President Trump gaggles on Air Force One (photo by Jordan Conradson)
President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he will finish dealing with Cuba “soon” as war with Iran rages on and months-long threats to take over Cuba linger.
“Cuba’s a failed nation. Cuba also wants to make a deal, and I think we will pretty soon, either make a deal or do whatever we have to do,” Trump told Bloomberg’s Jeff Mason during a gaggle on Air Force One last night. “We’re talking to Cuba, but we’re going to do Iran before Cuba.”
This comes as the Department of Justice is preparing to charge Communist Cuban leaders in cases related to drugs or violence.
Meanwhile, as The Gateway Pundit recently reported, U.S. Southern Command announced new operations with the Ecuadorian military against narco-terrorists in South America and is still surging troops to the region.
Trump noted that on Sunday afternoon, a large group of supporters with Cuban and American flags was waiting on his motorcade’s route from Mar-a-Lago to Palm Beach International Airport. “People have been waiting 50 years to hear this story with Cuba, and when I left Palm Beach today, there were thousands of people in the road. I’m sure you saw them, and they were from Cuba and from Venezuela, all friendly, all friendly, waving the flag and waving the American flag,” he said.
The group stood outside for hours in the rain to show their support.
Trump supporters in West Palm Beach stood for hours in the rain waving Cuban and American flags waiting for Trump’s motorcade to pass pic.twitter.com/uCwqSypkNz
“They’ve been waiting 50 years for what’s happening with Cuba. So, I think something will happen with Cuba pretty quickly,” Trump added.
WATCH:
Mason: You said that you’re talking to Cuba. What do you want to hear from them, and what is at risk for them?
Trump: Well, I am holding Cuba— Cuba’s a failed nation. Cuba also wants to make a deal, and I think we will pretty soon, either make a deal or do whatever we have to do. We have a lot of great people that happen to vote for Trump, not that that matters, but we have a lot of great people from Cuba that were violently and viciously thrown out of the country, and worse. Their families were killed. And so we’re talking to Cuba, but we’re going to do Iran before Cuba.
Mason: And what is at risk for Cuba?
Trump: You know, people have been waiting 50 years to hear this story with Cuba, and when I left Palm Beach today, there were thousands of people in the road. I’m sure you saw them, and they were from Cuba and from Venezuela, all friendly, all friendly, waving the flag and waving the American flag. They’ve been waiting 50 years for what’s happening with Cuba. So, I think something will happen with Cuba pretty quickly.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump said earlier this month that “Cuba is going to fall pretty soon.” Previously, he had suggested that the US could “very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba,” adding, “They’re in big trouble.”
“They want to make a deal so badly. They want to make a deal. And so I’m going to put Marco [Rubio] over there, and we’ll see how that works out,” Trump told CNN.
This is in addition to an oil embargo and threatening tariffs on any country that provides oil to Cuba through an Executive Order.
Cuba’s electrical grid has suffered a complete collapse as the Trump Administration prepares to take action on the island country.
“Cuba’s electrical grid has suffered a complete and total collapse. This is according to the country’s power operator,” CNN’s Brianna Keilar.
“It’s the 1st nationwide blackout since the US effectively shut off the flow of oil to Cuba,” she said.
BREAKING: CNN’s Brianna Keilar: “Cuba’s electrical grid has suffered a complete and total collapse. This is according to the country’s power operator.”
“It’s the 1st nationwide blackout since the US effectively shut off the flow of oil to Cuba.” pic.twitter.com/hnoo243eG7
“A total disconnection of the National Electric Power System has occurred. Restoration protocols are beginning to be implemented,” Cuba’s electrical grid provider said on Monday.
#AHORA || Ocurrió una desconexión total del Sistema Electroenergético Nacional. Comienzan a implementarse los protocolos de restablecimiento.
President Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that he will finish dealing with Cuba “soon.”
“Cuba’s a failed nation. Cuba also wants to make a deal, and I think we will pretty soon, either make a deal or do whatever we have to do,” Trump told Bloomberg’s Jeff Mason during a gaggle on Air Force One.
“We’re talking to Cuba, but we’re going to do Iran before Cuba,” he said.
“They’ve been waiting 50 years for what’s happening with Cuba. So, I think something will happen with Cuba pretty quickly,” Trump added.
“You know, people have been waiting 50 years to hear this story with Cuba, and when I left Palm Beach today, there were thousands of people in the road. I’m sure you saw them, and they were from Cuba and from Venezuela, all friendly, all friendly, waving the flag and waving the American flag,” he said.
“They’ve been waiting 50 years for what’s happening with Cuba. So, I think something will happen with Cuba pretty quickly,” Trump said.
