TikTok is Alive...For Now

PBS News live coverage of Donald Trump’s second inauguration featured PBS News Hour co-anchors Geoff Bennett and Amna Nawaz and included Laura Barron-Lopez, stationed at the White House. Barron-Lopez, as always, was a reliable defender of the Democrat president, adopting a partisan double standard on the last-minute pre-emptive family pardons issued by Joe Biden, an abuse of presidential power rejected by other members of the mainstream press, including Chris Cillizza and Jake Tapper, and even Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer (at least regarding possible Trump pardons back in 2020). Barron-Lopez was copacetic in her 1:16 p.m., post-inauguration report: Laura Barron-Lopez:  Amna, in the final minutes of his presidency, before he was heading to the Capitol with now sworn-in President Trump, President Biden issued some very last-minute pardons, preemptive pardons, to his family members, specifically a number of his siblings: James Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, as well as their spouses. [She left out the president's brother Frank Biden.] And then President-Biden said it was because of the fact that they were under threats, attacks, and he was referencing past promises made by Donald Trump to go after not just Joe Biden, but also his entire family. Trump had said that repeatedly on the campaign trail as well as his allies had said that, that they would go after Joe Biden and his family. In this preemptive pardon issuing Biden said it wasn’t because his family did anything wrong or anything illegal, but that this was because he had no guarantee his family would not be prosecuted and so he decided to issue these preemptive pardons just minutes before his presidency ended. When prompted by co-host Geoff Bennett to discuss Biden’s “notable act of clemency for an indigenous activist, tell us about that,” Barron-Lopez admitted she hadn’t heard about the clemency of Leonard Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement, convicted of murdering two FBI agents in 1975 (back when the phrase “indigenous activist” would have meant nothing to viewers). Barron-Lopez: That's right, Geoff, I don't have that one just in front of me. But those were other pardons the president made, adding on to his clemencies and commutations that he’s issued, a historic number, more than any president to date, Geoff. (Side note: Host Bennett had himself previously drawn a blank by not recognizing Dan Quayle and his wife Marilyn entering the Capitol Rotunda, and had to be helped out by his co-host Amna Nawaz.) Barron-Lopez then showed why she’s considered the most biased reporter at PBS, showing a double standard between how Donald Trump and Joe Biden are allowed to interpret the constitution. Barron-Lopez: If I could, I’d like to highlight a few things that stood out to me from now-President Donald Trump's speech, and significantly the significant focus on immigration. And in this speech he was talking and saying all illegal entry to the United States will immediately be halted and that he will direct migrants to be returned back to their countries of origin. That’s going to require some agreements, it’s a lot easier said than done. They will have to have agreements with countries saying that they're willing to take migrants back to the country of origin. And I was also talking to some legal experts about the executive order that is coming on ending birthright citizenship. And immigration lawyers that I was talking to today, Geoff, said that that would be in violation of the 14th Amendment, that the interpretation that the incoming Trump Administration is viewing the 14th amendment, saying that it would allow them to stop automatic birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants, immigration lawyers say that is not the correct interpretation of the 14th Amendment and could likely very quickly be halted by judges. So while Trump’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment was dismissed by PBS's Barron-Lopez -- via her sources of lefty immigration lawyers -- as incorrect, Biden’s twisted “pre-emptive” interpretation of the presidential pardon power, to cover possible crimes committed by his family, wasn’t a bit controversial?

