Biden vow to Americans: "I will always level with you"

Joe Biden vowed that as president, he will commit to being transparent to the American people in his closing remarks.

"My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with the sacred oath before God and all of you, I give you my word. I will always level with you," he said during his inauguration address.

Biden promised to defend America for the "public good."

"I will defend the Constitution. I'll defend our democracy. I'll defend America. And I'll give all, all of you, keep everything I do in your service, thinking not of power, but of possibilities. Not of personal interest, but the public good. And together we shall write an American story of hope, not fear, of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness. A story of decency and dignity, love and healing, greatness and goodness," he said.

He ended on a message for Americans, saying that they met the moment.

"May this be the story that guides us, the story that inspires and the stories that tell ages yet to come that we answered the call of history. We met the moment, democracy and hope, truth and justice did not die on our watch but thrived, that America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world. That is what we owe our forebearers, one another and generations to follow. With purpose and resolve, we turn to those tasks of our time, sustain by faith, driven by conviction and devoted to one another and the country we love with all hearts," Biden said.

Biden: We have "much to repair, much to restore, much to heal"

Newly minted President Joe Biden referenced the current plight of America during his inaugural address, noting that the country has "much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain."

As the coronavirus American death toll surpassed 400,000 this week, Biden noted that "few people in our nation's history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we're in now."

Speaking specifically of the Covid-19 pandemic, Biden referenced a "once-in-a-century virus, that silently stalks the country. It's taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II."

But amid tones of pain and strife, as "millions of jobs have been lost," and there exists a "cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making," Biden offered signs of hope.

"To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words. It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity."

The fastest economic recovery in U.S. history

Under President Trump, America built the strongest economy the world has ever seen. The stock market broke records, the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in half a century, and income inequality fell as blue-collar jobs returned to our country.

Then, as a pandemic from China spread across the globe, President Trump made the difficult but necessary decision to shut the economy down to slow the spread of COVID-19.

President Trump: We are witnessing the fastest recovery in history!

Now, as we safely reopen, our economy is surging back faster than anyone predicted:

America added over 9 million jobs from May through July—beating market expectations three months in a row. President Trump’s historic, bipartisan relief package alone is estimated to have saved over 50 million jobs.
Retail spending has fully recovered and is now at an all-time high.
Industrial production rose for the third straight month in July, with factory output up 3.4 percent last month after a 5.7 percent surge in June.
The NASDAQ and S&P 500 stock indices are trading at or near record highs once again, lifting Americans’ 401(k)s.

That result is no accident. After the financial crisis more than a decade ago, it took America over four years to regain 9 million lost jobs. But following the Coronavirus shutdown, it took the Trump Economy only a few months to do just that.

“We had such a strong foundation that we’re recovering much faster than anybody anticipated,” President Trump said at a news conference on Saturday.

In addition to pro-growth, pro-worker policies long before the crisis—including tax cuts, deregulation, renegotiated trade deals, and more—President Trump responded to the pandemic by using the Defense Production Act to lead the greatest mobilization of American industry since World War II.

The Trump Administration has exercised the DPA and related authorities 78 times so far, dispersing over $3.5 billion to speed the development and manufacture of essential materials here at home. President Trump mobilized the productive power of General Motors, for example, to create thousands of ventilators for Coronavirus patients.

As a result, GM repurposed its Kokomo, Indiana, plant in just 17 days. It has now produced over 21,000 ventilators.

Other companies, including Ford Motor Company, GE, 3M, and Puritan Medical have partnered with the Federal Government to ramp up production of everything from N-95 masks to testing swabs. This nationwide effort is boosting American manufacturing, creating jobs, reshoring supply chains, and replenishing our Strategic National Stockpile.

“New factories, businesses, and laboratories are being built all over America to match our Nation’s demand for personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals, drugs, testing supplies, therapeutics, and vaccines,” President Trump said.

President Trump’s “Made-in-America” strategy is crucial for defeating this virus, important for restarting our economy—and essential for restoring our country’s promise.

President Trump: An incredible comeback is underway!

MORE: We have rebuilt America’s Strategic National Stockpile

15 days to slow the spread

This afternoon, President Trump and the White House Coronavirus Task Force issued new guidelines to help protect Americans during the global Coronavirus outbreak.

President Trump: Taking action now will keep America ahead of the curve

The new recommendations are simple to follow but will have a resounding impact on public health. While the President leads a nationwide response, bringing together government resources and private-sector ingenuity, every American can help slow the virus’ spread and keep our most high-risk populations safe:

Listen to and follow the directions of your state and local authorities.
If you feel sick, stay home. Do not go to work. Contact your medical provider.
If your children are sick, keep them at home. Contact your medical provider.
If someone in your household has tested positive for the Coronavirus, keep the entire household at home.
If you are an older American, stay home and away from other people.
If you are a person with a serious underlying health condition—such as a significant heart or lung disease—stay home and away from other people.

Today’s guidelines build on the CDC’s recommendations to help prevent spread of the virus. Americans should continue practicing strict personal hygiene, including washing hands regularly for at least 20 seconds at a time and wiping down surfaces in the home regularly.

Even if you are young and otherwise healthy, you are at risk—and your activities can increase the risk of contracting the Coronavirus for others. Everyone can do their part.

There’s no better way to protect your family and your community than by arming yourself with accurate, up-to-date information.

A massive, unprecedented nationwide response

President Trump declared a National Emergency in response to the Coronavirus on Friday, freeing up more than $42 billion in resources for states and localities.

The emergency declaration will give healthcare providers on the front lines of this pandemic the flexibility they need to respond. President Trump continues to cut through every piece of unnecessary Washington red tape that may hinder response efforts, and he is continuing to make every Federal resource available to those who need it.

“I know I speak on behalf of the President and our entire team when I say how grateful we are for governors all across the country and the seamless partnership that we have forged with them and with state health officials,” Vice President Mike Pence said yesterday.

“We also want to express great appreciation to the American people. Not surprisingly, it is inspiring to see the way tens of millions of Americans are responding with compassion [and] with common sense.”

Kay Coles James: President Trump’s declaration helps mobilize our nation

VP Pence: No higher priority than the health of the American people

President Trump is taking unprecedented action to protect Americans

Last night, President Trump spoke to the nation about the Federal Government’s plans to prevent, detect, treat, and help create a vaccine to fight the global Coronavirus.

🇺🇸 Watch: America’s team is the best in the world

“This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history,” the President said. “We will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens, and we will ultimately and expeditiously defeat this virus.”

The President is leading a whole-of-government response, including:

Further action to curb the spread of Coronavirus to the United States from other countries: The President is issuing a proclamation to restrict travel to America from foreign nationals who have recently been in certain European countries. The restriction applies to those who have been in the Schengen Area, 26 countries in Europe with open-borders agreements, in the last 14 days.
Protection for American businesses and workers: President Trump is announcing an economic assistance package to help businesses and workers harmed by the outbreak. He also instructed the Small Business Administration to provide loans to businesses affected by the virus, and instructed the Treasury Department to defer tax payments for individuals and businesses that have been severely impacted.
Early preventative measures: The Trump Administration declared a public health emergency in January to bolster response efforts. That month, the President also acted quickly to restrict travel from foreign nationals arriving from China, and in February, he extended such restrictions to include Iran.
Full support for on-the-ground responders: Last week, President Trump signed into law more than $8 billion to fund response efforts. Working across the public and private sectors, the Administration has taken bold steps to incentivize the development of therapeutics and vaccines, and it continues to drastically expand testing capacity. More than 1 million tests have been distributed nationwide, with another 4 million being shipped out by the end of the week.

What you need to know: President Trump’s unprecedented public safety actions

The 3 things Democrats can’t change

House Democrats have tried almost everything by this point. They’ve left no stone unturned in their effort to, as Impeachment Manager Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) put it, “send that charlatan in the White House back to the golden throne he came from."

That promise came during his supposedly impartial impeachment probe, by the way.

Watch: House Democrats tell one story. Their evidence tells another.

Each day comes with a new diversion, as Democrat leaders and their media surrogates try to distract you from the case at hand. They have no choice: The House’s Articles of Impeachment are historically weak, undermined from the start by a sham investigation more focused on politics than justice. Their only hope is to change the story.

It won’t work, because 3 facts are staying the same no matter what stunts they pull.

First, the impeachment inquiry itself was unauthorized and unconstitutional. Breaking with historical precedent, the probe began long before the House was even permitted to vote on it. Instead, Speaker Nancy Pelosi simply announced the inquiry with a press conference. It’s the only impeachment in American history to begin that way.

From there, Democrat-led House committees began issuing subpoenas with the unconstitutional demand that White House officials provide closed-door testimony without the right to executive branch counsel. House Democrats threw 150 years of precedent out the window, denying President Trump the basic due-process protections afforded to both Presidents Nixon and Clinton.

Second, their whole case is irreparably damaged by the person leading it. Adam Schiff, who supervised the “investigation,” should actually be called as a fact witness in the case. Far from a neutral referee, he and his team coordinated with the very whistleblower at the center of the Ukraine probe—before the complaint was even filed.

Even worse, he lied about it, earning 4 Pinocchios from The Washington Post fact-checkers for his attempt to cover it up. Schiff’s involvement in orchestrating this sham impeachment makes it obvious he should never have been in charge of investigating it.

Third, and most important: President Trump did nothing wrong, let alone broke the law.

Multiple witnesses affirmed that President Trump was right to worry about corruption in Ukraine. The President’s “deeply rooted” view of past Ukrainian corruption was a “reasonable position,” Ambassador Kurt Volker testified. “Most people who know anything about Ukraine would think that.”

That’s true. And despite Democrats’ insistence that even looking into Burisma and the Bidens was “baseless”—indeed, impeachable—the facts say otherwise. Here’s just a partial list of the people and organizations who found enough basis to look into it: the Obama State Department, The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC’s White House reporter, the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office, Hunter Biden’s business partner Chris Heinz, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, and many more.

The bottom line is that a President has both the right and the responsibility to protect American taxpayers from foreign corruption, including in Ukraine. If the American people disagree with that policy decision, they have every right to say so—at the ballot box.

Democrats want to take that right away from you. They’re afraid of what you might say.

FACT CHECK: Even ABC News thought there was a basis to look into this.

Watch: Fastest impeachment in history . . . followed by the longest delay

The dishonest impeachment case

Today marks the end of House Democrats’ 3-day presentation of their historically weak Articles of Impeachment against President Trump. Starting tomorrow, the President will have a chance to respond to Democrats’ dishonest case.

As expected, the media is going the extra mile to prop up Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) performance this week. Their hope, much like Schiff’s argument itself, is that if you repeat a lie enough, people might soon forget you don’t have any actual evidence for it.

MUST WATCH: Caught! ABC anchor tries to cut off the President’s counsel

That strategy was on full display in today’s finale. Schiff spent long portions of his presentation lecturing Senators on the importance of U.S. security aid to Ukraine, claiming that President Trump undermined it. The truth, of course, is that President Trump is the one who secured that lethal defense aid for Ukraine in the first place, reversing the Obama Administration’s policy of weak support.

It gets better. Guess who voted against authorizing the assistance for Ukraine? House Democrats’ own impeachment managers. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) voted no on the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included $300 million for Ukraine. Nadler joined Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in voting against the FY2019 NDAA, as well, with its $250 million for Ukraine.

Unfortunately, this behavior is par for the course for Democrats in Washington lately. Their obsession with attacking President Trump has led to all sorts of outright lies over the past 3 years, many of which the media simply declined to fact-check:

Beginning in 2017, Schiff lied multiple times that he had seen evidence of collusion between President Trump and Russia. Of course, the Mueller Report exposed that as a leftwing hoax—so Schiff just moved on to Ukraine.
Also in 2017, Schiff tried to repeatedly mislead the public on the credibility of the debunked Steele dossier. In 2018, he issued a memo to Republicans stating that the FBI and Justice Department didn’t abuse the surveillance process to spy on the Trump campaign. That is now a proven falsehood.
Chasing another hoax, Schiff tried to obtain compromising photos of the President that never even existed. He was duped by Russian pranksters.
It was discovered that Schiff’s team coordinated with the whistleblower at the center of the Ukraine allegations before the complaint was ever even filed. Schiff had previously lied that there was no contact with the whistleblower.

That’s just a small sample of some of the worst lies from one Democrat impeachment manager. But no matter how many things they make up, the facts of the case won’t change: President Trump is not accused of a corrupt action or of breaking the law. He is under attack by avowed political enemies on the subjective basis of motive and intent because they disagree with his policies.

Think about that as a precedent.

“‘Dazzling’: Adam Schiff's history of inaccuracies, conspiracy theories follows him to Senate floor”

Shameless: “Adam Schiff Refers to Russia Over 30 Times During Senate Impeachment Hearing”

What President Trump told the 47th March for Life

President Trump made history today, becoming the first President to join thousands of Americans at the annual March for Life rally in Washington. Here are a few important things he told the crowd:

When it comes to abortion, Democrats have embraced the most radical and extreme positions.

Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House.
Every life brings love into this world. Every child brings joy to a family. Every person is worth protecting.
Young people are the heart of the March for Life—and it is your generation that is making America a Pro-Family, Pro-Life Nation!

READ: Thousands of Americans are marching to defend the unborn—and the President stands with them.

Pro-life Americans: President Trump "has pursued policies we’ve dreamt of"

Our soldiers are safe, and America is prepared

President Donald J. Trump addressed the nation this morning in the wake of Iran’s air attack against bases where American troops were stationed in Iraq.

“No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases,” the President said from the White House’s Grand Foyer.

President Trump: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon on my watch.

“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.”

For four decades, the world has tolerated Iran’s destructive and destabilizing behavior across the Middle East and beyond. Appeasement only emboldened a regime that is now the leading state sponsor of terrorism on Earth. After the foolish Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2013, the hostilities and violence only increased.

Instead of thanking the United States and President Obama for the $1.8 billion cash windfall under the nuclear deal, Iran went on a terror spree. It created hell in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The regime brought violence even to its own backyard, recently killing 1,500 people at the protests taking place throughout Iran.

As the leader of the lethal Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani was personally responsible for many of the worst atrocities. He trained terrorist armies, including Hezbollah, to launch strikes against civilian targets. He fueled bloody civil wars across the Middle East. He viciously wounded and killed thousands of American troops, often with ghastly roadside bombs. His most recent American casualties came less than 2 weeks ago.

