Trump Wins Again

 
President Trump turned up the heat on our NATO allies during intense negotiations today.  He forced the summit into an emergency session to discuss his demand for increased defense spending.
 
Trump emerged from this meeting saying that "tremendous progress" had been made, noting that NATO members had "substantially upped their commitment."  Trump added that NATO is "much stronger than it was two days ago." 
 
Next week, Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The left-wing narrative is that Trump is not tough enough on Putin.  This is coming from the same left-wing movement that for decades has resisted every effort to get tough on the Soviet Union and Russia.
 
Now think about this:  What best sets the tone for this meeting between Trump and Putin? 
 
Is it Trump walking into the room with Putin after our "allies" refused to spend more on defense? 
 
Or is it Trump walking into the room and telling Putin, "You saw what happened in Brussels.  NATO is boosting defense spending, and we're determined to stop your meddling."
 
Which one of these scenarios do you think concerns Putin most?
 
Incredibly, the banner headline on the front page of today's Washington Post reads:  "Trump Scolds NATO Allies On Defense Spending."  In much smaller print below, a sub-headline reads:  "But He Signs On To Group Pledge Against Russia."
 
How can the Post possibly think this headline makes any sense? 
 
The Post is once again playing up the theme that Trump is mean to our friends and hesitant to take on Putin.  It is trying to make it sound like these are two separate issues, when in fact it is the same thing. 
 
But the statement is symbolism.  Spending more on defense is the real pledge against Russia!
 
Sadly, Barack Obama repeatedly appeased Russia from the moment he walked into the Oval Office.  He even promised to show Putin more "flexibility" after he was reelected.  But the media loved Obama.
 
For too long, the D.C. Swamp has not seen a leader who gets up every morning asking himself, "What can I do to make America great again?"  The media is having a nervous breakdown now because "America First" leadership looks so alien to them.
 
 
 
They're Back!
 
FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page are back in the news.  Page made headlines when she refused to honor a subpoena for her testimony yesterday.  Page claims she needs more time to prepare, but that doesn't pass the straight face test. 
 
Some legal analysts are suggesting that Page refused to testify because she doesn't know what Strzok said during his closed-door hearing and she doesn't want to get caught lying to Congress.
 
Strzok is testifying publicly today before a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and Government Oversight Committees.  Of course, he insists that bias never influenced any of his official actions.  But that doesn't pass the straight face test either. 
 
As Rep. Trey Gowdy noted, Strzok's bias was so obvious that Special Counsel Robert Mueller was forced to kick him off of the Russia collusion investigation.  Watch this exchange.
 
By the way, there was breaking news this morning that Page has agreed to testify before Congress tomorrow. . . after she conveniently gets to hear what Strzok's says today. 
 
Unfortunately for Page, it's not clear how much Mr. Strzok will say.  He refused to answer the first question posed to him, and the hearing quickly turned into a circus with Democrats offering numerous frivolous motions and forcing pointless rollcall votes.
 
But there was one stunning admission: Apparently the FBI gave Strzok the same deal Hillary Clinton got -- he was allowed to review his personal devices and decide which messages he would turn over!
 
 
 
What's He Up To?
 
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein sent a memo to all U.S. Attorneys yesterday asking them to locate any and all documents related to Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee.  The request asked each office to dedicate three federal prosecutors "to this important project."  That's a lot of lawyers!
 
Even the New York Times seems puzzled, writing, "Mr. Rosenstein's request was an unusual insertion of politics into federal law enforcement. 
 
Senate Democrats are trying to stall the confirmation process by demanding all kinds of documents based on Kavanaugh's extensive government service.  But was Rosenstein instructed to do this by Attorney General Sessions in order to get the job done faster?  Or is Rosenstein acting on his own as the research arm of Senate Democrats?
 
We are talking to every trustworthy conservative legal expert in Washington to try to ascertain the rationale behind these reports.  I can come up with a very disturbing explanation, as well as more innocent ones.  But, unfortunately, I have little confidence in Rod Rosenstein.
 
 
 
Left-wing Lunacy
 
House progressives introduced legislation today to abolish ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.  As I recently noted, this means gutting enforcement of our immigration laws and letting thousands of criminals roam our streets.
 
According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, "Immigrants with past criminal convictions accounted for 74% of all arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in fiscal 2017."  We're talking more than 100,000 illegal immigrants with DUIs, drug charges, sexual assaults and even homicides.
 
The American people are not on board with this radical agenda.  A new Politico poll found that only 25% of voters support abolishing ICE. 
 
Meanwhile, a June Harvard poll asked a series of questions related to immigration.  Here's what it found:

• Immigration ranked as the nation's most important issue, ahead of health care, the economy and national security/terrorism.
• 84% said that cities should report illegal immigrants arrested for crimes to ICE.
• 61% said border security is inadequate.
• 76% said we needed secure borders; only 24% favored open borders.
• 70% said we needed stricter enforcement of our immigration laws.
• 64% said that people who cross our border illegally should be deported.
• 60% supported physical and electronic barriers along the southern border. 

Donald Trump is not the one who is out of step on immigration.  Left-wing progressives are.
 
By the way,  the House GOP leadership team just announced plans to bring the anti-ICE bill to the floor for a vote. 
 
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) called the left's demand to abolish ICE "wrong," adding, "I think everyone ought to be on record about where they stand on that issue."
 
I agree completely!