Conservatives on Why ‘America First’ Doesn’t Mean ‘America Alone’

by Courtney Joyner   Does the slogan “America first” also mean “America alone?” That was the question asked Friday during the Conservative Political Action Conference, following President Donald Trump’s second summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Among panelists discussing Trump’s “America first” foreign policy were Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Fred Fleitz, a former CIA analyst who heads the Center for Security Policy. “It’s a great opportunity on this panel to talk about a question that I have been asked a lot and that is: ‘America first’—does that mean America is alone?” Ernst asked the CPAC audience. “Absolutely not,” she answered. “It just simply means that America is leading from a position of strength.” The panel touched on the importance of having strong American leadership globally to promote policy that helps American workers. “When I think of ‘America first,’ I think we could say ‘Americans first,’ because ‘Americans first’ really represents a backlash against globalists—against the liberal elite—who have put forward foreign policies that leave the American workers, the American citizens, behind,” Fleitz said. The panel talked about the importance of establishing safety as one policy that benefits both Americans…

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Tennessee Star Report Caller Rita: ‘I’m a Black Female and Trump Was the First Republican I Ever Voted For’

On Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the team discussed how all politics is local and all politics is visual and in regards to the migrant invasion, they asked listeners to call in and give their take on how they saw it. The duo took a call from an African-American woman named Rita who expressed some interesting views on the topic: Gill: Let’s go to Rita in Nashville next – 737-9522, 737-WLAC – Rita, good morning. Rita: Good morning.  I was calling to say I think it’s going to help the Republicans.  I’m a black female and Trump was the first Republican I ever voted for and I just voted last week for Marsha Blackburn and Bill Lee – but my husband didn’t vote for Trump.  But after he saw this caravan coming through, he all of a sudden switched from being a Democrat as well and he also voted for Marsha and Bill.  So I think it’s going to help the Republicans. Gill:  What was the turning point for you Rita?  Why, again President Trump was saying to…

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Commentary: The Trump Doctrine

Trump at UN

by George Rasley   While the establishment media and self-appointed pundits focused on the U.N. audience reaction to President Trump’s truthful boast that “In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country…” they missed the most important part of the President’s remarks – the announcement of what might be called the Trump doctrine. What the President said that was so important was this: We are also standing up for our citizens and for peace loving people everywhere. We believe that when nations respect the rights of their neighbors and defend the interests of their people, they can better work together to secure the blessings of safety, prosperity, and peace. Each of us here today is the emissary of a distinct culture, a rich history, and a people bound together by ties of memory, tradition, and the values that make our homelands like nowhere else on Earth. That is why America will always choose independence and cooperation over global governance, and I honor the right of every nation in this room to pursue its own customs, beliefs and traditions. The United States will not tell you how to live, work,…

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Commentary: Trump Steamrolls DC Ruling Class on the Road to American Rebrand

Donald Trump

by Jeffery Rendall   If we’ve learned anything about Donald Trump in the three years he’s been a full-time politician it’s he’s concerned with restoring and bolstering the American “brand.” It goes without saying that the reputation of the red, white and blue took a beating during Barack Obama’s eight years behind the president’s desk. Obama famously ordered the White House lit up with rainbow-colored lights but refused to wear an American flag pin. What a disgrace. Not so with Trump. Whether it’s a state visit to Europe to persuade Europeans to pay their committed share of GDP for their own defense or simply insisting that the United States government bring back the words “Merry Christmas” every December, Trump exudes the implication that under his stewardship American exceptionalism is back and we’re no longer afraid to show it. Now comes word Trump would like Air Force One to be repainted to show a little more outwardly American distinctiveness. Katelyn Caralle of the Washington Examiner reported, “President Trump is looking to give Air Force One a new paint job to give it a ‘more American’ look. “Instead of keeping up with the 55-year-old tradition of white and robin’s-egg blue, the president wants it to be…

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Melania Trump in Hospital for Procedure on Kidney Condition

Melania Trump underwent a procedure Monday morning to treat a benign kidney condition and will likely be hospitalized for the rest of the week, the White House said. President Donald Trump was expected to visit his wife at Walter Reed Medical Center just outside Washington later Monday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to disclose the plan and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said the procedure on the 48-year-old first lady was successful and there were no complications. The White House did not offer any additional details on Mrs. Trump’s condition. She was last seen in public on Wednesday at a White House event where she joined the president to honor military mothers and spouses for Mother’s Day. Mrs. Trump, who has been gradually raising her profile as first lady, recently hosted her first state dinner and launched a public awareness campaign to help children. With the president watching in the Rose Garden, Mrs. Trump last week unveiled the “Be Best” campaign, which she said will focus on childhood well-being, social media use and opioid abuse. The first lady lived full time in New York during the administration’s…

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Congressional Candidate Bob Corlew Launches New Ad Focused on Border Security

