Uncensored Free Speech Platform

Republicans in lock-step behind Trump immigration crackdown as independent support shrinks, poll finds
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

Republicans remain firmly behind President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown even as support among independents declines and more Americans say he has "gone too far," according to a new poll.
The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released the findings on Thursday, showing that roughly half of Republicans say Trump’s actions are "about right," and another quarter believe he hasn’t gone far enough.
The survey found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults believe Trump has crossed the line in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, including nearly 9 in 10 Democrats and about 7 in 10 independents. Only about one-quarter of Republicans agree.
The poll was conducted before Trump’s border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday that a federal immigration surge in Minnesota would conclude. Federal authorities have previously said the immigration sweeps focused on the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area have led to the arrest of more than 4,000 people.
LEAVITT SAYS TRUMP WILL NOT ‘WAVER’ ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN DESPITE DEMOCRATIC BACKLASH
Trump’s overall approval on immigration stands at 38%, largely unchanged since January despite weeks of unrest tied to federal enforcement operations, including high-profile clashes in Minneapolis.
Trump’s standing with independents, however, appears to be eroding, according to the poll.
Approval among independents dropped from 37% in March 2025 to 23% in the new poll, with about 6 in 10 independents now saying Trump has gone too far in deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally — up from 46% in April.
MORE THAN HALF OF VOTERS THINK DHS SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM SHOULD BE REMOVED: POLL
The partisan divide is especially sharp when it comes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view of ICE overall. Roughly 7 in 10 Republicans view the agency favorably, compared to just 2 in 10 independents and 1 in 10 Democrats.
The poll also suggests the GOP’s long-held advantage on immigration may be narrowing.
In October, Republicans held a 13-point edge over Democrats on which party Americans trusted more to handle immigration. In the latest survey, that gap has shrunk to just 4 points, with about 3 in 10 Americans favoring each party and another 3 in 10 saying neither would do a better job.
Trump’s overall job approval stands at 36%, slightly down from the start of his second term. His ratings on the economy and foreign policy remain similar and largely unchanged in recent months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russia replaces WhatsApp access with state sanctioned messaging app
This sets a dangerous precedent.

Russia confirmed Thursday that it is seeking to fully block WhatsApp access in the country, instead pushing users to use a state-sanctioned replacement for messaging.

While WhatsApp is Russia’s most popular messenger, the Kremlin urged millions to adopt Max, a domestic service that has been characterized by critics as a possible surveillance tool. The development follows a Wednesday announcement from Russian officials that Telegram would be further restricted nationwide, accusing it of failing to address regulatory violations. And it comes after Moscow has long targeted and restricted WhatsApp and other social media platforms owned by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, including by designating Meta as an extremist organization in 2022.

“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed taken and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that citizens should adopt Max as a “national messenger.”

WhatsApp condemned the move in a statement to X, noting the company is doing “everything we can” to keep Russian users active on the platform.

“Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia,” the WhatsApp statement reads.

Some domain names associated with WhatsApp disappeared from Russia’s national register of domain names, meaning devices inside Russia stopped receiving its IP addresses from the app and could be accessed only by using a VPN connection, according to Reuters. While many users can still circumvent the ban through VPN, authorities are increasingly targeting the loophole, including by introducing fines for VPN providers.

Online calls from WhatsApp, Telegram, and Apple’s FaceTime had previously been restricted by the Kremlin, along with blocks on Signal, YouTube, and other Meta-owned platforms.

Restrictions on Telegram have raised particular concerns in Russia, due to the military’s reliance on the messaging platform for war communications in its battle against Ukraine.

HOW MANY RUSSIANS AND UKRAINIANS HAVE DIED IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR?

In a post earlier this week, Telegram founder Pavel Durov, a Russian native, rebuked the Kremlin over the censorship, saying it is trying to “force its citizens to switch to a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship.”

