Hillary Clinton Claims Epstein Ignorance; CCP Brings War to America: Expert | NTD Newsroom (Feb. 26)

Welcome to NTD Newsroom. I'm Don Ma. The U.S. and Iran holding round three of talks in Geneva to try and reach a breakthrough toward a nuclear deal. U.S. officials are meeting with Ukrainian counterparts in Switzerland today, the accusations Ukraine is making against Russia just hours before the talks. Cuba says it shot and killed four people on a U.S.-registered speedboat as tensions rise between the U.S. and its communist neighbors. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifying before lawmakers as part of the Epstein probe. What members of the House Oversight Committee say about the deposition. New details about the FBI seizing phone records during the Biden presidency. Two current Trump officials were targeted before joining the administration. Vice President J.D. Vance tours a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin promoting President Trump's economic agenda. The district's Republican congressman is up for re-election in November. This is NTD Newsroom, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Special Envoy Steve Whitcock and his team in Geneva for the third round of talks with Iran to try to reach a nuclear deal. This coming as President Trump threatens Iran with military action in his State of the Union address. We now go live to NTD's Washington correspondent Mari Otsu at the White House. Mari, good afternoon. Don, good afternoon. That's right, and talks are wrapping up as we speak between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva today without a clear resolution. And that's coming as President Trump has repeatedly said that he always prefers diplomacy first while also saying in his State of the Union address that it's unacceptable that Iran has developed ballistic missiles that can reach both Europe and U.S. bases overseas and that they're now in the midst of developing ones that could also reach the U.S. President Trump in his address is also a touting Operation Midnight Hammer. That's the taking out of Iran's nuclear program last June and during his first term, a striking General Soleimani. Take a look at this. We wiped it out and they want to start all over again and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions. We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words. We will never have a nuclear weapon. My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain. I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. President Trump's State of the Union address coming amid the largest military deployment in the Gulf since the 2003 buildup to the Iraq war with the world's largest warship, the USS Ford, leaving southern Greece for the Middle East as the third round of talks begin in Geneva. Moments before the president's address, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivering a classified briefing on Iran to the Gang of Eight. Iran poses a very great threat to the United States and has for a very long time. After their nuclear program was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it, and here they are. You can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it. They're not enriching right now, but they're trying to get to the point where they ultimately can. Rubio says it's clear the regime has not abandoned their desire to enrich again and that they're trying to achieve intercontinental ballistic missiles, something the regime has refused to talk about. We saw North Korea do it. We've seen other countries do it in the past, and we would view that as a grave threat to the United States. But already now they possess missiles that threaten American interests. As we speak, they possess thousands of short-range ballistic missiles that can reach U.S. bases located in the region, in Saudi Arabia, in Qatar, in Bahrain, in the United Arab Emirates, throughout the region. According to Iran International, since last month, over 36,000 people have been killed in the Iranian regime's crackdown on anti-government protesters. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham saying that if America helps the Iranian people, we'll have a 21st century Berlin Wall moment. He predicts the Ayatollah's fall will trigger a sequence of events similar to Reagan's USSR takedown. Quote, this regime is made up of religious Nazis that are the largest state sponsor of terrorism. The regime has American blood on its hands, and they have killed over 30,000 of their citizens simply because they demand the end to their oppression. I would like to see the people of Iran change the regime. It's long overdue. Vice President J.D. Vance, when asked if the Ayatollah has to go, says, I think the president ultimately will make the decision about how to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. I think the supreme leader and everybody in their system should understand that we've been crystal clear, and we're hopeful that we're able to come to a good resolution without the military. But if we have to use the military, the president, of course, has that right as well. Meanwhile, Don, Reuters is now reporting that Iran is close to a deal with the Chinese regime to purchase anti-ship cruise missiles. And according to weapons experts, those missiles, if in the hands of the Iranian regime, would pose a significant threat to U.S. naval forces in the region. Back to you. All right, Mari, thank you. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. Our top story, the United States is investigating after Cuba says it shot and killed four men aboard a U.S. registered speedboat. Cuba says the boat was attempting to infiltrate its territory. Here's what we know. Cuba says its forces shot and killed four people aboard a U.S. registered boat yesterday. Cuban officials saying the men were heavily armed and were attempting to infiltrate its territory. The country's interior ministry says the boat entered Cuban waters. Cuba says six of the passengers were injured and are in custody. It also says one of the passengers shot and injured the commander of a Cuban border guard vessel. The ministry described the passengers as Cuban residents of the U.S., adding two of the survivors were previously wanted for terrorism. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the U.S. embassy in Havana is working to get access to other people who are aboard the vessel. Suffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It's not something that happens every day. It's something, frankly, that hasn't happened with Cuba in a very long time. But we're going to find out. We're not going to base our conclusions on what they've told us. Vice President J.D. Vance says the White House will continue to provide updates. Certainly, you know, a situation that we're monitoring, hopefully it's not as bad as we fear it could be, but I can't say more because I just don't know more. Florida's attorney general says he's directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with federal, state, and law enforcement to begin an investigation. The incident comes as tensions rise between the U.S. and its communist neighbor following the capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, a longtime ally of Cuba. Most oil deliveries to the island are now blocked, crippling the country's economy. Halfway across the world, another round of U.S.