Category: Blaze Media
Conservatives turn their fire on each other after Charlie Kirk’s assassination
The horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk in September should have united Americans. Instead, it split them even further. Conservatives watched too many of their countrymen on the left openly cheer the murder, and even weak denunciations often suggested Kirk got what he deserved.
For a time, the right rallied — praising Kirk and demanding justice. That unity didn’t last. A furious fight over Kirk’s legacy followed, and that’s worse than politics: It’s destroying the movement he built.
Charlie Kirk’s death was a monstrous crime. Let it not become the occasion for tearing the movement he led to pieces.
George Washington spent much of his Farewell Address warning the young republic about foreign entanglements. He praised American separation from Europe’s great power intrigues and warned that making any foreign state a favored nation would corrupt domestic politics. Washington foresaw factions forming around foreign loyalties and predicted patriots who raised concerns about foreign influence would be branded traitors.
His warning applies now, and the fracture cuts through conservatism itself. The United States has long allied with Israel — sharing intelligence, aid, and military cooperation. Many conservatives, especially evangelicals, treat support for Israel as near-religious obligation. Others point to practical security benefits in the Middle East. That religious devotion makes criticism of the relationship politically perilous. You can denounce Britain or Germany without being vilified. Question our alliance with Israel, and you risk immediate slurs — racist, anti-Semite, bigot.
As Washington warned, centering policy on a foreign nation invites domestic discord and foreign meddling. Qatar and other Gulf states now pour money into U.S. institutions. Diasporas like India attempt to consolidate as a power bloc. None of this would surprise Washington. It was predictable. Still, both sides chatter past his counsel — and refuse the restraint he urged.
Anger misdirected
Charlie Kirk excelled at coalition building and peacemaking. He united disparate conservatives behind Trump and MAGA. That’s why the civil war over his death is so corrosive. Conspiracy theories swirl. Former allies denounce one another in his name. Private texts between Kirk and fellow influencers have been leaked and used as weapons. The spectacle is inhuman.
The impulse to treat Kirk’s private words as scripture echoes how people now treat the Constitution — stripping context until the document becomes a cudgel for whatever program you prefer. Left and right both reduce texts to proof texts; neither seeks the actual meaning.
Kirk’s position on Israel was complicated. He loved and supported the state and saw biblical significance in its existence, yet he also held America First concerns about military commitments and complained about pressure from Zionist donors who pushed TPUSA to cancel conservatives. He sought to defuse right-wing animosity toward Israel through messaging at home and tempering excesses abroad. His views were nuanced — like most people tend to be when the shouting stops.
Instead of using the outrage over his assassination to crush the left-wing terror network behind it, too many conservatives turned inward and drew long knives. One faction hates Israel so fiercely it would harm America; another treats any deviation from absolute support as treason.
At the moment, conservatives should unify for survival, they trade blows over purity tests.
Opponents or enemies?
The reality is simple: Israel will remain. The conservative movement needs a coherent strategy. Religious devotion among evangelicals will persist, but it’s waning among younger Christians. Pro-Israel advocates must make a practical case to younger conservatives if they want broad support. Those who question the tie to Israel will keep growing in number.
If pro-Israel conservatives want to avoid the radicalization they fear, they must tolerate dissent within the coalition without staging public witch hunts. Those who seek to re-evaluate the relationship should keep arguments factual and pragmatic. Washington’s cautions about favored nations and about letting hatred sabotage the country remain relevant.
RELATED: Christians are refusing to compromise — and it’s terrifying all the right people
rudall30 via iStock/Getty Images
We saw, after Kirk’s killing, how large segments of the left revealed a murderous contempt for conservatives. That truth cannot be unseen. But within conservatism, the critical question is whether your rival on the right is an opponent to debate or an enemy to be excised. Zionist or skeptic, neither camp is calling for your child to be shot. That low bar — refusing to wish literal violence on fellow citizens — must hold if conservatives hope to form a durable coalition.
