Rep. Derrick Van Orden used an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday to praise President Donald Trump’s counterterrorism posture, challenge his Democratic opponent’s claim to be a political outsider, and lay out a path for Republicans to keep the House majority by turning out conservative voters in Wisconsin battleground districts such as his.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden said the Trump administration deserved credit after a reported counterterrorism operation in Africa, saying, “ISIS is short one deputy commander here,” and adding that he commends “President Trump and Pete Hegseth and the gang for really taking care of that.”
Van Orden added, “We cannot forget that ISIS still wants us dead, that Hamas and Hezbollah are still enemies of the American people, just solely because of who we are.”
Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle highlighted Dr. Sebastian Gorka’s comments on the development and other counterterrorism wins.
Van Orden responded, “It’s fantastic,” and said Gorka is “doing a hell of a great job,” adding that he did not know “how you could possibly put together a more dedicated group of Americans that are trying and succeeding at protecting Americans.”
The Wisconsin Republican said the administration has “the team,” “the authorities,” “the morale,” and “the leadership” in place, adding that “all this stuff is coming together like it hasn’t for a very long time.”
Boyle turned to Van Orden’s 2026 race against Democrat Rebecca Cooke, citing Breitbart News’s recent report on Cooke’s claim to be a “political outsider” despite her years of “paid political fundraising and consulting work.”
Van Orden said Cooke avoids tougher scrutiny “because she’s a Democrat,” and disputed her campaign image, saying, “She says that she’s a waitress, waitressing three nights a week, that’s just a lie.”
Van Orden also said Cooke “raised money” for Kirk Bangstad, whom he called “the most despicable political figure in the state of Wisconsin” and identified as “the guy” who said he would “give free beer if President Trump gets assassinated.”
Van Orden pointed to Cooke’s fundraising totals, saying, “I raised $1.3 million this last quarter. She raised $2.4 million,” before alleging Democrats have used ActBlue for what he called “unlawful political fundraising.”
He also referenced Cooke’s comments about Eau Claire, saying she described the area as having “a whole bunch of white people there” and calling them “racist,” before adding, “The time for that woke garbage is over.”
“I look at every single person, the value of the person, not the color of their skin, or their religion, or their gender,” Van Orden said, adding that anyone seeking to represent voters “sure as heck better not be looking down at them.”
Van Orden said he wished Cooke would release “her actual federal income tax” so voters could compare “how much money she made as a political consultant versus being a waitress,” and said Republican policies such as “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime” would help service workers.
He further claimed that if Cooke were elected, “massive left-wing organizations that are already backing her are just going to hand her a vote card and tell her what to do.”
Asked about the Wisconsin Republican convention, Van Orden said Wisconsin is not a blue or purple state, but “full of conservatives that don’t vote regularly.”
He described his campaign as “solely a get out vote effort,” saying, “We are 100% right on the policies, they’re 100% wrong in their politics,” and arguing Republicans win when “we get our folks out to vote.”
Van Orden pointed to hunters and Second Amendment supporters as key voters, saying “about 35% of hunters vote,” and said Cooke is “on video saying she’s taking away your ARs” and “on video endorsing Mamdani for mayor of New York.”
Asked whether Republicans could hold the House, Van Orden answered, “Yes, absolutely,” and said the midterm election would come down to “gas, groceries, and grandkids.”
On gas prices, Van Orden said fuel is “not as much as it was under Biden,” but is “up now more so than it was when President Trump took office,” attributing the increase to Trump’s effort to “end the war that Iran declared on us.” He predicted that “gas is going to go back down” and that “input costs are going to start to go down again.”
On groceries, Van Orden said costs should improve after “a big soybean deal with China,” the farm bill passing the House, and “E15 year round,” saying those developments affect “the groceries part.”
On security, which he described as the “grandkids” part, Van Orden said, “There’s been zero illegal aliens released into the United States in a year,” compared with “230,000 a month under Biden.”
He concluded that Republicans can preserve the House majority and give “the 77 plus million Americans who voted for Donald Trump” the remaining years “where he can accomplish his agenda.”
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