WATCH:
This comes as the Department of Justice is preparing to charge Communist Cuban leaders in cases related to drugs or violence.
The Justice Department is preparing to indict Cuban leaders as President Trump says the island country is ‘going to fall.’
The US can’t count on Starmer for anything, it seems.
Starmer is all talk and no help.
The US-UK Special Relationship is collapsing under the leadership – if we even call it that – of failing Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
After refusing to help the US-Israel military conflict against Iran and even failing to allow the use of its airbases, now the leftist Labour party leader is continuing to let his main ally down.
Today (16), it arises that Starmer is refusing to send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald J. Trump asked for reinforcements to solve the economic crisis due to high oil prices.
The UK is working with allies on a ‘viable plan’ to open the Strait of Hormuz, says Starmer
Replying to @Peston question on the possibility of sending Royal Navy vessels to keep the route open, the PM said ‘there have been discussions ongoing’, including with Trump pic.twitter.com/KLSH6iaKJJ
“Britain and other allies were resisting Mr. Trump’s request for a ‘team effort’ as stock markets braced for further chaos on Monday.
[…] [British] Ministers are considering sending mine-hunting drones but are not currently prepared to send any warships, one of which is already at sea, to clear the crucial oil route. Iran has threatened any country that joins a mission against it in the strait.”
STARMER REFUSES TO BACK U.S. IN HORMUZ
Despite rising threats to global shipping, Keir Starmer’s government has refused to commit British warships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, even as the United States calls on allies to step up.
“The sniping came as Sir Keir had a tense call with Mr. Trump, in which he is believed to have signaled Britain will not obey a request to deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz. France, Canada and Australia have also dismissed the prospect.”
The US President linked the response to his demand for ships in the Strait to the future of NATO and support for Ukraine.
“Mr. Trump said: ‘It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there. ‘We have a thing called NATO,’ Trump said. ‘We’ve been very sweet. We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine… but we helped them.
‘Now we’ll see if they help us. Because I’ve long said that we’ll be there for them but they won’t be there for us. And I’m not sure that they’d be there. If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO’. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Mr. Trump said: ‘Whether we get support or not… I can say this and I said it to them – we will remember’.”
Trump on NATO and Iran:
Whether we get support or not, but I can say this — and I said it to them — we will remember. pic.twitter.com/uki36COerk
President Trump is signing an executive order this afternoon alongside Vice President JD Vance to establish an anti-fraud task force, according to a White House official.
Vance is set to lead the task force to investigate welfare fraud in states like Minnesota, California, Massachusetts, and Maine, where migrants are looting billions of dollars from the American taxpayers.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump announced during his State of the Union Speech last month that Vice President Vance would lead his administration’s “war on fraud.”
I am officially announcing the war on fraud to be led by our great Vice President, JD Vance,” Trump announced during his State of the Union while railing against Democratic lawmakers Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and the “Somali pirates, who ransacked Minnesota.”
Vance and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Oz have since announced the Trump Administration is withholding Medicaid funding to Minnesota amid an investigation into the state’s rampant fraud.
“We have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligation seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money,” Vance said last month following his assignment as Trump’s Fraud Czar.
Dr. Oz further blasted Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during the announcement at the White House.
Watch Wayne Allyn Root’s Top Ten stories of the week – including saving the SAVE Act… and 2 problems rearing their ugly heads in America again – Covid vaccine deaths and radical Muslim terror attacks.
Watch Wayne’s “America’s Top Ten Countdown” with his World-Famous “Final Four” airing every Saturday at a NEW TIME: 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT on Real America’s Voice TV Network. Also watch Wayne’s new daily podcast, “WAR ZONE Presented by The Gateway Pundit” every weeknight from 6 PM to 8 PM ET / 3 PM to 5 PM Pacific at TheGatewayPundit.com.
Hollywood’s biggest night ended with a sweeping victory for One Battle After Another, a film centered on left-wing revolutionary politics that took home several of the top prizes at the 2026 Academy Awards.
The movie, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, won Best Picture along with multiple other major categories.
Anderson also received Best Director, while Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film.
‘ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER’ won 6 Oscars tonight.
• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn)
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Editing
• Best Casting
“I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess we left in this world we’re handing off to them,” Anderson said during his acceptance speech.
SHOCKING: “One Battle After Another” wins Best Picture at the #Oscars
The story focuses on a raid on an immigration detention facility, highlighting oppressive border control, systemic racism, and the role of Latino labor.
The story follows a former far-left activist who is drawn back into a political conflict after his daughter disappears.