This is not an appeal to centrism. I have my views and have argued them plainly. But Kirk wanted a movement that could hold together. He worked to build a broad tent. The conservative civil war must end because the stakes are too high.
If conservatives continue sniping through Kirk’s memory, they will squander their political capital and invite worse divisions. Washington warned us what happens when foreign loyalties and religious fervor distort public life; he warned that factional hatred breaks nations. Conservatives ought to remember that now — not to moderate principle for its own sake, but to preserve the only structure that allows principle to matter: a functioning political majority.
Charlie Kirk’s death was a monstrous crime. Let it not become the occasion for tearing the movement he led to pieces. The left must be opposed forcefully and without mercy in politics, but infighting on the right hands them victory. Put down the knives. Honor Kirk by building the coalition he believed in — or watch the movement dissolve into impotence.
JD Vance responds to the possibility of Vance-Rubio presidential ticket
Vice President JD Vance had a very warm response to the idea of running for president with his “best friend” Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State.
Vance made the comments while speaking on the “Pod Force One” podcast from the New York Post. He said President Donald Trump suggested the idea of a Vance-Rubio ticket during a lunch a few months prior.
‘A lot of the good work that we’ve been able to do as an administration is because we’re all able to work together.’
“I mentioned it to the secretary in jest, but it feels so premature because we’re still so early,” Vance said.
He went on to say that he was focused on the main problem plaguing Americans.
“We’ve got to make life more affordable for American citizens,” he added. “Again, we’ve chipped away at that problem, but there’s a lot more work to do there. So, my attitude is, the American people elected me to be vice president. I’m gonna work as hard as I can to make the president successful over the next three years and three months.”
Vance is the clear front-runner for the next Republican presidential candidate in recent polling.
“If we get to a point where something else is in the offer, let’s handle it then,” Vance continued. “But let’s at least get through the next couple of years and do good work for the American people before we talk about politics.”
RELATED: White House hammers Jen Psaki over comments about JD Vance’s wife: ‘Circle back on that, moron’
When asked if playing second fiddle to the vice president would cause “tension” between the two, Vance called Rubio his “best friend in the administration” and said there would be no problem at all.
“He and I work a lot together,” Vance said. “A lot of the good work that we’ve been able to do as an administration is because we’re all able to work together.”
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Don Lemon nailed with fierce backlash for ‘trans’ slur against Megyn Kelly
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon had previously defended the trans-identifying community, but he undermined that activism when he used the term “trans” as an insult.
Lemon was being interviewed on the “Clip Farmers” podcast when they started mocking the ladies of MAGA. When they arrived at former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, he unleashed the T-word.
‘I thought that you couldn’t tell if someone is trans. Can’t be all about identity and then use it as an insult.’
“I think she looks trans,” said Lemon to the shocked hosts.
“Let’s end on that note,” said one of the podcast hosts.
“She looks clockable,” he added, which is a term to deride trans-identifying people who do not pass for the gender they choose.
The video was widely circulated on social media, where many lambasted Lemon over his comments.
“Don Lemon commenting on how women look? Peak absurdity,” replied Charles Gasparino.
“Don Lemon is unbearable to listen to. No wonder he’s been fired from every company he’s been lucky enough to get hired by and had to start a YouTube channel of his own and it’s awful too,” read one response.
“I thought that you couldn’t tell if someone is trans. Can’t be all about identity and then use it as an insult. Funny,” said another detractor.
“Asking Don Lemon if a woman is hot is like asking a vegan to recommend a good steakhouse,” joked another user.
Lemon had characterized conservative bans on pornographic books in public schools as transphobic in comments from 2023.
“So let’s just be real. These book bans are rooted in anti-blackness and transphobia and queerphobia,” he said at the time.
He also criticized bills restricting drag shows and defended trans-identifying activist Dylan Mulvaney during the Bud Light woke controversy.
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Liz Wheeler: It’s Cuomo — not Curtis Sliwa — who should drop out of NYC mayoral race
There have been calls from both sides of the aisle for NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa to drop out of the race, as he continues to lag far behind front-runner Zohran Mamdani.
