What’s the greatest luxury item that can change a person’s life?That’s currently a discussion that is unfolding on Reddit and as many of you know, I’m a big pro-Reddit guy.One of the reasons why Reddit is so much fun is because it’s a giant abyss that can lead to just about any topic, discussion, debate or outcome.REDDIT USERS REVEAL ‘RICH PEOPLE’ HABITS THEY TRIED ONCE AND COULD NEVER GO BACK FROMFor a nerd like myself, it’s a goldmine, and that includes what I stumbled upon today.I was doing a Big J journalist deep dive Wednesday morning, and found a Reddit thread titled, “What’s an expensive ($1k-$10k) luxury item that changed your life for the better?”Immediate click.CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGELet’s take a look at some of the top answers, and then we’ll break it down:SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTERLots of interesting, entertaining and fun answers. This might shock some people reading this who don’t know I’m a working class man, but other than some special tools we’re not going to talk about here, I don’t think I own a single thing that’s not real estate that cost more than $10,000.If you don’t count any of my tech gear (computers, studio setup, etc.), then the answer is 100% that I don’t own anything that cost more than $500. You learn to live lean when you grow up in the unrelenting and downright brutal winters of rural Wisconsin.Now, having said that, if I wanted to blow $10,000 or more on something to make my life more efficient, I feel like a private chef would be the obvious answer.It would save me a massive chunk of time. I already eat fairly healthy, but the time that goes into cooking and meal prep could be freed up for other activities, like monitoring geo-political situations around the globe.Other than that, I can’t really say there’s an obvious one that pops into my head. Do you have a luxury item that changed your life? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
Gloating Chuck Schumer Resurrects the Most Mocked Photo of His Career and Alters It to Dunk on Republicans Following Last Night’s Midterms
Screencap of Twitter/X video.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in such a jubilant mood over last night’s Democrat tsunami that he is using the most mocked photo of himself to dunk on the GOP.
As TGP readers know, the Republican Party has suffered its worst midterm defeat since the post-Watergate election of 1974.
The latest projections show Democrats not only seizing at least 255 House seats (a gain of over 40) but also up to 56 SENATE SEATS.
Even Mississippi is likely to fall!
This morning, Schumer decided to celebrate by resurrecting and altering a two-year-old photo on X that previously showed him pretending to grill a cheeseburger and hot dogs.
He was roasted so badly that he was forced to delete it.
The ‘new’ image, which will almost certainly remain up, shows the headshots of Trump, Vance, and various failed GOP Senate candidates photoshopped onto burgers and hot dogs while Schumer is ‘grilling.’
“54 seats and counting,” Schumer wrote in the caption. “And I learned how to grill…These burgers and dogs are fully cooked.”
LOOK:
54 seats and counting.
And I learned how to grill…these burgers and dogs are fully cooked. https://t.co/45aKNZzjzy
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 4, 2026
X users were not exactly impressed with this one either:
@SenSchumer The Democrat socialists of America are your boss
— Matt McDonagh (@McDonaghMatthew) November 4, 2026
@SenSchumer You are not even in control of your caucus.
— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarino) November 4, 2026
@SenSchumer It’s actually funny that you still appear to believe you’re in control of anything anymore. Did you get permission to post this from your bosses?
— MagPul Magpie (@MagpulMagpie) November 4, 2026
@SenSchumer Commie bitch. Doesn’t know how to cook a hot dog but will cook the American people. Screw you and your Marxism
— Patriot_Dale (@D12Dale) November 4, 2026
@SenSchumer I know you or one of your underpaid interns thought this was clever, but you have no idea what you’ve done bringing the DSA into your party. They hate you more than us … and they’re in your kitchen.
— TheFOO (@PolitiBunny) November 4, 2026
The post Gloating Chuck Schumer Resurrects the Most Mocked Photo of His Career and Alters It to Dunk on Republicans Following Last Night’s Midterms appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Voters punish Republicans over economy, but Democrats still face a problem
Summary
Voters were more dissatisfied with the state of the economy in 2026 than they were in 2024, according to exit polling, but Democrats should not get cocky.
The AP poll found Democrats had only a “small advantage” in their perceived ability to handle the issues of the economy.
