Secure Freedom Minute

The meeting between President Trump and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping in South Korea is now in the past. Still in the future, and very much in doubt, is what will come of it.  The President has characterized the meeting as “a 12” on a one-to-ten scale. He announced numerous initiatives designed to help: American manufacturers dependent on Chinese exports of rare earth minerals; U.S. farmers' agricultural sales, and the vast numbers of predominantly young people in this country not yet killed by Chinese chemical warfare in the form of fentanyl.  If past experience is any guide, however, the Chinese Communist Party will not live up to its commitments and will persist in its decades-long “unrestricted warfare” against us.  President Trump and every American should take aboard yesterday's PresentDangerChina.org webinar on why we must not ignore that reality – and respond appropriately.  This is Frank Gaffney.

A chilling VictoryCo.org briefing yesterday raised an alarm about a mortal threat posed to America's preeminent metropolis.  According to four eminent experts, the predicted election of Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani would put a man who adheres to several ideologies that call for the destruction of this country in charge of the security of its most populous city. While New York City voters have been on notice about Mamdani's ominous ties to the Communist Democratic Socialists of America front group and his Muslim Sharia-supremacism, until yesterday, his attachment to the apocalyptic death cult that animates Iran's regime has gone basically unremarked.  The federal government calls for us to “See something, Say something.” We need it urgently to do the same by warning New Yorkers that Zohran Mamdani is a “12er” whose his election could imperil their city and the country.      This is Frank Gaffney.

The ancient Chinese strategist, Sun Tse, had profound insights about The Art of War, including these:  “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” The question of whether America risks succumbing to what are, in fact, mortal enemies arises as we consider deals in the works with Communist China and with Qatar and Turkey. All three adhere to ideologies and agendas requiring our destruction. None seeks to coexist with us in the long run, or honor commitments predicated on that goal.  Americans must know these enemies – and know that our nation is actually at war with them, and proceed accordingly. This is Frank Gaffney.

The China Matrix is a brilliant, and very timely, new book by Lee Smith. It chronicles how successive presidents of both parties and countless leaders of America's business, political and other elites have subordinated national security and economic strength to the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party, and often their personal enrichment.   Mr. Smith documents how Donald Trump started warning about this sell-out pioneered by Henry Kissinger decades ago, and how as a presidential candidate and in office he has worked to put America First, instead.  President Trump will be tempted this week to ignore the “unrestricted warfare” the CCP has long waged against us by approving yet another “trade deal” that props up that mortal enemy. A generation ago, Ronald Reagan faced a similar choice at Reykjavik – and declined.  Will Mr. Trump do the same, or join the China Class?  This is Frank Gaffney.

President Trump told Time Magazine that he will soon decide whether to press Israel to release Marwan Barghouti from prison. Doing so is being portrayed as a step towards an alternative to Hamas and consistent with our interests and efforts to promote peace in Gaza and regionally. In fact, unleashing Barghouti – a jihadist serving multiple life sentences for his involvement in the murder of five Israelis – would add immeasurably to the narrative that those who are, like him, committed to the destruction of Israel have won.  A truth-telling briefing by American and Israeli experts yesterday warned of the already-great dangers for both our countries of reinforcing that perception.  Sharia-supremacists, notably the leaders of so-called “allies” Qatar and Turkey, will simply intensify their double-game of using the President's “20 Points” deal to pursue what is, in fact, a truly “endless war” against Western civilization.  This is Frank Gaffney.

Last week, President Trump struck a blow for freedom against “global governance.” He rallied fifty-seven members of the International Maritime Organization to prevent for at least a year the imposition of “international taxation” on this and other sovereign nations. That's the very good news.  The bad news is that, to date, the United States has not acted to oppose the creation of another, ominous instrument of globalist domination – namely, the institution of surveillance, data aggregation and AI algorithms to monitor and control populations worldwide.  We must not tolerate the imposition here of digital platforms, like “Real IDs,” that can serve as the information infrastructure for Chinese-style “social credit systems.” Ditto a central bank digital currency, like the so-called “Stable Coin,” that would enable the state to punish its perceived enemies by cutting off their access to funds. This is Frank Gaffney.

