Blog
LatestArticlesVideos
Radio
LivePodcastSerialsStations
TV
Podcasts
The Glenn Beck ProgramThe Glenn Beck PodcastThe Beck Story
Fine Art
Real Estate
Shop
More
AboutCharityBooksSponsorsContact
SEARCH
Live Radio

©2024 MERCURY RADIO ARTS.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Morning Brief 2025-10-08

October 08, 2025
Chris Brady

BOTTOM OF HOUR 1
GUEST: Kristen Waggoner
TOPIC: Is counseling free speech?

TOP OF HOUR 3
GUEST: Jack Carr
TOPIC: Carr dives deep into the Vietnam War in "Cry Havoc," his new book from “The Terminal List" series.

News...

Controversial speakers must be welcomed on campuses and elsewhere
Glenn Beck will headline a Turning Point USA event at the University of North Dakota following Charlie Kirk’s death, as the university defends free expression and urges students to embrace civil debate instead of censorship.

The government finally uses the FACE Act on real thugs, not praying grandmas
After decades of one-sided prosecutions, the DOJ charged Islamist and communist agitators under the FACE Act for assaulting Jews outside a New Jersey synagogue.

Comey to be arraigned Wednesday in Virginia on charges stemming from grand jury indictment
Although the arraignment is highly anticipated, top Justice Department officials denied reports that law enforcement would be theatrical by arresting Comey and escorting him to the Virginia court.

FBI disbands ‘corrupt’ team used to spy on GOP senators
“We fired those who acted unethically, dismantled the corrupt CR-15 squad, and launched an investigation,” Kash Patel said. “Transparency and accountability aren’t slogans, they’re promises kept.”

Joe Biden’s team blocked CIA from distributing report on son Hunter’s Ukraine business dealings
Then-Vice President Joe Biden’s team intervened in February 2016 to prevent the CIA from disseminating an intelligence report to policymakers about the perceptions senior Ukrainian officials held about his son’s business dealings, newly declassified memos show.

More shady Hunter Biden dealings — this time in Romania
While Joe Biden was vice president, Hunter reportedly worked both as a lawyer and investor in a deal that could have given a Chinese state-linked firm control of property surrounding the U.S. embassy in Bucharest — yet another foreign influence scheme that quietly collapsed without consequence.

FBI corruption probe picked up evidence Bill Clinton paid through back door, GOP senator says
As part of a political corruption probe, the FBI obtained evidence that Clinton was being paid through a backdoor arrangement with an allied consultant, according to a 2017 document released Tuesday.

Pam Bondi tears into Democratic senator: 'I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump'
Bondi testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the attorney general ripped into Ranking Member Dick Durbin over the legality of deploying the Texas National Guard to Chicago.

Man with 200 explosives and leftist manifesto arrested outside Supreme Court event at church: Police
On Monday, after reviewing the bombs more carefully, police filed an affidavit from a bomb technician saying, “There were over 200 devices recovered from D-1’s tent ... the devices appeared to be fully functional.”

Matt Walsh: The case of the child killer released from prison just got even more insane
Kentucky officials say Ronald Exantus, who butchered a 6-year-old boy, was classified as a “nonviolent offender,” allowing his early release under a state law that lets brutal criminals walk free after serving a fraction of their sentences.

Government shutdown...

Republicans face pressure to consider Democrats’ health care demands as shutdown drags on
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has reportedly circulated a “discussion draft” of a proposal that would include GOP pledges on an Obamacare deal.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene breaks with the GOP on Obamacare, calling to avoid premium hikes
Funding for Obamacare expires at the end of this year, and Democrats are pushing to have it extended, along with a select few Republicans, now including Greene.

Politics...

Dead canary in the Zoomer coal mine? Disillusion among key Trump backers spells danger ahead
Comedians and podcasters who helped Trump connect with young voters in 2024 — including Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Adin Ross, and Andrew Schulz — are now voicing regret and frustration over immigration raids, spending hikes, and broken promises, threatening GOP momentum with Gen Z heading into 2026.

Senate confirms more than 100 Trump nominees amid government shutdown
The Senate confirmed 107 of President Trump’s nominees in a single vote on Tuesday evening, significantly clearing the backlog of the president’s picks awaiting floor consideration.

On Oct. 7 anniversary, Mamdani accuses Israel of launching ‘genocidal war’
The NYC mayoral front-runner used the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack to blast the Israeli government for launching a “genocidal war” in Gaza and argue the U.S. “has been complicit through it all” in a statement that drew scorn from both Republicans and Democrats.

