Month: February 2025

 

In the world of boxing, the saying “he’s on his heels” means that the opponent is forced into the defensive and has to retreat.

That is exactly what President Donald Trump, with the help of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, are doing day in and day out to the proverbial “Deep State.”  Earlier this month, President Trump announced he was defunding the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a de facto arm of the Central Intelligence Agency.  That was immediately followed by the withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the defunding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

President Trump isn’t letting up.  On Tuesday, he landed a haymaker to his already-shaky foe, sending them grasping for the ropes after it was reported another “CIA cutout” was being defunded.  According to the Free Press, President Trump significantly cut funding to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), essentially “starving” the organization.  The Free Press writes:

What’s happening at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a very big deal, and has not been previously reported.

NED, a key U.S. instrument for supporting grassroots freedom movements around the world, is under siege from Elon Musk’s DOGE. An order from DOGE to the U.S. Treasury that blocked disbursement of NED funds has crippled the organization—which received $315 million for fiscal year 2025—and its affiliates, The Free Press has learned.

“It’s been a bloodbath,” one NED staffer said. “We have not been able to meet payroll and pay basic overhead expenses.”

NED’s dismantling would be far more than a cost-cutting measure. It would symbolize a major change in U.S. foreign policy, undercutting the notion that democratic ideals foster U.S. global strength and influence. Instead, the Trump administration would be signaling that it no longer believes that promoting democracy around the globe is in the national interest.

The National Endowment for Democracy is a “CIA cutout” according to former State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary and founder of Foundation for Freedom Online Mike Benz.  It was started in November 1983 and is funded directly by Congress.  Under the guise of “promoting democracy,” what once was consider covert actions have now become overt.  According to a 1991 opinion piece in the Washington Post:

The sugar daddy of overt operations has been the National Endowment for Democracy, a quasi-private group headed by Carl Gershman that is funded by the U.S. Congress. Through the late 1980s, it did openly what had once been unspeakably covert — dispensing money to anti-communist forces behind the Iron Curtain.

As with many government-funded non-profits and cutouts, what started as a possibly ‘good intentioned’ has turned into an imperialistic disaster.  Just recently, NED’s publication, the Journal for Democracy called for the arrest of Poland’s PiS party to “ensure that populism does not return,” comparing it to the “crimes of communism”:

Now, in late 2023, a second wave of “transitional justice” is suddenly looming over Poland. This time, however, the transgressions of the populist regime are overshadowing disputes about accountability for the crimes of communism. PiS had barely taken power in 2015 before violating the 1997 Constitution by not printing a Constitutional Tribunal ruling in order to avoid implementing it and by packing the court in violation of the constitution. The party may have campaigned this year on rebuilding state institutions and social policies, but it violated the rule of law throughout its entire 2015–23 reign.

Poland’s new government must therefore do more than just return to liberal democracy; it must address transitional justice. Prime Minister Tusk and his coalition government must also stabilize the political system to ensure that populism does not return in the next election. The future of democracy in Poland hangs in the balance.

Anne Applebaum is on the board of directors for the most notorious CIA cut-out in all of US history.

So, you know, when reading her froth-mouthed hit piece today on Elon Musk, maybe take that into consideration. https://t.co/QObltUGXgc pic.twitter.com/Vxil7uCRES

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) September 11, 2023

In September 2023, NED welcomed to its Board of Directors former State Department official and the maestro behind the 2014 colour revolution in Ukraine known as the Maidan Revolution.  Nuland had previously worked under the Bush and Obama administrations, sitting out Trump’s first term, and then rejoining during the Biden ‘administration.’

During the Maidan, NED funded over 60 projects in Ukraine to ‘promote democracy,’ mostly civil society groups that were involved in the protests that eventually unconstitutionally overthrew Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

Victoria Nuland, former US State Dept official under Bush, Obama, and Biden, now is on the Board of Directors at the National Endowment for Democracy

 

NED is also alleged to have supported an unsuccessful coup against Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez in 2002 and funded opposition groups in 2019 to undermine the Venezuelan government.  The Center for Economic and Policy Research wrote in 2004:

What, then, are the major threats to democracy in Venezuela? The attention here has focused on the Venezuelan government. It is of course true, as Americans have long recognized, that any government can become repressive if its citizens are not vigilant. But Venezuelan democracy faces other challenges.

Some are from Washington. Our government has funded, and continues to fund, organizations headed by people who were leaders of the military coup of April 2002. (See Appendix 2). These leaders have received, and some continue to receive, funds from the United States Congress through the National Endowment for Democracy. These are people who signed the actual coup decree of April 12, 2002, that overthrew the elected President and Vice President, and abolished the General Assembly, the Supreme Court and the constitution, and established a dictatorship.

