President Donald J. Trump
The 45th President of the United States is now the 47th President.
Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Today’s newsletter is below.
P.S. The Morning Edition is a reader-supported publication. It delivers Monday-Saturday.
Daily Bible Verse
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:9
Today’s videos:
From “Huckabee Today” on TBN, Gov. Huckabee talks about the presidential transition with Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts…
https://www.mikehuckabee.com/latest-news?id=7D80D226-A805-4FCA-8887-5AFF8E15D6A9
And Gov. Huckabee discusses the strengthened US-Israel relationship with Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition…
https://www.mikehuckabee.com/latest-news?id=0E741305-075E-49FA-BE09-0E692DADFE4A
Morning in America
It's Morning in America! Or as they call it in DC, New York and L.A., "Mourning in America." Here is a link to Fox News’ live video coverage of the Inauguration of President Donald Trump…
https://www.foxnews.com/video/5614615980001
And here is their page of continually-updated stories about the Inaugural…
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/president-donald-trump-inauguration-day-2025
President Trump is expected to sign nearly 200 executive orders today. We can’t possibly cover them all in one day, or else the newsletter would be longer than the Sunday New York Times and have almost as many mistakes. But Streiff at Redstate.com has a good overview of what to expect, classifying them into broad categories, including (and we can’t believe this actually requires an executive order) defining what a “woman” is.
We’ll have more on the many orders after they’re signed and we know more details. Buckle up, this could take a while. It’s like trying to count the snowflakes in a blizzard.
RELATED: The New York Post reports that among Trump’s tsunami of first-day executive orders will be to change the name of Alaska’s Mount Denali (changed by Obama) back to Mount McKinley, and to change the Gulf of Mexico to “The Gulf of America.”
As much as we like the idea behind the latter, it’s hard to imagine that millions of people will stop calling it “the Gulf of Mexico.” That seems more like a PR stunt than a serious order. The Government might use the new name on official documents, but most likely, everyone else will just keep using the old name until it’s officially changed back. You know: Like Mount McKinley.
Not surprising
In one final “shocking but not at all surprising” raising of his middle finger to legal precedent, the rule of law and limits on Presidential power, Joe Biden ended his seemingly endless single term by issuing the expected “pre-emptive” pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, former Rep. Liz Cheney and virtually everyone else associated with Nancy Pelosi’s justice-perverting January 6th committee. This was couched as shielding them from “revenge” by Trump’s DOJ, but we would argue that a better word than “revenge” would be “justice.”
Since Biden said last week that he didn’t need to pardon himself because he’d done nothing wrong, you can draw your own conclusions as to what these pardons mean.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-pardons-mark-milley-anthony-fauci-j6-committee-members
Let us hope that Congress and the Supreme Court, despite having more urgent matters that take priority, will not let this drop, but will move to ensure that such unprecedented “pardons” (actually “Get Out Of Jail Free” cards) for political cronies who have not yet been convicted or even charged with a crime should be considered as an unconstitutional abuse of the pardon power.
We are not attorneys, but if any of our readers are, please tell us in the comments whether these “pardons” apply only to criminal charges and not civil lawsuits by those who might have been harmed by their actions. And do Biden’s federal “pardons” prevent charges being brought by state authorities? After all, they got around Trump being able to pardon himself by filing state charges in blue islands like Manhattan. Does the same not apply?
Here are a couple of articles that explain why these “pardons” are a shocking abuse of power, why the investigations of these people are not Biden-style political lawfare but fully warranted, and why they must continue so that the full truth about all the corruption and cover-ups of recent years is finally brought to the light.
RELATED: At least there will finally be some form of consequences for the 51 “former intelligence officials” who lied to voters in 2020 about Hunter Biden’s laptop likely being “Russian disinformation.” That was used as the pretext to shut down freedom of the press and free speech online. We later learned that authorities knew at the time that the laptop was real, and polls showed that if voters had known, Trump would have easily been reelected.
So in a very real sense, these 51 people are largely responsible for inflicting four years of Joe Biden on America. Seen in that light, these seem like very light consequences indeed, but at least they will now no longer have security clearances.
We expect Democrats and leftist media outlets to howl in outrage, but when they’re done, they can explain why a group of known liars who put partisan politics ahead of their duty should have access to America’s top government secrets.