“Restricting citizens’ freedom is never the right answer,” he said. “Telegram stands for freedom of speech and …

Trump administration says it is ending its immigration surge in Minnesota
Who's accountable for the results?

Speaking at a news conference in the city, border czar Tom Homan said coordination with local law enforcement and success of immigration enforcement have contributed to the end of Operation Metro Surge.
"I have proposed and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude," he said.
Immigration officers and agents have arrested 4,000 people since the operation began, the Department of Homeland Security said last week. DHS did not provide a breakdown of how many of those had criminal charges. Federal authorities have arrested more than 200 people for impeding the work of law enforcement officers, Homan said Thursday.
Amid the crackdown, immigration authorities shot and killed two U.S. citizens — Renee Good, 37, a mother of young children, and Alex Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse at a local Veterans Affairs hospital — in separate confrontations.
Authorities had already announced a drawdown of the operation in the days following Pretti’s killing. Customs and Border Protection's Greg Bovino was removed from his post as commander at large and returned to his former post in El Centro, California. Homan then arrived to take control of the operation.
Homan acknowledged those setbacks Thursday.
"As I said in my first press conference a couple weeks ago, President Trump didn’t send me here because operation were being run and conducted perfectly," he said. "I came here to identify issues and implement solutions to improve our mission execution."
Is this a retreat from the Trump administration? Or does ICE feel that they've deported everyone they can? If Bovino were still in charge of Operation Metro Surge, would it still continue today?

How Virginia’s top court might decide Democrats’ gerrymandering fate
Confidence requires clarity.

Virginia Democrats are moving forward with plans to gerrymander their way to four more congressional seats — but they need help from the state’s top court.

After a lower court blocked Democrats’ efforts to amend the state Constitution and redraw federal congressional lines ahead of this fall’s midterm elections, the Virginia Court of Appeals requested the Virginia Supreme Court weigh in.

That puts the fate of the map — and potentially congressional control after the 2026 midterms — in the hands of a group of justices that observers say can be hard to predict.

Political and legal experts in Virginia agree the state Supreme Court is not overtly ideological, with many describing it as “small-c conservative,” leaning heavily on tradition and precedent rather than handing down ideologically right-wing rulings. And many observers say the court is wary of wading too heavily into political fights. But this time, it’s unavoidable.

“It's kind of a state Supreme Court tradition to stay away from political matters whenever they can. They like to leave the legislating to the legislature. So this is going to be a really interesting test of that tradition,” said Carolyn Fiddler of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, who attended William & Mary Law School in Virginia and worked in state politics.

Virginia is one of only two states where the legislature elects Supreme Court justices. Because the state has had divided control for much of the past quarter century, the balance of the court’s justices were appointed by bipartisan compromise. The court’s current seven members include one justice who was elected when Democrats had sole control of the General Assembly, three when Republicans controlled both chambers and three when control of the legislature was split.

“I voted for all these people – every one of them — and I don’t think any of them are overly political. And they shouldn’t be,” said Virginia House of Delegates Minority Leader Del. Terry Kilgore (R), who said he thinks the court will rule in his side’s favor. “They just should follow the law. If they do, we win.”

The question before the Virginia Supreme Court is not if, but when, new maps are allowed to go into effect — and whether they’ll be in place for this year’s midterms.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed legislation scheduling a statewide referendum for April 21 last week, asking voters to grant state lawmakers the power to redraw federal Congressional lines immediately. It came a day after Democratic state lawmakers unveiled proposed maps that aim to tilt the congressional map 10-1, potentially handing Democrats four more House seats and leaving just one Republican in the federal delegation.

But a wrench was thrown in their plans when a circuit court judge in conservative Tazewell …

Trump accuses Kevin Stitt of seeking ‘cheap publicity’ over governors’ dinner statement
How is this acceptable?

President Donald Trump said Oklahoma will “soon” have a governor who can “accurately write a Press Release” in his latest dig against Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) on Thursday.

