Republican Steve Hilton, currently the top-polling candidate for CA governor. Screencap of YouTube video.
Could Democrats actually be at risk of losing control of the governor’s office in California? The liberal media outlet ‘Politico’ seems to think so, and if they are saying this, everyone should be paying attention.
Politico may be biased, but it is a publication that people in Washington, DC read religiously, especially Democrats. They have been around for years and have eyes and ears everywhere in the world of American politics.
Is it possible that the people of California are finally ready for a real change? Let’s hope so.
California Democrats say they’ll clean up this mess. But in a governor’s race that has all the makings of a debacle, they’re digging themselves deeper.
With a sprawling field threatening to split the vote and hand the governorship to a Republican, a late-hour effort failed to persuade longshot contenders to drop out. A preeminent labor group split its coveted endorsement four ways, elevating no one. And in the most recent upheaval, a televised debate was hastily canceled after an uproar from within the party that leaving out low-polling candidates of color would produce an all-white stage.
Democratic political professionals here largely insist the field will consolidate once campaigns start running more ads and voters tune in, averting a scenario where Democrats are locked out of the general election. But a dearth of star candidates and the vagaries of California’s top-two election system have pushed California Democrats into precarious new terrain.
“We know there’s this risk ahead — a 15 percent chance of calamity. It’s not a 15 percent chance of stubbing your toe, it’s a 15 percent chance of losing the governorship, losing the down-ballot races,” said Paul Mitchell, a leading Democratic data strategist in the state.
Losing the governorship would rank among the biggest upsets in modern political history.
For Democrats, who have held a monopoly on statewide office for a generation and outnumber Republicans two to one, it wouldn’t just mean ceding California’s role as a national leader in progressive policymaking. The lack of a top-of-the-ticket standard bearer could also suppress turnout and cost the party House seats, squandering Democrats’ victory last year in a hard-fought gerrymandering campaign.
What Politico fails to mention here is that Democrats deserve to lose this race.
California is losing population for the first time in history. The handling of the rebuild from the wildfires over a year ago has been non-existent. The state has the highest taxes in the country. It’s time for the people of California to try something different.
This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the 14th Amendment’s assurance that the children of freed slaves were citizens also means that if an 8-month-pregnant Mexican woman runs across the border and drops a baby, that baby is a citizen, too.
Which brings up the point, let’s hope the dogma doesn’t live loudly within Justice Amy Coney Barrett. That was what the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein said to Barrett during her confirmation hearings, noting that the dogma might not always align with “big issues that large numbers of people have fought for years in this country”—such as, for example, off the top of my head, amendments added to the Constitution after a bloody Civil War to end slavery.
At the time, conservatives accused Feinstein of anti-Christian bigotry, but I thought her remarks were poetic. I’d love to be accused of having the dogma live loudly within me.
On the other hand, if the dogma living within Barrett is not Holy Scripture but the pope’s anti-American pronunciamientos on illegal immigrants, I’ll be on DiFi’s side, even if it was cruel antipapism.
While our laws say that it’s illegal to sneak into our country, uninvited, the pope says—citing Our Lady of Guadalupe—that the laws of the United States must be subordinated to his own florid assertions about the “dignity” of illegals.
The Catholic bishops continued this spirited assault on American democracy by announcing that punishing people for “the mere attempt to immigrate” (illegally) to the U.S. is “immoral,” and, further, that we are “obliged” to let in anyone who wants to come and then support them for the rest of their lives—with generous donations to Catholic Charities, no doubt.
(OK, I know we’re all thinking it, but what exactly is the church’s position on the Export–Import Bank?)
If Barrett rules in favor of our Constitution, and reaches the blindingly obvious conclusion that the post–Civil War amendments’ citizenship clause referred exclusively to recently freed slaves, I vow to stop referring to her as “that papist nut.”
On the other hand, if she goes with the gaseous blathering of a man whose own sovereign territory is protected by 40-foot walls and 135 armed Swiss Guards, then J.D. Vance has to consider becoming a Presbyterian.
MS-NOW’s legal commentators keep claiming that the Supreme Court has never found that anchor babies aren’t citizens. Nor has it ever found that they are. To the contrary, court after court after court has expressly ruled that the 14th Amendment is about freed slaves and freed slaves only.
In what we legal buffs like to call “precedent,” a long string of cases made absolutely clear that the clause refers only to—I quote—“the slave race” (the Slaughterhouse Cases), “persons of the African race” (Ex parte Virginia), “the colored man” (Strauder v. West Virginia), and on and on.
