JACOB LEMONS

[Dave Portnoy @stoolpresidente]

I TOLD YOU LOSIING TO BUFFALO WOULD BE THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO THIS TEAM. WE NEEDED THAT. THIS TEAM IS GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL! #NEPats

[Dave Portnoy @stoolpresidente]

EMERGENCY PRESS CONFERENCE! WE’RE BACK!!!!

[New England Patriots @Patriots]

ANDY FOR THE WIN.

[Carson Cunningham @Carson_OKC]

#PressOn

[JD Vance @JDVance]

A while ago, probably in 2017, I appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox show to talk about God knows what. Afterwards a name I barely knew sent me a DM on twitter and told me I did a great job. It was Charlie Kirk, and that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today.

Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind. Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives. When others were right, he learned from them. When he was right--as he usually was--he was generous. With Charlie, the attitude was never, "I told you so." But: "welcome."

Charlie was one of the first people I called when I thought about running for senate in early 2021. I was interested but skeptical there was a pathway. We talked through everything, from the strategy to the fundraising to the grassroots of the movement he knew so well. He introduced me to some of the people who would run my campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr. "Like his dad, he's misunderstood. He's extremely smart, and very much on our wavelength." Don took a call from me because Charlie asked him too.

Long before I ever committed (even in my mind) to running, Charlie had me speak to his donors at a TPUSA event. He walked me around the room and introduced me. He gave me honest feedback on my remarks. He had no reason to do this, no expectation that I'd go anywhere. I was polling, at that point, well below 5 percent. He did it because we were friends, and because he was a good man.

When I became the VP nominee--something Charlie advocated for both in public and private--Charlie was there for me. I was so glad to be part of the president's team, but candidly surprised by the effect it had on our family. Our kids, especially our oldest, struggled with the attention and the constant presence of the protective detail. I felt this acute sense of guilt, that I had conscripted my kids into this life without getting their permission. And Charlie was constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers. Some of our most successful events were organized not by the campaign, but by TPUSA. He wasn't just a thinker, he was a doer, turning big ideas into bigger events with thousands of activists. And after every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do. "You focus on Wisconsin," he'd tell me. "Arizona is in the bag." And it was.

Charlie genuinely believed in and loved Jesus Christ. He had a profound faith. We used to argue about Catholicism and Protestantism and who was right about minor doctrinal questions. Because he loved God, he wanted to understand him.

Someone else pointed out that Charlie died doing what he loved: discussing ideas. He would go into these hostile crowds and answer their questions. If it was a friendly crowd, and a progressive asked a question to jeers from the audience, he'd encourage his fans to calm down and let everyone speak. He exemplified a foundational virtue of our Republic: the willingness to speak openly and debate ideas.

Charlie had an uncanny ability to know when to push the envelope and when to be more conventional. I've seen people attack him for years for being wrong on this or that issue publicly, never realizing that privately he was working to broaden the scope of acceptable debate.

He was a great family man. I was talking to President Trump in the Oval Office today, and he said, "I know he was a very good friend of yours." I nodded silently, and President Trump observed that Charlie really loved his family. The president was right. Charlie was so proud of Erika and the two kids. He was so happy to be a father. And he felt such gratitude for having found a woman of God with whom he could build a family.

Charlie Kirk was a true friend. The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. I am on more than a few group chats with Charlie and people he introduced me to over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, bust each other's chops, and mourn the loss of loved ones. We talk about politics and policy and sports and life. These group chats include people at the very highest level of our government. They trusted him, loved him, and knew he'd always have their backs. And because he was a true friend ,you could instinctively trust the people Charlie introduced you to. So much of the success we've had in this administration traces directly to Charlie's ability to organize and convene. He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.

I was in a meeting in the West Wing when those group chats started lighting up with people telling Charlie they were praying for him. And that's how I learned the news that my friend had been shot. I prayed a lot over the next hour, as first good news and then bad trickled in.

God didn't answer those prayers, and that's OK. He had other plans. And now that Charlie is in heaven, I'll ask him to talk to big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly.

You ran a good race, my friend.

We've got it from here.

