WSJ Opinion: Free Expression

Donald Trump found himself the target of a second attempt on his life, this time from a gunman who was lying in wait for hours, only to be thwarted by the Secret Service. What’s happening with the former president’s security? And with less than 50 days to go to the 2024 election, has the intensity of campaign rhetoric become dangerous? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Sen. Josh Hawl...

The verdict is in - Donald Trump came a distant second this week in his first - and perhaps only - presidential debate with Kamala Harris. The former president was repeatedly on the defensive and easily baited by the vice president, despite the fact that she is the candidate of the incumbent and largely unpopular administration. What went wrong? Will there be another chance for Trump to link Harri...

While most voters are focused on the contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, there are key Senate races across the nation that will decide who will be in control of the chamber in January. One of the most important is in Pennsylvania, where Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey is being challenged by Dave McCormick, a businessman and combat veteran who previously ran for the Republican nomin...

Kamala Harris told the Democratic National Convention that she has plans for what she called an “opportunity economy.” But with little detail about what such a platform entails, except for promises to end so-called price gouging and raise taxes on companies and the better off, voters don’t seem to have a clear picture of what they will get if the Vice President wins in November. Meanwhile Donald T...

A month after abandoning their death march to the polls with President Joe Biden and switching to a campaign of joy with Kamala Harris, Democrats are in Chicago to formally nominate Vice President Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. But beyond spreading the happiness, what are the Democrats offering? On the strength of her few policy announcements, so far it looks likely that...

With days to go before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the spotlight is shining brightly on Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, as they continue to enjoy a largely substance-free campaign honeymoon, with the sizable help of the media. Meanwhile, cracks in the once-confident campaign of Donald Trump are beginning to show. The former president has spent much of the last few...

During Tim Walz’s first rally as the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Americans got to see a quick-witted and effective speaker who knows how to go on the offensive when he needs to. But beyond the theatre, what’s his actual record as Minnesota governor? Two political insiders who’ve been following Walz for decades sit down with Gerry Baker to size up his tenure. John Hinderaker, president...

On this encore episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness." Haidt discusses the dangers that are present on social media platforms and how easily accessible they are to kids with very little obstacles to get in the way of them being harmed psychologic...

The Republican Party gathered this week for its presidential nominating convention and the message coming from the gathering is clear: Donald Trump, after the failed assassination attempt on his life, has rallied the party successfully heading into the final stretch of the election. The selection of Sen. J.D. Vance as vice presidential nominee has doubled down on the party’s populist message, to t...

In what is the most important week of Joe Biden's presidency, Democrats are in disarray about the man at the top of the ticket for November's election. Despite strong pushback from the White House to calls for him to step down, the drumbeat demanding change is growing louder. Several members of Congress have called for him to go and many more are privately expressing despair about the party's pros...

The Labour Party secured a major landslide in Britain's elections, resulting in a parliamentary majority not seen since the early days of Tony Blair. The reign of the Conservative Party, who have governed for 14 years, ended in an ignominious rout. But Labour’s victory, led by Keir Starmer, the new prime minister, was achieved with the lowest share of the vote for a winning party in British histor...

By the time Thursday night’s debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump ended, one question was on everyone’s lips: will the president be persuaded to step down ahead of the Democratic convention? His weak and stumbling performance dramatically increased concerns about Biden’s age and stamina, as Donald Trump showed a discipline and focus that has not always been on display   On this episode of the...

Free speech is under threat in unprecedented ways in the U.S.. University campuses deny platforms to those who dissent from progressive orthodoxies. Tech firms block heterodox news and opinion on grounds of "disinformation." Companies discipline employees for challenging nostrums about race, sexuality and gender. How did it get this way? What can be done to reverse the tide? On this episode of the...

Are we losing the new Cold War? In a rare moment of bipartisan unity, all sides in America seem to agree that we are in a long new Cold War struggle with Communist China. But if that's the case, why are we just managing the contest rather than actually trying to win it? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, who led congressional efforts to co...

After Donald Trump’s conviction being on 34 felony counts of falsification of business records and as his sentence looms just ahead of the Republican National Convention, U.S. politics are deeper into uncharted territory. What might happen next? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former federal prosecutor and Trump lawyer James Trusty takes Gerry Baker through all the legal steps the...

With the current polls looking better each day for a return to the White House for Donald Trump, what could the next 4 years look like at the southern border? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with former acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf who says a second Trump administration will make radical changes to border enforcement and immigration policy, ens...

It’s a rare subject of bipartisan agreement that China is the greatest strategic challenge facing the U.S., perhaps the greatest it has ever faced. And yet, despite a decade of admirations of both parties acknowledging the threat, we are woefully under-prepared for it. What can the next President learn from the mistakes of the recent past and how might he remedy them? On this episode of the Free E...

As global instability increases and threats to our national security grow, what can we learn from the history of warfare? In a new book, noted military historian Victor Davis Hanson examines how some wars have resulted not just in defeat for the vanquished but in the annihilation of their civilization and people. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Prof. Hanson tells Gerry Baker about...

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels took to the stand this week in the criminal hush-money trial of Donald Trump, surprising the media, legal experts and even the former President himself. But the more we heard the salacious details in the testimony, the more it seemed the move might backfire on the prosecution. In what already looks to many like a thin case against Mr. Trump, the admission of lurid...

With the explosion of protests on university campuses and as Donald Trump sits in a courtroom facing felony charges, the 2024 presidential race is at a new level of volatility. Polls show Joe BIden trailing Trump in the key swing states, leaving the current President with only the slimmest of margins as a path to reelection. Six months out, what might change? On this episode of the Free Expression...

Have our elite universities become seedbeds of hatred? Since Hamas’ murderous attacks on Israel on October 7th, and the war in Gaza that followed, demonstrations have exploded on the campus of American universities. In the last two weeks, the mayhem has escalated. Columbia University especially has been overrun by angry protesters, many of them pushing nakedly antisemitic messages and harassing Je...

As the Biden administration and international public opinion up the pressure on Israel to suspend its campaign against an enemy sworn to destroy it, the right of the Jewish state to defend itself seems to be challenged. Can Israel finish the job against Hamas? Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain in office despite fierce domestic criticism? What are the wider geopolitical issues at stake?...

With more and more parents giving their children access to smartphones earlier in their lives a common troubling thread seems to be arising that is affecting the way children are growing up. On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with Jonathan Haidt, Author of “The Anxious Generation” How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Haidt di...

After over 140 people were killed at a concert venue in Moscow, Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or ISKP, an Afghanistan-based offshoot of ISIS, quickly claimed responsibility. Who are ISKP and what wider threat do they pose to the West and the U.S. in particular? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Afghan Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sami Sadat tells Gerry Baker why he thinks IS...

With the Federal Reserve signaling it still plans to cut interest rates this year, has the inflation threat really abated? Heightened optimism about a soft landing has cooled somewhat as inflation at the start of the year has shown signs of persisting. What happens next will have big political implications too. In an election year, more voters seemingly have a negative opinion of how Joe Biden is...