SPLC Indictment Bolsters The Need To Pass The Save America Act Now

Logo of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization dedicated to fighting hate and promoting civil rights.

Logo of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization dedicated to fighting hate and promoting civil rights.

It was announced over the last week that the DOJ indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center, a far-left extremist group that has only gotten more radical over the years but still masquerades as a non-governmental “civil rights” organization whose business model is based strictly on bilking the American taxpayer.

The crux of the indictment centered on the SPLC committing fraud by pro-actively financing “far-right” extremist groups it officially deems opprobrious and deserving of condemnation – groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazi organizations.

One of the most damning items revealed by the indictment was that the SPLC had “secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups.”

Of that $3 million, it was uncovered that $270,000 of monies were disbursed to an individual who helped organize the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” demonstration in 2017, which the mainstream media relentlessly gaslit into a political lightning rod for President Trump – who no doubt suffered harms to both his reputation and political prospects as a result of the manufactured controversy.

The indictment to SPLC is a welcome first step, but it also speaks to a much deeper issue about how government directly funds putative apolitical groups, or groups that go under the banner of “civil rights” but in truth conduct nefarious activities which, in turn, cause serious damage to the country.

This subversion has most prominently been in the form of undermining a duly elected President and his agenda, while stigmatizing those who valiantly serve the movement out of polite society.

Going a few steps further, some of the most loyal associates of the President have faced steep penalties to their livelihoods, reputations, and civil liberties over the last decade – bearing brutal financial costs to pay off lawyers while facing potential imprisonment, merely for exercising fundamental rights and remaining true to their convictions the entire time.

All the media gaslighting is slowly but surely being revealed as a concerted effort by shadowy actors that receive government funding to attack the very movement which has made its mandate to flush out the swamp of Washington, DC, and restore some semblance of authority and democratic accountability back to the American people.

What is more, there is no doubt that if the SPLC is being financed to run counter-ops on groups it purports to go after, other groups who fall under that nebulous NGO banner are certainly also doing the same thing.

In other words, the fraud is widespread: extremist groups resort to the 501(c)(3) label to actively run psychological operations, cover their shady tactics with the guise of legal formalities, and related campaigns to hurt the MAGA movement.

Thus, SPLC is at the tip of the spear of a much broader deep-state operation that interlocks government with outside groups to manufacture outrage on behalf of the powers that be, who benefit from the longstanding Uniparty-driven status quo.

If the fraud is so extensive – and the SPLC indictment, particularly if it leads to a conviction, would seem proof positive that it is – then it only further bolsters the President’s (strong) assertion that 2020 was a stolen election, illegitimated, in part, by government-driven psyops designed to attack the integrity of the policies and standing of President Trump.

There is no doubt that so much of the outrage that took place during the summer of 2020, supposedly triggered by George Floyd’s death, was also a psyop designed to undermine the 2020 race later that year by fomenting violence with government-funded groups, under the pretext of Antifa and BLM, to generate a portrait of public disorder and mass outrage.

The media attempted to paint the protests as organic, spontaneous displays of righteous indignation, which quickly turned into a countrywide phenomenon, national reckoning or “reawakening” to combat racial injustice.

While there is no doubt that many Americans were brainwashed via agitprop into joining the movement on their own, the professional agitators, the paramilitary arms of the protests that incited the most chaos, could have just as well been paid off by shadowy backchannels similar to what has been revealed through this recent SPLC indictment.

The timing between the protests, their disproportionate scale relative to the incident that allegedly jumpstarted them (the death of a drug-addled felon), and the lead-up to the 2020 race, all would point to a similar fraud akin to the SPLC discovery – though significantly magnified.

Lest it be forgotten, right before covid broke out, in December of 2019, President Trump had been enjoying near-record approval ratings, boosted by a roaring economy.

At that point he was at his then all-time peak in terms of political capital.  Knowing this, and knowing that he was poised to face off against a historically weak (in every sense of the term) counterpart in Joe Biden, who spent most of the 2020 race, due to undisclosed illness and cognitive decline, campaigning from a basement, leftist and deep state alarm bells were raised, prompting them to resort to norm-breaking, even extralegal, maneuvers so that a second Trump term, which looked more and more probable, would be avoided at all costs.

