Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and now self-proclaimed advocate for government efficiency, has revealed a stunning financial scandal hidden within the depths of our government.
Speaking on Senator Ted Cruz’s Verdict podcast, Musk disclosed the existence of what he calls “magic money computers.”
During the explosive interview, Musk explained how these government computers can conjure up trillions of dollars out of thin air—completely detached from a synchronized network.
According to Musk, 14 such machines have been uncovered across various agencies, mostly at the Treasury Department, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Defense (DOD), and even the State Department.
Musk’s revelations suggest that federal spending is even more chaotic and reckless than the public realizes. With multiple “magic money computers” operating independently, government agencies are issuing massive payments that don’t add up to the numbers being reported to Congress or the American people.
Ted Cruz: Now, one of the things you told me about is what you called Magic Money Computers at the Treasury. Tell us about it because I had never heard of that until you brought it up.
Elon Musk: Okay, so you may think that the government computers all talk to each other, synchronize, add up what funds are going where, and that it’s coherent. And that the numbers, for example, that you’re presented as a senator are actually the real numbers.
Ted Cruz: One would think.
Elon Musk: One would think. They’re not.
Ted Cruz: Yeah.
Elon Musk: They’re not totally wrong, but they’re probably off by 5% or 10% in some cases. I call a magic money computer any computer that can just make money out of thin air. Best magic money.
Ted Cruz: How does that work?
Elon Musk: It just issues payments.
Ted Cruz: You said there’s something like 11 of these computers at Treasury that are sending out trillions in payments?
Elon Musk: They’re mostly at Treasury. Some are at HHS, some at… there’s one at State, some at DOD. I think we’ve found 14 magic money computers now.
Ted Cruz: Fourteen, okay.
Elon Musk: They just send money out of nothing
story
Great, not only does it add to inflation, it is a new form of bank robbery. Thank you Washington for ruining everything you’ve touched since about Woodrow Wilson
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has marked approximately 3.2 million Social Security number-holders for people aged 120 and older as “deceased” as part of ongoing efforts to root out fraud.
DOGE, headed by tech mogul Elon Musk, announced the move on Tuesday after the Social Security Administration (SSA) spent the last two weeks working on a “major cleanup of their records”:
While the table posted by the department shows 3,261,057 number-holders being removed from the “living” count, millions of accounts belonging to people purporting to be up to 159 years old still remain, awaiting review.
“More work still to be done,” DOGE added in its post on X.
Musk called out the SSA for having impossibly old number-holders in its registry in a scathing February post, showing thousands of people supposedly in their 200s, and one even in their 300s:
“According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!” the DOGE chief and X owner wrote. “Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security.”
A recent Rasmussen poll that asked people if they would “support or oppose having the Department of Government Efficiency do an audit of the Social Security system” found that 59 percent would strongly (41 percent) or somewhat (18 percent) approve of that audit, with only 35 percent opposed it.
Social security experts who spoke with PolitiFact offered two possible explanations for the staggering numbers of accounts that appear to belong to millions of super-centenarians:
Government databases may code someone as 150 years old for reasons peculiar to the large and complex Social Security database.
Improper payments are a longstanding concern for the agency, though they represent a small share of all payments.
According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a missing value for a date is coded as May 20, 1875 — the date that the international standards-setting conference, the “Convention du Mètre,” was held in Paris.
It is necessary to note that the SSA has been automatically stopping payments to account holders over 115 years of age since September 2015, so DOGE is not necessarily stating that the administration has been making payments to the aforementioned 3.2 million accounts.
A report from the SSA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) states that the administration has not established a new system capable of properly logging death information, resulting in nearly 19 million Social Security numbers for people born in 1920 or earlier not being labeled as deceased.
After President Donald Trump brought up the suspicious database issue in February, SSA Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek thanked him and vowed to continue the investigation.
“I thank President Trump for highlighting these inconsistencies during his speech last night to a joint session of Congress,” Dudek said in a statement. “We are steadfast in our commitment to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in our programs, and actively correcting the inconsistencies with missing dates of death.”
A 19-year-old healthcare worker named Lucrecia Kormassa Koiyan from Loganville, Georgia, has been arrested and charged with a criminal count of exploitation of a disabled person.
The incident came to light after Koiyan posted multiple videos on social media platform TikTok, which showed her dancing inappropriately over patients with disabilities. In one of the videos, she was seen twerking above the head of a seated disabled individual while wearing scrubs and a healthcare worker’s uniform.
