Latest News
SCOOP: White House rallies House GOP on Trump tariff plan in secret call
FIRST ON FOX: The White House is taking a top-down approach in making sure Republicans are united on President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs plan.
U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer briefed House Republican staffers on the administration's strategy on Wednesday evening, Fox News Digital was told.
Greer opened the call stressing that Trump was ushering in a magnitude of economic change not seen since the post-World War II era.
He also said the U.S. had been subjected to unfair trade practices for decades since lowering its own tariffs against other countries in a bid to bolster global trade, Fox News Digital was told.
WALL STREET FIRMS SEE RECESSION RISK RISING OVER TARIFFS, TRADE WAR
Examples Greer cited for Capitol Hill aides included both Brazil and the European Union, while stressing that exemptions would be made for foreign products already subject to U.S. penalties — rather than double up on the taxes.
While political communications offices often hold coordinated messaging calls on important issues, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that it was the first such communications policy call between this White House and House Republican staff.
It underscores tariffs' importance in the Trump administration's policy platform, as the White House works to ensure the GOP is in lock-step on its messaging.
When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House official emphasized that the Trump administration has been the most transparent in history, and that the president wants to ensure his allies are armed with the most up-to-date information.
And while the vast majority of Republicans are praising Trump's moves, some GOP lawmakers have conceded to at least some concerns.
"I think tariffs that are equal to what they're charging are defensible. We want a level playing field," Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening. "The automobile one can be messy because the parts are from all over."
Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., spoke out in support of a Democratic bid to exempt Canada from tariffs on the Senate floor Thursday, hours before Trump's formal announcement.
"The price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they fill their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful," Collins said of the Canada tariffs specifically.
"And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least. Therefore, I will support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so likewise."
Another GOP lawmaker who spoke with Fox News Digital on Thursday, however, downplayed any longstanding concerns.
"I think as long as it's a short-term tool, folks will be OK with it," the GOP lawmaker said.
During the Thursday evening call rallying House GOP aides, first-term Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., sent out a statement backing Trump's move but conceding she understood the concerns.
TRUMP TO DELIVER 'LIBERATION DAY' ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ROSE GARDEN FLANKED BY CABINET MEMBERS
"The U.S. is taking action to address decades of unfair trade barriers that have put American manufacturers, producers, and businesses at a huge disadvantage. I support President Trump's efforts to create a level playing field and his long-term strategy to strengthen our critical domestic supply chains," Fedorchak said.
"At the same time, I recognize the challenges these tariffs create for North Dakota’s farmers and producers, and I will continue to advocate for expanding market opportunities for our products as well as other policies to help counter the negative impacts tariffs may create for producers."
A number of Republican lawmakers were at the White House in support of the announcement on Thursday, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
"President Trump is sending a clear message with Liberation Day: America will not be exploited by unfair trade practices anymore," Johnson said in a public statement. "These tariffs restore fair and reciprocal trade and level the playing field for American workers and innovators. The President understands that FREE trade ONLY works when it’s FAIR!"
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a close Trump ally, wrote on X, "President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are a brilliant economic strategy. Joe Biden left the United States with a whopping $1.2 trillion trade deficit at the end of his regime."
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Trump's plan involves a 10% blanket tariff on all foreign imports into the U.S., as well as tariffs up to 50% on both adversaries and allies.
It also introduces some level of reciprocal tariffs on countries that tax U.S. exports, though in most cases, the U.S. rate is lower than the foreign country's.
'False': Trump admin rebukes claims intel officials are frequently using Signal to send classified info
The White House is clapping back against media reports alleging intelligence officials have been using the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal to send classified information, describing the allegations as "false" in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The statement from National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Brian Hughes comes after Politico published a report suggesting Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his team have used the app frequently to discuss sensitive communications on a variety of different issues.
"This is a clear attempt by some in media and the Democrats to obscure the simple truth: The President and his national security team are delivering for the nation by confronting our adversaries and standing with our allies to bring peace through strength," Hughes said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Hughes added that Signal is "an approved" messaging app, particularly as it pertains to unclassified info, "and any claim NSC officials are sending classified information over these channels is false."
Questions have circulated about the Trump administration's use of Signal since The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg released his exposé alleging he was accidentally invited by Waltz to a sensitive group chat on the encrypted messaging app. Critics of the Trump administration have said the messages included "war plans" for an attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
There have also been debates over whether the information discussed in the chat uncovered by Goldberg was classified information or contained "war plans."
