David Barton: We Might Be On the Verge of Revolution

The Context

The South Carolina primary was Saturday and Donald Trump came out the big winner followed by Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz who were in a virtual tie for second place. David Barton joined the program and broke down the numbers behind the votes and what he found surprised him.

“Well, I thought there would be a revolution, but not in the sense of having a physical revolution,” Barton said Monday on The Glenn Beck Program. “I'm now more of a believer that it's a real thing. The numbers I saw in South Carolina . . . I was literally shocked. I was shocked at not only the numbers, but the words that were behind some of the numbers. The questions that were literally asked and how people responded to that, it really gave me a lot of pause in a way that I have not done in recent years.”

The Bubba Effect

If you've been a listener over the past few years, Glenn has talked extensively about a term called The Bubba Effect, something he believes is now here. The Bubba Effect is when a group of people feel they have been pushed over the edge by an overbearing government, and someone responds with force or violence. Even though they know it’s wrong, the majority of people support the violence.

“The Bubba Effect, I believe, is in full effect right now,” Glenn said. “I believe Donald Trump is The Bubba Effect, and I'll explain that later, based on some of these polls that are coming in. And they are frightening. They're truly frightening when you read the exit polls and you know what you're looking for.”

What was most frightening for David Barton? The term "betrayal."

“Well, the term we'll get into later is the term "betrayal," Barton said. “[Voters] feel betrayed. And when you look at betrayal and you look at what psychologists say that represents, that's a scary term. It's not like someone has just crossed me --- betrayal is deep stuff.”

Terrorism

The number one issue for South Carolina voters according to exit polling was terrorism at 32%, but the staggering number was that 75% of voters did not want Syrian refugees. Glenn explained why that is such a significant number.

“This is America saying, 'Look, we don't buy your bullcrap that it's a peaceful religion and the Muslim Brotherhood are largely secular.' What they know is, Muslims have come in from the Middle East, not necessarily American Muslims . . . Islamists is the better way to term this. Islamists are not peaceful. Muslims can be peaceful. But we have bent over backwards to say everybody is peaceful. And this guy is just a lone wolf, when we know that's bullcrap,” Glenn said.

What’s Sticking to Cruz

There may be several factors that hurt Cruz’ performance or why Rubio and Trump did so well, but there is one thing that Glenn believes is starting to take its toll on Ted.

“So here's the other thing that's hurting Ted Cruz that is sticking: that he's running the dirty campaign and that he's a liar. I have to tell you, I mean, I would not be with a liar. And I won't make any excuses,” Glenn said.

David has been hearing the same thing over and over and it might start to be something the Cruz campaign should be worried about even if it’s a lie itself.

“It's interesting the way they've gone at it. Trump says, [Cruz is] a liar. He lies about everything. He's the biggest liar --- just lie, lie, lie. That's the word [Trump] uses over and over, and people repeat that. And I say, 'Can you give me one example?' No, but [Cruz is] a liar,” Barton said.

Common Sense Bottom Line

If the exit polls in South Carolina prove anything it’s that we are a deeply divided country and at an extremely crucial point in our history. We have been pushed by an overbearing government and we might start to see violence, but we cannot let The Bubba Effect take root in our hearts. We must continue to be like Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and serve our fellow man with love.

“And this is why I have been saying, 'Jesus, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, pick one. Pick one.' You've got to hold on to who you are, the principles that you have, and you can't fight hate with hate.” Glenn said.

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN:  So glad you've tuned in.  We've run out of time for Courage Boys.  We'll have to move that or hit it tomorrow.  

I have David Barton here with us.  And he's been looking at the poll numbers out of South Carolina.  And we're going to get into those here in a bit.  But, David, I wanted to talk to you a bit because I know one of the headlines is going to be, "Glenn Beck says there's going to be a revolution."  I don't think you believed that until you saw the poll numbers coming out of the last three states.

DAVID:  Well, I thought there would be a revolution, but not in the sense of having a physical revolution.  You know, I thought there would be political or something.  I'm now more of a believer that it's a real thing.  The numbers I saw in South Carolina -- you know, I told you the email shocked me.  I was literally shocked.  I was shocked at not only the numbers, but the words that were behind some of the numbers.  The questions that were literally asked and how people responded to that, it really gave me a lot of pause in a way that I have not done in recent years.