The film’s narrative focuses heavily on political resistance, portraying the activists as heroic figures battling powerful right-wing institutions.
Its final scene involves his daughter going to attend an Antifa protest in Oakland.
Despite the overt political messaging, the film was widely embraced by Hollywood throughout awards season as a world class piece of filmmaking.
Prior to the Oscars, it had already won several major industry honors including awards from the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Critics Choice Awards.
The Academy Awards ceremony was hosted by the washed up comedian Conan O’Brien.
Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for Sinners, while Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet.
However, One Battle After Another emerged as the clear winner of the night, collecting the most awards and dominating several of the ceremony’s biggest categories.
The official tally for the 2026 Oscars:
• One Battle After Another – 6
• Sinners – 4
• Frankenstein – 3
• KPOP Demon Hunters – 2
• Sentinmental Value – 1
• Weapons – 1
• Hamnet – 1
• F1 – 1
Democrat lawmakers have criminally referred former DHS Chief Kristi Noem for “repeated false statements” during a Congressional oversight hearings.
“Senate, House Judiciary Committee leaders make criminal referral of Kristi Noem to Justice Department, following repeated false statements during Congressional oversight hearings,” Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats said.
BREAKING: Senate, House Judiciary Committee leaders make criminal referral of Kristi Noem to Justice Department, following repeated false statements during Congressional oversight hearings.
— Senate Judiciary Democrats (@JudiciaryDems) March 16, 2026
The Trump Justice Department is unlikely to act on the criminal referral.
However, the Democrats are giving a sneak peek into what they will do if they take back the White House in 2029.
President Trump earlier this month fired Kristi Noem as DHS Chief and immediately announced that Senator Markwayne Mullin (OK) will become the next Secretary of Homeland Security effective March 31.
NBC News reported that Trump was not happy with Kristi Noem’s performance during the Congressional hearings.
The outlet reported that Trump was unhappy with Noem about her decision to approve a $200 million DHS ad campaign.
Trump reportedly called Senator John Kennedy “mad as a murder hornet” after hearing what Noem claimed under oath.
“I heard the Secretary say that she went to the President and said, I propose to spend a quarter billion dollars on TV advertisements in which I am the star, and the President thought that was a swell idea, that’s what I heard the Secretary say. Her version of the truth and the President’s version of the truth are decidedly different,” Senator Kennedy told Fox News reporter Bill Melugin.
Noem reportedly approved a limited-bid contract and then lied to Congress when she claimed Trump approved the $200 million ads contract.
One of the three firms that was approved was linked to Lewandowski, who is long-rumored to be in a romantic relationship with Noem.
Kristi Noem told Congress the $200M ad contract “went out to a competitive bid” with a winner picked by career officials. But only 3 hand-picked companies were allowed to bid: a firm that subbed to a Noem aide’s spouse; one linked to Lewandowski; & Trump influencer Erica Knight pic.twitter.com/D39LpJaNDq
“Noem and Lewandowski were quite aware that the president was not happy with something that Noem said in her testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she was grilled about this $220 million ad campaign featuring her,” CBS reported.
Corey Lewandowski, senior adviser to Kristi Noem and a former Trump campaign manager, is also leaving the Department of Homeland Security, as Noem was reassigned Thursday by President Trump to serve as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.
Tucker Carlson said Saturday that the CIA read his text messages before the war with Iran and is seeking to have him charged as an unregistered foreign agent.
In a video posted on X, the former Fox News host said the agency had recommended a criminal referral to the Justice Department based on his contacts with people in Iran before the conflict. Carlson said the such case would likely rely on the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people working on behalf of foreign governments in U.S. politics to register with the Department of Justice.
Carlson denied working for Tehran or taking money from any foreign country, and said that speaking with sources abroad was part of his work as a journalist and commentator.
“I’m not an agent of a foreign power,” he said. “Unlike a lot of people commenting on U.S. politics and global affairs, I have only one loyalty and that’s the United States, and have never acted against it.”
Carlson suggested the investigation was politically motivated. “There are some people who are mad at me for my views about Israel,” he noted.
By Foudeelau, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Two practices are allowing Chinese nationals to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children at scale: commercial surrogacy, conducted primarily in California, and birth tourism, in which pregnant women travel to the U.S. on tourist visas to deliver on American soil. Both exploit the 14th Amendment guarantee of citizenship to anyone born in the United States. Surrogacy is illegal in China, driving wealthy clients abroad, and California’s permissive surrogacy laws make it the preferred destination.