Media reports from The Wall Street Journal, Politico and The Washington Post have claimed Waltz and his team have frequently used Signal and other public messaging platforms to discuss sensitive topics and official government business.
"Using Signal to send unclassified information is appropriate, and these same facts have been reported multiple times in the last few days," Hughes said, noting there are federal agencies that "automatically install" Signal on government devices.
"Some in NSC, like those in the media and many areas across the federal government, use the Signal app," Hughes added. "All communications are a reflection of a thoughtful dialog of those committed to the effective implementation of the president’s agenda."
In December, before President Trump took over the White House from Joe Biden, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency called on senior government and political officials to switch to end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms like Signal.
DEMS HAVE LONG HISTORY OF SUPPORTING ENCRYPTED SIGNAL APP AHEAD OF TRUMP CHAT LEAK
Still, critics of the Trump administration are demanding answers. On Tuesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent letters to "non-principal agency officials" who were part of the original Signal group chat that accidentally included Goldberg.
The letters call for the individuals, who Democrats say may have "firsthand knowledge concerning the discussion of sensitive and/or classified national security information on Signal," to appear before Congress for transcribed interviews.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent another letter to Waltz Tuesday as well, demanding he and his staff stop using Google's Gmail for official government business after The Washington Post published a report claiming members of the president's National Security Council were using personal Gmail accounts to discuss official business.
The letter to Waltz demanded he turn over all communications relating to official government business that he or his staff sent over Signal or other "unauthorized messaging and email applications and platforms."
Waltz has taken responsibility for the leaked Signal chat that Goldberg accidentally accessed, but he also insisted "no classified information" was ever discussed in the messaging thread.
GOP defectors help Senate advance resolution to cancel Trump tariffs despite White House veto warning
A Democrat-led resolution undoing President Donald Trump's tariffs against Canada advanced past the Senate on Wednesday after multiple Republicans joined their counterparts in support of it.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky supported the resolution, bucking the president to do so. The final vote was 51 to 48.
"As I have always warned, tariffs are bad policy, and trade wars with our partners hurt working people most. Tariffs drive up the cost of goods and services," former GOP Senate leader McConnell said in a statement afterward.
SENATE DEMS FORESHADOW MORE FORCED VOTES TO BLOCK TRUMP'S EMERGENCY ORDERS
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso slammed the resolution's passage, saying in a statement, "Senator Kaine’s goal was not to make law. It was simply an effort to undermine President Trump’s successful work to secure the Northern Border."
"Speaker Johnson already declared Senator Kaine’s resolution dead on arrival in the House of Representatives. It will never make it to President Trump’s desk," he explained. "This meaningless messaging resolution will not stop Senate Republicans from making America’s communities safer."
The privileged resolution was introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and would end the emergency Trump declared at the northern border on Feb. 1.
In a statement of administrative policy ahead of the vote, Trump's White House said his advisors would urge the president to veto the resolution if it passed the Senate.
"President Trump promised to secure our borders and stop the scourge of fentanyl that’s poisoning our communities, and he’s delivering. Democrat Senator Tim Kaine is trying to undermine the President’s Emergency Declaration at our Northern Borders—a measure that prioritizes our national security—for reasons that defy logic," a White House official told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement on Tuesday.
"Under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, criminal networks, fentanyl, and terrorists ran rampant along the northern border. Today’s stunt by Tim Kaine proves once again how woefully out of touch the Democrat Party is with the American people as they use a matter of national security for political gamesmanship. The stakes are too high to reverse course; the declaration must stay in place," they continued.
SCOOP: LINDSEY GRAHAM AMENDMENT SIGNALS GOP BUDGET BREAKTHROUGH, SETS STAGE FOR TRUMP AGENDA
Kaine pushed back, telling Fox News Digital in a statement, "The Trump Administration’s own threat assessment report on fentanyl did not mention Canada—not even once. Trump’s order is a blatant abuse of his authority, and it is critical that Congress push back before he inflicts even more damage to our economy and to the relationship with one of our top trading partners and closest allies."
The resolution was required to be brought to the floor for a vote, due to its privileged nature, and it only required a simple majority vote of 51 senators to pass.