A leftist group financed by America’s most notorious billionaire George Soros launched a lawsuit against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by X owner Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy just moments after President Donald Trump took office. That’s not even enough time for anyone in the Trump administration to pass gas. The New York Times hailed the leftist efforts at 2 pm under the headline, "Nonprofit Groups Sue Trump Administration Moments After Oath." Reporter David Fahrenthold began with "Nonprofit groups filed three lawsuits against President Trump’s administration minutes after he took office on Monday.” Specifically, the leftist groups are railing that DOGE, which was created as a nongovernmental advisory group to slash bureaucracy under Trump, “was violating laws that require federal advisory committees to be open to the public and to include a diversity of viewpoints,”  Fahrenthold wrote. One of the groups involved in the lawsuits was the radical Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) in Washington in partnership with the unhinged American Federation of Teachers led by activist Randi Weingarten. Soros funneled a sizable $2,850,000 into CREW’s coffers between 2017 and 2021 alone. This is the same group that demanded that Musk keep Trump banned from Twitter following his acquisition of the platform in 2022. “As Twitter’s CEO, Elon Musk must keep Donald Trump’s ban from Twitter in place for good to protect Twitter and our democracy,” CREW wailed in a Nov. 15 press release filed under “Legal Complaints.” CREW also tried to put heavy pressure on Apple CEO Tim Cook to have Trump’s social media app Truth Social banned from the App Store in 2022. In addition, TIME described former CREW Chairman David Brock as “one of the most influential political operatives in the Democratic party,” according to Influence Watch, if anybody had any doubt about the group’s radical political leanings. This group also smeared 44 GOP members of Congress skeptical of the 2020 election results as members of a so-called “Sedition Caucus.”  Fahrenthold didn’t mention any of this objectivity-wrecking context of course, despite admitting that CREW was “liberal.” CREW, AFT and their cohorts are all turning the screws on “federal judges to stop the cost-cutting effort until it complies with the law.” The lawsuits, including CREW’s, are alleging that DOGE doesn’t fulfill the diversity of viewpoint requirement of the 1972 Federal Advisory Committee Act, which is rich coming from a Soros-backed group. “They say its leaders all share one viewpoint: that the size and cost of government should be cut drastically,” Fahrenthold summarized. It appears that the Soros empire is wasting no time in going to war with the new administration just after their fearless leader was arbitrarily adorned with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Joe Biden. Soros has actively given tens of millions to groups who exerted enormous pressure on Big Tech platforms to censor conservative political views that run counter to his own. This includes at least $80 million poured into groups pressuring Big Tech to censor election-related content prior to the November elections to help the left. Since that effort’s return-on-investment went kaput, it appears that Soros’s next move is to kneecap the Trump administration as soon as possible. Let the games begin.

MRC President L. Brent Bozell lauded newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump for prioritizing free speech. During his inauguration speech, Trump promised to “sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.” Bozell thanked Trump in an X post Monday for this promise. “America was founded on freedom of speech. MRC's Free Speech America has been the leader in fighting censorship and the weaponization of the federal government for 8 years,” Bozell stated.  He also highlighted the MRC-led Free Speech Alliance’s efforts at combating online censorship and fighting for the First Amendment. “Our Free Speech Alliance has over 100 groups who join us in that fight daily. Thank you, President Trump for bringing free speech back to our great nation!” Bozell concluded. In contrast to Trump’s free speech pledge, now-former President Joe Biden repeatedly pushed for censorship during his farewell address, and his administration will likely be remembered as the most censorship-prone, anti-free speech in modern U.S. history.  MRC tracks Big Tech censorship on its unique CensorTrack database, including numerous cases of the Biden administration pressuring platforms to censor constitutionally-protected American speech. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide transparency. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

NBC News ran into a buzzsaw on Monday afternoon by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as he repeatedly shredded the assembled liberal journalists over their obsession with January 6 pardons, the Trump prosecutions, the Biden crime family, the Panama Canal, and even the Hunter Biden laptop. Today co-host Savannah Guthrie first stepped on the landmine, asking McCarthy about the impending pardons for those charged after the events of January 6, 2021. McCarthy calmly explained this was something we all knew as Trump “told the American public” he’d do this whereas you “compare this to Joe Biden, who said he would never pardon his son, who have now, on the very last day, in the last 30 minutes, pardons his entire family.” Good on former @SpeakerMcCarthy absolutely nuking the NBC inauguration panel over their questions to him about Trump pardoning January 6 defendants and turning it around on them by scorching Joe Biden's pardons of his family members pic.twitter.com/5FqMvafTv7 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 He added this was “terrible” and “it makes no sense to me” as “[a]ll it does is put a cloud over that you did something wrong.” He continued: [W]hy do you wait until 30 minutes before? Why did you tell the American public you would never pardon your son, and you do it? Now, the difference here