Should these people, and their organizations, be funded by US taxpayers’ dollars? Is this the proper function of the National Endowment for Democracy? These are questions that Congress should ask. I think that most Americans would be against such funding if they were aware of it.

The NED is also funding a group — called Sumate — that led the signature drive to recall the President of Venezuela. We do not allow foreign financing of electoral campaigns in the United States. Clearly we should not insist on violating the laws of other countries, and their sovereignty and democracy, in ways that we would not permit here.

The list of countries that NED has been accused of meddling in regime change is vast.  It includes Ukraine and Venezuela, as mentioned, but also Nicaragua with the election of Violeta Chamorro in 1990 and again in 2018.  They meddled in Belarus in 2020 by backing opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.  NED funded organizations such Universal Rights Supporting Families of Political Prisoners and other civil society groups and ‘independent media.’  They were involved in the 2001 coup in Haiti against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.  They also meddled in Bolivia, Cuba, Libya, Georgia, Serbia, Mongolia, and Kyrgyzstan.

NED brags on their website that they had, and likely still have, 330 projects in 11 countries with $38.5 million in funds in Central and Eastern Europe for FY2023.  From their website:

While many post-communist countries in Eastern Europe have undergone democratic transformations and have become European Union (EU) and NATO members, the dream of a unified, peaceful, and democratic Europe remains unfulfilled. This aspiration is being challenged by the rise of autocratic models of governance, populism and nationalism, erosion of information integrity and sharp political polarization, as well as unresolved issues from the past.

Given the magnitude of the challenges that Europe is facing today, and especially Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NED’s steadfast support to democrats in countries across the region is more important than ever. Additionally, NED supports regional civil society and independent media networks that allow for cross-country collaboration and contribute to more effective advocacy with policymakers at the national and EU levels.

These “overt actions”, as described by the Washington Post, operate under the pseudonym of “promoting democracy,” but in reality, it’s more like a Congressionally-funded policy implementation in foreign countries.

Call it what you’d like:  The Deep State, The Establishment, The Cabal…but the bottom line is that President Trump is landing blow after blow against them and clawing back taxpayer funds while helping promote global sovereignty by withdrawing US funded influence in foreign countries.

NED was next

This is epic. The Deep State and IC are getting HAMMERED right now!!

Keep it going!! https://t.co/eM866Pt34I pic.twitter.com/2uXl0BsjpH

— CannCon (@CannConActual) February 13, 2025

 

 

 

The post Deep State Destruction: President Trump Cuts Funding To National Endowment for Democracy – “It’s Been a Bloodbath” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Packages from the United States Agency for International Development were found last year in a cache of weapons owned by the terrorist group Hezbollah, according to new reports.

The reports come at a time when USAID’s funding is under attack and the agency is being defended by Democrats such as Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who called USAID “smart power,” according to Fox News.

The packages were found in Lebanon, an Israel Defense Forces soldier said, according to the New York Post.

“From the American taxpayer to Hezbollah, with love,” Asher Fredman, formerly with the IDF and currently currently executive director of the think tank Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy in Jerusalem.

He said sniper rifles, anti-tank missiles, and explosives were found, along with USAID materials in a Lebanese village from which Hezbollah had withdrawn.

“They had been there recently,” he said. “They fled the village as they saw the IDF on the way.”

“When I served in Lebanon last October, we found huge Hezbollah weapons caches, together with USAID care packages (not to mention UNICEF folders),” Fredman posted on social media platform X.

When I served in Lebanon last October, we found huge Hezbollah weapons caches – together with USAID care packages (not to mention UNICEF folders).

From the American taxpayer to Hezbollah, with love.@elonmusk pic.twitter.com/JUJBqGn96x

— Asher Fredman אשר פרדמן (@fredman_a) February 5, 2025

Gerald Steinberg, founder of NGOMonitor, said the find was no surprise to insiders.

“The folks at USAID knew that taxpayers’ money and ‘emergency assistance’ went to terrorists.  @NGOmonitor has repeatedly documented systematic aid diversion by terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen,” he posted on X.

The folks at USAID knew that taxpayers’ money and “emergency assistance” went to terrorists.
“@NGOmonitor has repeatedly documented systematic aid diversion by terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen.”https://t.co/cbxsSBmcbg

— Prof Gerald M Steinberg (@GeraldNGOM) February 6, 2025

The Middle East Forum noted that it probed USAID and “uncovered $164 million of approved grants to radical organizations, with at least $122 million going to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters,” the group said in a report posted on its website.

The report estimated that billions in additional aid went through agencies that “have consistently failed to vet their terror-tied local partners, and show little interest in improving their practices, to the apparent indifference of the federal government.”