As one Supreme Court decision put it, “no one can fail to be impressed with the one pervading purpose” of the Civil War amendments, that “we mean the freedom of the slave race, the security and firm establishment of that freedom, and the protection of the newly-made freeman and citizen from the oppressions of those who had formerly exercised unlimited dominion over him.”
Lawyers talk about the jurisdiction, residency and domicile requirements of the amendment. All true, but the larger point is: We just fought a civil war. What do you think they were talking about? With 600,000 corpses still littering the landscape, the country did not rise up as one and shout, Wait a minute—if a century later, millions of Mexicans run across the border and have babies, damn straight those kids will be citizens!
In other Supreme Court news this week, the court struck down, 8–1, a Colorado law criminalizing “conversion therapy”—i.e., talk therapy that aims to help someone with gay tendencies quell those feelings. Colorado’s position was: We have to offer people who claim to be transgenders complex surgeries and massive doses of hormones, but if a gay wants to talk to someone about not being gay, he must be stopped!
Maybe the New York Times’ Michael Barbaro should write the next part. This star of the Times’ wildly popular “The Daily” podcast apparently converted not because of therapy, but because he fell in love with a girl. So it does happen, and the fact that it does isn’t an insult to gays.
In my experience, the gays angriest about the mere existence of conversion therapy are the ones who most need it. Maybe throw in anger management classes for free.
I’m no expert—I’m an expert on raising children (I have none) which I’m happy to share with any parents out there, before leaving for a cigarette and a glass of wine—but some gays are born gay. They were gay from age 5. They were gay in the womb. They’re the normal gays. Almost all of them are Republicans. (Just as our blacks are better than their blacks, our gays are way better than their gays.)
But there’s another group, who are gay either out of self-protectiveness or for revenge. Just as girls who are molested as children often become highly promiscuous to go through the same motions, but this time, they’re in control, boys who were molested as children sometimes do the same thing.
I personally know several no-longer-gay men who were sexually abused as kids—speaking of the Catholic Church. (That’s not a cheap shot; several were molested by priests.) Upon remembering the abuse, they realized they weren’t gay at all.
Incidentally, I’m not talking about Jesus-freak evangelicals like me. They all happen to be members of the liberal elite.
Then there’s another group of not-really-gay gays who just hate their parents, hate the world and want everyone to suffer, including themselves. Sodomy is their revenge (so I guess you could say they win in the end). It could have been drugs or self-harm. These days, they’re more likely to join antifa or go transgender and commit a mass shooting.
Maybe shrinks can do something for this latter group, like at least stop them from shooting up a school. But the former group is crying out for counseling. They may not even remember that they were molested. (Girls tell everyone about their trauma, boys repress bad memories—as anyone who’s ever met another human being knows.)
Then there are gays like Barbaro who are gay because it’s a good way to meet girls.
I know some normal gays who were sent to conversion therapy by their parents, and guess what? They weren’t angry. They knew it wouldn’t work, but whatever—mom wanted them to go. It didn’t work, and mom was fine.
Warning: This column is illegal in the state of Colorado.
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The long knives are out for Vice President J.D. Vance. His opponents are reading him a strange version of his Miranda rights, in which anything he says or doesn’t say about the Iran war can and will be used against him.
If the vice president defends the policy choices of the actual commander-in-chief, as nearly all modern vice presidents would do, he is somehow hypocritical or once again waffling on Trump.
If media outlets report that Vance was less gung-ho than others about yet another war in the Middle East, hawks pan him as an opportunistic leaker soon to be on the outs with Trump.
Heads Secretary of State Marco Rubio wins, tails Vance loses.
The reality is that if war in Iran is still the main topic of national conversation as 2028 rolls around, Republicans are going to be in serious trouble no matter who is at the top of the ticket.
If the war is not as short as Trump and Vance have promised, it is unlikely that it will be widely seen as a success. But even if Operation Epic Fury is no epic failure, Republicans will be dragged down by a lack of domestic focus at a time when many are still upset by the high cost of living several years removed from inflation hitting a 41-year high under then-President Joe Biden.
Remember that even in a bygone era where it was possible for then-President George H.W. Bush to approach 90 percent job approval after quickly wrapping up the first Persian Gulf War, he was unable to win reelection as voters turned their attention to the 1990–91 recession.