-Iran talks begin today in Geneva. No big breakthroughs are expected, with Rubio saying Iran was attempting to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles while the talks will be focused around Iran's nuclear program. Secretary Rubio commenting yesterday that Iran poses a grave threat to the U.S. These things have to be addressed. The negotiations tomorrow and the talks tomorrow will be largely focused on the nuclear program. And we hope progress can be made because that's the president's preference, to make progress on the diplomatic front. But it's also important to remember that Iran refuses, refuses to talk about ballistic missiles. Vice President Vance says the U.S. is seeking evidence that Iran is trying to rebuild a nuclear weapon after U.S.-led strikes destroyed the country's nuclear facilities last year. So the president sending those negotiators to try to address that problem, as the president has said repeatedly, he wants to address that problem diplomatically, but of course the president has other options as well. Iranian officials meanwhile say a fair, balanced deal could still be reached, but Iran will not give up its nuclear ambitions. And we have accepted not to have nuclear weapons, but at the same time we have full rights to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The negotiations come as the U.S. builds up its military capability in the region. Iran has threatened to strike U.S. bases if it is attacked. President Trump said one week ago that he was giving Tehran about 10 to 15 days to make a deal. Cuba says its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speedboat that had entered Cuban waters. Joining us to discuss this is John Suarez, executive director at the Center for a Free Cuba. So John, good afternoon to you. Now, Cuba accused the people on the speedboat, good afternoon, accusing them of planning an infiltration with terrorist aims. They say those on the boat opened fire first. To start off, I just want to have us take a look at what Secretary Rubio is saying. What I'm telling you is that we're going to find out exactly what happened and who was involved, and then we'll make a determination on the basis of what we find out. And we're going to find out, but we're not going to just take what somebody else tells us. We're going to find out, and I'm very confident we will be able to know this story and be able to independently verify facts about it. So John, in addition to Rubio, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeyer telling Fox News the Cuban government cannot be trusted. So what are your thoughts right now on this situation? Well, the Cuban government is not a reliable narrator. As recently as October 28th of 2022, the Cuban Coast Guard attacked and sank a boat carrying refugees. In this case, we're talking women and children were among the killed. And they've prepared their own narrative. And then when the mother of one of the children killed broke that narrative, she was arrested. So this dictatorship is in a desperate moment trying to distract attention, I believe, from the call by members of Congress to have Raul Castro, General Raul Castro, indicted for the murder of four members of Brothers to the Rescue 30 years ago today. He's no longer head of state, so it's open to have him indicted for murder and brought to trial to face justice. And I think that's one of the factors why the Cuban government want to be distracting with what's taking place at the moment. So what do you think, let's just imagine here, what might be the consequences if any of the dead or wounded turn out to be U.S. citizens or residents? It all depends on the circumstances of what took place. And again, we cannot rely on the Cuban government's version of events. So there needs to be an investigation. I think Secretary Rubio is spot on in his comments, as well as other members of Congress, that there needs to be a serious investigation, get to the truth of what took place, who was impacted, and from there determine what needs to be done. I think it's premature to speculate on what course of action to take when all you have is the Cuban dictatorship's version of events. All right, understood. So I have another clip here of Rubio talking about the Cuban regime. Let's just take a look at it. The people of Cuba are suffering today. They've been suffering for a long time. They're suffering now perhaps more than at any time in recent memory, perhaps in the history since 1959. This is the worst economic climate that Cuba has faced. And it is the authorities there in that government who are responsible for that. They're the ones that have made decisions that have left Cuba vulnerable to the situation they're now in. So John, per your expertise, what is the situation right now that the Cuban people are facing? The Cuban people are facing the worst economic downturn in the regime's history. But this is because the regime since 1959, for the most part, has been in a downward trajectory with respites, for example, when they were able to hook up into Venezuela and drain them dry of their riches over a period of time. But even during that period of time, when they had large amounts of oil that they were reselling on international markets, people were still on the rationing line. People were still suffering. Now that Mr. Maduro is gone, they're in a much more difficult situation. But again, the reason the situation is difficult is because you have communist central planning by Havana. They refuse to reform their system. And concretely, 80% of the food that Cubans eat is imported from abroad. The top exporter of food to Cuba today is the United States. Prior to 1959, Cubans were able to feed themselves. They were able to produce enough food to be self-sufficient. But when Fidel Castro arrived on the scene, collectivized agriculture, set up an agropio system, which was a government monopoly over food. Food has been a scarce commodity in Cuba, and that's why they've been having to import it. The moment they stopped jailing farmers for trying to sell their produce to other Cubans, and farmers are able to produce and sell their produce in markets in Cuba, you will see a change in the plight of the Cuban people. But this dictatorship over the last 67 years has refused to do that. There are farmers locked up today because they were growing chicken, cattle, fruits, and vegetables, and were trying to sell it directly to other Cubans. And the Cuban government wants them to deliver it to an agropio, which is a government agency. And we know from independent