“Millions of federal dollars have been handed by USAID to organizations directly in Gaza controlled by Hamas, with government officials even visiting Gaza terror proxies’ offices and launching joint programs,” the group said

“USAID staff attend the offices of charities which seemingly operate on behalf of senior Hamas leaders, while staff of multiple multi-million dollar USAID beneficiary charities openly praise and encourage violence against Jews,” the group said.

The Washington Free Beacon quoted a source it identified as a former State Department official who said the Biden era was a bonanza for terror groups.

“For those who believe in a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, elements of USAID have been problematic for years,” the source, who was not named, said. “There was even a lack of embarrassment among some USAID staffers about being associated with terrorist organizations.”

“They weren’t even in line with some of the Biden administration’s policies,” the source said. “It’s more than just problematic grants to anti-Israel organizations. It’s also their role in the internal approval processes and statements within the administration. There’s an entire bureaucratic process they’re a part of. They carry out their obstructionist ideology on that front as well.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post ‘Calling Card’ for US Democrat Party Found Along with Missiles, Rifles in Terrorist Weapons Cache appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on RFK Jr.’s confirmation this morning at approximately 10:30 am ET.

The Senate will also vote on the confirmation of President Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins.

This afternoon, the Senate is expected to vote on Motions for Cloture in the confirmation of Secretary of Commerce Nominee Howard Lutnick and Small Business Administrator nominee Kelly Loeffler.

the Senate Periodicals Press Gallery posted the schedule for confirmation votes today:

Today – 2 votes at 10:30am:

1. Confirmation of RFK, Jr., to be Secretary of HHS.
2. Confirmation of Brooke Rollins to be Secretary of Agriculture.

2 votes at 1:45pm:

1. Cloture on Howard Lutnick to be Secretary of Commerce.
2. Cloture on Kelly Loeffler to be SBA Administrator.

— Senate Periodicals (@SenatePPG) February 13, 2025

As The Gateway Pundit reported, the Senate on Wednesday voted along party lines 53-47 to invoke cloture on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s HHS nomination.

NEW: Senate Advances RFK Jr.’s HHS Nomination – Final Confirmation Vote to be Held Thursday

This came after Susan Collins, the RINO who voted against President Trump’s other cabinet nominees, such as Pete Hegseth, told CNN she would vote ‘yes’ to confirm RFK Jr.

RFK needs 51 votes to officially become the United States Secretary of Health and accomplish his “Make America Healthy Again” goals.

The Gateway Pundit will continue to provide updates on President Trump’s incredible nominees.

Watch live below:

The post WATCH LIVE: Senate Vote to Confirm RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary Live Feed at 10:30 ET appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Mike Pence has a new favorite pastime. He gets headlines for trashing Trump.

The last time we heard from Turncoat Mike Pence he was urging Republican Senators to block Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Senate confirmation.

Before that, Pence said he was “literally praying” that Trump would not pardon the innocent January 6 political prisoners.

Now, Pence is spouting off trashing President Trump for working to bring peace to Ukraine.

Who’s paying this guy?

President Trump held calls with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky on Wednesday. Trump is expected to hold meetings with Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia. And there is talk that Trump was invited to Russia for talks.

Mike Pence sees this is bad news. On Tuesday Pence tweeted this out.

Mr. President, Ukraine will only “be Russian someday” if the United States abandons them to Putin’s brutal invasion. As you just said,“When America is Strong the World is at Peace.” Stand Firm. If Ukraine falls, it will only be a matter of time until Russia invades a NATO ally… pic.twitter.com/6KbUKGINt2

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) February 11, 2025

The post Turncoat Mike Pence Attacks President Trump Again – This Time as Trump Works to Bring Peace to Ukraine appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

“Deportation flights have begun” – White House on X

The Trump administration is reportedly considering using the defense budget to boost deportations.

The administration is said to be unhappy with the current pace of deportations and believes the Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget may be a limiting factor.

Citing three unnamed sources, NBC News reports, “The Trump administration is considering tapping into Defense Department funding to hire contractors, a move that would vastly expand the scale and scope of immigrant arrests and deportations in the U.S., according to three sources familiar with the matter.”

The report continues:

The defense contracts would allow civilian-run companies to quickly and rapidly expand temporary detention facilities, such as those that house migrants in tents, as well as to staff those facilities and provide transportation between arrest locations and detention areas.

Such a move could also increase the number of airplanes available used to deport immigrants, as well as staff for the flights, the sources said.

Border czar Tom Homan has already tapped agents from the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and others to help support Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in making immigrant arrests.

But the pace of arrests and deportations has failed to meet Homan’s expectations, and President Donald Trump’s.

According to a Washington Post report, two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have also been demoted due to the pace of deportations under their leadership.

