiming to help Minnesota children with autism cost $6 million in 2018. By 2023—due to criminal fraud—it cost taxpayers over $192 million.  Daycare fraud is one of these brazen schemes. Last month, an independent journalist visited 10 state-funded daycare sites in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. He found no children at the daycare centers. Middle of the day. No children there. One year ago, a local reporter visited several of the same sites. This reporter found no children at the daycare centers. These are supposed daycare centers. They’re getting paid to take care of children. Here is one of those sites. It is the now-infamous ‘Quality LEAR-ING Center.’ LEAR-ING. Instead of Learning. Misspelling the name of the daycare center. That’s an obvious red flag for fraud. There were 95 violations for that site alone between 2019 and 2023. Those violations include ‘no records for 16 children.’ Yet in Minnesota, taxpayer dollars continued to flow.  These aren’t one-off abuses. We now know that the fraud scheme used in the state’s childcare program has been used to defraud other social service programs. The New York Times says the fraud is ‘staggering in its scale and brazenness.’ The Department of Justice has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota Medicaid fraud-related cases. So far, 64 of these defendants have been convicted. Last month, one defendant was found guilty of stealing $14 million from Medicaid. She also stole nearly half a million dollars from a child nutrition program. That stolen money was supposed to be used to provide 200,000 meals for hungry children. Instead, the defendant sent hundreds of thousands of dollars overseas. She bought real estate in Kenya in Africa. This organized, systemic theft has gone on for years under the state’s Democrat leadership. It exploded under Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The Democrats have permitted schemes stacked upon schemes to drain money meant for those in need. Republicans will not allow this massive theft of taxpayer dollars to be ignored. We are taking a comprehensive approach to root out fraud in Minnesota and across the country. Our Working Families Tax Cuts law fights fraud. We strengthened eligibility requirements for Medicaid. We ensured illegal immigrants do not receive taxpayer-funded healthcare. We put in place work requirements for Medicaid and for Food Stamps. These policies protect taxpayers and increase accountability. Additionally, Republicans are conducting aggressive congressional oversight. On Friday, the entire Senate Republican Conference demanded Gov. Walz explain his actions. We asked nine detailed questions. Questions such as why Minnesota failed to adopt key fraud prevention measures—measures the Department of Health and Human Services recommended to Minnesota in May. Gov. Walz knew about this widespread fraud. He refused to do anything to stop it. Senate Republicans are ready to give the Trump administration the manpower it needs to tackle fraud in Minnesota and wherever else it appears. The Trump administration has asked the Senate to confirm a new Assistant Attorney General position—a position that will focus on fraud. The United States Senate will get that person in place and on the job quickly.  The Trump administration has taken other bold and deceive actions to stop fraud. To further strengthen enforcement efforts, the Department of Justice has doubled the number of attorneys handling these fraud cases. The Treasury Department is cracking down on businesses in Minnesota for alleged money laundering. The Department of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump froze federal funding for fraud-prone programs in Minnesota.  