The so-called Fourth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party now underway in Beijing may determine whether its dictator, Xi Jinping, retains absolute control – or is removed from power by the large numbers of Chinese military leaders and those of political factions who have suffered at his hands. Grounds for Xi's removal include: his relentless purges of the CCP rivals and senior officers; his successive economic policy failures; the resulting widespread popular discontent; and his preparations for a shooting war with the United States and its allies.   Unfortunately, initiating such a war may offer Xi the best hope of shoring up his position. Political jockeying in that case would be portrayed as treason, justifying far more extensive and lethal purges.  We should be rooting – and working – for the demise of the Chinese Communist Party, especially if Xi Jinping remains its emperor. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  When is a deal not a deal? That question looms large in Israel at a moment when American envoys are pressing their hosts to comply with an agreement to cease fire in Gaza.  That agreement, however, required Hamas to stop hostilities, disarm and give up power. It isn't happening. Hamas is attacking Israeli forces and trying to take some hostage. It's massacring perceived political opponents and seizing their weapons.  And Hamas leaders insist they have no intention of surrendering, let alone ending their efforts to destroy Israel. Rather, they declare the ceasefire is, in the tradition of Mohammed, but a temporary pause to regroup, rearm and then resume the fighting under more favorable circumstances. Intense American pressure on Israel not to respond to Hamas  violations and evident bad faith is a formula for more endless war, not peace for our time.  ` This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  On Friday, our PresentDangerChina.org webinar stunningly documented the extent to which the Chinese Communist Party has long engaged in devastating economic warfare against America.  It underscored the need, at long last, for a comprehensive and effective U.S. response above and beyond what President Trump has commendably done with his tariffs, export restrictions and fees – including, most recently, charges on Chinese ships' immense use of our ports.  Make no mistake, China's hollowing out of our industrial base, its expropriation of U.S. intellectual property and PRC weaponization of Wall Street's wanton investments there are all part of a comprehensive strategy for taking down this country.  We must counter with an integrated strategy like the one Ronald Reagan used to take down the Soviet Communist Party if we are to put the CCP on “the ash-heap of history” before it finishes doing that to us. This is Frank Gaffney.

“Global governance” is a seemingly benign euphemism for destroying our sovereignty and constitutional Republic. After all, if unelected, unaccountable elites and hostile international institutions can tell nations what to do, representative government here will eventually wither away, along with Americans' freedoms.  Today, the United States will be defending our founders' principle of “no taxation without representation” as a UN body called the International Maritime Organization tries to grant itself taxing authority. If globalists' priorities need no longer depend for funding on voluntary dues paid by member nations – especially ours, their ability inexorably to impose a world government agenda will be basically unchecked. Given Communist China's increasingly dominant – and toxic – role in advancing global governance, the stakes couldn't be higher.  Thank you, President Trump, for defending our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic!  This is Frank Gaffney.

With Communist China's announcement of an intention to impose sweeping new controls on the export and use of its “rare earth” and other critical materials, Beijing is manifestly waging economic war not just on us, but the whole world. In a somber press conference with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington yesterday, Trade Representative Jamison Greer declared: “China's announcement is nothing more than a global supply chain power-grab….It is an exercise in economic coercion on every country in the world.” In response, President Trump has threatened to impose a further 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports if the CCP proceeds. Secretary Bessent hopes to buy time, suggesting we just “derisk” our trade ties with China, rather than decouple them. Depending on our greatest enemy ever for anything important is insane. We must stop underwriting the CCP and start fully decoupling now. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  Yesterday, Donald Trump posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Among the many attributes that made Charlie so worthy of this recognition was his relentless defense of liberty and our God-given, unalienable right to it.  In his final months, Charlie Kirk focused intensively on the threat to freedom posed by adherents of the totalitarian Islamic code called Sharia. He declared flatly that “Islam is not compatible with Western civilization.” President Trump is confronting that reality in the refusal to date of the Sharia-supremacist group known as Hamas to disarm as required by his Mideast peace deal. The President is right to say they must and will be disarmed.  But unless that is achieved forcefully, Sharia commands faithful Muslims to lie, violate truces and pursue jihad – and Hamas will do so until it is permanently put out of business. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. A hallmark of Donald Trump's presidencies has been his commitment that “promises made” will be “promises kept.” In recent days, he secured agreement to a twenty-point plan that promised a durable end to the war in Gaza. The question now is: Will that promise – and those central to its realization – be kept?  The latter include: the disarming of Hamas; a demilitarized Gaza with all “military, terror, and offensive infrastructure” destroyed; and the “deradicalization” of Gaza as a terror-free zone.  With the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from most of Gaza's cities, however, Hamas has been not only retaining its arms. It has been using them to slaughter opponents who might have been alternatives to the terrorist group's continued rule.  Hopes for even a cease-fire, let alone an enduring peace, will be shortlived if promises to end Hamas' terror permanently are not kept. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. President Donald Trump has achieved the release of all twenty of the surviving hostages seized and brutalized by Hamas two years ago. Praise God! It remains to be seen, however, at what price it has been achieved. Two thousand terrorists – including some of the most murderous – have potentially been restored to the jihadists' ranks, as have 85-percent of those released in such previous exchanges.  How much that will matter is likely to be largely a function of the extent to which Hamas is actually disarmed, dismantled and denied any future role in Gaza and Judea and Samaria. Another factor, however, will be the impact of the deal on enemies of Western civilization far beyond those lands. For Middle East peace to be truly achieved and sustained, we must contend with and defeat the threat posed by Sharia-supremacists, both at home and abroad. This is Frank Gaffney.

