Today I finally understood something about Donald Trump that I had been missing this entire time. And when it hit me — it hit me completely. Because, look at who this man chose to surround himself with.
Not billionaires.
Not people born into power.
Not people who had everything handed to them.
Karoline Leavitt — 27 years old. Ice cream shop girl from New Hampshire.
Trump looked at her and saw something the entire world missed.
Made her the youngest Press Secretary in American history.
Susie Wiles — a woman who has spent her whole life quietly strategizing from the background.
No fame. No spotlight. Just pure brilliance.
Trump looked at her and said — you will be my Chief of Staff. First female Chief of Staff in American history.
JD Vance — a soldier. A boy from Appalachia who served his country in uniform before he ever served it in office.
Trump looked at him and said — you will stand beside me.
Pete Hegseth — a soldier who gave everything on the battlefield. Two Bronze Stars.
Trump looked at him and said — you will lead our military.
Marco Rubio — the son of a bartender and a hotel maid. Two immigrants who came to America with nothing.
Trump looked at their son and made him the first Latino Secretary of State in American history.
My wife heard all of this tonight and said, "Do you understand what Trump actually did?
He did not build a powerful administration.
He built an unbreakable one."
Because every single person in it knows what it feels like to have nothing. And people who came from nothing never take anything for granted.
Tonight, say one prayer for this entire administration. And say a bigger one for the man who chose them.
Then pass this to every American who needs to understand why this administration hits different from every single one that came before it (Jeff Roush)
BREAKING 🚨🚨
#BigBear / #California
NEW JACKIE UPDATE!!!!!!! From the @ojairaptor
Her condition remains stable but critical as she remains in intensive care and receives round-the-clock supportive treatment. Our veterinary team is working to determine the underlying cause of her illness. She is currently receiving several prophylactic treatments to help support her body.
After showing encouraging improvement following her blood transfusion, she experienced a setback on Saturday when her blood values declined again. Since then, she has improved once more.
She is eating on her own, her energy and alertness have noticeably improved, and she has become much more feisty during feedings. One of the most encouraging changes we've seen is her packed cell volume (PCV), which measures the percentage of red blood cells in her bloodstream. Her PCV has increased from 8% before the weekend to 16% today (7/27). While this remains below normal, it is an encouraging improvement, and we will continue to monitor her bloodwork daily as we keep a close eye on her progress.
Despite extensive diagnostic testing and consultation with experienced wildlife veterinarians, we still do not have a definitive diagnosis. Cases like this can be incredibly complex, and we will continue adjusting her treatment as new information becomes available.
Thank you for the thousands of messages of encouragement and continued support.
Last week's ruling overturning New Jersey's ban on AR-15-style rifles was met with the predictable fear-mongering in a parade of statements from Democrat leadership. @SenPresScutari today wrote that no civilian should have "weapons of war."
What war, exactly?
The U.S. military doesn't carry civilian AR-15s. They carry M4s and M16s. Calling an AR-15 a "weapon of war" is a political slogan, not a technical description. The AR-15 platform is widely recognized as a Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and is used by sportsmen & millions of Americans for home defense.
As someone who has experienced violent crime firsthand, I take this issue personally. I'm not only a mother of three, but also the victim of an armed robbery.
This undoubtedly informs my opinion on this issue.
As such, I was trained to shoot a pistol by an @NRA instructor and am a law-abiding gun owner, including an ArmaLite Rifle (not an "Assault Rifle.")
And as we read the string of released statements, remember that @GovSherrillNJ enjoys armed police protection. Also noteworthy is that this is the same Democrat-controlled Legislature that spent years making it damn near impossible for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves pre-Bruen decision. Under @GovMurphy, a @GovChristie-administration policy recognizing "serious threats" under New Jersey's already restrictive "justifiable need" standard for a concealed carry permit was rescinded, making it next to impossible to obtain one.
And former Attorney General Grewal went even further, stating: "New Jersey's law should be clear – private citizens should not be able to carry weapons based on mere generalized fear." I'm sorry, what? The Constitution of the United States would like a word with you, Sir.
Need an example of how New Jersey's myopic policies have put women in danger? We could ask Carol Bowne.
Except we can't.
Carol Bowne obtained a restraining order, repeatedly pleaded for help, and applied for a handgun permit. NJ law required that her application be approved or denied within 30 days. Forty-two days after applying, Bowne was slaughtered in her own driveway before she was ever issued her New Jersey permission slip. This is the tragic result when we have a state government packed with Dems who "know better".
A piece of paper doesn't save you. Neither does a politician who throws up roadblocks between you and your Constitutional right to protect yourself. Pre-Bruen, that's EXACTLY where we were in NJ.
Violent criminals and criminal aliens who use illegally-obtained firearms don't belong on the streets of New Jersey or in our country. As such, I will continue to exercise my Constitutionally-protected rights, be it to hunt, shoot sporting clays, or for self-protection.
We ARE NOT going backwards.
@NJAssemblyGOP@njassemblydems
I don't believe for one second that most New Jerseyans truly believe the ideology that's driving this movement.
This bill is being sold as a healthcare bill. It's NOT. It's a shield bill that wraps legal protections around providers, institutions, insurers & organizations engaged in what it calls "reproductive health care activity." It limits licensing consequences, restricts cooperation with out-of-state investigations & throws up barriers to accountability.
Even the bill language changed, replacing the politically- unpopular terminology "gender transitioning" of minors with the much broader phrase "reproductive health care activity." Buried in the definitions remains language covering medications & medical procedures intended to support providers of gender transition, REGARDLESS OF AGE. The bill DOES NOT distinguish between adults and children. It repeatedly states "person."
WHY??? New Jersey law has always treated children differently. We prohibit minors from drinking alcohol, using tobacco/vapes, getting tattoos, restrict body piercings, gambling, or even using tanning beds because we recognize something very basic: children/adolescents are still developing physically, emotionally & neurologically.
Our laws already recognize that PERMANENCE MATTERS. We restrict tanning because of concerns about permanent skin damage. We regulate tattoos and body piercings because of concerns about permanent markings & permanent disfigurement. Every single day, NJ law acknowledges that minors DO NOT possess the mature judgment necessary to make decisions with lifelong consequences.
Yet somehow we are supposed to believe that this principle suddenly disappears when the discussion turns to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, abortions, and medical pathways that permanently affect fertility, sexual function, healthy body tissue, and other irreversible aspects of a child's future??? Children experiencing gender dysphoria deserve compassion, mental health support & medical oversight. Compassion does not require throwing basic common sense out the window.
Also, NJ allows minors to terminate pregnancies without parental consent, with no gestational limit, by people who are not even licensed physicians. If something goes wrong, this bill now protects the "PROVIDER" and not the child or their parents?
So here's a question for all of the "advocates": if these interventions are as well established as supporters claim, why are we building legal shields around the people performing them?
NJ should not be in the business of insulating providers from consequences before protecting children. I cannot support legislation that makes accountability harder while the medical, ethical, and legal questions surrounding these interventions remain the subject of active debate across the entire globe.
The consequences of this vote will not be carried by us. They may be carried by NJ children for the rest of their lives.
How tone deaf is @GovSherrillNJ?
She was “rowing”🚣 in a staged photo op with Norway soccer⚽️ fans, but couldn’t declare a state of emergency to help New Jerseyans who were LITERALLY stuck in storm waters.⛈️
Congrats, Rebecca. You’ve won the World Cup of narcissistic behavior!