Those days are over. Soleimani is dead, and terrorists everywhere just received a powerful message: If you threaten innocent lives, you will suffer grave consequences.

New measures to counter Iran were announced today, as well. The United States will immediately impose more powerful economic sanctions on the regime in Tehran, which will remain in place until Iran changes its behavior. President Trump has also asked that NATO allies become much more involved in the Middle East process.

America has new leverage to pursue real, lasting peace in the region. “We are now the number-one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. We are independent, and we do not need Middle East oil,” President Trump said. He added that on his watch, America’s great military has been rebuilt to the tune of $2.5 trillion.

When America is strong, the world is safer. “The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it,” President Trump said. “We do not want to use it. American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent.”

The days of tolerating Iran’s destructive behavior are over.

MORE: Read President Trump’s full statement

Update: Take precautions as Hurricane Dorian moves toward U.S.

This afternoon, Hurricane Dorian was officially upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane. President Donald J. Trump and his Administration urge all Americans in the storm’s expected pathway to take precautions.

“[Hurricane]-force winds from #Dorian could begin in parts of Florida *as early as* Saturday or Saturday night,” the National Hurricane Center tweeted today. “Now is the time to begin thinking about what kinds of preparations you might need to make over the next couple of days.”

Before the storm reaches the U.S. mainland, it will affect residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The Federal Emergency Management Agency shared resources today for real-time alerts and other emergency updates for people in these communities.

Please follow @FEMA, @NWS, or @Readygov on Twitter for live updates. For more information and resources, visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes.

Video of the day: ‘The Wall is going up very fast’

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1t2uUeBXdU/?igshid=b6tjibw3fnws

Today, President Trump shared an aerial video of wall construction along America’s southern border. The new, slatted barrier provides superior protection without unduly disrupting the incredible scenery of the American Southwest.

“The Wall is going up very fast despite total Obstruction by Democrats in Congress, and elsewhere!” the President wrote.

President Trump ends a driving force behind mass illegal immigration

“How do you stop the torrent of kids risking their lives and coming to America illegally?” the New York Post editorial board asked recently. “One key way: by finally fixing the Flores agreement, as President Trump hopes to do.”

Last week, the President unveiled a new plan that does exactly that.

Going forward, new standards will be implemented that ensure apprehended alien families can be held together during their immigration proceedings. This new rule will keep children safe, secure, and well cared-for while in U.S. custody. At the same time, it will help end the practice of exploiting children as tickets to enter America illegally.

The Flores Settlement Agreement, along with a string of related activist court rulings, has forced our Government to release most illegal immigrant families—including fake families posed by smugglers to game the system—into the United States after just 20 days in custody. It is among the most glaring loopholes used to circumvent America’s legal immigration system. Democrats in Congress have repeatedly declined to fix it, so the Trump Administration is taking action to address this cause of our border crisis.

Loopholes such as Flores are a magnet for smugglers that unleash lawlessness and chaos on America’s doorstep. For context, the number of family units apprehended at the southern border has skyrocketed in recent years—from just 14,855 in fiscal year 2013 to 432,838 so far this year.

That’s an increase of more than 2,800 percent.

Every bit as important, by closing this loophole, President Trump is taking real action to destroy horrific child smuggling operations. For too long, the Flores agreement has allowed children—some “bought” or stolen from their families by criminal organizations—to be used as pawns to bring large groups of illegal aliens into the United States.

The bottom line: “Ending the settlement was the right call,” John Daniel Davidson writes in The Wall Street Journal. “More than any other single policy, it has created a magnet for illegal immigration, essentially guaranteeing entry to unaccompanied minors and any adult who crosses the Rio Grande with a child.”

Every single American should want immigrants to enter our country legally, safely, and fairly. Only politicians who want open borders would oppose such an obvious fix.

President Trump is enforcing the law AND keeping families together at the border.

President Trump and the G-7 – These are the Three Big Scores from Biarritz

“This is the third G-7 meeting for President Trump, and by far, the best,” Rebecca Grant writes in Fox News. “Before Trump became president, few noticed these meetings of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States, which have been taking place since 1975.”

Topping the list of issues at the summit was Iran, where President Trump made his conditions clear: “No nuclear weapons, no ballistic missiles, and a longer timeline for a new Iran deal.” Thanks to cooperation at the G-7, the groundwork for progress toward Iran meeting those goals may be closer than ever.

Click here to read more.

“The Trump administration announced last week it will terminate the Flores settlement agreement, a 1997 court decree that has prevented U.S. officials from detaining migrant families and unaccompanied minors for more than 20 days. Media coverage predictably—and inaccurately—warned of ‘indefinite detention’ for families and children caught crossing the southwest border,” John Daniel Davidson writes in The Wall Street Journal. “But ending the settlement was the right call. More than any other single policy, it has created a magnet for illegal immigration, essentially guaranteeing entry to unaccompanied minors and any adult who crosses the Rio Grande with a child.”

“President Trump got slammed by all sides for suddenly escalating his economic war with China on Friday. But for Americans who have lost a family member or friend to the Chinese-made street drug fentanyl, Trump’s harsh pivot is the right move,” Betsy McCaughey writes in the New York Post. “In the last three years alone, fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids manufactured in Chinese labs have killed some 79,000 Americans. That’s more than the American combatants killed in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq combined.”

“We live in the age of narratives, where propagandized storylines, not facts, matter. Leaked remarks from a recent town hall meeting that The New York Times hosted for its employees show how a mainstream newsroom today transitions from one anti-Trump smear to the next. When will the fake news end?” Jason Meister asks in Fox News. Executive Editor Dean Baquet’s remarks make one thing clear: The Times is deliberately trying out a new narrative in response to the discredited Russia collusion storyline.

American Workers Are Winning

“The U.S. economy has added millions of jobs, and even long-neglected sectors like manufacturing are having a resurgence,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross writes in Fox Business. Economic health has rebounded from the lows of the Obama Administration.

“Among the continuous good economic news, wage growth for America’s workers has taken center stage. For the first time since 2009, year over year nominal hourly wage growth met or surpassed 3 percent under the Trump Administration.”

With inflation in check, “not only are wages growing but the slow growth in consumer prices means that American workers’ dollars are going farther.”

Click here to read more.

“Health care is the only good or service in the United States that Americans buy and use without first knowing its cost — and that needs to change," healthcare policy expert Scott Atlas writes for CNN Business. “The Trump administration is trying to institute a dose of free market reform that promises to disrupt American health care. In a flurry of pro-consumer moves, improving price transparency has been at the center of the administration's plan to reduce the cost of health care through competition.”

“Vice President Mike Pence said Monday that the trade agreement the Trump administration has forged with Mexico and Canada could be the ‘template for all our future trade deals’ with the European Union, Japan and China,” Chad Livengood reports inCrain’s Detroit Business. “Make no mistake about it, by passing the USMCA, it will strengthen the president's hand in negotiations with China,” the Vice President said.

U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of nearly 200 illegal immigrants near a base in New Mexico over the weekend. “The group consisted mostly of families and unaccompanied minors from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador,” Danielle Wallace reports for Fox News. “Large groups like these exacerbate the current immigration process further impacting our workforce, facilities, and resources,” Interim Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez said. “I commend the incredible work of our Border Patrol Agents who continue to push forward through this border crisis.”

Vice President Pence and Ivanka Trump promote job opportunities for all

“We want America to be the worst place in the world to commit a serious crime, but we also want America to be the best place in the world, once you’ve done your time, to get a second chance,” Vice President Mike Pence said in Jacksonville, Florida, last Friday.

The Vice President joined Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump for a roundtable with Operation New Hope, which for 20 years has been bringing opportunities for a fresh start to people who made the wrong choices early in their lives.

“The reality is that more than 50 percent of the people who leave prison are re-incarcerated within five years,” Vice President Pence said. But President Donald J. Trump’s historic criminal justice reform “now is creating new pathways for educational coursework, vocational training, faith-based programs in our federal prison system. And it’s been supported broadly by law enforcement across this country,” he added.

In Florida and across America, the U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders. That means more jobs are available to help former inmates adjust to life on the outside and become productive members of their communities. It also means more opportunities exist to help all working- and middle-class Americans thrive, regardless of background.

“Worker wages are growing much faster than previously reported,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote this week. Compensation rose 4.5 percent in 2017 and 5 percent last year. In June, wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 5.5 percent—still an incredible 4.1 percent after accounting for inflation.

“In sum, Americans are earning more and relying less on government,” the editors wrote.

In Jacksonville, Vice President Pence and Ms. Trump toured Miller Electric, a company that embodies what this Trump Economy is all about. In total, Miller Electric has added more than 300 new jobs since early last year. It has also grown its apprenticeship program, which now totals more than 500 people across the country.

American workers and students “of every age, income, and background should have the chance to pursue their dreams and succeed and thrive according to their abilities and their ambitions,” Vice President Pence told the company’s employees. When you look at those growing wages, “they’re actually rising at the fastest rate for hardworking, blue-collar Americans. The forgotten men and women of America are forgotten no more.”

The White House’s Pledge to America’s Workers is doubling down on that promise. The initiative launched last summer, aiming to expand workforce training and reskilling opportunities in the United States. Last week, as the Pledge celebrated its one-year anniversary, Ivanka Trump announced the tally: more than 12 million job training opportunities pledged thus far.

The Wall Street Journal: “The 99% Get a Bigger Raise”

Matthew Charles: Thanks to President Trump, “I got my second chance.”

Border Wall will Help People on Both Sides -- Trump is Right

“After my trip last week to the southern border, my conviction is stronger than ever that President Trump is right: we have to build the wall. We have to turn off the magnets that attract . . . encourage and allow migrants to enter our country under false pretenses,” Rep. Roger W. Marshall (R-KS) writes in Fox News.

“Last week I joined six other physicians in Congress and found today’s crisis to be so much worse. Despite Herculean efforts by our Border Patrol officers, we are unable to keep up with the deluge of migrants. Our systems are simply overwhelmed, and there appears to be no break in the near future.”

The bottom line: “While the national press portrays the Border Patrol as the ‘bad guy,’ we should recognize that Border Patrol agents are making the best of a very difficult situation — a crisis created by a badly broken immigration system.”

Click here to read more.

“Americans by a wide margin agree with President Trump that the upcoming 2020 census should ask a citizenship question,” Paul Bedard reports for the Washington Examiner. An overwhelming 53 percent of respondents agreed with the President, according to the latest Economist/YouGov poll. Less than a third disagreed.

Just in: 55% of Hispanics support U.S. citizenship question on Census, too

“USMCA improves virtually every component of the old NAFTA, and California’s agriculture industry stands to gain significantly,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue writes in the San Francisco Chronicle. “When President Trump mentioned the possibility of withdrawing from NAFTA, the universal hue and cry from agriculture was ‘do no harm.’ Not only has he done that, he negotiated a better agreement on almost every front.”

President Trump recently signed an executive order to make healthcare prices more transparent by requiring “hospitals to publicly post standard prices for medical care in an ‘easy-to-understand, consumer-friendly’ format that will ‘allow patients to compare prices across hospitals,’” healthcare expert Sally Pipes writes in the Washington Examiner. “Patients' wallets will benefit from more competition. The president's efforts to boost price transparency can help provide just that.”

Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence criticized a Democratic member of Congress “for cheapening the Holocaust by comparing the Nazi death camps to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol detention facilities for illegal immigrants,” Dave Boyer reports for The Washington Times. “To compare the humane work of dedicated men and women of Customs and Border Protection with the horrors of the Holocaust is an outrage,” the Vice President said.

“The Nazis took lives. American law enforcement saves lives every day.”

See the highlights from President Trump’s ‘Salute to America’

This Fourth of July, President Donald J. Trump stood just below the Lincoln Memorial steps and delivered an Independence Day address to a crowd stretching across the National Mall and all the way to the Washington Monument.

“Today, we come together as one nation with this very special Salute to America. We celebrate our history, our people, and the heroes who proudly defend our flag—the brave men and women of the United States Military,” President Trump said.

“Together, we are part of one of the greatest stories ever told: the story of America.”

Watch: The best moments from President Trump’s “Salute to America”

From our Founding Fathers to modern-day heroes, that story is comprised of Americans who have made sacrifices large and small for this nation. Seated just behind President Trump on Thursday were some of these individuals—many of whom the President recognized during his speech.

Dr. Emil Freireich, for example, pioneered treatments for leukemia. Before his work, 99 percent of children diagnosed with that terrible disease died. Today, 90 percent of kids with the most common forms of leukemia will survive, thanks largely to Dr. Freireich’s medical breakthroughs.

“That same American spirit that emboldened our founders has kept us strong throughout our history,” President Trump said. “It lives on in each and every one of you here today.”

At its heart, “Salute to America” showcased the revived strength and vigor of our armed forces. Each of the five military branches featured flyovers along the National Mall, and the event concluded with an incredible run by the famed U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

“Nearly 250 years ago, a volunteer army of farmers and shopkeepers, blacksmiths, merchants, and militiamen risked life and limb to secure American liberty and self-government,” the President said. “This evening, we have witnessed the noble might of the warriors who continue that legacy.”

President Trump: “The future belongs to the brave, the strong, the proud, and the free.”

Marc Thiessen: Trump made his critics look small during his ‘Salute to America’

The Trump Economy shatters expectations . . . again.

Just one day after Salute to America, last week’s jobs report delivered more great news on America’s comeback under President Trump. Yet again, the U.S. economy beat “expert” predictions—proving that pro-growth policies are delivering for American workers.

Job creation remains strong, with the 224,000 jobs added in June far surpassing the 162,000 predicted. Just as important, families are seeing an uptick in wages, with an increase of 3.1 percent over the past year, according to the Labor Department.

The nation’s unemployment rate is near 50-year lows. The latest 3.7 percent mark makes for 16 consecutive months with unemployment at or below 4 percent.

Despite the critics’ negative predictions, America’s economic outlook remains rock solid. Since President Trump was elected in 2016, more than 6 million jobs have been added, and that number continues to rise as more and more Americans join the labor force.

