The Worst National Anthem of all time is a list with a lot of competition… It includes icons like Carl Lewis, Fergie and Cuba Gooding, Sr. to name just a few. And other than alligators, it’s one of my top fascinations around here other than politics. So it’s like Christmas morning when we get a new member admitted into the club. Please welcome Ingrid Andress into the exclusive group of “Worst National Anthems of All Time”. Does she claim the #1 spot? She’s got a real chance, but I’ll leave that up to you. Some Are Calling The HR Derby National Anthem The Worst Of All Time: You Be The Judge https://t.co/EoGpsJkcpW pic.twitter.com/gvFWDernS3 — Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 16, 2024 Let’s play it first and then we’ll discuss. Watch here: The WORST singing of The National Anthem I have ever heard! I don’t know who Ingrid Andress is, but this is HORRIFIC pic.twitter.com/1SqBZz5nOO — Serenity (@polishprincessh) July 16, 2024 Full video player here: NEW: Singer Ingrid Andress checks herself into a rehab facility after her horrendous National Anthem performance at the Home Run Derby. Her announcement was made on X. “I’m not gonna bullsh*t y’all, I was drunk last night. I’m checking myself into a facility today to get the… pic.twitter.com/hxHxiFqrql — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 16, 2024 Now let’s discuss a few things… First of all, until right now I had no idea who Ingrid Andress was, and I was happy about that. But when I first saw this I thought she looks like she was 12 so I had to check to make sure we weren’t making fun of a child. Nope, all clear.  She’s 32 years old. Also, she has now came out and blamed the performance on being “drunk last night” which I wasn’t aware made you unable to hit any note in the entire song, but I guess it does.   Singer Ingrid Andress apologizes after her performance of the US National Anthem at the MLB Home Run Derby, revealing she was drunk and will be going to rehab pic.twitter.com/opknFxLhj4 — Dexerto (@Dexerto) July 16, 2024 Our National Anthem is a beautiful song… But a hard song. With difficult lyrics to memorize and sing, especially with a stadium of thousands watching you. Which is why there are so many horrible, horrible renditions of the Anthem out there. It’s kind of one of my guilty pleasures, to rank these from Worst to Really Worst. This might give you a smile, it always does to me. And to kick off the Worst of the Worst list, we have to go with the King himself… I’m talking about you, Carl Lewis. For my money, nothing will ever beat Carl Lewis’s “UH OH!” or “I’ll make up for it now!” but Fergie gives him a good challenge. Watch for yourself and enjoy a little laugh: You gotta love all the players at the end cracking up when it ended and I think to this day Carl may still be doing that wave sound with his voice… So good. I didn’t realize until rewatching it today it was actually during one of Jordan’s games. Carl, how did you do my boy Michael like that? You don’t bring THAT presentation to a 90’s Bulls game! And then we enter the lounge for terrible Anthem #2: It’s a revered song, our National Anthem….not a jazz ditty in a boozy bar Fergie! You’re not Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to JFK! And ok…here is one more bonus terrible rendition. This honor goes to Cuba Gooding, Sr. and oh my is it terrible… You know when the headline compares you to Carl Lewis you’re in rare company. Bad company. My man sang this like he was late to catch a plane! Enjoy: And since we did the worst, it’s only fair to show you what might be the best next. One of the tops is Meatloaf from 1984. A general rule in life is that whoever they mock the most is usually the most talented and one of the best human beings.  Such seems to be the case with Meatloaf.  The man was awesome! And so was this: If anyone needs a timeline cleanse after Ingrid Andress’ horrible national anthem, here’s the greatest national anthem in the history of the MLB All-Star Game, courtesy of Meat Loaf in 1994 This is how it’s done pic.twitter.com/xSUx6Kp1yj — JaguarGator9 (@JaguarGator9NFL) July 16, 2024 Of course the best of the best is widely considered to be Whitney Houston. Take a moment to enjoy this masterpiece: She made it look absolutely effortless. That’s what the best of the best always do. Absolutely stunning! Man, I miss the 1990s…. We had Whitney. We had Michael. It was just a better time. Ok, and while this isn’t the Star Spangled Banner, I have to add it into the list: It was just a better time back then. Let’s do a few more back to the Anthem…. Here is Ginger Gaetz and, yes, she’s related to Matt…they are married! Now prepare to be blown away… Watch here: Happy New Year! pic.twitter.com/ypiDQVszPE — Ginger Gaetz (@GingerLGaetz) January 1, 2023 And a backup saved to Rumble in case