reporting inside the island that when you send it to the government agency, up to 50 percent of that food rots, and the farmers aren't paid on time. So there's also a factor that discourages them from production when dealing with the state. So, John, you mentioned briefly that Nicolas Maduro has been arrested by the U.S. I just have a question for you on that. What has been the impact of that? What has been the impact of the embargo on Cuba? And what is the U.S. really doing to make sure that the oil doesn't get into Cuba? Well, the media coverage around this, which shows piles of garbage in the streets of Havana, and tries to attribute that to the oil embargo, hasn't paid attention over the last several years because there hasn't been gasoline for ambulances and for other vehicles that would directly help the Cuban people. What there has been gasoline for is the police cars, the cars that the Cuban police use to repress the Cuban people. Thus, one of the things that we're seeing post-January 3rd is that the regime is much more desperate because they know when the fuel runs out of their vehicles, they're going to have an issue the next time you have an uprising. But I would like to mention, yesterday the Treasury Department did announce that the United States will permit the sale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, but not to the Cuban government, to private entities in Cuba. Now, that's a bit of a challenge because most of the private entities in Cuba are linked to the Cuban military. So, that's going to require a great amount of discretion and discernment by the U.S. government who to award that possibility to in terms of receiving oil from abroad. Right, right. I mean, that does seem like it is a challenge. But let me ask you something else as well. So, Representative Carlos Jiménez said in a statement saying that the regime in Cuba must be relegated to the dustbin of history for its countless crimes against humanity. And he also said on Fox News that the regime is in its weakest position right now, on top of President Trump saying that Cuba will be falling pretty soon. So, in your view, what do you think here? Is the Cuban regime on the verge of toppling? I think the regime won't fall on its own accord. I think it needs to be pushed. But I do think things like the regime had lied for decades that they did not have a military and intelligence presence in Cuba. The 32 members of the military and Cuban intelligence that were killed during the U.S. operation exposed that lie. It exposed that the myth of the Cuban intelligence service military being so top notch and being able to compete with the U.S., it was dealt a body blow psychologically. I think that hurts it within the populace. Secondly, Cuba currently has at least 7,000 Cuban mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, and they've been denying that they've been forcibly encouraging that. But obviously, their relationship with Russia, the military agreements with Belarus, which is also assisting Russia in the war in Ukraine, indicates that there is a large Cuban presence in Ukrainian intelligence services. And since 2022, with this latest round of the war, there have been over 25,000 Cuban mercenaries fighting in Ukraine for Mr. Putin. And that also takes away some of their resources to repress inside of the island. Okay, really great hearing your analysis today. Thank you for your time. Thank you. U.S. officials are meeting with Ukrainian counterparts in Switzerland today. One of the goals is to prepare for the next trilateral talks with Russia, also being led by the U.S. Ukrainian side says today's talks took place in two formats. First, the American side met only with the Ukrainian delegation. Later, they held a trilateral meeting, which also included officials from Switzerland. So after the talks, the U.S. joined officials on a call with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. He says one of the main goals here of the meeting was to prepare for the next trilateral meeting with Russia, which should be as productive as possible. NTD's international correspondent Ariane Pasdar has more on today's talks. A U.S. delegation seen arriving in Switzerland for talks with Ukrainian officials on Thursday. Special Envoy Steve Whitcock and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are representing the U.S. The meeting in Geneva is expected to focus on post-war reconstruction for Ukraine. Peace talks with Russia are a bit slow, as Kyiv reports that Russia pounded infrastructure and civilian targets across Ukraine overnight. Explosions lighting up the sky above Kyiv overnight on Thursday. According to Ukraine, Russia launched over 400 drones and almost 40 missiles, injuring dozens of civilians and damaging infrastructure across the country. It's very frightening. Should I leave for another country? I don't want to. Ukraine is my country. I've lived here all my life. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the U.S. knows that the war in Ukraine does not have a military solution. That war will be settled through a negotiation. And right now we are the only country in the world that can be a catalyst for negotiation. If we forfeit that role, no one else can do it. The Ukrainian side says Thursday's talks are also being held to plan the next trilateral talks, which will include Russia again. Some reports say that meeting might take place in early March. Ariane Pastor, NTD News. Thank you for joining us. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is testifying today in a closed-door session before the House Oversight Committee. The panel is investigating what she knows about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here's Committee Chair James Comer right before the deposition. To my knowledge, the Clintons haven't answered very many, if any, questions about their knowledge or involvement with Epstein and Maxwell. Again, no one's accusing, at this moment, the Clintons of any wrongdoing. They're going to have due process. But we have a lot of questions, and the purpose of the whole investigation is to try to understand many things about Epstein. How did he accumulate so much wealth? How was he able to surround himself with some of the most powerful men in the world? Was he an asset for our government or any other government? These are the questions that we're going to ask over the next two days, and hopefully we'll be able to get some answers. Transcripts of the interviews will be released publicly. In her opening statement, Clinton says she knows nothing about Epstein. Her statement reads, I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes, or offices. The former Secretary of State also criticizes the committee for what she calls partisan political theater. She says they should instead focus on ensuring transparency from the Trump administration. Here's committee ranking member Robert Garcia speaking some two hours into the deposition. Secretary Clinton is also completely cooperating with the deposition and the committee, and is answering questions in full faith and in good faith. Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton initially declined to appear after being subpoenaed, but they later agreed after lawmakers moved toward contempt proceedings. Bill Clinton is expected to testify tomorrow. Committee Chair Comer says it's also possible that Commerce Secretary Howard Lepnick may be called to testify. The secretary testified earlier this month before a Senate panel after his name appeared in the Epstein files. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The Supreme Court is poised to hear arguments on major constitutional and legal issues over the next several months. Carleen Richards breaks down some of the top cases. In the coming months, the Supreme Court will hear some tough issues, including the constitutionality of President Trump's birthright citizenship policy, and the arrival dates for mail-in ballots. Birthright citizenship. Ending birthright citizenship, which now comes to the fore. On April 1st, the nine justices will hear arguments over whether or not Trump's executive order to withhold citizenship from the children of illegal immigrants complies with the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. The clause guarantees citizenship to people born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof. That we've understood for more than 100 years, well over 100 years, to say that it doesn't matter what the status of your parents are, if you're born in this country, then you are a citizen of this country. That was meant for the babies of slaves. It wasn't meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country. Trump says the clause doesn't apply to mothers who are in the country temporarily or unlawfully, and if their fathers likewise are not legal citizens. It has created this perverse incentive for people to come here illegally, and if they have a child, then at that point, that child would be a citizen under that interpretation. The president is guessing that the court will rule against him. He said in a recent post that the court would likely rule in favor of China and other nations and allow them to make a fortune. In April, the court will hear the arguments that will ultimately lead to a ruling that either supports Trump's immigration policy or upholds a potential misunderstanding that's been followed for decades. Mail-in ballots. On March 23rd, the high court will consider whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day. The Republican National Committee and others alleged Mississippi violated a federal law by allowing mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are received within five business days after Election Day. A lower court said it's illegal. Several states adopted the mail-in ballot rule in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. State after state after state. Anti-integrity vote in voting groups sued state after state to get rid of all the safeguards. Mississippi has argued that an election is the conclusive choice of an officer. The committee has warned that allowing states to change the law could cause chaos and flip the results of an election. A decision is expected before the upcoming midterm primaries. Other top issues coming up include gun rights for drug users, asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, and the potential cancer risk of Monsanto's weed killer. Arlene Richards, NTD News. Police have made an arrest in connection with an organized snowball fight that took place in New York City on Monday. NYPD and the city government are divided on how to deal with the incident. NTD's Shaw Marshall has more. And what started out as a social media organized snowball fight at Washington Square Park in New York City turned ugly when police responded to a call for disorderly conduct. NYPD released information about an arrest made of a 27-year-old man Thursday morning out of one of the suspect's photos that were posted to social media. New York City police said officers were hurt when they were pelted with snow and ice during the massive snowball fight. NYPD says the suspect was previously arrested less than three weeks ago for an attempted robbery in the transit system. The New York Police Department said in a brief social media post, the man was arrested for assaulting our officers. A spokesperson for the department said it did not immediately have additional information, including what the man was charged with. The department said multiple officers were hit in the face with snowballs, and a spokesperson for the union has said two police officers were treated at a nearby hospital for face, head, and neck injuries. Shaw Marshall, NTD News. What is the impact of Trump's State of the Union address on the midterm elections? Joining us to discuss is Javier Palomares, founder and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Business Council and former Obama campaign advisor. And we have Matt Klink, Republican strategist and political analyst. First of all, good afternoon to you both. Thank you very much for being here. Matt, I'd like to start with you. The question is, did Trump hit on all the necessary points in his address to convince the public to vote for his party come the midterms? Well, I'll be a little tongue in cheek. If he didn't hit on it in almost two hours, I don't know what else there is left to say. No, in all seriousness, look, he focused on issues, primarily the economy. I know that my colleague will probably say something to the effect of the poll numbers are upside down for Trump on the economy. I would argue that the Republicans are still plus three on the economy over Democrats from an alternative perspective. What he also talked about, and he spent considerable amount of time on, were issues that Republicans hold double digit advantages over Democrats, one being crime, another being immigration, and another being border security. I think what you saw from Donald Trump in that address was a lengthy discussion about the issues that Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress need to fight the midterms about. And he also countered fairly strongly, he didn't do it as strong as I would have, the laughable response about Democrats now talking about affordability when the Biden and Harris administration completely destroyed affordability. And Donald Trump is attempting to turn that oil tanker. You can't fix four years of mess ups in one year, but Donald Trump is doing everything he can to make that happen. Okay, Javier, give us your response. And how do you view what Trump said in that address? I agree with some of the points that Matt made. Inarguably, there's some good news. But when it comes to the State of the Union, Republicans will say that it was the best State of the Union they've ever heard. Democrats will say that it missed the mark woefully. Look, at the end of the day, the only thing