Posts on Saturday, September 20, 2025

California Governor Gavin Newsom sparked an uproar on Saturday after his team posted a cryptic message to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. As TGP readers know, Newsom has made himself the leader of the resistance against the Trump Administration, particularly on the issue of illegal immigration. This feud has been heightened ever since Trump sent ICE agents to LA to round up illegals earlier this year. Perhaps with this in mind, Newsom’s press team posted a tweet that many read as a threat on Noem’s life. It was certainly vague enough to be interpreted that way. The post reads, “Kristi Noem is going to have a bad day today.

Thousands of air passengers faced chaos yesterday after hundreds of flights were delayed at Heathrow as a suspected cyber-attack crippled its electronic check-in and boarding facilities. The same strike left Brussels airport paralysed yesterday, with half of all flights being cancelled. There were also disruptions at Berlin, Dublin and Cork – and there are warnings the turmoil could continue for days. As the National Cyber Security Centre – the public-facing arm of GCHQ – launched an investigation last night, experts blamed groups linked to Russia.

Political change mimics a supertanker in its inertia. Turning direction proceeds imperceptibly at first. Then advances sporadically, punctuated by specific accelerating events. Progress in the new direction proceeds over decades, interspersed by backsliding episodes.  Glenn Reynolds examines the operative political dynamic. The Left’s “strategy has consisted of using bullying and propaganda to convince 80% of the population that the views of 20% of the population are in the majority.” Mass gaslighting is ancient.[snip] America’s current gaslighting episode originated against McCarthyism, accelerating ever since. 

We're more than a week out from the assassination of Charlie Kirk and all but the most die hard online leftists have come around to the fact that his shooter was on the left and seems to have been motivated by left-wing political concerns. Frankly, it's not clear if the truth has penetrated to the party's base. As of last weekend, many of them were still convinced the shooter was right-wing. Given the partisan bubble they live in, many of them may still believe that even now. To say that reality isn't going down well on the left is putting it mildly. It has been a tough 10 days

A California man was arrested and charged on Saturday for shooting into the studio of an ABC affiliate on Friday evening.[snip] gunshots were fired at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento, California, on Friday afternoon after Jimmy Kimmel’s show was suspended.According to police, a vehicle pulled up to the station and a suspect fired three gunshots into the window.There was one person in the lobby at the time of the shooting, but no one was struck.Police arrested 64-year-old Anibal Hernandezsantana and charged him with three felonies. Hernandezsantana, a rabid Trump hater, is being held on $200,000 bail.

OpenAI has announced plans to develop an automated age-prediction system to determine whether ChatGPT users are over or under 18, following a lawsuit related to a teen’s suicide. The teen’s parents claim that Sam Altman’s AI chatbot served as the boy’s “suicide coach.” Ars Technica reports that in the wake of a lawsuit involving a 16-year-old boy who tragically died by suicide after engaging in extensive conversations with ChatGPT, OpenAI has announced its intention to implement an age verification system for its popular AI chatbot. The company aims to automatically direct younger users to a restricted version of the service, prioritizing safety over privacy and freedom for teens.

Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite suspension from ABC feels less like censorship than comeuppance. The comedian who once built his reputation on gleeful political incorrectness now finds himself hoisted by his own progressive petard, pulled off air after suggestingCharlie Kirk’s alleged killer was a Trump supporter rather than what he actually appears to be — a far-left fanatic with a taste for blood. Don’t confuse this for another cancel culture moment. It’s the predictable end of a peculiar American transformation. 

Attorneys for Luigi Mangione asked a federal judge Saturday to dismiss charges against him, arguing that state and federal officials violated his constitutional rights and damaged his chances for a fair trial. Mangione is accused of killing Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in December 2024. The high-profile assassination drew national attention in the days after Thompson’s death. Earlier this week, a New York state judge dropped two terrorism-related charges against Mangione.[snip] His defense team is also asking the court to remove the death penalty as an option.

Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota was confronted on Friday about whether she regrets the timing of her comments immediately following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Omar said in an interview on CNN, "It's one thing to care about his life because obviously so many people loved him, including his children and wife. But I am not going to sit here and be judged for not wanting to honor any legacy this man has left behind. That should be in the dustbin of history, and we should hopefully move on and forget the hate that he spewed

National Democrats and media critics slammed President Donald Trump’s choice to deploy the National Guard to the crime-ridden streets of Washington, DC as ineffectual and unnecessary — or worse, a dangerous sign of creeping fascism. As it turns out, one week after Trump’s emergency order commandeering local police quietly expired, his action was a lesson in how quickly empowered law-enforcement officers can clean up a city. Thirty days after Trump’s August order, the crime statistics are undeniable: Both violent crime and property crime have dropped by roughly a fifth, and carjackings alone declined by 37%.

The hysteria merchants are in high gear again as they respond to the news that Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC talk show has been “preempted indefinitely.” Kimmel got the gate from ABC because of his reckless remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the decision “despicable” and undemocratic, asserting that Kimmel has “the right to free speech.” Illinois governor and obvious presidential candidate JB Pritzker said that ABC’s decision was “an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.” Schumer, Pritzker and the many other supposed champions of free speech, of course, blame President Trump and

Two minutes before Charlie Kirk died, I was searching for him on X. I knew he had just kicked off his latest round of college debate tours and I wanted to see him in action. The first video I saw from his visit to Utah Valley University showed him wearing a broad smile and tossing hats to an audience ready to celebrate him — and disagree with him. He always welcomed both sides. Then I hit refresh on my feed, and saw the unthinkable. A ghastly scene. Kirk was hit by a bullet. Blood was pouring out of his neck. At first I assumed it was AI. But of course it wasn’t.

An armed man who was posing as a member of law enforcement was arrested by Secret Service agents at the Arizona stadium where Charlie Kirk’s funeral will be held Sunday, according to reports. The man was detained by State Farm Stadium, home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale on Friday, the Secret Service told Fox News Digital. “The U.S. Secret Service in coordination with local law enforcement in Glendale, Arizona, is investigating an individual who was observed exhibiting suspicious behavior” at the stadium, agency spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told the outlet Saturday.

The pieces of this puzzle are starting to come together, and what emerges is a picture that makes perfect sense when viewed through the lens of raw self-interest. Hunter Biden, a man who has spent decades leveraging his father's position for personal gain, may have personally engineered his own presidential pardon. Why do I think this may have been the case? Well, Biden’s former chief of staff, Jeff Zients, revealed during his House Oversight Committee testimony this week that Hunter Biden wasn't just sitting on the sidelines during those crucial final weeks of his father's presidency—he was actively participating in pardon discussions, attending multiple meetings with White House aides.

The Texas State University student who was expelled when he was caught mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination in front of a horrified crowd claimed he “made a mistake in the heat of the moment.” Devion Canty Jr. pleaded for help with his education costs on GoFundMe Thursday, just days after he vilely spewed profanity at a group of mourners outside the school’s Turning Point USA chapter. “Recently, I faced a situation where I had to choose between immediate expulsion or withdrawing from the university,” Canty Jr said on the crowdfunding page.

Liberal CNN analyst Van Jones revealed Saturday that he received a message from conservative activist Charlie Kirk that “shocked” him one day before he was assassinated at a college tour event in Utah. “Hey Van, I mean it, I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race,” Kirk wrote in his message, which Jones shared on his Instagram. Jones, who said he and Kirk were “beefing hard” in the last week of the Turning Point USA founder’s life, was clearly moved by the message.[snip] Jones wasn’t sure about sharing the message after Kirk’s death, but now thinks “it’s important” to put out.