is whether you agree or disagree about what President Trump’s going to do, he told the American public ahead of time, they put that into consideration whether they’d vote for him for president, so he’s just keeping a campaign promise. Guthrie tried pressing again, but that went nowhere. NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt made another try at trapping McCarthy: “Is retribution still on the table for this new President?” McCarthy tore into this narrative and turned the tables by explaining what Trump aides dealt with during the Biden years (click “expand”): Here's more of @SpeakerMcCarthy taking a blow torch to the NBC News panel hurling double standards of lawfare against Donald Trump vs. hypotheticals about what *might* happen in a second Trump term pic.twitter.com/tEGQBJqb6j — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 MCCARTHY: See, this is the thing that bothers me the post. For the people who are opposed to President Trump, all they talk about is retribution. I have not seen him put retribution into anybody when he’s had the power. HOLT: But he’s talked about it. MCCARTHY: But he — I’ve only seen the other side do retribution to him and everybody else. I will tell you this. Four years ago, when President Trump left office, everybody who worked for him got blackballed, that nobody could be hired. Nobody could work any place and then, everybody had to go through attorneys. Everybody was getting prosecuted. Everybody was being looked at. President Trump had to go through. And to — what the Democrats did to President Trump, they helped elect him by prosecuting him because what they misread with the American public, when they would judge — when they would prosecute him for something they would never anybody else in America, that’s when you literally felt across America, this is wrong. Senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson complained about FBI director pick Kash Patel and an “enemies list” and questions about that during attorney general nominee Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing, but McCarthy handled that too. “What I listen to, too, is that they would follow the rule of law. They wouldn’t put — I do believe so, because I know Kash Patel, and, you know, it’s an interesting thing. I’ve watched people sit back and say, I want to go after you because you might do something in the future. We live in America, right. You’re — you’re innocent until proven guilty but now they’re going after this,” he continued. Guthrie went to another topic in the classified documents probe, but McCarthy again turned this around on Biden (click “expand”): GUTHRIE: I mean, we don’t have time to get into all of it, but you talk about upholding the rule of law. There was the prosecution, for example, in Florida for mishandling classified documents that seemed to be as clear as day. I mean, it — pursuing prosecution under those circumstances is not an abuse of the rule of law. It’s a pursuant — a vindication of the rule of law. MCCARTHY: Okay, but this is all fair too. That — that was on President Trump. But at the very same moment you’re saying that, you had a President Joe Biden that had the documents inside his — inside his garage, but this is something that was different than the two. He had a document when he was a senator. I’ve been part of the gang of eight. At no time, at no place, a House or senator could ever take a classified document. Done deal. But he had one. Did he get prosecuted? No, no, what did they say? He’s too old. But he’s sitting as the President of the United States. So, this is what we talk about, fair treatment. So, when people on the other side of the aisle say, oh my God, President Trump may do something in the future, he hasn’t. Give us the time and place. Let him govern. If he does something wrong, that’s appropriate time to make an argument. But right now, I just watched a nation have an opportunity to heal. I watched world leaders come to this inaugural. I’ve watched people who spent millions of dollars against him sit right behind him and are excited. Following a brief back-and-forth in which McCarthy educated Holt on the Panama Canal bluster, senior White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell went full ‘but who will pick the cotton’ with McCarthy regarding farm workers and mass deportations (click “expand”): NBC's Kelly O'Donnell lectures Bakersfield native former @SpeakerMcCarthy about the pain to the economy if Donald Trump deports those from the "farm communities" where he grew up who "keep the economy going" pic.twitter.com/tJ1eV81YL3 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 O’DONNELL: If he wants to accomplish things with mass deportations, that there wouldn’t be sufficient funding to actually make that happen, or there wouldn’t be the political will when it reaches into farm communities, you’re from Bakersfield, California, where undocumented workers keep the economy going. Is there a risk that what he has promised could come up against political problems for him? MCCARTHY: Well, this is where you got to understand what has he said, even in today. He’s not referring to those people. He’s referring to those more than 1.3 million who are sitting in jail. Someone who came here illegally and have created a felony, who have killed somebody, who had raped somebody. He says, let’s remove them. If he gets to a different level, that will be a different discussion, but he has not said that yet. So, I think from a standpoint for America, we should pause and let’s get this because I’ve watched cities across America, New York, everywhere else, Massachusetts, it’s the — the greatest threat, the state emergency is the southern border. KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. Speaker, when I interviewed him, he was very clear, he wants to remove everyone who’s here illegally. You’re right, he wants to start with the criminals. Absolutely, that’s his focus right now. Is that something that you think is feasible? Would you support that? MCCARTHY: Removing the criminals? Yes. WELKER: Well, everyone. In addition to the criminals, in addition to those, because — MCCARTHY: To be fair, if somebody comes here illegally, you’re breaking the law. WELKER: — yeah. MCCARTHY: — so let’s — let’s create a country that’s -- that can maintain its law. But I don’t think, if you look at America, 85 percent of America agrees. If you have come here illegally, and you have committed a felony, you need to leave. And I think that’s where we’re starting. That’s where we’re going. Before cutting him loose, NBC tried one more time on the January 6 pardons. McCarthy quickly reminded them of Trump’s openness and ended with an absolute decimation of the press for their election predictions, the Biden family pardons, and even their manufactured narrative about Hunter Biden’s laptop having been fake: .