A convicted drug dealer who received a get-out-of-jail-free card from the Biden regime has already been arrested again.
Dequan Willard, a 30-year-old Texas man, was granted clemency by President Joe Biden on January 17 as part of a sweeping mass release that included 2,490 federal inmates.
But it didn’t take long for the so-called “nonviolent offender” to show his true colors.
Just seven days later, Willard was arrested again for allegedly violating the conditions of his supervised release, according to Law and Crime.
Police say Jeremy McBride plotted Netherland’s death, planning to kill her and her preborn baby, and then kill himself. McBride allegedly confessed to the crime after he was apprehended by police less than one hour after the shooting. He was not at the residence when police arrived, and law enforcement located him through the use of license plate readers.
2/3
A man is behind bars for allegedly impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The 37-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a motel over the weekend.
The Motel 6 located on Appliance Court in Raleigh is the site of the reported rape on Sunday.
Arrest warrants say Carl Bennett went to the location and committed a number of crimes, including multiple sex offenses.
The banana to the face of a convenience store employee was a violation of her probation for a grand theft conviction on her record. Turner reportedly stole around $800 worth of merchandise from a Walmart.
2/8
Big House Cultivators and Gram Central are proud to sponsor a Black History Cannabis Event this February, celebrating Black culture, history, and advocacy in the cannabis industry. More than just a gathering, this event is an opportunity to learn, connect, and take action in the ongoing fight for equity and justice.
The event will feature two inspiring Black women leaders from Free My Weed Man, Diasporic Alliance of Cannabis Opportunities (DACO) & Black Cannabis Week, both of whom are on the frontlines of cannabis advocacy and community empowerment. Through personal stories and open dialogue, they will share insights on the historical impact of cannabis on Black communities, the barriers still in place today, and the work being done to create a more just and inclusive industry.
2/9
First Baptist Orlando Church announced that Lucy Pat Curl, wife of Pastor Bill Curl, died Wednesday after being severely beaten and knocked unconscious.
The accused attacker, Ronald Davis, 55, reportedly posed as a community service officer and forced his way into Curl’s home.
2/10
“The View” host Sunny Hostin complained during Monday’s show about some resurfacing racially-charged posts made by one of the young men billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk brought in to work on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project.
This is how embarrassing Texas Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett is: Despite sharing the same far-left viewpoints and clout-chasing tendencies as its other members, Crockett has never been admitted to the so-called “squad.”
Perhaps this is her choice, but I doubt it. After all, getting into the club connects you with progressive activist favorites like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. And it’s not as if they’re especially picky when it comes to membership. All you have to be is young and very liberal. You can be shamelessly corrupt (Omar), anti-Semitic (former Rep. Jamaal Bowman), or both (former Rep. Cori Bush.)
Ergo, there has to be a reason why Crockett isn’t in the group. She told Politico it’s because, campaigning in Texas, the label is poison.
This doesn’t sound right, given the fact that she represents a district so deeply blue it’ll elect … well, her
This latest story is beyond disturbing and has many people asking, “What the hell is happening in our nation’s schools?” But this is actually an update. The alleged grooming and trafficking took place in 2023, but now, the cosmetology high school is being sued.
According to court documents, a Texas cosmetology teacher was accused of grooming and sex trafficking teenagers at a local cosmetology high school. The details of the case are so incredibly disturbing, it’s almost too much to comprehend.
2/16
2/17
Big House Cultivators and Gram Central are proud to sponsor a Black History Cannabis Event this February, celebrating Black culture, history, and advocacy in the cannabis industry. More than just a gathering, this event is an opportunity to learn, connect, and take action in the ongoing fight for equity and justice.
The event will feature two inspiring Black women leaders from Free My Weed Man, Diasporic Alliance of Cannabis Opportunities (DACO) & Black Cannabis Week, both of whom are on the frontlines of cannabis advocacy and community empowerment. Through personal stories and open dialogue, they will share insights on the historical impact of cannabis on Black communities, the barriers still in place today, and the work being done to create a more just and inclusive industry.
Trump Admin Makes ‘Extremely Concerning’ Discovery About Biden EPA – Billions Set Aside for Stacey Abrams-Linked Group
2/20
Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett has become famous in the past year or two for her rants.
Whether she is yelling about “mediocre white boys” who oppose diversity programs or getting in shouting matches during committee meetings, we can always expect her to speak her mind.