While the argument from many is that Curtis Sliwa’s base would then vote for Andrew Cuomo — who they view as the lesser of two evils — BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler doesn’t think they’re right.
“While on paper, Andrew Cuomo is clearly less of a radical than Zohran Mamdani, might seem like he’s the lesser of two evils, that’s actually just hypothetical because Zohran Mamdani, even though he verbalizes these extremely radical, dangerous, anti-American viewpoints, he hasn’t been terribly effective in doing any of that stuff,” Wheeler explains.
“He just says it, and he has a large platform, and words matter. But his policies haven’t yet hurt people. But Andrew Cuomo’s have,” she continues, noting that Cuomo “presided over the tyrannical disaster of COVID in New York City.”
“Over 10,000 senior citizens in New York City were essentially sent to their deaths by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo because he forced them to go back to nursing homes, and they died of COVID there,” she says.
“And his record, Andrew Cuomo’s record, even if his words are less radical than Zohran’s, is Andrew Cuomo’s record not more deadly? And so, when I hear this argument coming from some people on the right that Curtis Sliwa should drop out, I’m like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You’re thinking about this all wrong.’”
Wheeler believes Andrew Cuomo should drop out, not Curtis Sliwa.
“Andrew Cuomo’s voters obviously reject Zohran Mamdani. That’s why they’re choosing the independent Andrew Cuomo over the Democrat Zohran,” Wheeler says. “So, if Andrew Cuomo drops out, would his voters not migrate to Curtis Sliwa?”
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Gavin Newsom lashes out at Joe Rogan for accusing him of ruining California: ‘He did horrible s**t!’
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is claiming that he has no interest in going on Joe Rogan’s unbelievably popular podcast after demanding to be invited.
The governor was being interviewed on CNN’s “The Story Is with Elex Michaelson” when he made the comments criticizing Rogan. Newsom is widely considered to be campaigning for president since he will soon be termed out of the governor’s office.
‘With all due respect, if he has a big audience but he doesn’t have big enough confidence — I didn’t go there — to have me on.’
“For years and years he’s been attacking me, and it’s one way, and he won’t have me on. He’s consistently not having me on,” Newsom said. “By the way, I’m moving on. I have no interest. Joe Rogan is the Facebook of podcasting.”
Michaelson responded that Rogan has an enormous audience.
“With all due respect, if he has a big audience but he doesn’t have big enough confidence — I didn’t go there — to have me on,” Newsom responded.
“These guys, they all have something in common. It’s one way. They attack, they belittle, they demean, they take things out of context, but this is a serious thing. And so often we just sit back and go, ‘I really would love to go on.’ ‘Oh, if Kamala Harris just went on Joe Rogan, she would have won.’ It’s so much deeper than that,” he added.
“The unwillingness for a guy like that to even have the common courtesy to attack someone,” Newsom continued, “and not have the decency to say, ‘You know what? Why don’t you have a chance to come on? Let’s have a civil dialogue.'”
Video of the exchange was posted to social media, where it went viral with millions of views.
Rogan, who moved from Los Angeles to Texas over crime, the homeless crisis, and taxes, has used his platform to bash the liberal governor over his presidential ambitions.
“He’s a good bulls**t artist. … The things that he says when he gets confronted with anything — ‘We have the highest this and the highest that!'” Rogan replied.
“Like, everybody’s leaving! You have the highest unemployment,” he added. “You have the highest homelessness. Money’s missing. You killed Hollywood. Like, Hollywood doesn’t exist anymore. It’s literally gone!” he continued. “You mandated vaccines for kids that didn’t need them. You guys, he did horrible s**t!”
RELATED: DHS has a fiery message for Newsom after he bans masks for ICE: ‘We will NOT comply!’
Newsom previously accused Rogan of not being brave enough to have him on his show.
“Joe Rogan is too [chicken] to have me on his show and expose his listeners to the truth,” he posted on social media earlier this month.
“Invite me on any time,” he added.