GLENN:  And, quite honestly, if we had responsible journalists and responsible press, they would be talking to you now.  And this is why I have been saying, "Jesus, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, pick one.  Pick one."  But you've got to hold on to who and you are the principles that you have.  And you can't fight hate with hate.  And that's exactly what's happening.

And people -- the Bubba Effect, I believe, is in full effect right now.  I believe Donald Trump is the Bubba Effect.  And I'll explain that later, based on some of these polls that are coming in.  And they are frightening.  They're truly frightening when you read the exit polls and you know what you're looking for.

DAVID:  Yeah.  The numbers are scary on this.  And the terms are scary too.

GLENN:  What do you mean "the terms"?

DAVID:  Well, the term we'll get into later is the term "betrayal."  They feel betrayed.  And when you look at betrayal and you look at what psychologists say that that represents, that's a scary term.  It's not like someone has just crossed me.  Betrayal is deep stuff.

GLENN:  So I want to make sure that you hear this.  Because the media will spin this out of control.  And they'll make it into another crazy conspiracy theory.  But I just want to point out: '99, I talked about Osama bin Laden in New York and said that there would be blood and bodies in the streets and the signature would be Osama bin Laden.  And nobody believed me.  In 2006 and '7, I talked to you about financial crash, the crash of biblical proportions, based on the housing market.  I told you that there would be a caliphate, and everybody mocked that.  I'm telling you, we are on the path for revolution.  And a violent revolution.

Right now, we're talking about a velvet revolution.  But if we make the wrong choice at this point, we are -- and I'll make this case, based on the polls and what we're seeing.  And nobody in the media is going to -- they're going to mock it.  Don't mock this warning.  Please don't mock this warning.

All right.  So we'll get into that here in just a second.  And I'm actually anxious for David to hear the -- the -- the founders, the black founders, because David is the one who originally turned us on to black founders.  We had absolutely no idea.

Pat, do you know who this -- which is the black founder that we're hitting today?

PAT:  Crispus Attucks.

GLENN:  Who played a huge, huge role.  I was just up in Boston a couple weeks ago.  And I asked people, "So where is the Old North Church?"  And they're like, "You know, it's been years since I've been there.  I'm not really sure."  

So what is that memorial over there?  

That's Bunker Hill, I think.  I'm not really sure.  

I mean, It's amazing that people who live in that, with all of that history, how many people just dismiss it.  And they're just -- it becomes old hat.  I don't really -- I learned that in school.  And I don't really remember.

PAT:  Yeah, they don't pay attention.  You only pay attention kind of when you go to Boston on vacation and you're there to see the revolutionary sites and do all of that, and then you appreciate that stuff.  I think when you live there, you just kind of -- it's like living around Disneyland.  You get immune to it.

STU:  All right.  But ask them where the nearest Dunkin' Donuts is.

PAT:  Oh, they know where that is.

STU:  They will know that.  They will know that.

PAT:  Yeah.  Yeah.  Ask them what channel the Apprentice is on, and they know that.  Right?

GLENN:  I will tell you that I've never seen them -- I was seeing them from the window.  I've been to Boston a hundred times.  I've never had the opportunity -- never had the time to do it.  It's something I have to do with my kids because it's amazing.  It's all still there.  It's all still there.  And maybe we should spend a little more time learning about it.  

We'll learn something that no one in the mainstream media, no one in the educational system wants you to learn.  The history of our black founders, next.

Hour 2

GLENN:  I'll number Durango Hills today in Las Vegas.  At noon.  And 4 o'clock, I'll be in Elko, Nevada, which I've never been.  And then in Reno tonight.  Which is a beautiful city.  And then tomorrow, we'll be around another few places tomorrow in Nevada.  Just check GlennBeck.com for all the details or my Facebook page.  We'll make sure you can find out where we are.

So in South Carolina, quite honestly, it was like a kick to the gut in South Carolina.  But we learned an awful lot about what is happening in America and how high the anger is in America.  We never make a good choice -- how many times have you ever said these words, "I was so angry today, and I made the best choice I've ever made?"  We always start our apologies with, "I'm really sorry.  I flew off the handle.  I was really angry."  Never have I made a good decision when I was angry.

And David is going to take us through some of the poll numbers and what really happened in South Carolina.  David Barton is with us.

DAVID:  You want to start with the angry side --

GLENN:  You take us where you think we need to go.

DAVID:  Well, I'll tell you the way it started for me.  I was not in South Carolina the night the results came in.  I was speaking at a big event in east Texas.