NYC Council candidate nicknamed ‘Sperminator’ fakes endorsements, news clips
Perennial New York City candidate and prolific sperm donor Jonathan Rinaldi is running on the Republican line, though he does not have the backing of the Queens Republican Party. He also claimed to have the endorsement of Andrew Cuomo, whose spokesman said, “I don’t even know who that guy is.”

Virginia...

Democrats stand by their man despite vicious texts wishing death on GOP rival and his kids
"I think it's a test for Virginia. It's now no longer right versus left in Virginia. This election's about, in my opinion, right versus wrong," Jones' opponent, Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, told Glenn Beck on Tuesday.

Gun control zealots stand by ‘two bullets’ Jay Jones
Despite branding themselves champions of “gun safety,” Moms Demand Action and dozens of liberal groups are still backing Virginia AG candidate Jay Jones, keeping their endorsements live even after his violent rhetoric became public.

Tim Kaine calls Jay Jones ‘two bullets’ texts ‘indefensible,’ then defends him
The Democrat senator claimed to have a different perspective on Jones, noting that he has "known Jay since he was a teenager" and still supports Jones' bid for Virginia attorney general.

Jay Jones appears to have violated judge’s terms for reckless driving charge
The Virginia AG candidate used his own political PAC to satisfy court-ordered community service from a 2022 reckless driving case, despite state law requiring the work be done through a nonpolitical nonprofit.

Economy...

The government shutdown means there’s no September jobs report. Is that bad?
With the Bureau of Labor Statistics down to one employee, the Fed must set interest rates without its most important labor data, leaving economists and markets to guess the strength of the job market.

Ray Dalio says today is like the early 1970s and investors should hold more gold than usual
Dalio, founder of one of the world’s largest hedge funds, believes investors should allocate as much as 15% of their portfolios to gold.

Tesla prices Model Y SUV below $40,000, debuting more affordable vehicle
The new Model Y standard features a battery that gets 321 miles of estimated range on a full charge. The lower prices may help Tesla attract some buyers after the loss of $7,500 federal EV tax credits.

Immigration...

Julio Rosas: Inside the Portland ICE facility under siege by Antifa extremists
The day of my visit came after a federal judge put a temporary halt on the deployment of Oregon National Guardsmen. The facility had been prepared to receive the reinforcements, but now it was business as usual.

Conservative journalist Nick Sortor threatens lawsuit after arrest in Portland Antifa clash
Sortor is demanding an apology and investigation from Portland police, saying his arrest for defending himself against Antifa attackers was unconstitutional and politically motivated.

Suspected Latin Kings boss in Chicago accused of putting hit out on Border Patrol chief
Amid rising tensions in Illinois as Operation Midway Blitz carries on, law enforcement arrested suspected Latin Kings "ranking member" Juan Espinoza Martinez and charged him with a single count of murder for hire after he allegedly put a hit out on a Border Patrol chief, according to Fox News.

8 things Chicago has done to put illegal aliens first
Chicago's sanctuary city status dates all the way back to 1985, when Mayor Harold Washington signed an executive order that stated city workers could not ask people about their immigration status.

Durbin pushes debunked ‘zip-tied kids’ ICE hoax during DOJ hearing
Despite DHS confirming no children were zip-tied, Sen. Dick Durbin repeated the false claim to smear ICE, echoing a pattern of left-wing emotional hoaxes.

Church joins persecution of Texas business owner who criticized H-1B visas
After posting frustration over an Indian street festival and calling to end H-1B visas, small-business owner Daniel Keene was doxxed, banned from his gym for lacking “inclusivity,” and pushed out of his church after refusing to recant his immigration views.

WAR news...

Over 70% of Americans Back Trump's Strikes on Drug-Smuggling Boats: Poll
Support for destroying drug-smuggling boats appears strong across party lines, with 89% of Republicans, 67% of Independents, and 56% of Democrats expressing approval, according to the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released Tuesday.

Israel...

Kushner, Witkoff will not leave Egypt without Hamas deal that frees Israeli hostages: Report
The Trump administration duo are expected to land in Egypt early Wednesday morning and sources said they will not leave the Middle Eastern country until Hamas agrees to release hostages and end its war with Israel.

October 7: The Blood, the Lies, and the Betrayal That Followed
Hamas understood something vital about modern warfare: Battles are fought not only with bullets but with stories. It learned to weaponize suffering, knowing that Western audiences would respond with emotion before reason.

