Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
When I was elected in 2016, the national debt was nearing $20 trillion. The annual structural deficit—meaning how much more the federal government spends than it rakes in—approached $1 trillion. Now, the national debt exceeds $21 trillion. For many months, tax and regulatory reform has stimulated the economy, producing record federal revenue. Sadly, our deficits…
The school shooting in Parkland, Florida, rocked the nation. It also revealed incompetence and even corruption within the local school board. Kenneth Preston, a student journalist who helped expose some of these issues, joins us. Plus: A new poll shows Americans are split on whether they want to go to space.
China launched its Queqiao communications satellite on May 21, but unlike other communications satellites, this one isn’t going into an orbit around the Earth. Instead, it’s on its way to L-2, one of the five Lagrange points, where the Earth’s and the sun’s gravitational pulls cancel each other out. China is deploying this satellite to…
Frank Carlucci III, who served under every president from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan, died June 3 at his home in McLean, Virginia. He was 87. Carlucci, who dedicated much of his adult life to serving the American people and became well-known for his bravery, conservatism, and problem-solving approach, served as the 15th national security…
With so many pundits predicting what will happen at the Singapore showdown between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, someone’s bound to be right. Just who that someone will be is anybody’s guess. The summit between Trump and Kim brings together two of the most unconventional and unpredictable leaders in the…
In April, a group launched a lawsuit against the school, insisting that Harvard University release hidden information regarding its admissions. The organization leading the lawsuit is Students for Fair Admissions, which is comprised of Asian-American students who applied to get into Harvard and were rejected. The group says it believes the school is guilty of…
Editor's note: Some personal chords were struck by Kelsey Harkness' video report on one Maryland family's bad brush with the nation's lax school discipline policy. Their responses lead this week's roundup of comments. Write us at [email protected]—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Bullying is a bigger problem than school officials know or will admit, as indicated…
The Daily Signal’s Facebook Live show “Top 10” features the top news stories of the week. This week, we’re breaking down the top 10 moments during President Donald Trump’s lively presser before he departed for the G-7 summit in Canada on Friday. From presidential pardons to the NFL, to Russia, to North Korea, to freedom…
Hurricane Alberto, the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season’s first named storm, already has brought rain and chaos from the Florida panhandle to the Great Lakes region. In 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria also hit the homeland hard, costing $50 billion to $100 billion in damages each. The U.S. can expect more of the same as…
On Friday, in his meeting with the Group of Seven countries, President Donald Trump proposed that Russia be able to rejoin the G-7. Russian President Vladimir Putin would need to do much to re-qualify for that privilege, since Russia still retains its hold on Crimea and maintains troops in eastern Ukraine. After all, these are…
President Donald Trump has long railed against NAFTA as an unfair deal that lets foreign competition take advantage of U.S. manufacturers. That narrative is the basis of his recent move to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on several close allies: Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. The problem is the narrative is simply false. Post-NAFTA,…
Faith Ryan Whittlesey, a top aide to President Ronald Reagan and a two-time ambassador to Switzerland, died May 21 at age 79. As Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James reminded us, Whittlesey “leaves with us an incredible legacy of service, strength, and grace—a wonderful role model for conservatives coming up in the movement.” No one shaped the relationship between the U.S. and Switzerland in recent…
On today’s edition of The Daily Signal podcast, Rob Bluey and Ginny Montalbano have an exclusive interview with Fox News Channel star Tucker Carlson in addition to reviewing the week’s top news. Carlson gives advice to conservatives: Have children and tell the truth. The host of the cable giant’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” also breaks down…
China continues to flex its economic muscles to force foreign companies to toe the political line on Taiwan. It has threatened to end business dealings with any airlines that refuse to list Taiwan as “Taiwan, CN,” and many airlines are now bowing to China’s demands rather than lose business in the lucrative Chinese market. Delta…
As the farm bill debate heats up, it is important to remember that farm subsidy reform is definitely a conservative issue. Conservatives believe in free markets, not central planning. They believe in fiscal responsibility, not waste. When something comes up such as the House farm bill and its expansion of farm subsidies, conservatives need to…
President Donald Trump has already shaken up this weekend’s G-7 meeting in Canada by threatening to impose tariffs on other G-7 countries. Although picking a fight with America’s closest trading partners is a high-risk strategy, the president would be well-advised to continue his disruptive tactics when it comes to another item on the G-7 agenda: the…
If your contention is that President Donald Trump has the propensity to sound like a bully and an authoritarian, I’m with you. If you’re arguing that Trump’s rhetoric is sometimes coarse and unpresidential, I can’t disagree. I’m often turned off by the aesthetic and tonal quality of his presidency. And, yes, Trump has an unhealthy…
For too long, many union members have been kept in the dark about their union’s finances. Some unions are run in a transparent, democratic manner, but many others are run autocratically with minimal transparency and accountability. This lack of transparency too often allows unscrupulous union officials to embezzle or misuse union funds; and each year,…
After undergoing kidney surgery on May 14, Melania Trump made her first public appearance at a Federal Emergency Management Agency briefing with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and other members of the Cabinet. The appearance ended a period of media frenzy and conspiracy theories regarding her whereabouts, and came hours after the president…