TRUMP, SENATE GOP BUDGET LEADERS HUDDLE AT WHITE HOUSE ON RECONCILIATION BILL
Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to call out multiple Republicans he warned against voting in favor of the resolution.
"Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy," he said in a post.
Collins revealed in floor remarks earlier in the day that she would vote in favor of the resolution.
"Mr. President, the price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they filled their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful. And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least. Therefore, I will support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so likewise," she said.
DISTRICT JUDGES' ORDERS BLOCKING TRUMP AGENDA FACE HEARING IN TOP SENATE COMMITTEE
Paul has been a vocal critic of tariffs during his entire tenure, including during the Trump administration. He is a co-sponsor of the Kaine resolution.
He told reporters before the vote, "I think tariffs on trade between US and Canada will threaten our country with a recession. I think they're a terrible idea economically and will lead to higher prices. Tariffs are simply taxes. Republicans used to be and conservatives, in particular, used to be against new taxes."
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: AOC refuses to say whether Democrats' rhetoric is responsible for Tesla attacks
Questioned by Fox News Digital, "Squad" member and leading Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York refused to answer whether she believes Democrats’ inflammatory rhetoric against Elon Musk has any connection to the violent attacks and vandalism against Tesla owners and dealers across the country.
Ocasio-Cortez also refused to answer whether she still owns a Tesla, citing "security reasons."
Democrats have been critical of Musk for his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with some labeling him a "Nazi" and a "threat to democracy."
The congresswoman has also been critical of the DOGE chief, saying in a March 1 X post, "this guy is a leech on the public."
"No matter how many billions he gets in tax cuts and government contracts, it will never be enough for him. Now he’s going after the elderly, the disabled, and orphaned children so he can pocket it in tax cuts for himself. It’s disgusting," she wrote.
During her "fight oligarchy" rally tour with Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., Cortez claimed "an extreme concentration of power and corruption is taking over this country like never before."
Fox News Digital asked Cortez whether she sees a connection between language against Musk and the violent incidents across the nation.
Cortez began to answer, saying, "Yeah, I mean, again, I’ve seen Republicans call me communist and that I hate this country," before trailing off.
NUMBER OF TESLA ATTACKS SOARS PAST 50 AS VIOLENCE TARGETING MUSK'S COMPANY ESCALATES
Pressed whether she still owns the Tesla Model 3 she bought in 2020, Cortez declined to answer, saying, "Um, for security reasons, I’m not commenting."
After weeks of Democrats condemning Musk for his role at DOGE, there have been at least 80 acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles in the U.S. and Canada and at least 10 incidents of vandalism and arson against Tesla dealerships, charging stations and properties.
EXCLUSIVE: GOP FIREBRAND DARES DEMS TO CONDEMN ATTACKS ON ELON MUSK'S TESLA
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Justice Department is treating the incidents as "domestic terrorism."
On March 20, the Justice Department charged three people with domestic terrorism after they allegedly used Molotov cocktails to attack Tesla properties around the country.
"The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended," Bondi said. "Let this be a warning: If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars."
All three face charges carrying a minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison, the department said.
Despite this, few Democrats have spoken out against the vandals, and key leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., declined to comment on the issue.
Though she would not comment on the acts of terror against Tesla owners and workers, Ocasio-Cortez, considered one of the country’s leading Democratic voices, has previously accused her Republican opponents of engaging in "stochastic terrorism," using inflammatory language to incite violent action, by criticizing her, which she said prompted her to hire security.
Speaking on CNN in 2023, she said, "It’s uncomfortable serving with people who engage in what many experts deem stochastic terrorism, which is the incitement of violence using digital means and large platforms so that individuals themselves may not be the one that’s wielding a weapon.
"I’ve consistently had to ride in 20,000-pound armored vehicles, engaging in some of the most gruesome threats that you can imagine that were incited by Republican members," she said. "This is not just about a tweet. It's about what life looks like and the marshaling of hundreds, thousands, if not millions of people into doing something."
During the same interview, she also accused President Donald Trump of being aware his rhetoric stokes violence, saying, "He uses and used his rallies very strategically in order to engage in political intimidation that he deems his political enemies."
Fox News Digital's Peter D'Abrosca and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
DeSantis blasts newly elected Florida GOP congressman, continuing history of attacks: 'He's a squish'
Ron DeSantis intensified his attacks on Randy Fine Wednesday, blaming the representative-elect's "unique problems" for a thin special election victory in a district known as a Republican stronghold.