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Florida girl — just 11 years old — arrested after writing ‘kill list’ at her desk at school, cops say
An 11-year-old Florida girl was arrested Monday after writing a “kill list” at her school desk, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said.
Staff at Riverview Learning Center in Ormond Beach notified a deputy about the “kill list,” which contained four names, officials said.
‘I was still playing with dolls at 11.’
The suspect said she was just playing, officials said.
Image source: Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office
Still, the girl was charged with making a written threat to kill — a second-degree felony — as well as violating her probation.
The sheriff’s office posted video after the girl’s arrest showing deputies perp-walking her into a jail cell. A deputy is heard asking her if she had been there before, and she replied in the affirmative.
Image source: Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office
Commenters on the sheriff’s office Facebook page were taken aback not only by the arrest but also by the suspect’s age — as well as the additional charge of a probation violation:
- “It’s the probation at 11 that has me reading the post twice,” one commenter wrote.
- “Glad I wasn’t the only one who had to re-read about the probation … at 11!” another user added.
- “Can we back up a minute,” another commenter interjected. “Did I just read that an 11-year-old is already on probation???”
- “I was still playing with dolls at 11,” another user reacted.
- “The parents have failed the child. Not the system,” another commenter offered. “It is the parents who are responsible for getting the child the help she needs. There are plenty of services available — many at no cost. The school/system can’t force therapy, stabilize home life, enforce curfew, and monitor friends. Stop blaming the system/community. Parents need to look in the mirror.”
Another user opined that “publicly shaming this child goes against what research shows us is more effective in preventing this behavior and ultimately protecting others. To not only release the name of a child, but to create a video of her arrest typically creates worse future outcomes.”
The aforementioned sentiment was a main issue in a Blaze News story published earlier this month about another Florida sheriff’s office that was under fire after posting a 9-year-old male’s mug shot on Facebook after his felony arrest.
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Far-left congressional candidate hit with reality check after allegedly impeding ICE operations
The Department of Justice has indicted Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive congressional candidate who previously worked for Media Matters of America, with forcibly impeding, intimidating, and interfering with a federal agent during a chaotic protest in Broadview, Illinois.
Five other people involved in the incident were also indicted.
Blaze News was present at one of the protests where Abughazaleh filmed herself appearing to be part of a mob that impeded a federal vehicle with a federal agent inside.
Abughazaleh is a candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 9th congressional district but has been consistently protesting at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility outside Chicago. Broadview is not located inside the 9th congressional district.
Abughazaleh has been seen in multiple videos, including video she has posted herself, appearing to attempt to stop federal vehicles from leaving or entering the facility.
Blaze News was present at one of the protests where Abughazaleh filmed herself appearing to be part of a mob that impeded a federal vehicle with a federal agent inside. The agent continued to drive at a slow pace, and the people did not get out of the way, video showed.
ICE agents stationed by the perimeter fired pepper balls at the crowd to get them to stop their attacks.
Abughazaleh posted on X her response to the charges, claiming the Trump administration is trying to stifle dissenting views.
Photo by Blaze News
“This case is a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protests and punish anyone who speaks out against them. That’s why I’m going to fight these unjust charges,” she said, painting her and other protesters’ actions as standing up to “masked men” who are “abducting our neighbors.”
The facility in Broadview has been a consistent target of anti-ICE agitators since the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz. DHS had to install a temporary security fence to prevent rioters from having easy access to the building, but a judge later ordered the fence to be taken down.
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Miyares: Virginia Dems’ ‘Last-Ditch’ Gerrymandering Gambit Is Unconstitutional
According to Miyares, there is no lawful path available for Democrats to redistrict the state ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Sob story about ‘undocumented father’ being arrested falls apart once rap sheet is revealed
NBC News in the San Francisco Bay area got a brutal fact-check after publishing a story about an “undocumented father,” identified only as Gerardo, being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside his home before going to work.
While 42-year-old Gerardo was being arrested, Idalia, his wife and a U.S. citizen, ran out to try to stop the arrest, NBC Bay Area reported. She claimed a female agent hit her 22-year-old daughter with a baton but did not capture the moment on camera, nor is it seen on the Ring security camera.