PAT:  I'm just wondering if this is the David Barton --

GLENN:  Come on.  Let's get something out.

DAVID:  What is the website, Pat?

GLENN:  Oh, jeez.

PAT:  Keepthepromise.com.

GLENN:  We got it.  Let me just say -- if you would like to help the super PAC for Ted Cruz, you can go to keepthepromise.com.  Now, can we please move on?

JEFFY:  So this is the David Barton from --

GLENN:  Stop it right now.  Please, I'm begging you guys.  Turn the mics off, Sarah, in Dallas.  

Okay.  David, tell us what happened.

DAVID:  So I looked at the result after the event that night was over, and I saw all sorts of headlines.  I saw what had happened, that Cruz had come in third.  I saw that evangelicals had abandoned him.  That they did not do well.  The conservative state did not go for him.  And so I saw all these headlines.  Then as I was with you this weekend --

GLENN:  And you were as shocked as I was.

DAVID:  I was shocked.  I was absolutely shocked.  Our numbers were not close to what the results came in as.  Really, nobody's numbers were close.  They missed Rubio by a long way.  Trump overperformed.  Cruz underperformed by what was predicted.  So it was a gut blow.  It was kind of a gut blow.

So I had not thought about it much.  You asked -- you sent me the email and said, "What happened?"  So I sent you back a few articles that had exit polls, but I hadn't really looked at them.  And so as we were talking last night, I spent time going through the exit polls.  And the headlines completely misportrayed what the numbers show.

So, for example, you take -- and let me put it in perspective and then we can talk about how things felt.  The biggest issues that were on voters' minds in South Carolina, which were really different from Iowa and elsewhere, but the biggest issues that were out there -- number one issue was terrorism.  That was the number one issue at 32 percent, followed by jobs and the economy for 28 percent, government spending 27 percent, immigration 10 percent.

GLENN:  Okay.  Listen.  Now, when it comes to terrorism, it's specifically the Syrian refugees.

DAVID:  That's right.

GLENN:  And as I explained to David last night, this is the Bubba effect.  Because David is like, where are the Syrian refugees?  How is that even a story right now?

DAVID:  And, by the way, the reason I was struck with that was 75 percent of South Carolina voters said we like Trump because he doesn't want any Syrian -- and I had no clue it would be 75 percent.

GLENN:  Right.  And why is that number so high?  And I explained to David, this is the Bubba Effect.  This is America saying, "Look, we don't buy your bullcrap that it's a peaceful religion.  And the Muslim Brotherhood are largely secular."  What they know is, Muslims have come in from the Middle East, not necessarily American Muslims and Islamists is the better way to term this.  Islamists are not peaceful.  Muslims can be peaceful.  But we have bent over backwards to say everybody is peaceful.  And this guy is just a lone wolf, when we know that's bullcrap.

So when the government is not protecting us, that is the secret of the Bubba Effect.  When the government isn't protecting, the people push back on that.  They get angry and say, "You know what, get out of our town.  We know what the truth is, and you're part of the problem."  And that's why the Syrian refugees was the -- by far, the number one concern of the people who went to the polls in South Carolina.

DAVID:  And for those folks, Trump was their guy.

GLENN:  Because he says no Muslims.

DAVID:  He says, Muslims, shut it down.  That's where they went.  Although there were these other issues, 75 percent, that was a stunning number to me.

GLENN:  Right.

DAVID:  And the other numbers that stood out to me, is I was told -- let's see if I get the numbers.  74 percent were evangelicals that voted.  As it turned out, 74 percent were not evangelicals.  That was evangelicals born again.  So in the evangelicals, Cruz did really good with the evangelicals.  But among the born agains -- and evangelicals are born agains who are serious about their faith.  So those serious about their faith, Cruz did really well with.  Those who were not serious about their faith and not very conservative, that's where Trump cleaned up.  And so the media said, oh, all the evangelicals are going for Trump.  No, not so.  There was a definite categorization difference between those who practice their faith and those who didn't.

GLENN:  And actually those who practiced their faith, it was split between Rubio and Cruz.

DAVID:  That's right.  Rubio and Cruz had the high percentage of those who were serious about their faith.

GLENN:  So here's the other thing that's hurting Ted Cruz that is sticking, that he's running the dirty campaign and that he's a liar.  I have to tell you, I mean, I would not be with a liar.  And I won't make any excuses.  I think -- you know, I think like -- what was it?  Oh, the thing in Iowa where he said, you know, they sent out fliers --

DAVID:  Ben Carson.

