The World Cup — hosted jointly this year by the United States, Canada, and Mexico — has wildly exceeded expectations.

By just how much has it exceeded expectations? Americans suddenly love soccer — which has usually been cast as a liberal-coded sport, much to the dismay of this soccer fan. Europeans suddenly love America. And the United States, Canada, and Mexico, three oft-squabbling siblings that are uneasy with each other at the best of times, have gotten along thus far.

What’s not to like, especially if you’re American? Well, if you’re a Democrat American, the very fact that it’s gone well — because that could theoretically make President Donald Trump look good.

In more evidence that the only patriotic impulse the American left has is to the Democratic Party, Politico reported that the Democrats are trying to “grapple uncomfortably with” the success of the event because it “has forced Democrats who had criticized President Donald Trump’s role in preparations to grudgingly reconsider.”

In fact, says Democratic digital strategist Rob Flaherty, they wanted this to go horribly because the United States looking awful on the world stage was a good thing, so long as Trump went down with the ship we’re supposed to all be sailing on together as Americans. Leftist “patriotism” in action, ladies and gents.

“I think that there was a little bit of like liberal wishcasting that this would maybe be a disaster to sort of stick it to Trump,” Flaherty, a soccer fan himself, said.

“It hasn’t yet been.”

There are outliers, like Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, who represents Philadelphia.

“I will do everything I can to get the World Cup back here as soon as possible. It’s been a remarkable success,” he said in an X post, adding, “I will also do everything I can to get the Tartan Army based in Philly. Their fans have won over America. (Though selfishly I also hope Ireland finally makes it too).”

I will do everything I can to get the World Cup back here as soon as possible. It’s been a remarkable success.

I will also do everything I can to get the Tartan Army based in Philly. Their fans have won over America. (Though selfishly I also hope Ireland finally makes it too).

— Congressman Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) June 23, 2026

The Tartan Army, for those not initiated, is the moniker for the fan base of the Scottish national soccer team, which, after a 3-0 loss to Brazil on Wednesday, is likely out of the tournament.

(The new rules of the 48-team World Cup group stage do allow third-place teams in the group stage, like Scotland, to qualify for the round of 32 — but as Sky News notes, the side has played all of its group stage matches and finished with only three points and a negative-three goal differential, and they’d basically need an absurd number of things to go right for them in five separate unplayed matches to move on.)

The Republic of Ireland hasn’t been in the World Cup, meanwhile, since 2002. But you know what country is in this year’s tournament? The United States, which won consecutive games in the World Cup for the first time since 1930 and also won their group, despite a 3-2 loss to Türkiye/Turkey/whatever on Thursday night.

Yes, even in praising the way the World Cup has gone off, a Democrat still can’t openly root for his own country. Words fail me.

And still, at least he’s kinda-okay when you consider the rest of his ilk. From Politico’s report:

Before the tournament, attitudes about the World Cup were polarizing, like so much else, along partisan lines, with Democrats confronting FIFA and the Trump administration over high ticket prices, shortfalls in public funding, and the government’s posture to foreign visitors. As the tournament approached, local officials in areas hosting matches, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, turned from critics to cheerleaders. …

Boyle’s enthusiasm places him in rare territory. Though other prominent Democrats including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, along with Mamdani and Sherrill, have all attended games, few among them have been willing to articulate anything that sounds like praise for the authorities putting on the event.

Actually, I’ll be forced to agree with Boyle again here: “The credit goes to the local host committees.” Which is why this shouldn’t be a political fútbol. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)

The World Cup does not just happen overnight, and it’s not like the president of the United States — who holds the most exigent job in the free world — has time to plan the biggest non-Olympic sporting event on the planet, either. Not only that, I don’t know anyone dumb enough to believe Trump does — but I’ll concede I don’t know as many Democrats as Republicans, which could perhaps have something to do with it.

Sure, Trump will brag about the success of the World Cup. Why wouldn’t he? I don’t recall anyone bemoaning Bill Clinton basking in the success of the only other men’s World Cup America hosted, the 1994 affair — and bask in the success of it he still does, considering the event occupies a not-inconsiderable chunk of content on his presidential library website — and this time around makes that first U.S. World Cup look positively quaint.