Behind the numbers: The latest great jobs report in the Trump Economy

President Trump Defies Ominous Predictions with Nonpartisan July 4th Salute to American Spirit

“President Trump struck a patriotic, nonpartisan and unifying note during his address at Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C.,” Lukas Mikelionis reports for Fox News. “A massive crowd gathered on the Lincoln Memorial despite the rain”—an audience that filled both sides along the Reflecting Pool and stretched out to the Washington Monument.

“The president used the speech to call on Americans to ‘stay true to our cause’ and praised American heroes including the Armed Forces and civil rights leaders.”

Click here to read more.

“Payroll growth rebounded sharply in June as the U.S. economy added 224,000 jobs, the best gain since January,” Jeff Cox reports for CNBC. The economy beat expectations once again as experts predicted job growth of only 165,000. The unemployment rate of 3.7 percent remains at “near 50-year lows.”

President Trump’s 4th of July address took the tradition “to new heights on Thursday. Democrats complained before the speech that Trump was politicizing the Fourth of July. He did nothing of the sort,” Marc Thiessen writes in The Washington Post. “In a speech reminiscent of his outstanding remarks last month at Normandy, Trump delivered a soaring presidential address — a celebration of the greatness of our country.”

Recently, “the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) launched a media campaign urging Congress to pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The campaign, centered around a new webpage, features personal stories from cattle and beef producers across the country who want Congress to ratify the USMCA as quickly as possible,” Southeast AgNet reports.

At the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Senior Advisor Ivanka Trump spoke at this year’s G20 Summit, bringing women’s economic issues to the forefront of the discussion, Amy Kremer writes in Townhall. “As a champion for global equality for women, Ivanka insisted that initiatives to stimulate female economic empowerment be ‘at the very heart of the G20 agenda.’”

President Trump Pursues Smart China Strategy Heading Into Meeting With Xi Jinping

“At President Trump’s planned meeting Saturday with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Japan, Trump is expected to continue to advance a strategy that his administration introduced in his first six months in office: viewing China as a strategic competitor to the United States and its allies,” writes Dr. Nadia Schadlow, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, in Fox News.

“This shift from an enabling posture to a competitive strategy was a response to years of Chinese Communist Party efforts to shape the international system in a way that disadvantaged the United States on trade and advanced China’s authoritarian system.”

President Trump has two goals for that approach, Schadlow says. The first is fixing economic relationships so that America is never giving a strategic advantage to an adversary. The second is tilting the global balance of power toward free, open societies.

Click here to read more.

“Congress on Thursday approved $4.6 billion in emergency aid to deal with the border crisis, giving President Trump a symbolic victory on immigration and money to improve conditions for migrant children and families crowding the border,” Stephen Dinan and Gabriella Muñoz report in The Washington Times. President Trump “asked for the money nearly two months ago, but Democrats blocked it from being included in a disaster spending bill this month. Democrats also blocked 18 other Republican attempts to force the bill onto the floor.”

“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was one of the most comprehensive tax overhauls ever enacted,” Bruce Thompson writes in the Washington Examiner. “Yet as far as the media is concerned, the bill only slashed taxes for corporations and the wealthy . . . This characterization of the bill is false and misleading, yet it is an assertion endlessly reported by reporters and pundits in the national media, as well as Democrats.”

“Americans hate to wait. We scout out the shortest grocery line. We choose the fastest delivery option. We chafe at slow-moving internet speeds. And we don’t like to wait for health care when we or our loved ones urgently need it,” Steven Law writes in Fox News. “Why do government-run health care systems—including so-called single-payer schemes like Medicare-for-All—result in long waits for needed care? Because unlike the private sector, government has zero incentive to customize care to individual needs. It achieves efficiencies primarily by doling out one-size-fits-all health care to everyone, regardless of unique circumstances.”

“On behalf of doctors across America and their patients, I am writing to underscore the importance of the executive order President Trump signed this week on ‘Improving Price and Quality Transparency in Healthcare.’ Everyone will benefit from this, save for those who profit from keeping Americans in the dark,” writes Marni Jameson Carey, Executive Director of the Association of Independent Doctors, in the Washington Examiner.

Hundreds of Migrant Caravan Members Found to Have US Criminal Histories: DHS Files

“Hundreds of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the southern border as part of massive migrant caravans were found to have criminal histories in the U.S., according to newly obtained Department of Homeland Security documents,” Brooke Singman reports for Fox News.

“The files detailed one migrant caravan of nearly 8,000 individuals that started toward the border in October 2018 and arrived south of California by December. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 660 of them had U.S. criminal convictions—with 40 convicted of assault or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and three convicted of murder.”

Click here to read more.

“For months, America’s farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers have been waiting on Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat-led House to do their job and consider trade deals that put America First, like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The agreement as it currently stands would bring our trade relationship with our neighbors into the 21st century while creating another 176,000 new jobs and more than $68 billion in new investment in the U.S. economy,” Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) writes in Greenville Business Magazine. Democrats concede that “NAFTA was not a good deal for American workers and didn’t result in bigger paychecks,” Rep. Duncan says. It’s time to fix that.

“With almost 500,000 new manufacturing jobs created in the United States since he took office, President Trump can proudly stand on his policies which are beginning the revitalization of America with some of the latest high-tech, advanced manufacturing factories in the world,” Richard Manning writes in Fox News.

Carla Provost, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, testified before Congress yesterday that her officers have been working in overdrive just to keep up with the record pace of illegal immigration, Timothy Meads writes in Townhall. “If we do not [have] some kind of consequence for violating the law and illegally crossing our borders, then I don't know what I am here for, in all honesty,” she said.

“If Congress truly wants to address the humanitarian crisis on our southern border, there is no better solution than ensuring the Office of Refugee Resettlement is adequately funded to handle this crisis,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) writes in the Washington Examiner. “This should not be a partisan issue, but for those Democrats who claim to be concerned with the living conditions of children on our southern border, they will have no one to blame but themselves if they block this legislation that is even supported by the New York Times' editorial board.”

REAL NEWS PRESIDENT TRUMP DOESN'T WANT YOU TO MISS

Mexico Becomes First Country to Approve USMCA
-Washington Examiner
“Mexico’s Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of approving the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, a deal that would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement,” Zachary Halaschak reports. “[Canadian] Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said last week that Canada would be working ‘in tandem’ with the U.S. in hammering out final passage of the historic trade deal.”

Share: President Trump hosts Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau

How Trump’s Tax Cuts Are Helping the Middle Class
-The Daily Signal
“Steve, it’s almost like a light switch was flicked from off to on the day after the election,” one small business owner says about the effect of the Trump Presidency on his company. Tax reform expert Stephen Moore say that “the economic ramifications [of tax cuts] have been almost universally positive . . . Almost 90% of taxpayers don’t have to itemize their deduction any longer because we doubled the standard deduction.”

Reagan economist Art Laffer receives Medal of Freedom from President Trump

Ivanka Trump, Wilbur Ross: President Redoubles Efforts to Ensure Good Jobs for All
-Salisbury Post
“With a record 48 states registering unemployment rates below 5%, President Trump’s economic agenda is paying off,” which means more opportunities for job seekers, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross write. As of today, the President’s efforts have resulted in more than 250 companies pledging more than 9 million new training opportunities for American workers and students.

Ivanka Trump in Charlotte: “We are approaching 10 million commitments”

Pence Says Maduro ‘Must Go’ as Navy Aids Venezuelan Refugees
-The Washington Times
“Vice President Mike Pence called anew for the ouster of Venezuela’s embattled President Nicholas Maduro on Tuesday, asserting that the socialist leader’s removal is the only way democracy can be restored in the South American nation,” Carlo Muñoz reports. “We are with our neighbors and we will stand with [the Venezuelan people],” the Vice President said.

Vice President Pence: U.S. compassion “sets sail” with the USNS Comfort

Bahrain Workshop on Palestinian Economy is the Opportunity of a Generation
-CNN
“This is exciting—an opportunity of a generation. We are grateful to the Kingdom of Bahrain for extending the invitation to [the Trump Administration] to host the June 25 and 26 workshop with them for the benefit of Palestinians and others in the region, offering us a unique opportunity to communicate our economic vision,” White House Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt writes. President Trump’s goal is to present “a realistic resolution and a brighter future for all those burdened with this conflict.”

Hundreds of Migrant Caravan Members Found to Have US Criminal Histories: DHS Files
-Fox News
“Hundreds of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the southern border as part of massive migrant caravans were found to have criminal histories in the U.S., according to newly obtained Department of Homeland Security documents,” Brooke Singman reports. One caravan of nearly 8,000 migrants arrived south of California in December 2018. “660 of them had U.S. criminal convictions—with 40 convicted of assault or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and three convicted of murder.”

President Trump Could Revolutionize the Private Health Insurance Market
-The Washington Post
“Last week, the White House finalized a rule that allows employers to fund health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) that can be used by workers to buy their own coverage on the individual market,” healthcare expert Avik Roy writes. “Some in Washington want to take health insurance choices away from workers and replace them with the diktats of politicians. The Trump initiative moves in the opposite direction.”

In Normandy, President Trump honors veterans 75 years after D-Day

On June 6, 1944, a coalition of 160,000 American soldiers and other Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France—a moment that foretold the end of Nazi occupation in Europe and forever changed the course of history.

President Donald J. Trump spoke just yards from Omaha Beach at Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial this morning, paying tribute to the sacrifice these heroes made. “We are gathered here on Freedom’s Altar. On these shores, on these bluffs, on this day 75 years ago, 10,000 men shed their blood, and thousands sacrificed their lives, for their brothers, for their countries, and for the survival of liberty,” he said.

“They came here and saved freedom.”

Watch: “These men ran through the fires of hell,” President Trump says.

This historic site is now the resting place for 9,388 American service members who gave their lives for our freedom. More than 170 World War II veterans attended today’s ceremony, including more than 60 who landed as part of the D-Day operation. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May also spoke.

Pausing during his address, President Trump walked over and hugged one of the American veterans who joined him onstage. Private First Class Russell Pickett had been wounded in the first wave of soldiers that landed on Omaha Beach during D-Day. As he received treatment at a hospital in England, Private Pickett made it clear that his service wasn’t finished.

“I’m going to return,” Pickett said. Six days after D-Day, he rejoined his company. He would be gravely wounded twice more, including a third injury that caused him to lay unconscious for 12 days. He looked unlikely to survive.

“And, today, believe it or not, he has returned once more to these shores to be with his comrades,” President Trump said before embracing the 94-year-old veteran. “Private Pickett, you honor us all with your presence.”

Before concluding, President Trump gave a few lasting words of appreciation to the veterans of this Greatest Generation:

The men behind me will tell you that they are just the lucky ones. As one of them recently put it, “All the heroes are buried here.” But we know what these men did. We knew how brave they were. They came here and saved freedom, and then, they went home and showed us all what freedom is all about.

The American sons and daughters who saw us to victory were no less extraordinary in peace. They built families. They built industries. They built a national culture that inspired the entire world. In the decades that followed, America defeated communism, secured civil rights, revolutionized science, launched a man to the Moon, and then kept on pushing to new frontiers. And, today, America is stronger than ever before.

Seven decades ago, the warriors of D-Day fought a sinister enemy who spoke of a thousand-year empire. In defeating that evil, they left a legacy that will last not only for a thousand years, but for all time—for as long as the soul knows of duty and honor; for as long as freedom keeps its hold on the human heart.

To the men who sit behind me, and to the boys who rest in the field before me, your example will never, ever grow old. Your legend will never tire. Your spirit—brave, unyielding, and true—will never die.

. . . And our children, and their children, will forever and always be free.

Read President Trump’s full speech to veterans at Normandy.

More: Presidential Proclamation for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day

Queen Elizabeth Greets President Trump at Start of State Visit

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump's Visit to the United Kingdom

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Queen Elizabeth Greets President Trump at Start of State Visit

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump "arrived at Buckingham Palace Monday just after noon, local time, to meet Queen Elizabeth," Maria Puente reports in USA Today.

“The queen greeted President Trump after he ascended the palace stairs with Prince Charles at the West Terrace of Buckingham Palace. Melania walked behind with Duchess Camilla. The queen wore a big smile as she greeted the president with a handshake.”

President Trump’s three-day state visit to the U.K. is timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Click here to read more.

“President Trump was in Virginia Sunday for a special church service praying for victims of the Virginia Beach mass shooting,” Mark Moore and Lee Brown report in the New York Post. “Trump stood behind pastor David Platt as he offered a prayer for the 12 killed in Friday’s mass shooting.”

“The Trump administration Friday announced approval of year-round access to gasoline with higher blends of ethanol, a move that could boost corn prices for farmers and lower costs for drivers,” Donnelle Eller writes in the Des Moines Register. “The decision is welcome news for farm groups that have pushed for expanded consumer access to gasoline with 15% ethanol.”

“Mueller and his predecessors spent two years investigating, with full cooperation from the White House. Nadler knows perfectly well that his ‘investigations’ won’t find anything new,” the New York Post editorial board writes. “It’s nothing but an elaborate stall, and Mueller is entirely right to not waste his time in a pointless, political dog-and-pony show.”

“Sheriffs on the front lines of the surging illegal immigration crisis are pushing back against pro-sanctuary advocates” who oppose helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detain criminals, Paul Bedard reports in the Washington Examiner. “Soon, every county is going to be a border county,” warned Sheriff Chuck Jenkins of Frederick County, Maryland.

REAL NEWS PRESIDENT TRUMP DOESN'T WANT YOU TO MISS

Trump Shakes ‘Every Single Hand’ of US Air Force Graduates While Praising Their ‘Noble Road of Service’
-Independent Journal Review
“The president showered the U.S. Air Force Academy’s graduating class with praise and encouragement as they are ‘ready to fly, fight, and win,’” Madison Summers reports. “During the ceremony, Trump announced that he would shake ‘every single hand’ of the nearly [1,000] graduates as they walk across the stage.”

Watch: President Trump delivers 2019 Air Force Academy commencement speech

Over 1,000 Illegal Immigrants Apprehended in El Paso Sector, Largest Group Ever at Single Time
-Fox News
“More than 1,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents near the U.S.-Mexico border early Wednesday—the largest ever group of migrants ever apprehended at a single time,” John Roberts and Travis Fedschun report. “The fact is that [the Rio Grande Valley] is receiving caravan-equivalent numbers every seven days,” Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodolfo Karisch said.