that gets taken down: I’ve watched several times. Incredible job Ginger! Beautiful! Last, to wrap it up we’ve done Worst, Best and now let’s do Serious. Serious and sentimental. Because this truly is great. Watch this flashback from last year as Brianna Fernandez from the NYPD starts the Anthem and then tosses it to the crowd to sing in unison. CHILLS. Absolutely wonderful, except for a few of the players who either don’t know the words or think they’re above singing. But for everyone else this may be the most heartwarming thing you’ll see in quite a while. I’ve already watched many times. Oh, and Memo to the NFL: you finally got one right. THIS is what fans want. Stop the Woke BS and try more of this. You might just find we actually start watching your games again. Please enjoy: Fans take over the National Anthem at the NY Jets v. Ravens game on 9/11. Americans would much rather see this than see the NFL go Woke. CHILLS pic.twitter.com/JJB5zBOHbc — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 11, 2022 Backups: The National Anthem at MetLife Stadium on the 21st anniversary of September 11th. (via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/YNnn1nGDhH — ESPN (@espn) September 11, 2022 The crowd sang the national anthem at MetLife (via @nyjets) pic.twitter.com/XRf5qiYB7c — Jets Videos (@snyjets) September 11, 2022 NEW YORK: Packed stadium proudly sings the National Anthem at the @nyjets game on the 21st Anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The is the America we love! pic.twitter.com/LhRFb472zG — Katie Daviscourt (@KatieDaviscourt) September 11, 2022 Wow!

I have a somber but very important message to deliver right now. This is no time for celebrations. This race and this fight is far from over. Even on November 6th, the fight will not be over. Allow me to explain…. Yes, by the grace of God and his mighty right hand of protection, President Trump dodged an assassination attempt and he’s still with us. But if you think it’s time to celebrate and claim “Trump just won the election” I have to bring you a somber warning…. Look, I get it, and I have been elated myself. But the truth is, the people who took this shot against President Trump are not going to stop. And no, I don’t buy the pure BS that it was some 20-year old kid who just snapped acting on his own. I also don’t buy the new BS story that it was Iran. Stop. Just stop with all of that nonsense. We know exactly what and who it was….people desperate to hang on to power.  Not only to hang on to power but desperate to avoid the justice that is coming to them if President Trump gets back in. The proverbial rabid dogs backed into the corner of their cage. They can and will strike again. Probably multiple times. In fact, as I’ve said many times since Sunday, the only surprise here is that this didn’t happen YEARS ago. Probably God’s hand of protection again. So here’s the deal folks…they will try again, probably multiple times if necessary both before AND after the Election. Even if President Trump wins and gets elected, they will attempt to take him out every single day of that second term. Poison… Explosions….both of his plane and of buildings he is in. Speaking of his plane, Jovan Pulitzer was on my show today and it was a total BOMBSHELL stunner of an interview.  I’ll be posting the full thing soon, but one thing he told me is the “steer by wire” system in planes and whether it can be hacked and essentially “remote control a plane to a crash”.  Very scary.  Luckily he does not believe President Trump’s plane has that system. But there are so many other methods, including another sniper, that they could deploy — and I believe will deploy. So I’m asking everyone reading this to stop what you are doing and PRAY right now for President Trump’s safety: PRAY AGAINST THIS!!!!If the bullet didn’t work, do they bomb the plane next?#Trump2024 @elonmusk @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/msobgTqSDn — DailyNoah.com (@DailyNoahNews) July 15, 2024 I’m also asking you to make this a daily occurrence. You can also join us here: Prayer Chain For President Trump — Will You Please Join Us? In fact, it's not just me being paranoid. In addition to Jovan Pulitzer telling me the same thing on my show today, here is Alex Jones warning about it as well: BREAKING: Deep State May Use Tactical Nuclear Weapon To Kill Trump— Elon Musk, Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, & Joe Rogan To Be Hit Next pic.twitter.com/mHujajfwRB — Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) July 16, 2024 I also want to end this article with a reminder.... While the Far-Left constantly calls for President Trump's assassination, I want to remind everyone in our MAGA camp to keep level head. Calm. Cool. Collected. We don't settle our disputes with violence. Well, we did