Ben retweeted
The Russians have abducted thousands of Ukrainian children from our country, and now we are witnessing something even worse—so says Zelenskyy.
Russia has already begun sending some of these children—children they stole from us, who have grown up during these years of war—into the Russian army. This is appalling and must stop.
And Europe simply stands by and watches these barbaric acts by the Russians.
Ben retweeted
This isn’t complicated. If you vote for Kamala, Liz Cheney becomes defense secretary. We invade a dozen countries.
Boys in Michigan are drafted to fight boys in the Middle East.
Millions die.
We invade Russia. We invade nations in Asia. World War III. Nuclear winter.
Ben retweeted
"I’ll be right back"—these were the last words of 11-year-old Lera. Moments later, a missile struck a shopping center.
Her mother heard the explosion and ran toward the inferno. She searched for her daughter in every hospital. She found her—through DNA.
Valeriia Khomenko lived with her mother, Kateryna, in Kostiantynivka.
In the spring of 2024, their family suffered a devastating blow: Maksym—a soldier whom Lera called "Dad" and loved dearly—was killed.
At the cemetery, the girl would sit by his grave, digging at the earth.
"What are you doing?"
"I’m digging Maksym up."
"Maksym isn't there anymore."
"Then I’ll dig another grave..."
On August 9, they were getting ready for a birthday celebration. They had bought a cake, and Lera was looking for candles.
Then, she asked to run to a shop with a friend for just a moment: "I’ll be right back." And off she went.
A few minutes later, Kateryna heard an explosion. An Kh-38 missile had struck the shopping center.
Everything was on fire. They searched for the girl in hospitals—to no avail. That evening, law enforcement asked for a DNA sample.
A day later, the sample matched that of one of the 14 victims. Lera was gone, along with her friend Vlada.
Kateryna gave away all of her daughter’s belongings. She kept only "Borka"—a stuffed bull that had been Lera’s favorite toy since childhood.
Now, the toy is in Kremenchuk, where Kateryna has lived since her loss. This is not just the story of one family. It is a story about how war takes away what is most precious—and about the fact that the memory of Lera must not remain merely a statistic among the 14 who perished. 💔
Ben retweeted
Deeply saddened by the horrific news from Komyshuvakha, Ukraine, where 40 people were killed in a Russian attack. Among the civilian sites struck was a school serving as a humanitarian aid distribution centre. Many people are still missing.
We condemn this attack and extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed. We wish the wounded a swift and full recovery.
Ben retweeted
Mr. Vice-President,
Please allow me to present a different perspective.
The problem was not the Iran War. It was the cease fire.
If you start a war, you need to win it and finish it – otherwise don’t start it.
This war should have been over six months ago, with the Strait of Hormuz wide open and oil flowing. The second and third tiers of Iranian leadership should have been destroyed, and we should have supported the pro-western forces who could have taken leadership. We stood on the brink of a new, more peaceful Middle East - and then we blinked. We had a chance not only to deny Iran nuclear weapons, but to get rid of the world’s biggest supporter of terrorism.
Instead, we had a cease fire, which was followed by months of will we or won’t we finish the job. Every day was a different message. There still is. Is the war over? Is it about to begin? No one knows. There is confusion and inconsistency.
In June 2025, America was not involved. This was an Israel vs Iran issue.
No one forced the United States to attack Iran then, or in February of 2026. It was a decision made by President Trump. In my opinion, it was the right decision.
Once the decision was made, we should not have stopped until the regime fell. But instead, you negotiated a cease fire that didn’t last, didn’t work and left us in no man’s land, with higher prices and our troops still deployed.
Our troops could have been home, the Navy returned to its bases, a peaceful regime in place , new alliances forged, and gas prices below $3.00 a gallon.
No, Mr. Vice President. It’s not the war. It’s the so-called cease fire.
One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was "composition"—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up.
So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we're going to shock the world? "No," he told me. "We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us."
Well, that looks prophetic now. Our voters did show up. In Florida, for example, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democrat, just a couple points worse than 2024. Undoubtedly there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.
There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.
But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.
Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:
1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel
Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)
In the next few months, there's going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I'm open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.
The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.
If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.
But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.
I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.
Ben retweeted
Fox and Friends hosts desperately try to get President Donald Trump off the phone as he rants and raves about Sean Hannity's income. "Oh my gosh," Lawrence Jones mutters.
Ben retweeted
True. He deleted his election-day "Vote red today!" post after the midterm results showed major Republican losses, including in Texas races he heavily funded. Reports confirm that specific post is gone. His account still has many other recent pro-GOP posts and RTs visible.
Ben retweeted
❗️Not a single German company has left Ukraine during the war, — Zelenskyy
The President thanked German business for continuing to operate in Ukraine despite the full-scale invasion.
Ben retweeted
All the people in this video were killed by Russians - 40 in total.
The final moments of people in Komyshuvakha who were struck by Russian guided aerial bombs (KABs): footage from police body-worn cameras.
Police officers and local residents attempted to seek shelter in a basement.
40 people have lost their lives. Search and rescue operations are ongoing; there may still be people trapped under the rubble.
Ben retweeted
Столько cмepтей и cтpaданий причинили yZZкие.
23 дня от роду. Родители даже не успели зарегистрировать её.Pyccкий снаряд y6uл её вместе с родителями и братом
София, её мать Олеся, отец Дмитрий и 11-летний брат Артем пoгu6ли. Мальчик ещё несколько часов звал мать, прежде чем yмep
Ben retweeted
💔 Don’t stop talking about Komyshuvakha!
We all saw the ruins of an underground school in Komyshuvakha that Russia struck with 9 guided aerial bombs while people were gathered there to receive humanitarian aid.
🇺🇦 This is what the school looked like just over a year ago, when it opened its doors for the first time. 🔽
The school was built on the grounds of the Komyshuva Gymnasium “Dzherelo,” which was destroyed by Russian forces in July 2023.
On the first day of classes, Ukraine’s Minister of Social Policy, Denys Uliutin, visited the school and personally inspected how well it met the principles of accessibility, safety, and inclusivity.
He stated that day:
“The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees every child the right to education.
Even amid the war, as Russia destroys childhoods, Ukraine, with the support of international partners, is ensuring that these rights are upheld.
Thanks to safe educational spaces, children can interact, learn, and develop. This is the foundation of our future.”
Ivan Fedorov, head of Ukraine’s State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, said today that some Russian aerial bombs weighed three tons and had three times the destructive power of a ballistic missile — something underground schools in Ukraine are not designed to withstand in a direct hit.
33 people were killed, and more than 50 others may still be trapped under the rubble.
Ben retweeted
#BREAKING: Navy admiral fired by Pete Hegseth flips Nancy Mace’s South Carolina seat #Midterms2026
thehill.com/homenews/campaig…
Ben retweeted
This is pure gold!
Abdul El-Sayed trolling Trump and JD Vance after winning Michigan’s Senate race:
“JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in, in January.”
“Donald, look, I know you struggle with my name, so after JD swears me in, you can just go on and call me Senator.”