Why Trump’s Tariffs on Mexico are Needed to Cut Illegal Immigration
-Fox News
“President Trump sent a message of strength and leadership Thursday night when he announced he will impose escalating tariffs on Mexico in a bold move to halt the flow of illegal immigrants and protect our national security,” National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd writes. “The congressional inaction we are now witnessing is made worse by Mexico’s refusal to enforce its own immigration laws, which are actually much stronger than our own.”

Democrats Should Forget Impeachment and Turn the Page
-CNN
“It would be divisive for the nation and a boon to our global competitors if Democrats choose to hobble our national agenda with superfluous, partisan impeachment,” Carrie Sheffield writes. “Clearly, Mueller is moving on and it's time for us to move on as a country, too . . . By a nearly 20-point margin, the American people do not want impeachment, according to polling by the Washington Post and ABC News.”

My Fellow Democrats Are Skeptical About the USMCA. They Shouldn't Be
-Fortune
“Congress will soon vote on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a landmark trade pact finalized by all three nations last November,” former Democratic Governor of Washington Gary Locke writes. USMCA is a “historic win for workers,” Locke says. “It would guarantee fairer pay through wage requirements, ensure safe working environments, and strengthen workers’ rights to unionize for better benefits.”

Trump Trip to Japan Will Benefit US and Our Allies
-Fox News
“President Trump’s just-concluded visit to Japan was more than ceremonial,” Brett Velicovich writes. “By strengthening our relationship with steadfast allies such as Japan, the president has placed America in an even better position to pacify the North Korean regime and bring an end to one of the biggest global security challenges of the century.”

First Lady Melania Trump in Japan

President Trump Puts US Service Members in Spotlight During Memorial Day Address
-Stars and Stripes
“President Donald Trump spoke Tuesday to 1,000 sailors and Marines and a few servicemembers from other branches aboard the [USS Wasp], which was moored at Yokosuka Naval Base” in Japan, Seth Robson reports. “The president also surprised an enlisted sailor and Marine by calling them onto a stage and inviting them to say a few words of their own.”

Watch: President Trump and the First Lady visit Japan

A Tariff Issue on Which Free and Fair Traders Can Agree
-The Wall Street Journal
“American exporters face systematically higher tariffs in the markets of more than 100 U.S. trading partners,” White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro writes. “Whether you’re a pure free trader or a fair, reciprocal and balanced trader like the president, if you live in a relatively low-tariff country like the U.S., you should oppose an international trading system that helps institutionalize nonreciprocal tariffs.”

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Over 1,000 Illegal Immigrants Apprehended in El Paso Sector, Largest Group Ever at Single Time

“More than 1,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents near the U.S.-Mexico border early Wednesday -- the largest ever group of migrants ever apprehended at a single time,” John Roberts and Travis Fedschun report.

“The fact is that [the Rio Grande Valley] is receiving caravan-equivalent numbers every seven days,” Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodolfo Karisch said.

Click here to read more.

“President Trump sent a message of strength and leadership Thursday night when he announced he will impose escalating tariffs on Mexico in a bold move to halt the flow of illegal immigrants and protect our national security,” National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd writes in Fox News. “The congressional inaction we are now witnessing is made worse by Mexico’s refusal to enforce its own immigration laws, which are actually much stronger than our own.”

“Mexico has been all too willing to allow its temporary trouble [to] become our permanent problem. These migrants move across Mexico, often in large caravans, with at least the tacit approval of our southern neighbor, and sometimes with actual active assistance,” Steve Cortes writes in RealClearPolitics. It is in no “way compassionate to encourage or tolerate lawlessness along a porous border, which has led to horrific human exploitation.”

“Americans have heard politicians talk about high drug prices for years . . . But the Trump administration isn’t offering up just talk — we’re delivering results,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar writes in The Kansas City Star. “In December for the first time in 46 years, the official government measure of inflation in drug prices actually dropped for all of 2018.”

“Looking across the Detroit River to Canada, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta on Wednesday urged the passage of a new trade deal between Canada, Mexico and the United States as a way to spur economic prosperity,” Breana Noble writes in The Detroit News. Emphasizing the new agreement’s labor protections, Secretary Acosta explained that NAFTA lacked such measures—causing automaker jobs to leave Michigan for Mexico. “If we can compete on an even playing field, we can win," he said.

In CNBC, Jeff Cox reports that the American economy grew by 3.1% in the first quarter, yet again beating Wall Street’s expectations. “In the bigger picture, growth easily surpassed what most economists had been expecting at the start of the year.”

Pelosi, Dems Just Don't Care About Our National Emergency

“Now in the majority with control over the House floor, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her conference are poised to let funding for the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program run out . . . First, Pelosi and Democrats denied the existence of the national emergency. Now, they are willing to let federal agencies run out of money to care for migrant children,” Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Jim Jordan (R-OH) write in Fox News.

“How bad does it have to get for Pelosi to care?”

Click here to read more.

Pelosi’s "cover-up" remark is just “part of her now-daily act of political cognitive dissonance in which she accuses Mr. Trump of committing impeachable offenses to appease her anti-Trump ultras while opposing impeachment lest it jeopardize swing-district Democrats in 2020,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes. President Trump “has decided to call her bluff and offer a choice—impeachment or bipartisan progress.”

“First lady Melania Trump made a special trip Wednesday to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to meet with ‘wounded warriors’ and present a Purple Heart,” Katie Jerkovich reports for The Daily Caller. “I want to thank the service members I met today,” the First Lady said. “As each of them recovers, we are reminded of the cost of our country’s security. I am grateful.”

“A cadre of former top Obama administration figures and their allies in Congress have been working to amplify anti-Trump talking points issued by a senior Iranian regime official in what sources have described as an effort by Obama's pro-Iran echo chamber to drive a wedge between President Donald Trump and his national security team,” Adam Kredo writes in The Washington Free Beacon. Democrats are “doing all they can to subvert Trump, even if it means siding with the Iranian regime in the standoff.”

“Two illegal aliens, one who came to the United States in 2015 as part of a ‘family unit’ and the other unaccompanied in 2016, were released by the Prince George’s County Police Department after being charged with attempted first degree murder and other crimes. Upon release, they killed 14-year-old girl Ariana Funes-Diaz and dumped her body in a creek,” Katie Pavlich writes in Townhall. “Prince George's County, which contains Baltimore, is a ‘sanctuary’ for illegal aliens. Both are members of the extremely violent gang MS-13.”

Democrat leaders chose the far left over America’s working families

Today, Democrat leaders chose the far left over America’s working families

President Donald J. Trump invited Democrat leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the White House today to discuss a bipartisan solution to fixing America's crumbling infrastructure. Congressional Democrats had other plans.

Something to share: Congress showed today why its approval rating is 20%

Far-left activists, both inside Congress and out, have made it clear they don’t want Democrats to work with President Trump to help govern. So before coming to the White House this morning, Speaker Pelosi changed her tune. Rather than talk about an opportunity for bipartisan leadership, she played to the party donors and base, lobbing a fresh conspiracy theory: “The President of the United States is engaged in a cover-up.”

Right.

Congressional Democrats spent more than $35 million on the Mueller report. It took 675 days, included nearly 3,000 subpoenas, and required 500 witness accounts. Despite being conducted by a far-from-unbiased legal team—one that has collectively donated at least 20 times more to Democrat as Republican candidates over the years—it found zero evidence of collusion or obstruction of justice. No charges were recommended for either.

There is no legal case against the President, in other words. All Democrats have left is a political one. In a democracy, that’s what elections are for. Democrat leaders might know this, but they’re powerless: Their activist base doesn’t want voters to have the last say.

The result is a string of stunts like the one Americans saw today. Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Schumer know they have to keep giving lip service to the real issues that working Americans care about—tax relief, jobs, high prescription drug prices, immigration, and so on—while only delivering on the agenda their base wants: obstruction and resistance.

President Trump wants bipartisan compromise because it’s the right thing to do for our country. Fortunately, he’s getting results either way. Today, 7 in 10 Americans rate the economy as good or very good. Of those, 85 percent say some or most of the credit goes to President Trump. Pay growth has “picked up sharply at the bottom half of the wage distribution,” a new report says, showing that working-class families are the ones seeing the biggest gains.

Those amazing results could be even better if Congressional Democrats chose to work with the President. And for that reason alone, it’s no surprise that they won’t.

Watch President Trump deliver a statement from the Rose Garden.

More: Democrats in Congress wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on a hoax…

Video of the day: President Trump presents the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor

This afternoon, President Trump presented some of America’s best and bravest with our Nation’s highest public safety award, the Medal of Valor.

“We express the gratitude and pride of our Nation for your immortal acts of courage,” the President said during a ceremony in the White House East Room. “To the families who join us, you carry a great burden so that our citizens can live in safety and in peace.”

First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Karen Pence honor our Armed Forces

Yesterday morning, First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Karen Pence traveled to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to meet with members of our incredible United States Armed Forces and their families.

“Our nation’s military service members and their families deserve our care and respect,” the Second Lady said before the trip. “I am always honored to have the opportunity to spend time with those who serve and work tirelessly to protect our freedoms.”

Watch: The First Lady and Second Lady meet with families of Fort Bragg

Upon arrival, Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Pence were greeted by several Generals and their spouses, including Commanding General Michael Garrett of the U.S. Army Forces Command and his wife. From there, Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Pence had an opportunity to witness elite capability demonstrations from members of the Army Special Operations.

The behind-the-scenes visit was “incredibly impactful,” the First Lady said. “The United States Military is a national treasure . . . Thank you to Fort Bragg for welcoming us and letting us inside this tight-knit and admirable community of true heroes.”

In honor of April as the Month of the Military Child, Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Pence also visited a student assembly at Albritton Middle School on Fort Bragg. After the school’s chorus performed a welcoming song, the First Lady and Second Lady took questions from the student body.

In photos: The First Lady and Second Lady visit Fort Bragg

More: Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Pence honor service members and their families

Notre Dame: A symbol of faith around the world

For nearly 1,000 years, the Cathedral of Notre Dame has stood as a spiritual home for millions. Yesterday, Americans joined the French in watching with shock and sadness as a devastating fire caused significant damage to this architectural masterpiece.

On behalf of the American people, President Donald J. Trump offered his sincere condolences this morning to President Emmanuel Macron of France. Members of the Trump Administration joined the President in offering heartfelt thanks to the first responders and unity with the people of Paris.

Vice President Mike Pence called the Notre Dame “an iconic symbol of faith to people all over the world,” adding that “it is heartbreaking to see a house of God in flames.”

France remains the oldest ally of the United States. On September 12, 2001, the Notre Dame’s bells rang in solemn recognition of the previous day’s unprecedented attacks on American soil. We will never forget. Soon those bells will ring again—and America will do everything it can to help France restore this irreplaceable symbol of hope.

Read Press Secretary Sarah Sanders’ full statement on the Notre Dame fire

Strong Jobs Market Spurs Bigger Salary Offers

“Americans still think plenty of jobs are available and companies are offering better pay as they compete for a shrinking pool of available labor, new study by the New York Federal Reserve shows,” Jeffry Bartash reports in MarketWatch.

“The Fed study is the latest proof the jobs market continues to sizzle. The rate of layoffs each week — known as jobless claims — fell below 200,000 earlier this month for the first time since 1969. The economy also added almost 200,000 new jobs in March after a feeble 33,000 gain in February, keeping the unemployment rate at 3.8%.”

Click here to read more.

“President Obama used to stir Americans with his powerful calls for national unity. It looks like he has, after all these years, finally forged agreement among leaders in both parties that his health care law made things worse and should be replaced. Bipartisanship blooms in Washington,” Scott Jennings writes in the Courier-Journal. “Voters in both parties know they were duped by Obama’s health care promises. Private insurance customers saw their premiums and deductibles jump to pay for someone else’s health care, but not their own.”

“How’s this for unexpected irony: As New York pols move to choke their own economy by nixing new natural-gas supplies, President Trump is racing to the rescue,” the New York Post editorial board writes. “Trump last week signed two executive orders to help ease the way for new oil and gas pipelines and other energy projects. One, seemingly aimed squarely at New York, requires the Environmental Protection Agency to look for ways to make it harder for states to use the Clean Water Act to block pipelines”—a common tactic of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), the editors add.

“An Arizona mayor on Tuesday declared an emergency in the city he represents due to what he said was the strain caused by the incoming flow of migrants,” Elizabeth Zwirz reports for Fox News. “Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls shared the news on Facebook, explaining that he ‘proclaimed a local emergency’ in the city ‘due to the migrant family releases overwhelming the local shelter system.’”

America stands with Venezuelans. The UN must do the same.

Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to New York City to represent President Donald J. Trump and the United States before a Special Session of the United Nations Security Council on the crisis in Venezuela.

“For six long years, the people of Venezuela have suffered under the heavy hand of oppression,” the Vice President told the Security Council. “The United Nations and this Security Council have refused to act.”

Watch: Vice President Pence calls out Maduro’s “Ambassador”

America’s message was clear: “This body should revoke the credentials of Venezuela’s representative to the United Nations, recognize Interim President Juan Guaido, and seat the representative of the free Venezuelan government in this body without delay,” Vice President Pence continued.

Maduro's socialist dictatorship has turned Venezuela, once one of the wealthiest countries in the Western Hemisphere, into a tragic scene of deprivation. The economy has shrunk by nearly half, leaving 9 out of 10 Venezuelans in poverty. The average citizen there has lost more than 20 pounds from malnutrition, including thousands of children who continue to face starvation.

In the midst of this suffering, Maduro has lent no helping hand—just the opposite. When America and its allies sent crucial aid to Venezuela’s people, Maduro’s henchmen blocked and literally burned it, committing violence against any who opposed them. In just 3 months, the regime has thrown more than 1,200 people in jail without due process. At least 40 protesters have been killed.

“There can be no bystanders to this history,” Vice President Pence warned. “For the peace and security of our hemisphere, the world and the United Nations must stand with the people of Venezuela.”

With that, the Vice President turned to Maduro’s representative before the Security Council. “With all due respect, Mr. Ambassador, you shouldn’t be here. You should return to Venezuela and tell Nicolas Maduro that his time is up. It’s time for him to go.”