Trump’s rift with Stitt stems from the president’s rejection of the governor’s allegation that the White House invited only Republican governors to the annual governors’ dinner. This prompted the National Governors Association, which Stitt chairs, to cancel its annual meeting with the president later this month.

Trump said on Wednesday that he invited all governors except for Govs. Wes Moore (D-MD), the NGA’s vice chairman, and Jared Polis (D-CO).

“Remember, it was RINO Governor Kevin Stitt, of Oklahoma, who was massively behind his Opponent in his previous Election for Governor, who called me to ask for help. I Endorsed him (Barely!), and he won his Race,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump said Stitt “barely” won reelection in 2022 despite the governor winning by roughly 14%, outpacing Democratic challenger Joy Hofmeister.

Trump also said he would see “whoever shows up at the White House” for the annual governors’ dinner, adding “the fewer the better.”

In a separate statement, Trump apologized to “my cherished Oklahoma” for backing Stitt on Wednesday night.

“When Kevin Stitt, the very mediocre (at best!) RINO Governor of Oklahoma, was losing his Election to a Democrat, primarily because he did a bad job, he called for my help. I Endorsed him, and he won — Sorry, my cherished Oklahoma, to have done that to you!” Trump said on Truth Social.

SENATE DEMOCRATS WEIGH SKIPPING TRUMP STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

The president said he did not invite Moore because the governor is “doing a terrible job on the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” and allowing Baltimore “to continue to be a Crime Disaster.” He also said he did not invite Polis because, in his view, the Colorado governor “unfairly incarcerated in solitary confinement a 73-year-old cancer-stricken woman (a nine-year term!) for attempting to fight Democrat voter fraud.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to Stitt’s office for comment.

6 Weeks After Surgery, Victor Davis Hanson Inspired by Fans’ Messages
This affects the entire country.

Six weeks after surgery to remove lung cancer, Victor Davis Hanson shared in his most recent podcast about his recovery and the hope he has gained from well-wishers.  

“I never expected so many people to be so nice. … I knew they were nice. I didn’t know there were so many of them,” said Hanson, a senior contributor to The Daily Signal, during a podcast. “I’m getting letters, emails every single day from the nicest people.” 

“We get all of these distractions of [New York Mayor Zohran] Mamdani, and Bad Bunny, and all the ICE stuff, and you get depressed,” Hanson said.

“Then you get these letters from people, from a kind of a lost generation we don’t even think about, and they write in the most beautiful cursive handwriting. It’s amazing. I’ll get people that will write a whole page in just beautiful calligraphy, and they all mention God, they talk about prayer, they talk about their lives, they talk about all the tragedies. I read every one of them.” 

He opened the program with details of his recovery.  

The surgeon “got the lymph nodes,” and once he awoke, “I thought everything was going great,” he noted.  

“I’m 72, so one of my arteries and two of my veins, I don’t know what happened. I guess they’re old, but they started bleeding pretty heavily,” he said.  

He said his surgeon “didn’t hesitate.” 

“They put me out, and reopened the lung, and started all over again, and he found them,” he said. “I lost, I don’t know, two or three liters and five transfusions.” 

Though he is taking a positive outlook, he noted frustration, and wishes he felt better than he did.  

“So, I just feel like I’m too wobbly, I can’t drive yet. I’d like to get back full time to work,” he said.  

He mentioned the cancer was uncommon. 

He said his one of his doctors said, “This is the sideshow, the real problem is making sure that cancer doesn’t come back.” 

The post 6 Weeks After Surgery, Victor Davis Hanson Inspired by Fans’ Messages appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Cardi B says she’ll ‘jump’ ICE if they come to her concert
This feels like a quiet policy shift.

Rapper Cardi B warned Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers not to attend her tour, saying she would “jump” them if they tried to “take” her fans. 

She spoke out against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown on Wednesday at the opening night of her Little Miss Drama Tour in Palm Desert, California. 

