RealClearPolitics Articles

In the last decade, top officials at Harvard and Yale exploited accusations of systemic racism in the country and at their institutions to remake scholarship and teaching at their universities. Yet recently they have dodged and dithered in the face of well-documented charges of antisemitism, racial discrimination, censorship, viewpoint homogeneity, and politicized curricula. This suggests that administrators and faculty at Harvard and Yale doubt that such ailments are ailments or, if ailments, that they impair education, or, if ailments that impair education, justify risking their comfort and...

Part I Wouldn’t It Be Nice The eulogies for Brian Wilson continue to roll in like the surf break at Huntington Beach. Testimonials to Wilson’s musical talent and the Beach Boys’ influence came from the California coast and the Jersey Shore, from the two living Beatles and John Lennon’s sons and widow and from former bandmates, fans, even people too young to have ever seen the band in its heyday. Mike Wilson, a Beach Boys lead singer – and the cousin of Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson – put it this way: “Brian, you once asked, ‘Wouldn’t it...

Donald J. TrumpThe Mar-a-Lago Club1100 South Ocean BoulevardPalm Beach, Florida Dear President Trump: I voted for you in all three of your presidential campaigns. The first time, I cast my vote with cautious optimism. The third time, with enthusiasm. And I contributed financially to your campaign. You have achieved what few thought possible – a triumphant return, driven by a deep-seated belief among millions of Americans that only you can effectively challenge the entrenched political establishment. Your first 100 days were extraordinary, but if your presidency is to be remembered not...

Part I Wouldn’t It Be Nice The eulogies for Brian Wilson continue to roll in like the surf break at Huntington Beach. Testimonials to Wilson’s musical talent and the Beach Boys’ influence came from the California coast and the Jersey Shore, from the two living Beatles and John Lennon’s sons and widow and from former bandmates, fans, even people too young to have ever seen the band in its heyday. Mike Wilson, a Beach Boys lead singer – and the cousin of Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson – put it this way: “Brian, you once asked, ‘Wouldn’t it...

California Sen. Alex Padilla is getting plenty of mileage out of his scuffle with the Secret Service and federal authorities in Los Angeles Thursday. Padilla’s Senate and campaign X.com accounts posted a total of seven outraged videos in the first 24 hours after the altercation. Viral videos of the incident show a Secret Service agent dragging a fuming Padilla out of a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and he identifies himself as a senator only as he’s being pushed out the door. The agent then forces Padilla to the ground, while two agents handcuff...

Americans are usually an optimistic people – except when it comes to our country’s future. Right-track/wrong-track surveys have long found yawning gaps favoring the dark view. The RealClearPolitics poll average, stretching back to 2009, reports no point with a positive majority but several where the spread was 40 or even 50 points to the negative.  When Donald Trump was sworn in last January, the wrong-track view held sway by 30 points. Followers of the news – which presents the president’s first months in office as a kleptocratic frenzy marked by destructive...

In his first term, Trump chased Democrats’ laser pointer; now, they’re chasing his. No issue illustrates this like immigration; it’s become the Democrats’ red dot. Whenever, wherever, and however Trump moves it, Democrats can’t help pouncing.  In his first term, Trump reacted to everything Democrats and the establishment media did. He couldn’t help himself, as though always compensating for having lost the 2016 popular vote. Forever taking their bait, his tweets poured forth. His frequently abrupt policy and political changes cost him on Obamacare...

The entire career of race-baiter Al Sharpton was founded on falsehoods about the Tawana Brawley scam. Nearly everything the left told us about the Trayvon Martin fight was false. The "hands up, don't shoot" Ferguson fable and the Covington Kids myth were quickly exposed. The Duke Lacrosse and Jussie Smollett melodramas were laughable. Russian "collusion," "laptop" disinformation, and Joe Biden "fit as a fiddle" gaslighting were utter lies. But more recently, the hard left lost its mind championing a host of violent, unsavory characters. The illegal alien and El Salvadorian national, Kilmar...

So the House Republicans voted to end taxpayer funding for PBS and NPR. NPR CEO Katherine Maher has repeatedly claimed, in the face of avalanches of evidence, that she has never witnessed any bias at NPR. That's beyond ridiculous. You can find it, day after day, hour on the hour. This week's Los Angeles rioting provided plenty of exhibits. On the June 11 "Morning Edition," Los Angeles-based co-host A Martinez told listeners, "We want to get a sense of how the community around Los Angeles is feeling about the decision to mobilize the military against civilians." Notice how there's no mention...