that truly matters is how the American voter feels. And American voters that were with him before the State of the Union are still with him. American voters that were against him before the State of the Union are still against him. And I don't think that this State of the Union did enough to change the mind of those American voters that were on the fence. All right, speaking of the voters, there was a moment there that I want to bring up here, where Trump invited Democrats to stand up to show support. Matt, I think you know where I'm going with this. Let's take a look at this clip. So tonight, I'm inviting every legislature to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to So Matt, Javier brings up the idea that it's about what viewers see, right? So how do you think viewers or voters saw this moment, Matt? Well, look, there's already ads out about this race. So that was a made-for-TV moment that Donald Trump set up on purpose. The Democrats played true to form. He knew that they weren't And look, it's very reality-based. Democrats do care more about illegal immigrants than they do about American citizens. Just look at what happened in New York with them giving visa cards and hotel rooms to people that entered this country illegally, and yet they'll let American veterans sleep on the street. So again, this is a Republican plus, I think it's a plus 13 issue for Republicans. The Republicans are going to hammer it home. It was a driving factor for Trump's victory in 2024. And again, this is going to be something that he is going to campaign on aggressively in 2026 that we can't trust to put the radical Democrats back in power so that they can try to open the border again. So whether it resonates or not, it depends upon Donald Trump getting out and being a spokesperson for his policy. Javier, your comments. You know, it was artfully played. Donald Trump, no question, he's a showman. He set this one up and the Democrats played right into it. But look, again, showmanship is one thing and moments like this are one thing. I'll go back to the fact of the matter that what truly is important here is how the American voter feels. Look, we did our own internal polling of over 1300 small business owners that are members of our association. The beginning of this year, actually the end of last year when Donald Trump had just won, his approval rating was at 70% amongst our small business owners. On January the 15th, we fielded another report, and it dropped from 70% down to 40%. Those are the facts. And so there's moments like this that are actually fun to watch because Donald Trump, he's a showman. I'd never want to go up against that guy. But what truly matters is what the American people, the American voter is feeling. And I am polling those people all of the time. And by the way, the 40% that our constituency said he's at in terms of approval kind of matches what the CNNs and the CBSes and NBCs of this world are saying. They're saying he's anywhere from 38% to 40%. There's no doubt that Donald Trump has done a lot of good, particularly when it comes to the economy. Closing the border, unquestionably done an amazing job, but they've overstepped. And so now you've got members of my constituency, the small business owners in the agricultural sector, the construction sector, the hospitality sector, and even tech and manufacturing. These industries, which are cornerstone industries to the American economy, rely on immigrant labor. And right now we are in a very bad situation because A, we didn't have enough manpower to begin with. And now these industries that relied on immigrants are not getting the workforce they need to get the job done. And so there needs to be some kind of regulation, some kind of stepping back from being overly aggressive when it comes to this issue of immigration. Did he close the border? Unquestionably. And he did an amazing job of that, but now they've overstepped. So they got to figure out how to come back to the industries that put him in office to begin with, and the community that put him in office to begin with, which is Hispanics. Both of them, his approval rating has dropped in both of those key kind of categories. And so there's work to be done yet. There's a state of the union and there's things that happen at the state of the union. But then there are the facts of the American voters and the small business owners that are paying the bill. And he needs to kind of start to address those issues. Okay. Okay, Matt, before you respond here, just before you respond here, I have a clip here. You guys bring up numbers, polling numbers. Javier says, maybe President Trump overstepped on immigration. But take a look at this clip of a poll showing Democrats standing on immigration. Just quickly. This, I think, is so important to note. After all the events in Los Angeles, after all the events in Minneapolis, after all the events of the last year on immigration, can Democrats actually take advantage on this issue? And a look at the polling suggests actually no, they're in a worse position, in a worse position than they were at this point during Donald Trump's first term. Take a look here. Trust which party more on immigration? In 2018, Democrats had an edge of about six points. You come over to this side of the screen now. Look at that. Republicans are the ones who have actually have an edge on immigration. Okay, Matt, please, your response. Yeah, I mean, let's parse what Javier said. And look, I agree with you, Javier, in first that state of the unions don't have what we in our industry call legs, meaning that it's a temporary bump if that they don't influence politics or political decision making in the long run. But it's disturbing what what Javier said. So first of all, Donald Trump was very vocal in saying that he supports legal immigration. He made a point of saying that in his speech. But by not defining the difference between legal and illegal, you're basically giving tens of millions of people who snuck into this country illegally, a free pass to stay. And if businesses are dependent on illegal labor that are not properly paying taxes and that are not properly papered to be in this country, that is incredibly disturbing. And frankly, those employers deserve to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We have a legal immigration process that needs to be followed. And that has been a great success. Unfortunately, we have a Democratic Party that has subsisted on open borders for far too long. In fact, the Biden administration let in upwards of 10 plus million people that we have no idea where they are in this country right now. So to hear no differentiation between legal and illegal immigrants, it really makes me concerned that, I mean, that's the problem the Democratic Party have. They just see immigrants. They don't differentiate between legal and illegal. Okay, Javier, a couple of things please respond to. First, the poll numbers that CNN presented. And