About a third of the Republican coalition abandoned Bush for Ross Perot, an independent who had opposed the popular war. Bush received the lowest percentage of the popular vote of any incumbent president since William Howard Taft in 1912 and of any Republican presidential nominee since Alf Landon in 1936.
By the time the election rolled around, Bush was thought of less as a successful commander-in-chief and architect of the New World Order than as a rich old man mystified by a grocery store scanner.
The Iran War begins as a conflict that is only about as popular as Trump himself, with few backers beyond his base even after it has been going on for only a short time and has resulted in relatively few American casualties.
If the war is a distant memory by the summer of 2027 or so, the conversation will shift once again. If it is still ongoing, Republicans probably will not be better off with a more zealous supporter of the policy, no matter how eloquent.
For now, there is plenty of room between a Joe Kent–style resignation and a conversion into latter-day Cheneyism. And 2028 is a long way away.
Vance is walking a difficult tightrope, but so far is doing so skillfully, despite all the people jeering on the sidelines hoping he will take a nasty fall.
Conservatives who had hoped a second Trump administration would avoid wars of choice in the Middle East are understandably frustrated, though Trump’s mixture of Middle East adventure skepticism and “maximum pressure” on Iran was always bound to leave at least one faction of his backers disappointed. Some might distrust any personnel associated with this policy, and perhaps they will soon have other options.
As the philosopher-king George W. Bush once memorably observed, “Fool me once, shame on… shame on you. Fool me—you can’t get fooled again.”
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that some of the Republicans most eager to bury Vance in Iran are among the most supportive of having U.S. troops there.
It might at least be valuable to contemplate before getting fooled again.
The Islamic Republic has become more radical while retaining its strike capabilities.
President Donald Trump says that Iran “is totally defeated and wants a deal.” Iran says that the fact the U.S. is “talking about negotiation now is exactly an admission of defeat,” since, at the start of the war, the U.S. demanded “unconditional surrender.”
Iran has been pounded during the month-long war. But they have not been defeated. The U.S. risks leaving Iran wounded but intact and able to restock its missiles and rebuild its civilian nuclear program.
The U.S. says it has achieved “most,” or even “all” of its “military objectives in Iran.” But Iran is still capable of firing missiles and drones. Last Friday, six ballistic missiles and 29 drones were launched at a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia, injuring at least 15 troops. Multiple refueling aircraft were damaged, and an E-3 AWACS Sentry aircraft was obliterated.
And Iran’s forward deterrent network of partners has proven to be less degraded than the U.S. had believed. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has launched hundreds of waves of attacks since the war on Iran began, with over 70 percent of those using missiles Hezbollah was believed no longer to possess. Projections indicate that if Hezbollah sustains the current pace of its operations, the number of attacks would be greater than the response it had mounted in the previous round of conflict in 2024.
Other Iranian partners too have joined the fight. Iraqi militias have launched drone strikes on U.S. bases in the region. And last Saturday, the Yemeni Houthis entered the war, firing barrages of ballistic missiles at Israel.
If this network and the missile program are not removed by war, they are unlikely to be entirely removed in negotiations. The U.S. has had trouble understanding in Iran the same thing it has had trouble understanding in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Russia and Iran see their wars as existential. In an existential war, you do not negotiate away your core security concerns.
An Iran stripped of both its ballistic missiles and its network of militant group partners would be defenseless against future attacks. Tehran is not going to negotiate away the combination of those defenses.
Though the war on Iran is falling short of making things better for the United States, it could still make things worse, though Trump doesn’t seem to recognize that possibility. The president claims the U.S. has achieved regime change in Iran:
We’ve had regime change…. the one regime was decimated, destroyed. They’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead. And the third regime, we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change.
It’s not. The people of Iran have not taken to the streets, the government shows no signs of significant fracturing, and the transition to a new supreme leader went smoothly with the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump had insisted that he be personally involved in the selection of the new leader and specifically declared Mojtaba Khamenei unacceptable. What we see in Iran is not regime change but defiance and regime continuity.
Vali Nasr, a professor of International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins, says that the new leader is “a man of the regime, closely associated with its core values and institutions and his father’s legacy. He has been selected not to break with all that but to preserve it.” Mojtaba Khamenei is a hardliner who was a close adviser to his father. He studied Islamic law under some of Iran’s most hardline clerics. The war on Iran and the killing of its leader are not moving Iran down a road of change, but a road of hardening.