New Footage Shows Hamas Terrorists — and Gazan Civilians — Kidnapping Israeli Women and Children on Oct. 7
The videos underscore the violence on the part of both terrorists and run-of-the-mill Gazans that spurred Israel's war against Hamas.

Anti-Israel protesters chant anti-Semitic slogan in NYC on 2-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack
Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters converged in Manhattan, screaming the anti-Semitic slogan “From the river to the sea” and wielding vile signs on the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack.

Israel's Christian friends have no qualms about standing by the Jewish people
Thousands of Christian pilgrims have arrived for the Feast of Tabernacles, showing no hesitation in supporting Israel during these trying times.

Greta Thunberg shares image of emaciated Israeli hostage in post protesting treatment of Palestinian prisoners
“The suffering of Palestinian prisoners is not a matter of opinion — it is a fact of cruelty and dehumanization. Humanity cannot be selective. Justice cannot have borders,” the post read.

Ukraine - Russia...

Former Russian newspaper publisher dies after falling from window
He is the latest Russian figure to die from falling out a window.

Canada...

Organ harvesting surges in woke dystopia pushing euthanasia as a cure for depression
Canada’s euthanasia program has become a "world leader" in organ harvesting, with 15,280 doctor-assisted suicide deaths reported in 2023 alone.

Europe...

UK’s digital dystopia is a warning for America — but some are treating it like a roadmap
As the U.K. launches its mandatory digital ID program and revelations surface of FBI surveillance on Trump allies, both governments appear to be normalizing an era of mass data tracking and political monitoring.

Entertainment...

Will Zach Bryan write a song about murdered women Laken Riley and Rachel Morin?
Country singer Zach Bryan has joined the chorus of radical left-wingers vilifying and demonizing the law enforcement officers who protect innocent Americans from the violent crimes of illegal immigrants.

Media...

Jimmy Kimmel nears pre-suspension viewership, sheds 85% of key viewers since hyped comeback show
On Thursday, Kimmel averaged 1.9 million viewers, shedding 71% of the audience that tuned in for the host’s return from suspension, with ratings in the key 25-54 demo down 85%.

MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace Suggests Trump Supporter Set South Carolina Judge’s House Ablaze — After Authorities Found ‘No Evidence’ of Arson
Wallace also let a former Biden official advance the false narrative at length.

Melania Trump posts victory against 'unverified claims' from book publisher
HarperCollins U.K. pulled a Prince Andrew biography from circulation after admitting it included “unverified claims” that Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania and Donald Trump. The first lady’s legal team said the defamatory story, echoed by Hunter Biden, spread to millions online.

Bob Ross paintings will be auctioned to support public TV stations after federal funding cuts
The auctions of the 30 paintings soon to be sold have an estimated total value of $850,000 to $1.4 million.

LGBTQIA2S+...

Liberal media, activists silent as Bari Weiss makes LGBTQ history at CBS News
Groups who claim to promote diversity and inclusion refuse to acknowledge lesbian trailblazer.

Supreme Court signals end to Colorado laws that push kids to transition
The court heard a First Amendment challenge to a law that bans so-called conversion therapy.

Education...

Trump administration weighing sale of $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to private market
“Unlike the previous administration, we are focused on ensuring the long-term health of the portfolio for the benefit of both students and taxpayers.”

Health...

California jury orders Johnson & Johnson to pay nearly $1 billion in talc cancer case
The family of Mae Moore, a California resident who died at age 88 in 2021, sued the company the same year, claiming J&J’s talc baby powder products contained asbestos fibers that caused her rare cancer.

AI...

'Swarms of killer robots': Former Biden official says US military is afraid of using AI
Mieke Eoyang, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy during the Biden administration, said current off-the-shelf AI models are poorly suited for use in the U.S. military and would be dangerous if implemented. Only with a former Biden official can you get that level of insight.

Daughter of Robin Williams calls AI videos of late actor 'disgusting' amid generative AI Wild West
"Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad. Stop believing I wanna see it or that I'll understand, I don't and I won't," she posted in an Instagram story.

Oct. 8, 2009 - 'Dancing with the Stars'… Obama’s promise to put bills online… Madeleine Albright jewelry… It’s going to be harder and harder for you to speak out… Radicals in the White House… We are under the microscope…

How America’s elites fell for the same lie that fueled Auschwitz

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

The drone footage out of Gaza isn’t just war propaganda — it’s a glimpse of the same darkness that once convinced men they were righteous for killing innocents.

