Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly heading to Panama as early as next week for his first foreign trip as the head of the U.S. State Department.
The trip sends a clear message that President Donald Trump is serious about removing communist China&#8217;s influence from the canal and taking back the engineering marvel that the U.S. built more than a century ago.
Rubio is also planning on visiting Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica, Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-23/marco-rubio-plans-to-visit-panama-as-trump-eyes-canal">reported</a>.
The former U.S. Senator from Florida became Trump&#8217;s first confirmed cabinet secretary during his second term in office when he received a 99-0 vote in the Senate this week.
Panamanian President Jose Mulino released a statement shortly after Trump took office rejecting his push to reassert sovereignty over the Panama Canal, which Trump mentioned in his inaugural speech.
“We will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs,” Trump said. “President McKinley made our country very rich, through tariffs and through talent.”
“He was a natural businessman and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of Panama after the United States — the United States — I mean, think of this — spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal,” he continued. “We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made. And Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape, or form. And that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China; we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back.”
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Mulino said in his statement: “I must reject in its entirety the words expressed by President Donald Trump regarding Panama and its Canal in his inaugural address.”
&#8220;I reiterate what I expressed in my message to the Nation on December 22: the Canal is and will continue to be Panama’s and its administration will continue to be under Panamanian control with respect to its permanent neutrality,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="‘We’re Taking It Back!’: Trump Has Big Message For China On The Panama Canal" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VdQONA22uH0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Marco Rubio Sworn In As US Secretary Of State

Rubio Sends Strong Message With Destination Of His First Foreign Trip

China

Communist China

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Marco Rubio

Panama

Panama Canal

Politics

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> signed an executive order Monday night to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) over its handling of COVID and demands for “onerous payments.” 
The order from Trump restored a policy that had been put in place at the end of his first administration, but was later revoked by President Joe Biden. When speaking with reporters about the order, Trump said the U.S. was paying too much to be a member of the UN-backed WHO in comparison to other countries like China. 
“So we paid $500 million to World Health when I was here and I terminated it,” Trump said, adding that it “seemed a little unfair” because China was paying around $39 million to the organization. 
“China pays $39 million and we pay $500 million and China’s a bigger country,” he said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization <a href="https://t.co/YyKYMP53Ur">pic.twitter.com/YyKYMP53Ur</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1881515312644030635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/withdrawing-the-united-states-from-the-worldhealth-organization/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> says that the U.S. first withdrew from WHO in 2020 because of “the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”  
“In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments,” the order added. “China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO.”
The order officially retracts a letter Biden sent to the United Nations on January 20, 2021, re-entering the U.S. into the global health body. 
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WHO said that it was disappointed with Trump&#8217;s decision. 
&#8220;We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” the organization <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/world-health-organization-who-trump-pulls-us-2018064" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
WHO has again faced scrutiny from Republican lawmakers in recent months over its transgender guidelines and a global “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-governors-issue-warning-about-who-pandemic-treaty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pandemic treaty</a>” it was proposing.
In November, a coalition of congressional Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-republicans-demand-who-chief-disband-activist-panel-on-transgenderism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged WHO to disband</a> its Guideline Development Group (GDG) on transgenderism because of its ties to leftist activist groups. The lawmakers said that the group has bypassed and ignored scientific evidence showing the harms of transgender procedures.
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Inauguration Of Donald Trump As 47th President Of The United States