We all know that the faux gaslighting incidents, like Charlottesville, occurring earlier in the first Trump term, were trial runs and part of a collective lead up to that one chaotic summer of 2020, which was the crescendo moment by the Left which did a lot to dismantle the President’s chances of re-election.

Beyond that, the summer of 2020, which caused billions of untold damages to property nationwide, and which paled, demonstrably, in comparison to the trivial damages rendered in the January 6th protests, nevertheless offered a blueprint for national pandemonium that helped fuel the outrage which made January 6th possible.

It was not as if the J6 protestors operated in isolation either: they had just lived through that long, terrible summer of organized anarchy, bearing witness to their cities burning down, businesses looted, and cultural landmarks desecrated, in service to a woke secular martyr.

Thus, their resentment was not something that came out of a vacuum but driven by an existential feeling that America was on the brink.

These facts would make the fraud even more sinister – because of its systematic nature: it sought institutional damage through psychological manipulation created by manufactured outrage and consensus, and government funneled NGO paramilitary operations were mobilized to simulate support for their broader psychological operation.

These possibilities compel further investigation by prosecutorial agencies and authorities.  They also compel legislative action – particularly, passage of the Save America Act.

The latter would go a long way towards solidifying election operations, particularly in the wake of relentless sabotage and subterfuge by an increasing number of threats, both foreign and, as the 2020 race and the lawfare on President Trump would prove, domestic.

The persistence of the deep state against the President, which is underscored by the Russian collusion hoax of the first administration, and Operation Arctic Frost and related efforts by the Biden Justice Department to quash President Trump’s political resurrection during the wilderness period of 2021-2025, raises the already extraordinarily high stakes for adopting the Save America Act.

It should not be forgotten the lengths the government went to undermine the democratically elected President and destroy the MAGA movement for good – this, of course, included an FBI-sponsored raid on the President’s own private residence, as well as four unprecedented indictments, the most radical exhibition of weaponized justice ever made in American history.

If government is working against the American people directly, exhibited by the above facts, it further underlines why election integrity is so critical – protections must be instated, by law, to preserve the right to the franchise, in order so that Americans only, not deep-state actors, have power and control over their governing institutions, so that government of the people, by the people, and for the people might be restored and preserved beyond just the remainder of President Trump’s term in office.

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Trump DOJ, ATF Unleash Massive Second Amendment Overhaul — 34 New Reforms Slash Red Tape for Gun Owners, Dealers and Small Businesses

Officials at a press conference at the Department of Justice, discussing important legal matters, with a seal in the foreground and several attendees in the background.

Officials at a press conference at the Department of Justice, discussing important legal matters, with a seal in the foreground and several attendees in the background.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche with newly confirmed ATF Director Robert Cekada (DOJ)

In a HUGE victory for the Second Amendment and law-abiding Americans everywhere, the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives announced this week they are unleashing 34 notices of final and proposed rulemaking to slash the mountain of Biden-era red tape strangling gun owners and Federal Firearms Licensees.

The move follows a top-to-bottom review of ATF regulations ordered by President Trump’s Executive Order 14206, “Protecting Second Amendment Rights.”

After years of the Biden ATF acting as an unaccountable attack dog against honest gun shops and citizens, the agency is finally being forced to listen to industry experts, FFLs, and everyday Americans who just want to exercise their God-given constitutional rights without the federal government breathing down their necks.

This is the first wave of reforms. More are coming. The Trump administration is keeping its promise to dismantle the deep-state gun-control apparatus piece by piece.

“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” said U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This Department of Justice is ending the weaponization of federal authority against law-abiding gun owners. We will continue to vigorously defend their rights as the Constitution demands.”

Below are the summary of the 34 proposed and final regulatory changes affecting firearms, explosives, importation, federal firearms licensees (FFLs), and ATF procedures.