GLENN:  No, no.  The fliers that they sent out and said, "You're in violation of voting violation."  That's been done over and over again by the Democrats and the Republicans.  So it's nothing new.  I don't like it.  I wouldn't have done that myself.  But it's totally fair game.  Nobody has ever had a problem with that in the past.

He's not playing dirty ball.  But the problem is, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump are all saying the same thing because they know, if they take him out, then the whole landscape changes.  And so he's an impediment to them.  So they're doing what they did to, you know, Mitt Romney and everybody always does.  You -- you target one, take him out.  Then you retarget another one and take them out.  So they're all targeting Marco Rubio -- Ted Cruz.

DAVID:  It's interesting the way they've gone at it.  Trump says, he's a liar.  He lies about everything.  He's the biggest liar -- just lie, lie, lie.  That's the word he uses over and over.  And people repeat that.  And I say, "Can you give me one example?"  No, but he's a liar.  

Give me an example.  

Well, he's a liar.

And it goes back to what William James said in the 1800s.  He said, there's nothing so absurd, but that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it.

GLENN:  Hitler said the same thing.

DAVID:  That's right.  And that's what's been happening.  That did hurt Cruz in South Carolina.  The negatives went up on him.  We really can't trust him because he's a liar.  No evidence of that.  That's just a claim.

GLENN:  I know Ted Cruz.  That's the most incredible thing I've heard.  He's trying to be friends with everybody.  He's not taking these guys out.  He's the only one not engaging in those nasty -- you know, this nasty kind of --

DAVID:  Well, I'll tell you, when I -- when they asked me to take the super PAC and I did.  I said, "Here's the deal, I'm not going to be an attack dog.  I'm not going to do a super PAC that's going after everybody attacking.  I believe in Romans 12:21.  You overturn the evil with the good.  We'll run positive messaging.  I don't mind contrast ads.  I don't mind if someone is vote is somewhere, I'll show that.  But I'm not going to be attack dogs and demean the character of others."  And that's the way we run this thing.  And now we're liars for having run really a pretty straight-up campaign.  Now, we can't speak for everybody that does everything in the name of Ted Cruz.  But the super PAC side, our super PAC Keep the Promise.  Oh, wait a minute.  Keepthepromise.com.  Our super PAC,keepthepromise.com, we have really run a straight-up thing.  Because that's Ted's character.  That's what we want to reflect.

GLENN:  I will tell you this, David is in because he does want to raise money for the super PAC because he believes that the only reason why Kasich is still in is he wants to win Ohio.  And Ohio, it doesn't even look like he'll win Ohio.  And the super PAC needs to have the money to be able to go on and continue to fight.  So if you do believe in Ted Cruz, you can donate to the super PAC.

Now, let me switch to -- and, Pat, I don't know if you have this audio.  What Marco Rubio said this weekend on, I don't know if it was Meet the Press

PAT:  I got the Stephanopoulos audio where he was --

GLENN:  Okay.  So I want you to listen to what he said.

VOICE:  For what it's worth, PolitiFact has never been able to find -- none of us have been able to find any instance --

PAT:  That's.  Hang on a second.

GLENN:  And this is important.  Because here's the thing -- there's never been -- in modern history, there's never been somebody who has made it to the presidency without winning Ohio, New Hampshire, or South Carolina.  You have to win one of those three.  In modern history, nobody has made it without winning one of those three.  Hang on just a second.

On the other side, Bill Clinton didn't win anything until Georgia, which was March 1st.  So I want you to remember the comeback kid.  He did win South Carolina.  But South Carolina came later.  It came March 6th.  The first time he won any state was March 1st.  So no matter what's happening at this point, it doesn't matter.  You can win with the momentum.  So don't be discouraged if you happen to be for a candidate.  You know, I think you'll have a hard time -- anybody who hasn't won any of those three states.  That's the only thing that's an impediment.  This is truly a two-man race.  Okay.  Go ahead play the audio.

VOICE:  Three big contests so far.  You've come in third, fifth, and now second in South Carolina.  The big question for you is:  Where do you win?

GLENN:  Now, listen to this.

MARCO:  Well, when we get to these winner-take-all states, we have to start winning because they award all their delegates to one person.  And if you look at what we're doing now, we're going to be doing a national campaign.  I mean, I'm in Tennessee today.  Then I'm going to Arkansas.  Then we finish up in Nevada.  And tomorrow, more of the same.  We're campaigning everywhere.  