An ABC News exit poll showed that white men, usually the most decisive Republican constituency, backed GOP candidates by only 55%. That’s down 7 points from 2024.
Voters were more dissatisfied with the state of the economy in 2026 than they were in 2024, according to exit polling.
While punishing the party in power was the antidote to that on Tuesday, most voters said they didn’t necessarily trust Democrats to handle key issues more than Republicans, as both parties had low approval ratings.
A CBS News exit poll found voters were angrier and had a more negative view of the economy than in 2024, when President Donald Trump won largely on voter confidence that he would repair the sagging economy.
The blue wave may not have been as much an expression of unhappiness or an endorsement of Democratic policies as it was anti-incumbent, even as deep red areas shifted blue.
The CBS poll showed that about 20% who voted for Democrats in House races had an unfavorable view of the party. Democrats had a 54% unfavorable rating and 46% favorable, not much better than 59% unfavorable for Republicans and 41% favorable, according to the CBS poll.
The CBS poll found that 38% were “angry” about the economy and 37% were “disatisfied.” Another 18% said they were “satisfied,” while 7% said they were “enthusiastic.”
In a year when Democrats campaigned heavily on affordability, voters were also more than twice as likely to say their finances were worse off, and voters across party lines worried about affording gas and groceries, the CBS poll found. One in five even described their financial hardship as severe.
Compared to two years ago, 44% of Americans said their financial situation was worse, 38% said it was about the same, and 18% said it was better.
An Associated Press exit poll found half the voters said cost of living and corruption in government were “crucial.” Half of those concerned about corruption voted Democratic in House races, while four in 10 voted Republican.
The AP exit poll found that four in 10 voters wanted “to express opposition” to President Donald Trump, another four in 10 said the president wasn’t a factor, while two in 10 voters wanted “to express support” for Trump.
The AP poll found Democrats had only a “small advantage” in their perceived ability to handle the issues of the economy and government corruption.
The same poll found four in 10 identified the economy as their top concern, while another three in 10 said the state of democracy was the top concern. In a turnaround from 2024, just one in 10 identified immigration or healthcare. Fewer named foreign policy or crime.
Republicans lost significant ground from two years earlier, when Trump won almost half of the youth vote and about 40% of Hispanic voters.
The AP poll found about seven in 10 voters under 30 said they supported the House Democratic candidate, while about three in 10 said they voted for the Republican. About one-third of Hispanic voters supported a Republican House candidate.
An ABC News exit poll showed that white men, usually the most decisive Republican constituency, backed GOP candidates by only 55%. That’s compared with 62% in 2024 and 63% in 2022, the last midterm election.
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
No, It Wasn’t Just the War
The idea that the war was the whole problem, and that nothing else need be learned, is arrant nonsense.
Gaza’s Population Grew Last Year and There Wasn’t a Famine, Hamas’s Own Figures Show, Debunking Claims That Most Gaza Deaths are Women and Children
The most recent mortality figures in Gaza show that the population grew by more than 1 percent last year, faster than in most of the world, and that a major hunger crisis failed to ever materialize. The data—supplied by Hamas’s own Ministry of Health—undercut claims by the United Nations and other anti-Israel groups that the Gaza war is a “genocide” that has led to a deadly famine, according to an analysis of the figures.
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, the Australian Jewish community’s premier public affairs organization, determined in a recent analysis based on the data that Gaza’s population increased by 1.2 percent in 2025, a steep rise for a populace supposedly facing a genocide by Israel. Moreover, the number of nonviolent deaths in Gaza that year, meaning those unrelated to direct conflict, was less than in 2022, a year before Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror spree ignited the war.
The figures “absolutely rule out” the U.N.-affiliated Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s headline-grabbing claim in 2025 that major areas of Gaza were facing a “worst-case scenario of famine.” The Washington Free Beacon exclusively reported at the time that the IPC used a less reliable reporting metric before declaring famine, and the newly released figures offer further proof that Gaza was never on the precipice of a humanitarian crisis in which thousands would perish.