Evil introduces itself subtly. It doesn’t announce, “Hi, I’m here to destroy you.” It whispers. It flatters. It borrows the language of justice, empathy, and freedom, twisting them until hatred sounds righteous and violence sounds brave.

We are watching that same deception unfold again — in the streets, on college campuses, and in the rhetoric of people who should know better. It’s the oldest story in the world, retold with new slogans.

Evil wins when good people mirror its rage.

A drone video surfaced this week showing Hamas terrorists staging the “discovery” of a hostage’s body. They pushed a corpse out of a window, dragged it into a hole, buried it, and then called in aid workers to “find” what they themselves had planted. It was theater — evil, disguised as victimhood. And it was caught entirely on camera.

That’s how evil operates. It never comes in through the front door. It sneaks in, often through manipulative pity. The same spirit animates the moral rot spreading through our institutions — from the halls of universities to the chambers of government.

Take Zohran Mamdani, a New York assemblyman who has praised jihadists and defended pro-Hamas agitators. His father, a Columbia University professor, wrote that America and al-Qaeda are morally equivalent — that suicide bombings shouldn’t be viewed as barbaric. Imagine thinking that way after watching 3,000 Americans die on 9/11. That’s not intellectualism. That’s indoctrination.

Often, that indoctrination comes from hostile foreign actors, peddled by complicit pawns on our own soil. The pro-Hamas protests that erupted across campuses last year, for example, were funded by Iran — a regime that murders its own citizens for speaking freely.

Ancient evil, new clothes

But the deeper danger isn’t foreign money. It’s the spiritual blindness that lets good people believe resentment is justice and envy is discernment. Scripture talks about the spirit of Amalek — the eternal enemy of God’s people, who attacks the weak from behind while the strong look away. Amalek never dies; it just changes its vocabulary and form with the times.

Today, Amalek tweets. He speaks through professors who defend terrorism as “anti-colonial resistance.” He preaches from pulpits that call violence “solidarity.” And he recruits through algorithms, whispering that the Jews control everything, that America had it coming, that chaos is freedom. Those are ancient lies wearing new clothes.

When nations embrace those lies, it’s not the Jews who perish first. It’s the nations themselves. The soul dies long before the body. The ovens of Auschwitz didn’t start with smoke; they started with silence and slogans.

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

A time for choosing

So what do we do? We speak truth — calmly, firmly, without venom. Because hatred can’t kill hatred; it only feeds it. Truth, compassion, and courage starve it to death.

Evil wins when good people mirror its rage. That’s how Amalek survives — by making you fight him with his own weapons. The only victory that lasts is moral clarity without malice, courage without cruelty.

The war we’re fighting isn’t new. It’s the same battle between remembrance and amnesia, covenant and chaos, humility and pride. The same spirit that whispered to Pharaoh, to Hitler, and to every mob that thought hatred could heal the world is whispering again now — on your screens, in your classrooms, in your churches.

Will you join it, or will you stand against it?

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The great switch: Gates trades climate control for digital dominion

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The Big Tech billionaire once said humanity must change or perish. Now he claims we’ll survive — just as elites prepare total surveillance.

For decades, Americans have been told that climate change is an imminent apocalypse — the existential threat that justifies every intrusion into our lives, from banning gas stoves to rationing energy to tracking personal “carbon scores.”

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates helped lead that charge. He warned repeatedly that the “climate disaster” would be the greatest crisis humanity would ever face. He invested billions in green technology and demanded the world reach net-zero emissions by 2050 “to avoid catastrophe.”

The global contest is no longer over barrels and pipelines — it is over who gets to flip the digital switch.

Now, suddenly, he wants everyone to relax: Climate change “will not lead to humanity’s demise” after all.

Gates was making less of a scientific statement and more of a strategic pivot. When elites retire a crisis, it’s never because the threat is gone — it’s because a better one has replaced it. And something else has indeed arrived — something the ruling class finds more useful than fear of the weather.The same day Gates downshifted the doomsday rhetoric, Amazon announced it would pay warehouse workers $30 an hour — while laying off 30,000 people because artificial intelligence will soon do their jobs.

Climate panic was the warm-up. AI control is the main event.

The new currency of power

The world once revolved around oil and gas. Today, it revolves around the electricity demanded by server farms, the chips that power machine learning, and the data that can be used to manipulate or silence entire populations. The global contest is no longer over barrels and pipelines — it is over who gets to flip the digital switch. Whoever controls energy now controls information. And whoever controls information controls civilization.