“ICE staff were informed in an email Tuesday that Russell Hott and Peter Berg, the top two officials in the enforcement division of ICE, have been reassigned, according to the three people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the internal memo,” the report states.

Homan also expressed frustration with the pace of deportations.

NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer asked the border czar if Trump has been happy with the deportation efforts. Homan responded, “I’m not.”

“If you look at the rest of interior enforcement, it’s about three times higher than it was a year ago today. Three times higher is good, but I’m not satisfied. There are more criminal aliens that need to be arrested, hundreds of thousands,” Homan added. “Sanctuary cities are putting roadblocks up. We’ve got leaks. So we need to increase the arrests of illegal aliens, especially those with criminal convictions. So we’re going to continue.”

NewsNation reports, “ICE averaged 787 arrests per day between Jan. 23-31, and about 11,000 arrests have been made in the last 18 days. The White House has reported 461 undocumented migrants were released from custody due to health concerns, insufficient detention space and other factors.”

The post Trump Considering Using Defense Budget to Boost Deportations appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Ahmad “Rashad” Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh (Screenshot: Max Veifer / Instagram)

Two nurses from Bankstown Hospital in Sydney, Australia, have been suspended after a video surfaced showing them making abhorrent anti-Semitic remarks and bragging about killing and refusing to treat Israeli patients.

The clip was shared by content creator Max Veifer, who was speaking with Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, both verified as health workers from Bankstown Hospital in Sydney’s southwest, according to ABC News Australia.

It is one of several videos on Veifer’s account featuring conversations with individuals from various parts of the world—primarily the Middle East—through the Chatruletka app, which randomly connects users for live interactions.

During the exchange on the app Chatruletka, tensions escalate when content creator Veifer reveals he is from Israel.

Nadir, who claimed to be a doctor, which he is not, reacts with hostility, stating, “I’m so upset that you’re Israeli. Eventually you’re going to get killed and go to Jahannam (hell), inshallah.”

Veifer asks why he is being threatened, prompting Abu Lebdeh to join the conversation.

She escalates the rhetoric, declaring, “It’s Palestine’s country, not your country, you piece of s**t.” She then issues a chilling remark: “When your time comes, I want you to remember my face so you can understand you will die the most disgusting death.”

When asked if they would treat Israeli patients, Lebdeh chillingly responded, “I won’t treat them, I’ll kill them… Not God forbid, I hope to God.”

Nadir follows up with another disturbing statement accompanied by a throat-slitting gesture., stating, “You have no idea how many Israeli dogs came to this hospital, and I sent them to Jahannam.”

WATCH:

These abhorrent statements have been met with swift condemnation from the highest levels of government.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labeled the footage as “sickening and shameful,” asserting that such hate-driven, anti-Semitic comments have no place in Australia’s health system or society at large, according to the New York Post.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park expressed his revulsion, stating, “The whole video, from start to finish, is a concern to me … the fact that they chose to do this in uniform, that they chose to do this while they should have been caring for patients.”

“Obviously, investigative process now takes place. I don’t want to leave a sliver, a sliver of light to allow any of them to be able to think that they will ever work for New South Wales Health again.”

“There is no place in our hospital and health system for this sort of view to ever, ever take place,” Park said.

“There is no place for this sort of perspective in our society, but hospitals are different in the fact that every single Australian and every single resident of this state should be able to go to their local hospital when they need care and attention and get high quality care that is safe and effective,” he added.

In response to the incident, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW has deregistered both Nadir and Lebdeh, effectively banning them from practicing nursing anywhere in Australia.

The post Shocking Footage: NSW Health Nurses Caught on Livestream Video Bragging About Killing Israeli Patients appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Thomson Reuters Corporation, the parent company that both owns Thomson Reuters Special Services LLC (TRSS) and the far-left propaganda arm Reuters News, has been funded by none other than the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

Recent investigations have revealed that Thomson Reuters Special Services LLC was awarded a contract by the Department of Defense titled “Active Social Engineering Defense (ASED) Large Scale Social Deception (LSD).”

Thomson Reuters Special Services LLC (TRSS) is a U.S.-based subsidiary of Thomson Reuters that provides software and information services to U.S. government agencies.

TRSS reports to an independent Board of Directors and operates under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Defense to offer classified and sensitive services to the U.S. Government.

The contract, identified as FA865018C7886, was awarded in 2018 with a value of approximately $9.1 million. You can view the contract details at USASpending.gov.

Source: USASpending.gov

The ASED program, initiated by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), aimed to develop technology capable of automatically identifying, disrupting, and investigating social engineering attacks.

Source: Highergov.com

Social engineering attacks involve manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information or performing actions that compromise security. These attacks exploit human psychology and trust, often bypassing technical security measures.

