Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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opinion
Nigel Farage Throws Down the Gauntlet
Nigel Farage has never been one to let the Westminster crowd call the shots. On Tuesday, the Reform UK leader announced he’s resigning as MP for Clacton-on-Sea, but it’s not that simple, because he’s running for the same seat again. Farage’s resignation triggers a by-election, which he intends to win. Thus, he is turning what… -
opinion
My Family Never Had Generational Wealth, but Trump Accounts Are Providing That for My Kids
My grandmother came to the mainland from Puerto Rico not knowing a word of English. My grandfather, born in Hell’s Kitchen, worked four to six jobs at a time just to keep the lights on—groceries sometimes bought on credit—before spending his career as a detective sergeant with the NYPD. On my father’s side, my grandparents… -
opinion
G7 Climate Realism Signals Policy Progress
The June G7 Summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, marked a major pivot. Driven by severe energy and commodity shocks stemming from the conflict in the Middle East—specifically transit disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz—G7 leaders overwhelmingly prioritized energy security, affordability, price insulation, and survival of the fossil fuel supply chain over aggressive timelines for reducing greenhouse… -
opinion
The Rise of Democratic Socialism Is an Opportunity for Republicans
Every political movement eventually reveals what it truly believes. And when it does, voters have a choice to make. For years, Americans were told that the radical Left was little more than a noisy fringe, loud on social media but marginal in real life. That claim is now hard to sustain. Candidates aligned with or… -
opinion
Defense Reconciliation Meets the Strategic Needs of the Moment
By 2049, Beijing aims to “fully transform” the People’s Liberation Army into a world-class force, and the U.S. military cannot deter China from using this military against the national interests of the U.S. with depleted munitions, delayed ships, and an industrial base that cannot surge in a crisis. President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill recognizes this… -
opinion
Atrocious Supreme Court Ruling Makes SAVE America Act Life or Death Choice for GOP
Unless Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., secretly works for the Democratic National Committee, he must bring the SAVE America Act back to the floor and move Heaven, Earth, and—if necessary—Hell to pass and speed it to President Donald Trump for signature. The U.S. Supreme Court’s calamitous embrace of late-arriving mail-in ballots makes this urgent matter even more vital. With sincere apologies… -
opinion
Restoring Obscenity Regulation: Lessons From America’s Founding Era
Americans born after the mid-1990s have lived their entire lives in a world awash with hardcore pornography. Never has so much pornography been so available to so many at so little cost. Our laws leave much pornography effectively unregulated. Our technology, especially smartphones, brings portable, private porn shops to everyone’s phone. Like today, there were… -
opinion
Why the NATO Summit in Ankara Matters to the US
President Donald Trump is in Turkey this week to meet with heads of state representing our allies from across the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In the wake of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s announcement of a six-month review of U.S. force allocations to the European theater titled “NATO 3.0,” leaders from across NATO are preparing… -
opinion
Congress and Insider Trading: The Rules Don’t Apply When You Make the Rules
Early in my career, I managed money for a federal judge. She couldn’t hold a single stock. No individual securities, no sector bets, no company-specific exposure of any kind. Any ruling touching a publicly traded company had to be beyond reproach. The appearance of a conflict was enough. She accepted that as a condition of… -
opinion
The Media Eagerly Take the Wrong Side of the Facts on Girls Sports
Journalists love to boast that they are “Facts First” people, that they are the brave souls seeking out “truth.” But when it comes to transgenderism, facts go out the window, and truth is triggering. When the Supreme Court upheld state bans on boys in girls sports, NBC anchor Craig Melvin sounded apologetic in live coverage…. -
opinion
Obscenity Is Still Illegal—It’s Time to Enforce Laws Against Pornography
The internet delivers an endless stream of hardcore pornography into American homes and pockets through laptops and mobile phones. Porn once confined to seedy bookstores is now ubiquitous, free, and increasingly violent. Most youngsters, especially boys, encounter hardcore pornography before they can drive. Marriages strain under its influence. The sexual dance is compromised by suspicion… -
opinion
Alive and Kicking: News of Woke’s Death Is Greatly Exaggerated
RealClearWire—Just a few years ago, wearing a sombrero on Halloween could get you banished from polite society for the social crime of “cultural appropriation.” Nutrition experts argued that preventing obesity was a form of racialized “fatphobia,” even as scientific names of songbirds were purged in a moral campaign presumably aimed at white supremacy. Meanwhile, a slew of studies, papers, and articles argued that punctuality, excellence, and other forms of professionalism are “the systemic, institutionalized centering of whiteness.” Today, as universities are dismantling… -
opinion
EPA, Don’t Regulate Away America’s Medical Device Sterilization Industry
RealClearWire—In 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency tried to make it harder for hospitals to obtain essential sterilized medical equipment by threatening to regulate the American industry out of business. Two years later, the EPA is finally safeguarding the medical equipment supply chain by rescinding a damaging and badly conceived rule. The rule centers on a… -
opinion
Prioritize GPS or Risk Losing Future Wars
RealClearWire—The U.S. Global Positioning System stands as America’s key part of its critical space infrastructure. It is foundational to a highly functioning society. It underpins everything from smartphones, navigation for commercial aviation, precision-guided weapons, and global financial networks. Yet, despite its strategic importance, GPS modernization has too often been treated as a billpayer within defense… -
opinion
Meet the UK’s Terrible Next Prime Minister: Andy Burnham
As Americans try to make sense of the latest mess in British politics, one name keeps coming up as the likely next occupant of 10 Downing Street: Andy Burnham. The former mayor of Greater Manchester, always camera-ready and quick with a soundbite, looks set to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister. If… -
opinion
Pamphlets to Posts: The Founders Would Have Been Keyboard Warriors
RealClearWire—If America’s Founding Fathers were still with us today, they wouldn’t avoid social media—they’d master it. Popular platforms like X, Facebook, Truth Social, and Instagram can reduce our ability to build trusting relationships and cross political boundaries. But they are also incredibly powerful tools to spread news and perspectives—and are not inherently incompatible with thoughtful… -
opinion
Fit to Fight: Why the Military Has Always Said No to Those Who Can’t
RealClearWire—The United States Army turned away Erik Holmstrom on Reception Day at West Point in 1995. He was a standout offensive lineman from Duluth with the body and the drive for it. The problem was an old ACL repair and a ligament that measured 0.03 centimeters too loose to meet deployment standards. The Army didn’t… -
opinion
Democrat Leaders Deny the Declaration’s First Right
This year, Americans are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which declared the “self-evident” truth that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” including the rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The leaders of the Democratic Party, however, deny this self-evident truth…. -
opinion
In the Cradle of Liberty, Educational Freedom Should Be the Default
RealClearWire—This summer, Philadelphia is celebrating its role as the birthplace of America. Tourists from around the world are descending on Independence Hall, where 250 years ago a group of colonists declared that governments exist to secure the rights of the people, not the other way around. It’s a fitting moment to ask whether Pennsylvania is… -
opinion
Abraham Lincoln and America’s Electric Cord
The debates between Abraham Lincoln and Sen. Stephen Douglas not only rank amongst America’s landmark speeches but could be a primer for political philosophy students. In campaigning against one another, the rising statesman and elder politician tackled some of the most essential questions of morality and politics. What does it mean to be human? To…