President Donald Trump convened the inaugural Board of Peace in Washington, D.C., telling attendees that the United Nations has failed to live up to its potential, adding that the newly-formed board will be “making sure it runs properly.”
“I think the United Nations has great potential. It has not lived up to that potential,” Trump said. “The United Nations, I think, is going to be much stronger, and the Board of Peace will be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.”
Trump went on to say he plans to assist the United Nations by improving its facilities and ensuring its viability. 
When Trump spoke at the United Nations Headquarters in September, the escalator abruptly stopped, and the teleprompter did not work during his remarks.
“We will make sure that the United Nations is viable and that you have good people at the United Nations doing a good job,” he said. “As I said, for years, the United Nations has had tremendous potential. It&#8217;s really important, and I think it will eventually live up to its potential. That will be a big day.”
The meeting, which took place at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace, was attended by representatives of 48 countries, the European Union, and FIFA.
Over a dozen representatives made pledges on behalf of their countries to the board to improve the situation in Gaza.
In addition to President Trump announcing a $10 billion U.S. commitment to the Board of Peace, the United Arab Emirates pledged $1.2 billion, and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir committed $1 billion. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani announced over $1 billion to support “a final resolution that fulfills Palestinian aspirations for statehood and recognition and Israeli aspirations for security and integration.”
Along with unspecified contributions from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait, the total pledged by countries other than the United States adds up to roughly $7 billion, according to Trump.
Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania pledged troops for an International Stabilization Force. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country would also contribute forces, but Israel has said it would reject Turkish troops from entering Gaza.
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pledged “significant” funding for the Board of Peace and scholarships for 500 Gazan students to study in his country. Romania’s President Nicușor Dan said his country would provide medical treatment for 4,000 sick children and their family members, as well as assistance in rebuilding Gaza’s fire safety system.
Trump also declared that the war in Gaza is over and warned that if Hamas did not give up their weapons, they would be “very harshly met.”
“This is a tremendous group of powerful people, they&#8217;re brilliant people, and I think that we can do things that other people would not be able to conceive or think of,” Trump said. “The Board of Peace is going to lead the way in Gaza. We&#8217;re going to make Gaza an example of success and safety and unity, and it&#8217;s an honor that you&#8217;re here.”
In addition to the European Union, the countries that participated include: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Qatar, South Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and the European Union.

US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP

Trump Throws Down Gauntlet At UN — Launches New Global Initiative

Board of Peace

Donald Trump

United Nations

Iranian women&#8217;s rights activist Masih Alinejad, speaking at the United Nations Geneva Summit, excoriated European politicians whom she said have looked the other way while thousands of her countrymen and women have been killed, tortured, and mutilated by the despotic Islamic regime.
“I am supposed to talk only in three minutes,” the woman who has been targeted in three alleged assassination plots linked to the regime. “But in my country, in 24 hours, they killed 40,000 people in Iran. And I am here at the United Nations while the killers are walking here. I saw them with expensive Gucci bags. I saw them with expensive brands walking here at the United Nations. &#8230; I am going to talk the truth.”
“The Secretary General of United Nations stands with dictators,” she alleged. “The Secretary General of United Nations sends a congratulation letter to Islamic Republic for the anniversary of this murderous regime. You tell me, do they stand with dictators or the victims? The victims are here, these two women. One of them lost her eye because the Revolutionary Guard shot her in her eye. One of them carried a bullet in her arm. Do they stand with them?”
“Right now, after killing 40,000 people, they storm into hospitals; they&#8217;re finishing off the injured ones; they&#8217;re arresting doctors and nurses; they put the political prisoners on death row; they&#8217;re executing them,” she continued. “I want to ask Geneva to host a peace conference, invite the opposition from Iran, invite the leaders of Europe, invite the leaders from European countries and free world here to talk about an Iran without an Islamic Republic.”
Tearing a photo of Ayatollah Khomeini into pieces, she declared, “The West waited too long,” adding that it would not be “Islamophobic” to “treat ISIS the way they deserve to be treated.”
“The West waited too long, too long,” she said. “When I was fighting against compulsory hijab, they were like, ‘Oh, this is Islamophobic. Oh no, we have to respect others&#8217; culture.’ All the female politicians from West, they went to my country, they borrowed compulsory hijab from Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, France, from everywhere, high representative of Europe. &#8230; Suddenly, they realized, ‘Oh, this is not their culture.&#8217; They started to cut their hair to show their solidarity with us.”
“Stop cutting your hair,” she demanded. “Cut your ties with our killers.”
“And now 40,000 people have been killed,” she noted. “Now the time has come to understand. Don&#8217;t wait that long. &#8230; You call them reformists. We call them killers.”
“When I see my sister standing here, my sister, with bullets in their body, being blinded, standing here, I feel ashamed that I am alive that I don&#8217;t carry the bullet,” she said.
“I&#8217;m going to leave Geneva forever,” she said. “You can kick me out forever. But I couldn&#8217;t keep silent because I feel the guilt on my shoulder. I don&#8217;t know how to save my people with empty hands. I cannot sometimes sleep; I cannot breathe; I cannot even eat because I feel guilty. I cannot believe how come the leaders of European countries do not feel guilty by shaking the hand of those Islamic Republic officials full of blood. Shame on you.”
“I need you to promise me that we&#8217;re going to stand together, all of us, with my brother in Venezuela, my sister from Belarus. I need you all to stand with us and help my people in Iran. We have to stop the massacre and kick these f***ing killers from Europe, from everywhere,” she concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rare Moment of Truth at UN: Iranian women&#39;s rights activist <a href="https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AlinejadMasih</a> takes the floor at United Nations <a href="https://twitter.com/GenevaSummit?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GenevaSummit</a> to blast European politicians who for years failed to call out the regime&#39;s terrorism and gender apartheid, points to victims in the room shot by the regime. <a href="https://t.co/zvgdS2J8Ld">pic.twitter.com/zvgdS2J8Ld</a>
&mdash; Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) <a href="https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/2023925966905479383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

TOPSHOT-SWITZERLAND-US-IRAN-ENERGY-DIPLOMACY-NUCLEAR-UN

MIC DROP: Women’s Rights Activist Torches Europe’s Appeasement With Explosive Final Line