Vice President calls for restoring democracy in Venezuela

More: President Trump says “Socialism is dying” in Venezuela—and America

President Trump honors WWII veterans

Last summer, when President Trump spoke at the Veterans of Foreign Wars annual convention, he welcomed World War II veteran Allen Jones to join him onstage. “Mr. President, I want to ask you something,” Sergeant Jones said.

“I’m going to be 95 years of age April 11th of next year. Hopefully, that you will allow me to bring my family into the Oval Office to meet you.” President Trump readily agreed, telling Sergeant Jones he was welcome anytime.

Today, Sergeant Jones got his wish, spending his 95th birthday at the White House with his family. President Trump welcomed three more World War II veterans and their families along with him—each with their own unique story of service and sacrifice.

Sidney Walton, a former Army veteran, has been traveling the country on a “No Regrets Tour,” reminding Americans of the sacrifice WWII veterans made to save this country.
Floyd Wigfield didn’t hesitate to serve after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, enlisting in the U.S. Army. On June 6, 1944, he and his fellow soldiers of Company G landed on Utah Beach in what became known as “D-Day.”
Paul Kriner joined the Army at age 24 and fought Axis forces in Italy. Years later, when our Nation was plunged into another war—this time in Korea—he didn’t hesitate to serve again. At 103 years old, Kriner still proudly tells his story.

Watch: President Trump grants WW2 veteran’s birthday wish!

From ‘No Crisis’ to ‘Breaking Point’: Mainstream Media Changes its Tune

“Months after repeatedly dismissing and mocking President Trump’s claim of a national emergency at the Southern U.S. border, the mainstream media are grappling with reality,” Lukas Mikelionis writes for Fox News.

But it’s worth remembering that as recently as February, a New York Times “fact check” of President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address claimed that “President Trump described illegal border crossings as a ‘urgent national crisis.’ This is false.” Today, Mikelionis describes how “the same media outlets are now scrambling to accurately portray the border crisis, no longer fearing to quote top officials and their data, and declare that the southern border is at a ‘breaking point’ amid a surge in the number of illegal immigrant crossings.”

Click here to read more.

“Tax Day is always bad because Americans are overtaxed. But this Tax Day, we can celebrate the fact that an overwhelming majority of people are being taxed less, thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Republicans passed in late 2017,” the Washington Examiner editorial board writes. “There was a deliberate attempt to trick the public into believing the bill was a middle-class tax increase . . . [but] no fewer than four out of every five taxpayers saw a reduction thanks to the law.”

“The Obama administration's Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday on Fox & Friends that the influx of immigrant caravans at the Mexico border was ‘a crisis by any measure,’” Jeffrey Cimmino reports in The Washington Free Beacon. “It requires a change in law,” Johnson said, calling for a bipartisan solution. A number of prominent Democrats continue to downplay the crisis, Cimmino writes.

U.S. weekly jobless claims dropped to a near 50-year low last week, pointing to continued market strength, Reuters reports. “Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000 for the week ended April 6, the lowest level since early October 1969. Claims have now declined for four straight weeks.”

The Fraying Edges of Universal Health Care

“If you’re wondering what Democrats have in mind when they tout 'Medicare For All,' look no further than England. There are more reports of the U.K.’s National Health System’s collapse, this time featuring horror stories of rationing care for the elderly,” Tammy Bruce writes in The Washington Times.

When health insurance is completely controlled by the government, it “isn’t about who gets health care, it’s about who doesn’t. It is the ultimate in population control.”

Click here to read more.

The "Medicare for All" bill “seeks utopia by giving government centralized power and control over every aspect of medicine via a single-payer model, and comes with an astronomical price tag. The cost in dollars is in the trillions, but there is also another, hidden cost: the elimination of the conscience rights of nurses and doctors,” Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie writes in The Hill.

“How pathetic: A member of Congress can’t acknowledge what happened on one of the most horrific days in US history,” the New York Post editorial board writes. On March 23, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said the Council on American-Islamic Relations “was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something, and [Muslims] were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.” The editors don’t mince words: “Some people did something? Wow. What a way to describe the heinous surprise attack on America that claimed 3,000 lives.”

“What Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said about Sept. 11 was disgraceful,” former Deputy Chief of the New York City Fire Department Jim Riches writes in the New York Post. “She dismissed thousands of people being murdered like it was an everyday occurrence when she said ‘some people did something.’ On 9/11/01 my son, firefighter Jimmy Riches was murdered along with close to 3,000 American citizens by Muslim terrorists.”

“President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders aimed at speeding up oil and gas pipeline permitting, including limiting the ability of activists and states to block key energy projects,” Michael Bastasch reports for The Daily Caller. “President [Barack] Obama lamented the lack of shovel-ready jobs; President Trump is going straight to the operating engineers who will build our infrastructure to show how he will clean out the stables and make America stronger,” said Dan Kish, senior fellow at the Institute for Energy Research.

“William Barr knew he wasn’t accepting easy duty as Donald Trump’s Attorney General, and it’s no surprise that the Democratic-media complex attacked him in unison on Wednesday. His sin was disclosing that he wants to find out how the FBI came to eavesdrop on the 2016 Trump presidential campaign,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes. “All of this should be encouraging to Americans who want credibility restored to an FBI that lost its ethical bearings under James Comey.”

ISIS, then and now

Video of the day: ISIS, then and now

Just over two years ago, ISIS was considered one of the gravest threats to the future of the Middle East—and to the peace and security of the larger free world. Its captured territory stretched across 20,000 square miles from Iraq to Syria.

When President Donald J. Trump was sworn into office on January 20, 2017, it marked the beginning of the end for the self-declared caliphate.

Now, ISIS has been obliterated off the map–literally. “This is ISIS on Election Day,” the President said as he held up a side-by-side comparison yesterday. “And this is ISIS now.”

See for yourself: the ISIS caliphate two years ago vs. today

President Trump stands up for free speech on campus

“The past two weeks have been surreal,” Hayden Williams wrote earlier this month. “On Feb. 19, while recruiting conservative students on campus at the University of California-Berkeley, I was assaulted by a violent leftist. A little more than a week later, I got to shake hands with the president of the United States.”

President Trump invited Williams onstage during the President’s speech at CPAC 2019 on March 3. “There’s so many conservative students across the country who are facing discrimination, harassment, and worse, if they dare to speak up on campus,” Williams said.

This afternoon, President Trump signed an Executive Order to protect free speech at our colleges and universities. The order directs Federal agencies to ensure that public education institutions fulfill their obligations under the First Amendment—and that private schools comply with their stated institutional policies regarding free speech.

The Department of Education will also improve transparency in American higher education by expanding the data available on its College Scorecard. These metrics will better organize data on program-level earnings, debt, and student loan repayment rates, helping families make better decisions about postsecondary education.

Watch: American students and values have been “under siege"

Wall Street Journal: “Trump to Issue Order Tying Federal Grants to Free Speech on Campus”

By the numbers: The American dream is back

When the White House unveiled the 2019 Economic Report of the President this week, there was no shortage of good news to share:

The economy outperformed expectations for the second year in a row in 2018.
American GDP grew 3.1% from the 4th quarter of 2017 to the 4th quarter of 2018, the fastest such growth in 13 years.
The unemployment rate remained at or below 4 percent for the past 12 months, the longest such streak in nearly five decades.
More than 2.6 million jobs were created in 2018—and the number of job openings passed the number of unemployed workers for the first time on record.

“In everything we do and every action we take, we’re putting America first, and we are putting American workers first, for the first time in a long time,” the President told factory workers yesterday in Lima, Ohio.

See the full list – The Trump Economy’s banner year

Watch: President Trump saves the last tank plant in America

‘ISIS Caliphate Has Crumbled and Last Stronghold Liberated’

"The caliphate has crumbled, and the final offensive is over. While the official announcement hasn’t yet been made – Fox News has been told that this village, the last ISIS stronghold, is liberated," Benjamin Hall reports from Syria for Fox News.

“Troops here are now bringing down the black flags of ISIS. The flags no longer fly over the town, instilling fear.”

Click here to read more.

“President Trump has recognized Israeli sovereignty over areas of the Golan Heights it currently controls. In doing so, Trump effectively formalizes something that everyone already knew. Namely, that the Golan Heights, which Israel seized following a 1967 Syrian-Egyptian-Jordanian effort to annihilate it, were unlikely to be Syrian again for a very long time,” Tom Rogan writes in the Washington Examiner.

“President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to promote free speech on college campuses by threatening colleges with the loss of federal research funding if they do not protect those rights,” Adam Shaw reports for Fox News. “We’re here to take historic action to defend American students and American values,” the President said, surrounded by conservative student advocates at the White House. “They’ve been under siege.”

“The man who killed a sheriff’s deputy and wounded a police officer in a central Washington state shootout was in the United States illegally,” The Associated Pressreports. “The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said Thursday that 29-year-old Juan Manuel Flores Del Toro, who also died as a result of the shootout, was a citizen of Mexico.”

The President’s “commitment to strengthening the military isn’t just making America safer; it’s also saving and creating jobs – including a whole factory’s worth of them right here in Ohio,” former Cincinnati Mayor Ken Blackwell writes in The Cincinnati Enquirer. “The manufacturing facility in Lima is a symbol of the economic revival taking place throughout Ohio and the rest of the country.”

President Trump lands in Vietnam for second historic summit with North Korea

Air Force One touched down in Hanoi, Vietnam, at 8:54 a.m. ET this morning as President Donald J. Trump prepares for his second summit with Chairman Kim Jong Un of North Korea this week.

“As part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” President Trump said in this month’s State of the Union address.

Last June’s meeting in Singapore marked the first time in history that an American president has met with the leader of North Korea. This week’s summit looks to build on the progress made that day, including transformed relations between the two countries and the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula—a goal that seemed virtually unachievable for decades.

America’s negotiations with Chairman Kim are already producing results, both for our citizens and for our allies:

North Korea has not conducted a nuclear weapons or missile test in more than 400 days.
The regime has committed to dismantling its plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities.
American citizens are no longer detained in North Korea.
North Korea has returned remains of Americans who died during the Korean War—and President Trump is working to return more.

President Trump’s strategy is working where past administrations have failed for one reason above all else: America wins when it negotiates from a position of strength. Upon taking office, President Trump mobilized a global coalition to enforce a maximum pressure campaign on the regime in Pyongyang. He made clear that the world would not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea—and that provocations would come with a cost.

Now, instead of hopelessness, there is opportunity. The President has made clear that should Chairman Kim follow through on his promise to denuclearize, the Trump Administration will work to ensure there are economic development options for North Korea. The United States and its partners are prepared to explore how to mobilize investment, improve infrastructure, enhance food security, and more.

“Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in more than 15 months,” President Trump told Congress three weeks ago. There is still work to be done, but the early returns are clear: A strong United States of America makes for a stronger, safer world.

Tod Lindberg: Why the Trump approach beats the Obama one

The facts: President Trump’s historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula

President Trump Has Made Unthinkable Progress on North Korea

“Since 1949, the United States and our allies have been engaged in a complicated, high-stakes efforts to reduce the global threat posed by North Korea. The result? An isolated authoritarian regime with a sophisticated nuclear arsenal many thought unachievable,” Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) writes in USA Today.

“Enter President Donald Trump, who was elected to shake up the status quo. With his bold new tack in dealing with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, we are closer to discovering a path to peace than we’ve been in decades. That progress was unthinkable little more than two years ago.”

Click here to read more.

Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Bogota, Colombia to meet with Venezuelan interim President Juan Guaido and announce new sanctions against the Maduro regime, Emily Ward reports for the Washington Examiner. “To the people of Venezuela, including members of the Armed Forces: The United States of America stands with you if you will stand for freedom,” the Vice President said.

“President Donald Trump reacted on Twitter Monday evening after the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, which would have ensured that babies who survive abortions are given medical attention, failed to pass the Senate,” Evie Fordham reports in The Daily Caller. “Senate Democrats just voted against legislation to prevent the killing of newborn infant children . . . this will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress,” the President tweeted.

“An alleged member of the MS-13 gang wanted in connection with murder, attempted murder and extortion was arrested in Pensacola last week,” Kevin Robinson writes in the Pensacola News Journal. The charges are “tied to a 2018 indictment charging more than two dozen alleged MS-13 members of racketeering activity that included murders, attempted murders, conspiracies to commit murder, extortion, robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking and money laundering.”

“Proponents of the ‘Green New Deal’ have called it ambitious and visionary, comparing it to putting a man on the moon,” Daniel Turner writes in RealClearEnergy. “The opposite is true. From its rosy portrayal of socialist policies like a government takeover of healthcare to its calls to bring back mid-20th century labor policies, the ‘Green New Deal’ is the most backwards-looking plan the left has put forward in decades.”

REAL NEWS PRESIDENT TRUMP DOESN'T WANT YOU TO MISS

Trump Vows ‘New Day’ for Venezuela
-NBC News
“The people of Venezuela are standing for freedom and democracy, and the United States of America is standing right by their side,” President Donald J. Trump said on Monday at Florida International University in Miami. The President also addressed the American far left. “To those who want to try to impose socialism on the United States, we again deliver a very simple message: America will never be a socialist country.”

Border Apprehensions Jump 84 Percent, 606,000 Expected This Year
-Washington Examiner
“January saw a surprising surge of 22,000 more apprehensions of illegal immigrants at southwest border crossings over January 2018, prompting a key predictor to suggest that border officers will make over 600,000 apprehensions this year,” Paul Bedard reports. “The year-over-year increase was 84 percent, from 25,975 in January 2018 to 47,893 last January, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”

An Illegal Immigrant Killed My Daughter. Trump's Right—We Must Complete the Border Wall.
-USA Today
Retired educator Dan Ferguson writes that his beloved daughter Mandy, a 28-year-old sixth-grade teacher, was killed last year by a criminal who should never have been in the United States. “In his declaration of a national emergency on our southern border, President Trump recognized the Americans who experienced the consequences of that emergency firsthand: angel moms and dads. I never expected I would be one of them.”