So the way this process works, for people that are watching is, these states right now are awarding delegates proportionally.  And -- and -- but come March 15th, if you win a state, you get all of their delegates.  That's when it's really going to start to matter, and we'll be in real good shape for that.

VOICE:  And Florida needs to be a win?

GLENN:  Okay.  Stop.  

Go ahead.

MARCO:  Well, I think that's true for everyone in this race, and it's always been true.  We feel real good about Florida.

VOICE:  True for everybody in this race.

GLENN:  Okay.  Stop.  True for everybody in this race that you have to win Florida.  He is currently polling third in his home state.

DAVID:  And notice he was asked what state can you win, and he hasn't named one.  He's naming where he's going to be, he's naming what they're going to work for, he hasn't given a state where he can win.

GLENN:  Right.  And if his strategy is, I'm going to win in Florida.  It's too late.  That was the -- what's-his-name's strategy?

DAVID:  Jeb Bush.

GLENN:  No.  Not only Jeb Bush, but Giuliani.  It doesn't work.  It just doesn't work.  So I don't know what that strategy is.  But you can't win if you say I'm going to win in Florida and you're polling third and it's your home state.  Imagine if, you know, Ted Cruz was polling third in Texas.  By the way, how is he polling in Texas?

DAVID:  He's polling first in Texas.

GLENN:  First in Texas.  Yeah, I mean, you just can't do that.  You just can't poll third in your own state at this point.  Rubio is not -- is not a winner.  He's just not a winner.  People are looking at him and saying, "Well, he can win in the general."  I'm not so sure.  

Featured Image: Supporters cheer as the South Carolina primary is called for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at his election night party February 20, 2016 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The New York businessman won the first southern primary decisively. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

URGENT: FIVE steps to CONTROL AI before it's too late!

MANAURE QUINTERO / Contributor | Getty Images

By now, many of us are familiar with AI and its potential benefits and threats. However, unless you're a tech tycoon, it can feel like you have little influence over the future of artificial intelligence.

For years, Glenn has warned about the dangers of rapidly developing AI technologies that have taken the world by storm.

He acknowledges their significant benefits but emphasizes the need to establish proper boundaries and ethics now, while we still have control. But since most people aren’t Silicon Valley tech leaders making the decisions, how can they help keep AI in check?

Recently, Glenn interviewed Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist deeply concerned about the potential harm of unchecked AI, to discuss its societal implications. Harris highlighted a concerning new piece of legislation proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation proposes a state-level moratorium on AI regulation, meaning only the federal government could regulate AI. Harris noted that there’s currently no Federal plan for regulating AI. Until the federal government establishes a plan, tech companies would have nearly free rein with their AI. And we all know how slowly the federal government moves.

This is where you come in. Tristan Harris shared with Glenn the top five actions you should urge your representatives to take regarding AI, including opposing the moratorium until a concrete plan is in place. Now is your chance to influence the future of AI. Contact your senator and congressman today and share these five crucial steps they must take to keep AI in check:

Ban engagement-optimized AI companions for kids

Create legislation that will prevent AI from being designed to maximize addiction, sexualization, flattery, and attachment disorders, and to protect young people’s mental health and ability to form real-life friendships.

Establish basic liability laws

Companies need to be held accountable when their products cause real-world harm.

Pass increased whistleblower protections

Protect concerned technologists working inside the AI labs from facing untenable pressures and threats that prevent them from warning the public when the AI rollout is unsafe or crosses dangerous red lines.

Prevent AI from having legal rights

Enact laws so AIs don’t have protected speech or have their own bank accounts, making sure our legal system works for human interests over AI interests.

Oppose the state moratorium on AI 

Call your congressman or Senator Cruz’s office, and demand they oppose the state moratorium on AI without a plan for how we will set guardrails for this technology.

Glenn: Only Trump dared to deliver on decades of empty promises

Tasos Katopodis / Stringer | Getty Images

The Islamic regime has been killing Americans since 1979. Now Trump’s response proves we’re no longer playing defense — we’re finally hitting back.

The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.

Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.

It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.

Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.

The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.

The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.

Operation Midnight Hammer

The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.

USAF / Handout | Getty Images

To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.

As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.

They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.

If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.

This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.

What comes next

We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.

Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.

That would be catastrophic.

The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.

The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?

Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.

Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.

Now we pray

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.

The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.

He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Globalize the Intifada? Why Mamdani’s plan spells DOOM for America

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

If New Yorkers hand City Hall to Zohran Mamdani, they’re not voting for change. They’re opening the door to an alliance of socialism, Islamism, and chaos.

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he's saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Could China OWN our National Parks?

Jonathan Newton / Contributor | Getty Images

The left’s idea of stewardship involves bulldozing bison and barring access. Lee’s vision puts conservation back in the hands of the people.

The media wants you to believe that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is trying to bulldoze Yellowstone and turn national parks into strip malls — that he’s calling for a reckless fire sale of America’s natural beauty to line developers’ pockets. That narrative is dishonest. It’s fearmongering, and, by the way, it’s wrong.

Here’s what’s really happening.

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized.

The federal government currently owns 640 million acres of land — nearly 28% of all land in the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s more territory than France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom combined.

Most of this land is west of the Mississippi River. That’s not a coincidence. In the American West, federal ownership isn’t just a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a stranglehold. States are suffocated. Locals are treated as tenants. Opportunities are choked off.

Meanwhile, people living east of the Mississippi — in places like Kentucky, Georgia, or Pennsylvania — might not even realize how little land their own states truly control. But the same policies that are plaguing the West could come for them next.

Lee isn’t proposing to auction off Yellowstone or pave over Yosemite. He’s talking about 3 million acres — that’s less than half of 1% of the federal estate. And this land isn’t your family’s favorite hiking trail. It’s remote, hard to access, and often mismanaged.

Failed management

Why was it mismanaged in the first place? Because the federal government is a terrible landlord.

Consider Yellowstone again. It’s home to the last remaining herd of genetically pure American bison — animals that haven’t been crossbred with cattle. Ranchers, myself included, would love the chance to help restore these majestic creatures on private land. But the federal government won’t allow it.

So what do they do when the herd gets too big?

They kill them. Bulldoze them into mass graves. That’s not conservation. That’s bureaucratic malpractice.

And don’t even get me started on bald eagles — majestic symbols of American freedom and a federally protected endangered species, now regularly slaughtered by wind turbines. I have pictures of piles of dead bald eagles. Where’s the outrage?

Biden’s federal land-grab

Some argue that states can’t afford to manage this land themselves. But if the states can’t afford it, how can Washington? We’re $35 trillion in debt. Entitlements are strained, infrastructure is crumbling, and the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and National Park Service are billions of dollars behind in basic maintenance. Roads, firebreaks, and trails are falling apart.

The Biden administration quietly embraced something called the “30 by 30” initiative, a plan to lock up 30% of all U.S. land and water under federal “conservation” by 2030. The real goal is 50% by 2050.

That entails half of the country being taken away from you, controlled not by the people who live there but by technocrats in D.C.

You think that won’t affect your ability to hunt, fish, graze cattle, or cut timber? Think again. It won’t be conservatives who stop you from building a cabin, raising cattle, or teaching your grandkids how to shoot a rifle. It’ll be the same radical environmentalists who treat land as sacred — unless it’s your truck, your deer stand, or your back yard.

Land as collateral

Moreover, the U.S. Treasury is considering putting federally owned land on the national balance sheet, listing your parks, forests, and hunting grounds as collateral.

What happens if America defaults on its debt?

David McNew / Stringer | Getty Images

Do you think our creditors won’t come calling? Imagine explaining to your kids that the lake you used to fish in is now under foreign ownership, that the forest you hunted in belongs to China.

This is not hypothetical. This is the logical conclusion of treating land like a piggy bank.

The American way

There’s a better way — and it’s the American way.

Let the people who live near the land steward it. Let ranchers, farmers, sportsmen, and local conservationists do what they’ve done for generations.

Did you know that 75% of America’s wetlands are on private land? Or that the most successful wildlife recoveries — whitetail deer, ducks, wild turkeys — didn’t come from Washington but from partnerships between private landowners and groups like Ducks Unlimited?

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized. When you break it, you fix it. When you profit from the land, you protect it.

This is not about selling out. It’s about buying in — to freedom, to responsibility, to the principle of constitutional self-governance.

So when you hear the pundits cry foul over 3 million acres of federal land, remember: We don’t need Washington to protect our land. We need Washington to get out of the way.

Because this isn’t just about land. It’s about liberty. And once liberty is lost, it doesn’t come back easily.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.