once RE: England, but that's a different topic. But on that topic, briefly, I suppose it should be noted that the Declaration of Independence, on of our most hallowed National documents, does say this: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." Are we still allowed to say that? Is quoting from the Declaration of Independence still allowed in this Country? Asking for a friend. So other than that direct quote from the Declaration of Independence, I give you the following recommendation: REMINDER: Stay Calm, We Do NOT Support Calls For Violence! As we head into the 2024 election cycle, one thing seems certain: tensions are rising, the potential for J6-style FalseFlags are increasing, and the "Elites" would love nothing more than to lure a bunch of patriots into doing something stupid.  So I'm issuing this friendly reminder and echoing our wonderful President....remember these words: PEACEFULLY and PATRIOTICALLY!  Remain peaceful.  No violence.  Respect the Law.  Respect the Constitution!   I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021 Keep your calm. Keep your cool. And keep your head on a swivel, because I'm starting to think they might try to stage another J6 soon. You know, Team Khaki Pants. So I want to be as clear as I can: we do not support violence. We do support your Constitutionally-protected right to protest and assemble (seems like I've read something about that somewhere, maybe in the First Amendment?) but we must do so peacefully and lawfully. So please allow me to reiterate this FULL Public Service Announcement... I think you're going to like this one and I'd sure love to hear from you in the comments after you read it. Our mission here at WLTReport is to research and print the truth, wherever we may find it. The truth the MSM likes to ignore... The truth the MSM likes to cover up... The truth the MSM likes to twist. We correct the record and just like a lion, we set truth free because it can defend itself. So that's our mission. NOTE: our mission does not and never has been to call for violence or to support violence.   You may think it is absurd I even have to print that, and I would agree... Of course, we are the people who constantly decried and called out all the violence, looting and burning down of cities during the summer of 2020. That kind of behavior has NO PLACE in America. So we want to be absolutely clear where we stand. We also stand for the Constitution. We stand for free and fair elections. We stand for truth and justice. Oh, and let me also clear this up... While we stand for peace, justice and truth, here's what the Democrats stand for -- in their own words: "Fight Like Hell" -- Democrats EXPOSED In Their Own Words If President Trump can be impeached and indicted and persecuted and prosecuted over something as innocuous as saying "Fight like Hell", then perhaps it's time we look at the Dems? Take a look at their own words? Big thanks to my man Kyle Becker for posting this. Exactly right sir! If your argument is that Trump incited the Capitol riots because he said "fight like hell," you might want to watch this. Be sure to be sitting down, because it will blow your mind. Watch: If your argument is that Trump incited the Capitol riots because he said "fight like hell," you might want to watch this. Be sure to be sitting down, because it will blow your mind. pic.twitter.com/vLPopmxcuF — Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) August 8, 2023 That all sounds WILDLY violent to me, but that's not how we roll here. Ok, so I hope we cleared that up, now you know where both camps stand. One wildly violent, one peaceful. One wants destruction, one wants peace, justice, truth and law & order. You know which is which. So in case there was any confusion or question out there, I hope this clears it up! Your humble correspondent at your service! BUT....A DISCLAIMER: I cannot be responsible for what God's Angel Army may choose to do. Speaking of the Bible, there is a verse that says "As for me and my house..." So that's what I can speak for -- Me (Noah) and my house (WLTReport). I can't speak for God's Angel Army or what they may choose to do. They kind of have a mind of their own and they don't tend listen much to what man wants to do. What am I talking about? Just this... Just a little story taken right out of 2 Kings Chapter 6 from the Bible. Do you know that story? Perhaps you need to hear it right now. I'll summarize... Elisha is trapped in Dothan. The King of Aram surrounded the city and Elisha's assistant panics thinking all is lost.  