If Senate Democrats cared about stopping fraud, why are they preparing to vote today to loosen eligibility and income verifications for Obamacare subsidies? That is what the Congressional Review Act resolution from Democrat Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia does. Eliminating these vital protections invites more fraud. It means subsidies go to individuals who don’t qualify for them. Congress should not make it easier to defraud American taxpayers. That is the wrong direction to take after the biggest fraud scandal in Minnesota history. Protecting taxpayer dollars should not be a partisan issue. The fraud scandal in Minnesota should be a wake-up call for every American taxpayer. Our federal government spends nearly $1.5 trillion each and every year to feed, house, treat, and care for vulnerable families and children. Medicaid, food stamps, and other social programs are often called a lifeline. Years of waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption have pushed those who truly need help to the back of the line. Republicans will not stop until the depth of this fraud is uncovered and prosecuted. Republicans are committed to preventing it from happening again. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.  The post Fraud in Minnesota: Democrats Abandon Oversight, Taxpayers Pay the Price appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Newsom: I Might Have Gone Too Far Calling ICE Agents 'State Sponsored Terrorists'

'Moses the Black': A Saint Story Like No Other

Hey Daniel Dale! Riddle us this: How in the world do you expect anybody to take you seriously as a fact-checker against President Trump’s supposed “falsehoods” when your own network commits the same offenses?  The bumbling CNN fact-checker burped out a long January 13 screed haranguing the president for economic statements he made during a Tuesday speech at the Detroit Economic Club. But the most gobsmackingly hilarious “fact-check” came when Dale threw a fit over Trump daring to say that “Inflation is stopped.” Dale snorted back: Uh-uh, “Inflation very much continues.” He proceeded to point out the recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing consumer prices hitting 2.7 percent year-over-year while core inflation came in less-than-expected at 2.6 percent on the same annualized basis. That was still a relatively good report overall.  Alrighty Dale! Do you really want to be totally technical and completely do away with the nuance? Two can play at this game. So what do you have to say about your colleagues at CNN who did the same thing to vindicate Bidenomics that you’re now nipping at Trump’s ankles over?  CNN Business Executive Editor David Goldman effectively penned what amounted to an October 2024 pre-election ad for President Joe Biden and the Harris campaign, where he exclaimed: “Inflation has been tamed. Consumers are spending like crazy. Companies have more jobs available than job seekers to fill them. What more could you want, America?” At that time, the consumer price inflation rate was nearly identical to December 2025 on an annualized basis at 2.6 percent. But core inflation, which excludes volatile prices in food and energy, was at 3.3 percent, literally 0.7 basis points higher than the current rate under Trump. But for Goldman, this meant “America won the war on inflation.” “Inflation is stopped,” or “Inflation has been tamed.” Tomayto, tomahto, eh Dale?   Oh, but we’re just getting started. CNN Senior Writer Allison Morrow  also tried to make it seem like Biden conquered the inflation dragon as early as August 2024 in a piece headlined, “The war on inflation has been won. It’s OK if you’re still angry.” At that time, headline inflation sat at 2.9 percent year-over-year, 0.2 points higher than the December 2025 reading Dale waved around to jab at Trump.  And how about this gem from logically inconsistent CNN Business Senior Economy Writer Alicia Wallace published December 27, 2023, where she claimed that “Inflation is nearly back to normal. But high prices have changed Americans’ lives.” To be clear, near “normal” for Wallace at that time was when prices were increasing at a 3.1 percent year-over-year rate in November, before ticking back up to 3.4 percent that December, 0.7 points higher than the current rate under Trump. So Dale, before you go making a big stink about what Trump says in his usual hyperbole, perhaps you should deal with the rhetorical compost you're making within your own network first. 