“If ICE coming here, we going to jump they asses,” Cardi B said. “Bitch I got some bear mace in the back, they ain’t taking my fans, bitch.” 

Cardi B speaks out against ICE:

“Bitch, if ICE come in here we’re gonna jump they asses… They ain’t taking my fans, bitch”
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) February 12, 2026

Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, more popularly known as, has been a staunch critic of the Trump administration.  

Numerous celebrities have criticized the Trump administration’s ICE operations publicly, including Super Bowl halftime show performer Bad Bunny. Ahead of the Super Bowl, Cardi B also chimed in.

The rapper told reporters she was “proud” of Bad Bunny and praised him for speaking out against ICE in his Grammy acceptance speech. 

“I’m proud of everything that he’s been standing up for against ICE and everything,” she said. 

In 2024, Cardi B campaigned for former Vice President Kamala Harris in Wisconsin just days before the election. 

Cardi B said when Harris joined the race, after former President Joe Biden dropped out, the rapper’s mind changed “completely.” 

“I did not have faith in any candidates … until [Harris] said the things that I wanted to hear,” she said at the time. 

The rapper said she related to Harris because she was also an “underdog.” 

“Just like Kamala Harris, I too have been the underdog,” Almánzar said. “I have been underestimated, my success belittled and discredited,” she said. “Women have to work ten times harder, perform ten times better and still people question how we got to the top.”

MAGA QUEEN OF RAP: NICKI MINAJ BECOMES TRUMP’S NEWEST WHITE HOUSE SURROGATE

Her remarks about ICE come as fellow rapper Nikki Minaj, whom she has feuded with since 2017, has publicly supported Trump. 

Minaj has faced both praise from conservatives and criticism from her fans for supporting Trump.

DOJ solicits examples of ‘judicial activism’ from prosecutors as it weighs impeachment referrals
This is a governance problem, not a headline.

A Department of Justice official raised the possibility of referring federal judges to Congress for impeachment in what would be a dramatic escalation of the administration’s fight with judges it views as activist and obstructionist.
The idea was floated by a senior DOJ official during a recent virtual meeting with U.S. attorneys across the country, a source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital. It marked a new possible avenue for the executive branch to confront the judiciary — by turning to Congress, which has sole authority over impeachment, to take the rare step of voting to oust federal judges.
The meeting, led by Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh, was routine, but impeachment had not been raised in one before, the source said. Singh broached it after the DOJ received numerous complaints from the U.S. attorneys’ offices about judges, the source said. Bloomberg Law first reported on the meeting.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS REVIVE PUSH TO IMPEACH 'ACTIVIST' JUDGES AFTER JOHNSON'S GREEN LIGHT
Singh asked the U.S. attorneys to compile examples of issues they have had with judges, which the DOJ could then use to determine if referring judges for impeachment was appropriate. 
A DOJ spokesperson confirmed the move in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying the Trump administration is "facing unprecedented judicial activism from rogue judges who care more about making a name for themselves than acting as impartial arbiters of the law."
"The Department of Justice solicited the most egregious examples of this obstruction from our U.S. Attorney Offices to assist Congress with efforts to rein in judges violating their oaths in accordance with their constitutional oversight authority of the judicial branch," the spokesperson said.
Any referral would be sent to the House, which must then vote on impeachment. Doing so would be extraordinarily rare as the House has only ever impeached 15 judges, typically for crimes like corruption and bribery.
This year, Congress has weighed impeaching at least two federal judges, James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman.
Boasberg, an Obama appointee, has made a handful of adverse rulings against the Trump administration in high-profile immigration cases, while Boardman deviated heavily downward in her eight-year sentence for Justice Brett Kavanaugh's attempted assassin. Numerous Republicans have called for their impeachment, but the House has not moved to initiate the proceedings.
APPEALS COURT DISMISSES DOJ MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT AGAINST FEDERAL JUDGE
As a recourse against adverse rulings, the DOJ has publicly decried …

DOJ fires judge-appointed acting US attorney in New York
Ask who never gets charged.