Trump Orders U.S. To Withdraw From World Health Organization

Executive

Joe Biden

United Nations

World Health Organization

As the new Trump administration proposes sweeping cuts to the federal budget, progressives are <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/story/2024-12-26/please-president-elect-trump-dont-cut-funding-to-the-un-population-fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener">begging</a> the president to continue <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/opinion/columnists/family-planning-women.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subsidizing</a> the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
But considering the UNFPA’s dark history of sponsoring draconian population control policies, slashing U.S. funding should be a top priority of the Trump administration, especially as fertility rates decline to <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sub-replacement levels</a> and the “population bomb” becomes an obsolete doomsday prophecy.
Trump cut UNFPA funding in 2017, following a long tradition of Republicans since Ronald Reagan who have regarded the UNFPA as unqualified to receive U.S. government support under the 1985 <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46962/2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kemp-Kasten Amendment</a>. This ruling prohibits U.S. funding for “any organization or program which, as determined by the president of the United States, supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.”
The Democrats have restored UNFPA funding each time they’ve returned to the White House since Kemp-Kasten. When the Biden administration <a href="https://www.state.gov/prioritizing-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-reproductive-rights-in-u-s-foreign-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> it would reinstate U.S. support in 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the UNFPA is “essential to the health and well-being of women around the world.”
While the UNFPA prides itself as a <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/about-us#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20UNFPA%20is,care%20and%20comprehensive%20sexuality%20education." target="_blank" rel="noopener">champion</a> of women’s health and “reproductive rights and choices,” its history is tainted by sponsorship of the most egregious violations of human dignity.
Founded in 1969, the UNFPA has spearheaded the global <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674034600" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaign</a> to reduce fertility, particularly in developing countries. The U.S. has served as one of its largest annual <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/donor/united-states-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donor</a> countries, except under recent Republican administrations.
Population control programs backed by the UNFPA, euphemistically described as “family planning,” have often been coercive and tyrannical. It supported China’s brutal <a href="https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/neo-malthusianism-coercive-population-control-china-india-overpopulation-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one-child policy</a>, which terrorized the Chinese population with forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations for over three decades.
In 2004, then-UNFPA executive director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/abandoned-un-population-policies-to-get-cash-boost/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “We endorse the one-child policy in China,” arguing that UNFPA family planning programs helped reduce China’s abortion rate.
Because of the one-child policy and the Chinese cultural preference for sons, China faces a massive <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3282574/chinas-35-million-leftover-men-spark-foreign-brides-idea-tackle-gender-imbalance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sex ratio imbalance</a>, with nearly 35 million more men than women.
In 1983, China’s National Family Planning Commission Chairman Qian Xinzhong was presented with the first <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1973563" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Nations Population Award</a>, along with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who enacted similarly coercive <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/6/5/18629801/emergency-in-india-1975-indira-gandhi-sterilization-ford-foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">population policies</a> in India — at the behest of the Rockefeller and Ford foundations.  
The old-guard “Rockefeller Republicans” of the “eastern establishment,” such as Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger, were enthusiastic <a href="https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0054/4525564.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proponents</a> of population control, including through the UNFPA.
In 1974, Kissinger penned a classified memo titled <a href="https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pcaab500.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Security Study Memorandum 200</a>, which argued that suppressing developing countries’ populations was necessary for U.S. national security and economic interests.
He recommended that these population activities should be carried out in partnership with the UNFPA, the WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, and his memo even considered withholding food aid to developing countries that refused to implement family planning programs.
To downplay accusations of imperialist motivations for U.S. population policies directed at developing countries, Kissinger suggested “repeatedly asserting” that such policies are concerned with “the right of the individual couple to determine freely and responsibly their number and spacing of children.”
Machiavellian language wrapped up in colorful appeals to human rights can often disguise nefarious and genocidal intentions.
The Biden administration <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/donor/united-states-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supported</a> the UNFPA with nearly $112 million of U.S. taxpayer money. In 2025, The Trump administration must not overlook this important budget cut, especially with pro-natal voices such as Elon Musk involved in the administration.
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It is not the threat of overpopulation, but rather depopulation, that could undermine economic prosperity and imperil the future of civilization this century. As the working-age population shrinks, countries may experience a dearth of resources to provide health care, pensions and other services to a significantly larger retirement-age population.
The U.S. government should permanently cease funding the UNFPA due to its controversial activities promoting neo-Malthusianism and coercive anti-natal policies that jeopardize human dignity, freedom and the progress of civilization.
* * *
Aidan Grogan is a history PhD student at Liberty University, a contributor with Young Voices and the donor communications manager at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER). His work has been published in The American Spectator, The Washington Examiner and AIER’s The Daily Economy. Follow him on X @AidanGrogan.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.
This article has been edited for clarity. A previous version used the phrase president-elect which is no longer valid.