In May 2019, the Chinese Communist Party declared a whole-of-society “People's War” on the United States. Yesterday, Beijing announced highly restrictive controls on exports to this country of rare earth minerals essential to our economic activity and national security.  History may record it as the moment when China's longstanding, pre-kinetic “unrestricted warfare” against us took the turn towards the old-fashioned, shooting kind.  If so, that will be because in short order, Chinese dictator Xi Jinping will follow that crippling blow with others inside America for which he has been preparing for some time. A webinar today will examine the resulting “enemy within” threats.  You have an urgent need-to-know what is now in prospect – and what we must do immediately to put this country on a war-footing and protect all you hold dear. Please, join us at 1 p.m. ET at PresentDangerChina.org. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Yesterday, negotiations in Egypt on a 20-point plan for ending hostilities in Gaza bore fruit with a ceasefire that is supposed to result in Hamas releasing “all” of the remaining Israeli hostages, living and dead, whom it seized two years ago.  The question is: Will that fruit prove to be poisonous for Israel and our interests?  As the British wit, Samuel Johnson, said of second marriages, Mideast peace processes involve “the triumph of hope over experience.” Hard experience with Sharia-supremacists is that so-called ceasefires going back to Mohammed's day are actually just “hudnas” – temporary suspensions of hostilities when the Muslim side is facing defeat and used to regroup, rearm, then resume the fighting on more favorable terms.  A critical briefing at 2 p.m. Eastern Time today will examine whether hope is justified. Join us at VictoryCo.org. In the meantime, hold the champagne. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Two years ago, the Gaza franchise of the terrorist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood perpetrated the most horrific act of jihad since 9/11, beheading raping and murdering 1200 Israeli babies, women and men. The Biden-Harris administration responded with rhetorical sympathy, intermittent support and a diplomatic and political campaign to save Hamas and its allies from Israel's retaliation and topple Benjamin Netanyahu. Today, Egypt is hosting negotiations on a ceasefire “deal” strikingly similar to one drawn up by Kamala Harris' national security advisor, Philip Gordon. As a practical matter, it would: ensure the survival of Hamas; preclude Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria; conduce to a jihadist Palestinian state in Gaza; and likely result in Netanyahu's electoral defeat. That's a formula for more endless war, not what is required to prevent it – namely, Israel's decisive victory over her enemies and ours.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Twelve years ago, China's Communist emperor, Xi Jinping, launched his so-called “Belt and Road Initiative.” It's used to colonize nations around the world, seducing and entrapping them with large investments in infrastructure and other projects.  Now, according to the formidable Chairman of the House Select CCP Committee, John Moolenaar, Xi seeks to do the same to us with the tantalizing promise of $1 trillion that would expand opportunities to subvert us from within by further penetrating our markets, elites and country.  My Present Danger: China Committee colleague, Brian Kennedy, and I similarly warned President Trump yesterday. We pointed out that accepting such a deal would be ill-advised on financial terms alone, given the vastly larger sums the Chinese Communists already extract from us – to say nothing of their determination to destroy this country. Just say “No,” Mr. President. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Donald Trump has practiced the “art of the deal” for decades. The question is: Will his ambition to achieve a transformative Middle East peace agreement cause him to violate one of the most important principles of any constructive negotiation: You must be willing to walk away when one of the parties is acting in bad faith even before the deal is done. That's exactly what Hamas is doing. Presented with the President's take-it-or-leave it ultimatum, Hamas accepted conditionally.  President Trump pledged that Israel would have his support to finish the job in Gaza if Hamas didn't fully accept the deal. Instead, the jihadists have pulled a bait-and-switch.  If allowed to get away with it, they'll only behave worse in a negotiating process that was not supposed to happen, but that's now nonetheless underway in Egypt. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. For over fifty years, we've waged a “war on drugs.” A memo recently sent to Congress says President Trump has now declared we're in a “non-international armed conflict with…designated terrorist organizations” and directed the Pentagon to conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict. Such operations have already resulted in the destruction of go-fast boats smuggling cocaine and fentanyl from Venezuela by a U.S. Navy task force in the Caribbean. Inevitably, challenges to this policy will be pursued in court and in Congress. In the meantime, however, President Trump is creating powerful disincentives to our enemies waging what amounts to chemical warfare against us from the sea.  We must also hold accountable a prime enabler of such warfare – the Chinese Communist Party – that provides the cartels with  precursors for fentanyl and meth and launders the proceeds of their sales. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. At a meeting with military leaders on Tuesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and President Trump opened the door to an urgently needed corrective to our national security posture.  In the context of restoring the Pentagon's focus on warfighting for a potentially imminent conflict, Secretary Hegseth told our top commanders “The next war…will likely not have a rear area.”  And President Trump declared that the United States has been “invaded” and now confronts “enemies within.” Such statements are, in fact, irrefutable. Notably, Joe Biden's open borders permitted a stealthy invasion by Chinese soldiers and jihadists. Ominously, we don't know their exact numbers or whereabouts, but can no longer ignore the threat they pose to our infrastructure, people and country. Americans must be enlisted in crowdsourcing “situational awareness” about – and supporting the authorities' neutralizing of – such enemies within before they strike here. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. The War Department is back. Yesterday, its secretary, Pete Hegseth, told our top commanders what a difference that will make. Every American – certainly those in uniform, but most especially our civilians – need to listen to what was one of the most impressive public addresses in our nation's history.  In its course, the Secretary underscored the object of the exercise: the restoration of the time-tested principle that if you want peace, prepare for war. Secretary Hegseth described what that will mean in practical  terms – notably, a return to the warrior spirit, to physical fitness, to merit in promotions and to a state of heightened readiness appropriate to the dangerous world in which we live.  The pride in, and gratitude for, our military expressed yesterday on behalf of our nation by both Pete Hegseth and President Trump was clearly heartfelt and deeply inspiring.  Let's roll!  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. The day Secretary of War Pete Hegseth chose to gather hundreds of generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia, the flag of Communist China will fly over our nation's birthplace in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the whole country may one day be flying China's flag, rather than our own, if American leaders don't recognize that the Chinese Communist Party is determined to destroy the USA. And, with ongoing funding from Wall Street, it has been inexorably putting into place the capabilities needed to accomplish that goal. President Trump says they'll discuss at Quantico “how well the military is doing.” But there must also be a frank discussion of the need for comprehensive and innovative efforts to prepare for a possibly imminent Chinese onslaught – likely starting with fifth column operations inside America thanks to Joe Biden allowing in tens of thousands of People's Liberation Army soldiers.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. At the White House today, Donald Trump will likely press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end hostilities in Gaza. Both men would be well advised, however, to have Iran top of mind. Of course, Iran's regime precipitated the horrific invasion of Israel by Hamas two years ago. The mullahs are also assiduously reconstituting their ability to attack the Jewish State again.  In short, prematurely stopping Israel's “12-Day War” against them did not actually end it.  A cease-fire in Gaza now won't result in peace there, either. It will only revive and embolden Hamas and others in the Global Islamic Movement – some of whom Mr. Trump envisions taking over the place when the shooting stops.  That outcome would be a strategic defeat for Israel – and for us. We must not thereby guarantee the perpetuation of what truly is the ultimate endless war.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Former FBI Director James Comey's indictment for providing false testimony to Congress and obstruction of justice promises accountability at last for at least some of his alleged criminal activity.  Hopefully, the present charges will shortly be augmented by others associated with Comey's leading role in the Obama administration's conspiracy to keep Donald Trump from winning the White House in 2016 – and to sabotage his first presidency when that gambit failed.   Another criminal probe seems in order regarding the conduct of Comey successor Christopher Wray in connection with the events of January 6th. Investigative reporter John Solomon just revealed that there were 274 undercover FBI agents in the crowd at the Capitol, reinforcing allegations that what occurred that day was an officially orchestrated “direct action” operation, not an insurrection. It's high time we get “just the facts ma'am” about FBI malfeasance. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  The Chinese Communist Party is in trouble. The question is: Will the United States once again intervene to prop it up – or help liberate the Chinese people from the regime that has killed over a hundred million of them and threatens to do even worse to us? The CCP is under acute stress from the cumulative effects of several intractable problems. These include serious economic difficulties, a population doomed to contract dramatically and attendant political turmoil suggesting Xi Jinping's hold on power may be nearing an end. President Trump is evidently being told the result could be chaos – possibly leading to the toppling of the Chinese Communist Party – and that this country must not pile on.  