  1. Modernize
    Updating recordkeeping and business practices, such as:
  • Electronic records for gun dealers
  • Changes to Form 4473
  • Defined retention periods for records
  • License verification updates
  1. Reduce Burden
    Removing or simplifying requirements seen as costly or unnecessary for lawful gun owners and businesses, such as:
  • Interstate transport procedures
  • Spousal registration for NFA firearms
  • Removing some notification requirements
  1. Clarify
    Providing clearer definitions and standards, including:
  • Straw purchase language
  • Mental health-related prohibitions
  • Biological sex designation on ATF forms
  • Business premises definitions
  1. Align
    Updating regulations to match court rulings, statutes, and partner agencies.
  2. Repeal
    Rescinding prior controversial rules, including:
  • 2023 Stabilizing Brace Rule
  • 2024 Engaged-in-the-Business Rule
  • Revising machine gun definitions after Garland v. Cargill

ATF Landmark Regulatory Reform Package outlining updates to compliance, recordkeeping, and regulatory clarity for firearms and explosives regulations.

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Jeopardy Super Champ Blasts ICE During Victory Media Tour After Historic 31-Game Winning Streak Ends

Smiling contestant wearing glasses and a gray sweater stands at a game show podium with blue lighting in the background.

Smiling contestant wearing glasses and a gray sweater stands at a game show podium with blue lighting in the background.

Jeopardy super-champion Jamie Ding wrapped up his record-breaking 31-game winning streak on Monday, and then the 33-year-old New Jersey law student used his post-show media tour to launch a political attack on President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

Ding is a Princeton University graduate and the son of Chinese immigrants from Beijing.

Speaking to People Magazine after his big win, Ding said that his appearance as an immigrant and person of color on the iconic game show was especially meaningful because “as an immigrant and a person of color, I was able to become part of the history of an American institution.”

“Jeopardy! really is an institution, and America’s turning 250 years old, and the federal government is going after immigrants in a way unlike anything that we’ve seen in the recent past,” Ding told the magazine.

Ding added, “So I hope that immigrants can be seen in a positive light too.”

The woke champion’s streak ended when Philadelphia chess master Greg Shahade defeated him in a 13,990-point runaway victory.

Ding still secured a spot in the next Tournament of Champions and signed off in Final Jeopardy with the message “TTFN” (ta ta for now).

His 31 consecutive wins rank him fifth all-time behind Ken Jennings (74), Amy Schneider (40), Matt Amodio (38), and James Holzhauer (32), People noted.

During his run, Ding collected $882,605 in regular-season winnings, placing him among the show’s top earners.

Ding was raised in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. He is the son of Yuchuan Ding, a neuroscience professor at Wayne State University, and Ning Yan, a retired mathematics teacher.

Ding was born in Australia, but is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

His family has publicly celebrated his run because of how it benefits immigrant families.

Jessie Ding, the champ’s sister, told the Detroit Free Press:

“What that means for us and for immigrant families, it’s really cool to see, like, the idea that my parents can immigrate here from China and then their son can go on, and this is a very American show, and he can go on and carve out a piece of history for himself.”

The post Jeopardy Super Champ Blasts ICE During Victory Media Tour After Historic 31-Game Winning Streak Ends appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Trump and the First Lady Welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla for State Visit Honoring 250 Years of Shared Heritage

World leaders including Donald Trump and King Charles III stand together at a formal event, flanked by military honor guards and flags.

World leaders including Donald Trump and King Charles III stand together at a formal event, flanked by military honor guards and flags.

 

President Trump and the First Lady Welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla for State Visit Honoring 250 Years of Shared Heritage The following is from the Trump team.  President … Read more

 

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CRAZY VIDEO: Florida Democrat Rep. Angie Nixon STORMS HOUSE AISLE with Pink Bullhorn Screaming ‘Violation of the Constitution!’ as DeSantis’ Redistricting Map Passes

Activist speaking into a pink megaphone during a legislative session, advocating for change in a government building.

Activist speaking into a pink megaphone during a legislative session, advocating for change in a government building.