United Nations Security Council Meets To Discuss Situation In Gaza

Why President Trump Must Defund This U.N. Agency Once Again

Abortion

Antony Blinken

Biden Administration

Henry Kissinger

India

Population

Trump Administration

President-elect Donald Trump responded to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-allows-tiktok-ban-to-take-effect?topStoryPosition=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supreme Court&#8217;s Friday ruling</a> that upholds a ban on Chinese-owned TikTok, saying that he will decide whether to take any executive action &#8220;in the not too distant future.&#8221;
Following the high court&#8217;s ruling, the ban on TikTok will go into effect on Sunday unless the social media platform&#8217;s parent company — Chinese-owned ByteDance — sells TikTok to an American company. The Biden administration <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-administration-trump-implement-tiktok-ban-rcna188155" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it will leave the issue for Trump to address as soon as he is sworn in on Monday.
Trump, who has reportedly considered issuing an executive order to allow TikTok to remain available in app stores in the U.S., said in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113844584193010573" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on Truth Social that the Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling wasn&#8217;t surprising, and added that he would &#8220;review the situation&#8221; before taking any executive action.
&#8220;The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!&#8221; Trump wrote.
Enforcement of the law will be the executive branch&#8217;s responsibility, and Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/politics/tiktok-ban-supreme-court/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN shortly after the ruling was handed down that the decision on TikTok&#8217;s future &#8220;ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do.&#8221;
&#8220;Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision,&#8221; he added.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said he spoke to Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping about multiple issues, including TikTok.
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“I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A.,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”
Trump has flipped on the TikTok issue between his first and second terms. During his first term, Trump attempted to ban TikTok, but he recently met with TikTok&#8217;s CEO and <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/us-news/donald-trump-has-warm-spot-in-my-heart-for-tiktok-as-app-store-ban-looms-in-january/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he has a &#8220;warm spot&#8221; for the social media giant after it helped energize young Americans who voted for him in the 2024 election.
TikTok &#8220;collects extensive personal information from and about its users,&#8221; the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/politics/tiktok-ban-supreme-court/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>, adding, that the platform does “not dispute that the government has an important and well-grounded interest in preventing China from collecting the personal data of tens of millions of U.S. TikTok users. Nor could they.&#8221; U.S. lawmakers and the Biden administration raised alarms about the national security threat presented by TikTok, arguing that the communist government could manipulate the platform&#8217;s content in a way that pushes Chinese propaganda on American citizens.
The Supreme Court acknowledged the threat, writing, “Data collection and analysis is a common practice in this digital age. But TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns.”

Trump Responds To ‘Expected’ SCOTUS TikTok Ruling, Says He Will ‘Review The Situation’

Trump Responds To 'Expected' SCOTUS TikTok Ruling, Says He Will 'Review The Situation'

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

Technology

TikTok

President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that he had a &#8220;very good&#8221; call with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping discussing major issues between the countries as Trump prepares to hit the ground running in his second term.
According to Trump, the two leaders addressed &#8220;balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. &#8221; The incoming Trump administration&#8217;s relationship with China will be in the spotlight after Trump is sworn in on Monday. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to levy 60% tariffs on goods from China, a significant increase from his first term.
Trump also said he discussed the controversial Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok with Xi just before the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-allows-tiktok-ban-to-take-effect?topStoryPosition=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> on Friday morning that the TikTok ban passed by Congress could go into effect this weekend. Trump is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/us/politics/trump-tiktok-executive-order.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> considering an executive order to allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. Following the Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling, if TikTok&#8217;s parent company — China-based ByteDance — does not sell the social media platform, the ban will go into effect on Sunday, January 19.
&#8220;I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113844165549788304" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!&#8221;
China will send its vice president, Han Zheng, to Trump&#8217;s inauguration after the president-elect invited Xi to attend. Zheng&#8217;s appearance will mark the first time a high-ranking Chinese official will be in attendance at an inauguration, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/17/china-donald-trump-inauguration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
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China&#8217;s state-run media did not provide details about Xi&#8217;s phone conversation with Trump, but the communist country&#8217;s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “We stand ready to work with the new U.S. government to enhance dialogue and communication … and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other.”
After winning the election in November, Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/17/world/trump-xi-phone-call-us-china-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> to dial back his tariff threat on China, saying he would only raise tariffs on Chinese goods by 10% unless the country stops the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.
Fentanyl trafficking is the main Chinese drug export and a problem the president-elect has promised to address. According to a 2020 <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Drug Enforcement Agency, China is &#8220;the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and express consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States.&#8221;