Trump Officially Directs Pentagon to Create Space Force Legislation for Congress
-CNBC
“President Donald Trump signed a directive on Tuesday that ordered the Department of Defense create a Space Force as a sixth military branch,” Michael Sheetz and Amanda Macias report. “The directive orders the Pentagon draft legislation for Congress that would create the Space Force as a part of the U.S. Air Force.” This move sets in motion the creation of America’s first new military branch in more than 70 years.

Ivanka Trump Examines UPS Training at Facility in Gwinnett
-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump toured a UPS driver training facility in Duluth, Georgia, with Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) on Wednesday, detailing the Trump Administration’s focus on workforce development. Last year, UPS “signed a pledge in support of President Trump’s workforce development initiative, committing to offer opportunities for career advancement to more than 50,000 employees.”

Opinion: Trump Stays Tough on Socialism
-The Detroit News
“President Trump’s speech Monday afternoon in Miami wasn’t just directed at Nicolas Maduro and the socialists of Venezuela — it was also a stark reminder to left-leaning Americans that socialism's days are ‘numbered,’” Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer writes. “As Democrats rally around radical proposals such as ‘Medicare-for-all,’ free college tuition, enormous minimum wage increases, and even guaranteed basic income, it was President Trump’s responsibility to remind us that socialism’s sweeping promises are always empty.”

Lower Tax Refunds Show How the Republican Tax Cut is Keeping Money in Your Hands All Year
-USA Today
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) explain that tax refunds are lower today because taxes are lower—keeping more money in Americans’ hands all year long. First, Democrats were wrong that tax cuts would hurt our economy. Now, they are “peddling the scary elixir that ‘lower tax refunds mean higher taxes.’ Wrong again . . . This claim about refunds, as the Washington Post’s fact checker observed, is ‘nonsensical and misleading.’”

Ivanka Trump heads to Georgia

Yesterday, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump traveled to Duluth, Georgia, visiting the UPS Integrad facility near Atlanta alongside Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA). This state-of-the-art training center gives UPS drivers the chance to learn valuable skills crucial for success in the rapidly changing global economy.

Her visit marked an opportunity to discuss UPS’ workforce development programs, which parallel the Trump Administration’s recent push to get more American jobs filled by American workers. With nine UPS Integrad facilities in United States, the result has been lower turnover and fewer accidents among the company’s new drivers.

“This is something that the Administration is deeply passionate about—ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to benefit from the booming economy that we are experiencing,” Ms. Trump said at a roundtable with UPS employees.

Last July, President Donald J. Trump encouraged top executives across the country to sign his Pledge to America’s Workers, intended to give employees and students alike the chance to secure better, more stable jobs. UPS was on board from the start, committing to offer 51,750 career opportunities through skills training and apprenticeship programs.

With Ivanka Trump leading the charge, the Pledge to America’s Workers has grown to more than 6.5 million opportunities pledged for our workforce since last July. That number climbs each day, with partners that include Walmart, Apple, FedEx, and large and small businesses from coast to coast.

See the pledge: More than 6.5 million opportunities for America’s workers.

In photos: Ivanka Trump visits UPS Integrad in Georgia

Vice President Pence to Europe: America is leading once again

From Poland to Germany, Vice President Mike Pence represented America on the world stage last week in a series of meetings with global leaders.

In Poland, the Vice President and Second Lady Karen Pence paid their respects to victims of anti-Semitism at Auschwitz and Birkenau, the scenes of unspeakable tragedy during the Holocaust. They were joined by Polish President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda. “May Auschwitz be a reminder to all people and all times that to fall silent in the face of evil is to ensure its triumph,” the Vice President shared on Twitter.

At the 55th Annual Munich Security Conference, Vice President Pence explained how America is leading once again on the world stage. “With the support of strong bipartisan majorities in the United States Congress, President Trump has taken decisive action to make the strongest military in the history of the world stronger still, enacting the largest investment in our national defense since the days of Ronald Reagan,” he said.

With America’s renewed strength, President Trump has urged our NATO allies to live up to their commitments toward our common defense. His call to action worked: The number of NATO members spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense has doubled in just the past two years.

Vice President Pence: “We will deal with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.”

Watch: The Vice President and Second Lady visit Auschwitz and Birkenau

A national emergency in plain sight

Border Apprehensions Jump 84 Percent, 606,000 Expected This Year

“January saw a surprising surge of 22,000 more apprehensions of illegal immigrants at southwest border crossings over January 2018, prompting a key predictor to suggest that border officers will make over 600,000 apprehensions this year,” Paul Bedard reports for the Washington Examiner. “The year-over-year increase was 84 percent, from 25,975 in January 2018 to 47,893 last January, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”

Princeton Policy Advisors’ Steven Kopits believes the surge suggests that more illegal immigrants could be heading to the border than expected. “Buckle your seat belts: 2019 could be a wild ride at the southwest border,” he says.

Click here to read more.

“The number of people who applied for jobless benefits in mid-February fell sharply and returned near post-recession lows, suggesting the U.S. labor market is still going strong and keeping the economy on firm footing,” Jeffry Bartash writes in MarketWatch. The big picture: “The U.S. is still adding new jobs at a rapid clip to keep the unemployment rate near the lowest level in decades.”

“President Trump tweeted Wednesday that a new section of the border wall just erected in New Mexico, and he was telling the truth,” Eddie Scarry reports in the Washington Examiner. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that the wall referenced was a “project announced in April 2018 to build 20 miles of new steel wall that replaced small fencing that prevents vehicle crossing. The new barriers are from 18 to 30 feet high, depending on the terrain.”

“After two years of the Trump presidency, America’s economic engine has been reignited. Since President Trump took office nearly five million jobs have been created, including more than 450,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector,” Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) writes in The Detroit News. “In just a couple years, the economy has made significant strides. However, the rush by some leaders on the left to abandon free enterprise principles and embrace the tenets of socialism threatens this very progress.”

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A national emergency in plain sight

25 MS-13 Gang Members Deported from Migrant Caravan in Mexico, Officials Say

“At least 25 people affiliated with the MS-13 gang were deported from Mexico after they were revealed to be concealed within the caravan of 1,600 Central American migrants just across the U.S. border, immigration officials said Tuesday,” Jacqui Heinrich and Travis Fedschun report for Fox News.

“The caravan first arrived in Piedras Negras, Mexico, two weeks ago across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas, when officials from the Instituto Nacional de Migración identified 10 gang members from Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13. But after warehouse scuffles with police last week, officials discovered and deported 15 additional MS-13 ‘agitators,’ INM Media Deputy Director Aline Juarez told Fox News.”

Click here to read more.

“President Trump is making the right move by supporting Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's self-declared interim president, Latin America expert Lindsay Singleton said Tuesday on Hill.TV,” Tess Bonn writes. President Trump “ramped up pressure on Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro, during a speech in Miami, where he voiced support for Guaidó’s attempt to remove Maduro from power. Trump also warned about the perils of socialism and called for Maduro to end the humanitarian aid blockade.”

“President Donald Trump signed a directive on Tuesday that ordered the Department of Defense create a Space Force as a sixth military branch. Known as Space Policy Directive 4 (SPD-4), the directive orders the Pentagon draft legislation for Congress that would create the Space Force as a part of the U.S. Air Force,” Michael Sheetz and Amanda Macias report for CNBC. This move sets in motion the creation of America’s first new military branch in more than 70 years.

“The fight against drug trafficking in our country has been a continuous and devastating battle. Millions of American lives have been impacted, and we have seen the destructive power illegal drugs can unleash on a community,” Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) writes in Fox News. “I support President Trump’s plan to secure our border and believe his approach that includes a physical barrier is necessary to protect our communities from the growing dangers of fentanyl, street-level narcotics, and synthetic prescription drugs.”

A national emergency in plain sight

Five days ago, President Donald J. Trump signed a Homeland Security appropriations bill that earned a number of important legislative victories for our country. At the same time, he used his legal authority as President to take executive action to address the immediate national security and humanitarian crisis at our Southern Border.

“It’s very simple: We want to stop drugs from coming into our country. We want to stop criminals and gangs from coming into our country,” the President said Friday from the White House Rose Garden. “We don’t control our own border.”

The crisis is real. Pretending it doesn’t exist is an insult to those who face its consequences every day. “January saw a surprising surge of 22,000 more apprehensions of illegal immigrants at southwest border crossings over January 2018, prompting a key predictor to suggest that border officers will make over 600,000 apprehensions this year,” Paul Bedard reports for the Washington Examiner.

Politicians and the media should listen to our experts in law enforcement. The lack of physical infrastructure at our southern border is continuously being exploited for illegal purposes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials explain. To their point, take a look at a string of recent arrests along our border:

103 illegal aliens from Central America detained Monday morning
Two sex offenders arrested in separate weekend incidents
Multiple criminal aliens arrested over the holiday weekend, including some with warrants and convictions for sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder
A convicted rapist caught in El Centro, California
A previously deported MS-13 gang member recently apprehended
Nearly $1 million of drugs seized in the Rio Grande Valley

Behind the numbers are real stories of suffering. When America can’t vet who crosses its border, our citizens, including legal immigrants, suffer. On Friday, one such “angel mom”—a legal immigrant whose only son was killed by someone here illegally—told CNN’s Jim Acosta something that every American should agree with: “We need to protect this country.”

Her son’s death was preventable. Our leaders had the power to stop it, and they chose not to. For years, Washington put political convenience over real national security.

If that isn’t a crisis, nothing is.

President Trump is keeping his promise to secure America’s border.

Watch: The border wall is already being built—ahead of schedule.

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One year after Parkland

On February 14, 2018, a horrific act of violence took the lives of 14 students and 3 educators on the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. On this somber anniversary, we remember 17 lives that ended far too soon—and recommit ourselves to ensuring the safety of all Americans, especially our children.

“We cannot imagine the sorrow and suffering the Parkland families have endured. Our entire Nation mourns for the victims and their loved ones, and we pledge our unwavering resolve to work with the leaders in this room to secure our Nation’s schools and everywhere else,” President Donald J. Trump said last night.

Within days of the Parkland tragedy, President Trump convened a listening session with families, teachers, and student survivors of gun violence at the White House. “We learned a lot that afternoon,” the President wrote in a statement today.

In the year since Parkland, important strides have been made. One month after that listening session, President Trump signed the STOP School Violence Act and Fix NICS Act into law, which provides grants to improve school safety and strengthens background checks for firearm purchases. The Administration has also completed a regulatory process, begun in October 2017, to ban bump stocks.

“Melania and I join all Americans in praying for the continued healing of those in the Parkland community and all communities where lives have been lost to gun violence,” President Trump said in his statement. “Today, as we hold in our hearts each of those lost a year ago in Parkland, let us declare together, as Americans, that we will not rest until our schools are secure and our communities are safe.”

Presidential message on remembering the Parkland tragedy

What you should know: How President Trump is making our schools safer

For Valentine’s Day, First Lady brings joy to kids

Earlier today, First Lady Melania Trump visited the Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for an afternoon of Valentine’s Day festivities with some young patients.

The day was filled making candy grams, snow globes shaped like hearts, and other arts and crafts. She also hand-delivered a White House valentine to each of the children.

The well-being of our Nation’s children is a top priority for the First Lady, as exemplified by her Be Best initiative. Yesterday, while hosting Colombian First Lady Maria Juliana Ruiz Sandoval at the White House, she discussed the devastating impact that the opioid crisis is having on children and young mothers.

“My conversation with the First Lady of Colombia today further encouraged a global mission to fighting the addiction crisis and issues facing children domestically and all around the world,” the First Lady said in a statement.

First Lady Melania Trump meets with the First Lady of Colombia.

Learn more: The Be Best initiative puts our children first

Not one more person should suffer under socialism

Today, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed President Ivan Duque Marquez and First Lady Maria Juliana Ruiz Sandoval of Colombia to the White House. “We’re working on many things together: the eradication of drugs in Colombia and outside of Colombia; and obviously, Venezuela,” President Trump said.

“We want to work together to put an end to the brutal dictatorship that has been affecting the Venezuelan people,” President Duque added.

Three weeks ago, the United States officially recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela. “We stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble quest for freedom, and we condemn the brutality of the Maduro regime, whose socialist policies have turned that nation from being the wealthiest in South America into a state of abject poverty and despair,” President Trump said in his State of the Union address last week.

To keep its word, America has imposed tough sanctions on Maduro and his corrupt associates. The Trump Administration is blocking assets in the United States controlled by Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, disconnecting Maduro and his cronies from their needed revenue sources and protecting crucial assets for the future of Venezuela.

Here at home, mainstream Americans are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our own country. From Venezuela to the historic horrors of Maoist China, Cuba, and the Soviet Union, socialism turns modern prosperity into primitive scarcity. Even Europe’s Nordic countries—often held up by American liberals as socialist “success stories”—reveal the failure of state control: Today, living standards in the Nordic countries are at least 15 percent lower than in the United States, according to the Council of Economic Advisers.

“America was founded on liberty and independence, and not government coercion, domination, and control,” President Trump told Congress last week. “Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.”

President Trump is standing up for the people of Venezuela.

White House report: The true costs of socialism

Top CEOs, including Apple’s Tim Cook, team up with Ivanka Trump

In the world's best economy, a skills gap shouldn't stand between hardworking Americans and 7.3 million available jobs. So 25 leaders—including Fortune 500 CEOs, nonprofit executives, and governors—are joining Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to get more Americans into the jobs they want.

The American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, announced by Secretary Ross and Ms. Trump today, will work with President Trump’s National Council for the American Worker to help our labor force navigate the technological disruptions and rapidly changing nature of work today.

The board’s goal is to “ensure inclusive growth” in the U.S. economy, Ms. Trump says. Joining the board will be Apple CEO Tim Cook, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, and 23 other leaders from across business, the nonprofit sector, and government.

Bloomberg: ‘Wilbur Ross, Ivanka Trump introduce workforce advisory board’

The pledge: More than 200 companies have pledged opportunities for workers

Democrats, listen to law enforcement—not your base

“I’m here to say thank you,” Vice President Mike Pence told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Friday in Baltimore, Maryland. “But I’m also here to learn more about the work that each and every one of you do.”

Our immigration law enforcement officers have one of the toughest jobs in America. They are the first lines of defense against drug cartels, human traffickers, and other forms of transnational crime. It’s dangerous work that keeps our communities safe.