Florida Democrat State Rep. Angie Nixon went completely unhinged on the House floor Wednesday, grabbing a bright pink bullhorn and storming up and down the aisle while screaming about the “Constitution” as Republicans passed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new congressional redistricting map.

The map, which could deliver Republicans up to four additional House seats in the 2026 midterms, passed through the Florida House on an 83-28 party-line vote and the Senate on a 21-17 vote before heading to DeSantis for his signature.

Nixon, dressed in a hot-pink outfit and gripping a matching bullhorn, repeatedly yelled, “This is a violation of the Constitution!” as the vote proceeded.

The politician created enough chaos that two Democrats, Reps. Allison Tant and Marie Woodson, hilariously cast accidental “yes” votes, and later blamed the “commotion” and “bullhorn chaos” for the mix-up, according to a report from Florida Politics.

“I inadvertently voted yes because of the commotion with the bullhorn on the floor; I thought it was a quorum call. I debated against the bill and would not have voted yes,” Woodson said in a statement published to the state’s House website.

Their accidental votes have since been changed.

WATCH:

The bill still passed overwhelmingly, with only one Republican, former Democrat Rep. Hilary Cassel, voting against it.

No Democrats voted in favor of the proposal.

DeSantis’ map is a major win for Republicans.

It redraws the state’s 28 congressional districts to reflect the Sunshine State’s continued shift to the right.

The changes target four Democrat-held seats, potentially moving Florida from a 20 Republican-8 Democrat delegation to as strong as a 24 Republican-4 Democrat delegation.

Democrats and left-wing activists are already crying “gerrymandering” and promising lawsuits, claiming the map violates Florida’s Fair Districts amendments.

Nixon called it an “illegal mid-decade power grab” and a “slap in the face” to voters, claiming Republicans were only doing it to help President Donald Trump.

Perhaps someone should show her what her own party just did in Virginia.

Florida Republicans, meanwhile, pointed out that the map simply reflects the reality that Florida has become one of the most reliably red states in the country, thanks to strong conservative governance, economic growth, and an influx of voters fleeing blue states.

This isn’t the obnoxious politician’s first floor stunt.

Nixon, who is also running for U.S. Senate, participated in a sit-in protest during the 2022 redistricting battle.

The Gateway Pundit will continue tracking this story as the map heads to DeSantis’ desk and inevitable legal challenges begin.

The post CRAZY VIDEO: Florida Democrat Rep. Angie Nixon STORMS HOUSE AISLE with Pink Bullhorn Screaming ‘Violation of the Constitution!’ as DeSantis’ Redistricting Map Passes appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Obamacare Program WASTES $5 Billion—Taxpayers Left Holding Bill…

A federal watchdog report reveals that an Obamacare-created program designed to save taxpayer money has instead lost more than $5 billion over the past decade, with only a 5 percent success rate in launching effective healthcare initiatives.

Dismal Track Record Exposed

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), established under the Affordable Care Act, has attempted more than 70 different healthcare programs over ten years. According to the Government Accountability Office, only four programs proved successful enough for nationwide expansion. CMMI spent nearly $8 billion while generating just $2.6 billion in savings, leaving taxpayers responsible for over $5 billion in losses. House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas called the performance unacceptable, stating that a 5 percent success rate represents failure, not innovation.

Federal budget experts project CMMI will continue losing money in coming years. The program, marketed as a cost-saving measure, has become a financial drain on American families. Critics argue the initiative demonstrates government overreach in healthcare, with Washington bureaucrats making decisions better left to doctors and patients. Many participating physicians and hospitals report confusion with program requirements and implementation challenges that complicate rather than improve patient care.

Legislative Response Building

Republican lawmakers have voiced concerns about CMMI for years, citing lack of transparency, excessive complexity, and poor accountability. Rep. Bob Latta of Ohio has been particularly vocal about these deficiencies. Rep. Aaron Bean of Florida recently introduced legislation to abolish the center entirely. Bean stated that taxpayers deserve better stewardship of their money and called each wasted dollar one too many. His bill presents Congress with a clear decision point on whether to continue funding a program with documented performance failures.