number two, Matt says there needs to be a distinction between legal and illegal immigration. And employers who employ illegal immigrants should be prosecuted. Your reaction? Matt's right. If you're employing, knowingly employing people who are here illegally, you should be prosecuted. No question. He's also right that the Biden administration did very little to stem the tide of immigrants, whether legal or illegal. And sadly, too many were illegal coming into this country. But again, we got to stick to the facts. And here are the facts, Matt. 73% of the people that have been rounded up by this administration and pulled out of this country, in fact, did not have any kind of criminal record. Those are the people that were working in agriculture, manufacturing. You can argue all day long. And that's where the Republicans are missing the point. They've made up their mind that they're on the right track. And to a large extent, you are on the right track. But this is not unlike the same concerns I had with the Biden administration. There was once a president named Biden, and he argued about this thing called Bidenomics. And it talked about record stock highs and the GDP and all these macroeconomic arguments, which were right, just like these arguments that Republicans are making are right. But the American family considered, the president talked about record highs in the stock market. 93% of the stock market of the people who own stock, that's less than 10% of Americans. Less than 10% of the wealthiest Americans own 93% of the stock in this country, which means that the other 90% of Americans don't even play in that game. So even if it's true, it doesn't impact the American family. I'm not arguing the facts. Those are accurate. But it doesn't matter to 90% of Americans who don't even own stock. That's my point. I had the same argument with the Biden administration that I'm having with Republicans right now. They're stuck on their track, and they're not listening to the American people and the American small business community. You can do it all day long. But already the warning signs are here. Look at what happened in New Jersey. Look at what happened in Virginia. Look at what happened right here down the street in Texas. What were normally Republican-held districts or governorships were lost to Democrats. The early warning signals are here, and stubbornly this administration is doing exactly what the Biden administration did. Can I say something about it? All right, Matt. Yeah. Well, again, you're selectively choosing comments because what you failed to mention was gasoline prices are down significantly than they were from the Biden administration, which helps not only families, but it also helps small business owners. Looking at families, the price of eggs is down radically over what they were under the Biden administration. Inflation is ultimately lower across the board. Interest rates are down, which helps not only small businesses get loans, but families buy houses. So progress has been made. The challenge is, again, this is what's laughable, is when you talk about affordability, going back to higher taxes and more regulation, which Abigail Spohnberger is doing in Virginia right now, that's not a recipe for success in the long run, and that doesn't help small businesses, and it certainly doesn't help families. So again, Republicans, winning New Jersey was a long shot. The race for a Virginia governor, you can only serve one term. That was always going to be a tough one for the Republicans to hold, especially with Donald Trump in power in the White House, if you look at how those races move. Ultimately, 2026 is going to be fought on the voters' views of how they feel about the economy, period. I would much rather be Donald Trump heading in to the November elections than to be the Democrats heading into a Biden administration, because what ultimately has happened, you're going to get a huge tax break from the one big beautiful bill, which your members are all going to benefit from, as well as if Congress funds what Donald Trump said to give small business owners and wage earners the opportunity to invest in the stock market, that's going to help, too. So come November, I think you're going to see big changes in the economy, and if that happens, good things will happen for Republicans. If it doesn't, then it won't. Javier, we're just about out of time here. Javier, just one quick comment from you, and then we'll end the conversation. Look, I don't argue with Matt that some of the points that were made in the State of the Union were absolutely accurate and correct. I don't argue that, on a macro level, we are doing well as a nation. I have the same argument with the previous Democratic administration as I'm having with this Republican administration. Not all is bad, but not all is great, and the fact of the matter is that the numbers are the numbers. We can talk past each other all day long, but the approval rating amongst the American voter right now is down to 40 percent, and after all of this work and this State of the Union, it hasn't changed. And so my only counsel to this Republican administration is that all the business community ever wants is a stable environment in which we continue to invest, to grow jobs, and grow the American economy. And we need stability. We need a calm leader and a calm administration to kind of usher in that kind of an environment. We are behind any administration that is trying to do the right thing and get this economy back on track. There's a lot of things that have happened that are good, but this State of the Union did nothing to address the issues that are not good. And that's just the end of it. I mean, that's the way the American people feel. And no matter how much Matt and I agree or disagree on the air, at the end of the day, it matters very little to the American vote. All right. We have to leave the conversation there. Great comments from both of you. Thank you so much, Javier and Matt. Thank you. Thank you. Vice President J.D. Vance toured a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin today with Republican Congressman Derek Van Orden. The vice president took the opportunity to promote President Trump's economic agenda ahead of November's midterm elections. During his remarks, Vance criticized Democrats arguing that they don't prioritize American workers. Watch a speech when these guys talk about illegal immigration, and then watch a speech when they talk about manufacturing jobs for American workers. That doesn't give them passion. That gives Donald Trump passion. That gives Derek Van Orden passion. The idea that every single one of you should have a good job, a good life if you work hard and play by the rules. The idea that our young families should be able to own a stake in their country, that's what fires us up. That's what we're fighting for in government. But you watch these congressional Democrats, what really fires them up, they