That’s exactly what she did when she was a guest Wednesday on “The View.”
Crockett was asked about a broad sentiment among voters that President Donald Trump is keeping his campaign promises, a reality they are rewarding with substantial approval ratings, coupled with a struggling Democratic Party seen by many as too left-wing.
Left: Arianna Davis (GoFundMe). Right: Wilson Wesley Chavis (Prince George County Police Department).
A funeral home owner was convicted of shooting a pallbearer at the burial of a 10-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet in Washington, D.C.
2/22
A Bowling Green man has been arrested after police say he stole from a local business.
The Bowling Green Police Department apprehended Jammal Cooper, 38, at 403 Ethan Court Monday, according to the agency’s Facebook page.
Officers say Cooper was identified after leaving a local store where he was previously known to have committed theft. With the assistance of store personnel, officers confirmed his identity and located his residence.
When approached by officers, Cooper attempted to flee but was detained after a brief foot pursuit, police say.
Cooper is currently lodged in the Warren County Regional Jail on the following charges:
Receiving stolen property ($1,000 < $10,000)
Obscuring the identity of a machine (covered license plate)
Theft by unlawful taking – shoplifting
Possession of marijuana
Possession of drug paraphernalia
Third-degree fleeing or evading police
2/23
Here’s another big win for DEI hiring—Mark Brave, New Hampshire’s first black sheriff, just pled guilty to a laundry list of felonies. Shocking? No, not one bit. This is what happens when you focus on checking diversity boxes instead of hiring the best person for the job. Sadly, we see this happening everywhere these days.
2/24
During a Friday appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett made several astute remarks about the United States and the federal government, all while revealing that she actually hates the country she serves. It was a train wreck of an interview
2/25
Don’t forget now, Black History Month still isn’t over. At the University of Hawaii,
Black history and culture are being celebrated at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a series of events and collaborations throughout February.
Events include basketball and a special Black History Month Dinner next Tuesday featuring “fried chicken, baked mac and cheese, sweet potatoes and cornbread.”
Normally, associating blacks with fried chicken is regarded as thoughtcrime. But you can’t blame moonbats in Hawaii for resorting to stereotypes regarding blacks, who make up only 2.2% of the population. The important thing is that they bend the knee piously in accordance with their religion, cultural Marxism.
Pro-Farrakhan pastor leading Target DEI boycott calls Black Trump supporters ‘coons’ and ‘runaway slaves’ – White people are shaking their heads
Dr. Jamal Bryant, head of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, recently called for a 40-day “fast” from shopping at Target during the upcoming Lenten season, arguing that the company has “spit in the face” of Black people by ending its commitment to DEI and joining a growing list of prominent companies to do so, including McDonald’s, Walmart and Ford.
This self-proclaimed “super mayor” is now a super loser.
Dolton “Dictator” Tiffany Henyard suffered a landslide loss in Tuesday’s Democratic primary after more than a year of seedy scandals, wild antics and haughty remarks that finally caught up to her at the ballot box.
The under-fire Illinois mayor finally ran into her kryptonite — voters in her own Chicago suburb that overwhelmingly picked village Trustee Jason House as the Democratic nominee.
With all precincts reporting, House notched nearly 88% of the vote while Henyard gained a measly 12%, according to Cook County election results.
2/28
Sadly, his internet fame likely gave Charles McDowell a bigger and better opportunity to become a very dangerous predator.
Fast forward seven years, and McDowell is back behind bars, this time for something far more horrific—sending naked photos to a minor. The man who was once just a funny meme now stands accused of preying on and abusing innocent children.
The apple doesn’t fall too far from the grifting tree. The daughter of 2 of the biggest political criminals in our history is part of the heist of money that was meant for people who really needed it.
The thing that gets me is she’s dumb as mud and her parents are smart. Maybe Bill isn’t her real dad or something.
“USAID gave Chelsea Clinton tens of millions of dollars and partnered with their sex trafficking organization The Clinton Foundation,” wrote author and journalist Liz Crokin on X.
“In 2010, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton helped oversee $4.4 billion that Congress had earmarked for ‘recovery’ efforts in Haiti by the USAID in 2010.”
“So USAID was funding organizations sex trafficking kids and lining the pockets of their family members all while the USAID also funded media organizations to cover up that they were sex trafficking kids AKA Pizzagate and all with YOUR hard earned taxpayer money!”