He thinks they have no way out. And then Elisha says those famous words: "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." To the person who is only looking in the physical, that looked to be 100% wrong. To the people who are looking right now and thinking "nothing has ever happened", they think the all prayer and prophecies have been completely wrong. But Elisha was looking in the spiritual world and he could see that although King Aram's armies were surrounding the city, there were actually Hosts Upon Hosts of Heavenly Angels surrounding the King.  Completely outmatched.  Horses and chariots of fire ridden by Angels filled the hills around the King's army! And that, my friends, is where I believe we stand at this very moment. I can see it, can you? Read it here, I've bolded my favorite part: 8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” 12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. 19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria. 20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. 21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?” 22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory. So there you go. As for me and my house, we stand for truth, justice, the Constitution, freedom, liberty, free and fair elections, the American dream, life, liberty and the pursuit of justice... ...and we do not stand for, or call for, violence.  Period. But as for the angels I see surrounding this country on its metaphorical hillsides -- I do not speak for them. If you want a little more on the angels, I give you this recent message from Tim Sheets:

Residents in Nashville, Illinois, were told to evacuate Tuesday after local emergency officials warned of the ‘imminent failure’ of a nearby dam. Heavy rainfall hit the area overnight and flooded the dam. “Earlier this afternoon, emergency officials issued urgent evacuation orders due to the imminent failure of the reservoir dam in Nashville, Illinois. Intense thunderstorms have caused extremely heavy downpours, with 6-8 inches of rain already fallen and more on the way, leading to significant flooding. The dam has experienced two failures, prompting officials to urge residents in nearly 300 homes to evacuate,” Rawsalerts wrote. “Multiple homes and roads are inundated, vehicles are stranded by high water, and rivers are overflowing. If you are in the area or know someone who is, tell them to immediately move to higher ground,” the post added. #BREAKING: Urgent emergency evacuations were ordered due to an imminent dam failure ⁰⁰ #Nashville | #Illinois⁰⁰Earlier this afternoon, emergency officials issued urgent evacuation orders due to the imminent failure of the reservoir dam in Nashville, Illinois. Intense… pic.twitter.com/NDWlPZzO8r — R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 16, 2024 Per USA TODAY: Evacuations were completed by early afternoon in the small city, located in Washington County about 55 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, according to the county’s Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Alex Haglund. He said 299 phones in the area received the evacuation order and about 200 residents fled their homes. As of 1 p.m. CT, the region had received more than 6 inches of rain, Haglund said. “The area evacuated is in a flood drainage path extended to the south and west from the reservoir,” Haglund said. The agency initially published a post on Facebook Tuesday morning warning residents that “failure” of the Nashville City Reservoir Dam was imminent and urging affected residents to “evacuate now!” Just in: Evacuations are underway due to an imminent dam failure in Nashville, Illinois. pic.twitter.com/o159xgv4V3 — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) July 16, 2024 "Evacuate Now" Illinois Residents Told To Flee As Dam Failure Imminent https://t.co/0307LD86YC — zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 16, 2024 Residents told to evacuate as Nashville, Illinois dam failure ‘imminent’ pic.twitter.com/hDPlyF3vbS — Volcaholic (@volcaholic1) July 16, 2024 Zero Hedge reports: Earlier Tuesday, Alex Haglund with the Washington County management agency told local news outlet KSDK-TV that a secondary dam on the reservoir had failed, which was also confirmed by the Emergency Management Agency in its statement. The Nashville population stood at about 3,100 people during the last census. The rain that was part of a series of storms that swept across the state was part of a larger system that led to tornadoes and tornado warnings in other areas, including Des Moines, Iowa, as well as the Chicago area. By 12 p.m. local time, some 215,000 customers were without power in Illinois, according to PowerOutage.us. The Chicago Fire Department said on the social media site X that there was only one serious injury in the nation’s third-largest city, a person who was hurt when a tree fell on a car. Also, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport reported 81 flight cancellations as of Tuesday morning, and Midway International Airport reported eight cancellations.