Other replacements of killed leaders also suggest a hardline shift in Iran that could make the future worse, not better, for the United States. Ali Larijani, the assassinated secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, favored talks with the U.S. and had the rare ability to build the sort of consensus inside Iran that could have facilitated a possible diplomatic solution to the war, according to Iran expert Trita Parsi. Eldar Mamedov, non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, says that Larijani was a relative moderate who was “accustomed to dealing with the West” and who “wielded significant influence” in Iran. While not a reformer, Larijani was a pragmatist who helped make the 2015 Iran nuclear deal palatable and passable in the Iranian legislature. He was an academic and politician. His successor, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, is a former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Zolghadr is very close to Mojtaba Khamenei and has always been aligned with the hardliners in the political establishment. His political pedigree is said to be radical.
The U.S. has not changed the Iranian regime. But it has altered it—toward a more hardline identity. And that is not the only way escalations produce unintended consequences and, potentially, make it harder for the U.S. to get out of the war on Iran.
As mentioned, escalations have already triggered the Houthi ballistic missile threat. Now Trump has threatened that if “a deal is not shortly reached” the U.S. will respond by “blowing up and completely obliterating… Kharg Island.” But the Houthis and Iran have already warned that if the U.S. launches a ground attack or attempts to take or block Kharg Island, the Houthis could close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, further choking the global supply of oil.
If Trump green lights Pentagon plans for a potential limited ground invasion involving special operations forces, Marines, and soldiers, the U.S. could find itself caught in a quagmire in Iran. The U.S. has sent around 10,000 additional troops to the region. Iran says it is ready and will “set them ablaze.” Reports claim that Iran has mobilized over a million fighters to face any American ground invasion. Leaders in Tehran believe that, while the U.S. has air dominance, Iran has ground dominance and drawing the Americans into a ground war could draw Washington into precisely the war that Trump has promised to avoid.
The U.S. has, so far, failed to achieve its goals in Iran. Iran retains civilian nuclear enrichment knowledge. Far from regime change, the regime continues, and looks to be evolving to become still more hardline. It retains the capacity to hit targets with its missiles and to effectively mobilize its network of forward deterrence partners. Trump continues to claim the U.S. is negotiating while simultaneously escalating his war threats. Negotiations may offer the only way out. Escalation may lead the U.S. only deeper into the quagmire of a costly war that will set its military and political objectives back even further.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio blasted NATO during an appearance on FOX News last night for refusing to allow the United States to use their bases as part of operation Epic Fury.
Rubio noted that we didn’t even need them to actually do anything, but merely allow us to use the bases.
He rightfully suggested that when this operation is finished, we will need to re-examine our relationship with them. As a country, we give and give and ask for so little in return. This is how we get repaid?
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Let me ask you about NATO. You said that our NATO allies have been disappointing specifically. I know you’re talking about Spain, Great Britain, France, even Italy now.
And that after all of this is done, we will re-examine this relationship. And especially when it comes to we pay two-thirds of the freight when it comes to NATO defense. And if it’s just, quote, about us defending Europe, you said, you know, at this point, how do we call that?
And we can’t have our landing rights in European nations, our allies, at a time when we need them. What good is that alliance? And is the NATO alliance at risk?
SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO: Sean, I’ve been one of the strongest defenders of NATO during my time as a United States senator because I found great value in it. And it wasn’t just about defending Europe. I said it also allowed us to have military bases in Europe that allowed us to project power into different parts of the world when our national security was threatened.
If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means that we can’t use those bases, that in fact that we can no longer use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street. Then NATO is simply about us having troops in Europe to defend Europe. But when we need their help, not their help, we’re not asking them to conduct airstrikes.
When we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is no. Then why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question.
Why do we have billions and billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars over the years, trillions of dollars, and all these American forces stationed in the region? If we can only use them, in our time of need, we’re not going to be allowed to use those bases. So I think there’s no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to re-examine that relationship.
We’re going to have to re-examine the value of NATO and that alliance for our country. Ultimately, that’s a decision for the president to make, and he’ll have to make it. We’re going to finish the job here.
Watch the video below:
Rubio: If now we’ve reached a point where the NATO alliance means that we can’t use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street…then why are we NATO? We’re going to have to reexamine that relationship. That’s a decision for the president. pic.twitter.com/JM1pKgrlqF
President Trump addresses the nation – April 1, 2026
President Trump on Wednesday addressed the nation with an update on the Iran war, where he announced that the US is close to completing all objectives of Operation Epic Fury and appeared to signal an approaching end to the war regardless of whether Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz.
