Direct From the Source: Quotes From General 'Mad Dog' Mattis, Donald Trump's Phenomenal Pick for Sec. of Defense

He's being called the most revered marine in a generation from the Marine Corps Times. He's Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense --- General James "Mad Dog" Mattis.

"This is the guy that Barack Obama fired for good reason, because --- I want to get this exactly right --- he rubbed civilian officials the wrong way," Glenn said sarcastically Friday on his radio program.

RELATED: General ‘Rudely’ Fired by Obama Makes Trump’s Short List for Secretary of Defense

Actually General Mattis was fired for disagreeing with Obama's stance on the Iran Deal. General Mattis, you might say, is an outspoken military man who let's his opinions be known.

"Can I read some of his quotes?" Glenn asked Friday on radio.

Here are just a few of the general's more memorable comments:

I don't lose any sleep at night over potential for failure. I can't even spell the word.

I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery, and I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes. If you "F" with me, I will kill you all.

Demonstrate to the world that there is no better friend, no worse enemy than a US marine.

There's nothing better than getting shot at and missed. Seriously, it's really great.

"I have to tell you, this is what our military is missing," Glenn said.

Enjoy this complimentary clip from The Glenn Beck Program:

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

GLENN: This is bad. If this happens -- if "Mad Dog" Mattis, General James Mattis --

STU: I mean, obviously a lot of talk about that.

GLENN: Yeah. But if this happens, this is bad. He's being called the most revered marine in a generation from the Marine Corps Times. So you wouldn't want a guy like that in. You know --

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: -- may I just say how spooky -- can I read some of his quotes?

STU: Oh, no.

GLENN: You're not going to like this guy. Now, first of all, this is the guy that Barack Obama fired for good reason, because -- I want to get this exactly right. He rubbed civilian officials the wrong way.

STU: Oh, no. No. Don't do it.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. So let me show you the rabid mad dog that may be joining us on the war front.

Try this quote: I don't lose any sleep at night over potential for failure. I can't even spell the word.

The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some A-holes in the world that do need to be shot.

(laughter)

I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery, and I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes. If you F with me, I will kill you all.

(laughter)

Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment in American democracy and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: That is the guy. This is shock and awe.

STU: And this -- this is -- you know -- there's a long process that goes to, you know, finalizing a Secretary of Defense. Not to mention some legal challenges because of an old rule with General Mattis. But, I mean, this is being praised by even some Democrats. And not because -- he's just well-respected.

GLENN: This is where we're going to see Donald Trump's backbone, is when all of these guys go to be confirmed.

STU: Right. But Mattis looks like he's going to do well.

GLENN: Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everybody you meet.

JEFFY: Think about it.

GLENN: You're part of the world's most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.

There are hunters, and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience, and alertness, you will decide if you're a hunter or a victim.

No war is over until the enemy says it's over. We may think it's over. We may declare it over. But, in fact, the enemy gets a vote.

There's nothing better than getting shot at and missed. Seriously, it's really great.

(laughter)

You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it's going to be bad.

You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot -- it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot at them. Actually, it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people.

I'd be right up there, however, because I like brawling.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: I'm going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we did here for 10,000 years.

Wow.

Demonstrate to the world that there is no better friend, no worst enemy than a US marine.

Fight happy, with a happy heart and a strong spirit.

I have to tell you, this is what our military is missing.

JEFFY: Yes.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Now, I don't want monsters. I don't want people who love killing, but I want people who, when they're faced with a bad guy, oh, yeah. I don't mind killing you.

You're a bad guy, who is trying to kill us and take away our freedoms. Yeah, I'm going to kill you. And I'm going to kill you fast. And I'm going to kill you in such a way that everybody around you goes, oh, my gosh. I don't want any of that.

STU: Yeah. This looks like a great pick.

GLENN: Great pick.

STU: Again, long process to get there. Rumors and everything will fly. However, great -- very well-respected. Seemingly one of the best picks so far. And a guy -- there's a weird law passed in I think the '40s and '50s that says you have to be retired for seven years as a general to get one of these cabinet positions. Which is a -- I would like to -- I've not tracked down yet. I just heard it on TV, and I didn't --

GLENN: When was he fired?

STU: 2013, I think.

GLENN: Ah.

JEFFY: Oh.

STU: So -- but I think, even Democrats are saying, yeah, we'll probably overturn it for this guy. We'll probably get a waiver. There's been one other waiver I think in history, maybe -- in the '50s.

GLENN: So this guy -- okay. So I'm -- remember I told you I was with a farmer friend over the holiday?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: So I was with this farmer friend, he is the most soft-spoken, nicest guy, serves in his church every Sunday, and works, you know, at the church on Saturdays as well. Hard-working. Nice guy.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: He was lieutenant -- he was a lieutenant colonel -- yeah, lieutenant colonel in the Air Force.

And he said, "What do you think of 'Mad Dog' Mattis?"

And I said, "From what I know, I like him."