Professional leftist Greta Thunberg was brought to Israel this week after the "selfie yacht" she was traveling on attempted to break through a naval blockade of Gaza. Her boat, the "Madleen," was part of a flotilla pretending to deliver aid to alleviate an imaginary famine. The 22-year-old was given food and shelter and sent home by the Israeli government, which she accused of "kidnapping" her. All the usual suspects went along with this predictable framing. If Thunberg really wanted to better understand the concept of an abduction, she might have asked Hamas to visit the Israelis still being...

The masked man on the motorcycle, the one who waved a Mexican flag in front of a torched car as Los Angeles police stood by, will soon be famous. His identity remains unknown, his image iconic – but for all the wrong reasons.  Republicans will replay the clip again and again in campaign ads ahead of the midterms.  “This lawlessness is exactly what Americans rejected in 2024,” said Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee. “While Democrats sow chaos, Republicans stand as the party of law and order.” President Trump is delivering on...

San Francisco has long been the country’s progressive proving ground. It’s where ambitious ideas are tested, movements begin, and political trends take shape before the rest of the nation catches on. But something is changing. In the most famously liberal city in America, voters are no longer satisfied with symbolism or purity tests. They want results. And they’re beginning to reward a different kind of leadership. As members of the local Democratic Party, we have seen this shift firsthand. We call it the New Pragmatism, and it is already reshaping how our party shows up,...

As the Senate debates the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” Americans should brace for a larger federal budget deficit and national debt. We’re talking trillions of dollars. One notable aspect of the House bill that suggests a major shift from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act is increasing the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000. Two Republican congressmen from New York – Mike Lawler and Tom Suozzi – both argued in Congress and in the mainstream media that the current deduction was unfair to the citizens of high-tax states like New...

President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles and the surrounding area this weekend to shield U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from scores of roving rioters and leftist protestors. Boots hit the ground after it was revealed that violent, leftist mobs were confronting, doxxing, and assaulting ICE agents who were attempting to carry out deportation orders on illegal aliens occupying Los Angeles County. The weekend conflict sparked after over 1,000 Antifa-like organized rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building in Los Angeles, defaced...

In March of 2024, two men, disillusioned by traditional methods of combating homelessness, developed and released Nomadik: a ground-breaking app that uses AI to detect and track homeless encampments across the city of Austin, Texas. Nomadik’s developers touted the app as a way to “[harness] the power of collective intelligence,” by involving everyday people in the process of documenting homelessness in the city. But critics pointed out that “even well-intentioned efforts can lead to unintended consequences and further stigmatization.” Now, just over a year since...

Interviewing for a job or competing for a promotion just got fairer. In a unanimous ruling on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court leveled the legal playing field, saying that everyone deserves the same protection from discrimination, including straight white women and men. In the six decades since Martin Luther King Jr. uttered the aspiration that people should be judged by the "content of their character," this country moved in the opposite direction. Racial preferences, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and quotas favoring women, LGBTQ+ and other groups replaced judging each...

WASHINGTON -- The script for how big media outlets cover left-wing riots never changes. Progressive protests destroy blue cities. Then cable news anchors inform viewers that protests that have brought chaos and destruction started out peacefully. Yes, there is a pattern to progressive protests that turn violent. The demonstrations, like those in parts of Los Angeles over the weekend, start out peacefully during the daylight hours and then descend into chaos as masked thugs use force, fire and rocks to destroy and intimidate. Are Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom...

As Senate Republicans turn the One Big Beautiful Bill, passed by one vote in the House, into a major taffy pull, two questions hover in the background. Where is our country headed? Will Republicans retain their razor-thin margins in the House and Senate in 2026? Satisfaction regarding the direction of the country has improved markedly since President Donald Trump took office. In December of 2024, per Gallup, 19% said they were satisfied. At the beginning of May, this stood at 38%. This is the highest satisfaction percent since February 2020, during Trump's first term, when it stood at 45%,...

Nicolle Wallace is one of the original "MSNBC Republicans," a former adviser to George W. Bush and John McCain who quickly swapped sides to become one of the more popular Democrat Party line tap dancers on her show "Deadline White House." Her reflexive leftist take on the Los Angeles riots was a "uniquely alarming moment" -- not the riots, but President Donald Trump's response to the riots. It wasn't a response so much as it was "theater." She claimed Barack Obama was more effective at deporting illegal immigrants -- like Democrats do. Naturally, former CNN media reporters Oliver Darcy and...