The Trump-endorsed candidate won Tuesday night's special election to take over former Congressman Mike Waltz's seat by 14 points, the slimmest margin of victory for a Republican in the district since 2018.
DeSantis, who had already been criticizing Fine's ability to pull out a victory, called the representative-elect a "squish" who Republican voters didn't even want to cast their ballots for Tuesday night.
"The president really had to bail him out at the end because this race would have been much closer had the president sat on the sidelines," DeSantis said. "I think these were voters who didn't like Randy Fine but who basically were like, ‘You know what? We’re going to take one for the team.'"
EXCLUSIVE: JUBILANT MIKE JOHNSON CLAIMS VICTORY AS FLORIDA HELPS HOUSE GOP GROW MAJORITY
The governor also challenged media reports characterizing the close race as a reflection of President Donald Trump's agenda.
"I don't think that's true at all for this district," DeSantis said at the press conference. "I think you have a candidate in Randy Fine, who, one, he's a squish."
DeSantis added that Fine "repels" people, including his former colleagues in the state legislature. During the press conference Wednesday, the governor recounted how lawmakers in the state requested he nominate Fine to be the president of Florida Atlantic University so he would not have to serve in the legislature anymore.
TIME TEBOW, WIFE PAY VISIT TO TRUMP, FELLOW FLORIDA ALUM MARCO RUBIO IN OVAL OFFICE
"I did, and the whole board [at Florida Atlantic] would have resigned rather than make him president," DeSantis said.
DeSantis and Fine have had a contentious relationship for some time, which can be traced back to at least 2023, when Fine was the first Florida Republican to switch his endorsement from DeSantis to Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential nomination battle. Fine articulated his decision to endorse Trump over DeSantis during the 2024 presidential primary in a subsequent op-ed that slammed the Florida governor for failing to tamp down antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on innocent Israelis.
According to DeSantis, Fine has supported restrictions on the Second Amendment, tried to defeat his immigration proposal earlier this year aimed at boosting the enforcement of immigration laws and tried to enact a de facto sanctuary city policy.
3 TAKEAWAYS FROM FLORIDA'S SPECIAL ELECTION
In response to DeSantis' criticisms, Fine responded on X alongside video of the governor's remarks at the press conference Wednesday.
"A dying star burns hottest before it fades into oblivion. I’m focused on working with President Donald Trump to stop Democrats from taking this country backwards, not working with them," Fine wrote. "Let’s go."
Allies of Fine have been unhappy about DeSantis' public criticisms of the representative-elect, who will now add another crucial vote to the GOP's narrow House majority that had dwindled as a result of several members going to work in the Trump administration.
"Ron and Casey DeSantis are disloyal and consistently put their agenda ahead of the president’s," a national Republican operative in Trump's orbit told Fox News Digital. "With the congressional majority on the line in their own backyard, Ron and Casey didn’t lift a finger to help President Trump’s endorsed candidates. Worse, Ron undermined President Trump, openly attacked his candidates leading up to the special election, which could have suppressed Republican turnout, and then crowed about it on Fox News.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"DeSantis’ personal politics once again betrayed the Trump agenda and the MAGA movement."
Gov. DeSantis' office declined to provide comment for this article.
Support the Movement
Buy The T-Shirt
Order other designs on Cafe Press:
Create Your Own Chapter
He is particularly bad for Israel and the Jewish people.
The following is a brief synopsis of the main reasons for which Jewish Americans should strongly consider not voting for Barrack Obama:
1) Mr. Obama has repeatedly lied to and manipulated the Jewish community, telling it what it wants to hear when the cameras are on, and then retracting or "evolving" his position when the cameras are off. No more egregious an example of this exists than that of the speech Obama gave to the annual AIPAC convention several weeks ago. In that speech, Obama ostensibly moved to the right of Condoleezza Rice, insisting that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." Those comments clearly moved even the most skeptical of Jewish AIPAC conference attendees, and on that basis many had decided to vote for him. Then of course the truth came out the next day when anonymous sources in the Obama campaign informed Agence France Presse that by "undivided" Obama meant that Jerusalem was "not going to be divided by barbed wire." Essentially, Obama's position is that which many in the Zionist community have always feared – that he is still sympathetic towards the Palestinian Arabs and believes the Palestinian Authority has the right to make parts of Jerusalem its capital. Obama was caught telling a crowd of Iowan activists last March, "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian People."