“The most notable element of the recent all-cause mortality report for 2025 in Gaza … is the lack of the term ‘genocide’ anywhere in the report, and the fact that the numbers contained in it seem to completely contradict claims by the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification in August 2025 that, at that time, major parts of Gaza were experiencing category 5 ‘famine’ conditions,” the Jewish Affairs Council concluded.
The Health Ministry figures also dispel another widely disseminated claim by Israel’s enemies that women and children accounted for 70 percent of casualties in Gaza, an unverified statistic that has been used to peddle conspiracy theories that Israel intentionally targets civilians. In fact, “as is the norm in warfare, most casualties are military-aged males,” the study found.
While the Jewish Affairs Council notes that data from the Hamas-controlled ministry are historically unreliable and often skewed, the organization argues “that claims about genocide, famine and casualty breakdowns that are contradicted by what even Hamas claims about such casualties should immediately be viewed as exposing the individual or organisation making the claim as either extreme or cavalier about accuracy.”
The Hamas ministry reported 24,650 total deaths in 2025, of which 18,085—or 73.4 percent—were men. Females accounted for just 6,565 deaths, or 26.6 percent. Around 18,870 people were killed violently, such as in battle, suggesting that 76.6 percent of those killed were likely battlefield combatants. Similarly, the figures show that 17,286, or 70.1 percent, were killed through “direct targeting” by Israel. Just 5,780 were classified as “non-violent” deaths or “indirect deaths,” again suggesting that Israel is not wantonly killing the civilian population.
The claim that Israel is prosecuting a genocide in Gaza continues to be peddled by the United Nations, U.N.-affiliated advocacy groups, and anti-Israel political candidates across the country. But there is little factual basis for the accusations, which have become a rallying cry on the left.
More than 75 military professionals recently penned an open letter declaring “the allegations that Israel committed this crime do not meet the established definition and standards of genocide, are unsupported by established facts, nor do they stand up to common sense scrutiny.”
“Israel’s accusers allege genocide mostly because of the supposed number of civilians killed in Gaza,” the letter continues. “Such claims are rife with flaws. Genocide is not a quantitative crime; there is no number of civilian casualties that constitutes genocide. Nor are the claimed casualty numbers from Gaza credible. Issued by Hamas themselves and, at the very least, not distinguishing between civilians and combatants, they cannot be relied upon.”
But even Hamas’s own figures do not meet the threshold.
“Gaza in 2025 experienced natural population growth of 25,577, 1.2% of the population,” according to the report. At least one analyst noted that the numbers show “higher population growth than most countries in the world and more than the world average.”
“Populations are not expected to grow rapidly during genocides,” the Jewish Affairs Council notes in its study. “Among the acts listed under the Genocide Convention is ‘Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group,’ something Israel clearly is not doing.”
The much-hyped famine predicted by the United Nations in June and August 2025 is also unsupported by the raw statistics.
In 2022, there were 6,061 deaths in Gaza, a number that was elevated by the COVID pandemic. But the number of deaths in 2025, including those who may have died from starvation or malnutrition, is “clearly not significantly higher than the natural deaths which occurred in 2022. We know this because the numbers for 2019, before COVID, are only slightly lower,” according to the study.
By the IPC’s own standard, there would need to be several deaths per day to constitute a famine. This would have caused at least 8,600 indirect deaths during the time of the supposed famine. But the Gaza Health Ministry figures record only 5,780 nonviolent deaths across the entirety of Gaza in 2025, a significant shortfall.
“There is no evidence of famine conditions ever existing anywhere in Gaza, as the numbers of non-violent deaths for both children under 5 and the general population are orders of magnitude below the IPC thresholds,” the study concluded.
There is also little factual basis to claim that civilian deaths in Gaza were significantly undercounted and much higher than believed, another claim that has been weaponized by Israel’s enemies.
Middle East analyst Gabriel Epstein determined at the end of September that there was less than 1 nonviolent death, 0.43, for every direct death through 2025. In line with this finding, military-age males are overrepresented in the mortality figures, as expected in a time of intense war.
“Despite widespread claims that 70% of casualties in Gaza have been women and children, the [Hamas ministry’s] own published data has shown significant and growing over-representation of military-age males since early 2024,” the study notes. “Claims that women and children account for 70% of injuries are also belied by the [Ministry] data.”
