P.T. Ward

“Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I am with my country from this day on. You may depend on it.” Kaitlan Collins biggest hater.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

We have a critical thinking crisis that has been sweeping through the nation for the last 12 years and it is by design. In 2012, Congress passed the Smith Mundt Modernization Act, which allowed for propaganda produced by the State Department meant for foreign audiences, to become available for domestic consumption. Now defenders of this will say that this material is only available on request, and that it is not incorporated into mainstream news broadcasting, but I think there are significant indicators that this is not the case. Think about the evolution of the hoaxes that have been exposed since 2015 about Donald Trump and I think that really paints the picture pretty perfectly.

What really brings me to this observation, and I know it is not that profound but I just felt like laying it out there, is thinking about how frustrating it is when you get in a discussion with somebody about what you see as a false news story, but that they will vigorously defend as the truth. Somebody has to be correct about their beliefs don't they? And of course the answer to this is yes. I think this speaks to the strength and the coordination of the propaganda that has infected our institutions. There are so many different examples of different government cutouts that are meant to "counter disinformation" in some capacity: the GEC (Global Engagement Center), CISA, the Atlantic Council, etc. Should we really be surprised that half of the population is unable to critically think about the information that is being laid out in front of us? When you have all of the extraneous factors trying to tell you what to think rather than offer raw information for you to then filter through your own psyche, how could you possibly do so?

It is often said "once you see it, you can't unsee it" and that is particularly true in this case. A big battle for the future will be the continued fight for the American Psyche, we have to continue to push back for freedom from censorship and the freedom to come to your own conclusions. Our side will not always be right; we of course have factions of our own that often are not able to critique the shortcomings of our leaders, but I believe we are well equipped to handle those challenges as they present themselves if we are willing to be honest with ourselves throughout it all.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Tim Scott was a 🍩, but the rest of this is terrible news that foreshadows more of the same. Get ready for more disaffected voters 🤷🏼‍♂️

[Bill Melugin @BillMelugin_]

BREAKING: Sen. Majority Leader John Thune has been re-elected by Senate Republicans and will serve as Senate Minority Leader in the new Congress when Dems take power. Senators Barrasso, Cotton, Capito, and Lankford have all also been re-elected to their positions. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) will now serve as NRSC Chairman instead of Sen. Tim Scott.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Can confirm this isn’t taken out of context. Wild world we live in.

[Rob Henderson @robkhenderson]

"I'm so happy Charlie Kirk was killed. I can't help it, it's involuntary." -Dave Chappelle tonight at Madison Square Garden

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Jake Sherman through a table is music to my ears. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about Desiderio and crew; they���re all still just as terrible as ever.

[Congressman Michael Baumgartner @RepBaumgartner]

The slimiest member of the DC press corps who conspires with low integrity attention seekers to leak strategies being discussed in House Republican meetings is Jake Sherman. To be clear- If you want my vote for leadership you will commit to no on or off record interviews with Jake Sherman for as long as he leaks our confidential team meetings. If being in “punchbowl” is more important than keeping the confidentiality of your colleagues not only are you unfit for Leadership, you shouldn’t call yourself a patriot.
Do not call me and ask for my vote unless you are willing to make that commitment.
Our Republican Conference was crushed on Tuesday and we enter one of the most perilous times in our nations history. I can only speak for myself, but I will not be tolerating games and BS. 🇺🇸

[Mollie @MZHemingway]

Marc, while 34% said it was "crucial," a whopping additional 40% said it was a "major factor." (Only one out of four said it was not a big deal in their vote.) Of these 74% of Americans who said it was "crucial" or a "major factor," they overwhelmingly voted Democrat in the blowout election. In the same poll of voters who delivered Democrats a blowout victory, 63% said the decision to attack Iran was the "wrong" decision.

It is true that the minority of voters who voted Republican do not share these views, by and large, but the number of voters who shared these views was nowhere near enough to keep Republicans from being wiped out across the country.

Putting our head in the sand about what a devastating policy this was FOR ELECTION OUTCOMES is not helpful. (I understand that many people -- including people I genuinely love and admire -- feel it was worthwhile to suffer these election losses for the higher good of the military outcomes you successfully advocated for.)

As for the claim that internal data showed that former GOP voters who had become non-voters sought a change in the relationship ... that is almost certainly related to Trump's public announcement on election day that the relationship would, in fact, change by the end of the year. (https://t.co/gAZlmpT8wA) And a reminder that "change" doesn't have to mean -- and certainly shouldn't mean -- a harmful change to either party -- it ideally means a mutually beneficial change for the sake of strong alliances and peace.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Oh, so it wasn’t the tariffs and only the tariffs. Wow, who would’ve thought. Bad day to be Erick Erickson.

[Eric Levitz @EricLevitz]

According to @davidshor, Republicans were on track for a normal-sized midterm defeat --- right until Trump launched the Iran War. https://t.co/WcJ5Ffniiu

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

You fundamentally misunderstand what being “right” means. To you, being right means pleasing latino voters and their sensibilities at all costs. Anything for their vote! That’s not what being right means to me, or millions of other Americans. There’s 50 ways to make a record.