While there can be no absolute certainty about how and when the Communist go odious regime will fall, the risks of a government that is determined to destroy us remaining in power and doing basically whatever it can to that end via “unrestricted warfare” are unacceptably high.   We need to revert to President Reagan's strategy for liberating enslaved peoples like those of the Soviet Union by cutting off our enemies' hard currency cash flow and practicing “peace through strength.” This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  Without explicitly saying so, two recent official disclosures suggest we are at war.  The first, issued by the National Counter-Terrorism Center, warned that al Qaeda cells have embedded themselves across major urban centers in this country. Consistent with the group's 9/11 attacks, their targets appear aimed at maximizing casualties and chaos by targeting transportation systems and crowded public spaces. The second, just revealed by the Secret Service, indicates that a devastating attack on telecommunications networks in the New York City region was narrowly averted this week. It's being described as the work of an unnamed foreign government and individuals here.  We need an informed national debate about the war we are in, the fact that it could go fully – and potentially devastatingly – kinetic at any moment and how Americans can be read-in and crowdsourced to help authorities identify and counter enemies within.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  President Trump will address the United Nations today amidst an outbreak there of mass psychosis. Fully one-hundred-fifty countries believe there is a Palestinian state and recognize its existence. Presumably, Mr. Trump will point out the obvious: There actually is no state of Palestine. Indeed, the closest thing to one was the former Hamas-controlled Gaza. It was a terrorist safe-haven, endlessly attacking Israel.  Pretending that there is such a state will not conduce to peace. Rather, Hamas dead-enders who refuse to surrender will fight on, convinced they'll be rescued from the complete defeat Israel is determined to achieve.  Mr. Trump is expected to reject the sort of mob-rule with Chinese characteristics inherent in the UN's global governance agenda in favor of national sovereignty and constitutional rule. The Palestinian state delusional gambit is a prime example of why we must put America First.   This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  One of the most important take-aways from the extraordinary funeral service for Charlie Kirk on Sunday was the insight that he committed his life, and ultimately gave it, to the conduct of spiritual warfare. Few of any age, let alone his tender one, have done it better, or more impactfully. Among the forces of evil Charlie fought tirelessly were atheistic Communism, demonic Sharia-supremacism and godless globalism – a “totalitarian trifecta” currently pursuing the destruction of Judeo-Christian civilization. He valiantly taught students, and the rest of us, that the United States is essential to the defeat of such enemies, foreign and domestic. The power of that message – and the imperative need to make a redoubled effort to carry it forward – was showcased brilliantly by Charlie's formidable widow, Erika, and numerous friends, many of them in high office, including President Trump.  Let's make it so. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  Yesterday, Jimmy Kimmel lost his late-night gig for describing Charlie Kirk's alleged murderer as MAGA.  Other outrageous comments about Charlie himself deserve condemnation, too – including claims on social media to the effect that Israel was somehow involved in his assassination and that he was an asset of Israeli intelligence.  The evident contradiction between such lies notwithstanding, they exemplify intensifying efforts to divide Americans and foster in particular enmity towards the Jewish State and Jews. Who's behind this agenda? Obviously, anti-Semites come to mind. Sharia-supremacists bankrolled by Qatar are doubtless in the mix, as well.  And Chinese and Russian bots are reportedly promoting narratives about Charlie Kirk that inflame hostilities between Americans and otherwise advance China's long-running,         “unrestricted warfare” aimed at taking down our country. Irrespective of the source, such lies about Charlie Kirk must be denounced and their perpetrators held accountable.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. A typically anti-Israel UN commission claims her leaders are engaged in “genocide” in Gaza. The real genocide, however, is that Hamas is conducting against its own people. Widespread destruction, the loss of life and whatever hunger is actually being experienced there are, first and foremost, a function of the jihadists' refusal to surrender. Worse yet, they have deliberately maximized civilian casualties by using non-combatants as human shields, weaponizing their schools, hospitals and mosques to mount attacks on Israel and her forces. Hamas also deprives them of food made abundantly available to its terrorist regime and, in some cases, shooting those desperately seeking sustenance. War is hell. But the overwhelmingly discriminant way the Israelis are waging it in the most intense urban battle space imaginable is not genocide, despite the abominable efforts of its enemy – and ours – to make it so. This is Frank Gaffney.  