The President spoke for just over 18 and a half minutes in his Wednesday night address.
During the address, Trump declared, “tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion” after highlighting the decimation of Iran’s Navy, Air Force, missile progran, and ability to support terrorist proxies.
With regard to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked by targeting oil tankers navigating the critical shipping artery, Trump said, “The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait, and won’t be taking any in the future. We don’t need it. We haven’t needed it, and we don’t need it.”
He continued, “The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily. We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on.”
“Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves,” Trump demanded, adding, “Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done. So, it should be easy.” If countries do not step up and finish off Iran, he said, “buy oil from the United States of America. We have plenty. We have so much.”
Still, “In any event, when this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally,” Trump said, noting Iran’s dependence on the flow of oil through the Strait.
Earlier this week, the President also suggested that he will withdraw troops from the Middle East and force Europe, Asia, and the Gulf nations to deal with Iran’s blockade on the Strait of Hormuz after they refused his calls for help. His comments came amid reports that Trump was ready pull out of the war without reopening the Strait.
Trump further stated on Wednesday that US strikes will continue on Iran amid negotiations, led by Vice President JD Vance to end the war. “We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong,” he said.
“In the meantime, discussions are ongoing,” he said, noting that “If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously.”
Before concluding his speech, Trump appeared to hint that an end to the war is, in fact, imminent, stating, “American involvement in World War One lasted one year, seven months and five days. World War Two lasted for three years, eight months and 25 days. The Korean War lasted for three years, one month and two days. The Vietnam War lasted for 19 years, five months and 29 days. Iraq went on for eight years, eight months and 28 days. We are in this military operation so powerful, so brilliant, against one of the most powerful countries for 32 days, and the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat.”
WATCH:
Transcript:
Trump: Essentially, I did what no other president was willing to do. They made mistakes, and I am correcting them. My first preference was always the path of diplomacy. Yet, the regime continued their relentless quest for nuclear weapons and rejected every attempt at an agreement. For this reason, in June, I ordered a strike on Iran’s key nuclear facilities, in Operation Midnight Hammer. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. Those beautiful b2 bombers performed magnificently. We totally obliterated those nuclear sites. The regime then sought to rebuild their nuclear program at a totally different location, making clear they had no intention of abandoning their pursuit of nuclear weapons.
They were also rapidly building a vast stockpile of conventional ballistic missiles, and would soon have had missiles that could reach the American homeland, Europe, and virtually any other place on Earth. Iran’s strategy was so obvious. They wanted to produce as many missiles as possible, and they did, with the longest range possible, and they had some weapons that nobody believed they had— we just learned that, we took them out, we took them all out— so, that no one would really dare stop them in their race for a nuclear bomb, a nuclear weapon, a nuclear weapon like nobody has ever seen before. They were right at the doorstep.
For years, everyone has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, but in the end, those are just words if you’re not willing to take action when the time comes. As I stated in my announcement of Operation Epic Fury, our objectives are very simple and clear. We are systematically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders. That means eliminating Iran’s Navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting their Air Force and their missile program at levels never seen before, and annihilating their defense industrial base. We’ve done all of it. Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their missiles are just about used up or beaten. Taken together, these actions will cripple Iran’s military, crush their ability to support terrorist proxies, and deny them the ability to build a nuclear bomb.
Our armed forces have been extraordinary. There’s never been anything like it militarily. Everyone is talking about it, and tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion. As we celebrate this progress, we think especially of the 13 American warriors who have laid down their lives in this fight to prevent our children from ever having to face a nuclear Iran. Twice this past month, I have traveled to Dover Air Force Base, and it’s been something. I wanted to be with those heroes as they return to American soil, and I was with them and their families, their parents, their wives, their husbands. We salute them, and now we must honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives. And every single one of the people, their loved one said, ‘Please, sir, please finish the job,’ every one of them. And we are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast. We’re getting very close.
I want to thank our allies in the Middle East, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain. They have been great, and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape, or form. Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home. This short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers in neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict. This is yet more proof that Iran can never be trusted with nuclear weapons. They will use them, and they will use them quickly. It would lead to decades of extortion, economic pain, and instability, worse than we can ever imagine. The United States has never been better prepared economically to confront this threat. You all know that. We built the strongest economy in history. We’re going through it right now, the strongest in history. In one year, we’ve taken a dead and crippled country— I hate to say that, but we were a dead and crippled country after the last administration— and made it the hottest country anywhere in the world, by far, with no inflation, record setting investments coming into the United States, over $18 trillion, and the highest stock market ever, with 53 all time record highs in just one year.