Screenshot: Imperva

Specific details about LSD are still limited, but internet users believe it might refer to the intentional use of deceptive tactics on a large scale to mislead or manipulate within a social context.

Large Scale Social Deception:
“Social deception” refers to the act of intentionally misleading or deceiving someone within a social context, often involving the use of lies, half-truths, or omissions to gain an advantage or achieve a specific goal, and can include behaviors like…

— D Newman (@DNewman1542406) February 6, 2025

According to the leftists defending the contract, while TRSS is a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters Corporation, which also owns Reuters News, its operations are allegedly separate from Reuters News’s journalistic endeavors.

However, despite the statements that TRSS operates independently from Reuters News, netizens aren’t buying it, suspecting that this separation might just be a smokescreen for a deeper conspiracy where the government is using taxpayer dollars to subtly manipulate news narratives in favor of far-left ideologies.

Elon Musk immediately responded on this news, stating, “Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for “large scale social deception”. That is literally what it says on the purchase order! They’re a total scam. Just wow.”

Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for “large scale social deception”.

That is literally what it says on the purchase order! They’re a total scam.

Just wow. https://t.co/GGxoVQSwN8

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 13, 2025

The post Thomson Reuters, a Far-Left Propaganda Arm, Receives Funding from the U.S. Department of Defense for ‘Active Social Engineering Defense Large-Scale Social Deception’ — Elon Musk Responds appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

To support J6ers being released and reintegrating into society, please check out J6Rebuild.com and help Ryan Samsel reintegrate by donating here.

Last week on the The Gateway Pundit and Blessed.News’ Inside J6 Podcast, former J6 political prisoner Ryan Samsel sat down to tell his side of the story from January 6th. highlighting his thoughts and opinions on corruption, coercion, and outright abuse in the Bureau of Prisons.

Before we get into the interview, it is important to point out that 3 1/2 weeks after President Trump’s broad pardon of all J6ers (including 14 J6ers who were commuted but not yet pardoned), there are still J6ers being held in federal prisons or entangled in the DOJ’s web.  As mentioned by The Prisoner’s Record on Telegram the following people are still being held hostage:

In last week’s episode, Ryan Samsel discussed the abuses that he suffered, including a broken jaw and an acute tear in his kidney, for what he believes to be retaliation for speaking out and refusing to ‘play nice’ with federal agents regarding his interactions with Ray Epps.  Samsel was the man wearing the backwards red MAGA hat on January 6th that had Epps whisper in his ear seconds before pushing the bike racks out of the way before walking up to the west terrace.

The New York Times reportedly obtained a recorded interview between the FBI and Samsel.  In that interview, they claimed Samsel confessed to Epps telling him, “Relax, the cops are doing their job.”  The Gateway Pundit revealed that James Grant, Samsel’s co-defendant, recalled something else as being said.  Grant recalled Epps saying “We need more people.”  Upon reviewing footage of the interaction publicly available on YouTube, Grant seems correct.  You can hear Epps saying something that sounds much closer to “we need more people” than “relax, the cops are doing their job,” as reported by the New York Times.

The Gateway Pundit has reached out to the New York Times author but did not receive a response at the time of publication.  We will update the story if a response is given.

Samsel added that Epps told him “and we push through this mother f’er,” although this is not audible in the video.  Samsel also claimed that Epps turned to the police officer and told him that “he was a Marine for 20 years and you’re going to move this…”  Samsel also said that the female police officer, who testified during the Hollywood-produced J6 hearings and was granted a preemptive pardon, was not in front of him but rather off to the side and, more importantly, that the man who pushed the bike rack into her and knocked her over was never arrested “to the best of [his] knowledge].”  Samsel can be seen in the video immediately coming to the aid of the fallen female officer.

Samsel claims the officer asked him not to leave, so he stayed with her until two other officers arrived.  When they asked what happened, she told them “he helped me,” referring to Samsel.

Exclusive: Statement From J6er James Grant on Ray Epps, Excessive Force from US Capitol Police, and His Victories in the DC Courts and Gulag

Samsel claims that during a preliminary interview with the FBI, the agents seemed to try and coach him into saying that Epps was “the voice of reason.”  Samsel told the Inside J6 Podcast that agents asked him, “this guy was the voice of reason, right?”  Samsel said “I don’t know…I guess.”  He claims they pressed him then on what he said to which Samsel responded “I guess he was the voice of reason…is that what you’re saying?” When they asked him for an official statement, Samsel said he needed a lawyer at that point.

Samsel was kept in solitary confinement for an unusually large portion of his time in prison, similar to Jake Lang, found of Blessed.News, who spent over 1400 days in prison without trial himself.