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller just declared, Focused righteous anger directed for a just cause is one of the most important agents of change in human history. We are going to channel all of the anger we have over the organized campaign that led to Charlie Kirk's assassination to uproot and dismantle these leftist terrorist networks,  Unfortunately, yesterday's Present Danger China.org webinar revealed that violence in this country is being promoted not only by left-wing groups enabled by the likes of alleged racketeers George and Alex Soros. Their numbers and lethality are surging thanks to Islamic supremacists and the foreign enablers of the Red-Green Axis's communist and jihadist elements. Worse, they are reported collectively to be good to go violent. It appears that focused, righteous anger needs to be brought to bear immediately for the just cause of saving our country.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  I had the privilege last night of being among thousands of friends, associates and admirers of Charlie Kirk who gathered for a Kennedy Center prayer vigil to remember and revere the man and his legacy.  I encourage every American to view its video recording. There are now two urgent action items. First, as his widow, Erika, pledged in an absolutely extraordinary eulogy, Turning Point USA must be made even more formidable. Fortunately, we were told last night requests for new TPUSA campus chapters exceed thirty thousand. Second, President Trump has promised to “find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.” He's promised to “look into [George] Soros, because I think it's a RICO case against him and other people.”  Let's roll. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  Charles “Sam” Faddis served for two decades as a covert operative – a spy – for the Central Intelligence Agency, much of it confronting enemies waging jihad or “holy war” to impose Islam's toxic Sharia code worldwide. Among the most dangerous of such adherents are Shiite Muslims known as “12ers.” They want to cause the apocalypse to prompt a messiah to emerge from a well in Iran where he has resided for over a thousand years to bring about the Golden Age of Islam.  In Sam's last job at the CIA, he was responsible for protecting us against Weapons of Mass Destruction terrorism. In an interview this week, we discussed the prospect of having an avowed 12er like Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani be ultimately responsible for the security of New York City. Obviously, that should be disqualifying and must not happen. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. The political assassination of Charlie Kirk – one of America's most beloved, influential and courageous thought-leaders – is an abomination.  So far, it is unclear who was responsible for silencing this brilliant man, or what effect Charlie's murder will have on the country he loved so profoundly and the young people he inspired and empowered so impactfully. What is clear is that we can no longer ignore the international and increasingly the domestic threats about which he warned relentlessly.  In particular, as we mark twenty-four years to the day when nineteen men called to jihad by Islam's Sharia doctrine inflicted unprecedented mass destruction on our country, we must heed Charlie's admonitions that its adherents are here – and determined to achieve that goal and the demise of Judeo-Christian civilization, more generally.  We must honor our friend, Charlie Kirk, by carrying on his vital work.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Israel's attacks on Hamas safe-havens in Qatar are the latest indication that she is determined to “finish the job” in Gaza. President Trump has repeatedly urged the Israeli government to do just that – and should affirm such support again at this juncture. To date, however, Mr. Trump has expressed regret that the strike occurred and promised it would not be repeated. That should only be the case if Qatar stops hosting and abetting Hamas –  the sort of material support for international jihadism that makes it the world's most generous state-sponsor of terrorism. If Qatar expelled and otherwise cut off Hamas, instead of – as a purported “mediator,” effectively enabling its survival – the only acceptable outcome in Gaza could be quickly achieved: Namely truly finishing the job by securing Hamas' unconditional surrender, freeing all remaining Israeli hostages, and incarceration by Israel.   This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. In a nomination hearing last week, Riley Barnes cited former Senator and Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “We are a nation founded on a powerful principle…that all men are created equal, because our rights come from God our Creator – not from our laws, not from our governments.” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine – evidently unaware that this principle was explicitly enshrined in the Declaration of Independence – found that statement “extremely troubling.” He declared, “The notion that rights don't come from laws and don't come from the government, but come from the Creator — that's what the Iranian government believes.” Yesterday, President Trump sharply repudiated Kaine, saying he “should be ashamed of himself.” He vowed, “Under the Trump administration, we're defending our rights and restoring our identity as a nation under God. We are one nation under God and we always will be.”  Amen.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. President Trump has restored the Defense Department's name to the Department of War. Largely unnoted in the reporting on the rebrand is the fact that we are at war – and it could go fully kinetic at any time. That's the conclusion of a riveting webinar conducted last week by our Committee on the Present Danger: China to document the Chinese Communists' long-running, “unrestricted” and even declared “People's War” against our country. This PresentDangerChina.org webinar revealed the extent to which Xi Jinping's own preparations for a shooting war are being accompanied by those of Russia, North Korea and Iran, whose leaders were in Beijing last week and may well have discussed joint action. America needs not just a Department of War but a war-footing if we are to counter – and, ultimately prevail in – World War Xi. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Big Pharma sure is furious with Robert Kennedy, Jr. The pharmaceutical industry wants him terminated as Health and Human Services Secretary. That was the unmistakable takeaway from Bobby's hours-long grilling yesterday before the Senate Finance Committee. He was relentlessly attacked by Democratic members for his insistence that the impact of the COVID and other vaccines on public health must be scientifically scrutinized. One of them, Vermont's Marxist Senator Bernie Sanders, actually copped to Secretary Kennedy's observation in response that such critics were recipients of immense campaign contributions from Pharma, admitting that every Senator takes money from the industry. That's also true of the media, academia and key government agencies. Politicians will discover their constituents increasingly support Bobby Kennedy, not Big Pharma. President Trump rightly wants the facts out about vaccine safety, and so do the American people.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Chinese dictator Xi Jinping just hosted leaders of the world's most dangerous regimes against the backdrop of a parade through Tiananmen Square testifying to the PRC's unprecedented military build-up.  President Trump declared on social media that Xi, Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un are “conspiring  against the United States.” There are ominous indicators of what such a conspiracy might entail. For one thing, past pilgrimages to Beijing by Putin, Israel's enemies and Venezuela's Nicholas Maduro have resulted in actual, or promised, acts of “strategic arson.”  And all of these co-conspirators appear to be preparing for more such aggression by mobilizing and/or upgunning forces, and in the case of Russia, North Korea and some Iranian proxies engaging in actual attacks. An important webinar tomorrow afternoon will examine what the Beijing Bloc may do next. Join us at PresentDangerChina.org. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  President Trump took to social media yesterday to respond to the offensively false narrative pushed out by Xi Jinping and his friends in the emerging “Beijing Bloc” about the Chinese Communist Party's pivotal role in defeating Imperial Japan.  In fact, while the U.S. military decisively helped the people of China and their nationalist government fight the Japanese at tremendous cost during World War II, the CCP was almost completely AWOL. Mr. Trump also correctly observed that Xi was using meetings with his despotic Russian and North Korean counterparts to “conspire” against the United States. The question is: Will that conspiracy result in more of the “strategic arson” the Chinese dictator and his allies have perpetrated to date in Ukraine and the Mideast – presumably next in Asia?  We're on notice that Xi's regime is our enemy. It must be treated as such.  This is Frank Gaffney.

For two overarching reasons, no good can come of the summit Communist China convened last weekend.  First, there's a discernable pattern of what happens when Chinese dictator Xi Jinping entertains his counterparts from dangerous regimes. I call it “strategic arson.”  Second, in part due to the resulting conflagrations, Xi, Russia's Vladimir Putin and the Iranian mullahs are in trouble. Together with disastrous economic policies and/or repression at home, there are growing pressures from within and without for regime changes. Tyrants often respond to such conditions by lashing out, manufacturing foreign crises to justify intensified control at home. Xi Jinping is talking up “global governance,” a euphemism for establishing a world order run by him and his friends in “Beijing's bloc.” This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.    The White House announced yesterday that President Trump is not proposing to issue six hundred thousand student visas to Chinese nationals. That's the good news.  The bad news is that the Trump administration will instead simply maintain the current number of such PRC “students” at large in this country. That amounts to roughly a quarter million of them – all of whom the Chinese Communists can weaponize, compelling them to steal our intellectual property and other secrets, and/or potentially engage in devastating physical attacks, particularly collectively. Consequently, President Trump needs to restore the policy that Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled just three months ago, declaring: “The U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” Just do it This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  Communist China is in trouble. The cumulative effect of various economic, environmental and demographic problems precipitated by decades of Chinese Communist Party misrule is translating into acute political turmoil. There is growing speculation that dictator Xi Jinping's grip on absolute power is imperiled. That crisis presents President Trump with a momentous choice: Come to the CCP's rescue, as did his predecessors Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Or, like Ronald Reagan, help liberate people enslaved and murdered by a regime that mortally threatens us. Mr. Trump's announcement that he'll admit six hundred thousand PRC students – reportedly a priority of, and favor to, Xi – suggests he's willing to prop up the CCP. Having what could translate into a million fighting-age Chinese nationals in the United States, however, is an obvious threat to our country, and the wrong choice regarding China.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Cracker Barrel has jettisoned a corporate reboot abandoning its traditional extolling of Americana after overwhelming repudiation by consumers and shareholders. President Trump needs to make a similar reversal concerning a vastly more problematic departure from his “America First” brand. Mr. Trump says he'll give six-hundred thousand Chinese nationals student visas. If added to the two hundred and seventy thousand already in the U.S. and a hundred thousand other, military-age men believed to be PRC soldiers let in by Joe Biden, we'd have roughly a million foreigners obliged by their country's law to put China first.  