Global Politics

Iran

Masih Alinejad

Politics

The United Nations is at serious risk of “imminent financial collapse” after President Trump slashed U.S. funding last month, Secretary-General António Guterres warned in a letter.
In a letter sent to all 193 member states last week, Guterres warned that the U.N. could run out of money by July. &#8220;I cannot overstate the urgency of the situation we now face. We cannot execute budgets with uncollected funds, nor return funds we never received,&#8221; the secretary-general <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr579mdv4m7o">wrote</a>, according to the BBC.
President Trump pulled out of UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency; the World Health Organization; and the U.N. Human Rights Council in January, citing waste, mismanagement, and a lack of financial commitment from other countries.
“We walked away from WHO, the World Health Organization; UNRWA, the U.N. agency in Gaza that’s been completely infiltrated by Hamas. We walked out of it and defunded that, too. The so-called human rights councils that cater to countries like North Korea and Venezuela and Iran. We’ve walked away from that,” United States Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-waltz-says-the-trump-administration-has-a-plan-to-save-the-united-nations">told</a> The Daily Wire in December. “It’s really about focusing our effort on the parts that align with an America First agenda and defunding and walking away from the rest of it — the nonsense.”
The U.S., previously the U.N.&#8217;s largest contributor, did not pay its regular budget contribution in 2025 and provided only 30% of the expected funding for U.N. peacekeeping operations. In December, the U.S. pledged $2 billion to U.N. humanitarian programs, a fraction of the $17 billion it spent in 2022, according to the BBC.
“[The U.N.] needs to get back to basics, stop with all of the other nonsense, trying to do everything for everybody all over the world. Stop with the focus on climate, stop with the focus on gender and all of these other social issues, regardless of how you feel about them, and let’s get back to peace,” Waltz said.
Prior to recent funding reductions, U.S. taxpayers had been providing 22% of the U.N.&#8217;s regular budget, more than the next three highest contributors <a href="https://www.cfr.org/articles/funding-united-nations-what-impact-do-us-contributions-have-un-agencies-and-programs">combined</a>.
President Trump has shifted his focus to his newly established Board of Peace, which is intended to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-asked-putin-to-join-his-board-of-peace-heres-what-that-means">oversee</a> the technocratic transitional government for Gaza, among other geopolitical objectives.
The Board has a $1 billion permanent membership fee, and with 60+ countries invited, is seen by many as a potential challenger to the United Nations.
Several other major donor nations have also announced funding reductions. The United Kingdom and Germany have implemented significant cuts to their foreign aid budgets, further compounding the U.N.&#8217;s financial troubles.
Guterres’ letter described the current crisis as &#8220;categorically different&#8221; from previous financial challenges, noting that only 77% of assessed contributions were paid in 2025, leaving billions in unpaid dues.
The Secretary-General concluded that the “integrity of the entire system” depends on all nations honoring their &#8220;assessed contributions,” and should the budget shortfalls remain unaddressed, the U.N. must &#8220;fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse.&#8221;

World Leaders Gather For The 80th Session Of The United Nations General Assembly

United Nations Chief Warns Of ‘Imminent Financial Collapse’ After Trump Slashes Funding

America First

foreign affairs

Mike Waltz

Trump Administration

President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” is off to a turbulent start with controversy over its $1 billion permanent membership fee and unusual lineup of invitees, with everyone from Russian President Vladimir Putin to anti-Trump socialist Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reportedly receiving invitations. 
The board, officially announced by Trump on Truth Social last week, is intended to oversee the new technocratic transitional government for Gaza: the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).
“It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115901692370933354">posted to Truth Social</a> on Thursday. “The Members of the Board will be announced shortly, but I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place.”
Although the board has been introduced as being Gaza-focused, the large list of roughly 60 known invitees so far has led some to question if it will address other world conflicts or <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/trump-board-of-peace-un-blair-gaza-peace-plan-b2903210.html">even rival</a> the United Nations.
In the letter to world leaders, Trump called it the “most impressive and consequential Board ever assembled, which will be established as a new International Organization and Transitional Governing Administration.”
According to a draft charter reported by <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trumps-1-billion-a-seat-diplomacy-club-takes-aim-at-the-u-n-2bccd9f9?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqfvPlMmNhrIlJgDz7UvxfNd0u3Fqnav8BAv73LsUrc47zvL8sBJ_ryQ3l1V2Kw%3D&amp;gaa_ts=696e60b5&amp;gaa_sig=ybWCqp-03SFwzr8kCccUdFBjqFyY_dJcaxc7Ut-nuWJjrDE9uBdBsuHCLDlZZ3nSTPoSksS7Lrf-OkV4An3o-A%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal,</a> countries could either serve a three-year term or pay $1 billion for <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2012684845109874988">permanent</a> membership. Bloomberg, which also reviewed a copy of the draft, reported that it grants Trump ultimate authority over both membership and decision-making.
The list of invited countries continues to grow as leaks and social media posts reveal new names, with some leaders publicly expressing excitement. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, for example, <a href="https://x.com/PM_ViktorOrban/status/2012853496568053801">said it was an</a> “honorable invitation” and accepted. Argentine President Javier Milei also <a href="https://x.com/JMilei/status/2012495664546992638">called it</a> an honor to be invited by Trump’s board to “promote lasting peace in regions affected by conflict, starting with the Gaza Strip.”
Other Western countries were less thrilled, with France reportedly set to decline the invitation, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/france-likely-to-decline-trump-invite-to-gaza-board-of-peace-says-source/">according to AFP</a>. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that he agreed to the board in principle but is still working out the details.
<div id="attachment_1029935" style="width: 455px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1029935" class="size-large wp-image-1029935" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Purple-And-Beige-Playful-Daily-Baby-Routine-Infant-Schedule-Flyer-445x576.jpg" alt="" width="445" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Purple-And-Beige-Playful-Daily-Baby-Routine-Infant-Schedule-Flyer-445x576.jpg 445w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Purple-And-Beige-Playful-Daily-Baby-Routine-Infant-Schedule-Flyer-232x300.jpg 232w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Purple-And-Beige-Playful-Daily-Baby-Routine-Infant-Schedule-Flyer-768x994.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Purple-And-Beige-Playful-Daily-Baby-Routine-Infant-Schedule-Flyer.jpg 1159w" sizes=" (max-width: 445px) 100vw, 445px" />(The Daily Wire)</div>
Some of the most surprising invitees include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko — often called Europe’s last dictator — and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who <a href="https://brazilreports.com/trumps-second-term-what-it-means-for-brazil-and-lula/6718/">openly supported</a> Kamala Harris over Trump in the 2024 election and last year <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/america-votes/article/brazils-lula-says-trump-wants-to-be-emperor-of-the-world/#:~:text=Brazilian%20President%20Luiz%20Inacio%20Lula,Brazilian%20products%20such%20as%20steel.">referred to</a> him as a “wannabe emperor of the world.”
According to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/01/statement-on-president-trumps-comprehensive-plan-to-end-the-gaza-conflict/">the White House</a>, the Board of Peace will have an Executive Board made up of several high-profile figures: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Steve Witkoff, United States Special Envoy to the Middle East; Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law; former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair; Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management; Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank; and Robert Gabriel, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor.
The Board of Peace will oversee the NCAG, which will be headed by Ali Shaath, who hails from Gaza, is a civil engineer, and previously served as deputy minister for transportation of the Palestinian Authority.
The NCAG faced criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following domestic uproar over the inclusion of representatives from Qatar and Turkey — both countries that have had ties to Hamas. Netanyahu <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-883875">stated on Monday</a> that no Turkish or Qatari forces would be allowed to operate in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu’s office said the board “runs contrary to its policy.”
Hamas has stated that it will dissolve its governance once the new committee assumes control, as required under Trump’s peace plan, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-hamas-drone-strike-governance-f59c7e742149366e67549e7dd2e10309">Associated Press</a>. It remains unclear whether the terrorist organization will willingly disarm.
Upon announcing the NCAG, Witkoff said the United States expects Hamas to “comply fully with its obligations,” including the return of the body of Ran Gvili, the final Israeli hostage held in Gaza.
“Failure to do so will bring serious consequences,” Witkoff said.
The Palestinian Authority <a href="https://x.com/HusseinSheikhpl/status/2011445660499775945">publicly welcomed</a> the launch of the second phase, signaling rare alignment with the Trump administration. 
In a statement, Palestinian Authority President Hussein Al Sheikh said the Palestinian Presidency “welcomes the efforts undertaken by President Donald Trump to complete the implementation of his peace plan,” and announced its support for the NCAG as well as the “Board of Peace.”