get really mad at the idea that we're deporting illegal immigrants. They talk about the dreams of illegal immigrants who have come into our country, but what about the dreams of you and your children? Because that's who I'm fighting for. That's who Donald Trump is fighting for, and that's who Derek Van Orden is fighting for. The facility where Vance was speaking in, Wisconsin's third congressional district. Trump carried the district by seven points in 2024, part of a sweep of battleground states that put him back in the White House. The president has endorsed the district's representative, Derek Van Orden, for the 2026 midterms. Vance's comments followed Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday. Trump is scheduled to visit Texas for an event focused on energy and the A former U.S. Air Force pilot has been arrested for allegedly providing defense services to the Chinese military. Federal officials say 65-year-old Gerald Eddie Brown Jr. was taken into custody in Indiana. The former F-35 instructor pilot was charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act. Prosecutors allege Brown conspired to train pilots with China's People's Liberation Army Air Force without the required State Department license. According to the complaint, Brown traveled to China in late 2023. He allegedly provided combat aircraft instruction there after coordinating with foreign nationals. One of those individuals was a previously convicted Chinese hacker tied to military espionage. The Justice Department and the FBI saying the case underscores growing efforts to buy Beijing to exploit former U.S. military expertise. They vow to hold anyone who assists America's adversaries accountable. A former U.S. Air Force pilot has been arrested for allegedly providing defense services to the Chinese military. Federal officials say 65-year-old Gerald Eddie Brown Jr. was taken into custody in Indiana. The former F-35 instructor pilot was charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act. Prosecutors allege Brown conspired to train pilots with China's People's Liberation Army Air Force without the required State Department license. According to the complaint, Brown traveled to China in late 2023. He allegedly provided combat aircraft instruction there after coordinating with foreign nationals. One of those individuals was a previously convicted Chinese hacker tied to military espionage. Justice Department and the FBI saying the case underscores growing efforts to buy Beijing to exploit former U.S. military expertise. They vow to hold anyone who assists America's adversaries accountable. Joining us now to discuss this is Michael Lucci, the founder and CEO of StateArmor, an organization dedicated to helping states enact solutions to global security threats. And we have Casey Fleming, chairman and CEO of Black Ops Partners Corporation. He's also the author of the new book, The Red Tsunami. So welcome both. Good to have you on the show, both of you. So when it comes to espionage, we often think of Chinese nationals in the U.S. stealing state secrets. But how common is this kind of activity where an American citizen uses their knowledge or expertise to aid or in this case, train the Chinese regime? So Michael, I'll go to you first. Don, they're always trying to compromise American citizens. They're always trying to compromise permanent nationals in the United States. This is one of the most egregious examples where they have a former American general teaching them how to use the most advanced air platforms that we have, presumably for a future war with the United States. That's who they'd be using them against. But we had a more recent conviction of a State Department employee who has passed along classified information. We had a recent conviction of a naval enlisted who was also passing along classified information to help China build its war machine. From top to bottom, whether it's the military, our universities or transnational repression, China seeks to compromise our society throughout, extract the value that they can, and then use that value to harm us in the future. Okay, so let me go to you now, Casey. Can you talk to us the scope of this specific type of action where an American citizen is helping the Chinese military? Well, it's not limited just to the military. This is just the case in point for the day. This happens in all sectors of business, government, where everybody's attacked and compromised. This is something that's very serious, of course. This guy, this American, was trained by the American taxpayers, using that taxpayer money and intellectual property to go against his own people. So it's first and foremost treason. We need to bring back the very, very strong treason laws that we had in the past of aiding and abetting our enemies. So, you know, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Kash Patel have said for many years that the CCP and China is the single biggest threat to the future of the United States. So these guys are going against their country. They're going against the taxpayers. But the problem is, this is not just a one-off. This is happening just, you know, like drops of water in a bucket. So, Michael, do you see it that way that this person went against the country, essentially? Yes, I agree. It's treason. And we have not executed someone for treason since 1953 when we lost the nuclear secrets to the Soviets. But we should think about bringing that back. We should think about imposing minimum sentences of at least 25 years for passing along military secrets to communist China. There's only one reason that they want these secrets. It's to harm our allies and then ultimately to harm the United States. We need to really reform our legal structures to massively increase all criminal penalties that we would impose on communist China and agents thereof. We have universities passing along military research to China like it's no big deal at all. But it starts at the top. It starts with a case like this where we have one of the most privileged, you know, general officers in the American military just going right over there and training them on using the most advanced platforms. It's the most kind of egregious case you could have. So this needs to be an exceptional punishment and we should change laws to make sure that we can advance higher and higher punishments for treason. So, Casey, how do we deter this? Michael says execution hasn't been used for treason for a long time. Maybe laws need to be changed. How do we prevent this? Laws must be changed, not just on this piece of it with treason, but also with foreign influence. All these things, they're absolutely eroding our country very, very quickly. We're running out of time. I think that these treason laws, as well as foreign influence laws, should be maximum penalties. I'm thinking minimum 50 years and something like this should absolutely constitute death. In my book, they took an oath to protect our