But, alas, here’s where we are — Trump Derangement Syndrome really does spoil everything. At a moment of unalloyed glory for the United States, not just as a competing nation but as a country on display to a world that has become accustomed to hearing how terrible we were from international (and also American, to be frank) media, Democrats can only think of one thing: How can this be spun into Orange Man Bad?

Voters, remember one thing this November, and every November hence: If the left can’t pull for America now, they’ll never be able to bring themselves to do so.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Politico: Dems Patriotism Problems So Bad They Have Issues Rooting for US World Cup Success appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Gene Simmons of KISS is one of the most recognizable faces in rock and roll, even when he is wearing sunglasses. He is also a supporter of President Trump.

During a recent interview with Bill O’Reilly, Simmons described losing work for refusing to badmouth Trump.

Simmons makes the point that even if people don’t like Trump, they should still respect the office of the President of the United States. This is a point that seems lost on Democrats whenever a Republican is in office.

From Overton News:

O’REILLY: “Can you tell us how you got iced on occasion?”

SIMMONS: “There were maybe two or three shows where somebody asked me on camera, locally as I’m doing interviews, what do you think of the president?”

“And I said I don’t have any problem getting the Kennedy Center awards at all. He’s the president of these United States and he was legally voted into power.”

“And if you don’t like the man, you can at least respect the presidency.”

“This idea of just banding about Trump this and Trump that… No! It’s President Trump.”

“Just like a doctor, I don’t like my doctor but he’s a doctor. Dr. so and so.”

“And that was not a popular sentiment.”

O’REILLY: “Did anybody confront you on it?”

SIMMONS: “Yes, I lost those two or three shows.”

Here’s the video:

Gene Simmons reveals that he lost two or three shows because he refused to badmouth President Trump.

O’REILLY: “Can you tell us how you got iced on occasion?”

SIMMONS: “There were maybe two or three shows where somebody asked me on camera, locally as I’m doing interviews, what… pic.twitter.com/QVLxS0Layv

— Overton (@overton_news) June 26, 2026

In this clip from the same appearance, Simmons says he is a huge fan of the border wall.

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons tells Bill O’Reilly he is a “firm believer” in building the border wall to stop illegal migration.

He then called out the previous Pope’s hypocrisy for labeling the border wall as “inhumane” while living in the Vatican.

SIMMONS: “I am firm believer… pic.twitter.com/ggdcHmpRcT

— Overton (@overton_news) June 26, 2026

It’s so refreshing to hear a celebrity entertainer speak in this way because it’s so rare.

Most celebs fall all over themselves to prove how far left they are.

The post Rock Legend and KISS Frontman Gene Simmons Tells Bill O’Reilly He’s Been Punished Professionally for Refusing to Badmouth President Trump (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Rahm Emanuel knows his way around Democrat politics. He was chief of staff in the Obama White House and served as mayor of Chicago. During a recent appearance on CNN, he spoke about the DSA victories in New York City this week and he made a very good point.

These wins didn’t really help the Democrats to grow. They only took blue seats and made them darker blue.

There are plenty of reasons for conservatives to dislike Rahm Emanuel, but he is exactly right about this.

Transcript via Real Clear Politics:

RAHM EMANUEL: I spent my life turning red districts blue. What the socialist wing has decided to do is turn blue districts, dark blue…

The way you create a majority, either in the legislative body or win the presidency, is moving red areas to blue, not blue areas to cobalt blue or to midnight blue. And that’s all that happens.

Take a look in Omaha. We’ve lost three times with the most progressive candidate. We finally got a person like Denise Powell, and we’re in a position to finally flip a seat. That’s how you build a majority.

And if you also look presidentially, seven states, 500,000 voters across those states, Caitlin, have decided the last three presidents. None of those states — Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, the industrial Wisconsin, Michigan, or Pennsylvania — they’re not electing socialists.

Here’s the video:

You build a majority by flipping red seats — not turning blue seats bluer. pic.twitter.com/NAt3DEAl3b

— Moderate Power Project (@modpowerproject) June 25, 2026

Rahm is going to run for president in 2028. This has been obvious for months.

NEW: Rahm Emanuel (D), former mayor of Chicago and Obama chief of staff, prepares to run for president in 2028 – POLITICO pic.twitter.com/CHVMpFNdU7

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 12, 2025

What Emanuel is going to find is that his party has changed drastically since the Obama years.