The city of Chicago has a crime problem. Everyone knows it, including Chicago's mayor, Brandon Johnson, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Pritzker himself said crime is just a part of big city life, just after a bloody Labor Day weekend where 54 people were shot and seven were killed. Mayor Johnson took a more theological approach, saying jailing criminals is "racist, unholy and doesn’t lower violent crime rates." That was on August 25, a week before all the mayhem in Chicago. We're now halfway through September, and Mayor Johnson continues to object to putting criminals in prison. (X) As one X user said, "Imagine saying that to the families

President Trump pushed back on reports that Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned from his post, claiming, “he didn’t quit, I fired him!” “Today I withdrew the Nomination of Erik Siebert as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, when I was informed that he received the UNUSUALLY STRONG support of the two absolutely terrible, sleazebag Democrat Senators, from the Great State of Virginia,” the president said in a Truth Social post just past midnight Friday. “He didn’t quit, I fired him!” He added, “Next time let him go in as a Democrat, not a Republican.”

The new liberal website, The Argument, conducted an interesting poll of Trump 2024 supporters, Harris 2024 supporters, and those who didn't vote. One question was about free speech on campus. "For each of the following, do you believe they should be allowed to give a speech at a college campus?" Nearly 50% of Trump voters would oppose a transgender rights activist speaking on campus. 86% of Harris voters would support it. Nearly 55% of Harris voters would oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a talk. 63% of Trump voters would support it. Over 67% of Trump voters would oppose a Palestinian activist who calls for the abolition of Israel. 53% of Harris voters

Normally, when I see a person wearing a t-shirt with an American flag and an eagle, I think, “patriot” and probably MAGA. Now, though, I’m having my doubts. Instead, I think we’re going to discover that a lot of venomously anti-MAGA people will be parading around in black t-shirts with flags and eagles on them as an homage to Charlie Kirk’s murderer, who wore that shirt when he pulled the trigger. We’re all painfully familiar by now with the image showing Kirk’s killer right before the shooting:

After Charlie Kirk was assassinated last week, conservatives noted that most political violence comes from the left. The left bristles at this fact and has responded by dramatically padding the numbers to pretend the reverse is true. Consider a Sept. 12 piece from The Economist claiming, “extremists on both left and right commit violence, although more incidents appear to come from right-leaning attackers.” (snip)The founder and executive director of the Prosecution Project is Michael Loadenthal, although the links naming the website’s leadership were broken Friday, .(snip).Loadenthal is an “openly anarchist Antifa-affiliated … researcher at the University of Cincinnati who, by his own admission, is a far-left violent extremist,”

A House resolution [HR.719 – HERE] was offered today recognizing the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk and honoring his legacy. Forty-two members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted against the resolution(snip), 4 CBC members voted present, 4 CBC members didn’t vote, once again affirming their intent to divide the country based on race. (snip)[…] The caucus outlined some of Kirk’s past comments that they said they “strongly” disagreed with, listing “his belief that the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended racial segregation, was a mistake; his denial that systemic racism exists; his promotion of the Great Replacement theory; and his offensive claims about Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Michelle

Nicholas J. Roske, the 29-year-old who pleaded guilty in April to the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, will be sentenced on October 3. According to a Friday court filing, Roske faces up to 30 years in prison. The Department of Justice said in the sentencing memo that they deem Roske's action as an act of terrorism. As RedState reported, in June 2022, Roske traveled from California to Washington, D.C., for the sole purpose of assassinating Kavanaugh. Roske wandered the D.C. suburb near Kavanaugh's home armed with a pistol and ammunition, a crowbar, a "tactical knife," zip ties, and other implements in a duffel bag.