Gaza summit in Egypt

Trump Asked Putin To Join His ‘Board Of Peace.’ Here’s What That Means.

What To Know About Trump’s Board Of Peace

Argentina

France

Hungary

Israel

The United States withdrew from dozens of left-leaning international organizations on Wednesday, including groups focused on climate and gender activism. 
President Donald Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/01/withdrawing-the-united-states-from-international-organizations-conventions-and-treaties-that-are-contrary-to-the-interests-of-the-united-states/">executive order</a> on Wednesday officially pulling the United States out of 66 groups, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact. The withdrawals come after Trump, in February, directed a full review of the international organizations the United States was involved with. 
“These withdrawals keep a key promise President Trump made to Americans — we will stop subsidizing globalist bureaucrats who act against our interests,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/2009059107819671646">said</a>. “The Trump Administration will always put America and Americans first.”
The State Department said the organizations identified on the list were determined to be &#8220;wasteful, ineffective, and harmful&#8221; to American interests.
As a result of the executive order, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States would withdraw from the Green Climate Fund, a group established by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that pushes climate activism in developing countries. 
“Our nation will no longer fund radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction,” Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0352">said</a>. 
The move to get out of the UN Climate groups was praised by critics of climate activism. 
&#8220;This action is a long overdue course correction that puts American sovereignty, economic strength, and energy security back first,” said American Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac. “Withdrawing from international organizations that undermine U.S. interests frees our nation from unelected global bureaucracies that have used climate and ESG agendas to weaken American industry and raise costs for families.”
Other groups that the United States will no longer be involved in include the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Global Forum on Migration and Development, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Solar Alliance, and many more. 
The review of international organizations is still ongoing, according to the White House. Under Trump, the United States has already left groups like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Human Rights Council. 
“We will not continue expending resources, diplomatic capital, and the legitimizing weight of our participation in institutions that are irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests,” the State Department said. “We reject inertia and ideology in favor of prudence and purpose. We seek cooperation where it serves our people and will stand firm where it does not.”

President Trump Holds News Conference After US Captures Venezuelan President Maduro

Trump Pulls U.S. Out Of Dozens Of ‘Wasteful’ And ‘Radical’ International Organizations

Mass Exit: U.S. Leaves Dozens Of 'Wasteful' And 'Wasteful' International Organizations