His ‘rap sheet’ includes lewd and lascivious acts with a child.
Idalia said she immediately contacted the Mexican Consulate in San Jose and a hotline for immigration legal services.
The Department of Homeland Security responded to the sob story, revealing that Gerardo has been accused of heinous crimes. According to DHS, his “rap sheet” includes:
- Lewd and lascivious acts with a child,
- Battery of a spouse,
- Domestic battery,
- Compensation for prostitution, and
- Felony re-entry after removal.
“Of course [NBC News] refuses to tell the American public that this illegal alien from Mexico has a rap sheet,” said Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin.
At time of publishing, NBC Bay Area has not updated its story to include Gerardo‘s alleged criminal history.
Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Bay Area was expected to see a surge in federal immigration agents, but that deployment was put on pause. Despite the lack of extra agents, anti-DHS protesters blocked access to Coast Guard Island in Alameda. After most protesters had left, a driver allegedly attempted to use a U-Haul to ram the security checkpoint, forcing the Coast Guardsmen to fire upon the truck.
The driver was shot in the stomach, and another bystander was slightly wounded. Both are expected to recover.
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California judge disqualifies Trump’s LA-area prosecutor — but he’s not going anywhere
An acting U.S. attorney in California was disqualified from prosecuting several cases after a judge ruled that he overstayed his temporary status in that role. However, the Trump appointee will continue to serve as the district’s top prosecutor.
A judge ruled that Bill Essayli has overstayed his temporary tenure as the acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California — the largest attorney’s office outside of D.C. — since July 29, the AP reported. Essayli was sworn in on April 2 of this year.
‘I do the American People’s bidding at the direction of their duly elected President. That’s how our Constitution works.’
The ruling relates to three criminal defendants who sought to have their cases dismissed on the grounds that Essayli was illegally serving as acting U.S. attorney.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote in his ruling on the case, “Simply stated: Essayli unlawfully assumed the role of Acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California. He has been unlawfully serving in that capacity since his resignation from the interim role on July 29, Essayli may not perform the functions and duties of the United States Attorney as Acting United States Attorney. He is disqualified from serving in that role.”
However, NBC Los Angeles reported that Seabright declined to remove Essayli fully from the prosecutor’s office.
RELATED: Federal judge rules Alina Habba is not lawfully acting as US attorney for NJ
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
According to the order, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Essayli as first assistant U.S. attorney, or FAUSA, on July 29, effective upon his resignation as interim U.S. attorney. This allowed him to remain in the prosecutor’s office and to perform FAUSA duties, as Judge Seabright affirmed.
Seabright concluded that the criminal cases against the three defendants would not be dismissed because other attorneys legitimately co-signed next to Essayli, though Essayli would not be allowed to continue prosecuting those cases in his former capacity as acting U.S. attorney.
However, Seabright noted this case does not remove Essayli from his current role as FAUSA: “Essayli remains the FAUSA and may perform the functions and duties of that office.”
“For those who didn’t read the entire order, nothing is changing. I continue serving as the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California. It’s an honor and privilege to serve President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, and I look forward to advancing their agenda for the American People,” Essayli, whose X profile still calls him the “Acting U.S. Attorney” for the district, said in a Tuesday post that included a portion of the opinion.
Late Tuesday, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) attacked Essayli in light of the judge’s opinion. “’Unlawfully serving’ in his role. Acting illegally. But left in place? While this Administration continues to replace career professionals with illegitimate political allies eager to do Trump’s bidding, Californians need better relief than this,” he said.
In response, Essayli posted, “I do the American People’s bidding at the direction of their duly elected President. That’s how our Constitution works. Try reading and abiding by it sometime.”
Acting U.S. Attorney of Nevada Sigal Chattah and acting U.S. Attorney of New Jersey Alina Habba have faced similar attacks in recent months.
Blaze News contacted Essayli’s office for comment.
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