Crokin continued: “The level of corruption and criminality – including crimes that are deemed capital offenses with death penalty as a potential punishment – are astounding and unprecedented.
Do you think any of the 3 of them care about kids being trafficked or poverty in Haiti? Nah, me either.
In 2024, you couldn’t escape artificial intelligence even if you tried.
Companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and others released new AI models and expanded their capabilities. Their consumer-friendly tools like Claude and ChatGPT continued to become more powerful.
Elon Musk is building his own rival, rolling out improvements to Grok, his version of AI within X. “We will have something that is, for the first time, smarter than the smartest human,” Musk has predicted.
With big questions about government regulation and its application in everyday life, this technology is truly, in Musk’s words, “the most disruptive force in history.”
Joe Biden
President Joe Biden signs a proclamation during a ceremony at the Department of Labor on December 16, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Yes, you read that right. What is left of President Joe Biden is a winner in the year of our Lord 2024. Even though Biden’s own party threw a coup against him (the sitting president of the United States!) and removed him from the presidential race, the flip at the top of the ticket ended up being a flop.
Trump carried the Electoral College and the popular vote in his mandate victory. Now, it’s a serious question as to whether Biden would have performed better in the places that mattered most to carry the presidential election—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin.
Biden was a party man for half a century, but ever since Democrats switched Biden for Kamala Harris, Biden has seemingly helped Republicans at every turn and acted purely out of self-interest.
His loyalists leaked details of the coup and Democrat infighting to the press, he wore a MAGA hat, and he gave Republicans a last-minute turnout boost by calling Trump supporters garbage. And, of course, since losing the election, he’s pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, after promising for years he would not. He’s created one political mess after another, and the Democratic party will be left to clean it up. Meanwhile, the president and his son will be on the beach in Delaware.
Bitcoin
The price of bitcoin was $44,000 on Jan. 1 and exceeded $100,000 in the weeks following Trump’s election.
With crypto-friendly officials dotting Trump’s new administration, there’s genuine excitement about its future. Paul Atkins is set to replace Gary Gensler as chairman of the Security and Exchange Commission and billionaire David Sacks, co-host of the “All In” podcast, will serve as Trump’s AI and crypto czar.
Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, told The Daily Signal that cryptocurrency like bitcoin can combat inflation and preserve individual freedom.
“You are able to operate wholly on your own with no third parties, without asking permission, you are able to access the bitcoin network globally, anywhere in the world and be able to participate in the economy without asking permission,” Porter said.
Tucker Carlson
Donald Trump sits down for a conversation with Tucker Carlson during his Live Tour at the Desert Diamond Arena on October 31, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Chip Somodevilla/via Getty Images)
After leaving Fox News and launching his own Tucker Carlson Network in 2023, the popular conservative commentator continued to influence the Republican Party’s agenda under Trump.
Known for his populist and common-sense perspectives, Carlson propelled to the top of the charts with millions watching or listening to his interviews and monologues.
His trip to Russia for a two-hour conversation with Vladimir Putin has more than 20 million views on YouTube. Another interview with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has more than 5 million, reflecting Carlson’s international reach.
Tucker Carlson Films expanded his content offerings even further. “The Art of the Surge,” a series produced by Justin Wells, offered viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Trump’s historic comeback, including shocking footage from the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt.
In September, Carlson hit the road for a cross-country speaking tour that featured conservative newsmakers, drawing sold-out crowds to hear from the likes of JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Dogs and Cats
At their only debate in September, Trump and Harris squared off on a range of policy issues. But the most memorable moment came amid reports of Haitian immigrants overwhelming the community of Springfield, Ohio.
“In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating—they are eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said.
ABC News anchor David Muir, who repeatedly interjected during the debate, attempted to correct Trump. But it didn’t matter.
The story dominated the news for days as Americans saw Springfield as a representation of America’s broken immigration system. An estimated 20,000 immigrants were living in the community of 60,000.
Fox News
Fox News anchors Lawrence Jones, Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade interview Chris Janson during “Fox & Friends” at Fox News Channel Studios on October 29, 2024, in New York City. (John Lamparski/via Getty Images)
In a year when other TV networks lost viewers—and respect—Fox News maintained its position as the leader in cable news.
“Fox News Channel obliterated competitors in 2024, finishing the year with its highest share of the cable news audience since 2015,” Brian Flood reported for Fox News Digital.