That invites disaster. The CCP makes no secret of its determination to destroy this country and has pursued for decades “unrestricted warfare” to that end.  Mr. Trump needs to reverse course to impede such threats by removing, not reinforcing, potential enemies inside America. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  As young people head to school across America, President Trump announced they are going to have company from Communist China – a lot of company. He declared yesterday that he will admit six-hundred thousand Chinese students to help us “get along with China.” Mr. Trump didn't elaborate on the timing of the arrival of all those PRC nationals – many of whom are members of the Chinese Communist Party and all of whom are obliged to engage in espionage, intellectual property theft or sabotage if ordered to do so by the CCP.  Whenever these dual-use students arrive, they'll join perhaps one-hundred thousand alleged Chinese soldiers Joe Biden let in. Recall the damage done to our country by nineteen amateurs on 9/11 and it's clear we cannot afford to have an actual army of professionals and their potential student interns here from China.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  President Trump has a potentially fraught meeting today with his new South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung. While the focus will be on trade relations, there will be an ominous elephant in the room: Lee is deeply hostile to the United States and dangerously aligned with our enemies, Communist China and North Korea. As my colleague, retired Marine Colonel Grant Newsham, observed recently in Asia Times, Lee has “referred to American troops in South Korea as ‘occupiers' and said China should do what it wants to Taiwan.” It is hard to overstate the strategic peril associated with the “fundamental transformation” of a key American ally now in prospect.  The question is: Will Mr. Trump come to grips with Lee's longstanding hostility or try to paper it over in the interest of making “progress” on trade? Much will be riding on the answer. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  In America, there's a growing awareness of and concern about Islam's totalitarian code known as Sharia. Its practitioners are increasingly on the march around the world and in this country.  For example, in Britain, Sharia-condoned gangs of immigrants are estimated to have raped a million native girls. In Nigeria, Syria, and elsewhere, Christians are being attacked, murdered and driven out by Sharia-supremacists. And a court in Austria just condoned the use of Sharia to settle commercial disputes.  Here in Texas, jihadism-aligned Muslims are establishing incipient Sharia-adherent communities. Un-permitted Islamic praying increasingly takes over public spaces. And in New York and elsewhere, Sharia's followers are joining forces with the radical left to gain elective office.   Sharia is not a constitutionally protected religion, but an instrument of political warfare and control aimed at overthrowing governments and societies like ours. It must be opposed, not accommodated. This is Frank Gaffney.

The untimely death of the governor of America's westernmost territory has called attention to inroads being made there by our mortal enemy, the Chinese Communist Party. China's visa-free access to the islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, its gambling operations there awash with billions of dollars and its nationals' illegal access to nearby Guam are among the reasons the late Gov. Arnold Palacios pleaded for investigations, audits and other help from a largely indifferent Washington, thousands of miles away. Unfortunately, as the Daily Signal recently reported, a man who facilitated such ominous Chinese activities in CNMI is now the top official in DC responsible for the territory and federal funds flowing there. Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Angel Demapan should be under investigation, not in a position to help the CCP further penetrate – and endanger – our Western frontier. This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  Jimmy Lai is one of the most heroic men in the world today. As a penniless youth in 1961, he fled Communist China to the British colony of Hong Kong, where he became a wildly successful entrepreneur and billionaire.  Jimmy courageously used his media empire and personal resources to support opposition to China's Communist Party and persisted in doing so even after Great Britain surrendered the city and the CCP inexorably crushed freedom there.  Today, after five years in prison, most of it spent in solitary confinement, Jimmy Lai is standing trial for alleged national security crimes. His conviction is inevitable.  There must be real costs to Communist China for its mistreatment of this extraordinary hero – and all those in Hong Kong and the mainland for whose freedom he has fought for so long and at such immense personal expense.  This is Frank Gaffney.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  President Trump is manfully working to put out the fire that has engulfed Ukraine ever since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin invaded it in February 2022. He is trying to negotiate not simply to contain the still-raging flames, but to prevent permanently a wider conflagration. But seemingly entirely absent from the discussions is: What about the arsonist? The man who probably instigated, clearly greenlighted and certainly is enabling the war in Ukraine is China's tyrant, Xi Jinping. His strategic arson – first there and subsequently in the Middle East – has principally benefited the Chinese Communist Party with cheap oil, arms sales and chaos that has distracted and depleted the chief firefighter, the United States. Currently, the CCP's in the process of sparking a new conflict with the Philippines. If we fail to stop the arsonists, we'll likely be engulfed by World War Xi.   This is Frank Gaffney.