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Sunday, the Israel-Hamas ceasefire went into effect, and the first three hostages were released. They are three women - Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 38; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 – who were abducted on October 7, 2023, and held by Hamas for 471 days. You can read more at the link and see photos of them finally reuniting with their families. But you’d better have some Kleenex handy because something’s about to get in your eye.
Another Leftist Narrative Demolished:
Al-Jazeera reported that as soon as the ceasefire went into effect on Sunday, Hamas fighters emerged with their weapons from their hiding place in the Nasser Hospital complex in southern Gaza.
https://x.com/afalkhatib/status/1881032859315773935
Hope for the future
There’s hope for the future, with more young people realizing how badly they’ve been lied to. Just a few months ago, a Harvard-Harris poll found that 18-to-24-year-olds were split 50-50 on support for Israel or Hamas. The latest poll shows that they now support Israel by 79-21%. That’s not perfect, but it’s getting there.
https://x.com/EYakoby/status/1881176962770846004
And here’s yet another reason why young people are turning to Trump: The social media site TikTok went offline Sunday, due to the Biden-enforced deadline for selling itself to a non-Chinese-based owner. The move sparked widespread anguish among its users.
But it was dark for less than 24 hours thanks to Trump saying that he would order a 90-day extension of the deadline. He also said he would like the US to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture, which would keep TikTok in good hands and let it become “worth hundreds of billions of dollars — maybe trillions.”
Going from destroying a successful business to making it ten times more profitable? Yep, Biden is out and Trump is in, all right.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
There’s so much news today that some might forget that it’s also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but we shouldn’t overlook that. Here is a commentary that Gov. Huckabee wrote last year, and it applies even more so today, when we are thankfully seeing Americans reject the last few years of racial divisiveness and identity politics and turn back toward Dr. King’s dream of being judged not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character…
Today is Martin Luther King Day, the federal holiday honoring his birth on January 15, 1929. While some of the activities planned for today may be postponed due to inclement weather, we shouldn’t let that stop us from honoring his memory and accomplishments today.
As a boy growing up in the South in the 1960s, I saw the pernicious effects of racism firsthand, and was inspired by the Rev. King’s faith, courage and eloquence, his message of brotherhood and his dream of a colorblind society where Americans weren’t separated by race and where people were judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
He was not a “social justice activist” in the current sense, nor just an eloquent speaker. He was a preacher, one of the greatest ever. He didn't give political speeches, he gave sermons. And like all great sermons, they relied on the teachings of the Gospel to inspire his listeners to renounce the grievous sin of racism and follow, as Lincoln put it, “the better angels of our nature.” He taught us that as God created us all in His image, hating someone for the way they look is a sin against God.
Today, when we celebrate the man who did so much to achieve the goal of recognizing and repudiating that sin, it’s more important than ever to remember what he said, because in recent years, his legacy has been under intense assault. A movement has arisen that’s tearing America apart by yanking from the ash heap of history such terrible ideas as judging people solely by skin color, bringing back segregated spaces and blaming children for the sins of their fathers. This racial separatist poison is the opposite of the Rev. King’s message, and any attempts to co-opt his name to promote it are detestable.
I’m sure that today will bring many speeches that will try to use the Rev. King’s name to cynically promote divisive political and racial agendas. Instead of listening to them, go to the source. Listen to his original “I Have A Dream” speech, and see if it sounds anything like the anti-American nightmare these charlatans are promoting.
I have no doubt, as well, that if Dr. King were alive today, many on the left would be seething over his support of Israel. Rep. John Lewis quoted King as saying, "When people criticize Zionists they mean Jews, you are talking anti-Semitism." Lewis said King also said in 1968 that "peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality."
Here's more on that subject from John Solomon at Just The News. I wonder if anyone at the liberal media outlets will quote those prophetic words today?
And here are some comments from a woman I’m honored to call my friend, the Rev. King’s niece, Alveda King. This was written last year (2023), but it’s just as timely today.
Dead Bottom Story of the Day:
Over the weekend, a ragtag group of diehard Trump haters protested democracy in Washington.