And he said, "Yeah, I like anybody whose call sign is 'Mad Dog.'" He said, "You know, you don't pick your call sign. That's -- they pick it for you. Your buddies pick it for you based on who you are."

And I said, "What was your call sign?" And he said, "Mad Dog."

And I thought -- and I said, "You were 'Mad Dog'?"

He said, "I was a very different man in the military."

He is the quietest, nicest, politest guy you could ever -- not a mad dog.

And I thought, "What was this general like when they gave him -- if this is who he is now, what was he when he was, you know, a grunt, when he was coming up in the ranks and he was called 'Mad Dog'?"

STU: Well, he is loved by the military.

GLENN: Oh, I know he is. I know he is.

STU: Loved. And what a great -- look, there's a lot of things you might have issues with. You know, and who knows? But what a great change from -- from a president who objectively -- while I'm sure he -- you know, Obama obviously just did not have the same sort of respect that many of us have for the military --

GLENN: No, hang on. That's not the problem. Excuse the slang here. But he sissified. He sissified us. He made us into schoolmarms. He made us into a very sensitive bunch of people that I don't want to -- no. No. That's not what your military -- that might be what the -- the civilian force is like, saying, "Hey, hey, hey. Don't open the door for this military because they're madmen back there. Don't."

You want a disciplined set of -- you want a killing machine that is disciplined and under control. You can have heart, but when you open that door, you should be opening up the gates of hell.

I don't understand. If we don't -- if we don't change the culture of our military, we're doomed.

Now, the question is: Can we change the -- I mean, I would really -- it would be very interesting to see if we teach the Christian ethics again. Remember, that was one of the first things Barack Obama did.

Remember?

PAT: Was to stop that.

GLENN: Yeah, he took out Christian ethics as one of -- that was a required course for everybody at West Point and everybody where else. You had to take the ethics class.

I can't remember -- do you remember what it was called, Pat? It wasn't Christian ethics.

PAT: I can't remember.

GLENN: But it was based on Christianity. That we're not fighting for vengeance or any of that. And he stopped that immediately. Which, when you're sissifying a bunch of battle people, why wouldn't you keep that in? Unless you had a problem with religion. And so we took that out. And that was what really tempered us.

So it will be interesting to see if we reinstate that class because we need that class more than ever. Because if we have a bunch of people who -- whose instinct is vengeance, whose instinct is, "Get them. Make them pay," it needs to be tempered. And we put the teeth back into this military. We better be really careful. Make sure we put them back in the way they were in the first place.

STU: I will say too that this pick has very little in common with a person who is not an interventionalist or a person who is going to hold back and avoid conflict. Now, Mattis is very balanced and very smart.

GLENN: Hang on.

STU: But, again, a supporter of our conflicts.

GLENN: Hang on. Hang on.

Pat, you and I are more interventionalist than probably you guys, right? Pat and I are both: Close down our bases overboard seas. Come home. I don't want anything to do with anybody else.

Pat, I am the president of the United States and I think it would be the same with you, you're my adviser, do you think that I would want you to come in with a bunch of namby-pamby guys in the Defense Department or people who have been in the worst battles in the history of America and know it and know that war is to kill the other guy faster than they can kill you?

PAT: Definitely that.

JEFFY: Yeah.

STU: Again, to me, it's just another piece of evidence that he is closer to the average Republican in -- in these matters, than he is --

GLENN: Not necessarily.

STU: -- to the Democratic positions he had leading into the --

GLENN: Because you could say -- I mean, look, I want to stop the wars. And I want to bring people home. So I'm going to put the biggest bad guy in I could find. I don't mean bad guy, but biggest war dog I could find, who is going to make my military rough and tumble again. Because here's what's going to happen. I'm going to go finish those wars so I can bring everybody home. And I'm going to finish them in such a way that everybody goes, "Good God Almighty, don't mess with them."

STU: And it's consistent with what he said, for example, ISIS. Right? Like, I'm going to bomb the hell out of -- like that type of attitude.

GLENN: Right. Right. Finish it. Bomb them, fight them. Kill them. Finish it. Come home, and you won't have to go back.

I think this is a great pick.

STU: Right. I'm with you.

JEFFY: That's kind of -- I mean, that's Donald Trump's way forever anyway. I'll destroy you, and then, ah, you're okay now. I've destroyed you. I beat you. You're down. I'll talk to you.

PAT: Well, you know --

GLENN: Well, he doesn't do that with everybody.

PAT: No. Not everybody.

GLENN: Not everybody. Mitt Romney.

JEFFY: It's funny that you say that.

GLENN: But he hasn't done that with everybody.

PAT: He does claim he's a counterpuncher though, and that's what you want now, right? That's what we want.

JEFFY: Yes.

PAT: We don't want to go out and get our fat face into everybody's business. But if you attack us, we're going to hit back so hard, you'll never do that again.

JEFFY: Yes.

GLENN: Right. I don't want a guy who wants vengeance.

PAT: Right.

GLENN: But I do want a guy who, when you punch me in the face --

PAT: We're coming after you.