Climate Change

Marco Rubio

State Department

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz says President Donald Trump is directing him to steer the group back to its original mission: peace.
In an interview with the Daily Wire editor-in-chief Brent Scher, Waltz laid out how his new role at the United Nations advances President Trump’s unapologetic America First approach to international diplomacy in a body that he claims has been ineffective.
“You&#8217;re supposed to be stopping wars, ending wars, preventing wars,” Waltz said. “That was the establishment of the UN and its purpose after World War II to prevent any other future world wars. And yet here we are 80 years later and we have more conflicts around the globe than ever.”
While critics have advocated that the United States abandon the UN, Waltz said the organization can be salvaged if it implements the reforms at the top of his agenda. According to Waltz, the UN is a mechanism to get other countries to start “pulling their weight” to establish peace. As an example, he cited the efforts to combat the gangs in Haiti, shifting from a primarily United States-led effort to include other countries such as Kenya.
“Sharing the burden and having a mechanism where everyone can come in and do that is also important,” he said. “We&#8217;ve just got to get it back focused on those peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions that they did so well in the past and that they strayed from in recent decades.”
Waltz also stressed that certain UN agencies and programs need to be defunded when they do not align with American interests.
“We walked away from WHO, the World Health Organization. UNRWA, the UN agency in Gaza that&#8217;s been completely infiltrated by Hamas. We walked out of it and defunded that too. The so-called human rights councils that cater to countries like North Korea and Venezuela and Iran. We&#8217;ve walked away from that,” he said. “It&#8217;s really about focusing our effort on the parts that align with an America First agenda and defunding and walking away from the rest of it — the nonsense.”
Waltz added that there are also far too many UN agencies focused on climate change.
“At most you need one, if not none, but you definitely don&#8217;t need seven. So that&#8217;s the kind of reform agenda that we&#8217;re driving here. We&#8217;re defunding all kinds of these agencies again, led by the president with an America First agenda,” Waltz said.
Among the agencies he believes are essential, he cited telecommunications, global shipping, and civil aviation.
“When I land, when flying internationally, I want everybody speaking English,” he said. “Landing the planes the same way, the mechanics train the same way. We want them aligned with our standards, not China or Russia&#8217;s standards.”
Overall, Waltz emphasized the UN’s importance as a platform for countries to discuss diplomacy.
“We should have one place in the world where everybody can talk, where everyone can come together and at least try to hammer things out with using diplomacy, either to end wars or prevent wars,” he said. “ I want that American-led and in the United States, not in places like Beijing or Moscow. But I&#8217;m 100% on board. We&#8217;ve got to clean house.”
Of the successes so far under the Trump administration, Waltz says the UN agreed to cut over 2,600 bureaucratic positions, a 15% overall budget cut, and 25% of its peacekeepers around the world.
“So we’re cutting, we&#8217;re DOGE-ing, we&#8217;re going to get them back to basics in line with the president&#8217;s vision.”
“They need to get back to basics, stop with all of the other nonsense, trying to do everything for everybody all over the world. Stop with the focus on climate, stop with the focus on gender and all of these other social issues, regardless of how you feel about them, and let&#8217;s get back to peace,” Waltz said.
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Waltz said a major focus is ensuring that the United Nations does more to stop the persecution of Christians around the world.
“Well, it actually started with President Trump, who put a spotlight on the persecution of Christians around the world, but according to most NGOs, 80% of Christians that are killed and persecuted actually happens in Nigeria,” he said.
Waltz praised rapper Nicki Minaj for advocating to stop the persecution of Christians in Nigeria alongside him in the UN last month.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thrilled to be Honorary Ambassador to the Barbz! <a href="https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@NICKIMINAJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/Sq9OHYhaZu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/Sq9OHYhaZu</a>
— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelgwaltz/status/1990948047023374560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">November 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
“Someone like her, with her quarter billion followers across all of our platforms. It&#8217;s an unlikely pairing. I didn&#8217;t see that one coming, but where we can work together to not just put a spotlight and educate people but to make sure there&#8217;s real action.”
Waltz acknowledged that representing the United States at the UN can be challenging, given the presence of adversarial countries, including an incident in which the Cuban ambassador <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eU72MjsdYR4?time_continue=92&amp;embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&amp;source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disrupted</a> one of his speeches and accused him of lying.
“There are times where I think the tribes in the Middle East, Afghanistan are easier than here,” Waltz said. “I&#8217;m a Green Beret by background. I&#8217;ve served all over the world. It isn&#8217;t easy. My wife sometimes says I&#8217;m a masochist, but look, this is the world stage right here in New York.”

United Nations Security Council Meets To Consider Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan

Mike Waltz Says The Trump Administration Has A Plan To Save The United Nations

When Nicki Minaj stepped up to the podium at the United Nations on November 18th, wearing a somber black suit instead of her usual bubblegum pink, one of the world’s most influential rap artists became one of the most unexpected voices to join the fight against Christian persecution in Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, hundreds of communities live in fear simply because of how they worship,” she said. “Protecting Christians is not about taking sides, and it is not about dividing people. It is about uniting humanity.”
Her appearance was arranged by United Nations Ambassador Michael Waltz, who has spent the past several months pushing world leaders to acknowledge the religious genocide in Africa’s most populous and economically successful nation. “We are witnessing atrocities,” Waltz declared earlier in the session. “One bullet at a time, one torched Bible at a time.”
The unlikely partnership between the superstar and former counterterrorism officer came at a moment when the mass Christian killings in Nigeria have triggered the most direct American criticism of Nigeria’s government in decades. President Donald Trump recently reinstated Nigeria’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern,&#8221; a formal label that opens the door to sanctions, aid restrictions, and military pressure.
A Crisis Long in the Making
Violence in Nigeria’s central and northern regions is not new, and the perpetrators come from a variety of Muslim groups, from Fulani herder militias in the Middle Belt to Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province jihadis in the North. Leery of seeming critical of Islam, legacy media outlets have for years regurgitated the narrative of the Nigerian government, shying away from characterizing the attacks as religious persecution. Instead, they’ve cited secondary causes — land disputes, ethnic tensions, weather-related displacement — that sometimes overlap with religious motives.
But in several recent congressional hearings, press briefings, and policy papers, consistent evidence has emerged that Christian communities, particularly in rural regions, are being disproportionately targeted specifically because they are Christians. The numbers vary, depending on the source, but even the most conservative estimates are grim. Advocacy organizations report 7,000 Christians killed and 7,900 abducted this year alone, with more than 19,000 churches destroyed. In a <a href="https://rileymoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-moore-introduces-resolution-condemning-persecution-christians" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> condemning the religious violence, Texas Congressman Riley Moore noted that as many as 100,000 Christians have been killed since 2009.
Humanitarian groups like Open Doors stress that more Christians are killed every year in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined, making it the most dangerous nation on earth for Christ followers. Yet under the Obama and Biden administrations, the federal government refused to classify the violence as persecution, with Biden reversing the first Trump administration’s designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern.”
Texas Senator Ted Cruz has spent years trying to convince his fellow lawmakers to adopt a clearer, more confrontational response to the Nigerian government’s ongoing refusal to address the violence. He told The Daily Wire the Nigerian government has not simply turned a blind eye to the situation but in some cases are complicit in the persecution and murder of Christians.
Cruz’s advocacy has helped initiate a wave of renewed interest in the crisis that was further amplified once Minaj and Ambassador Waltz moved the conversation to the global stage.
Cruz recounted that when Senate Republicans were invited to breakfast at the White House shortly before the Country of Particular Concern designation was reinstated, he pulled the president aside and personally thanked him.
“This unlocks targeted sanctions,” he explained. “It unlocks the ability to use deep economic leverage. It allows the administration to say enough is enough.” He added that Nigeria has 12 states enforcing Sharia-based laws and maintains a federal blasphemy statute. According to Cruz, these legal structures “are used to persecute Christians” and create an environment where extremist groups can operate with impunity.
The senator takes particular issue with outlets like the Associated Press reporting that the data does not support a Christian genocide.
“I think you could actually teach [the AP report] in a journalism class as an example of pure political hackery and dishonest reporting,” he said. Cruz believes the media reluctance stems from a worldview that downplays religious persecution when the victims are Christian. He compared it to coverage of the war in Gaza, alleging that some outlets report atrocities selectively depending on who commits them.
To bolster the strength of the Country of Particular Concern designation, Cruz has introduced the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2747" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025</a>, which will place targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials who enforce Sharia law and facilitate violence against Christians and other minority groups.
The View from the Ground
In Abuja, officials maintain that the crisis cannot be reduced to persecution and accuse some in Washington of using Nigeria as a “political football.” Government spokesmen insist the country’s constitution forbids religious discrimination and that Muslim communities also sometimes suffer violence at the hands of more extreme Muslims. These are the claims regularly echoed by major American media.
But those on the ground in Nigeria say that while it’s true other Muslims are sometimes targeted for not being “Muslim enough,” there’s no question that Christians are disproportionately targeted.
Judd Saul, founder of Equipping the Persecuted, ministers on the ground in Nigeria, and he told The Daily Wire that the Nigerian government regularly fails to act to protect Christians, even with ample forewarning. Yet outlets like the AP and Reuters are content to echo their talking points.
“The mainstream media never shows up. They just take the government’s word for it, and every time Christians are killed, it’s always ‘unknown gunmen.’ But we know who’s doing it,” Saul said. He added that legacy reporters need to visit Nigeria to see the situation on the ground for themselves. “They need to see the dead bodies, hug the wounded, hug the survivors, be there feeding them when they&#8217;re starving, like I have,” he added.
Other Americans ministering in Nigeria echo Saul&#8217;s sentiment.
“Let&#8217;s not forget, [Nigerian] Christians are second class citizens,” Pastor Brad Brandon, who leads a Christian relief organization Across Nigeria, told The Daily Wire. “Oftentimes, they have trouble even buying food at the market or getting medical care or education for their children simply because they&#8217;re Christians.” He further pointed out that of the 3.5 million people in Nigeria’s displaced persons camps, eighty percent are Christians who are there because their homes and their villages have been destroyed by Muslim attackers.
“When somebody denies that this is a genocide or Christians are being targeted, like the AP has done, if it wasn&#8217;t so serious and horrific, it would be laughable,” Brandon said, citing the Yelwata massacre where 250 Christians were slaughtered in a single night. &#8220;Entire villages were razed, houses burned, women and children shot as they fled the flames,&#8221; he said. Brandon himself witnessed the violence close up in 2021 when a Nigerian colleague was hacked to death in his bed by extremists after they torched his church and home during a ministry tour. &#8220;We&#8217;ve lost friends, scouts, partners. We’re constantly in and out of massacre sites,&#8221; Brandon added.
It’s a reality that has led some Nigerian pastors to carry weapons during worship services, prepared to protect their flocks physically if need be.
A Growing Movement
As recognition of the crisis in Nigeria has grown, American churches have begun organizing prayer vigils, fundraising campaigns, and policy petitions. Ambassador Waltz is preparing for closed-door consultations with his UN counterparts in hopes of securing a multilateral fact-finding mission. Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have called for a parliamentary inquiry into Nigeria’s security situation, while several members of the European Parliament have urged the European Union to reassess its aid strategy.
Yet for survivors and displaced families in Nigeria, the long-awaited international response can feel distant and lack urgency. Viral videos circulating online show Nigerian pastors standing in mass graves pleading for help, describing ruined congregations and inaccessible hospitals. One recent clip showed a rural priest surrounded by makeshift wooden crosses, mourning dozens of victims buried less than a day earlier.
Whether Minaj’s intervention will translate into sustainable policy outcomes remains unclear. Celebrity involvement has, historically, produced mixed results for international crises. But for now, what she has undeniably done is thrust Nigeria’s crisis into headlines it had rarely reached. Her UN appearance led to days of debate across cable news and radio programs. Editorial boards that had not covered Nigeria’s rural violence in months published opinion pieces after her social media posts praising President Trump for his action. Lawmakers previously unfamiliar with the issue requested briefings.
As Waltz put it afterward, “Sometimes the world pays attention only when someone unexpected steps forward.”
In the wake of the UN event, the Trump administration is reportedly considering targeted sanctions on specific Nigerian officials accused of failing to prevent extremist violence. The State Department is preparing a report on blasphemy laws and religious-freedom restrictions in Nigeria’s northern states. Ambassador Waltz has indicated that he hopes to formalize new security conditions for future arms sales.
Nigeria, facing diplomatic and economic pressure, is weighing how to respond. Officials have hinted that they will accept additional counterterrorism support but will resist any effort to frame the conflict primarily as religious.
Meanwhile, advocates like Saul say the crisis cannot wait for geopolitical negotiations. He argues that international pressure must intensify immediately, before more villages are burned and more families displaced.
International Stakes and China’s Influence
One complicating factor, though, is China’s expanding presence on the African continent. China is Nigeria’s largest bilateral lender and a key investor in infrastructure, energy, and mining, and it benefits from the status quo. Cruz believes that economic relationship gives the United States further geopolitical incentive to put pressure on Nigerian officials to stop the violence.
“Communist China is the single largest geopolitical threat facing the United States for the next hundred years,” Cruz said. “Their objective is unequivocal. They&#8217;re not shy about it. It is global domination. It is economic domination. It is military domination. And Africa is one of the major battlegrounds where China is trying to exert its influence.”
According to Cruz, China benefits from a weakened or destabilized Nigeria because radical Islamist factions tend to resent Western influence more than Chinese investment.
“Chinese communists are perfectly fine with persecuting Christians,” he said. “The Chinese communist government persecutes Christians in China. They also recognize that the more influence radical Islamists have in Nigeria, the less likely Nigeria is to align with America because radical Islam hates America. And so, from China&#8217;s perspective, if they want Nigeria to side with the communists, one of the ways of doing so is trying to strengthen the forces that hate Americans, that hate Christians, that hate the West. And sadly, that&#8217;s exactly what China is doing.”
For Cruz, Waltz, and scores of humanitarian workers, the moment to stake a clear position on Nigerian persecution feels long overdue. And for the families living through nightly attacks, fleeing burned homes, or burying loved ones in village clearings, it is simply another chapter in a long struggle for survival — one they hope the world, finally, has begun to see.

Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj Puts Nigeria’s Christian Persecution In The Spotlight

Christian

Nigeria

Persecution

Ted Cruz

President Donald Trump is stretching the “politics make strange bedfellows” saw to the breaking point.
Celebrity Nation leans aggressively to the Left, and anyone defying that groupthink puts their career at risk. Actor Zachary Levi said it out loud after he praised President Trump last year, calling the move <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/zachary-levi-endorsing-trump-lifeline-career-1236026923/">“career suicide.”</a>
That wasn’t the case in 2009, however, when celebrities flocked to President Barack Obama following his historic 2008 election. They pledged <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/celebrities-pledge-oath-obama/">to do whatever he told them to do</a>.
Different party, of course.
This past week, President Trump had recording artist Nicki Minaj indirectly singing his praises for drawing attention to a humanitarian crisis. The rapper took Trump’s side after the president called out the shocking slaughter of Christians in Nigeria.
Minaj, in connection with the administration, spoke before a UN event about the shocking headlines coming from the African nation.
<div id="attachment_1002653" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1002653" class="size-large wp-image-1002653" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj-864x576.jpg" alt="Nicki Minaj" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images</div>
&#8220;In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted … Churches have been burned, families have been torn apart &#8230; simply because of how they pray.&#8221;
She also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nicki-minaj-nigeria-christians-trump-be7b03a3f1d4e43747fa26e600be5d3f">thanked the president</a> for leading the way on the matter to “combat extremism and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief.”
Trump critics contend that multiple religions have been targeted during the violence spree, and that the nation has sadly been the source of extreme violence for some time.
Minaj’s appearance understandably rocked pop culture, but it wasn’t the first time.
For starters, Trump’s second term features former Democrats like Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., his Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of Health and Human Services, respectively.
Journalist Megyn Kelly, who Trump once blistered during an early Q&amp;A, stumped for his presidency in the waning days of the 2024 campaign.
It’s Trump’s pop culture connections, though, that raise eyebrows the highest. Think Snoop Dogg, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Bill Maher, and others who famously linked arms with the president in the past.
It started during the President’s first White House foray. Rapper Kanye West hopped aboard the Trump Train, meeting with the world leader at Trump Tower in 2016 following an extended concert speech praising the real estate mogul.
Two years later, West wore a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/snl-kanye-west-gave-pro-trump-speech-maga-hat-1148092/">red MAGA</a> hat on “Saturday Night Live” and praised Trump, but the artist’s string of antisemitic rants and emotional meltdowns caused his fame to curdle into its current, sorry state.
West’s former wife, Kim Kardashian, has arguably had a more productive relationship with Trump. The reality show starlet teamed with Trump on prison reform measures. Kardashian, ignoring a celebrity culture that raged against all things Trump, made the trek to the White House to personally push for her pet cause.
The wannabe lawyer and Trump <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51744918">discussed reform measures</a> aimed at first-time offenders and those she felt were treated unfairly. That public relations coup led to the 2018 release of three young mothers — Crystal Munoz, Judith Negron, and Tynice Hall, all tied to drug-related charges.
<div id="attachment_1004231" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004231" class="size-large wp-image-1004231" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439-864x576.jpg" alt="U.S. President Donald Trump, right, listens as reality star and activist Kim Kardashian West speaks about a second chance hiring and re-entry initiative at an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday June 13, 2019. Kardashian West took a star turn at the White House on Thursday to promote efforts to help those leaving prison get jobs and stay on track. Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
She also played a role in the <a href="https://time.com/5486560/prison-reform-jared-kushner-kim-kardashian-west/">2018 bill</a> that expanded the criminal reform initiative, allowing prisoners to earn credits for early release among its measures. Kardashian wasn’t the only player who made that happen, but she became its public face via her social media empire.
Trump’s second term has seen more of the same, right from the jump.
Rapper Snoop Dogg infamously starred in a 2017 music video in which he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/trump-hits-back-at-snoop-dogg-assassination-video-idUSKBN16O04V/">“shot” a clownish Trump stand-in</a>.
Future Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39268735">blasted the clip</a>, telling TMZ at the time that, &#8220;If the wrong person sees that and gets the wrong idea, you could have a real problem.&#8221;
It was part of Hollywood’s collective wish for the real estate mogul to <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/celebrities-wished-trump-dead/">leave this mortal coil</a> during his first term.
The rapper/actor/pitchman apparently had a change of heart over time. By 2025, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/g-s1-43733/snoop-dogg-trump-perform-inauguration">Snoop Dogg performed</a> at a pre-inauguration gala dubbed the Crypto Ball alongside Rick Ross and Soulja Boy. That’s despite previously calling anyone who performed for Trump during his first term “<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPGvbw4jnvn/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again">Uncle Toms,” in a stereotypical, Stepin Fetchit-style voice</a>.
<div id="attachment_1004233" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004233" class="size-large wp-image-1004233" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788-864x576.jpg" alt="SNL50: THE HOMECOMING CONCERT -- Pictured: (l-r) Snoop Dogg at Radio City Music Hall on Friday, February 14, 2025 -- (Photo by: Arturo Holmes/Peacock via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Arturo Holmes/Peacock via Getty Images</div>
The rapper even stood up to social media critics who trashed him for his about-face.
“Y’all can’t hate enough for me, I love too much,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BdjP-n8rIs">he told his critics</a>, via Entertainment Tonight. “We gotta pick each other up instead of putting each other down.”
Earlier this year, longtime Trump critic Bill Maher made the trek to the White House to break bread with his ideological foe. Maher got roasted for his trouble, including a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/opinion/larry-david-hitler-dinner.html">seething New York Times op-ed</a> from Larry David of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame.
Maher even suggested recently he’d like a second dinner with Trump while continuing to roast his leadership.
<div id="attachment_1004247" style="width: 1028px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004247" class="size-large wp-image-1004247" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-1018x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: ClubRandom/YouTube.com" width="1018" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-1018x576.jpg 1018w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-300x170.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-768x435.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-1536x870.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock.jpg 1793w" sizes=" (max-width: 1018px) 100vw, 1018px" />Screenshot: ClubRandom/YouTube.com</div>
How did the initial Maher-Trump dinner happen in the first place? Singer Kid Rock, a repeat guest on Maher’s “Club Random” podcast, arranged for the unlikely meetup.
The wildest part of the dinner? Maher had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EwqzHsSEZY">Trump sign a list</a> of all the insults the president had thrown the comedian’s way over the years. Maher considers it a prized possession, one he has shown to his “Club Random” guests.
It took courage for stars to align with Trump during his first term.
Now, with a few more celebrities bucking conventional wisdom, the president’s “bedfellows” are looking a little less strange.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
* * *
<h3>Right now, DailyWire+ annual memberships are fifty percent off during our Black Friday sale. Join now at <a href="http://dailywire.com/blackfriday">dailywire.com/blackfriday</a>.</h3>