Since the Nov. 5 election, Fox News has dominated its competition—both cable and network TV—with more than 4 million prime-time viewers (from 8-11 p.m. ET), according to Nielsen Media Research data. That makes Fox News the most-watched network, beating legacy media networks ABC, CBS, and NBC in prime-time.
In terms of market share, Fox News commanded 73% of the prime-time cable news audience as CNN’s and MSNBC’s ratings cratered following Trump’s victory.
Podcasters and social media personalities are getting deserved praise for their growing influence, but Fox News Channel is still the go-to destination for political and election news.
Former immigration officials Tom Homan, left, and Mark Morgan answer questions Monday during a press conference at The Heritage Foundation’s Policy Fest event at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (Virginia Allen/The Daily Signal)
Tom Homan
Homan was among the first political figures Trump tapped for his new administration following his victory on Nov. 5.
After serving at the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the first Trump administration, Homan will now serve as Trump’s border czar and lead the way on Trump’s mass deportation plan.
Homan spent the last four years watching the Biden administration welcome over 10 million illegal aliens into the county, and now, with the full support of the president, he will have the opportunity to enforce U.S. immigration law and secure a border that he has spent his career defending, both in the Border Patrol and ICE.
Patrick and Brittany Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Brittany Mahomes, and their two kids pose following the NFL Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
The three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs orchestrated an overtime victory in February and has his team positioned for another appearance in 2025.
Patrick’s wife, Brittany, made headlines of her own when she liked an Instagram post of then-candidate Trump about the Republican Party’s platform. After facing a backlash, she wrote, “Jesus didn’t have to agree with people to be kind to them.”
Two other members of the Mahomes family endorsed Trump: Patrick’s younger brother Jackson and his mother Randi, who showed up to a Chiefs’ game in a MAGA hat.
McDonald’s
Donald Trump works behind the counter during a campaign event at McDonald’s restaurant on October 20, 2024, in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania. (Doug Mills-Pool/via Getty Images)
The iconic American fast-food restaurant found itself at the center of news on several occasions.
Donald Trump’s October campaign stop at a McDonald’s in the Philadelphia suburbs was a brilliant photo opportunity for the Republican candidate. But it also symbolized the difference between his appeal to working-class Americans in contrast to Kamala Harris.
Trump wore an apron and worked as a fry attendant. It was one of the most viral moments of the 2024 presidential election and a classic Trump move, particularly given Harris’ questionable employment at McDonald’s earlier in her life.
“As we’ve seen, our brand has been a fixture of conversation this election cycle. While we’ve not sought this, it’s a testament to how much McDonald’s resonates with so many Americans,” McDonald’s wrote after Trump’s visit. “McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President. We are not red or blue—we are golden.”
McDonald’s made news again in December when a customer in an Altoona, Pennsylvania, restaurant spotted murder suspect Luigi Mangione, leading to his arrest.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, and his transformation of the platform into the free speech engine that is X today, likely helped Trump’s historic election victory. Musk also contributed to that victory by endorsing Trump and urging swing-state voters to sign his petition for the chance at winning $1 million.
Musk not only played a historic role in the election; he will also help lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an external advisory board to trim waste and prevent abuse in the federal government.
In December, Musk rallied Americans on X to oppose a must-pass government funding bill that had been stuffed with pork. His opposition to the bill grew naturally out of his work on the Department of Government Efficiency and his efforts led Trump to oppose the bill and House Speaker Mike Johnson to withdraw it from consideration.
Podcasters
Podcasting took center stage this year, with 2024 being the first ever “podcast election,” and for good reason.
Over 53 million Americans tuned in to hear Trump’s three-hour conversation with Joe Rogan covering everything under the sun—from tariffs to golfing to fixing the “wrongs” of his first term. America also watched Vance communicate Trump’s vision for the country over the next four years with Theo Von—all while proving he can joke around and isn’t “weird.” Even Kamala Harris’ failed campaign hopped on the podcast bandwagon with a 45-minute appearance on “Call Her Daddy.”
But why the sudden interest in podcasts? Americans are fed up the corporate media lies, so they fled to a more uncensored platform. An October Gallup poll revealed that trust in the media hit a historic low, with 36% saying they have “no trust at all in the media,” and 33% expressing “not very much” confidence.