Others, including leftist Hollywood celebrities, attacked Carrie Underwood, Snoop Dogg and other performers for being part of the Inaugural festivities. And here’s one of the most heartening signals that we have entered a new era and it’s once again “morning in America”:
Nobody paid any attention to them. Sorry, Trump-hating hysterics: America is done with you.
Fun Reads:
To help you celebrate Trump 2.0 and the great relief of Biden’s departure, here are articles on those subjects by Kurt Schlichter…
And Derek Hunter…
Prayers answered; Trump inauguration today being held INDOORS
“I think Trump’s gonna make this even better than it was.”
That was Scott Adams, talking Sunday about the indoor (yes!) festivities surrounding President Trump’s inauguration on Monday. “I don’t think he gave up anything,” he continued. “I think packing [his supporters] into the stadium and keeping them warm was the right answer in every way.” In light of security concerns AND the weather, why not keep everyone “safe and happy” and leave them with “a good memory of the event”?
Certainly the indoor “victory rally” on Sunday was quite glorious. If you missed that, here’s President Trump’s full speech...
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=uh-mail-web&p=fox+news+trump+victory+rally+speech
“The weather forecast for Washington, DC, with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” President Trump had said in a statement Friday. “I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured in any way. Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985.”
For anybody who had a problem with this change in plans, former Trump adviser and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani posted this: “Stop whining over the indoor inauguration. The last time was 1985, almost 4 years after the attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan. This is less than a year after after two attempts to assassinate President Trump without any resolution of either case. A wise decision.”
https://x.com/RudyGiuliani/status/1880678576359710900?t=uVxn9hvqnmIYtUhPPwy8ZQ&s=19
Indeed. Would Trump have moved the inauguration indoors if the cold hadn’t been a concern? We’ll never know. Those of us who prayed hard that he would take the oath indoors, sheltered from the vulnerable open sky of Pennsylvania Avenue, got our prayers answered with the extremely frigid temperatures that offered yet another compelling reason for doing just that. It’s hard to argue against the possibility of frostbite, or worse. And this is one more opportunity for the Trump administration to show how focused it is on finding practical solutions.
Are you familiar with the grim fate of President William Henry Harrison, who died a month after giving a two-hour inaugural speech in the extreme cold? (The theory is that he was trying to show America he wasn’t too old for the job --- at 68.) See the video at “When Weather Shaped Political History”...
(Side note: we would add that there’s another time in living memory when weather hugely shaped political history. On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy’s team discussed whether to put the “bubble” top on his convertible for the ride from Love Field to downtown Dallas, given that the weather was cold and drizzly. But then the rain stopped and the sun came out, and JFK, who was not polling well in Texas, really wanted to wave from an open car…)
So, anyway, thanks, cold weather, for helping us --- and perhaps this time the country as a whole --- dodge another bullet, perhaps literally.
Trump’s swearing-in is scheduled for noon EST on Monday, January 20, so as you read this, it might be going on or even just completed. Over the weekend, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, among other committees, posted a complete schedule of events for this day, starting with security screening at the Capitol starting at 5AM (!). Here it is…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/time-inauguration-2025-see-full-050103881.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
After the swearing-in and inaugural address, there’s the Presidential signing room ceremony, in a room off the Senate chamber, in which Trump will sign nominations, memoranda, proclamations and executive orders. He reportedly has over 100 --- perhaps closer to 200 --- executive orders to sign. (Note: with all this, he had better sign fast or they’ll be there the whole rest of the day!)
Among the many documents he’ll be signing, Trump is planning to issue a huge number of January 6 pardons. According to Charlie Kirk, these have already been drafted and simply await his signature. This should be no surprise, as he told TIME Magazine in December that he’d be “looking at J6 early on, maybe in the first nine minutes.”
We shall see if this will include everyone ensnared by the abusive Biden DOJ, regardless of alleged violence. Our argument has been that the process was so incredibly biased and corrupt, even those convicted of violent acts should be pardoned, or at the very least receive new trials with a change of venue from DC. Speaker Johnson said on “Meet the Press” Sunday that both President Trump and VP-elect J. D. Vance agreed that “peaceful protesters should be pardoned, but violent criminals should not.”
However that goes, Elon Musk weighed in on the news, saying that “they should be released immediately upon signing of the pardons! No lengthy paperwork delays are acceptable.”
