Having identified a problem they created, Democrats are now blaming “affordability” on Republicans. It is a striking display of audacity — the very definition of chutzpah.

For more than a year, Democrats have struggled to find a message that resonates because they keep recycling losing ones. They have lashed out at immigration enforcement —storming ICE facilities, attacking ICE officers, and defending violent illegal aliens.

Democrats are now left with a single strategy: campaigning on the consequences of their own incompetence and hoping voters forget who caused them.

They voted for the largest tax increase in U.S. history by opposing the extension of the 2017 tax rates under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

They continue to cling to climate alarmism even as the rest of the world moves on.

They remain soft on crime, opposing President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in cities where criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in fear.

And in a final act of desperation, they triggered the longest federal government shutdown in history — before caving and achieving nothing.

Same issues. Same failure to connect.

The results speak for themselves. Democrats’ favorability sits at an abysmal 32.5%, well below Republicans’ 38.2% and far below President Trump’s 43.8%.

Then came Zohran Mamdani, the neophyte New York Democratic Socialist who toppled Democrats’ old guard in consecutive elections — first Mayor Eric Adams, then former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani did what Democrats have always done: promise voters lots of free stuff. Only he did it on a far grander scale — buses, housing, child care, grocery stores.

Faced with his success, Democrats opted for the familiar response: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. They sanitized Mamdani’s socialism, rebranded it as “affordability,” and declared it their new cause.

That affordability is now Democrats’ issue should surprise no one. After all, they caused the crisis they now loudly lament.

Start with New York City, where affordability has collapsed most dramatically. According to Visual Capitalist’s ranking of America’s least affordable cities, Manhattan is No. 1, Brooklyn ranks sixth, and Queens seventh. In fact, the top 10 least affordable cities are overwhelmingly governed by Democrats and located in Democrat-dominated states: New York, Hawaii, California, and Massachusetts. By contrast, nine of the 10 most affordable cities are in Republican-dominated states.

The reasons are no mystery. They are the left’s preferred policies: high taxes that drive up the cost of living and chase out taxpayers; rent control that discourages new construction and fuels homelessness; and excessive regulation and litigation that inflate the cost of everything they touch.

The same pattern holds at the state level. U.S. News and World Report lists the 10 least affordable states, and the top six are California, New Jersey, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Washington, and New York. Nine of the 10 are blue states. Florida — the lone red-state exception — also boasts the No. 1 economy, ranks second in education, levies no state income tax, and continues to attract new residents in large numbers. Meanwhile, all 10 of the most affordable states are Republican-led.

RELATED: The socialist spell: Why modern minds keep falling for an old lie

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

What about inflation? Isn’t that a national problem?

Yes, but inflation didn’t materialize out of thin air. It began under the Biden administration, reaching a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022. CPI-U inflation was just 1.4% when Biden took office in January 2021. By March, it had nearly doubled. By June, it had surged to 5.4%. By December, it hit 7%. A year later, it still stood at 6.5%. Inflation did not fall below 3% until July 2024 — the 43rd month of Biden’s presidency.

Excessive Democrat spending fueled this surge. From fiscal years 2021 through 2024, the Congressional Budget Office shows cumulative deficits of $8.9 trillion, driven by roughly $8 trillion in spending above the pre-pandemic baseline. The only reason Democrats didn’t spend more is that members of their own party balked.

Inflation works like weight gain: it comes on fast and comes off slowly. Even when the rate of inflation declines, prices remain higher. There is no economic Ozempic. Americans are still paying the price for four years of Democratic fiscal gluttony.

None of this has stopped Democrats from claiming “affordability” as their issue — or from demanding more of the same policies that caused the crisis in the first place: higher spending, higher taxes, and more regulation.

Stripped of winning ideas, Democrats are now left with a single strategy: campaigning on the consequences of their own incompetence and hoping voters forget who caused them.