Trump Speaks To Xi Jinping About ‘Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok’

Trump Speaks To Xi Jinping About 'Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok'

Fentanyl

Tariffs

Xi Jinping

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the TikTok ban passed by Congress could go into effect this weekend, saying it did not violate the First Amendment. 
In an unassigned opinion, the court ruled that Congress was justified in passing the ban because of concerns about the Chinese government using TikTok to harvest the private data of millions of Americans. If China-based ByteDance does not sell the social media platform, the ban will go into effect on Sunday, January 19. 
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the court wrote. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
While the main opinion was not signed, two concurring opinions were attached from Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
The court said that those challenging the ban, including a group of TikTok users, did not provide any examples of the law actually curtailing their speech.
&#8220;It is not clear that the Act itself directly regulates protected expressive activity, or conduct with an expressive component. Indeed, the Act does not regulate the creator petitioners at all. And it directly regulates ByteDance Ltd. and TikTok Inc. only through the divestiture requirement,&#8221; the court wrote. 
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The court added that the regulations imposed by the law, which was signed by President Joe Biden in April, were content neutral.
&#8220;They impose TikTok-specific prohibitions due to a foreign adversary’s control over the platform and make divestiture a prerequisite for the platform’s continued operation in the United States,&#8221; the court wrote. &#8220;The Government also supports the challenged provisions with a content-neutral justification: preventing China from collecting vast amounts of sensitive data from 170 million U. S. TikTok users.&#8221;
The law from Congress says that TikTok will be banned as long as it is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. If it is sold to an American company, it will no longer be banned. There have been various proposals floated to save TikTok, including from &#8220;Shark Tank&#8221; investor Kevin O’Leary, who has partnered with a group called &#8220;The People&#8217;s Bid for TikTok.&#8221; 
This is a breaking story. Refresh for updates.

Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban

Courts

First Amendment

Kevin O'Leary

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/scott-bessent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scott Bessent</a>, President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s nominee for treasury secretary, responded to a Democratic lawmaker&#8217;s claim that the United States is facing off against China in an &#8220;arms race in clean energy.&#8221;
The <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1879956066835804387" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retort</a> occurred on Thursday during a confirmation hearing held by the Senate Finance Committee. Bessent responded to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who began his final question by touting the &#8220;biggest transformation on clean energy in American history&#8221;—an apparent reference to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Scott Bessent Blasts Democrats’ War On Fossil Fuels By Pointing To China" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZVD4rH0FayU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;That is our package that basically said the tax code as it relates to energy is a broken-down mess. And we basically said we&#8217;re going to have a technology-neutral system: the more you reduce carbon, the bigger your tax savings,&#8221; Wyden said.
&#8220;Now there is a big effort in the Trump administration to reverse it. I think that&#8217;s going to be bad for the economy, but it is going to be damn good for China because we are in an arms race in clean energy with them. Are you going to be on the side of people who want to unravel this?&#8221; he asked.
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&#8220;Sen. Wyden. Just so we can frame this for everyone in the room, China will build a hundred new coal plants this year. There is not a clean energy race, there is an energy race,&#8221; Bessent began.
&#8220;China will build 10 nuclear plants this year. That is not solar. I am in favor of more nuclear plants and I would note that the IRA as scored by the CBO is wildly out of control in terms of spending on the upside,&#8221; he added, referring to the Congressional Budget Office.
&#8220;Well, first of all, the clean energy package does protect nuclear because members on both sides of the aisle in this room wanted it to be that way,&#8221; Wyden replied.
&#8220;But if you&#8217;re going to talk about fossils, the United States has achieved a greater level of energy security than we&#8217;ve had in generations,&#8221; the senator continued. &#8220;Oil and gas production is at record highs. And it&#8217;s not just that, but it&#8217;s about clean energy. And I&#8217;m very troubled by your position denying that we&#8217;re in an arms race with China on clean energy, because we definitely are.&#8221;