After the signing, and perhaps a treatment for Trump’s sudden-onset carpal tunnel syndrome, there’s a luncheon at the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, attended by the President and Vice President and their guests, Senate leaders, and members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
The parade that was supposed to grace Pennsylvania Avenue after that has been moved inside Capitol One Arena, just because it’s so freaking cold. Then, Trump goes to the Oval Office --- the real one, not a phony set as Biden would have --- for a ceremonial signing. After that, he and Melania still have three inaugural balls to attend.
But perhaps the highlight of the whole day will come a little after noon: the official farewell departure of the outgoing President and Vice President. Traditionally, a helicopter whisks them away. If that hasn’t happened yet by the time you’re reading this --- maybe he’s still issuing pardons --- you might want to turn on the news and treat yourself. After all, you’ll be seeing history in the making: the departure of the indisputably worst U.S. President and Vice President of all time. In roughly 250 years of U.S. history, how many people have been able to say they witnessed that? In fact, we actually have three great things to celebrate today: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Trump Inauguration Day, and Biden Gone Day.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/time-inauguration-2025-see-full-050103881.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
U.S. flags have been lowered to half-staff to honor President Carter after his death at age 100, but a number of Republican governors, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have announced that they’ll fly the flag at full height on Inauguration Day and then lower it back to half-staff the next day. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the flag at the Capitol would be treated the same way. Even California Gov Gavin Newsom followed suit.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry went even further, announcing that he will fly a MAGA flag along with the American flag (at full height) on Monday to honor Trump’s inauguration. (The U.S. flag will return to half-staff on Tuesday.) Gov. Landry even issued a proclamation calling on Louisiana residents to fly both flags --- which might be taking it a little far, but we do understand his enthusiasm.
https://www.ntd.com/louisiana-governor-to-raise-us-maga-flags-for-trumps-inauguration
One person who sees symbolism in Trump’s taking his oath of office indoors is investigative reporter Julie Kelly, who sees this as “a fitting end to the phony J6 narrative.”
“...The optics of Trump being sworn-in inside the very building that was supposed to constitute the graveyard of his political future and the movement he created should erase any disappointment,” she wrote on Sunday. “The ceremony inside the Capitol Rotunda...will represent the climax of the biggest political comeback ever, one historians (usually all leftists) will struggle to explain to future generations.”
Don’t count on them doing it accurately. That’s why we all have to leave as much of a record as we can.
Kelly goes back over the waste of time and money by “Special Counsel” Jack Smith to prosecute Trump and the approximately 1,600 malicious prosecutions taken on by Merrick Garland’s DOJ. Thank goodness those prosecutors will no longer be a part of our “Justice” Department. Still, what about accountability? Elsewhere in the newsletter, we have a round-up of the shocking but not surprising “pre-emptive pardons” Biden (or whoever put the paper in front of him and moves his pen) issued on his way out the door.
Her piece is a must-read…
Also highly recommended: Mark Levin’s Sunday monologue about the “out-of-whack discretionary powers of these federal prosecutors,” and the investigation that needs to happen to “make sure this never happens again.” Be sure and see the comments about prosecutorial abuse from Attorney Robert H. Jackson in 1940. Jackson foresaw exactly what Biden’s DOJ has been doing the past four years...
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6367368551112
Today really is “a brand new day,” as Victor Davis Hanson told Levin later in the show in this must-watch segment. He reviews how Trump’s adversaries “ate into” much of his first term in a variety of insidious ways. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said, “and I hope it never happens again.”
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6367370810112
Of course, President Trump’s victory over all this assumes he comes through the inauguration unscathed. (Again, thank God it was moved indoors!) As you are well aware, his life remains under serious, credible threat, and the Secret Service has yet to receive the thorough overhaul it needs. For when you have time, investigative reporter Sean Davis has much to say about this, especially the difficulty in finding out what happened at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally --- and more importantly, WHY. Who was this shooter --- really? Set aside some time, because once you start listening, you’ll have to hear the whole thing.
https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-sean-davis
Thank you for reading the newsletter.
Please thank Carrie Underwood for grace under PRESSURE!Her music for God Bless America did not play because of a"glitch"like the great American singer she is,started singing;
God bless her brave American spirit🙌🏽
Another outstanding Morning Edition on this glorious new day. May GOD bless America and President Trump.