Obama has successfully insulted the intelligence of American Jewry by wooing them with ingratiating phrases and one liners such as how he has been in the "foxholes" in Chicago with Jewish friends with whom he worked closely to heal the rifts between local Jewish-American and African-American communities. He also claims that "nobody has spoken out more fiercely against anti-Semitism than I have," yet not once did he avail himself to speak out against the rampant anti-Semitism in his church, let alone condemn specific anti-Semitic and anti-Israel remarks on the parts of Reverend Wright, Reverend Meeks, or father Pfleger all of whom have abused the pulpit of the Trinity United Church of Chicago to foment hatred of Jews, as described in '6' below.
2) Whatever short legislative record Mr. Obama has is that of an extreme leftist -- one that does not bode well for the State of Israel. Obama sponsored 129 bills since his arrival in the Senate, but only 9 of them came out of committee and only one of them became law – an testament to how out of touch he is with mainstream law and politics. Obama was one of the few senators not to support the Kyl-Lieberman resolution which designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Obama also opposed the overthrowing of Saddaam Hussein when Obama was an insignificant Illinois State Senator and Hussein was still a vociferous and stark threat to the State of Israel and actively financing Hamas suicide terror attacks against Israeli civilian targets.
Obama made headlines in the primary campaign against Hillary Clinton when he stated his desire to meet with Iranian dictator and vicious anti-Semite Mahmud Ahmajinadad, without any preconditions first met regarding either Ahmajinadad's desire to exterminate the Jews or Iran's dedicated movement toward acquiring a nuclear weapon. Obama has also recently dismissed the threat posed by Iran, considering Iran to be a "tiny" nation that should elicit less concern than that felt by Israel and the majority of Jews. His exact quote, speaking in Pendleton, Oregon, is as follows: "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union... In Iran, they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance." Unfortunately Obama doesn't seem to realize that it doesn't take 2,000 nuclear weapons to destroy Israel; it only takes 2!
Experts agree that Jews should be forewarned about voting for Obama. Mid-East exert Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center in Herzeliya, Israel, describes Obama as "not the candidate of the Arab states, but the candidate of the Islamists, whether he knows it or not. . . . If elected, he will be the most anti-Israel president in American history." Obama was even caught saying that he might have difficulty dealing with an Israeli government headed by Likud, which is particularly ominous as it appears Israelis are about to elect a Likud government. What is surprising is that Obama has expressed more concern about dealing with Likudniks in Israel than he has in dealing with Mullahs in Iran. You can't make this stuff up, folks!
3) Obama is surrounded by advisors who have historically been very critical of Israel and the Jewish community. The first such advisor is Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor to anti-Semitic President Jimmy Carter. Brzezinski, who has stood by Obama's side in public on several occasions, has accused "some people in the Jewish community" as being "McCarthy-ite." Brzezinski has also intimated that Israel may be guilty of war crimes for its defense of itself in the Lebanon War of 2006.
The second such advisor is retired general, Tony McPeak, who has been tapped recently as Obama's military advisor and national campaign co-chair. In a 2003 interview, McPeak blamed much of the troubles in the Middle East on those who "vote here in favor of Israel [in] New York City [and] Miami," whom no "politician wants to run against."
A third such advisor is former Michigan Congressman David Bonior, who represented the Obama campaign at The DNC Rules Committee meeting in Washington D.C. this past May. While in Congress, Bonior was known to be "the biggest supporter of the anti-Israel Arab lobby in Congress." In 1990, Bonior was one of only 34 Congressmen to vote against recognizing Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel. In 1997, Bonior was one of only 15 Congressmen who signed a letter asking President Clinton to pressure Israel into making even further concessions to the Palestinian Authority, despite the PA's constant abrogation of its commitments under the Oslo Accords. In 2002, Bonior was one of only 21 Congressmen who opposed H.R. 392, which buttressed Israel's right to self defense and called upon the PA to dismantle the Hamas terrorist infrastructure. Throughout his tenure in Washington, Bonior repeatedly voted against aid to Israel while continually supporting arms sales to Arab states.