These officers are the experts when it comes to border security. They know what works and what doesn’t. Politicians should listen to them—not scapegoat them to cover for Congress’ own outdated, ineffective laws.

Congressional Democrats disagree. Amid calls to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entirely, now immigration officers can’t even make their voices heard. “A briefer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stood outside the closed-door meeting [last] Wednesday while negotiators working on a homeland security spending deal heard from border experts,” The Washington Times reports.

“The ICE briefer never made it in the room.”

Dozens of sheriffs arrived on Capitol Hill today to plead with Democrats not to cut resources for immigration enforcement. This afternoon, President Donald J. Trump met with a group of these local law enforcement leaders at the White House. “This is what we do,” one sheriff told reporters in the room. “If you do anything to cut ICE funding, you devastate our communities.”

Watch: Call it whatever you want, but without a wall, “it’s not going to work.”

President Trump: “This is a humanitarian and security crisis.”

American artificial intelligence will lead the world

Today, President Trump launched his American AI Initiative, directing Federal agencies to prioritize investments in the research and development of artificial intelligence.

“Continued American leadership in Artificial Intelligence is of paramount importance to maintaining the economic and national security of the United States,” the President says. Indeed, this investment is crucial to creating the industries of the future, such as autonomous cars, industrial robots, algorithms for disease diagnosis, and more.

AI promises great benefits for American workers, with the potential to improve safety and increase productivity. Additionally, maintaining America’s global leadership in AI will ensure that the technology is developed in a manner consistent with our Nation’s values, policies, and priorities—including the civil liberties of our people.

5 keys to accelerating American leadership in artificial intelligence

Get the facts: President Trump is advancing American AI capabilities

Boom: Best Economic Optimism in 16 years, 50% ‘Better Off’ Under President Trump

“Public optimism in their personal economy has hit a 16-year high under President Trump, according to a new survey. Some 69 percent told Gallup that they expect their personal finances to be even better next year,” Paul Bedard reports for the Washington Examiner.

“What’s more, the survey company said that 50 percent believe they are ‘better off’ than just a year ago when the current economic surge was kicking in. . . Gallup said that is the first time the level has reach 50 percent since 2007.”

Click here to read more.

In the New York Post, David Harsanyi writes that “impartial” fact-checkers are revealing their blatant partisanship against President Trump. “With a veneer of impartiality, fact-checkers often engage in a uniquely dishonest style of partisanship. And State of Union coverage gave us an abundance of examples of how they do it.”

In The Hill, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and health policy expert Joe DeSantis write that the Trump Administration’s plan to lower drug costs will “be a significant step toward fixing the health care system in America.” They explain that “not only will this plan save patients money at the pharmacy counter, it will begin to fix the broken economics of drug pricing that cause the huge increases in prices and out-of-pocket costs we have witnessed over the past decades.”

Last week, “President Trump unveiled a new White House initiative — the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative,” Christopher Barron writes in The Daily Caller. Spearheaded by Ivanka Trump, this first-ever government-wide initiative of its kind “aims to help 50 million women in developing countries realize their economic potential.” Barron adds that it’s also a positive step toward an “America First” foreign policy—and it’s the right time for initiatives like W-GDP that “spread American values of liberty and freedom to every corner of the globe.”

REAL NEWS PRESIDENT TRUMP DOESN'T WANT YOU TO MISS

With Pitch for Unity, Trump Urges Republicans and Democrats to ‘Choose Greatness’
-Washington Examiner
“President Trump in his State of the Union address Tuesday night issued a call for unity and an end to the political divisiveness that has ensnared Washington,” Melissa Quinn reports. During the speech—with its theme of “choosing greatness”—President Trump laid out five priorities that should unite both parties in Washington: “American jobs and fair trade, rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, reducing the price of healthcare and prescription drugs, creating a safe and lawful immigration system, and pursuing a foreign policy agenda that ‘puts America’s interests first.’”

Newt Gingrich: Trump's State of the Union Changed History on Tuesday Night
-Fox News
“Every once in a while a speech is so effective and powerful it changes the trajectory of history. President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address was that kind of speech,” former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich writes. “The emotions of Tuesday night matched anything President Reagan achieved in his addresses to Congress.”

EDITORIAL: Trump's State of the Union Speech Probably Ranks Among History's Best
-The Gazette
“Leading up to Tuesday night, we heard about the president’s intention to unify a country seldom so divided. So we expected a lot of easy talk about holding hands and trying to get along. This was more than words, at some points becoming an event that included women in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s caucus cheering the president as if they supported him,” The Gazette editorial board writes.

Three-Quarters Approve of Trump Speech: Polls
-The Hill
Tal Axelrod reports that roughly three-quarters of American viewers approved of President Trump’s State of the Union address, according to CNN and CBS News polls. “Seventy-six percent approved of the speech in the CBS poll, with 24 percent saying they disapproved,” Axelrod writes. The most telling stat: CBS found that “about 82 percent of independents in that survey who watched the speech liked what they heard.”

Ivanka Trump: Empower Women to Foster Freedom
-The Wall Street Journal
This week, President Trump signed a “memorandum establishing the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, or W-GDP,” Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump writes. “This initiative aims to help 50 million women in developing countries realize their economic potential by 2025 . . . Expanding women’s economic participation has the potential to boost global economic output by an additional $12 trillion by 2025.”

HHS Secretary Azar: How Team Trump is Bringing Drug Prices Down
-New York Post
“As Americans heard Tuesday in the State of the Union Address, the president is committed to improving fairness and transparency in health care,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar writes. “The president is going to keep charging ahead with delivering better care at more transparent, lower prices. That’s what it looks like to put American patients first, and that’s what he will deliver.”

Transportation Secretary Chao: Dems and GOP Should Join With Trump to Fund Infrastructure Improvements
-Fox News
Throughout the 20th century, infrastructure was essential to growing America into one of the most powerful economies in the world. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao writes that it’s time for both Democrats and Republicans to join with President Trump to fund infrastructure improvements. “Today, aging and insufficient infrastructure threatens to impede America’s economic growth and impact quality of life in many areas.”

Time for the World to Get Behind David Malpass for World Bank President
-The Hill
“The World Bank is an important institution and is often underappreciated and misunderstood in Washington D.C. It’s clear that David Malpass understands what the World Bank is and what it can do,” Daniel Runde writes. “Given that the U.S. has put forward a strong candidate, now would be the time for Japan, Europe, and other allied countries of the United States to come forward and support candidate Malpass.”

No more paying for the rich world’s medicine

After today’s Cabinet meeting, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar took a moment to explain how America’s seniors are footing the drug bills for patients in some of the richest countries in the world.

“So under President Trump, what we’ve found is that in our Medicare program for senior citizens, for the drugs that doctors administer in their offices to patients . . . we’re paying 180 percent of what the Europeans, the Canadians, and the Japanese are paying for the exact same drugs,” Secretary Azar says. “Pharma is making all their profit here in the United States, and then they’re giving these sweetheart deals in the other countries.”

Putting American patients first has been core to President Trump’s agenda since day one. Last week, during his second State of the Union address, he called on Congress to join him: “The next major priority for me, and for all of us, should be to lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, and to protect patients with preexisting conditions.”

Already, President Trump’s efforts to put patients in control have resulted in the single largest decline in drug prices in 46 years. The FDA approved a record number of generic drugs in 2017 and 2018 as alternatives to expensive brand-name medicines. All told, these approvals have saved customers a staggering $26 billion.

The next chapter in the fight against high drug prices is increasing transparency and ending the practice of global free-riding. Hospitals, insurance companies, and drug companies should be required to disclose real prices to patients to drive costs down. And Americans must get a share of whatever discounts other wealthy countries receive.

“This is wrong, this is unfair, and together we will stop it,” President Trump said last Tuesday. “And we’ll stop it fast.”

Watch: It’s time to stop paying for the rich world’s medicine.

Border Agents Just Apprehended Convicted Child Molesters and an MS-13 Member at the Texas Border Where There's No Barrier

“U.S. Border Patrol agents said Thursday that they apprehended several illegal immigrants at the southern border in Texas, in places where there are no physical barrier walls to deter illegal crossings,” Eddie Scarry reports in the Washington Examiner.

“Among those caught crossing into the U.S. were a Mexican man with a previous conviction in Georgia for child molestation, a Honduran man with a record in North Carolina showing a conviction for ‘Indecent Liberties with Child,’ and another Honduran male with a Florida record that identified him as a member of the violent MS-13 gang.”

Click here to continue reading.

“President Trump signed a new initiative Thursday to help bring economic security to 50 million women around the world by 2025, calling it a ‘historic step,’” Dave Boyer reports for The Washington Times. Led by Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump, the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, or W-GDP, is the first-ever whole-of-government approach focused on advancing women’s global economic empowerment.

Throughout the 20th century, infrastructure was essential to growing America into one of the most powerful economies in the world. In Fox News, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao writes that it’s time for both Democrats and Republicans to join with President Trump to fund infrastructure improvements. “Today, aging and insufficient infrastructure threatens to impede America’s economic growth and impact quality of life in many areas.”

“Ford Motor Company announced Thursday it will invest $1 billion at two Chicago factories to handle production of three new SUVs. The company said in a news release that work on the assembly and stamping plants will begin in March and is expected to be completed by spring,” Brett Samuels reported in The Hill. “The expansion will result in 500 new full-time jobs, bringing total employment at the factories on the city's southeast side to 5,800.”

In The Associated Press, Darlene Superville reports that First Lady Melania Trump “thanked youth anti-drug advocates Thursday for ‘choosing to step up and be part of the solution’ for reducing drug abuse and addiction.” The First Lady told attendees of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s youth leadership forum that “you are our greatest agents for change.”

The Theme of President Trump’s State of the Union: “Choosing Greatness”

In Fox News, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich writes that “there is a certain logic to President Trump emphasizing that Americans should move beyond vicious partisanship and ‘choose greatness’ for their country. This concept of American greatness has deep roots – from the Founding Fathers through Abraham Lincoln to Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Tonight the President “will be building on an astonishing run of economic growth, job creation, the lowest unemployment for African-Americans and Hispanics and Latinos historically recorded, rising real wages and real progress in trade negotiations.”

Click here to read more.

In USA Today, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) writes that border walls work, and Democrats know it all too well. “The clock is ticking, and Congress must quickly develop comprehensive border security legislation. America is waiting. But first, Democrats must realize something simple — something the American people already understand: We need a wall. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismisses a border wall as ‘immoral.’ This claim is brazenly false.”

“In June, the Trump administration instituted new rules that would allow small businesses and individuals to access health insurance through what the president called ‘association health plans.’ This would permit certain businesses and the self-employed to band together, even across state lines, to provide coverage for members outside of Obamacare’s strict rules,” Jack Hunter writes in the Washington Examiner. Critics incorrectly predicted this plan would fail, Hunter notes. “It turns out association health plans have quickly become a solution to many Americans’ coverage problems, are more affordable than Obamacare, and are helping many get the care they need.”

“In a historic march to regain control of their country, which was once the most prosperous nation in South America, Venezuelans bravely and peacefully took to the streets in hopes of reclaiming their homeland from the violent tyranny that is choking the country,” Lieutenant Governor of Florida Jeanette Nuñez writes in the Miami Herald. “In solidarity, President Trump took an important step in recognizing Juan Guaidó, the highest ranking and legitimately elected leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly, as the country’s interim president. Many other nations, including Canada, Brazil, Chile and Colombia, have followed suit.”

Meet the special guests for tomorrow’s State of the Union

Today, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump announced the special guests who will join them at the U.S. Capitol tomorrow night.

This year’s guests come from all different walks of life, and each has an incredible story to tell. Many have overcome exceptional hardship. Some have served our country in the Armed Forces or in law enforcement. Others have endured personal tragedy because of America’s broken immigration system.

No matter their story, each guest has something important in common: They represent the very best of America.

They’re also resilient. Take Roy James. After working for 26 years at a sawmill in Vicksburg, Mississippi, he was told the facility would close its doors last May. His family had lived in town for generations and wanted to keep it that way. Thankfully, Vicksburg was designated an Opportunity Zone in President Trump’s tax reform law. The plant reopened, and Roy was rehired to oversee the whole facility.

Or Matthew Charles. After leaving the Army, Matthew fell into a life of crime. Arrested for selling drugs in 1995, he found God while serving his sentence and became a mentor and GED course instructor for fellow inmates. After more than two decades behind bars, on January 3, he became the first prisoner released as a result of the First Step Act.

Meet each of the special guests.

President Trump Delivers For Workers … After Years of Empty Obama Promises

“The latest expectation-shattering jobs report isn't a fluke. It's another sign that President Trump's economic policies are improving the lives of middle class families,” the Investor’s Business Daily editorial board writes.

“For the first time in more than 20 years, the number of people who are out of the labor force — those without jobs and not looking — shrank by 647,000 over the past 12 months . . . The latest numbers also underscore a point we've been making in this space for months — that all the talk of a tight labor market overlooked the vast pool of idle workers during the Obama years.”

Click here to read more.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes that last Friday’s jobs report “was a bad day in certain media and political precincts as the labor market turned in another gangbuster performance in January.” Job growth was solid across industries, “with a notable bump in construction (52,000) and durable-goods manufacturing (20,000). Manufacturing jobs have climbed 261,000 over the last year.”

“Border residents in New Mexico say they are hesitant to report suspicious immigration activity to local and federal law enforcement because they fear the Mexican cartels moving drugs or people into the U.S. will retaliate against them. Seven residents who live 30 to 50 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border told the Washington Examiner that picking up the phone to call for help if they have been burglarized or found someone sleeping in their barn can lead to nasty consequences,” Anna Giaritelli writes.

“The Pentagon said Sunday it has sent 3,750 more active-duty troops to the border, moving to re-bolster forces as new caravans make their way north through Mexico,” Lauren Meier and Stephen Dinan report for The Washington Times. “The new troops will lay 150 more miles of razor wire to try to make it tougher to climb over existing border fencing and will also bring mobile surveillance capabilities to assist the Border Patrol in spotting illegal crossers.”

Trump Policies Keep Economic Boom Going As Job Gains of 304,000 Surpass Expectations

The American economy is continuing its historic streak of positive job gains in the new year, according to the latest monthly jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning.