It all positioned us to get rid of a cancer that has long simmered. It’s known as the nuclear Iran, and they didn’t know what was coming. They never imagined it. Remember, because of our drill baby drill program, America has plenty of gas. We have so much gas. Under my leadership, we are number one producer of oil and gas on the planet, without even discussing the millions of barrels that we’re getting from Venezuela. Because of the Trump administration’s policies, we produce more oil and gas than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined. Think of that, Saudi Arabia and Russia combined, and that number will soon be substantially higher than that. There’s no country like us anywhere in the world, and we’re in great shape for the future. The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait, and won’t be taking any in the future. We don’t need it. We haven’t needed it, and we don’t need it.
We’ve beaten and completely decimated Iran. They are decimated, both militarily and economically and every other way. And the countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily. We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on. So, to those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves, I have a suggestion. Number one, buy oil from the United States of America. We have plenty. We have so much. And number two, build up some delayed courage. Should have done it before. Should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done. So, it should be easy.
And in any event, when this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally. It will just open up naturally. They’re going to want to be able to sell oil, because that’s all they have to try and rebuild. It will resume the flowing and the gas prices will rapidly come back down, stock prices will rapidly go back up. They haven’t come down very much, frankly. They came down a little bit, but they’ve had some very good days over the last couple of days. We’ve done actually much better than I thought, but we had to take that little journey to Iran to get rid of this horrible threat.
with our historic tax cuts, where people are just now talking about receiving larger refunds than they ever thought possible, they are getting so much more money than they thought. That’s from the great, big, beautiful bill. Our economy is strong and improving by the day, and it will soon be roaring back like never before. It will top the levels that it was a month ago.
I’ve made clear from the beginning of Operation Epic Fury that we will continue until our objectives are fully achieved. Thanks to the progress we’ve made, I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly. We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong.
In the meantime, discussions are ongoing. Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders’ death. They’re all dead. The new group is less radical and much more reasonable. Yet, if during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets. If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously. We have not hit their oil, even though that’s the easiest target of all because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding. But we could hit it, and it would be gone, and there’s not a thing they could do about it.
They have no anti aircraft equipment, their radar is 100% annihilated, we are unstoppable as a military force, the nuclear sites that we obliterated with the B2 bombers have been hit so hard that it would take months to get near the nuclear dust, and we have it under intense satellite surveillance and control. If we see them make a move, even a move for it we’ll hit them with missiles very hard again. We have all the cards. They have none. It’s very important that we keep this conflict in perspective.
American involvement in World War One lasted one year, seven months and five days. World War Two lasted for three years, eight months and 25 days. The Korean War lasted for three years, one month and two days. The Vietnam War lasted for 19 years, five months and 29 days. Iraq went on for eight years, eight months and 28 days. We are in this military operation so powerful, so brilliant, against one of the most powerful countries for 32 days, and the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat.
They were the bully of the Middle East, but they’re the bully no longer. This is a true investment in your children and your grandchildren’s future. The whole world is watching, and they can’t believe the power, strength and brilliance. They just can’t believe what they’re seeing. Leave it to your imagination, but they can’t believe what they’re seeing, the brilliance of the United States military. Tonight, every American can look forward to a day when we are finally free from the wickedness of Iranian aggression and the specter of nuclear blackmail. Because of the actions we have taken, we are on the cusp of ending Iran’s sinister threat to America and the world. And I’ll tell you, the world is watching, and when we do, when it’s all over, the United States will be safer, stronger, more prosperous, and greater than it has ever been before. May God bless the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much, and good night.
Rep. Shomari Figures (D-AL) was left embarrassed after scaremongering on Voter ID. Credit: RNC Research X
A Democrat congressman has been left embarrassed after thinking he could get away with spreading propaganda in front of what he thought was a friendly audience.
On Wednesday, the Republican National Committee shared a video clip of Rep. Shomari Figures (D-AL) addressing voters at a church about the SAVE America Act, using a house of God to spread partisan propaganda.
As TGP readers know, the SAVE America Act is an absolutely critical measure that requires every American to show ID to cast a ballot.
It also requires proof of citizenship BEFORE registering to vote.
Democrats are panicking and spreading scare tactics because, should the measure pass, they will find stealing elections far more challenging.