GLENN: -- I'm going to break your arms and your legs and maybe snap your neck.

PAT: We're coming after you. Yeah.

GLENN: Don't ever punch us in the face.

Featured Image: US President-elect Doanld Trump poses for a photo with US Marines General (Ret.) James Mattis James Mattis and Vice President-elect Mike Pence on the steps of the clubhouse at Trump National Golf Club November 19, 2016 in Bedminster, New Jersey. / AFP / Don EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)

Is the U.N. plotting to control 30% of U.S. land by 2030?

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

A reliable conservative senator faces cancellation for listening to voters. But the real threat to public lands comes from the last president’s backdoor globalist agenda.

Something ugly is unfolding on social media, and most people aren’t seeing it clearly. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) — one of the most constitutionally grounded conservatives in Washington — is under fire for a housing provision he first proposed in 2022.

You wouldn’t know that from scrolling through X. According to the latest online frenzy, Lee wants to sell off national parks, bulldoze public lands, gut hunting and fishing rights, and hand America’s wilderness to Amazon, BlackRock, and the Chinese Communist Party. None of that is true.

Lee’s bill would have protected against the massive land-grab that’s already under way — courtesy of the Biden administration.

I covered this last month. Since then, the backlash has grown into something like a political witch hunt — not just from the left but from the right. Even Donald Trump Jr., someone I typically agree with, has attacked Lee’s proposal. He’s not alone.

Time to look at the facts the media refuses to cover about Lee’s federal land plan.

What Lee actually proposed

Over the weekend, Lee announced that he would withdraw the federal land sale provision from his housing bill. He said the decision was in response to “a tremendous amount of misinformation — and in some cases, outright lies,” but also acknowledged that many Americans brought forward sincere, thoughtful concerns.

Because of the strict rules surrounding the budget reconciliation process, Lee couldn’t secure legally enforceable protections to ensure that the land would be made available “only to American families — not to China, not to BlackRock, and not to any foreign interests.” Without those safeguards, he chose to walk it back.

That’s not selling out. That’s leadership.

It's what the legislative process is supposed to look like: A senator proposes a bill, the people respond, and the lawmaker listens. That was once known as representative democracy. These days, it gets you labeled a globalist sellout.

The Biden land-grab

To many Americans, “public land” brings to mind open spaces for hunting, fishing, hiking, and recreation. But that’s not what Sen. Mike Lee’s bill targeted.

His proposal would have protected against the real land-grab already under way — the one pushed by the Biden administration.

In 2021, Biden launched a plan to “conserve” 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. This effort follows the United Nations-backed “30 by 30” initiative, which seeks to place one-third of all land and water under government control.

Ask yourself: Is the U.N. focused on preserving your right to hunt and fish? Or are radical environmentalists exploiting climate fears to restrict your access to American land?

  Smith Collection/Gado / Contributor | Getty Images

As it stands, the federal government already owns 640 million acres — nearly one-third of the entire country. At this rate, the government will hit that 30% benchmark with ease. But it doesn’t end there. The next phase is already in play: the “50 by 50” agenda.

That brings me to a piece of legislation most Americans haven’t even heard of: the Sustains Act.

Passed in 2023, the law allows the federal government to accept private funding from organizations, such as BlackRock or the Bill Gates Foundation, to support “conservation programs.” In practice, the law enables wealthy elites to buy influence over how American land is used and managed.

Moreover, the government doesn’t even need the landowner’s permission to declare that your property contributes to “pollination,” or “photosynthesis,” or “air quality” — and then regulate it accordingly. You could wake up one morning and find out that the land you own no longer belongs to you in any meaningful sense.

Where was the outrage then? Where were the online crusaders when private capital and federal bureaucrats teamed up to quietly erode private property rights across America?

American families pay the price

The real danger isn’t in Mike Lee’s attempt to offer more housing near population centers — land that would be limited, clarified, and safeguarded in the final bill. The real threat is the creeping partnership between unelected global elites and our own government, a partnership designed to consolidate land, control rural development, and keep Americans penned in so-called “15-minute cities.”

BlackRock buying entire neighborhoods and pricing out regular families isn’t by accident. It’s part of a larger strategy to centralize populations into manageable zones, where cars are unnecessary, rural living is unaffordable, and every facet of life is tracked, regulated, and optimized.

That’s the real agenda. And it’s already happening , and Mike Lee’s bill would have been an effort to ensure that you — not BlackRock, not China — get first dibs.

I live in a town of 451 people. Even here, in the middle of nowhere, housing is unaffordable. The American dream of owning a patch of land is slipping away, not because of one proposal from a constitutional conservative, but because global powers and their political allies are already devouring it.

Divide and conquer

This controversy isn’t really about Mike Lee. It’s about whether we, as a nation, are still capable of having honest debates about public policy — or whether the online mob now controls the narrative. It’s about whether conservatives will focus on facts or fall into the trap of friendly fire and circular firing squads.

More importantly, it’s about whether we’ll recognize the real land-grab happening in our country — and have the courage to fight back before it’s too late.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

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.