Now, everyone and their mother—from CNN’s Chris Wallace to former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley—are scrambling to hop on the podcasting wave. The Daily Signal launched a brand-new podcast this year, “The Signal Sitdown,” where members of Congress explain how the sausage really gets made in Washington, DC.
Dennis Quaid
Actor Dennis Quaid speaks at a campaign rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, California. (Mario Tama/via Getty Images)
The longtime Hollywood actor starred in the hit movie “Reagan.”
Based on Paul Kengor’s book, “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism,” the movie was a box-office success. It made more than $30 million worldwide, far exceeding expectations.
Quaid’s performance was a big reason for the movie’s success.
“Dennis was always my first choice because he required almost no hair and makeup touchups to get him camera-ready,” producer Mark Joseph told The Daily Signal. “He’s a natural, and he has that great Reaganesque smile and persona. He’s a busy guy, so it took some time to nail him down, but he was always the one for me.”
Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan speaks before the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024, in New York City. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images)
In the weeks before Election Day, Trump shunned CBS News’ “60 Minutes” and other corporate media outlets in favor of modern-day influencers like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and Logan Paul. Megyn Kelly, whose show is regularly among the top 10 podcasts, joined Trump on the campaign trail in Pittsburgh.
Trump’s interviews with these influencers accumulated more than 100 million views—and reached voters who don’t get their news from traditional media sources.
Donald Trump Jr. told Daily Wire podcast host Michael Knowles that he and his father discussed giving Rogan a press pass to the White House to shake up the status quo.
“I was sitting there, and we were talking about, like, the podcast world, and some of our friends, and [Joe] Rogan, and guys like you, and me to a lesser extent—I wouldn’t be able to get a seat, that would be nepotism or whatever the hell,” Trump Jr. said. “But we had the conversation about opening up the press room to a lot of these independent journalists.”
Trump has disrupted the corporate media’s business as usual, and Rogan appears to be coming out on top.
Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania’s Democrat governor was on the short list to become Kamala Harris’ vice president. Instead, Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after a few notable TV appearances
In retrospect, Shapiro should count his blessings.
After a strong debut in August, Harris failed to live up to the fanfare down the stretch. Walz will be an afterthought in the history books.
Shapiro, meanwhile, can now position himself for a future presidential run without Harris’ baggage. He’ll need to win reelection in 2026 and then overcome the left’s fears about his support for Israel and past endorsement of school choice.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, following an assassination attempt. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
After easily vanquishing his Republican rivals in the GOP primaries, Donald Trump did the same to the incumbent president. Joe Biden was no match for his predecessor after their June debate, setting into motion an unprecedented turn of events over the summer that resulted in Vice President Kamala Harris being anointed the Democrat nominee—without winning a single vote.
As if those political hurdles weren’t enough, Trump also emerged unscathed from the Left’s lawfare and then survived two assassination attempts on his life. A bullet came within mere centimeters of killing him in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Heading into Election Day, legacy media outlets were convinced it was a toss-up race between Harris and Trump. Instead, it turned out to be a historic Trump mandate, sweeping all seven swing states, capturing the popular vote, and making major gains with blacks, Hispanics, and younger Americans.
As he departed the White House in 2021, Trump left at a political low point. Few pundits gave him a chance at redemption, and yet Americans witnessed in 2024 the greatest political comeback in U.S. history. With Biden already AWOL, Trump is wasting little time to make his mark, recognizing the precious little time he has to implement his policy engage, deliver on his promises, and finally drain the swamp in Washington, D.C.
Losers
College Presidents
Claudine Gay, then-president of Harvard University, and Liz Magill, then-president of University of Pennsylvania, testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Dec. 5, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Anti-Israel protests continued to rock college campuses. They also ended the careers of three Ivy League university presidents.
Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania resigned in December 2023, the first of three presidents to lose their jobs. Harvard’s Claudine Gay stepped down in January and Columbia’s Minouche Shafik in August.
Magill and Gay’s downfall came after facing off against Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., at a congressional hearing. Shafik was unable to handle antisemitic protests at Columbia.
“THREE DOWN, so many to go,” Stefanik said. “We will continue to demand moral clarity, condemnation of antisemitism, protection of Jewish students and faculty, and stronger leadership from American higher education institutions.”
As the year drew to a close, George Mason University President Gregory Washington found himself under scrutiny for its own problems. Three of its students, all of Middle Eastern origin, had run-ins with the police over weapons and pro-terror material.
Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban speaks onstage at WIRED’s The Big Interview 2024 on Dec. 3, 2024, in San Francisco, California. (Jon Kopaloff/WIRED via Getty Images)
Best known for his role on “Shark Tank,” the Dallas Mavericks owner was among the most vociferous defenders of Harris when she replaced Biden atop the ticket.
Cuban appeared at campaign rallies, on television, and regularly engaged online in support of the Democrat presidential candidate. He extreme rhetoric—calling Trump a “threat” with “fascist tendencies”—epitomized the left’s hyperbolic language.
At one point during the campaign, he admitted to ABC News that “Harris is just not a good salesperson,” prompting his own involvement in the race.
Some pundits speculated that Cuban wanted a high-profile job in a Harris administration, perhaps leading the Securities and Exchange Commission. Instead, he’ll be watching the action from the sidelines.
After Trump’s victory, Cuban wrote on Bluesky, “Don’t expect any politics or speculation about what might happen for a while.”
Nikki Haley
Nikki Haley visits “Special Report with Bret Baier” at FOX News D.C. Bureau on Oct. 29, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Paul Morigi/via Getty Images)
After suspending her political campaign in March, Haley has found herself somewhat politically homeless among a shifting Republican Party.
Haley was a fierce critic of Trump during the 2024 presidential race, despite serving as ambassador to the U.N. under a portion of his first administration. Though Haley made an appearance at the Republican National Convention, Trump was clear after his victory that there was no place for Haley in his administration.
“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in November.
Haley is now working in the private sector at Edelman, a global communications firm.
Sunny Hostin
Sunny Hostin attends a discussion of the View’s “Behind the Table” podcast on Oct, 8, 2024, in New York City. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
What was supposed to be a friendly question for Kamala Harris turned into a disaster. Appearing on “The View” in early October, Hostin asked Harris if she would do anything differently from Biden.
“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” Harris replied.
The answer surprised even friendly Hostin, who followed up to give Harris another opportunity. After the election, Hostin admitted that Harris missed the mark.
“The reason I followed up was because that wasn’t a gotcha question,” Hostin said. “That was a layup, really.”
Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller pointed to the interview as a turning point in the campaign.
“I think this Kamala Harris strategy of going out and doing a whole bunch of media has really backfired. I mean, who would’ve thought that Sunny Hostin from The View really killed Kamala Harris’ candidacy?” Miller said.
Legacy Media
Election Day was not just a high-stakes contest of competing visions for America’s political institutions and future. It was about the future of our other commanding heights institutions as well—academia, finance, the media, and the like.
None of these institutions or industries had as high of stakes as the media: 2024’s campaign cycle was a test to see if the corporate media could put an empty suit (whether by the name of Joe Biden or Kamala Harris) in the White House, or if alternative media could pose a real threat to the corporate media’s power.
Trump’s victory, not to mention conservative control of the House and Senate, proved the latter.
To add insult to injury, ABC has agreed to pay Trump $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit after George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed Trump was found “liable for rape.” For some reason, the corporate press feels threatened by this settlement. “Trump is already delivering on his promise to go after the press,” one Politico headline read.
If going after the press means the corporate media can no longer spread malicious lies with impunity, Americans ought to hope Trump delivers on this promise tenfold.
Mitch McConnell
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., will succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as the GOP’s new leader in the 119th Congress. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Senate Republicans will have a new leader for the first time in 18 years—and there’s palpable excitement on Capitol Hill for the changing of the guard.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., stepped down from his leadership perch after pressure from conservatives and his own health problems. He’ll serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2027.
In recent years, McConnell made more headlines for his clashes with Trump and the MAGA movement than any legislative accomplishments. Even on his way out, he couldn’t help taking a shot at Trump.
“To pretend that the United States can focus on just one threat at a time, that its credibility is divisible, or that it can afford to shrug off faraway chaos as irrelevant is to ignore its global interests and its adversaries’ global designs,” McConnell wrote in Foreign Affairs. “America will not be made great again by those who simply want to manage its decline.”
McConnell leaves his leadership job as one of America’s most unpopular politicians.
His successor, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., won a three-way race for the top job. Even though he wasn’t the first choice of MAGA voters, Thune has signaled support for Trump’s agenda and nominees.
Planned Parenthood
Pro-life voters ended their losing streak at the ballot box, stopping three statewide constitutional amendments in support of abortion.
Those wins in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota give the pro-life cause a reason for optimism, even as measures passed in seven other states.