Federal prosecutors have brought cases against operators of both types of services, and Congress has introduced legislation targeting surrogacy contracts with nationals of adversarial countries. The practice has drawn national security attention because U.S.-born children of Chinese nationals retain citizenship rights for life, including the right to vote, hold federal employment, and sponsor family members for permanent residence.
California has some of the most permissive surrogacy laws in the world. Under California Family Code Sections 7960–7962, gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate has no genetic link to the child, is explicitly legal, enforceable, and compensated. Courts routinely issue pre-birth parentage orders establishing the intended parents’ rights, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation, or nationality. No U.S. residency or citizenship is required for intended parents.
Costs range from $150,000 to $250,000 per child, covering legal fees, medical care, and surrogate compensation, typically between $30,000 and $60,000. This contrasts with states like Michigan and New York, where commercial surrogacy is restricted or banned.
In compensated surrogacy, Chinese parents purchasing the child do not necessarily have to enter the United States. Foreign clients can ship genetic material to U.S. clinics while surrogates carry and deliver the babies in California hospitals. By contrast, in birth tourism, the biological mother travels from China to the United States during the third trimester on a tourist visa, gives birth in an American hospital, and then returns home with a U.S.-citizen child.
The birth-tourism industry offered far more than hospital access. Agencies sold full-service packages including visa assistance, airport pickup, housing, meals, doctor referrals, shopping trips, and documentation to return to China with the newborn. Many also provided Chinese maternity matrons who prepared traditional postpartum meals and supervised the customary 30-day recovery period.
Clients were typically wealthy professionals from major Chinese cities. One agency operator described customers as business owners, university teachers, and technology-sector employees with household incomes exceeding 2 million yuan, roughly $300,000. American physicians also became part of the system. One California obstetrician at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital said a birth-tourism agent initially asked if he would accept Chinese patients. Referrals eventually grew until 60 to 70 percent of his caseload consisted of Chinese nationals, and he estimated delivering more than 1,000 babies for Chinese clients, sometimes eight in a single day. Prenatal records prepared in Chinese were translated and incorporated into U.S. medical care.
The operations could be large-scale. One agency owner maintained more than 15 properties in Los Angeles and San Francisco, employed about 40 staff in China and 30 in the United States, including drivers, cooks, and maternity caregivers, and handled between 600 and 1,000 pregnant clients each year.
Operators often directed clients to fly into Las Vegas or Hawaii rather than Los Angeles because CBP screening was viewed as easier. Women were coached to wear loose clothing to conceal pregnancies and instructed on what to say during U.S. consulate interviews. Federal prosecutions have also cited money laundering and fraudulent applications for indigent hospital rates.
Obama created a loophole for birth tourism in U.S. territories. Under the Obama-era Guam–CNMI Visa Waiver Program, Chinese nationals could enter the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa. In some years, births to Chinese nationals in Saipan exceeded those of local residents.
Chinese nationals have been the dominant client group for both pathways. Surrogacy is illegal in China under a 2001 Ministry of Health ban, forcing wealthy individuals abroad. U.S. citizenship provides future education access, visa-free international travel, and long-term immigration options. Once a child turns 21, the entire family can apply for a green card through a family-based immigration petition. Surrogacy agencies have marketed this arrangement as a cheaper alternative to the EB-5 investor visa. Some parents cite concerns over China’s environmental problems, competitive education system, and political uncertainty. The documented surge sometimes called the “Run” or Runxue movement reflects wealthy Chinese families seeking exit options.
A 2024 study published in Fertility and Sterility, drawing on CDC-collected data from 2014–2020, found that Chinese nationals accounted for 41.7 percent of all international commercial surrogacy contracts in the United States, and 75 percent of those contracts took place in California. A separate Emory University study found international surrogacy quadrupled from 2014 to 2019. According to a congressional report, as many as 1.5 million Chinese babies may have been born in the United States over the last thirteen years and are being raised in China. Senators Tom Cotton and Rick Scott have cited reports of more than 107 Chinese-owned surrogacy agencies operating in Southern California alone, some allegedly affiliated with Chinese state-owned entities.
Los Angeles family court clerks first noticed an unusual pattern in 2023 when the same name appeared repeatedly on surrogacy petitions before Judge Amy Pellman. The best-documented case involves Xu Bo, a Chinese videogame billionaire who sought parental rights to more than 20 unborn children, stating via video from China that he hoped to father roughly that number of children, specifically boys, to inherit his business empire. His company later confirmed he had commissioned “only a little over 100” children through U.S. surrogates, most of whom he has never met. Judge Pellman denied him parental rights in 2023, concluding the arrangement resembled a production line rather than family building.