Elon Musk has stated that he will be moving both the SpaceX and X headquarters to Texas out of California following a new law by the California governor.

In the case of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, it is not conspiratorial to look at evidence and fully investigate. That includes looking into possible accomplices. There is the added fact that many on the left have made it clear that they want Donald Trump dead. They don’t care for his supporters, either. When […] The post You Can’t Say It Was An Inside Job appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Late night hosts reflected on the “violence” and “horrifying scenes” Americans witnessed at the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania. NBC host Seth Meyers opened his show on Monday talking about what happened on Saturday, when a shooter opened fire on Trump and wounded the former president, killing one of his supporters, and injuring two other supporters, Deadline reported. “But I wanted to start our show tonight by reflecting for a bit on the horrifying scenes we witnessed in Pennsylvania on Saturday and on this fraught moment in American history,” Meyers said. “I want to echo what so many have already said, political violence must be rejected in all its forms.” “It is both morally wrong and a poison to democracy,” he added. “We must all condemn it and repudiate it and do everything in our power to stop it.” Late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert opened their shows Monday night with somber monologues following the attempted assassination Saturday of Donald Trump, while Jimmy Fallon avoided the topic https://t.co/4PB59XXlG0 — Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 16, 2024 “Often after a tragedy like this, there are calls to forego politics,” Meyers continued. “But to me, politics — the nonviolent exchange of ideas, and the peaceful resolution of disputes — feels more important than ever. An inclusive politics of compassion, empathy and community, that’s what we must recommit to now.” CBS’s Stephen Colbert spoke to his audience about how the United States came close “to a great tragedy on Saturday when at a political rally down in Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old gunman shot and nearly killed a former president and the man who today became the 2024 Republican nominee.” “My immediate reaction when I saw this on Saturday were horror at what was unfolding, relief that Donald Trump had lived and, frankly, grief for my beautiful country — and then fresh horror, as we learned that attendees had also been shot, one of whom died at the rally,” Colbert said. “I could just as easily start the show moaning on the floor, because how many times do we need to learn the lesson that violence has no role in our politics, that the entire objective of a democracy is to fight out our differences with — as the saying goes — a ballot, not a bullet,” he added. “Our job as American citizens is to reject violence and violent rhetoric in this time of crisis. … [n]ot only is violence evil, it is useless,” Colbert continued. “As I quoted [science fiction writer Isaac Asimov] when Representative Steve Scalise was shot, ‘Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.’ Violence, or even calls for violence, invalidate any ideas.” Over on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel was out and Anthony Anderson was filling in as host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show. “All weekend, I kept thinking, ‘I wonder what Jimmy Kimmel’s gonna say about this on Monday. And then I was like, ‘Oh s**t! I am Jimmy Kimmel on Monday,” Anderson told the audience. “In all seriousness, I do wanna say that our thoughts are with the families of the victims, and that hopefully, this will be a moment that we can all take a step back from the hatred and vitriol in our politics and maybe chill the f**k out,” he added. NBC host Jimmy Fallon did not address the shooting and largely stayed away from politics, only mentioning Trump’s pick for Vice President, Senator JD Vance (R-OH), the outlet noted.