A fourth top Obama advisor is Robert Malley, a long-time fierce critic of Israel who attempted to rewrite history by claming that the 1999 Camp David Accords fell apart because of actions on the part of the Israeli delegation (and not because of Yasser Arafat's intransigence, which we know to be the case). Malley has also called for greater legitimization of and accommodations for terrorist organizations such Hamas and Hezbollah, not to mention rouge Muslim states such as Syria and Iran.
A fifth such advisor is Samantha Power, who had to formally resign from the Obama campaign after calling Hillary Clinton a "monster," but is known to play a strong unofficial role in the Obama campaign till this day. Power has called for the suspension of aid to Israel and its redirection to "Palestine." Power has stated that criticism of Obama is solely on the grounds of what is "good for the Jews." She also advocated using U.S. troops to invade Israel and force a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
A sixth such advisor is Senator Chuck Hagel, one of the few Republicans to consistently express anti-Israel views. Obama has chosen Hagel as one of his chief foreign policy advisors. In reference to Hagel and co-advisor Senator Jack Heed (D-RI), Obama said the following: "They're both experts on foreign policy; they reflect I think traditional bipartisan wisdom when it comes to foreign policy. Neither of them are ideologues but they try to get the facts right and make a determination about what's best for U.S. interests, and they're good guys." Let us examine what foreign policy expert Chuck Hagel has done on foreign policy issues most concerning to most Americans:
In August of 2006, Hagel was one of only 12 Senators to refuse to call upon the European Union to declare Hizbullah a terrorist organization. He was even criticized by Democratic organizations for his stance. In December of 2005, Hagel was one of only 27 Senators to refuse to sign a letter to President Bush urging him to pressure the Palestinian Authority to ban Hamas and other terrorist organization from participating in parliament. In June of 2004, Hagel refuse to sign a letter urging President Bush to raise the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions at an upcoming G-8 summit. Last but not least, in October of 2000, Hagel was one of only 4 Senators to refuse to sign a Senate letter in support of Israel.
Finally there is Obama's nuclear proliferation advisor, Joseph Cirincione, who has called upon Israel to completely relinquish its nuclear arsenal, while dismissing claims that Syria has been recently building up its nuclear enrichment capacity.
It is true that Obama has some high-profile Jewish advisors and supporters, but these, such as Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida, are largely pro-Oslo Jews who have come to expect and support constant concessions from Israel even in the face of mounting Arab terrorism.
4) Obama and McCain speak of Israel and the Israeli-Arab conflict in starkly different terms.
Obama, in his own words, views the Arab-Israeli conflict as an "open wound" and "open sore" that has a deleterious effect on "all of our foreign policy," according to Jeffery Goldberg of The Atlantic Monthly who conducted twin interviews with McCain and Obama. This characterization underscores Obama's belief that that there is some sort of parity between Israel and the Arabs and if only we can get both sides together, we can close this open sore; and furthermore, that all the other problems in the middle east stem directly or indirectly from this "open sore." McCain on the other hand understands the ultimate threat of Islamo-facism and views both Israel and America as targets and victims of the constant assault perpetrated by Islamo-fascists. Says McCain: "I don't think the conflict is a sore. I think it is a national security challenge." Asked what would happen if the Israeli-Arab conflict were resolved, McCain responds, "We would still face the enormous threat of radical Islamic extremism." When asked about Israel building new homes for Jews in the West Bank, Obama responded by stating that given the prospect of such continual construction, "we're going to be stuck in the same status quo that we've been stuck in for decades now." McCain, on the other hand, switched the topic of conversation by focusing attention of the plight of Israel's citizens in Sderot who brave every day the constant barrage of Hamas's Kassam and Kytusha rockets from Gaza.
5) Both Barrack and Michelle Obama have a long history of associations with radical leftists and Arabists, neither of whom, it should go without saying, bode well for the Jewish people:
Barrack Obama's first political mentor in Hawaii was a relatively well-known black writer and poet named Frank Marshall Davis who was an activist in the Soviet-controlled Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Obama continued his communist training and indoctrination at his first college, Occidental. According to Obama's book, Dreams From My Father, Obama spent much of his free college time with "Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk rock performance poets," with whom he "discussed neocolonialism." Before leaving to college, "Frank" warned the young Barrack, ". . don't start believing what they tell you about equal opportunity and the American way and all that shit."