Predictably, Figures leans into this tactic as he delivers his remarks.
He bemoans the difficulty of obtaining voter identification and then turns to the crowd with a simple question, thinking they will prove his point:
“Watch this: How many people in here do not have ID?”
But the move blows up in his face when not a single soul raises their hand.
WATCH:
Democrat Rep. Shomari Figures tries to fearmonger about voter ID and it backfires
FIGURES: “How many people in here do not have ID?”
A surprised Figures goes on to awkwardly acknowledge that he was wrong.
“Everybody has ID,” he says. “So I thought something a little bit different.”
But if Figures paid any attention to what Americans thought about voter ID, he would have expected this very reaction.
Polling has consistently shown that over 80% of the public supports requiring all voters to show government-issued photo ID to vote. This number includes at least 2/3 of all Democratic voters.
Moreover, 83% of Americans support requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote for the first time.
A federal judge has revoked the U.S. citizenship of a married couple who conspired to steal sensitive American medical technology and funnel it to China.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge James E. Simmons Jr. ordered the denaturalization of Li Chen and Yu Zhou, ruling that the pair illegally obtained their citizenship after engaging in serious criminal conduct that disqualified them from ever becoming Americans in the first place.
Chen and Zhou weren’t just any immigrants—they were highly educated researchers working inside Nationwide Children’s Hospital, entrusted with cutting-edge medical research.
On March 30, Judge James E. Simmons Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California entered an order revoking the naturalized U.S. citizenship of husband and wife Li Chen and Yu Zhou, finding they illegally procured their naturalization. Chen and Zhou each previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which the court determined constituted crimes involving moral turpitude that prevented them from having the good moral character necessary to naturalize. The court additionally found that both Chen and Zhou were ineligible to naturalize because they committed unlawful acts that adversely reflected on their moral character for which there were no extenuating circumstances.
“Gaining citizenship after committing serious crimes against the American people is an unacceptable abuse of our immigration system,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “These latest denaturalizations illustrate this Department of Justice’s focus on ensuring that citizenship remains a privilege to obtain, not a right to abuse.”
“Naturalization is not a right — it’s a privilege given by the generous people of this nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Divison. “When the generosity of America’s immigration process is abused, our system works to correct such abuse. Full stop.”
Chen, a Chinese national, entered the United States in 2007 on an H-1B Specialty Occupation visa sponsored by Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH). In 2011, after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker as an alien of extraordinary ability, Chen adjusted her immigration status to permanent resident. Zhou, also a Chinese national, entered the United States in 2005 as an exchange visitor. In 2008, Zhou arrived in the United States again on an H-1B Specialty Occupation visa sponsored by NCH, and he adjusted his immigration status to permanent resident in 2011 as the derivative spouse of his wife, Chen. Chen naturalized in 2016, and Zhou naturalized in 2017.
In 2019, both Chen and Zhou were arrested for criminal conduct involving the theft of medical trade secrets used in the course of their employment as NCH research scientists focused on exosome isolation. Each indictment alleged that the couple personally benefitted from their theft and sale of NCH trade secrets by establishing their own company and by acquiring shares in another company that utilized the stolen trade secrets. In addition, both Chen and Zhou received funding from the People’s Republic of China’s State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs. In total, Defendants jointly received nearly $1.5 million in transactions resulting from their exchange of exosome isolation intellectual property. Chen was subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and Zhou was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release, with over $2.6 million in restitution ordered to be paid jointly and severally between them.
The court held that the couple’s wire fraud — and thus their conspiracy to commit wire fraud — constituted a crime involving moral turpitude that warranted the revocation of Defendants’ naturalization. The court additionally determined that, given the lack of any extenuating circumstances, Zhou and Chen’s crimes of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit trade secret theft constituted unlawful acts that reflected adversely on their moral character, and therefore these crimes represented a separate basis to revoke their U.S. citizenship.
These cases were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the ICE Office of the Principle Legal Advisor (OPLA). The cases were litigated by the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation. The underlying criminal cases were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
President Trump addresses the nation – April 1, 2026
President Trump is scheduled to address the nation tonight with an update on the war in Iran, nearly five weeks into the conflict.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday that Trump would give an “important update on Iran.”
This comes as Trump threatens to escalate the war amid the deployment of thousands of additional troops and weighs his options to end the war or deploy boots on the ground. Trump has also given Iran until Monday, April 6, to stop blocking oil shipping in the Strait of Hormuz amid negotiations.