Donald Trump Jr., son of former president Donald Trump, recounted the moment he learned of the failed assassination attempt against his father, the minutes of confusion, and finally speaking with the former president afterward. Trump Jr. spoke with Daily Wire host Michael Knowles on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in an interview released on Tuesday. Trump Jr. began by telling Knowles that he had originally meant to attend the Pennsylvania rally at which his father was shot, but changed plans after finding out that the announcement of the vice presidential pick, originally scheduled to happen at the rally, was postponed. Instead, Trump Jr. was fishing with his daughter when he first received a call informing him that his father had been shot. “I took my daughter out on the boat with a couple of her friends, and I got a call, you know, at 6:15 or whatever it was. ‘You’re dad’s been shot,’” Trump Jr. said. He added that at the time, he was told nothing else and left to wonder about his father’s condition. “Obviously, I immediately get on the phone. I try to call – I guess, at that point they’re not sure what the attack is, so they lock down all the cell phones and they jam – whatever it may be – and I couldn’t get through to anyone. And, so, [it was] literally 90 minutes before I even make contact,” Trump Jr. said. When Trump Jr. was eventually able to reach his father, the former president was at the hospital receiving treatment after the assassin’s bullet gored his ear. “Finally, you know, I got ahold of my father and [he was] surprisingly calm in the hospital,” Trump Jr. said. “By then, I’d already seen the video and, sort of him coming up, you know, defiant in the face of actual fire. It was sort of amazing.” “I just sort of said, you know, ‘You’re the biggest badass I know,’” Trump Jr. said, adding that it was “the most proud I’d ever been of him.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Knowles and Trump Jr. then talked about how narrowly the former president avoided death. Trump had slightly changed the position of his head to look off-stage a second before the shot ripped by his ear. “I come from a competitive shooting background. I mean, you know, a 140 yard shot – that’s like a six inch putt, right?” Trump Jr. said. “That’s almost impossible to miss. And so to be able to move that way and at that exact instant, you know, literally the speed of a bullet. It’s just insane.” The best explanation for his father’s survival is “divine intervention,” Trump Jr. said. “I’m not, you know, not a hyper spiritual guy. But, man, that makes you wonder,” he said. The former president’s son shared a moment of levity that took place while he was on the phone with his father along with many other members of the Trump family. Trump Jr., “usually the inappropriate guy” by his own admission, broke the tension. “I was like, ‘So, you know, how’s the hair?’” Trump Jr. asked his father. “The hair’s fine, but it’s a little bloody,” Trump responded.

Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) may pose “the greatest threat” to Vice President Kamala Harris in a debate setting, according to Harris’ own former communications director. Ashley Etienne made the comments during a June appearance on CNN, prior to former President Donald Trump’s official announcement naming the 39-year-old Ohio senator as his running mate. WATCH: Kamala Harris’s former Comms director, Ashley Etienne, says she thinks JD Vance “would pose the greatest threat” to Harris in a VP debate Comes as Trump and his team are considering how each prospective running mate would fare on a debate stage with the VP pic.twitter.com/pSxJEFOHAw — Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) June 17, 2024 “I think J.D. Vance would pose the greatest threat to Kamala Harris,” Etienne told host Laura Coates. “I mean, he’s an incredible debater. I think he has this quality that makes him seem palpable to that 1 to 2 percent that actually might vote or that’s undecided, that will actually pay attention to the debates because most people don’t pay attention to the debates.” “I think he’s just got a quality about him where he’s super smart and sharp and quick-witted. I just think they’d like it, I think it’s going to be a challenge to see the two of them face-to-face. I mean, maybe it’s just me, but I think he’s gonna be the greatest threat,” she continued. Republican strategist Noelle Nikpour made a similar comment during an MSNBC appearance a week later, saying, “If I were Kamala Harris, I probably would not want to go up against J.D. Vance.” “J.D. Vance really is an expert on policy, he’s Ivy League educated, he knows policy backwards and forwards. I probably would not, if I were Kamala Harris, out of all the picks that they’ve listed, probably would not want to go up against J.D. Vance … He’s very smart.” A guest on MSNBC weighs in on which Republican she thinks would pose the greatest threat to Kamala Harris in the VP Debate: “If I were Kamala Harris, I would probably not want to go up against JD Vance.” pic.twitter.com/rd8hnXyJLr — Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) June 25, 2024 The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin took the opposite position, claiming that Harris was likely waiting impatiently for the match-up: “Kamala Harris waiting for the debate is like a kid eyeing a candy store.