Dems Shutdown the Government; Trump Rx Targets Big Pharma; Gaza Peace Deadline; and the Left Loses it Over Hegseth
Let's unpack today's conservative conversations
Democrats Own This Shutdown
At midnight, Washington went dark. The federal government is officially shut down after lawmakers failed to make a deal. And make no mistake, Democrats own this one.
Ben Shapiro cut to the chase: “They want to give health care to illegal immigrants, which will destroy health care for everybody else in our country.”
That’s the heart of it. Democrats refused to back a clean continuing resolution because they wanted expanded health benefits for non-citizens. Republicans rightly balked at a proposal that would put illegals on the same footing as American taxpayers.
Michael Knowles argued the “health care” talking point is just window dressing: “This has almost nothing to do with health care. It has everything to do with Democrats’ collapse in the polls.” When you’re losing on the economy, immigration, crime, and foreign policy, you need a shiny object. This time, it’s health care for migrants.
Meanwhile, Megyn Kelly pointed out the absurdity of where Democrats’ focus actually is: not keeping the lights on, but policing memes. “The Democrats seem more concerned about Trump’s funny AI videos that put sombreros on people than in getting the government going again,” she said.
The media, of course, is already running interference, framing it as another “both sides failed” showdown. But that’s not reality. Democrats chose this hill. And Americans are watching.
Trump Rx — Finally Taking on Big Pharma
While Democrats were busy shutting the government down, Trump went on offense with something voters actually care about: lowering drug prices.
His new plan, dubbed “Trump Rx,” is being described by Morning Wire as “something both parties said they’d do for 20 years — but never took a step toward.”
The idea is simple but powerful: force pharmaceutical companies to compete and break the cycle of inflated prices protected by government carveouts. Trump’s move immediately rattled Big Pharma and career politicians who’ve cashed their checks for decades while pretending reform was impossible.
Drug prices are one of those kitchen-table issues that cut across politics. Families feel it every single month. At the pharmacy counter, at the doctor’s office, when the insurance premiums go up. If Trump delivers, he won’t just win a policy battle. He’ll cement himself as the first president in decades who actually stood up to the pharmaceutical lobby and won.
A Deadline for Hamas
On foreign policy, Trump is back in a lane where he’s always been underestimated, and where he’s always outperformed.
Yesterday, he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a 20-point Gaza peace plan. Remarkably, it already has the backing of Israel, the U.S., Qatar, and several European powers. Hamas hasn’t signed on, but for the first time in years, they’re the ones backed into a corner.
Trump’s warning couldn’t have been clearer: “We’re just waiting for Hamas. If it’s not [accepted], it’s going to be a very sad end.”
Ben Shapiro called it “an amazing achievement” that no one in the legacy press will give Trump credit for. That’s been the pattern all along. Remember how the media sneered at the Abraham Accords until they realized peace was actually breaking out?
The Gaza plan is a reminder of what real leverage looks like. Peace doesn’t come from lectures at the UN. It comes from strength, alliances, and forcing the bad actors to face consequences.
Hegseth Fallout — The Woke Era Is Dead
Yesterday we covered Pete Hegseth’s historic address to hundreds of generals and admirals at Quantico. His message was blunt: the woke era is over, standards are back, and if that makes you uncomfortable, “do the honorable thing and resign.”
Today the ripple effects started showing. Clay Travis boiled it down: “Don’t be fat if you are a general or an admiral. You should be in decent shape. The job of the military is to kick ass.”
Megyn Kelly noted how rattled the press seemed by the idea that physical fitness and merit should matter more than DEI slogans. Imagine that, the Secretary of War saying drill sergeants should toughen up basic training, or that combat jobs should have one high standard instead of watered-down gender quotas. The media calls it radical. The troops call it common sense.
Hegseth is reshaping the Pentagon around readiness and lethality instead of identity politics. And judging by the outrage from Washington elites, it hit exactly where it needed to.
The Bottom Line
Democrats shut the government down for illegals. Trump went on offense, both at home with Trump Rx, and abroad with a real Gaza peace plan. And Hegseth’s shake-up is still echoing through the ranks.
While the Left obsesses over memes and millionaire late-night hosts crying victim, the Right is the only side putting forward serious ideas — on drug prices, on national defense, and on actual peace in the Middle East.
That’s where we’ll leave it. Stay sharp, stay strong — and I’ll see you tomorrow night.
Contains all points to catch up fast. Thx.