Scott Bessent testifies

Treasury Nominee Scott Bessent Schools Dem Senator On ‘Energy Race’ With China

Congress

Fossil Fuels

Presidential nomination

Scott Bessent

FBI Director Christopher Wray said during an interview over the weekend that communist China is the most significant threat facing the incoming Trump administration.
Wray made the remarks during an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; just days before he steps down from his position after President-elect Donald Trump said that he would replace Wray with a new nominee, Kash Patel.
&#8220;The greatest long-term threat facing our country, in my view, is represented by the People&#8217;s Republic of China, the Chinese government, which I consider to be the defining threat of our generation,&#8221; Wray said.
When asked about China&#8217;s recent hack of U.S. cyber and infrastructure, Wray said that China&#8217;s program is &#8220;far and away the world&#8217;s largest — bigger than that of every major nation combined and has stolen more of Americans&#8217; personal and corporate data than that of every nation, big or small, combined.&#8221;
&#8220;But even beyond the cyber theft, there&#8217;s another part of the Chinese cyber threat that I think has not gotten the attention publicly that it I think desperately deserves,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And that is Chinese government&#8217;s pre-positioning on American civilian critical infrastructure. To lie in wait on those networks to be in a position to wreak havoc and can inflict real-world harm at a time and place of their choosing.&#8221;
He said that China has used malware to infect water treatment plants, transportation systems, the electric grid, natural gas pipelines, and telecommunications systems.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
The Chinese government is the greatest long-term threat facing our country, says FBI Director Christopher Wray. <a href="https://t.co/QKATOO0ZDw">https://t.co/QKATOO0ZDw</a> <a href="https://t.co/Si5u8BMXYd">pic.twitter.com/Si5u8BMXYd</a>
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1878599284515287260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2025</a></blockquote>

Worldwide Threats

FBI Director Wray Reveals Top Threat Facing Incoming Trump Admin

Christopher Wray

The University of Michigan, which has worked with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Communist China since 2005, suddenly announced it was ending the partnership.
Last October 31, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, wrote a letter to University of Michigan President Santa J. Ono, warning him of the risks of a partnership with the Chinese university. His letter came in the wake of five Chinese nationals from the Joint Institute studying at the University of Michigan being charged with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/02/us/5-chinese-nationals-charged-with-covering-up-midnight-visit-to-michigan-military-site/index.html">deliberately concealing</a> their unauthorized visit to Camp Grayling in northern Michigan. Those nationals came from China to Michigan as students through the joint institute partnership.
“Shanghai Jiao Tong plays a critical role in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military-civil fusion strategy,” Moolenaar <a href="https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-10-31%20-%20Letter%20to%20U-M%20re%20Research%20Security%20House%20Select%20Cmte%20CCP.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “Through its extensive military-aligned departments and laboratories, advanced dual-use research programs, and large-scale operational training platforms, Shanghai Jiao Tong drives the PRC’s military modernization and intelligence capabilities. For example, the university is currently home to several national-level laboratories, including three defense-related laboratories. This military-academic integration enables Shanghai Jiao Tong to make significant contributions to the PRC’s most sensitive defense programs, including nuclear weapons, carrier rockets, satellites, nuclear submarines, and fighter jets.”
“Research performed at the Joint Institute advances the PRC’s defense and intelligence capabilities,” he added. “For example, Institute researchers have helped the PRC achieve advancements in defense technologies from propellant combustion modeling and solid rocket fuel research to anti-corrosion technology for military aircraft developed with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) researchers. They have worked on projects to improve CT imaging technology for detecting flaws in advanced military equipment, which appears to have leveraged Department of Defense- funded research from University of Michigan faculty.”
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“International academic partnerships have deeply enriched our academic offerings and strengthened the global education of our students, and we will continue to pursue partnerships around the world as part of our academic mission,” Ono <a href="https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-to-end-partnership-with-shanghai-jiao-tong-university/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> regarding the termination of the partnership. “As we do so, we must also prioritize our commitment to national security.”
“International experiences are vital for our students in this interconnected world,” he said. “We remain committed to supporting U-M’s international students and will continue to foster international partnerships that advance knowledge and cross-cultural understanding and ensure our campus remains a vibrant community where scholars from around the world can thrive.”
Georgia Tech <a href="https://www.gatech.edu/news/2024/09/06/georgia-tech-exit-georgia-tech-shenzhen-institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a</a><a href="https://www.gatech.edu/news/2024/09/06/georgia-tech-exit-georgia-tech-shenzhen-institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nnounced</a> the termination of the Georgia Tech Shenzhen Joint Institute in September. The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party noted in July 2023 that then-Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the committee and Chairwoman Virginia Fox (R-NC) of the Education and the Workforce Committee sent a letter to the President and Chancellor of the University of California Berkeley warning them about Berkeley&#8217;s joint institute with Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen government in China.