Climate alarmism gave elites a pretext to centralize power over energy. Artificial intelligence gives them a mechanism to centralize power over people. The future battles will not be about carbon — they will be about control.

Two futures — both ending in tyranny

Americans are already being pushed into what look like two opposing movements, but both leave the individual powerless.

The first is the technocratic empire being constructed in the name of innovation. In its vision, human work will be replaced by machines, and digital permissions will subsume personal autonomy.

Government and corporations merge into a single authority. Your identity, finances, medical decisions, and speech rights become access points monitored by biometric scanners and enforced by automated gatekeepers. Every step, purchase, and opinion is tracked under the noble banner of “efficiency.”

The second is the green de-growth utopia being marketed as “compassion.” In this vision, prosperity itself becomes immoral. You will own less because “the planet” requires it. Elites will redesign cities so life cannot extend beyond a 15-minute walking radius, restrict movement to save the Earth, and ration resources to curb “excess.” It promises community and simplicity, but ultimately delivers enforced scarcity. Freedom withers when surviving becomes a collective permission rather than an individual right.

Both futures demand that citizens become manageable — either automated out of society or tightly regulated within it. The ruling class will embrace whichever version gives them the most leverage in any given moment.

Climate panic was losing its grip. AI dependency — and the obedience it creates — is far more potent.

The forgotten way

A third path exists, but it is the one today’s elites fear most: the path laid out in our Constitution. The founders built a system that assumes human beings are not subjects to be monitored or managed, but moral agents equipped by God with rights no government — and no algorithm — can override.

Hesham Elsherif / Stringer | Getty Images

That idea remains the most “disruptive technology” in history. It shattered the belief that people need kings or experts or global committees telling them how to live. No wonder elites want it erased.

Soon, you will be told you must choose: Live in a world run by machines or in a world stripped down for planetary salvation. Digital tyranny or rationed equality. Innovation without liberty or simplicity without dignity.

Both are traps.

The only way

The only future worth choosing is the one grounded in ordered liberty — where prosperity and progress exist alongside moral responsibility and personal freedom and human beings are treated as image-bearers of God — not climate liabilities, not data profiles, not replaceable hardware components.

Bill Gates can change his tune. The media can change the script. But the agenda remains the same.

They no longer want to save the planet. They want to run it, and they expect you to obey.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Why the White House restoration sent the left Into panic mode

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Presidents have altered the White House for decades, yet only Donald Trump is treated as a vandal for privately funding the East Wing’s restoration.

Every time a president so much as changes the color of the White House drapes, the press clutches its pearls. Unless the name on the stationery is Barack Obama’s, even routine restoration becomes a national outrage.

President Donald Trump’s decision to privately fund upgrades to the White House — including a new state ballroom — has been met with the usual chorus of gasps and sneers. You’d think he bulldozed Monticello.

If a Republican preserves beauty, it’s vandalism. If a Democrat does the same, it’s ‘visionary.’

The irony is that presidents have altered and expanded the White House for more than a century. President Franklin D. Roosevelt added the East and West Wings in the middle of the Great Depression. Newspapers accused him of building a palace while Americans stood in breadlines. History now calls it “vision.”

First lady Nancy Reagan faced the same hysteria. Headlines accused her of spending taxpayer money on new china “while Americans starved.” In truth, she raised private funds after learning that the White House didn’t have enough matching plates for state dinners. She took the ridicule and refused to pass blame.

“I’m a big girl,” she told her staff. “This comes with the job.” That was dignity — something the press no longer recognizes.

A restoration, not a renovation

Trump’s project is different in every way that should matter. It costs taxpayers nothing. Not a cent. The president and a few friends privately fund the work. There’s no private pool or tennis court, no personal perks. The additions won’t even be completed until after he leaves office.

What’s being built is not indulgence — it’s stewardship. A restoration of aging rooms, worn fixtures, and century-old bathrooms that no longer function properly in the people’s house. Trump has paid for cast brass doorknobs engraved with the presidential seal, restored the carpets and moldings, and ensured that the architecture remains faithful to history.

The media’s response was mockery and accusations of vanity. They call it “grotesque excess,” while celebrating billion-dollar “climate art” projects and funneling hundreds of millions into activist causes like the No Kings movement. They lecture America on restraint while living off the largesse of billionaires.

The selective guardians of history

Where was this sudden reverence for history when rioters torched St. John’s Church — the same church where every president since James Madison has worshipped? The press called it an “expression of grief.”