Sometimes good can come out of tragedy. So it seems that in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk this country might finally come to terms with certain violent extremist groups in our midst. On Wednesday, President Trump said that he was willing to designate Antifa (“a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster”) as “a major terrorist organization.” The move cannot come soon enough. Despite the claims of Jimmy Kimmel and others, it is clear that the sick young man who assassinated Charlie Kirk last week was not a “MAGA Republican.” He is a young man from a Republican family who veered to the radical left, started living with a lover who

This was the week when the Democrats resumed their mantle as the party of peace, assuring the rest of us that things would be fine if conservatives would just stop murdering each other. And Jimmy Kimmel joined Stephen Colbert in the unemployment line, at least for now. Remarkably, it wasn’t because he hasn’t said anything funny in a decade. Kimmel’s suspension gave Democrats the opportunity to tell us they have always been the party of free speech. As long as the speech was theirs. It was a week of unparalleled gaslighting, and thus a target-rich environment for memesters. Here goes:

Zohran Mamdani is unraveling New York’s Democratic Party, and Republicans are ready to pick up the pieces. The state’s three most important leaders — Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins — have now all endorsed the 33-year-old leftist for NYC mayor. They’re opening the floodgates for Mamdani’s extreme agenda to take root across the state. But standing in the way is Jay Jacobs, the party’s state chair and a sworn enemy of its socialist wing. He bluntly rebuffed the prospect of an endorsement: “I reject the platform of the so-called ‘Democratic Socialists of America’ and do not believe that it represents the principles,

Senate Democrats this week said they’d let the Republican short-term spending bill pass, and so avoid a government shutdown as of Oct. 1, for the low, low price of . . . $1.5 trillion. Yep, they demand that much added spending, which means $1.5 trillion in new federal debt over the next decade. To add a single month of uninterupted federal operations, the GOP must agree to: 1) permanently extend Biden-era ObamaCare subsidies that now sunset Dec. 31, and 2) gut the health savings just passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and 3) unfreeze $5 billion in foreign aid that President Donald Trump recently stopped while Congress was on (yet another) vacation.

ABC brass should clarify ASAP why they suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s show: The utter silence feeds confusion, conspiracy theories and other division. On Monday’s show, Kimmel all but declared “this kid who killed Charlie Kirk” to be one of “the MAGA gang,” slammed the right for pretending otherwise and “doing everything they can to score political points” from the assassination. As video of the smear circulated Tuesday among the overwhelming majority of Americans who never watch the show, public fury mounted and complaints started pouring into local affiliates. And as ABC affiliates were then complaining to the network,

We've been covering the furor on the left over the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's show. Kimmel made comments on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" implying that the suspect in the Charlie Kirk killing was MAGA, and claiming MAGA was trying to capitalize on Kirk's murder. ABC "indefinitely preempted" Kimmel's show on Wednesday, when many of their affiliate stations decided not to run the show. Folks on the left freaked out, claiming that this was President Donald Trump shutting down free speech. They seemed more upset about the Kimmel suspension than about the killing of Charlie Kirk. However, the powers that be

From CNBC, Dow, S&P 500 close at fresh records, log big gains for the week after Fed rate cut. The S&P 500 index was up 0.5 percent on the day and up almost 1 percent for the week. CNBC quotes a market analyst, While September has historically delivered pullbacks, this year’s market has defied that pattern — climbing 35% since March with strong technical and fundamental tailwinds. Meanwhile, things aren’t so rosy in the land of the Mouse. Stock for the Walt Disney Company (ticker symbol: DIS) was down almost 1 percent today and down more than two percent for the week. Disney, of course,

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued state-level unemployment statistics this morning and it was mostly bad news for jurisdictions that backed Kamala Harris last year. The headline, August jobless rates up in 3 states, down in 2; payroll jobs up in 1 state. I’ve spare you the suspense. Jobs were up significantly in Utah (Trump +21) and down in the District of Columbia (Harris +86). The unemployment rate was down in Alabama (Trump +31) and Colorado (Harris +11). Unemployment was up in Delaware (Harris +15), Maryland (Harris +29) and Minnesota (Harris +4).

It would almost be funny if it weren’t so destructive. Barack Obama — even now, after what many believe was his continued influence in the former Biden White House — has decided to posture himself as a defender of free speech. He recently warned that “the current administration has taken cancel culture to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.” Spare us the lecture. We’ve seen the emails from Hillary Clinton’s office where editors were told to toe the line. We’ve watched Mark Zuckerberg testify in Senate hearings, admitting that government officials “told him”