Samsel revealed some other information about Epps from that day.  For example, Samsel said as they approached the barricade, Epps was shouting, “Everyone to the front!” and “Where’s my Marines at??”  Epps himself is a Marine.  At the first barricade, Samsel points out that the bike rack barricades were not “hooked” together, as they’re designed to be, nor did they have any other binds holding them together with each other.  Samsel said that he approached one of the police officers at the barricade and said he wanted to go up to the front because Donald Trump was going to speak.  President Trump had originally stated he was going to walk with the crowd to the Capitol but later was advised against it by US Secret Service.

Samsel is providing The Gateway Pundit with more evidence from that day and from his time in prison that will likely be included in a follow-up series on his story from that day.

In the meantime, check out last week’s interview with Samsel (below) on the Inside J6 Podcast  by subscribing to The Gateway Pundit on Rumble here.

The post Inside J6 Podcast: Incredible Interview with J6er Ryan Samsel – Media Corruption, Prison Abuse, and His Interactions with Ray Epps on Jan 6 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

During his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed nine executive orders on immigration, fulfilling his promises on mass deportations, border security and birthright citizenship, and marking a significant policy shift from the previous administration. Notably absent from Trump’s agenda is ending the Diversity Visa lottery, though he’s criticized the program in the past.

Many Americans may not be aware that the program—commonly known as the “green card lottery”—offers randomly selected participants a legal immigration pathway and is popular around the world. The Immigration Act of 1990, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, established the program, so ending it would require Trump to work with Congress. 

Trump has every reason to do so, and Americans have good reason to learn about the program, since it has tended to undermine their interests. 

Millions of people worldwide each year submit their entries for the green card lottery. In 2023, a staggering number applied—nearly 22.2 million, an increase of nearly eight million from 2022. The State Department, which administers the program, annually grants up to 55,000 immigrant visas that are randomly selected from all entries. 

The program’s purpose is to boost ethnic diversity among America’s immigrant population. Preference is given to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

Enacted in fiscal year 1995, the Diversity Visa program has directly brought over 1.5 million immigrants to the United States, but indirectly facilitated the arrival of millions more. Since the lottery began, its winners have collectively sponsored around 4 million relatives to join them in the U.S.

The sheer number of immigrants entering the country through the Diversity Visa is not the sole reason to abolish it. The lottery’s selection process chooses individuals regardless of their education, skill, or the economic needs of the United States. Such randomness contradicts meritocratic values that America has prized since its founding and which have made the country great.

Besides lacking a meritocratic foundation, the Diversity Visa lottery is susceptible to criminal activity and fraud. Since the program serves as a gateway to America and U.S. citizenship, the stakes are high. Unsurprisingly, there have been numerous instances of document forgery and false representation.

The U.S. consular corps allocates considerable time and effort to verifying the authenticity of submitted documents. However, many applicants come from countries where it is common practice to bribe government officials to obtain fraudulent documents that appear legitimate. 

Numerous criminal enterprises are associated with the lottery. Although the application is free, billboards and shop signs in African and Eastern European capitals advertise false guarantees of selection—for a hefty price.

These practices not only undermine the American immigration system and the rule of law but also allow potentially dangerous individuals to enter the country. In 2004, U.S. government officials warned of national security risks associated with granting visas to green card lottery winners from countries with ties to terrorism, yet these concerns were often dismissed by the mainstream liberal media. 

Unfortunately, these worries have proven to be justified. The 2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting was the first terrorist attack carried out by a participant in the Diversity Visa lottery. More recently, in 2017, green card lottery winners orchestrated two terrorist attacks—a truck attack and a subway bombing—in New York City, resulting in eight deaths and 13 injuries. Following these attacks, President Trump called for the program’s termination.

In addition to posing national security threats, the program also raises legitimate concerns about resource allocation and time management. Rather than focusing their efforts on processing applications for the spouses of U.S. citizens and service members, consular staff spend countless hours verifying the authenticity of documents submitted by green card lottery winners. 

These resources, along with American taxpayers’ money, could be better utilized by addressing more pressing issues, rather than processing the random winners of a poorly conceived immigration lottery. 

Immigration policy should be driven by the economic, scientific and security needs of the country, prioritizing immigrants whose skills and knowledge could plausibly benefit the nation. The Diversity Visa lottery doesn’t adhere to these priorities, instead granting residence permits to immigrants who lack useful skills and sometimes are much too old to acquire them.

Efforts to end the program have been ongoing since 2005, even as public awareness of the program has been sporadic and limited. With Republicans in control of Congress, President Trump now has an historic opportunity to terminate the Diversity Visa lottery and build a more rational immigration system that would help make America great again.  