Former judge and current Republican congressional candidate Bob Corlew announced on Tuesday the launch of a new campaign ad focused solely on his commitment to support President Trump’s efforts to shore up the United States’ national security by securing the southern border and reforming the immigration system to reflect the ‘America First’ agenda. The 30-second spot (seen below) features footage of Corlew walking border fence with two agents. In it, the former judge vows to support President Trump’s now-familiar promises to: Build the wall End chain migration Stop the flow of drug Deny amnesty to illegal aliens currently in the countru Renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) SCRIPT: V/O: How do we secure our future? It starts at the border. CORLEW: In Congress, I’ll stop criminal illegal aliens from entering our country by working with President Trump to build a wall, end chain migration, stop the flow of illegal drugs, no amnesty. And I’ll fight unfair trade deals, because open borders also costs Tennessee jobs. I’m Bob Corlew and I approve this message because securing our border and protecting jobs are values I’ll never stop never stop fighting for. Watch the commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIma2hlbDgI              

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Commentary: President Trump Delivers Bigly on Trade, Immigration

By Robert Romano   In the past month, President Donald Trump has levied a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, hit China with $60 billion of tariffs for intellectual property theft and steel dumping, got South Korea to give major concessions on steel dumping and importing U.S.-made cars and has now activated the National Guard to help secure the nation’s southern border. The President also threatened NAFTA over a caravan of refugees headed from Honduras through Mexico with the intention of reaching the U.S.: “The big Caravan of People from Honduras, now coming across Mexico and heading to our ‘Weak Laws’ Border, had better be stopped before it gets there. Cash cow NAFTA is in play, as is foreign aid to Honduras and the countries that allow this to happen,” Trump tweeted on April 3. Mexico has since replied that it is disbanding the caravan. We’ll see how successful they are. The President’s attitude appears be, that’s a nice trade agreement you have there. Be a shame if anything were to happen to it. Congress should be paying attention, too. In the meantime, President Trump has taken Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals off the table as something for Congress to…

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Rick Manning Commentary: Reciprocity Is the Key to Lasting, Prosperous Trade

by Rick Manning   You know, as a non-economist, when I received the invitation to participate in this forum, I kind of felt like a Christian being invited into the Coliseum to meet the lions for lunch.  However, since this debate is largely a political and not an economic question, I am confident that the audience will find that I have some smooth stones at my disposal to take down Goliath. After listening to the affirmative, I want to remind the audience of what this debate is about. The affirmative must prove this resolution: “The U.S. government should unilaterally abolish all tariffs and duties on imports and all subsidies to exports, thereby making all reciprocal trade agreements with other countries unnecessary.” This resolution rises or falls on three words: UNILATERALLY, SHOULD and UNNECESSARY. Because ultimately, the affirmative demands that the U.S. should, in the real world, take unilateral actions, which in practical application will cause reciprocal trade agreements to become unnecessary. So, as we begin we will exam these three areas. Let’s start with the terms unilateral and reciprocal. Unilateral action is the opposite of seeking reciprocal trade agreements as a precondition to lowering tariffs and lifting subsidies. But reciprocity is not merely a negotiating…

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Commentary: Republicans Hold the Key to Their Own Success in the 2018 Midterm Elections

by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Now that 2017’s few elections and reflections on the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s triumphant win in the 2016 election are in the rearview mirror it’s time to look ahead to the all-important midterm elections of 2018. Midterms are always a big deal because they portend to reveal how well – or how poorly – a president is received by a wide cross-section of the American public. Ahead of next year’s vote media pundits are doing what media pundits always do, namely find any way feasible to describe the Republican Party as being in trouble. Their routines are predictable: wake up in the morning, put on a pot of coffee, take their anti-depressant medication, check Trump’s twitter feed, organize their angry thoughts and then scribble a story bashing Trump and predicting doom. In Trump’s case it’s been happening for well over two years now so liberal journalists have the shtick down cold. The only problem is their predictions rarely come true. Other commentators actually look at the facts and try to draw some reasoned conclusions. David M. Drucker and W. James Antle III of the Washington Examiner wrote earlier this week, “One year out from the midterm congressional…

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Ingraham Takes America Behind the Scenes of Historic 2016 Election

In order to understand whether the current president’s “America First” agenda has staying power beyond this administration, it’s important to look back and properly define the growing populist movement in the United States, according to LifeZette Editor-in-Chief Laura Ingraham. Ingraham started a tour this week to promote her new book, “Billionaire at the Barricades: The Populist…

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EXCLUSIVE: Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft to Speak at Nashville Spirit of America Rally Saturday, March 4

Jim Hoft

Nashville’s Spirit of America Rally organizers announced exclusively to The Tennessee Star that grassroots superstar Jim Hoft will appear at the event this Saturday, March 4th. “We are excited to announce that Jim Hoft of The Gateway Pundit will speak at the rally.  His organization has recently been granted White House press credentials to the dismay of the liberal main stream media,” Spirit of American organizer and founder of the Memphis Tea Party Mark Skoda said. “Jim has made a difference at his conservative news blog with over one million views per day during the election.  And as a new media leader, he is driving the left crazy,” he added. Jim Hoft stated, “I am really looking forward to speaking to the people of the Great State of Tennessee.  President Trump is off to a roaring start and I am proud to stand behind him today as he moves to Make America Great Again.  I plan on making a special announcement at Saturday’s rally!” Skoda noted that this confirmation of the March 4 event comes on the eighth anniversary of the first Tea Party rallies, which were held in fifty cities across the country on February 27, 2009. Those rallies were followed by…

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