President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment on Friday to the U.S. acquiring Greenland, hinting that he may impose economic pressure on reluctant nations to secure their backing.Trump has argued that the acquisition of Greenland is imperative to America’s national security and stated that he would consider imposing steep tariffs on countries that do not support the U.S. taking control of the island.'We’re talking to NATO.'Trump participated in a roundtable on Friday morning, during which he said he had pressured President Emmanuel Macron of France to raise prescription drug prices. If Macron refuses to comply, Trump has threatened to place a 25% tariff on all French imports.Trump, who declared himself the "tariff king," explained that he made the same threat to the “top 10 countries,” including Germany, to lower U.S. drug prices. He stated that the tariff hike would have been roughly seven times more than what the countries would pay by raising their drug prices. He noted that all of the countries he contacted agreed to his request, securing “Most-Favored-Nation” pricing.“And I may do that for Greenland too,” Trump remarked. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that.”RELATED: Rubio reportedly reveals Trump's plan to acquire Greenland to bolster US defense Photo by Leon Neal/Getty ImagesIn separate comments on Friday outside of the White House, Trump told reporters, “NATO has been dealing with us on Greenland. We need Greenland for national security very badly.”“If we don’t have it, we have a big hole in national security, especially when it comes to what we’re doing in terms of the Golden Dome and all of the other things. We have a lot of investments in military,” he added. “We’re talking to NATO.”RELATED: JD Vance visits Greenland to make the case for annexation: 'We can't just bury our head in the sand' Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesLast week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that the administration has aspirations to purchase Greenland from Denmark. “The United States is eager to build lasting commercial relationships that benefit Americans and the people of Greenland,” a State Department spokesperson previously told Blaze News. “Our common adversaries have been increasingly active in the Arctic. That is a concern that the United States, the Kingdom of Denmark, and NATO Allies share.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Against a backdrop of mounting attacks on churches, the Biden administration worked ardently to curb religious liberties wherever they came into conflict with the left's radical agenda.For example:the Biden Equal Employment Opportunity Commission implemented a rule requiring employers — including Christian organizations — to accommodate workers' efforts to abort their unborn children;the EEOC attempted to force Christians to pay for employees' sex-rejection mutilations; the Biden Department of Health and Human Services attempted to bar Christian providers who hold biblical and scientifically grounded views about sex and marriage from the foster-care system; and under Biden, a Catholic, the FBI characterized conservative Catholics as potential domestic terrorists and proposed to infiltrate Catholic churches as "threat mitigation."It's clear from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty's latest Religious Freedom Index that unlike the administration voted out of power in 2024, the American people overwhelmingly — and increasingly — support religious liberties.'Our nation still believes that our first freedom belongs at the heart of our culture; not as a source of conflict, but as a foundation for overcoming it.'Over the past six years, Becket has tracked public opinion on religious freedom. The legal group's index for 2025 published on Friday registered the highest cumulative score for public support of religious freedom to-date — 71 on a scale from 0 to 100 where 0 indicates complete opposition to religious liberty and 100 indicates robust support.This amounts to a dramatic shift, especially when compared to 2020, when the composite score was 66.Whereas in 2020, 52% of respondents agreed that religious freedom is inherently public and that Americans should be able to share their faith in public spaces, that number jumped to 57% in the latest RFI.There was an even bigger shift when it came to support for parents' ability to opt out of public school curricula they believe to be inappropriate — a jump from 63% in 2021 to 73% in 2025.RELATED: 6 ways I'm using 2026 to deepen my relationship with God Photo by ANOEK DE GROOT/AFP via Getty ImagesWhen asked specifically about the Supreme Court's June 2025 ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, 62% of respondents signaled support for the high court's decision to side with the Maryland parents who wanted to protect their children from LGBT propaganda in Montgomery County Public Schools.On the question of whether public funding for education should be available to all families, including those who choose religious schools, 77% of respondents said they were mostly or completely in favor.The report noted that "although this year's Index found that Americans have cooled on the benefits of religion to society and are skeptical of institutions, they unify around the simple principles of religious freedom for all, even in difficult cases that invite scrutiny or controversy."A clear majority, 58%, of Americans said they support the right of a Christian baker to decline to make cakes that conflict with her sincere religious views.Sixty-one percent of respondents said that the First Amendment's guarantee of the free exercise of religion should protect Catholic priests from having to break the seal of confession as would have been required by Washington state Democrats' now-enjoined Senate Bill 5375.There was markedly less support for the Christian counselor in the case Chiles v. Salazar who challenged Colorado's prohibition on so-called "conversion therapy" for non-straight youth. Only 47% expressed support for her ability to provide talk therapy to children to help them overcome their gender dysphoria. "Year after year, the Index has made clear that religious liberty remains one of our most cherished values," Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket, said in a statement obtained by Blaze News."Even amid deep divisions, our nation still believes that our first freedom belongs at the heart of our culture; not as a source of conflict, but as a foundation for overcoming it," continued Rienzi. "The work before us is to see that freedom protected for our children and theirs in the years to come."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!