What This Means

The GAO findings intensify ongoing debates about federal healthcare programs and government spending priorities. Republicans supporting fiscal responsibility face pressure to address wasteful programs as budget negotiations continue. The CMMI controversy highlights broader questions about the proper role of federal agencies in healthcare delivery and whether centralized planning can effectively improve medical care while controlling costs. With documented losses exceeding $5 billion and projections showing continued deficits, the program faces an uncertain future as lawmakers weigh eliminating it against attempting reforms.

Sources

Breitbart: Government Watchdog: Obamacare Medicare ‘Innovation’ Center Wasted Over $5 Billion

A DIFFERENT COUNTRY: Watch Johnny Carson Open the 1981 Oscars After President Ronald Reagan Was Shot (VIDEO)

Screencap of Twitter/X video.

For days now, people across the country have been discussing the disgusting comments by late night host Kimmy Kimmel, who like Stephen Colbert, has turned his show into a personal hate machine against President Trump and is now claiming that his line about First Lady Melania looking like a ‘widow’ was just a joke.

In response, an old clip of beloved late night host Johnny Carson has been going viral on social media. It shows Carson opening the 1981 Oscar Awards show right after President Ronald Reagan was shot and it reminds people of a very different time in this country.

Carson never used his position or his show to advance his personal political beliefs. Most people did not even know what Carson’s politics were, and there was a reason for that. He did not want them to. Carson wanted to appeal to all Americans.

FOX News did a report on this viral clip:

Resurfaced clip of Johnny Carson’s grace after Reagan shooting contrasts with Kimmel

Nearly half a century ago, comedian Johnny Carson chose unity over punchlines after an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

A clip comparing Carson’s 1981 Oscars monologue to reactions to a recent attempt on President Donald Trump’s life has drawn nearly 800,000 views online.

“I’m sure that all of you here and most of you watching tonight understand why we delayed this program for 24 hours,” Carson said in the video. “Because of the incredible events of yesterday, that old adage, the show must go on, seemed relatively unimportant.”…

There are clear differences between the attempt on Reagan and Trump. Reagan was seriously wounded and returned to the White House after 12 days in the hospital.

“The Academy, ABC television and all of us connected with the show felt because of the uncertain outcome as of this time yesterday, it would have been inappropriate to stage a celebration,” Carson added.

The host noted the president’s resilience, saying he was in “excellent condition” and still “conducting business.” He shared that Reagan was making jokes from his hospital bed while struggling to speak.

“You must remember, this is a man who yesterday, while he was in the hospital, unable to speak, wrote on a sheet of paper, ‘All things considered, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.’ So tonight, the show does go on,” Carson said.

Watch the clip, this is amazing:

Carson was a man of such class.

Can we get back to this America?

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Seattle’s Socialist Mayor Laughs at Idea of Millionaires Fleeing the City Over New and Higher Taxes: ‘BYE!’ (VIDEO)

Screencap of Twitter/X video.

Seattle’s new socialist Mayor Katie Wilson recently laughed when describing the idea of millionaires leaving the city over new and higher taxes supported by her and her cohorts, saying ‘Bye!’ as she shrugged it off glibly.

Like so many places currently under Democrat rule, Seattle and the state of Washington are looking to ‘tax the rich’ to pay for their new Democratic Socialist utopia where everything is ‘free’ because ‘the rich’ are being forced to pay for it.

History has shown that this approach has a funny way of not working out too well, as many of the people with real wealth simply leave, taking their tax dollars with them.

Mayor Wilson doesn’t seem too concerned. Watch:

Starbucks Coffee, one of the great success stories of the Pacific Northwest, is already signaling an interest in moving to greener pastures.

KIRO News reports:

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson called for a Starbucks boycott. Starbucks called Nashville

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s first move after winning the election was calling for a Starbucks boycott. Starbucks’ first move after the income tax passed was calling Nashville. Boeing left years ago. Amazon split. And the billionaire who spent millions building the progressive tax agenda that helped get us here says virtually every wealthy friend he has is already gone or planning to leave.

His name is Nick Hanauer. And he’s worth listening to.