country. Now they're giving away all of our secrets that the taxpayers paid for and to violate that oath. He's the tip of the spear. He's F-35 latest technology. He's weapons deployment, nuclear weapons deployment. He was an instructor pilot and a simulator pilot. He already is a fantastic instructor because he's been trained by the American taxpayers to do that. You need to set an example. Let me tell you, if he was in China, he would be hung very quickly. He'd be lucky if he got a bullet. We have to stop messing around as a country. We are in a war today. This is the end stage, which is conventional or kinetic war, which you're already in. We are all in a war today. Every American person is in that war, which is called unrestricted war. Again, conventional war is the last stage of that piece of it. By the way, this guy did no favors to Taiwan. They're practicing for Taiwan right now. After Taiwan, it's the rest of the Indo-Pacific and then, of course, America as well. Michael, what is the gravity of the situation? Is every American in a war right now? Communist China is bringing a war to every American. I don't think that every American realizes that that's happening. Over a million Americans have been killed by fentanyl. That's an intentional operation by Communist China. Those Americans are largely military-aged men. China knows that that's what they're doing. They're killing military-aged men through chemical warfare on the United States. If we could do one simple idea, abide by one simple principle, it's just stop helping Communist China. They have told us what they want to do. They've told us that they want to knock us off as the leading nation of the world. They want to destroy our alliance structure, and yet we have generals going over there and training them. It's not just that. There are billions of dollars coming out of the Pentagon for military research into American universities, on hypersonics, on AI for combat operations. Those American universities are partnering with China's military to develop that research. We're just handing over our military research, whether it's something this extremely direct, like someone being treasonous and traitorous, or it's the universities just leaking our research, or our businesses doing the same thing. All of it has to stop. We need to stop helping Communist China. Casey, I'm sure you would agree with that statement, that the U.S. should stop helping China, but what does that look like in reality? Does that mean decoupling from China? What does it look like? I agree with Michael on everything that he said, and it is decoupling from China. China has been decoupling from the United States for several years. They've been placing their economy on a war footing. We're addicted to the cash with the Chinese economy. Again, it's a Communist Chinese economy. The way it looks like here in the United States, remember, unrestricted war has over 100 different methods to weaken the U.S. from the inside, where we will just capitulate. The final stage, hopefully, from their standpoint, will never enter conventional warfare, where we just give up. We just say, we can't take it. We need a grown-up to come in and take this over. What that looks like here today is stop buying Chinese goods and services. Every American votes every day with their wallet. Stop buying Chinese goods and services, and stop investing in companies who work with China and do business in China, and start voting people into state, federal, local office that will stop this nonsense, and they will stop this foreign influence. Let me tell you, there's no foreign influence allowed in China. If you get caught giving foreign influence in China, you're put to death. So we need to have the same type of laws over here, because let me tell you, our enemy is pretty darn serious. Okay, let me just ask one more question to each of you. Michael, I want to focus on this decoupling idea. How should the U.S. balance this? Because I would imagine there will be at least a significant short-term pain for Americans if we entirely decouple trade or anything else with China. We have to do a rapid decoupling on their mineral bottlenecks, on the bottlenecks of the world economy that China controls. So you're seeing that start to happen on rare earths. We need to do the same thing on pharmaceuticals. And as that especially rapid decoupling is occurring on those specific things, there needs to be a broader decoupling, which actually is occurring. Chinese imports in the United States continue to drop as a share of total imports. But this is a really important point, and it deals with what President Trump is doing globally. We also need to cut off the trans-shipment, which is when China sends something to Vietnam, and then it comes here. And that's going into some of these trade deals, that's exceptionally important. So it's not just that we stop having imports from China, we need to block our friends, allies, and other trading partners from passing that through to us. Okay, Casey, final thoughts. A hundred percent agree. It starts with the people. Our government got us into this place. And by the way, there's one China. It's completely controlled by communist China and the communist CCP. And our government has got us into this place here with the American people being so far weakened now. So the American people have to take their country back. And I'm saying peacefully, but to do that by voting with your wallets and voting people in. But our government has aided and abetted the Chinese communists to their position of power right now. The Indo-Pacific is now almost 50% of the world GDP. That is very, very significant. And all we're doing is funding our own enemy. Every dollar spent on the Chinese communists is every dollar spent killing our children. And Michael even said that. One perfect example is fentanyl. But there are many other different types of drug warfare. So it's time for us to get serious, the American people to get serious. That's one of the reasons I wrote the book, because it's written to the American people on how they can understand what's going on and take action. All right, great point there, that if you don't vote with your wallet, you're essentially paying for your own demise. So great comments from both of you. Let's end it there for today. Thank you. Hong Kong company CK Hutchinson complained on Tuesday that Panama authorities had threatened its employees with criminal prostitution if they refused to leave two strategic canal ports, one at each end of the Panama Canal. The canal becoming a centerpiece in the influence battle between Beijing and Washington. Panama on Monday published a Supreme Court ruling from January that canceled key port contracts held by a subsidiary of CK Hutchinson. The publication ultimately annulled the company's right to operate the ports. The Trump administration has pushed Panama to make this move as the Panama Canal is a strategically important asset to the US.