Aerial View of University of Michigan Campus and Urban Landscape

University Of Michigan Ends Partnership With Communist Chinese University

Department of Defense

Education

University of Michigan

Donald Trump just gave one of the greatest press conferences in American history. He talked more in this press conference than Joe Biden has for four years. He spoke quite coherently and cogently.
The press conference was a doozy. It was wonderful in so many ways.
Trump is going to instruct the federal government to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and I am here for it. It is fantastic. If you look at a map, about 65% of the coastline along the Gulf of Mexico is in America.
Who&#8217;s going to stop us from renaming it? Mexico? Sure. They can’t even balance the budget or stop the cartels from running their country.
But that&#8217;s not the only item on the Manifest Destiny Agenda for the Trump administration that I love.
I love that Trump has been talking about making Canada the 51st state. I know that Justin Trudeau is out there tweeting how it&#8217;ll never be the 51st state, but he has no say in the matter because when we invade, he will be shipped to work the Panama Canal.
More America is better. Greenland, a vital place territorially, is on Trump’s list. Why not? The United States spends money on the military defense of Greenland, and we have military bases in Greenland. We use Greenland’s northern border in order to protect Arctic shipping. Greenland is very important because as ice melts in the Arctic Circle, there will be brand-new North Atlantic shipping lanes which have drawn interest from Russia and China. Either Russia and China are going to have an impact there, or we are. Arctic shipping has increased, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/01/08/why-does-trump-want-to-buy-greenland-heres-what-to-know-as-don-jr-arrives-on-island/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes</a>, 37% over the past decade.
In addition, Greenland is part of the strategically important Greenland-Iceland-UK gap, a choke point that Russian ships actually have to transit to travel from the Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic.
And Greenland has a plethora of untapped mineral resources. Those include copper, iron ore, diamonds, and oil. We should purchase Greenland.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2112-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
The people of Greenland have been talking about independence for a very long time. If that were to happen, they would realign with the United States in a heartbeat. First of all, it&#8217;s better to live in the United States than it is to live in a principality of Denmark. Second, as far as security concerns to defend those Arctic Straits against Russia and China, do you think Denmark is going to go up against the Russians or the Chinese?
If that is a matter of national security for the United States, why not sell Greenland to the United States if you are Denmark?
Back in 1775, Denmark and Norway declared Greenland a colony. Greenland was then formally transferred from Norway to Denmark by a treaty in 1814. Denmark started trying to colonize the island in the 1880s.
But before the 1880s, a huge chunk was actually discovered by Americans. Charles Francis Hall saw northwest Greenland during the Polaris expedition, which was from 1871 to 1873. And another explorer named Robert Peary actually claimed much of the North.
The only reason that Denmark has any claim whatsoever to Greenland, as far as the United States is concerned, is because when the United States was interested in purchasing the Danish West Indies during World War I, Denmark required the U.S. to recognize its claim over the whole island of Greenland.
At the time, Peary, the explorer who discovered and claimed much of it, opposed the U.S. giving up the claim because the Monroe Doctrine said there should be no European interference in the Western Hemisphere.
He correctly suggested that we should have purchased the island outright. And then, as it turned out, we had to defend it anyway because in the early 1940s, Denmark had been conquered by the Nazis. Once that happened, the United States basically had to defend Greenland as its own principality because it was the only known significant source of a material called rhyolite. Because Germany was attempting to use the North Atlantic as a base during World War II, the United States actually did apply the Monroe Doctrine on European colonies in the North Atlantic Ocean.