Trump said on Monday that he will escalate the war, targeting Iran’s energy and water infrastructure if they do not reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On the deployment of ground troops, Trump told reporters the day prior, “I just have lots of alternatives,” also noting, “we have tremendous numbers of ships over there.”
Trump also told reporters that a deal with Iran “could be soon,” adding that the US is “weeks ahead of schedule.”
The President later suggested that he will withdraw troops from the Middle East and force Europe, Asia, and the Gulf nations to deal with Iran’s blockade on the Strait of Hormuz after they refused his calls for help.
“The U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday, offering to supply oil from the United States if the countries cannot “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”
Meanwhile, the US military has seemingly accomplished its military goals of decimating Iran’s missile infrastructure, naval forces, air force, and nuclear capabilities, according to the Pentagon, as well as regime change.
The Justice Department is seeking to hold Brian Cole’s lawyers in contempt for violating a protective order and publicly posting allegations against former Capitol Police officer Shauni Kerkhoff.
Brian Cole, 30, of Woodridge, Virginia, was taken into custody in December and charged with use of an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials.
Cole initially admitted to investigators that he planted pipe bombs at the RNC and DNC headquarters on January 5, the night before the Capitol riot.
However, Cole pleaded not guilty to the charges this year.
Cole’s attorneys argued that their client is covered by President Trump’s blanket January 6 pardons.
On Wednesday, Brian Cole’s lawyers filed a motion for early return of subpoenas and publicly disclosed information about the DOJ’s review of Shauni Kerkhoff’s alleged role in January 6.
As TGP’s Brian Lupo reported earlier, in a motion filed Wednesday morning, Brian Cole’s lawyers alleged, “according to discovery produced by the government in this case,” “the FBI began investigating, questioning, and covertly surveilling” Kerkhoff “during the time it began investigating Mr. Cole.”
On November 6, 2025, Kerkhoff was interviewed by the FBI and took a polygraph examination.
“She was asked two relevant questions: (1) “Did you place those pipe bombs?” and (2) “Did you place those pipe bombs that evening?” Ms. Kerkhoff failed the polygraph. The FBI polygraph examiner noted Kerkhoff’s “very controlled reaction to the news of her failing the polygraph and seemingly rehearsed responses to the examiner’s questions.”” the motion said.
Cole’s attorneys are now requesting subpoenas for the following information, according to the filed motion:
“A subpoena to Ms. Kerkhoff for:
(a) the video of Ms. Kerkhoff’s dog taken at her home, with her voice allegedly in the background, purportedly from the evening of January 5, 2021, shown to the FBI agents by her or Mr. Dickert in November 2025, and any other photo, video, or audio created on the same device on January 5, 2021;
(b) the identity of the phones on which the dog video was stored;
(c) Ms. Kerkhoff’s employment records from the CIA in her possession, her offer letter from the CIA, and her Standard Form 86 Questionnaire that she completed for the job at the CIA;
(d) documents provided by Ms. Kerkhoff to the government as part of its pipe-bomb investigation;
(e) Ms. Kerkhoff’s home camera records from January 5-6, 2021;
(f) communications between Ms. Kerkhoff and Mr. Dickert from January 5-6, 2021;
(g) the identity of the electronic devices used by Ms. Kerkhoff from December 15, 2020 through January 8, 2021;
(h) documents reflecting Ms. Kerkhopff’s work schedule on January 5, 2021;
(i) communications between Ms. Kerkhoff and family members with a 614-area-code telephone number from January 1-8, 2021;
(j) communications between Ms. Kerkhoff and the government and Ms. Kerkhoff and Mr. Dickert from November 1, 2025 through the present related to her polygraph, the January 5-6 pipe-bomb investigation, and any photo and video purporting an alibi for her whereabouts on January 5, 2021;
(k) documents and communications about services used to wipe publicly-available information about Ms. Kerkhoff; and (1) the phone number and carrier for any devices Ms. Kerkhoff used on January 5-6, 2021 provided by her employer.
Later Wednesday, the Justice Department moved to hold Brian Cole’s lawyers in contempt for violating a protective order.
The motion filed by Brian Cole’s lawyers was removed from the public docket.
DOJ is seeking to hold alleged pipe bomber Brian Cole’s lawyer in contempt for publicly posting an allegation that former USCP officer Shuan Kerkhoff was the true pipe bomber — alongside her home address.