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP But critics were not so sure, and quickly offered their thoughts. “Tulsi Gabbard smoked her ass so hard in the debate Kamala dropped out a few weeks later and never made it to Iowa — her debate performances were so bad they have reached mythology in political history. I swear to God — how the hell do you stay employed in media?!?” Meghan McCain responded. Tulsi Gabbard smoked her ass so hard in the debate Kamala dropped out a few weeks later and never made it to Iowa – her debate performances were so bad they have reached mythology in political history. I swear to God – how the hell do you stay employed in media?!? https://t.co/BSmKaUqJ75 — Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 15, 2024 “Like a kid with no money eyeing a closed candy store,” Karol Markowicz clarified. Like a kid with no money eyeing a closed candy store. https://t.co/4Vliumb0Zg — Karol Markowicz (@karol) July 16, 2024 “The left pretending to be constantly excited for and in awe of Kamala Harris is genuinely embarrassing,” another posted. The left pretending to be constantly excited for and in awe of Kamala Harris is genuinely embarrassing. https://t.co/d7xmt8xb2t — DemocraticDespotism (@DemocraticDesp1) July 15, 2024 And Megyn Kelly, whose voice can be heard on The Daily Wire’s “Mr. Birchum,” just had one question: “Who’s going to tell her?” Who’s going to tell her? https://t.co/oB9kKNCTjc — Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) July 15, 2024

We now have a vice presidential nominee from Donald J. Trump: Senator J.D. Vance from Ohio. It’s an audacious, confident pick from the former president of the United States. He’s making that pick because he believes he’s winning. It is that simple.  There’s a reason that Trump believes he’s winning. The swing state polling from YouGov finds that Trump is currently up nine in Arizona, five in Wisconsin, six in Georgia, three in Pennsylvania, two in Michigan, five in Nevada, and four in North Carolina. That is an extraordinary set of polls for Trump. And Michigan is the only one of those polls that seems to possibly even be within spitting distance.  This is not a strategic pick. This is not the sort of pick that is designed to win Virginia, which is what Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) likely would have done. It’s not a pick that’s designed to do outreach to Hispanics, as choosing Marco Rubio (R-FL) would have done. It is a pick that may be designed to shore up the blue wall in favor of red in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, but more importantly, I think for Donald Trump, it’s designed to enshrine his policy legacy as a shift away from traditional conservatism. In Trump’s statement announcing the pick, he concluded. “J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.”  That last sentence is the one that matters the most. Trump was name-checking Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin — three states he is hoping to win with this pick. But the truth is he actually doesn’t need Vance to win those states. In fact, the last time Trump ran in 2020, Vance was running for the Senate in Ohio. Trump actually outran Vance. Vance underperformed Trump. So the pick is not really about those states. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show Vance is quite smart and articulate; he’s an excellent writer. That, along with the fact he has become a Trump loyalist and an absolute bulldog when it comes to any debate, is presumably why Trump picked him. J.D. Vance is likely to clock Kamala Harris into next week in any debate. There’s a contrast with Vance. The central thesis of his bestselling “Hillbilly Elegy” was that tons of people in the middle of the country had been left behind. He wrote in “Hillbilly Elegy”:  If you believe that hard work pays off then you work hard. If you think it’s hard to get ahead, even when you try it, why try at all? Similarly, when people do fail, this mindset allows them to look outward. I once ran into an old acquaintance in a Middletown bar who told me that he had recently quit his job because he was sick of waking up early. I later saw him complaining on Facebook about the Obama economy and how it affected his life. I don’t doubt the Obama economy has affected many, but this man is assuredly not among them. His status in life is directly attributable to the choices he’s made and his life will improve only through better decisions. But for him to make better choices, he needs to live in an environment that forces him to ask some questions about himself. There’s a cultural movement in the white working class to blame problems on society or the government, and that movement gains adherents by the day. Yet that contrasts with his industrial policy. He’s very much on the interventionist economic side of the Republican aisle. He favors government interventionism in terms of subsidies and regulations, very much like President Trump supposedly did back in 2016 — although Trump didn’t actually end up implementing