The economy has added 4.9 million jobs since January 2017 and 5.3 million jobs since President Donald J. Trump was elected in November 2016. January 2019 marks the 16th consecutive month of employment growth of at least 100,000 new jobs. The report also indicates that wages are continuing to rise.

Click here to continue reading.

In The Wall Street Journal, Amrith Ramkumar writes that the strong U.S. economy fueled stocks to their best January performance in 30 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both closed with their biggest monthly gains in more than 3 years, “lifted by renewed confidence that the U.S. economy will keep powering ahead.”

In National Review, Vice President Mike Pence writes about a shocking bill introduced by Democrats in the Virginia legislature that would affirm abortion up to the moment of birth. But Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) went even further in a radio interview about the bill. “The infant would be kept comfortable. [And] the infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue,” the Governor said. “There’s another word for this: infanticide,” Vice President Pence writes.

“U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seized enough fentanyl to kill over 50 million people from a truck that was trying to cross the southern border into the United States, according to an investigation by ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’” Mike Brest reports for The Daily Caller. The incident qualifies as the biggest fentanyl drug bust in history.

“Stocks enjoyed a four-week winning streak last week. It was because investors are realizing that President Trump is finally succeeding in bringing China around on trade and that the underlying U.S. economy is solid,” Gina Loudon writes in the Washington Examiner. “Now China is finally being held accountable, and investors are starting to realize that Trump knows what he’s doing here.”

Crisis at Our Southern Border Is Real and Growing Worse Without the Wall

“The federal government has reopened, but the talking points pushed by the Democrats about the southern border remain the same. They falsely say ‘there is no crisis.’ They claim that a barrier or wall would do nothing to curb illegal immigration or drug smuggling, which is demonstrably untrue,” Buck Sexton writes in The Hill.

For example, “human smugglers for the cartels use the surrender of family units as a diversionary tactic. Once Border Patrol is engaged in one area, the smugglers will use that opportunity to run drugs onto American soil.”

Click here to read more.

“As a former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) special agent on the southern border who fought sex trafficking for over a decade, I can say with certainty that the issue of the border wall should be not about power and partisan politics. It should be about the children – the tens of thousands of them who have been and are being trafficked into the U.S. and forced into the commercial sex trade,” Timothy Ballard writes for Fox News.

In 2006, Matthew Hemsley arrived in America on a working visa to help establish a church in Charlotte, he recounts in The Washington Post. “By now, my three daughters had grown up in the United States. This was their home. I wanted to secure my wife and my children’s futures here,” Hemsley writes. “Twelve years later, on Jan. 19, I had one of the most surreal moments of my life: I was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in the Oval Office by President Trump.”

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Tuesday that it arrested 118 illegal immigrants in New York in a five-day raid this month, more than 107 of whom were convicted criminals or had pending charges against them -- and the agency slammed local politicians for protecting them and endangering the public,” Adam Shaw reports in Fox News. “Now that many sanctuary cities, including New York City, do not honor ICE detainers, these individuals, who often have significant criminal histories, are released onto the street, presenting a potential public safety threat,” ICE said in a statement Tuesday.

“Private payrolls grew in January at a much faster pace than expected,” Fred Imbert reports for CNBC. “Companies added 213,000 jobs this month.” Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said the “job market weathered the government shutdown well” as American businesses continued to hire strongly.

A message from President Trump on the wall

“On any given day some 2,000 individuals attempt to come into our Country illegally,” Vice President Mike Pence said today. Every day that our border remains unsecure is a gift for human traffickers, drug cartels, and gang members—and a loss for Americans who believe the rule of law shouldn’t disappear at our doorstep.

Watch President Donald J. Trump’s new video on border security.

‘Why are we fighting over this?’ asks Democrat

Yesterday, Republicans and Democrats from both houses of Congress met to begin negotiating a deal to fix America’s broken border security. President Trump set a deadline of February 15 for Congress to reach a bipartisan agreement.

It shouldn’t be difficult. Both parties say they want border security, and the evidence is overwhelming that physical barriers must be a part of any solution. They not only cut down on illegal immigration, but they protect our brave law enforcement officers from having to confront dangerous smugglers and traffickers on American soil.

Outside of the far-left fringe, many Democrats actually agree. Recently, a number of lawmakers began to distance themselves from the abolish-ICE, open-borders activists:

“Give Trump the money,” Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) says. “Why are we fighting over this?”
“There are gaps” along the border, Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) explains. “For many of us, there’s not really doubt that some kind of physical barrier is necessary.”
“Where folks say we need additional barrier protections, I’m all for it,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) says.
“I will vote for efforts to secure our Southern border that are done in an effective and efficient way,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) tweets. “And if that includes additional physical barriers, then I would support that.”

The question is who will win—sensible Democrats who are accountable to their constituents, or Democratic leaders who are accountable to their fringe base?

Just this week, Border Patrol arrests MS-13 gang member and attempted murderer

More: Largest fentanyl drug bust in history at border—enough to kill 50 million

President Trump receives letter from China

Today in the Oval Office, a delegation led by Liu He, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, met with President Trump and senior Administration officials to discuss a new trade deal between the two global powers.

The delegation read a letter to President Trump from Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I hope our two sides will continue to work with mutual respect,” President Xi wrote, reaffirming that both leaders continue to maintain a close working relationship.

“That’s a beautiful letter,” President Trump said. For the past two days, high-ranking officials from the United States and China have participated in intense and productive negotiations in Washington. The Trump Administration is focused on reaching meaningful commitments on structural issues and deficit reduction.

Statement of the United States regarding trade talks with China

Walls Work

“Of all the Democrats’ arguments against a southern border wall, the shadiest is that it would not work,” Deroy Murdock writes in National Review. The evidence says otherwise: “Love them or hate them, their effectiveness is indisputable.”

Murdock gives 8 examples. Here’s just one: “A barrier between the Tucson, Ariz., sector and Nogales, Mexico, was erected in 2000. That year’s 616,346 arrests plunged to 38,657 in FY 2017 — down 93.7 percent.” That doesn’t just mean less illegal immigration. It means fewer potentially fatal encounters with smugglers and traffickers for our law enforcement officers, too.

Click here to continue reading.

“In his inauguration speech, President Trump promised: ‘We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American,’ White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro writes in Fox News. Today, the President will sign an executive order—“Strengthening Buy American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects”—that will give another boost to these key pillars of his economic program.

In the Washington Examiner, Eddie Scarry writes that U.S. Border Patrol agents recently apprehended both an MS-13 member and an attempted murderer near the U.S.–Mexico border. “Both incidents happened in the southernmost part of Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley sector of the border, where illegal crossings are more than three times that of any other sector and where agents told me they are in dire need of a physical barrier wall.”

“President Donald Trump spoke Wednesday with the man the U.S. government recognizes as the legitimate leader of Venezuela even as turmoil continues in the oil-rich socialist country. About 50 countries have joined the United States in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as acting president of the South American nation while Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolas Maduro, tries to cling to power,” Fred Lucas writes in The Daily Signal.

In an interview with The Daily Caller, President Trump harshly criticized Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) and Democratic state Delegate Kathy Tran’s advocacy of late-term abortion. “I thought it was terrible,” the President said, adding that “this is going to lift up the whole pro-life movement like maybe it’s never been lifted up before.”

Here is where American voters stand on immigration

The White House • January 30, 2019

Here is where American voters stand on immigration

Last week, President Donald J. Trump made an appeal for bipartisanship to solve America’s immigration crisis. The reason is simple: Ordinary Americans across the political spectrum want to see illegal immigration addressed. The people fighting hardest to preserve the horrible status quo are entrenched interests in Washington.

This time must be different. President Trump has given Congress 3 weeks to reach a deal that secures our border while protecting the most vulnerable communities. Public opinion polls back the President up:

A recent ABC/Washington Post poll shows that most Americans believe the Government is doing “too little” to stop illegal immigration—including 4 in 5 Republicans, more than a third of Democrats, and a majority of independents.
Echoing that theme, a Gallup poll last month revealed that Americans view immigration as the second-biggest problem facing the country today.
A 2018 POLITICO/Morning Consult poll confirms a majority of voters disagree with Democrats’ proposal to eliminate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entirely. Not even a majority of Democratic voters agree.
Gallup polls from 2018 show that a majority of Americans personally worry about illegal immigration a “great deal” or a “fair amount.” More Americans oppose than support “sanctuary cities” that skirt Federal immigration laws, as well.

If Americans of all stripes call for safe and secure borders as part of common-sense immigration reform, why not give law enforcement the tools they need to do their jobs safely and effectively? That shouldn’t be controversial. Congress needs to put the concerns of American voters before those of special and political interests.

There is some good news, however: A growing number of Democrats understand that obstructing immigration reform would put them at odds with ordinary Americans. In recent weeks, they’ve broken rank with Democratic leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and have backed border security.

“Certainly you need barriers, and we support barriers,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) explains. Ditto Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA): “Where folks say we need additional barrier protections, I’m all for it.”

Democrats who put sensible solutions above obstructionist politics should be applauded. Those who don’t need to listen to voters—not their donors or party bosses.

Something to share: Border security will put human traffickers out of business.

Former DHS special agent: “We Need to Build the Wall for the Children”

President Trump calls Venezuela’s interim President

President Trump last week officially recognized Juan Guaido, President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, as the country’s Interim President.

More than 3 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015. The United Nations estimates that number may swell to more than 5.3 million by the end of 2019. The United States is standing with Venezuelans as they demand democracy, human rights, and prosperity—all things denied to them by the corrupt Maduro regime and its authoritarian predecessor, Hugo Chavez.

President Trump spoke with Interim President Guaido today, congratulating him on his historic assumption of the presidency and reaffirming American support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.

“The fight for freedom has begun!,” President Trump tweets.

Vice President Pence: “Venezuela, America Stands With You”

Photo of the Day

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers listen to President Donald J. Trump give remarks during his visit near the U.S. Border Patrol McAllen Station in McAllen, Texas | January 10, 2019

The White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW · Washington, DC 20500 · USA · 202-456-1111

VálaszVálasz mindenkinekTovábbítás

Biden vow to Americans: "I will always level with you"

The fastest economic recovery in U.S. history

The fastest economic recovery in U.S. history

15 days to slow the spread

15 days to slow the spread

A massive, unprecedented nationwide response

President Trump is taking unprecedented action to protect Americans

President Trump is taking unprecedented action to protect Americans

The 3 things Democrats can’t change

The 3 things Democrats can’t change

The dishonest impeachment case

What President Trump told the 47th March for Life

Our soldiers are safe, and America is prepared

Update: Take precautions as Hurricane Dorian moves toward U.S.

Video of the day: ‘The Wall is going up very fast’

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1t2uUeBXdU/?igshid=b6tjibw3fnws

President Trump ends a driving force behind mass illegal immigration

President Trump and the G-7 – These are the Three Big Scores from Biarritz

American Workers Are Winning

Border Wall will Help People on Both Sides -- Trump is Right

See the highlights from President Trump’s ‘Salute to America’

The Trump Economy shatters expectations . . . again.

President Trump Defies Ominous Predictions with Nonpartisan July 4th Salute to American Spirit

President Trump Pursues Smart China Strategy Heading Into Meeting With Xi Jinping

Hundreds of Migrant Caravan Members Found to Have US Criminal Histories: DHS Files

In Normandy, President Trump honors veterans 75 years after D-Day

Queen Elizabeth Greets President Trump at Start of State Visit

Over 1,000 Illegal Immigrants Apprehended in El Paso Sector, Largest Group Ever at Single Time

Pelosi, Dems Just Don't Care About Our National Emergency

Today, Democrat leaders chose the far left over America’s working families

Video of the day: President Trump presents the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor

First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Karen Pence honor our Armed Forces

Notre Dame: A symbol of faith around the world

Strong Jobs Market Spurs Bigger Salary Offers

America stands with Venezuelans. The UN must do the same.

President Trump honors WWII veterans

From ‘No Crisis’ to ‘Breaking Point’: Mainstream Media Changes its Tune

The Fraying Edges of Universal Health Care

Video of the day: ISIS, then and now

President Trump stands up for free speech on campus

By the numbers: The American dream is back

‘ISIS Caliphate Has Crumbled and Last Stronghold Liberated’

President Trump lands in Vietnam for second historic summit with North Korea

President Trump Has Made Unthinkable Progress on North Korea

Ivanka Trump heads to Georgia

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Ivanka Trump heads to Georgia

Vice President Pence to Europe: America is leading once again

A national emergency in plain sight

Border Apprehensions Jump 84 Percent, 606,000 Expected This Year

A national emergency in plain sight

25 MS-13 Gang Members Deported from Migrant Caravan in Mexico, Officials Say

A national emergency in plain sight

A national emergency in plain sight

One year after Parkland

One year after Parkland

For Valentine’s Day, First Lady brings joy to kids

Not one more person should suffer under socialism

Not one more person should suffer under socialism

Top CEOs, including Apple’s Tim Cook, team up with Ivanka Trump

Democrats, listen to law enforcement—not your base

Democrats, listen to law enforcement—not your base

American artificial intelligence will lead the world

Boom: Best Economic Optimism in 16 years, 50% ‘Better Off’ Under President Trump

Boom: Best Economic Optimism in 16 years, 50% ‘Better Off’ Under President Trump

REAL NEWS PRESIDENT TRUMP DOESN'T WANT YOU TO MISS

No more paying for the rich world’s medicine

No more paying for the rich world’s medicine

Border Agents Just Apprehended Convicted Child Molesters and an MS-13 Member at the Texas Border Where There's No Barrier

Border Agents Just Apprehended Convicted Child Molesters and an MS-13 Member at the Texas Border Where There's No Barrier

The Theme of President Trump’s State of the Union: “Choosing Greatness”

The Theme of President Trump’s State of the Union: “Choosing Greatness”

Meet the special guests for tomorrow’s State of the Union

Meet the special guests for tomorrow’s State of the Union

President Trump Delivers For Workers … After Years of Empty Obama Promises

President Trump Delivers For Workers … After Years of Empty Obama Promises

Trump Policies Keep Economic Boom Going As Job Gains of 304,000 Surpass Expectations

Crisis at Our Southern Border Is Real and Growing Worse Without the Wall

A message from President Trump on the wall