By 1946, the joint chiefs of staff had listed Greenland and Iceland as essential international locations for American bases. In fact, when NATO was in its heyday, Greenland was seen as more important to both American and Canadian defense than some of the Western European countries. That was because the very, very north of Canada, the North American continent, gets pretty close to territory that is controlled by Russia.
In 1951, Greenland and the United States signed a treaty that gave the United States exclusive jurisdiction over defense areas within Greenland. So there is a significantly solid case that the United States actually ought to buy Greenland.
But there’s more. 
President Trump has made clear that he does not want the Panama Canal to be controlled by the Chinese. He&#8217;s half joking when he&#8217;s making fun of Justin Trudeau and talking about making Canada the 51st state, but the Greenland issue is actually a fairly serious proposal. And when it comes to the Panama Canal, there really is a serious problem. The Panama Canal was built with American labor and money. It was turned over idiotically by one of our worst presidents, Jimmy Carter.
The Panama Canal has run significantly worse since we turned it over to Panama. The Panamanians have turned over both ends of the canals to Chinese companies who could easily shut off the entrances and exits to the Panama Canal. 40% of all American container traffic goes through the Panama Canal. That&#8217;s a lot of American commerce moving through the Panama Canal.
If the United States were ever to get into a conflict with China, most shipping would cease because China would try to take control of the Taiwan Strait and the Strait of Malacca, which is basically the tip of the South China Sea. That would shut off another shipping route. If they could shut off shipping in the Western Hemisphere, they could absolutely cripple the American economy.
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On foreign policy, Trump was asked about what he&#8217;s going to do if the hostages are not freed by Hamas by the time he takes office in just 13 days. 
President Trump <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/news/trump-vows-all-hell-will-break-out-if-hamas-hostages-not-released-before-he-takes-office-do-i-have-to-define-it-for-you/">answered</a>:
<blockquote>Do I have to define it for you? Look, all hell will break out. … If they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East. It will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is. And they should have given them back a long time ago, they should have never taken them, there should have never been the attack on Oct. 7. People forget that, but there was, and many people [were] killed.</blockquote>
This is strength. Joe Biden never had any moral clarity about this because he&#8217;s a fool. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has moral clarity about this.
And this is the correct approach. If Hamas is not afraid, they&#8217;re not releasing the hostages. It is that simple. There&#8217;s nothing else that is going to make them release the hostages other than dire threats and action and allowing Israel to do exactly what it needs to do in the Gaza Strip.
And then Trump was asked about the possibility of a preemptive strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities if they were to ramp up their nuclear production. And Trump gave the correct answer on this one too.
Again, Trump gave more answers in this one press conference than Biden has given in four years. He made more intelligent statements in this press conference than Biden has ever said in his entire career. That’s because Biden was, is, and will be a dullard. 
President Trump explained that if Iran were to attempt a nuclear weapon, he wouldn’t tell the reporter what he would do because he&#8217;s the president, and he&#8217;s not going to tell some dumb reporter what he&#8217;s going to do because it&#8217;s a stupid question. That is correct.
Speaking of other good things, President Trump also had some words about Biden&#8217;s attempts to shut down drilling for oil off pretty much all of America&#8217;s Eastern seaboard on his way out. Trump said, we like to produce energy in America. American energy independence has made us less dependent on some of the worst places in the world. That is a good thing. And Biden is throttling America&#8217;s energy independence.
A great press conference.
He’s better than he ever was.