Trump orbit

The Strange Celebrity Universe Orbiting Donald Trump

Bill Maher

Celebrities

Entertainment

Hollywood

Kanye West

Kim Kardashian

Rap Music

Snoop Dogg

Rapper Nicki Minaj spoke at a United Nations event on Tuesday to bring attention to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
The Trinidadian pop star thanked President Donald Trump for prioritizing the issue and urged people “to defend Christians in Nigeria, to combat extremism and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief.” Minaj was part of a panel that included U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and faith leaders. 
“Today, faith is under attack in way too many places. In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed. Churches have been burned. Families have been torn apart and entire communities live in fear constantly, simply because of how they pray,” the 42-year-old celeb <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jcssdZvTK8">said</a> during her speech.
“Sadly, this problem is not only a growing problem in Nigeria, but also in so many other countries across the world, and it demands urgent action,” Minaj said. “And I want to be clear, protecting Christians in Nigeria is not about taking sides or dividing people. It is about uniting humanity.”
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.dailywire.com/shop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/shop" data-sk="tooltip_parent">30% off razors &amp; DW Shop, 25% off Candle Club, 7–10% off Mayflower—bundles, gifts, &amp; last-chance holiday shipping</a>
The “Super Bass” singer isn’t politically active, but many of her fans have been melting down, accusing her of “going MAGA.” Minaj, who calls her fans “Barbz,” attempted to soothe their ruffled feathers by explaining that this issue transcended politics.
“Barbz, I know you&#8217;re somewhere listening. I love you so very much. You have been the ultimate light in my life and career for so long. I appreciate you, and I want to make it very clear, once again, that this isn&#8217;t about taking sides. This is about standing up in the face of injustice. It&#8217;s about what I&#8217;ve always stood for my entire career. And I will continue to stand for that for the rest of my life. I will care if anyone, anywhere, is being persecuted for their beliefs,” Minaj said.
In late October, Trump said the State Department would add Nigeria to its list of “Countries of Particular Concern.”
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed,” Trump said. “Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’ — But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!”
Trump said he would send troops into Nigeria “guns a-blazing” if its government “continues to allow the killing of Christians.”
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu disputed Trump’s assertions, saying they did not reflect the facts.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” he <a href="https://x.com/officialABAT/status/1984640117361840491">said</a>.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.”

Nicki Minaj Drops Mic On Nigeria’s Anti-Christian Violence At UN

'Faith Is Under Attack': Nicki Minaj Addresses UN About Christians Persecution In Nigeria

Christianity

World

Nicki Minaj’s music introduced a new generation of female rappers. But now she’s lending her voice to a more important cause — stopping the killing of Christians in Nigeria.
Minaj is set to speak at the United Nations this week alongside United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz. They will discuss what President Donald Trump and his administration are doing to stop the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. According to the International Society of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, 7,000 Christians have been killed in 2025 alone.
“[Minaj] is not only arguably the greatest female recording artist, but also a principled individual who refuses to remain silent in the face of injustice,” Waltz wrote on X on Sunday. “I’m grateful she’s leveraging her massive platform to spotlight the atrocities against Christians in Nigeria, and I look forward to standing with her as we discuss the steps the President and his administration are taking to end the persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NICKIMINAJ</a> is not only arguably the greatest female recording artist, but also a principled individual who refuses to remain silent in the face of injustice.
I&#8217;m grateful she&#8217;s leveraging her massive platform to spotlight the atrocities against Christians in Nigeria, and I… <a href="https://t.co/LOLrU1PZye">https://t.co/LOLrU1PZye</a>
— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelgwaltz/status/1990189618172432615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Minaj was flattered. She responded to the ambassador’s remarks, writing, “Ambassador, I am so grateful to be entrusted with an opportunity of this magnitude. I do not take it for granted… I will never stand down in the face of injustice. We’ve been given our influence by God. There must be a bigger purpose.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ambassador, I am so grateful to be entrusted with an opportunity of this magnitude. I do not take it for granted. It means more than you know.
The Barbz &amp; I will never stand down in the face of injustice. We’ve been given our influence by God. There must be a bigger purpose. 🎀 <a href="https://t.co/Mdh0nBWwm1">https://t.co/Mdh0nBWwm1</a>
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/1990212305783836689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
The collaboration came together over social media earlier this month when Waltz invited Minaj to talk with him at the U.S. Embassy to the United Nations after the Grammy-nominated rapper publicly thanked Trump for bringing attention to the slaughtering of Christians. Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz coordinated the Waltz-Minaj meeting, <a href="https://x.com/EricCortellessa/status/1990097775858417714?s=20">set</a> to take place Tuesday, according to TIME Senior Political Correspondent Eric Cortellessa, who first broke the news of the meetup.
On Halloween, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/users/realDonaldTrump/statuses/115470116607441456">said</a> the State Department would add Nigeria to its list of “Countries of Particular Concern.”
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed,” Trump said. “Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’ — But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-threatens-to-completely-wipe-out-the-islamic-terrorists-killing-nigerian-christians">RELATED: Trump Threatens To ‘Completely Wipe Out The Islamic Terrorists’ Killing Nigerian Christians 
</a>
Minaj <a href="https://x.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/1984566555460485280?s=20">thanked</a> the Trump administration “for taking this seriously,” adding, “God bless every persecuted Christian. Let’s remember to lift them up in prayer.”
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nigerias-tuggar-trump-state-backed-religious-persecution-impossible-under-2025-11-04/">argued</a> that the government was not supporting the persecution of Christians “in any way.”
“This is what shows that it’s impossible for there to be a religious persecution that can be supported in any way, shape or form by the government of Nigeria at any level, be it federal, be it regional, be it local, it&#8217;s impossible,” Tuggar said November 4 during a press briefing in Berlin.
The Daily Wire has reached out to Bruesewitz for more details.