A second case involves Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang, a CCP-linked couple who had more than 26 children via surrogates in Arcadia, California. In 2025, authorities raided their home in Arcadia after their two-month-old infant was hospitalized with injuries suspected to be caused by abuse. Authorities removed 21 mostly surrogate-born children.
The couple had arranged surrogacies across multiple states and are now engaged in a legal battle to regain custody of the children. At the same time, some surrogates claim they were misled about the number of babies the couple intended to have. Surrogates say they were recruited through agencies tied to the couple and believed they were helping a family have one or two children, not dozens.
Xuan allegedly stated a goal of having a child become U.S. president, with some of the children reportedly named after American politicians. Authorities and federal investigators are examining possible abuse, fraud, and broader concerns about international surrogacy networks, while lawmakers warn the case could highlight risks of child trafficking linked to foreign surrogacy arrangements.
A third case involves Wang Huiwu, an education executive who used American models as egg donors for ten daughters, describing plans to form alliances with powerful families through strategic marriages.
The federal government has since moved to tighten enforcement. A 2020 State Department rule barred B visas for the primary purpose of birth tourism. In January 2026, a new USCIS policy memorandum directed officials to re-review visa holders from high-risk countries for signs of birth-tourism fraud. President Trump’s January 2025 executive order sought to end birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens and non-permanent residents, a measure now under Supreme Court review.
Congress has also proposed restrictions. Senator Rick Scott introduced the SAFE Kids Act, which would void surrogacy contracts involving nationals of adversarial countries and impose penalties on brokers facilitating them. In February 2026, Senators Tom Cotton and Rick Scott asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a Justice Department investigation into surrogacy centers run by foreign nationals.
At the state level, Florida’s House passed the Foreign Interference Restriction and Enforcement (FIRE) Act in March 2026, banning surrogacy and pre-planned adoption contracts involving citizens of countries of concern, including China, Russia, and Iran. California moved in the opposite direction. Senate Bill 729 took effect on January 1, 2026, expanding insurance coverage for surrogacy and IVF. Meanwhile, the One Nation, One Visa Policy Act was introduced to close the visa-free entry loophole for Chinese nationals entering U.S. territories such as Saipan.
Image: Wikimedia Commons (Department of Defense Photo, 2 March 2026)
Many individuals and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are saying that President Donald Trump promised there would be no new wars. Yet, for the past two weeks, the U.S. and its ally Israel have targeted around 15,000 sites within Iran.
It is true that during his November 2024 election night victory speech, Trump stated, “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.” Two months later, during his inaugural speech, he reiterated, “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end – and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”
Then, on February 28, 2026, the U.S. launched a major military campaign against Iran known as Operation Epic Fury. This has stirred up quite a commotion among his MAGA supporters and Republican lawmakers. Even well-known podcaster Joe Rogan has chimed in, asserting that Trump supporters ‘feel betrayed’ by the ‘insane’ war in Iran.
Are they overlooking the underlying reasons, the rationale behind Trump’s decision-making, perhaps?
The Gateway Pundit spoke to Yoram Ettinger, a retired Israeli ambassador and former Minister for Congressional Affairs at Israel’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., who said, “Yes, they are.”
He explained, “The prerequisite to ending wars is the uprooting of the Ayatollah regime.”
Since 1979, he said, the Iranian regime has been “a chief epicenter of anti-U.S. terrorism, civil wars, drug trafficking and money laundering in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and U.S. soil.”
Ettinger argued that “refraining from regime change in Iran would severely erode the U.S. posture of deterrence.” However, a change in regime would dismantle and reject the Ayatollah’s ideology across educational, constitutional, political, and military domains.
Not achieving a comprehensive regime change would, in Ettenger’s opinion, encourage China in the Pacific Basin, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East; Russia in the Baltic region and Eastern Europe; and Turkey in pursuing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ambition to revive the Ottoman Empire. He contended that all these factors would “erode” the condition of the U.S. economy, as well as national and homeland security.
Furthermore, he believes that “Trump understands that abandoning the goal of overthrowing the regime would undermine the Abraham Accords, making Muslim nations less inclined to engage.”
These joint normalization agreements, which were established between Israel and a number of Arab countries—including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco—were facilitated by the Trump administration during his first term in office in 2020.
Most critically, Ettinger contended that “neglecting the U.S. commitment to dismantling the Iranian regime would lead to the emergence of the first- ever apocalyptic nuclear power, inflicting devastating consequences on humanity that would far exceed the highest costs previously associated with regime change.”
(@ConradsonJordan) March 15, 2026
Continuaremos informando. 
STARMER REFUSES TO BACK U.S. IN HORMUZ
(@catturd2) 