Democrat primary voters are not too keen on Israel or the Jewish people who support it.

The post Rahm Emanuel Actually Makes a Good Point About the DSA Victories in NYC This Week – They Don’t Help Democrats (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

A house in Washington state exploded this week when it caught on fire because there were hundreds of pounds of fireworks inside at the time. It was complete destruction, as you’ll see below.

Unfortunately, some firefighters were injured in the massive blast.

Investigators suspect the fire was started by a careless smoker.

FOX News has details:

Hundreds of pounds of fireworks explode, destroying homes and injuring firefighters

A massive explosion of hundreds of pounds of fireworks this week rocked an island community in Western Washington, destroying several homes and injuring five people, including three firefighters, according to officials.

The fire was likely caused by someone smoking too close to where stored fireworks were kept at a home in the Lagoon Point neighborhood, Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue Chief Jerry Helm told FOX 13.

“They’re kind of like a little ticking time bomb, and you’re not sure when they’re going to go off,” Helm said of fireworks.

Three firefighters were injured in the explosion after they responded to a call of a house fire in the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, the Island County Sheriff’s Office said in a Thursday release.

Two of the firefighters are now recovering at home and the third is expected to leave the hospital soon.

Two civilians took themselves to the hospital before first responders could evaluate them, the release said.

The sheriff’s office said it will determine after the investigation if any criminal charges are warranted.

You can see the explosion and the aftermath in this video:

ALERT: 3 firefighters injured after a man’s house with hundreds of pounds of fireworks explodes in Washington.

Firefighters on Whidbey Island were called to a house fire, and shortly after arriving, the home exploded.

Crews were standing about 20 feet from the house when,… pic.twitter.com/E1zKjyGqDs

— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) June 26, 2026

Fireworks are fun, but you sure do have to handle them with care.

At least no one was killed.

The post House Containing Hundreds of Pounds of Fireworks Explodes During Fire – Total Destruction (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

During a recent podcast appearance with a host from MSNOW, California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized conservative media outlets. Newsom suggests that the right has an entire system of media that creates narratives and carries talking points for Republicans. He then claims that liberals have nothing like that.

This is laugh-out-loud ridiculous.

Liberals have the entire media, with the possible exception of FOX News, which Newsom uses repeatedly to make his asinine point.

Outlets like CNN, MSNOW, the traditional networks, and all of the major newspapers frame the news in ways that try to give the Democrats an advantage every single day.

From Townhall:

Newsom is saying, with a straight face, that Democrats don’t hav the same friendly media ecosystem that Republicans do.

No, seriously.

“I mean Trump is triumphed 24/7 on these grievance networks and they come in … look, you’ve got The Daily Wire, goes to the California Post, the California Post goes to the New York Post, New York Post goes to The Five. The Five goes to the lineup of the primetime news hosts … goes right to the f***ing Oval Office,” Newsom said. “Then we’ve got Fox & Friends … then you’ve got Chris Rufo, one of the greats … it’s this circular ecosystem, this sewer that has a presidential seal and gold leaf now.”

“With respect, I don’t see that on MSNBC,” Newsom added. “I sure as hell don’t see it on CNN. I don’t see it anywhere.”

Here’s the video:

Gavin Newsom claims that Democrats don’t have the same kind of friendly media ecosystem that Trump and conservatives do.

“I don’t see that on MSNBC…I sure as hell don’t see it on CNN. I don’t see it anywhere.”

Gaslighting levels here are stratospheric. pic.twitter.com/qAv0rKJ57c

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 25, 2026

People are mocking this because it deserves mockery.

Normally I would say no politician could be that stupid, they’re obviously gaslighting–but this is Newsom, he might actually believe this.

— Bilbo Bagpipe (@modelengine777) June 26, 2026

Poor Gavin Newsom. If only he could get some friendly press coverage compared to the non-stop fluff jobs Donald Trump gets from the NYT, WAPO, CNN and MSNBC.

— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) June 26, 2026

Our media functions as the public relations arm of the Democrat Party and has done so for decades.

What Gavin Newsom can’t stand is that the right now has a few alternatives.

The post OH PLEASE: Gavin Newsom Suggests Liberals Don’t Have a Compliant Media Ecosystem Like Conservatives Do (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.