​Affordability, Affordability crisis, 2026 midterms, Inflation, Housing prices, Opinion & analysis, Government shutdown, Taxes, Cost of living, Economy, The democrats 

One of the White House’s longest and most anticipated traditions is the Christmas tree decorations unveiled every year by the first lady.

Although administrations had already been decorating the White House for Christmas for decades, back in 1961, then-first lady Jackie Kennedy became the first to decorate in accordance with a theme.

Since then, Americans across the country have been able to enjoy countless Christmas displays at the People’s House, no matter their party affiliation. No doubt, some decorations have been more controversial than others, but most have provided unique and festive insights into the personal taste of each first lady.

That said, here are the five best Christmas instillations in recent White House history.

5. 2011, Michelle Obama: ‘Shine, Give, Share’

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

First lady Michelle Obama’s 2011 Christmas display featured warm Christmas lights, garlands, and ornaments reminiscent of the best the 1980s had to offer.

Obama’s theme balanced familiarity and festivity, even featuring a decorative recreation of their dog, Bo.

But the real showstopper was a commemorative Christmas tree honoring the brave men and women of the military whose service allows millions of Americans across the country to enjoy the holiday peacefully at home.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

On the tree hung framed medals awarded to America’s finest military members, with the blue star families fittingly being honored in the White House’s Blue Room. The tree was also adorned with handmade holiday cards written by children from military families.

4. 1983, Nancy Reagan: ‘Old-Fashioned Toys’

Bettmann/Getty Images

First lady Nancy Reagan’s Christmas decorations were unpretentious and relatable. The Christmas tree above features an eclectic mix of garlands, tinsel, and playful ornaments that suited the 1983 theme “Old-Fashioned Toys.”

The tree seemed to celebrate the excitement of Christmas as seen through the eyes of a child, anxiously waking up early to unwrap gifts after noticing that Santa finished his plate of cookies. The tree was not particularly glamorous or high fashion, but rather comforting and familiar. It felt like going home for the holidays.

To top it all off, Reagan’s display featured a surprise celebrity appearance.

Bettmann/Getty Images

While Reagan unveiled the Christmas decor, she also appeared alongside Mr. T dressed up as Santa Claus.

3. 1967, Lady Bird Johnson

Bettmann/Getty Images

First lady Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson integrated every nostalgic Christmas motif imaginable in her Christmas decorations.

The tree itself had garlands made of popcorn and cranberry, sugar-cookie ornaments and candy canes hung on branches, as well as classic silver bobbles and felt decorations. The tree looked as if it had been decorated entirely by ornaments and embellishments children made at school to proudly hang on the tree in their family living room.

Johnson’s decorations also included a beautiful 18th-century Italian Nativity scene complete with floating angels.

Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

The Nativity scene was presented to the White House as a Christmas gift by an American philanthropist and art collector named Jane Engelhard, who also made major donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

2. 2006, Laura Bush: ‘Deck the Halls and Welcome All’

Photo by Chuck Kennedy/MCT/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

First lady Laura Bush included all of the classic elements that make Christmas festive, but she also added a unique, whimsical detail.

Bush’s trees featured faux snow caps on the branches that made them appear as though they had just been plucked out of a Christmas Claymation movie. The trees were also adorned with cascading silver tinsel and garlands, sparkling snowflakes, and glass ornaments tied with red bows.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Similar trees were found throughout the halls of the White House beside bold garlands of red and silver ornaments consistent with the tree’s color palette.

1. 2025, Melania Trump: ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’

Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

First lady Melania Trump’s taste in Christmas decorations has been consistently exquisite, and 2025 is no exception.

Most will remember Trump’s iconic display featuring a hallway of bold, red Christmas trees or stark, white branches from her husband’s first term. Although her decorations made a splash both of those years, 2025 is arguably her most stunning display yet.

Dozens of trees are illuminated by twinkling lights and floating candles with dashes of red and gold ribbon running between the branches. Matching red presents are laid at the base of the trees as well as countless wreaths on every window of the White House.

Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Trump also featured several playful elements throughout the White House, including a Lego portrait of President George Washington, President Donald Trump, and matching Lego bows on the wreaths above them.

In a touching tribute, one tree displayed in the Red Room is decorated with tens of thousands of blue butterflies to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of foster children across the country, one of her signature causes.

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An Ohio family says that authorities did little to protect their 12-year-old son after they reported online harassment that included a death threat plot.

The messages were allegedly made by other students from Madison Local Schools in Butler County, according to the victim’s aunt, Courtney Sorrell.

‘We didn’t want this to blow up, but we want the kids to know you can’t make these threats and bully someone or say these things and not be held accountable.’

Sorrell said the harassment began after a breakup, which led to the girl group targeting her nephew.

“Her and her friends were targeting my nephew individually at first,” Sorrell said to WKRC-TV. “Just calling, texting, FaceTiming, and harassing him to the point he would block one person’s number, and then they would reach out from another number. They would say disgusting things like how he’s hated and he needs to just go kill himself.”

The girls allegedly added him to a group chat where they discussed their alleged plan to kill him. Some of the messages were included in a Butler County Sheriff’s Office report.

“Can we kill him,” one message read.

Another read, “Yas we will kill him tomorrow,” and, “Who has weapons that we can bring to school.”

Others said they could bring a pocketknife, baseball bats, and a gun.

Screenshots of the group chat showed 13 participants.

The kids who participated in the chat were suspended for 10 days, but the family is upset that the district didn’t appear to take the threat seriously. Sorrell said the family went to the media because they felt the district wasn’t doing enough.

In response, the school district released a statement.

“We are aware of social media posts regarding a potential threat toward Madison today,” the statement reads. “The district is actively addressing the situation and has taken appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our students and employees. We appreciate your cooperation and support as we prioritize the well-being of our school community.”

RELATED: ‘Just end him’: 5th-grade girls allegedly plotted to stab boy to death at school and make it look like a suicide

Sorrell says the family wants greater accountability at the district and far more transparency. They also want the children who made the threats to face more stringent punishments.

“Why don’t you call the cops? Why don’t you go to the school? Well, we tried that at the beginning,” Sorrell continued.

“We didn’t want to come to social media,” she added. “We didn’t want this to blow up, but we want the kids to know you can’t make these threats and bully someone or say these things and not be held accountable.”

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​Sixth grade murder plot, 12 year old online harassment, Courtney sorrell, Student death threat plot, Crime 

The Great Replacement theory is a conjecture popularized by French writer Renaud Camus in his 2011 book, “Le Grand Remplacement,” claiming that globalist elites are deliberately orchestrating mass immigration of non-white people into Western countries to demographically replace and ultimately disempower or even eradicate white European populations.

It’s often branded as a far-right conspiracy theory, but just look at the evidence:

Mass illegal immigration is orchestrated or deliberately enabled under progressive administrations, despite polls indicating that most citizens want less immigration. Skyrocketing housing costs, student debt, stagnant wages, and taxes make it nearly impossible for young white/middle-class natives to afford children, while many immigrant households (legal and illegal) get access to welfare, EITC, child tax credits, Medicaid, and housing aid that effectively subsidize higher fertility or larger families.Politicians, corporate media, and advertising openly celebrate that the country is becoming “majority-minority,” cheering it as a moral and cultural improvement.Anyone who complains about the speed or scale of immigration (even mildly) gets instantly branded “racist,” “white supremacist,” or “xenophobic,” faces censorship, bans, and job cancellation, and is shut out of respectable discourse.

So it’s not just a theory. It’s a scheme that’s very much in action right now.

“Demographic replacement of the American stock is the plan in order to manipulate elections in the democracy,” says Auron MacIntyre, BlazeTV host of “The Auron MacIntyre Show.”

He plays a clip from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller telling Sean Hannity the same thing.