The post Gaza’s Population Grew Last Year and There Wasn’t a Famine, Hamas’s Own Figures Show, Debunking Claims That Most Gaza Deaths are Women and Children appeared first on .
Majority of Americans broadly reject socialist ideology even as far left surges to power
Most Americans have a negative view of socialism, according to the Fox News Voter Poll, even as left-wing candidates across the country notched resounding victories on Election Day.Of the 100,000 registered voters surveyed, 54% viewed socialism unfavorably, while roughly a third viewed the ideology favorably.Attitudes to capitalism were nearly the exact inverse, with 57% holding a positive view and 32% viewing it negatively.Voters may be skeptical of socialism, but they overwhelmingly believe the current economic system is stacked against them, with 69% saying the economy favors the wealthy, according to the poll, which was conducted by SSRS from Oct. 19 to Nov. 3, 2026.TRUMP’S GAMBLE ON KEN PAXTON BACKFIRES AS DEMOCRAT PULLS OFF HISTORIC TEXAS SENATE UPSETThis dynamic — voters rejecting the label of socialism while also believing the rich enjoy disproportionate economic benefits — could explain why Democratic candidates like Abdul El-Sayed won, despite the opposition portraying them as too radical.El-Sayed, who defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race, repeatedly said throughout the campaign that he was a capitalist who did not support unfettered, laissez-faire capitalism.”I believe in capitalism. I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated,” El-Sayed said in a July interview with CNN’s Manu Raju. “We live in a society right now where too many monopolies and oligopolies can buy politicians to get their way.”On top of his antitrust focus, El-Sayed frequently hammered away at billionaires, pledging to pursue taxation policies to make them “pay their fair share.”UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS CONTRADICT EL-SAYED’S ‘CAPITALIST’ NARRATIVENotably, El-Sayed rejected the Democratic socialist label despite supporting Medicare-for-all and routinely campaigning with Sen. Bernie Sanders, the policy’s most prominent champion and a self-described Democratic socialist.James Talarico in Texas is another Democratic candidate who won big on Tuesday after explicitly pairing his strong belief in capitalism with a sharp critique of wealth and income inequality.”We have got to take on these monopolies, this consolidation, because again, it’s fundamentally anti-capitalist,” Talarico said during a CNN town hall in October. “Right now, again, because billionaires can buy politicians, all of the gains in this economy, all of the growth is going to the top. All of the wealth is being accumulated by the top 1%.”The Fox News poll’s results suggest that at least some voters who embrace capitalism and reject socialism were still comfortable supporting candidates like El-Sayed and Talarico, who ran to the left of the typical Democratic nominee without embracing socialism themselves.The distinction is notable given the political landscape El-Sayed and Talarico faced. Both men were repeatedly branded socialists or Democratic socialists by Republicans, but each responded by defending their preferred form of regulated capitalism.That distinguishes them from political allies such as Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who have embraced the Democratic socialist label while representing deep-blue constituencies in Vermont and New York City, respectively.
Democrats seize majority of governors’ offices in election-night shift
Democrats will hold a majority of the nation’s governorships after a series of victories on election night, shifting control of one of the most influential levels of government in the country to the political party opposite of the White House.As of Wednesday morning, Democrats controlled 28 governorships to Republicans’ 20. Two races, Kansas and Alaska, have yet to be called. The results mark a significant reversal from the political landscape heading into the election, when Republicans held 26 governors’ offices compared with 24 for Democrats. Democrats needed a net gain of at least two seats to take the majority.While congressional control typically generates the most attention, governors across the country play a central role in setting state policy, approving or vetoing legislation, managing state agencies and directing responses to major issues including public safety, education, healthcare, immigration and abortion. They also oversee state elections and frequently serve as the most prominent political figures in their states.The Democratic gains will give the party greater influence over policy in state capitals across the country, even as Republicans continue to control many state legislatures. The impact of the shift will vary by state, particularly in places where the governor’s party does not control both chambers of the legislature.The election-night results in gubernatorial races across the country could also play a role in the 2028 election cycle as Democrats will have a broader bench of governors to potentially choose from ahead of the 2028 presidential contest. Governors often become national party leaders, presidential contenders and prominent surrogates during congressional and White House campaigns.A BLUE WAVE IN GOVERNORS’ MANSIONS COULD HURT FAMILIES MORE THAN A BLUE CONGRESSThe new balance could also intensify battles between Democratic governors and the Republican-led federal government on issues including immigration enforcement, environmental regulations, education policy and federal funding.Republicans, meanwhile, will be forced to defend a smaller share of the nation’s governorships in the next election cycle while working to prevent further losses in states where Democrats made gains.100 DAY SPRINT TO THE MIDTERMS KICKS OFF AS REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS CLASH FOR CONTROL ACROSS THE COUNTRYThe shift does not automatically translate into unified Democratic control of state governments. In many states, legislative majorities, attorneys general and other elected officials will continue to shape how much power governors can exercise.But the outcome represents a clear expansion of Democratic influence in state government and provides the party with a broader platform to advance its agenda nationwide.The development could also create headaches for the Trump administration as it opens up more of a potential for lawsuits against the federal government as well as the likelihood of clashes over federal policies.