He didn’t just get rich and stay quiet. He helped build the progressive tax framework Olympia runs on today. He spent millions pushing Seattle’s $15 minimum wage. He bankrolled the campaign to pass Washington’s capital gains tax. He wrote a famous essay warning his fellow billionaires that inequality would lead to pitchforks if they didn’t start paying more. He coined the term “middle-out economics” and appeared in Robert Reich’s documentary, arguing that prosperity requires massive investment in the middle class.

His whole brand, for years, was: I’m rich, and I’m telling you the rich need to pay more.

He was the billionaire giving cover to the progressive agenda. The architect.

And this is what he told GeekWire about Washington’s new income tax: “Virtually every wealthy friend I have has either left or is planning to. It’s a catastrophe.”

It’ll be fun to see if Mayor Wilson is still laughing a year or two from now.

The post Seattle’s Socialist Mayor Laughs at Idea of Millionaires Fleeing the City Over New and Higher Taxes: ‘BYE!’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Milei Dances in Tel Aviv, but Faces Trouble at Home

Milei Dances in Tel Aviv, but Faces Trouble at Home

Argentina’s president is facing headwinds from an ongoing crypto scandal and economic stagnation.

Last Day Of The Madrid Economic Forum

President Javier Milei is navigating troubled waters this year. The eccentric Argentine’s presidency got off to a strong start after pulling the country out of an inflationary spiral in 2024; since then, he has seen his approval ratings drop significantly, as a series of corruption scandals involving him and his closest associates in government have eroded his image as a populist reformer and crusader against the corrupt political class.

The biggest scandal reverberating in Argentine politics currently is an older one: Cryptogate is back, and this time Milei is directly implicated. Early last year, Milei made headlines by promoting a new cryptocurrency, $LIBRA, on his official X account, promising that the project would be “dedicated to the growth of the Argentine economy, funding small businesses and Argentine entrepreneurship.” It was, of course, a scam—in less than an hour, the founders pulled the rug, and thousands of investors who had put money into the cryptocurrency on the strength of Milei’s endorsement, lost everything. Several hours later, Milei deleted the tweet, but the damage was done. It seemed obvious that Milei had used his post and prominence to at the very least defraud the public for the benefit of his friends, and rumors circulated that the president was in on the take. Hayden Davis, the founder of Kelsier Ventures, the company that created $LIBRA, boasted that “I send $$ to [Milei’s] sister and he signs whatever I say and does whatever I want.”

Milei denied allegations that he was meaningfully involved with Davis or the crypto project as a whole, asserting that he had been misinformed and thought that he was just promoting a private initiative that would be useful to Argentines. That defense was already undermined by a social media post Milei had made in January, in which he posed with Davis and wrote that Davis had “advised me about the impact and applications of blockchain technology in the country.” It was shortly thereafter discovered that Davis had paid Milei to record a video for his online cryptocurrency academy, leaving no doubt that the two had established business relations.

But the biggest fish of the $LIBRA scandal so far was caught last month, after prosecutors subpoenaed the smartphone of Mauricio Novelli, the CEO of Tech Forum (a cryptocurrency conference) and the middleman between Milei and Davis. Novelli apparently had ambitions to set himself up in the lucrative business of selling access to the president, primarily to companies involved in the cryptocurrency sector. Novelli drew up a set of contracts for Davis and Kelsier Ventures; the services outlined ranged from a private meeting with Milei to a promise that the president would appoint Davis his advisor for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and allow him to policy in the sector. In return, Davis and his associates agreed to send Milei $5 million.

Milei’s signature is not on the contracts Novelli drew up for Davis, and his precise level of involvement in Novelli’s scheme in this particular case remains unknown. But it is on at least one other document Novelli probably drew up for the president.