More importantly, the left’s pro-abortion enthusiasm appeared to wane at the ballot box. Unlike the 2022 midterm election, when the issue halted the Republican “red wave,” this time Democrats were on defense for a range of other issues, including inflation, border security, and crime.
With the incoming Trump administration poised to restore pro-life protections, Planned Parenthood will also be a target of Congress. The abortion giant relies on taxpayer funding for its operations.
In recent years, Planned Parenthood has expanded its portfolio to include transgender services. Abortion remains its priority, however. With approximately 200 abortions for every adoption referral, there’s no mistaking this organization’s evil intentions.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift arrives at the stadium before an NFL game between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Among the major celebrities endorsing Harris, there was no one bigger than Taylor Swift. But just like her uninspiring 2018 endorsement of Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Democrat opponent in Tennessee, Swift’s embrace of Harris ended with a loss.
Swift weighed in after the presidential debate between Harris and Trump in September.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote on Instagram. “I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate [Tim Walz], who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
She signed the note, “Childless Cat Lady,” in reference to a comment Sen. JD Vance made in an earlier interview.
Swift should stick to her day job. Her popular Eras Tour was far more successful than her political picks.
The Woke Bureaucracy
As Tyler O’Neil’s forthcoming book “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government” reveals, the Left’s dark money network props up a system of woke nonprofits that staff and advise the federal government, pushing the bureaucracy to support critical race theory (the notion that America is systemically racist against blacks and for whites), gender ideology, climate alarmism, and technocratic government.
The woke elites lost big in the 2024 presidential election, and woke activist groups like the Human Rights Campaign have been losing steam all year. Human Rights Campaign runs a Corporate Equality Index that acts as a shakedown operation, demanding cash and public celebrations of the LGBTQ agenda in exchange for protection from the woke mob. Many companies have opted to leave that index, and Human Rights Campaign lost a key ally when it became clear the Biden-Harris administration would not continue.
Woke bureaucrats are going to fight to maintain their grasp on power, but thanks to the incoming Trump administration and allies like the Department of Government Efficiency, those bureaucrats will be playing defense.
In the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, many liberals have announced they are leaving X. Tired of all the “disinformation” they encounter on the platform, they are convinced the time has come to delete their accounts.
It was all OK before Musk bought the biased and censored version of Twitter that discriminated against and banned conservative speech. Once it became a platform for free speech, it was not usable for liberals. They’re really Marxists now but identify as liberals.
NBC News reported that the day after the election, “115,414 accounts were deactivated,” the biggest one-day exodus since Elon Musk bought the platform.
Let’s see what Aristotle said about it:
Aristotle: ‘It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.’
In other words, you can listen, but don’t have to believe the other side. You could also be a critical thinker and know they were wrong, but not let it change your POV or be so butt-hurt that you had to act like a child and leave X for attention.
“Meanwhile, daily traffic to competitors Bluesky and Threads have jumped since the beginning of October.” NBC reporters spoke to six people who have left X for these platforms since Election Day. These individuals cited “growing issues on X, including bots, partisan ads, and harassment” as their reasons for leaving. Harassment likely means they were hit with a community note or someone on the platform disagreed with them.
Importantly, all six said the aforementioned issues “reached a tipping point when Trump won the election.”
In a separate article, NBC recounts the experience of former X user Kara Wurtz, a 39-year-old finance director in St. Louis. For Wurtz, “the day after the election was the ‘final straw.’” She claimed that, “under Musk’s leadership,” … X “became a place where I wasn’t really getting what I wanted out of it anymore.”
What she “wanted out of it” was validation of her own world view. Following Musk’s takeover, she was forced to hear opinions that differed from her own for the first time. That didn’t happen before Musk took over the platform.
“Every time I opened it up,” she said, “it would throw things at me that put me in a bad mood.”
Yes, the truth is like that.
Anyway, as the flight continues, some users are still on the fence. But there is one trait they all seem to share: their egos are the size of the Grand Canyon.
Joy Ried leaves X – because she can’t handle the negativity. Let’s not forget that she was 100% negative on Conservatives, Trump and Whites before leaving
They act like children who don’t get their way and take their ball and go home. In case they didn’t notice, they have no audience and cellar-dwelling ratings due to lying and disparagement.
I’d advise them to grow up and act like adults, sort of like half the country did for the last 4 years.
Delusions of Adequacy 