Barrack Obama's leftism continued in full force, albeit subtly, on the streets of Chicago. Obama is known to have been friends with left-wing fanatic and Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers, who is responsible for dozens of bombings between 1969 and 1975, and who also served on two different boards with Obama. Ayers told the New York Times, "I don't regret setting bombs . . .I feel we didn't do enough." When George Stephanopoulos challenged Obama in an interview to explain his relationship with Ayers, Obama dismissed the relationship as "a guy who lives in my neighborhood." Nothing could be further from the truth! Obama's political career began with him raising funds in Ayers living room. Ayers and Obama worked together in the context of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge through which Ayers hoped to include left-wing indoctrination in the city's public school system. Later on in is career as an "organizer", Obama worked closely with Ayers at the Woods Fund which conveniently gave a $6,000 grant to Obama's radical Trinity United Church. Ironically, Ayers, the American terrorist, has accused Israel of terrorism after Israel retaliated for vicious Arab attacks against its own civilians.
Obama's initial financial base was none other than left-wing fanatic hedge fund guru George Soros, who is well known for being a strong critic of Israel and who has explored creating an anti-Israel lobby to countervail the activities of AIPAC. Soros has stated that America needs to go through a "certain de-Nazification process" so that it can extricate itself from Iraq. Soros has also had close relations with the anti-Israel advisors to Obama's campaign noted above.
Obama is known to have been particularly close with ex-PLO member and now Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. Obama and Khalidi were fellow board members of a foundation that funded the Arab American Action Network, a fiercely pro-Palestinian organization. Obama has admitted that Khalidi has changed Obama's views and attitudes about the world. Obama is considered in Chicago to be a close friend of the Palestinian Arabs. Not a surprise, given the facts.
6) The Obamas have regularly attended a racist and anti-Semitic church for about twenty years and have raised their daughters in same atmosphere.
The Obamas had been proud and regularly attending members of the radical Trinity United Church of Chicago for twenty years.The Trinity United Church of Chicago is a proud member-church of the Black Liberation Theology movement. Much like the Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire, Black Liberation Theology is neither a theology, nor about Liberation, nor strictly about black people. Black Liberation Theology is a subset of the global Liberation theology movement which was founded in Latin America and spawned vicious socialist dictators and rebels such as Che' Guevara. Black Liberation Theology is and predicated on the notion of saving dark-skinned people through the gradual extermination of light-skinned people and their beliefs. The father of the Black Liberation Theology movement is James H. Cone and the bible of the Black Liberation Theology Movement is Cone's Black Theology and Black Power. The following is a quote from same book: "Black Theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the Black community. If God is not for us, and against white people, then he is a murderer and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill gods who do not belong to the black community. . . . Black Theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy."
This is the theological backdrop for Barrack Obama' s political activism. This is the church where the bombastic and racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright had served as pastor for the span of that time. Obama has described Wright as his "moral compass," "sounding board," "confidant," and "mentor." Wright married the Obamas and baptized their children. Only after 20 years, strong political pressure, and Wright disavowing Obama, did Obama finally disavow Wright. But Obama never thought to disavow Wright after any of the numerous racist and anti-Israel remarks made by Wright both at and away from the pulpit over the course of 20 years!
Wright is an anti-Israel activist who has given sermons at Trinity United calling for the US to cease and desist from all aid to Israel. Wright also allowed Hamas officials and Arab activists to contribute to the church's magazine. One such Hamas official accused Israel of building an "ethnic bomb." Wright is also good friends with fierce and notorious anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the
Nation of Islam movement. This same Farrakhan, who called Jews "bloodsuckers," was the recipient of an award from the Trinity United Church. Barrack Obama has yet to publicly condemn the granting of this award. In fact, all the evidence suggests that Obama, himself, has had a close relationship with Farrakhan. Obama even chose to march with Farrakhan in the Million Man March of 1995 despite the Anti-Defamation League pleading with African American leaders not to attend.
And it wasn't just Wright who gave anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sermons at Trinity. Father Pfleger and Reverend James Meeks, both supporters of Louis Farrakhan, have been regular guest speakers at Trinity over the years. When Jewish members of an Illinois state board, mandated with monitoring hate speech, resigned after a fellow board member, affiliated with the Nation of Islam, refused to denounce Farrakhan's anti-Semitism, Pfleger retorted with the words, "good riddance." Reverend Meeks has been known to scapegoat "Hollywood Jews" for corrupting the moral climate in America.