a lot of that. I would assume that if Vance were president, he would implement those kinds of policies. This is one of the areas he differs widely from traditional economic, free market conservatism. On trade, for example, he has been very much in favor of tariffs. He suggested a much more aggressive approach to protecting domestic manufacturers if Trump wins a second term. Trump was aggressive on tariff policy with regard to China, largely for national security reasons. But Vance is much more aggressive in terms of actual domestic protection for manufacturers. He told me in an interview I did with him in 2021, “But we also have this very discrete idea that while the government shouldn’t be controlling the American economy, we should have as a policy consensus, a view about what we want the economy to be, what we want the market to be able to produce, and to put a little bit of a thumb on the scale to make that possible.” On a generalized level, I obviously disagree with that, as I told him. I’m a more free-market advocate than Vance is, but he’s an excellent and intelligent expositor of his position on these issues. On economics, he’s made common cause from time to time with Senator Elizabeth Warren, and he has cheered on Federal Trade Commissioner Chair Lina Khan. On economics, Vance is very heterodox. He has signaled his possible willingness to hike taxes in some cases. He has spoken out in favor of breaking up some of Big Tech. That is somewhat of an open debate inside the Republican Party right now. On foreign policy, I would say Vance is not so much an isolationist, but more of a realist. That takes a rather interesting turn when it comes to the two major hot conflicts in the world right now — one in Israel and one in Ukraine. He looks at those two conflicts and sees heavy American interest in Israel. He does not see heavy American interest in Ukraine; he is famously anti-Ukraine aid. He wrote a piece in April in which he cited three reasons why there shouldn’t be any more aid to Ukraine: One: Ukraine will not be able to do with the aid what they need to do Two: The lack of American military capacity and the notion we are going to be overdoing it; that essentially if we ship them more military aid, then we are emptying our own stockpiles Three: We should be spending money at home, not abroad I think the last idea is the most flimsy because that’s always true for any conflict. Any conflict could be used as an excuse for not having a foreign policy. I also think it ignores the actual American interests in, say, preventing Russia from taking over the world’s breadbasket and then putting itself on the borders of a multiplicity of NATO’s states. If you don’t want an arms race in Europe, then presumably, a level of aid sufficient to allow Ukraine to repel Russia from a full-scale win would be the thing you’re looking for. Vance said, “I got to be honest with you; I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.” That is a very strong statement. But he also said something that sounds very much like what Trump or I would say, which is that you support Ukraine up to the point peace can be reached with an eye on the off-ramp. When it comes to Israel, however, he does see strong American interests. At the Quincy Institute, he spelled out what he thinks America’s interests are in maintaining enough aid for Israel to be able to destroy Hamas and then to broker a peace deal with the Saudis that would create a regional security bloc. He stated: I think we have a real opportunity to ensure that Israel is an ally in the true sense, that it’s going to pursue their interests. And sometimes those interests totally overlap with the United States, and that’s totally reasonable. But they are fundamentally self-sufficient. And I think the way that we get there in Israel is actually by combining the Abraham Accords approach with the defeat of Hamas. That gets us to a place where Israel and the Sunni nations can play a regional counterweight to Iran. Again, we don’t want a broader regional war. We don’t want to get involved in a broader regional war. The best way to do that is to ensure that Israel, with the Sunni nations, can actually police their own region of the world. And that allows us to spend less time and less resources on the Middle East and focus more on East Asia.  That is a very solid realist case: the point of American aid is to foment American interests. On immigration, he very much mirrors Trump. Just last week, he slammed Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, on illegal immigration and its impact on the economy. He noted that if you aren’t increasing wages, then you can’t undercut the labor base. I don’t think that’s a particularly great argument against immigration. There is a very strong cultural argument: that you actually have to screen people so you don’t have a massive influx not engaged in American taxpaying, American culture, or the Declaration of Independence. But Vance’s perspective obviously matches up well with the perspective of President Trump. The question I’ve always asked about Trumpism is this: Is there a Trumpism or is there only Trump? Vance is the best exponent of Trumpism — if there is, in fact, a Trumpism.