President-Elect Trump Holds Press Conference At Mar-A-Lago

Trump Gives The Best Press Conference Ever

Ben Shapiro

Canada

Denmark

Greenland

Gulf of Mexico

Hamas

Hostages

Humor

Mar-a-Lago

Opinion

Presidency

Former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) said this week that a new study that was released by Rutgers University is important for understanding how communist China brainwashes Americans into not believing that it is a threat.
Gallagher, who is the former chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, made the remarks during a Tuesday interview on Fox News with Martha MacCallum.
&#8220;It&#8217;s incredibly valuable,&#8221; Gallagher said in relation to the study being used to understand why TikTok should be banned. &#8220;I think what was so unique about the initial NCRI analysis that came out in August is they use the metrics that TikTok themselves had encouraged people to explore, to defend themselves. It said, compare our content to content that appears on Instagram, for example.&#8221;
&#8220;So NCRI took that and did to send to the extent possible, an apples to apples comparison and surface extreme anomalies,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There were no differences when it came to pop culture content, for example, but when it came to anything critical of the Chinese Communist Party, extreme disparities started to emerge. So then TikTok predictably trashed that initial analysis and said, &#8216;Well, that&#8217;s not peer reviewed.'&#8221;
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&#8220;So NCRI went back and gathered more data, subjected it to peer review,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;So now we have a more fulsome, more rigorous study that is even more damning for TikTok and it proves what ultimately became the primary concern of Democrats and Republicans in Congress. It&#8217;s not just that the app could be used to conduct espionage against Americans, but it could be used as a massive propaganda platform that can brainwash America&#8217;s youths and propagandize them against America itself.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WATCH: <a href="https://twitter.com/RepGallagher?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepGallagher</a> raises the alarm on the damning findings from the Network Contagion Research Institute&#8217;s (NCRI) TikTok report:
“It’s just not that the app can be used to conduct espionage against Americans, but it could be used as a massive propaganda platform that could… <a href="https://t.co/jUZMWLY4Ry">pic.twitter.com/jUZMWLY4Ry</a>
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) <a href="https://twitter.com/WarMachineRR/status/1876732550510420107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2025</a></blockquote>

Rep. Mike Gallagher

Mike Gallagher Explains Impact Of Rutgers Study On Banning TikTok

Rutgers University

World

Investor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-oleary">Kevin O’Leary</a> of “Shark Tank” fame recently discussed his intentions to purchase the popular social media app <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok">TikTok</a>, mentioning that he’ll need President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump’s</a> assistance to make it happen.
The 70-year-old Canadian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/business">entrepreneur</a> made the remarks during a Monday appearance on Fox News&#8217; “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”
“Trump will be who we have to work with to close the deal in the months ahead. So I wanted to let him know, as well as others in his cabinet, that we’re doing this, and we’re going to need their help,” O’Leary said, per <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/kevin-oleary-buy-tiktok-shark-tank/">The Wrap</a>.
The “Shark Tank” star also posted on X about the potential purchase, saying he was “excited” to partner with former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty &#8220;to lead The People&#8217;s Bid for TikTok.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I’m excited to share that I’m partnering with Frank McCourt and the visionary team at <a href="https://twitter.com/pro_jectliberty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pro_jectliberty</a> to lead The People’s Bid for TikTok!
This isn’t just about buying TikTok’s U.S. assets. It’s about something much bigger: protecting the privacy of 170 million American users.… <a href="https://t.co/kzxk5RfEgY">pic.twitter.com/kzxk5RfEgY</a>
&mdash; Kevin O&#39;Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinolearytv/status/1876287966584221717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“This isn’t just about buying TikTok’s U.S. assets,” he wrote in a post shared on Monday. “It’s about something much bigger: protecting the privacy of 170 million American users. It’s about empowering creators and small businesses. And it’s about building a platform that prioritizes PEOPLE over algorithms.”
“TikTok has immense potential, not just as a tool for creators but as a driver of meaningful economic and social impact. Together, we’re working to create an American-owned platform that is secure, innovative, and puts YOU in control of your data and digital relationships,” O’Leary added.
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O’Leary’s tweet included a link to the <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/globally-renowned-investor-and-entrepreneur-kevin-oleary-joining-the-peoples-bid-for-tiktok-302342948.html">press release</a> detailing his reasons for wanting to purchase the platform, which is currently owned by Chinese company Bytedance. TikTok is facing removal from Apple and Google app stores in the United States due to a federal ban signed by President Joe Biden last spring due to security concerns.
In December, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-asks-scotus-to-pause-tiktok-ban-to-pursue-a-negotiated-resolution">petitioned</a> the Supreme Court to delay the ban from going into effect so he could have time to negotiate a potential deal. 
“It&#8217;s clear that our visions for a people-centered, American-owned platform are closely aligned, and our combined efforts will give a significant boost to The People&#8217;s Bid as the January 19 deadline for a sale of TikTok quickly approaches,” McCourt said in a statement noted in the press release.
“Kevin and I, along with the thousands of supporters who have come forward to back The People&#8217;s Bid, firmly believe we can build a better TikTok – one that protects our national security and becomes a safe, secure platform that millions of people on the app will trust. We look forward to working with President-elect Trump to save TikTok.&#8221;

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