The post Trump Should Cancel the Diversity Visa Program  appeared first on The American Conservative.

During his Super Bowl interview, President Donald Trump reiterated his desire to annex America’s northern neighbor: “I think Canada would be much better off being a 51st state.” Alas, the vast majority of Canadians disagree. And they have begun shifting against the Conservative Party, which is seen as Trump’s natural ally.

The Liberal Party, headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has ruled Canada for the last decade. However, as the new year dawned, fortune seemed to favor Canada’s Conservatives. Long a decided minority, the right-leaning party appeared to hold a lock on the upcoming election.

Explained Warren Kinsella of the Toronto Sun: “At the start of 2025, when Justin Trudeau was still in charge, pollster Angus Reid reported the Pierre Poilievre Conservatives were at 45 percent support nationally. The Trudeau Liberals were down to an extraordinary 16 percent. Back then, other pollsters showed nearly the same thing. Nanos put the Tory lead at 23 percent. Research Co. said it was 26 percent.”

The Liberal Party was imploding. Trudeau had announced his resignation after an embarrassing split with the deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland. The leadership fight appeared to be over who could steer the Titanic as it sank below the electoral waves. For the Conservatives, what could possibly go wrong?

Donald Trump became president of the United States.

Trump’s convoluted resurrection of 19th century American imperialism, which even includes turning Gaza into a U.S. outpost, has excited some of his supporters but, alas, plays less well among the targets of his insults. He obviously views belligerence as a useful negotiating tactic—after all, Colombia agreed to accept deportees after being threatened with economy-breaking tariffs. However, the administration almost certainly could have achieved the same result without the public threat. A polite phone call noting the importance of Colombian cooperation in a critical administration initiative probably would have achieved the same result without the sturm und drang—and damage to America’s already battered claim to virginal innocence in international affairs.

Trump also evidently enjoyed his opportunity to rhetorically brutalize Trudeau, for whom the president appears to have contempt. Calling the prime minister “governor” and suggesting that he adopt the American right’s policy priorities, such as increased military spending, humiliated a politician already on the skids. While many observers assume Trump is trolling, Trudeau is convinced he is serious. In any case, the president shouldn’t let personal pleasure undercut U.S. national interests. His attack likely encouraged Trudeau to resign, allowing the Liberal Party to choose someone who may prove a more effective leader. Moreover, Trump’s abuse made Trudeau the defender of Canada’s sovereignty against American encroachments. For instance, Trudeau called on Canadians to buy made-in-Canada goods, presumably not what Trump desired.

Most worrisome, the president may really believe that Canadians are desperate to join the United States. “Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada—AND NO TARIFFS!”, he declared on Truth Social. Trump may not realize that Canada has a long history of resistance to its big neighbor. “Fear of America has been a big driver of nationalism,” explained Asa McKercher of St. Francis Xavier University,

Canadians resisted American invasions during both the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. “To Canadians, the ill-disciplined American soldiers who invaded their homeland looked like plunderers, not liberators,” writes historian Lawrence B.A. Hatter about the latter war. “They soon rallied to fight alongside British soldiers, and Indigenous allies. The U.S. invasion was a military disaster. The devastating waves of invasion and counter-invasion that followed along the Canada-U.S. border in the next few years only served to entrench a sense of difference between Canadians and Americans.”

A century later, Canadians ousted a liberal government over its support for a free trade pact with America, which the conservatives attacked as a threat to Canadian sovereignty. Opposition persisted to later trade agreements, including NAFTA, signed in 1992. Nor have more recent proposals for a national merger won much support up north. A decade ago, newspaper columnist Diane Francis published a book proposing a continental merger. In an interview with the Independent, Francis discussed its reception: “A lot of Canadians hated the book…They hated the idea that someone would even write the book.”

The president’s musings have garnered a similar reaction, driving away what he claims as a kindred people. And it’s not just Trump. Fox News host Jesse Watters is incensed that Canadians are not genuflecting to Washington, begging to be annexed. He apparently can’t imagine other people being patriots as well. Why would Canadians want to join a nation where such attitudes circulate?

Support for annexation barely breaks single digits, with 90 percent opposed. Normally mild-mannered Canadians are showing their opposition and, more importantly, anger. Reported the Economist: “Holidays in the United States have been cancelled and the American national anthem booed before hockey games. Shops have emptied their shelves of American booze, replacing it with placards that read ‘Buy Canadian Instead’.” The only question is how long the hard feelings will last. “The damage is going to be long-lasting,” contends the University of Toronto’s Robert Bothwell: “The Americans won’t be trusted anymore. The 51st state stuff is just contemptuous. It treats Canada like we don’t even exist.”