Vance’s scathing Iran war postmortem puts potential 2028 GOP showdown in focus: ‘Everyone knows why’
Vice President JD Vance delivered a blunt assessment of Republicans’ sweeping midterm losses Wednesday morning, pointing at the Iran war as the driving force behind the party’s election-night defeats. “But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone,” said Vance on X.”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,” said Vance. “And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”While President Donald Trump publicly addressed the results, which handed the Democratic Party control of the House and Senate come January, Vance remained quiet until posting a lengthy statement on X Wednesday. He argued that Republicans lost voters who backed the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 amid frustration over the war, rising costs and U.S. relations with Israel.TRUMP DRAWS RED LINE AGAINST NEWLY EMPOWERED DEMOCRATS, VOWING IMMEDIATE VETOESVance’s blunt assessment comes as speculation mounts over his own political future, with the vice president widely viewed as a potential 2028 Republican presidential contender. Vance has said he has not decided whether to run and planned to weigh his future after the midterms, raising fresh questions about how the GOP’s sweeping losses could shape his White House ambitions.”The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026,” said Vance.The midterm elections dealt Republicans a crushing defeat, with Democrats flipping at least seven Senate seats and more than two dozen House districts to seize control of both chambers of Congress.Vance’s remarks mark a shift in his public assessment of the war’s political consequences, after previously defending aspects of the administration’s military campaign while expressing concerns about prolonged U.S. involvement overseas.TRUMP ADMITS IRAN WAR CONTRIBUTED TO GOP MIDTERM LOSSES, INSISTS IT WAS NECESSARYBeyond ending the war, Vance argued that Republicans must address the cost of living, recommit to an America First agenda and “change our relationship to Israel.””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,” he said.Vance said he remained hopeful about the country’s future and urged voters angry over the election results to channel their frustration into renewed political action.SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER”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,” said Vance.Fox News Digital reached out to the vice president’s office and the White House for comment.
JUST IN: House Speaker Mike Johnson Will Not Run for House Minority Leader After Midterm Bloodbath
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will reportedly step down from Republican House leadership and not run for House Minority Leader when the next Congress is seated.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, the Democrats officially flipped control of the House and Senate on Tuesday night, taking a massive majority in the House and flipping seven Senate seats so far.
BREAKING: Josh Turek Beats Ashley Hinson in Iowa Senate Race – DEMOCRATS FLIP SENATE MAJORITY
Democrats are expected to finish with an 81-seat majority in the House once all the races are called.
As of this reporting, the Democrats have already flipped 29 House seats.
Fox News reported this morning that Mike Johnson told his staff he is not running for Minority Leader. Instead, current House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is running.
WATCH:
Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will likely become Speaker of the House.
Jordan, who previously ran for House Speaker in 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was ousted by a Motion to Vacate, is likely to face a challenge from current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).
Jim Jordan previously announced in September that he plans to step down as the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
The post JUST IN: House Speaker Mike Johnson Will Not Run for House Minority Leader After Midterm Bloodbath appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Arlington Bishop to Virginia Catholics: Do Not Despair
Do something pro-life and pro-marriage today.