[NFL @NFL]

Patriots expected to hire Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator. (via @RapSheet)

[President Donald J. Trump @POTUS]

AMERICA IS BACK. 🇺🇸

Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America.

[Mike Gundy @CoachGundy]

Cowboy For Life! #GoPokes #okstate

[Andrew Tate @Cobratate]

You get three lives.

[James O'Keefe @JamesOKeefeIII]

Trump is bleeding from the ear but it looks like he just survived an assassination attempt.

Please pray for our country.

[Pat McAfee @PatMcAfeeShow]

Ollie Gordon II is ELECTRIFYING to watch

#CollegeGameDay

[Simon Ateba @simonateba]

BREAKING: @realDonaldTrump bombs @JoeBiden over seeking a second term. The 45th President wrote, "You could take the five worst presidents in American history, and put them together, and they would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done to our Nation in just a few short years. Not even close.

Thanks to Joe Biden’s socialist spending calamity, American families are being decimated by the worst inflation in half a century. Banks are failing. Our currency is crashing and the dollar will soon no longer be the world standard, which will be our greatest defeat in over 200 years. Real wages have been falling 24 months in a row—in other words, under Biden, workers have gotten a PAY CUT each and every month for two straight years. We have surrendered our energy independence, just like we surrendered in Afghanistan, which we had just a short time ago—and the price of gasoline just hit a 5-month high, and it’s going much higher than that.Under my leadership, we had the most secure border in U.S. history, by far. Never had a border like this. Under Biden, the Southern Border has been abolished—and millions of illegal aliens have been released into our communities. What’s happening now is beyond belief.

"They’re coming in from mental institutions and prisons. They are all being emptied. They are being dumped into the United States of America. Many of these people are very dangerous, they are being dumped. We are like a dumping ground. Our cities have been overrun with homelessness, drug addicts, and violent criminals, who are being released from jail in mass with no retribution whatsoever, while law enforcement is weaponized against law-abiding conservatives or Republicans, or people they just don’t like. Our children are being indoctrinated and mutilated by left-wing freaks and zealots. The senior ranks of our military have gone completely woke, and our military is suffering greatly.

"Biden has totally humiliated our Nation on the world stage—starting with the Afghanistan disaster, perhaps the most embarrassing event in the history of our country. It meant so much to our enemies when they watched that horrible retreat. Russia is teaming up with China. Iran is days away from a nuclear bomb—not even thinkable. Ukraine has been devastated by an invasion that would never, ever have happened if I was president—and Joe Biden has led us to the very brink of World War III. They say Trump was right about everything. Well, I’m not predicting World War III, but I will say this: we’re very close and they’re only talking about nuclear weapons.On top of it all, Biden is the most corrupt president in American history—and that’s not even close. Nobody can believe what’s going on, with again no retribution whatsoever.With such a calamitous and failed presidency, it is almost inconceivable that Biden would even think of running for reelection.

"You know what happened in the last election: they cheated, and they rigged the election. But I promise you this: when I stand on that debate stage and compare our records, it will be Radical Democrats’ worst nightmare because there’s never been a record as bad as they have, and our country has never been through so much. There has never been a greater contrast between two successive administrations in all of American history. Ours being greatness, and theirs being failure.With your support in the election, we will defeat Joe Biden in 2024. We will rescue our economy. We will crush inflation. We will stop the invasion on our southern border. We will restore our Nation’s dignity. And we will prevent World War III from happening. Together, we will all Make America Great Again! Thank you."

[Atlanta Falcons @AtlantaFalcons]

15 minutes away....

#RiseUp

[Daily Loud @DailyLoud]

Tom Brady rumored to sign back to Patriots after this year 👀

[FOX Sports: NFL @NFLonFOX]

RT if your team got a W today!

[Tom Brady @TomBrady]

Year 23. #LFG

[Parker Burnett @ParkerB05]

If Spencer Sanders ends the year as the 1st Team All-Big 12 Quarterback, I will Venmo anyone who retweets this $100.

[Rocketship 🚀 @MackWilson]

👀 @obj

[Jerry Thornton @jerrythornton]

“Malcolm! Go back!”