The political consequences have been predictable, with Canadians shifting toward Liberals politically. “Canadians know that not every Canadian Conservative is a Trump fan,” Kinsella noted. “But they suspect, correctly, that every Canadian Trump fan is a Conservative.” So far, the shift is modest and isn’t necessarily permanent. However, the more Trump dominates Canadian news, the worse the news is likely to get for the Conservatives. For instance, a Global News poll released in early February found: “The Conservatives still enjoy a commanding lead at 41 percent support nationwide, followed by the Liberal Party (28 percent) and the New Democrats (16 percent). But that’s an eight percentage point jump for the Liberals since Ipsos’ poll in early January, mostly at the expense of the Conservatives, who dropped five percentage points over the same period.”

Barely a quarter of Canadians want the Conservative leader representing them against Trump. Reported CTV News:

“Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney would do the best job at negotiating with U.S. President Donald Trump, over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and fellow leadership candidates Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould, according to new polling from Nanos Research conducted for CTV News. When asked ‘Which of the following politicians would do the best job at negotiating with U.S. president Donald Trump?’, two out of five, or 40 percent of respondents, answered Mark Carney. Poilievre received the second most support with 26 percent of people surveyed saying he would do the best job. Thirteen percent of people answered Freeland, 1 percent said Gould, while 12 percent said they were unsure and nine percent said it wouldn’t make a difference.”

Indeed, the Liberal leadership race is now focusing on policy toward America and Donald Trump. One recent poll found that “three-quarters of people who would consider voting for the Liberal Party would be more likely to do so if the next Liberal leader can stand up to—or skillfully negotiate—with Trump.” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wants to focus on the cost of living and carbon tax. But now the economic threat comes from America, with which the Conservatives would normally want to align. Even Poilievre has “shifted entirely the focus of his message to tariffs and Trump,” observed Scott Reid of the communications firm Feschuk-Reid.

As for Trump’s current trade offensive, Canadians support resistance, not surrender. Many say they plan to cut back on personal purchases of American goods and travel to the US. They want their government to go on the attack as well. Reported CTV News:

When it comes to next steps, and specifically what Canada should do in retaliation to Trump’s tariffs, if they come, polling shows Canadians support a wide range of measures. Most Canadians are on board with having provinces pull U.S. wine, beer, and liquor from stores across the country—78 percent say they support it, and 10 percent somewhat support it. Canadians feel similarly about responding by imposing dollar-for-dollar counter tariffs on U.S. goods entering Canada—68 percent say they support it, and 21 percent somewhat support it. When it comes to cutting off exports of oil, natural gas and electricity to the U.S., as a form of retaliation to Trumps tariffs, 51 percent said they support it and another 25 percent somewhat support the move.

Moreover, some Canadians are looking for alternative linkages across the Atlantic Ocean, perhaps even European Union membership. Stanley Pignal of the Economist has noted that Canada has the territory and resources, while Europe has the people. Many European officials feel increasingly uncomfortable with U.S. policy and are mulling how to push back.

Just a few months ago, this passage from the Telegraph would have sounded like a parody: “NATO countries discussed deploying troops to Greenland in response to Donald Trump threatening to use the U.S. military to seize the Danish island. … Questions were even raised over whether Article 5, the Western military alliance’s mutual defense clause, could be invoked in the event of an American invasion of a fellow NATO member state.” 

While it is impossible to imagine Europe’s NATO members going to war with America over Greenland, alongside Canada it would be easier for that continent to face down Washington.

Trump’s tariff threats have also led the European Union to indicate a greater willingness to work with China on trade issues. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently cited “an era of hyper-competitive and hyper-transactional geopolitics” and appeared to soften her criticism of Beijing, talking of constructive engagement: “I think we can find agreements that could even expand our trade and investment ties. It is a fine line that we need to walk. But it can lead us to a fairer and more balanced relationship with one of the world’s economic giants. And that can make sense for Europe.”

After less than a month of Trump’s second administration, America is feeling the first gusts of the whirlwind unleashed by the president’s swaggering encore. Under President Biden, Washington’s demand for primacy had encouraged Moscow and Beijing to cooperate, along with lesser powers such as North Korea and Iran. Now, Trump is encouraging allies and friends to cooperate against Washington as well.

The best reason for Trump to drop his modern version of manifest destiny is that it is an awful idea for America, which already is much too big to be a genuine republic, ruled as it is from Washington. Moreover, politics up north is decidedly to the left of that in America. Francis, who favors union, is blunt: “there’d never be a Republican president again.” Annexation would end Trump’s plan to reverse the tide of liberal progressivism.

Americans bridle at foreign interference. Canadians are no different. Trump should leave the future of Canada to the Canadians. Americans have enough work to do on this side of the border.

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