In addition to employing Milei as an instructor at Novelli’s own cryptocurrency academy, N&W Professional Traders, Novelli appears to have been the instrument in negotiating the details for a letter of intent establishing a relationship between Milei and Cube Exchange, a cryptocurrency company. Multiple drafts of the preliminary agreement were found on Novelli’s phone, laying out that the company would establish a credit union in Argentina to facilitate the purchase and use of cryptocurrency in the country, as well as found a “Milei Institute.” In return, the president promised that Cube Exchange would receive tax benefits, regulatory carveouts, and direct access to Argentina’s central bank and financial regulatory agencies. Cube Exchange confirmed that Milei signed this preliminary agreement in August of 2024, and it appears that Novelli and his associates netted $150,000 in fees from the exchange.

These revelations have rendered Milei’s response to the $LIBRA scandal entirely incredible. Milei has obviously been extensively involved in an essentially predatory network of cryptocurrency influencers and speculators, and probably made a neat profit from such arrangements. This is at the very least an abuse of his trust as a public figure and potentially of his office as president of Argentina. Combined with ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal at Argentina’s pension benefits agency, and the chainsaw-waving populist’s accusations against la casta take on the odor of hypocrisy.

The polling confirms that the public has taken a dim view of such affairs as well. Milei’s approval ratings have fallen significantly. For most of his presidency, his net approval ratings hovered in the mid to high 40s; in March, they fell to 37 percent. His net approval rating has cratered in the past year, going from -2 percent to -24 percent.

Not all of this has to do with political scandals, of course. While Milei managed to prevent Argentina from falling into hyperinflation, he has struggled—as every Argentine president this century has—to wrangle the country’s economy, which has been disastrously mismanaged for decades. Growth during his presidency has been largely mediocre: The economy contracted 1.3 percent in 2024, grew 4.4 percent in 2025, and is expected to reach 3 percent in 2026, disappointing rates for a developing economy on the mend. Milei and his allies have made a number of important structural reforms—slashing regulations, lifting the country’s suffocating capital controls, simplifying taxation, and balancing the national budget—but voters have grown impatient and are beginning to demand better results.

Worse still, Milei has struggled to bring the country’s consistently high monthly inflation rate down to something comparable to the inflation rate of developed economies. Argentine monthly inflation bottomed out at 1.5 percent in May of 2025—the best in many years—but it has slowly been creeping up in the months since. Last month, it reached its highest rate in a year, 3.4 percent, in no small part due to the fuel shock caused by the United States’ and Israel’s decision to go to war in Iran.

The shock may not be Milei’s fault, and every country is struggling with elevated prices from inflation, but he has not been engaged in mitigating the effects either. As one of the staunchest pro-Israel politicians on the planet (he previously considered converting to orthodox Judaism), Milei has been an active supporter of the war, regardless of its impacts on the domestic economy. Indeed, Milei made a trip to Israel last week, where he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor and even did a song-and-dance number during the country’s Independence Day festivities. 

“I support totally and completely the actions of the United States and Israel,” he told the Spanish periodical El Debate. “If you stand with Israel, you stand with Judeo-Christian values and with that you stand with capitalism.”

That message may resonate within Tel Aviv and the Oval Office in Washington, but it does not appear to be particularly endearing to Argentines, who are being stuck with the bill.

The post Milei Dances in Tel Aviv, but Faces Trouble at Home appeared first on The American Conservative.

Is China Using Iran as a Proxy Against the U.S.?

Is China Using Iran as a Proxy Against the U.S.?

Beijing looks like the biggest winner of America’s latest Mideast blunder.

CHINA-BEIJING-XI JINPING-IRANIAN PRESIDENT-TALKS (CN)
(Photo by Yan Yan/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Leaders of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have cleverly exploited U.S. policy blunders throughout the international system for at least the past three decades to enhance Beijing’s influence and erode Washington’s. The Trump administration’s mishandling of relations with Iran affords China a new opportunity, and it may prove to be the most significant one yet.

Indeed, the question arises whether Xi Jinping’s government is moving beyond passively taking advantage of chronic U.S. ineptitude in the Muslim world and is now actively using Iran and its Shia allies as proxies to create major strategic and economic headaches for the United States. There are indications that the answer is yes

Granted, Beijing’s apparent strategy is not yet as blatant as NATO’s exploitation of Ukraine as a military proxy to harass and weaken Russia. Washington and its European allies have poured more than $200 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine since Moscow, in February 2022, launched a war that continues today. In late April 2026, the European Union signed off on a new $105 billion “loan” to Kiev. The United States and other alliance members also continue to shower Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated and lethal weapons. Perhaps most crucially, the NATO powers have provided intelligence information (including targeting data for attacks) to Ukrainian forces.