@SpeakerMcCarthy shredsthe NBC crew on how so many pundits thought the election would be close, told us that Hunter Biden's laptop wasn't real, that Biden wouldn't pardon his family, and yet all they wanna talk about is January 6 pic.twitter.com/DafOfZLONg — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 But there’s something — there’s something here, underreporting here, okay? This is the first time in more than 30 years a Republican President won the popular vote. You sat at this table for hours wondering whether this election would be close or not. He won every single swing state. The country has made a decisive decision. They have all the information about January 6. They have everything. The only thing new they have today is that the past president, Joe Biden, just pardoned his entire family. His entire family just got — his brother, who said he wasn’t involved with his son getting money from China, that we found out that became true. A laptop that they told the American public before the last election and they used 51 people, former CIA directors, said this was false when they knew that it wasn’t. So, I mean, to go back and pardon things and lie about it is a real difficulty. To see the relevant NBC transcript form January 20, click here.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk horrified the anchors at CNN after making a salute during his speech on Monday after the second inauguration of President Donald Trump. Musk was giving a speech at the Capital One Arena when he told the audience he'd give them his heart and then made a salute which some described as a Roman salute but which others claimed was meant to be a Nazi salute. 'My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.' "It's a salute. It was quick. I think our viewers are smart and they can take a look at that, but it certainly was, it's not something that you typically see at American political rallies, let's put it that way," said Kate Bolduan. "It was very quick. It was in a moment of intensity for him as he came out dancing, and then he did that," said Erin Burnett. While many on social media also accused Musk of making a Nazi salute, the context of the salute in his speech belies that explanation. Musk was enthusiastic and very animated as he addressed the crowd: — (@) "This was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization," said Musk. "This one really mattered. Thank you for making it happen!" At that moment, he slammed his hand to his chest and then saluted the crowd. Then he turned around and saluted the flag as well. "My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured," he added. "Thanks to you!" He said Americans would have safe cities, border security, and sensible government spending in Trump's second term. Musk went on to advocate for the U.S. to lead the effort to colonize Mars. "Can you imagine how awesome it will be to have American astronauts plant the flag on another planet for the first time?! How inspiring would that be?!" he asked. The crowd was enthusiastic for Musk's message and chanted, "Elon! Elon!" back at him. “I’m going to work my a** off for you guys! I really will," he laughed. "I’m super fired up for the future. It's going to be very exciting." — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

It’s official: President Donald J. Trump has been inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. In his inaugural address, which Glenn Beck praises as “a good, focused speech,” President Trump painted a clear picture of where America is headed and what it’s leaving behind. And he spared no one’s feelings. — (@) “Right out the gate, as soon as he started the speech, he started indicting and eviscerating everyone in that room and how corrupt and incompetent they were. I loved it,” says Allie Beth Stuckey, host of “Relatable.” “The courage to say that with those eyes right behind [him], I thought was remarkable,” adds Glenn, referring to the death stares coming from Biden, Kamala, the Clintons, and Obama, among others who were sitting directly behind Trump. “I think everyone appreciated that boldness and that bravery,” says Allie. “I did.” Stu Burguiere, host of “Stu Does America,” was surprised by Trump’s timing. He expected him to save the shaming for his next speech in the arena. “You get more points, though, for doing it to their faces,” he laughs. Glenn was blown away by Trump’s statement that he intends to “completely and totally reverse this betrayal of our people,” as well as his promise that “America’s decline is over.” “Those are powerful, powerful words,” he says. Trump’s admission that his “life was saved by God to make America great again” was another moment that stood out. “You know that’s gonna make a lot of people mad, but the truth is if you believe in a sovereign God, it was God’s providence. It was His mercy that saved him for God’s glory, first of all, but also, we’re beneficiaries of that,” says Allie. Trump’s statement is just “objectively true.” To hear the team’s post-speech analysis, watch the clip above. If you aren’t already a subscriber to BlazeTV+, join us and get $47 off your first year of BlazeTV+ with code "47." If you are a subscriber and want to give the gift of BlazeTV+ to a friend or relative, we’re also offering $47 off gift subscriptions.

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