Trump, Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj Teams Up With Trump, Will Highlight Christian Persecution In Address To United Nations

Christians

News

Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, was harshly criticized after posting a statement on X that implied no one from Hamas raped any women on October 7, 2023, during their barbaric massacre against the Israeli people.
Alsalem was born in Cairo, Egypt, but now identifies as Jordanian.
“No Palestinian applauded rape in Gaza. No independent investigation found that rape took place on the 7th of October,” she stated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
No Palestinian applauded rape in Gaza. No independent investigation found that rape took place on the 7th of October.
&mdash; Reem Alsalem UNSR Violence Against Women and Girls (@UNSRVAW) <a href="https://twitter.com/UNSRVAW/status/1989315118358745148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, fired back:
<blockquote>
Any UN representative who denies Hamas rape must be removed from their post. Period. It is a stain on the UN’s reputation that Reem Alsalem, the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, denies the sexual violence that took place on October 7. This is a moral disgrace, an insult to the victims and their families, and a violation of every basic international standard. Israel will not allow Hamas&#8217; horrific crimes to be whitewashed. Antonio Guterres, your silence is complicity.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Any UN representative who denies Hamas rape must be removed from their post. Period. It is a stain on the UN’s reputation that Reem Alsalem, the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, denies the sexual violence that took place on October 7. 
This is a moral… <a href="https://t.co/LIpmZtqZqr">https://t.co/LIpmZtqZqr</a>
&mdash; Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) <a href="https://twitter.com/dannydanon/status/1989822608666218805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
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A father and son from Gaza <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13451089/The-father-son-Hamas-rapists-Terrorists-going-house-house-carrying-sex-attacks-murder-One-screamed-cried-father-raped-did-cousin-did-father-killed-her.html">openly admitted</a> they raped and murdered Israeli women on October 7. The father admitted raping a woman, adding, “She was screaming, she was crying, I did what I did, I raped her. &#8216;I threatened her with my gun to take her clothes off, I remember she was wearing jean shorts, that&#8217;s about it. I don&#8217;t know what happened to her, I was there for fifteen minutes and then I left.”
But his son Abdallah said his father had killed the woman: “My father raped her, then I did and then my cousin did and then we left but my father killed the woman after we finished raping her. &#8230; Before this woman, we had raped another girl as well, I killed two people, I raped two people, and I broke into five houses.”
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On October 7th, Hamas didn&#39;t just murder, kidnap, and burn civilians. They raped.
​This is the chilling confession from a captured Hamas terrorist: &quot;She was afraid of me and said, &#39;Help me.&#39; The devil took over me. I laid her down, started undressing her, and did what I did (I… <a href="https://t.co/Z7tKwItBf7">pic.twitter.com/Z7tKwItBf7</a>
&mdash; Yossi BenYakar (@YossiBenYakar) <a href="https://twitter.com/YossiBenYakar/status/1978928818174775735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Reem Alsalem is saying that she is being &quot;deliberately misrepresented&quot; after people became angry that she made the claim that &quot;No independent investigation found that rape took place on the 7th of October.&quot;
If you are wondering if the link she included somehow proves that she… <a href="https://t.co/WR9kAz8qFR">pic.twitter.com/WR9kAz8qFR</a>
&mdash; Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) <a href="https://twitter.com/HenMazzig/status/1989755511504281659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
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UN Special Rapporteur slash Hamas propagandist Reem Alsalem continues to deny Israelis were raped on October 7.
The <a href="https://twitter.com/UN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UN</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nytimes</a>, not to mention many Israeli investigations, have confirmed Hamas used sexual violence as a weapon during the 10/7 massacre. <a href="https://t.co/AIb8HIWF5X">https://t.co/AIb8HIWF5X</a> <a href="https://t.co/lrhqP3T3uO">pic.twitter.com/lrhqP3T3uO</a>
&mdash; Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelWarRoom/status/1989860497793954254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In March 2024, a mission team led by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten found that there was substantial evidence to conclude that victims, as well as hostages and survivors of October 7, were sexually <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-784636">abused and raped</a> by Hamas terrorists.
Two weeks before the UN report, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) issued their report, which <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-790204">stated</a> of the multiple rapes, “In most of these incidents, victims first subjected to rape were then killed, and at least two incidents relate to the rape of women’s corpses.”
“<a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-790390">Last year in March</a>, Alsalem also denied knowing Israel had been a victim of repeated missile attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah as the terrorist groups launched air barrages on civilian communities across Israel,” the Jerusalem Post <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-873910">noted</a>.
As far back as December 2023, the Lieber Institute at West Point stated, “The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-sexual-violence-un.html">New York Times</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/05/un-hears-accounts-of-sexual-violence-during-7-october-attacks-by-hamas">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51">AP News</a>, and <a href="https://www.phr.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5771_Sexual_Violence_paper_Eng-final.pdf">Physicians for Human Rights Israel</a> all mention instances of rape and gang rape in their reports relating to October 7. Other reported acts of sexual violence from these sources include forced nudity, sexual mutilation, and gunshots in the sexual organs and breasts of women.”

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UN Special Rapporteur On Violence Against Women And Girls Denies Hamas Raped Women On October 7

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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has done an about-face on climate change alarmism, recently saying that there are more pressing matters people should be worrying about instead.
The 70-year-old tech billionaire, who has been an outspoken environmental activist for years, said as much in a <a href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/work/accelerate-energy-innovation/reader/helping-the-worlds-poorest-adapt-to-climate-change">&#8220;memo&#8221;</a> published Tuesday titled “Three Tough Truths About Climate.”
&#8220;Climate change, disease, and poverty are all major problems,&#8221; Gates wrote. &#8220;We should deal with them in proportion to the suffering they cause.&#8221;
The businessman admitted that the Earth’s temperature is not the most important factor for improving life on the planet and said the &#8220;doomsday&#8221; view of climate change is “wrong.”
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&#8220;Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity’s demise,&#8221; Gates wrote. &#8220;This is a chance to refocus on the metric that should count even more than emissions and temperature change: improving lives. Our chief goal should be to prevent suffering, particularly for those in the toughest conditions who live in the world’s poorest countries.&#8221;
Gates added, &#8220;Although climate change will hurt poor people more than anyone else, for the vast majority of them it will not be the only or even the biggest threat to their lives and welfare.&#8221;
He wrote the 17-page analysis ahead of next month’s United Nations climate change conference in Brazil, in hopes of shifting funding away from climate initiatives toward other endeavors he now believes are more important.
Gates insisted that climate change remains a major concern but should be moved lower on the priority list. 
“If you think climate is not important, you won’t agree with the memo. If you think climate is the only cause and apocalyptic, you won’t agree with the memo,” Gates <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bill-gates-climate-change-united-nations-4108f76e746d1e3e13845f33b8ae7007">told</a> reporters of his stance, per Associated Press. “It’s kind of this pragmatic view of somebody who’s, you know, trying to maximize the money and the innovation that goes to help in these poor countries.”

Bill Gates

Bill Gates Walks Back Climate Doom: ‘It Will Not Lead To Humanity’s Demise’

Bill Gates Walks Back Climate Doom: 'It Will Not Lead To Humanity’s Demise'

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