“The Biden administration, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, devised a scheme to fly illegal aliens into the country and then to escort them en masse across the border by the millions and to give them something known as parole, which gives them a work permit, which gives them a Social Security number, which gives them access to the voting booth,” Miller declared. “This was the plan all along.”

To its core, the plan is deeply undemocratic, MacIntyre explains. “The whole idea of the democracy is that it represents the beliefs and will of the people and that the popular sovereignty is supposed to guide the politicians,” he says.

“So if instead of the popular sovereignty guiding the politicians, the politicians [via immigration] can create and manufacture popular sovereignty in their favor, then they can control the entire system.”

And that’s exactly what the Democrat Party wants, he says — to secure all future elections by turning the nation into a blue blob of welfare-dependents who will reliably vote Democrat to keep their benefits.

“[The Great Replacement theory] is not a conspiracy theory. This is not some weird internet idea. This is the plan of the Democratic Party. This is what they want. This is their political strategy,” MacIntyre reiterates.

The masses of immigrants from Afghanistan, Somalia, and Venezuela — they’re “here for a reason,” he insists. “They’re here to replace you.”

“You address this, or the country drowns.”

To hear Auron’s in-depth breakdown of the Great Replacement theory, watch the video above.

Want more from Auron MacIntyre?

To enjoy more of this YouTuber and recovering journalist’s commentary on culture and politics, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The auron macintyre show, Auron macintyre, Great replacement, Great replacement theory, Importing voters, Democrat party, Illegal immigration, Immigration, Blazetv, Blaze media 

A Delaware state trooper was killed in a shooting Tuesday at a DMV facility in New Castle County, according to police.

Law enforcement officials responded to an active shooter situation at the facility in Minquadale on Hessler Boulevard at about 2 p.m.

‘They said a guy just walked up to the motor vehicle and just started shooting. It don’t have to be like that.’

“Law enforcement acted swiftly to secure the scene, and the shooter has been confirmed deceased,” Gov. Matt Meyer (D) wrote on social media. “State and local law enforcement are on the scene and coordinating response efforts. Please avoid the area and follow guidance from authorities.”

He added that there was no active threat to the public.

Video from inside the facility showed what appeared to be bullet damage in a window, but it was unclear whether the gunfire came from within or from outside.

“It’s just really sad. Like, when does it stop?” said Roxzanne Johnson to WPVI-TV. “They said a guy just walked up to the motor vehicle and just started shooting. It don’t have to be like that.”

Others at the scene were treated for minor injuries, including a 40-year-old woman as well as a 35-year-old for shortness of breath.

RELATED: Bodycam video shows Buffalo cop shoot and kill man as he dragged him on the side of his car

WPVI also reported that the facility might have had an officer stationed at the scene before the shooting.

Officials told the public to stay away from the scene as the investigation continued.

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​State trooper killed, Delaware dmv facility, Dmv shooting, Suspect killed, Crime 

The iconic voice that sings the song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” from the animated special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” ensured the tune has stayed a classic for ages — but the man behind the voice was never given credit.

“They needed somebody that could bring the Grinch, somebody who had a scowl that could match the Grinch. And that’s when the guy who was never named comes into the picture and walks into the studio,” Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck explains.

“And somewhere in a Los Angeles recording booth late at night, I think 1966, he steps up into a booth, up to a microphone, and his voice is so deep, it’s almost as if it rolled out of the earth itself,” he continues.

“He steps up to the microphone, and he records the now really super famous anthem in ‘The Grinch,’” he adds.

The song may only be six verses, but while he recorded the song, the crew and those who worked on it said that “they knew that that performance would outlive all of them.”

“They put it in the show. The show airs. Credits roll. His name’s not on it. Not a mention, not a whisper,” Glenn says.

While he was never officially given credit, the man who delivered what Glenn calls “one of the most unforgettable performances in Christmas history” was named Thurl Ravenscroft.

“His name is nowhere to be found, but it should be. And it should be remembered, because he’s great,” Glenn adds.

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