[Daniel Di Martino @DanielDiMartino]

Yet another case where "conservative" influencers attacking Maria Elvira Salazar were wrong. She was right.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

This bitch is still a traitor by the way. Same with Massie. Don’t get it twisted.

[Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 @mtgreenee]

Let me explain what’s going on right now. 🚨

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

I think you should stop talking now, Marc.

[Marc Thiessen @marcthiessen]

If @JDVance cannot bring himself to say that Trump made the right decision to disarm Iran, he has no business seeking the GOP nomination to succeed him. If Vance can’t endorse Trump’s national security policy, Trump should not endorse him.

https://t.co/xtp5pWD8Ue

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Also, I’m tired of being bullied about AI and data centers. All of it fucking sucks, and normal people hate it. Literally morphing reality in front of their eyes, it’s not just a gut reaction to fake data about water conservation. AI slop is real and it makes people see red.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

I concur, and acknowledge this isn’t how you build coalitions. Guess what? Doesn’t matter to me. The existential fight around immigration is real, and I’ve stayed consistent on that. Any Republican who is trying to find a reason to support the Dignity Act is no ally of mine.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

I concur, and acknowledge this isn’t how you build coalitions. Guess what? Doesn’t matter to me. The existential fight around immigration is real, and I’ve stayed consistent on that. Any Republican who is trying to find a reason to support the Dignity Act is no ally of mine.

[James Klüg @jamesklug]

I’m going to be brutally honest about where I stand, and I understand this is just me and not how you win elections:

Gas could be $10 per gallon and Trump could break 80% of his campaign promises—I’d still vote straight-ticket Republican for the sole purpose of combatting open borders. Mass migration has been catastrophic for the West.

[Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain]

A simple message to my friends who supported the war

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

@MZHemingway @BlueskyLibs @DLoesch she’s talking to you, and you should listen.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Do you know how high on your own supply you have to be to trot out this line of horse and think it’s even slightly believable? Man, is this what the last 3 months has looked like for you guys? How depressing.

[Erick Erickson @EWErickson]

Two Senators tell me the Vice President is right that the GOP turned against the Iran war in the Senate GOP’s own polling. But they say what the VP leaves out is that the turn came after the VP negotiated a bad deal with the Iranian regime that repulsed the GOP.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

@Ejmiller25 “Undocumented.” Holy fuck you really are a smug retard huh?

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Good, the more losses like this, the better.

[Ryan James Girdusky @RyanGirdusky]

Mike Carey, the Republican Congressman who based Trump for ending Haitians TPS lost his otherwise safe Republican district. I know a Republican in his district who voted against him, he said, "he should find a Haitian to vote for him if he wants them so bad."

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Good riddance. Swamp donkey, through and through.

[Tara Rosenblum @tararosenblum]

BREAKING - Congressman Mike Lawler has conceded NY-17. Democrat Cait Conley will head to DC in January representing Westchester, Dutchess, Putnam and Rockland counties in NY

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Import the third world, this is what you get Daniel. Congratulations, proud of you.

[Daniel Di Martino @DanielDiMartino]

This is a disaster for Texas students wow.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

@DanielDiMartino No, next question.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Listen to these people, and watch the Republican Party perish for good. That’s it. Nothing else needs to be said.

[Kimberley Strassel @KimStrassel]

This is a total hoot.
About the only thing it gets correct is that 2024 Trump voters were "pissed." As the polls spell out, very clearly, they were angry about tariffs--a word weirdly not found in this post, but which exit polls showed 65% of voters dislike. There's a straight line between those punishing costs and Senate losses in Kansas, Iowa, Ohio (farm areas) and beyond.
Angry the WH instead spent this past year talking about ballrooms and the Kennedy center. Frustrated by the complete absence of a next-two-year agenda (85% are concerned by healthcare costs. Where is the GOP plan?)
They are also unhappy about the war, though the numbers might be different if the president been clear about an exit strategy. And not sure where the "smartest" (and most anonymous) pollster in the world got the Israel argument. Exit polls show that of the 51% of voters who said our support for Israel was "too strong," only 19% of even that subset of respondents were Republican. The vast majority of GOP voters said our support for Israel was "just right" or "not strong enough."
Amusing to claim the problem here was traditional conservatives, as they were sidelined. Tillis was run out of the party, dooming NC. As was Cornyn. The WH had a pure expression of its second-term Trump/Vance agenda and loyalty in its chosen candidate of Ken Paxton. That would be the smoking carcass sitting on a 12-point loss in. . . Texas of all places. Meanwhile, who exactly is even talking about "asylum"? That's just a smear-y effort to preemptively shut down valid criticism.
The GOP strength has always been in its coalition--free-marketers, defense hawks, cultural conservatives. Trump's first-term success came from largely following that Reagan playbook. The second-term leaned into me-too progressive populism--at the veep's urging--and it ain't working.
The weird thing is that the veep remains more obsessed with remaking the party than with winning. Winning will require a lot better understanding of what happened yesterday than what is on offer in this alternate-universe view.

[P.T. Ward @HTWardish]

Nah I’m good, thanks for the offer though Brit. Time to retire.

[Brit Hume @brithume]

A stinging rebuttal to J. D. Vance and his admirers. Very much worth a read, especially on the Iran war.