The Trump administration fired the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York Wednesday just hours after a panel of federal judges selected him for the role, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s battle with courts over control of federal prosecutor appointments.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that longtime lawyer Donald Kinsella had been removed shortly after judges in the district tapped him to replace President Donald Trump‘s preferred pick, John Sarcone III, whose interim term had expired.

Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does. See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella.
— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) February 12, 2026

“Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does,” Blanche wrote. “See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella.”

Federal law allows district courts to appoint an acting U.S. attorney when an interim appointee’s 120-day term lapses and no Senate-confirmed nominee is in place. However, the Trump administration has vehemently argued that the president is allowed to appoint and fire whomever he pleases, arguing final hiring authority is vested in the executive branch.

Despite the administration’s position, judges in Albany invoked their authority after Sarcone was disqualified in January by a federal judge who ruled the administration improperly maneuvered to keep him in office beyond his statutory limit.

In a 24-page opinion written last week, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield wrote that when the executive branch “skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority.”

Schofield also voided two subpoenas Sarcone issued to New York Attorney General Letitia James, a frequent political target of Trump who previously sought to sue his family business for hundreds of millions of dollars. The Justice Department is appealing that judge’s decision to void the subpoenas.

The Kinsella firing underscores a widening confrontation between the administration and the judiciary over who controls U.S. attorney posts. Courts in multiple districts have blocked or questioned Trump-backed prosecutors, including in New Jersey, where an appeals court upheld the disqualification of Alina Habba, another former personal attorney to Trump.

APPEALS COURT FINDS ALINA HABBA UNLAWFULLY SERVED AS TOP NEW JERSEY PROSECUTOR …

Hawley calls on Minnesota attorney general to be indicted over fraud reports: ‘You ought to be in jail’
This is performative politics again.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called on each other to resign from their respective positions after a heated exchange in a Senate homeland security committee hearing on Minnesota oversight.

Hawley grilled Ellison on the fraud scandals gripping Minnesota, focusing on a 2021 meeting between Ellison and several leaders who were later charged in the Feeding Our Future nonprofit organization’s COVID-19 fraud scandal, which was secretly caught on tape.

The exchange erupted when Hawley said Ellison deserved to be jailed for his actions.

“The people who ran the Feeding Our Futures program came to you in your official office in the state capitol on December 11, 2021, and asked for your help in getting investigators off their backs,” Hawley said. “You said to them, ‘Send me the names of all these folks who are investigating.’ You said to them, ‘Send me their names and I’ll take that list, and I’ll call the person over at education who is investigating them and say, ‘What’s going on? Why am I getting these complaints?'”

Ellison denied the two accusations that he helped or agreed to help the Feeding Our Futures leaders and told Hawley he was “cherry-picking quotes” out of the recording.

“My team assisted with the information that led to the prosecution and conviction of these people,” Ellison said.

Hawley accused Ellison of lying, and the two spoke over each other for several minutes.

The House oversight committee previously alerted Ellison to a tape recording of the meeting between the Gopher state attorney general and the Feeding Our Future leaders. Ellison was “caught on tape pledging to help Feeding Our Future fraudsters in a conversation that also included discussion of campaign donations from Somali community leaders,” according to Rep. James Comer‘s (R-KY), House oversight chairman, letter.

Hawley continued to blast Ellison over his exchanges with Minnesota fraudsters and said his campaign financially benefited from the leaders of the fraud ring. Ellison denied Hawley’s claims.

“Why’d you take their money? You took $10,000. $10,000, nine days after the meeting,” Hawley said.

“That’s a false statement,” Ellison said, as the two spoke over each other.

Ellison called Hawley’s line of questioning a “theatrical performance,” while Hawley fired back, “This is what accountability looks like.”

“You helped fraudsters defraud your state and this government of $9 million, and you got a fat campaign contribution out of it; …