A Big Announcement
President Trump made a big announcement last night. He told the country that Venezuela would provide us with 30 to 50 million barrels of oil. His announcement was immediately mocked by the Left as evidence he was going insane. That skepticism continued to be the reaction of many commentators early this morning.
Within a few hours, the skeptics had to wipe egg off their faces—again. Here are the details:
- The 30 to 50 million barrels of oil is only the first “tranche” that will be transferred to us. There will be more.
- We will then sell the Venezuelan oil on the open market at whatever the market price is at that time.
- The proceeds from those sales will be deposited in American banks for safekeeping.
- If in the months ahead, the government of Venezuela restores the rule of law in the country and moves to reestablish freedom for the Venezuelan people, we will begin to invest those proceeds back into the Venezuelan oil industry for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.
Don’t forget that the United States built the Venezuelan oil infrastructure and industry. Going back 100 years, our oil companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips, went into Venezuela, hired Venezuelans, and drilled for oil. It was this partnership that made Venezuela the wealthiest country in Latin America from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Unfortunately, the country went far-left toward socialism and allied itself with Cuba, China, and Iran. Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez nationalized or seized the assets that the American companies built and owned.
His successor, Nicolas Maduro, continued the destructive socialist policies of the Chavez regime. Now the vast majority of Venezuelans live in poverty. Many economists say that “Venezuela’s fall is the single largest economic collapse outside of war in at least 45 years.” Just ask Venezuelans how they feel about the “warmth of collectivism.”
The bottom line is that the Venezuelan government owes us billions of dollars that has never been paid. So, next time you hear some Democrat screaming about “imperialism” or “colonialism,” remember that the Venezuelan regime owes us, and Donald Trump is collecting on that debt.
The Big Picture
Don’t miss the big picture.
Venezuela is currently allied with communist China, Cuba, Iran, and Russia. Elite Cuban security forces were protecting Nicolas Maduro. Dozens of those Cuban thugs were killed in the U.S. operation to arrest Maduro.
His regime was helping to prop up communist Cuba. Now, the New York Times reports that Cuba’s economy is “in free fall” and “has never been worse.”
But the biggest recipient of Venezuelan oil is communist China, which consumes anywhere from 68% to 80% of Venezuela’s oil exports.
President Trump said communist China would still get oil. But now Beijing can no longer rely on its Marxist comrades in Caracas for cheap oil. Donald Trump, the master tactician, just made communist China dependent on us for its access to Venezuelan oil.
By the way, the United States just seized two more rogue oil tankers from the “ghost fleet” that were illegally transporting Venezuelan oil. At least one of them was flying a Russian flag when it was seized.
Not A Fluke
The Washington Post editorial board is blasting Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s appointment of Cea Weaver, a radical communist, to be New York City’s “housing czar.” It remains to be seen how long she will remain in her current position.
Weaver was confronted by reporters this morning about some of her past statements, including her absurd assertion that “homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy.” She burst into tears and ran back into her apartment complex. “Comrade” Weaver appears to be soft.
But it is important to understand that Mamdani is not a fluke. Neither is Weaver. This is not just left-wing New York City politics.
A recent poll found that 66% of Democrats have a positive view of socialism. The debate in the Democrat Party is whether to be open about support for socialism or not.
Mamdani and many like him are making the case that it is electorally smart to be openly socialist. In his inauguration speech, Mamdani declared:
“We will govern without shame and insecurity making no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.”
Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other socialists argue that Democrats should just say the one thing that polls well for them: “We’re going to take money from rich people and businesses and give it to people like you.”
Yes, that really does poll well.
- Only 37% of Americans have a positive view of big business.
- 80% say income inequality is a very big or somewhat big problem.
- 60% of self-identified “MAGA Republicans” say income inequality is a very big or somewhat big problem.
- 59% of Americans say “the federal government should pursue policies that try to reduce the gap in wealth between the richest and poorest Americans.”
- 62% of Americans, including 39% of Republicans, say the amount billionaires are taxed is too low.
I understand why socialism is a bad idea. But the onus is on us to make sure our policies create opportunity and economic growth for all Americans. Lectures about Adam Smith and the wonders of free markets won’t cut it.
We must have our own alternative message that tells voters we share their values, know their struggles, and will do something about it. And it can’t sound like a presentation for Wall Street investment firms!
Mayhem In Minnesota
Yesterday, we told you about the surge of federal law enforcement and investigators from various government agencies into Minneapolis.
This morning, federal immigration police conducted an enforcement operation in a Minneapolis neighborhood. I watched a local news video of that operation.
What you see is an SUV pulling away from the curb at a high rate of speed, heading toward a federal immigration officer. Miraculously, he was only grazed. But he or other law enforcement officers then opened fire. The woman driving the vehicle was pronounced dead early this afternoon.
So, now the demagoguery will begin.
Democrat politicians are already demanding that all federal immigration officers leave Minnesota immediately. At a press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he had a message for federal immigration police: “Get the f—k out of Minneapolis.” That’s a disgusting response to an attempt to kill one of them.
The reaction of Democrat politicians like Frey should not be demands that duly authorized federal law enforcement officers leave their state. The message from Democrat politicians should be:
“We urge citizens who disagree with federal immigration policy and enforcement, as we do, to remain in their homes and businesses while we pursue other legal means to resist these policies. This political dispute should not be a reason to endanger the lives of federal law enforcement officers or your own life.”
This is just the latest in a series of violent incidents in which leftist, anti-government extremists have used their vehicles as weapons.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said this incident was “a direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement, who are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them.”
There have been thousands of warnings that this rhetoric is going to result in people being killed. Now a woman, reportedly a U.S. citizen, has paid the ultimate price for the Left’s constant demonizing rhetoric. Will she become the new George Floyd?
But I have no doubt that Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison will fulminate about this much more than the billions of dollars that have been stolen from the taxpayers of Minnesota and America. (See next item.)
A Shocking Report
The House Oversight Committee held a hearing this morning on the massive fraud scandal that has erupted in Minnesota. Three Minnesota state legislators testified about the scale of the fraud and how whistleblowers were punished by the Walz administration for trying to expose it.
Today’s hearing comes on the heels of a shocking report from Minnesota’s nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor. The audit focused on $425 million in grants issued by the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) over a two-year period.
Just to be clear, they only looked at $425 million from just one state agency in one government department.
The auditors discovered that there was virtually no oversight of the funds, no internal controls, and almost no documentation of actual work performed or services provided from the grants. The auditors surveyed BHA employees and found that 73% said they did not receive necessary training to manage the grants.
Perhaps the most shocking discovery made by the auditors was that what little documentation existed was often “backdated or newly created.” In other words, the bureaucrats were fabricating information to deceive the auditors, state legislators, and taxpayers.
The Walz/Somali corruption scandal just went from bad to much worse!
Michael Reagan, R.I.P.
Yesterday, we got the sad news that Michael Reagan had passed away on Sunday, January 4th. Michael was the adopted child of Ronald Reagan and his first wife, Jane Wyman. He was also President Reagan’s most loyal child and proudly defended his father’s conservative legacy.
I had the privilege of knowing and working with Michael Reagan over the years. When I entered the 2000 Republican presidential primary, Michael Reagan stepped in as chairman of my political action committee, Campaign for Working Families.
Please join Carol and me in praying for Michael’s wife, Colleen, and his children, Cameron and Ashley.