However, while PRC’s tilt toward Iran is not nearly as blatant and massive, it’s not trivial either. Until recently, Beijing’s assistance to Iran had seemed to be relatively reactive and indirect, rather than proactive and high-profile. Indeed, Beijing has absorbed some valuable lessons and derived significant benefits from simply observing Tehran’s war effort. That point is especially true in the areas of military hardware and military strategy. For example, PRC experts have learned that Iran’s relatively low cost, low tech 358 missile is adept at taking out important U.S. military assets, each worth millions of dollars. Indeed, the estimated cost of the 358 is one-tenth that of comparable conventional air defense munitions.

The PRC has worked to shape the international diplomatic environment to benefit Tehran and disadvantage Washington. For example, Xi’s government not only has offered to play a role as mediator to dampen the fighting, but it has also pressed its close ally Pakistan to lead mediation efforts. At first glance, such a move might not seem to be pro-Iranian, since Pakistan is a prominent Sunni power, and the longstanding Sunni–Shia split in Islam would limit any diplomatic benefits to Tehran. However, the long-term impact of a Pakistani–Chinese mediation role in the Iran war would be to strengthen Beijing’s presence and influence throughout the region.

Indeed, Beijing is positioning itself to be a world leader in calling for restraint and peace. That benign reputation is seen globally in sharp contrast to Washington’s growing image as a disruptive, coercive, and destabilizing power. Iran is a larger and more capable adversary than Washington has faced in its previous regime-change wars, increasing the risk to the United States that the fighting may not end quickly and America’s image will continue to deteriorate. Washington and its client, Israel, have already generated significantly greater opposition from major neutral powers and even many U.S. allies than has occurred before.

PRC leaders pointedly declined President Trump’s request to join the U.S. campaign to blockade Iran’s ports. As the blockade began, the head of China’s navy stated that Chinese civilian cargo ships would continue to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, irrespective of the U.S. Navy’s presence there. Instead of opposing Iran, Chinese ships have received quiet authorization from Tehran to transit the strait, possibly in exchange for modest fees. That approach amounts to a de facto policy of undermining Washington’s blockade and pursuing a mutually beneficial relationship with Iran with respect to commerce through the strait. 

Beijing’s relationship with Iran is more nuanced and complex than one between patron and client. It appears to be getting closer, though, and Chinese leaders now seem willing to escalate their support for Tehran, including military aid. Tom Tugendhat, a member of the British parliament and a distinguished fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute in the United States, observes that

China, according to multiple reports, has provided Iran with satellite imagery, components and intelligence needed to attack infrastructure and shipping as well as U.S. targets in Gulf countries. Each part of the logistics chain has helped Iran destroy refineries and docks and even kill civilians.

If those reports of extensive Chinese involvement are true, the PRC’s posture would indeed begin to resemble NATO’s role in Ukraine. Such lethal assistance to Tehran also would make Washington’s latest military crusade become even more perilous than it is now. Even without going that far, Beijing’s covert assistance to Iran can exacerbate the U.S. military’s woes in the Strait of Hormuz, elsewhere in the Persian Gulf, and throughout the Middle East. Tehran’s attacks on Washington’s longtime Arab allies have created serious turmoil, even if the PRC is officially sitting on the sidelines.

China has been a strategic, diplomatic, and economic beneficiary of the previous U.S. wars in the Muslim world. PRC leaders likely had to shake their heads in disbelief when the United States wasted trillions of dollars, sacrificed thousands of American lives, and made millions of new enemies among Islamic populations by waging its military crusades in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and elsewhere. With the war against Iran, the Trump administration is making the same blunder as its predecessors—and China is again poised to be the main beneficiary. And this time, Beijing doesn’t seem satisfied to sit back and passively enjoy its geostrategic good fortune.

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