Where was that reverence when mobs toppled statues of Washington, Jefferson, and Grant? Or when first lady Melania Trump replaced the Rose Garden’s lawn with a patio but otherwise followed Jackie Kennedy’s original 1962 plans in the garden’s restoration? They called that “desecration.”

If a Republican preserves beauty, it’s vandalism. If a Democrat does the same, it’s “visionary.”

The real desecration

The people shrieking about “historic preservation” care nothing for history. They hate the idea that something lasting and beautiful might be built by hands they despise. They mock craftsmanship because it exposes their own cultural decay.

The White House ballroom is not a scandal — it’s a mirror. And what it reflects is the media’s own pettiness. The ruling class that ridicules restoration is the same class that cheered as America’s monuments fell. Its members sneer at permanence because permanence condemns them.

Julia Beverly / Contributor | Getty Images

Trump’s improvements are an act of faith — in the nation’s symbols, its endurance, and its worth. The outrage over a privately funded renovation says less about him than it does about the journalists who mistake destruction for progress.

The real desecration isn’t happening in the East Wing. It’s happening in the newsrooms that long ago tore up their own foundation — truth — and never bothered to rebuild it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Trump’s secret war in the Caribbean EXPOSED — It’s not about drugs

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The president’s moves in Venezuela, Guyana, and Colombia aren’t about drugs. They’re about re-establishing America’s sovereignty across the Western Hemisphere.

For decades, we’ve been told America’s wars are about drugs, democracy, or “defending freedom.” But look closer at what’s unfolding off the coast of Venezuela, and you’ll see something far more strategic taking shape. Donald Trump’s so-called drug war isn’t about fentanyl or cocaine. It’s about control — and a rebirth of American sovereignty.

The aim of Trump’s ‘drug war’ is to keep the hemisphere’s oil, minerals, and manufacturing within the Western family and out of Beijing’s hands.

The president understands something the foreign policy class forgot long ago: The world doesn’t respect apologies. It respects strength.

While the global elites in Davos tout the Great Reset, Trump is building something entirely different — a new architecture of power based on regional independence, not global dependence. His quiet campaign in the Western Hemisphere may one day be remembered as the second Monroe Doctrine.

Venezuela sits at the center of it all. It holds the world’s largest crude oil reserves — oil perfectly suited for America’s Gulf refineries. For years, China and Russia have treated Venezuela like a pawn on their chessboard, offering predatory loans in exchange for control of those resources. The result has been a corrupt, communist state sitting in our own back yard. For too long, Washington shrugged. Not any more.The naval exercises in the Caribbean, the sanctions, the patrols — they’re not about drug smugglers. They’re about evicting China from our hemisphere.

Trump is using the old “drug war” playbook to wage a new kind of war — an economic and strategic one — without firing a shot at our actual enemies. The goal is simple: Keep the hemisphere’s oil, minerals, and manufacturing within the Western family and out of Beijing’s hands.

Beyond Venezuela

Just east of Venezuela lies Guyana, a country most Americans couldn’t find on a map a year ago. Then ExxonMobil struck oil, and suddenly Guyana became the newest front in a quiet geopolitical contest. Washington is helping defend those offshore platforms, build radar systems, and secure undersea cables — not for charity, but for strategy. Control energy, data, and shipping lanes, and you control the future.

Moreover, Colombia — a country once defined by cartels — is now positioned as the hinge between two oceans and two continents. It guards the Panama Canal and sits atop rare-earth minerals every modern economy needs. Decades of American presence there weren’t just about cocaine interdiction; they were about maintaining leverage over the arteries of global trade. Trump sees that clearly.

PEDRO MATTEY / Contributor | Getty Images

All of these recent news items — from the military drills in the Caribbean to the trade negotiations — reflect a new vision of American power. Not global policing. Not endless nation-building. It’s about strategic sovereignty.

It’s the same philosophy driving Trump’s approach to NATO, the Middle East, and Asia. We’ll stand with you — but you’ll stand on your own two feet. The days of American taxpayers funding global security while our own borders collapse are over.

Trump’s Monroe Doctrine

Critics will call it “isolationism.” It isn’t. It’s realism. It’s recognizing that America’s strength comes not from fighting other people’s wars but from securing our own energy, our own supply lines, our own hemisphere. The first Monroe Doctrine warned foreign powers to stay out of the Americas. The second one — Trump’s — says we’ll defend them, but we’ll no longer be their bank or their babysitter.

Historians may one day mark this moment as the start of a new era — when America stopped apologizing for its own interests and started rebuilding its sovereignty, one barrel, one chip, and one border at a time.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.