AMERICA'S VOICE LIVE, WITH STEVE GRUBER, DECEMBER 15TH, 2025

Summary

Real America’s Voice: America’s Voice Live with Steve Gruber

December 15, 2025

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Overview

This episode of "America's Voice Live" with Steve Gruber dives deeply into a tumultuous weekend of violence and terror both in the U.S. and abroad, highlighting concerns over campus security, terrorism threats, and border security. It features key commentary from law enforcement experts on investigative challenges after attacks, and extensive remarks from President Donald Trump on border control, drug policy, national security, and foreign affairs. The episode’s tone is urgent, combative, and distinctly pro-America First, combining breaking news with opinion and exclusive interviews.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Campus and Domestic Security Incidents

Timestamps: 02:26–10:08

• Mass Shooting at Brown University:

  • A deadly attack struck Brown University, killing two and wounding nine, raising alarms about campus security.
  • Investigative challenges cited, especially with the suspect’s elusive identity despite campus camera presence.
  • “Time kills investigations. ... The ability to locate the shooter becomes less and less for law enforcement.”
    —Chris Piotta, retired FBI director [07:23]

• Analysis of Surveillance and Investigative Delays:

  • Concerns about why university security footage failed to quickly aid identification.
  • Steve Gruber criticizes the slow release and poor quality of footage:
    “I've seen better pictures of Bigfoot.” [06:55]

2. Terror Threats and Law Enforcement Response

Timestamps: 10:08–15:17

• Foiled Bomb Plot in California:

  • The Turtle Island Liberation Front, described as a “progressive anti-capitalist organization,” plotted New Year’s Eve bombings in Los Angeles.
  • The FBI intercepted the plan at the rehearsal stage, arresting five individuals.
  • Piotta underscores the growing challenge of countering homegrown extremism:
    "The scope of the threat environment...is going to outrun even the considerable resources of the FBI." [11:52]

• Soft Targets & Open Society Dilemma:

  • U.S. freedoms create both strength and vulnerability; large gatherings during holidays are especially at risk.
  • "We have a great number of what you consider to be soft targets...especially around the holidays."
    —Chris Piotta [09:17]

3. ISIS Ambush on US Troops in Syria

Timestamps: 18:20–19:46

• An ISIS attack in Syria resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter.
• President Trump responds with vows for "very serious retaliation" against ISIS.
• Segment sets up transition to a broader discussion on military, border, and security policy.

4. President Trump: Border Security, Fentanyl, and Policy Orders

Timestamps: 19:46–45:17

• Recent Conversations with International Leaders:

  • Trump recounts recent talks with European leaders on Russia-Ukraine.
  • Claims progress in negotiations and credits his administration’s diplomatic efforts.
  • “We want to save a lot of lives. We sell equipment to NATO. We don't spend any money, but we do want to see if we can save lives.” [19:46]

• Border Security Achievements and Recognition:

  • Awards the "Mexican Border Defense Medal" to troops involved in securing the southern border.
  • Claims border security success: "We went from having millions of people pouring over our border to having none in the last eight months." [19:46]
  • Asserts a “historic and unprecedented” turn-around at the border.

• Drug Policy and Fentanyl:

  • Executive order classifying fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction:
    “No bomb does what this is doing...So we're formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.” [30:21]
  • Claims a 50% drop in fentanyl crossing the border, accredits cooperation with China.

• Critique of Previous Policies and the Biden Administration:

  • Paints the prior administration as responsible for "open borders" and catastrophic illegal immigration, including the influx of dangerous individuals.
  • “We inherited the worst border in the history of our country...and turned it into the strongest border..." [19:46]
  • Praises self-deportations and law enforcement for reducing illegal presence.

• Notable Testimonies:

  • Tom Homan, former ICE Director:
    “I went hundreds of miles of border and didn't see one illegal alien. Incredible. ... None has done more than President Trump.” [36:07]
    “The Biden administration was the most inhumane...Now that the border is 96% decline, 96% less people are coming.” [36:07]

5. Q&A: Trump on Current Events and Policy

Timestamps: 45:17–62:28

• Brown University Shooting Investigation:
  • Expresses hopes the attacker will be caught; defers responsibility to campus security:
    “You have to ask that question really to the school, not to the FBI.” [45:41]
• Marijuana Reclassification:
  • Confirms consideration of executive order for marijuana rescheduling to facilitate research.
• Israel and the Middle East:
  • Denies rebuking Netanyahu; maintains strong U.S.-Israel relations.
  • On strike against Hamas general: “We're looking into it.” [47:30]
• Syria and Foreign Troop Presence:
  • Affirms US troops in Syria remain to help preserve Middle East peace.
  • Claims success in removing Assad and securing regional stability:
    "We got rid of Assad, we got rid of other people... now we have legitimate peace in the Middle East, first time in 3,000 years." [57:34]
• Crypto Case:
  • Open to reviewing the case of convicted crypto privacy developer Keone Rodriguez:
    “I'll look at it...We’ll take a look on Friday.” [60:28]
• Healthcare and Congressional Policy:
  • Calls for healthcare funding to go directly to people, not insurance companies.
  • Wants to abolish filibuster and 'blue slip' rules in Senate to pass conservative measures.
• Elections and Party Politics:
  • Rejects concerns about Hispanic voter trends, restates that Republicans prevailed in swing states and popular vote.
• Russia-Ukraine War:
  • Reveals ongoing talks with both Zelensky and Putin, claims progress toward peace.
  • Suggests security guarantees for Ukraine may be forthcoming but notes territorial losses are already a “reality.”
• Hong Kong and Jimmy Lai:
  • Appeals to Xi Jinping for release of imprisoned journalist.
• Market Optimism:
  • Credits tariffs and economic policies for record-breaking markets:
    “Tariffs have brought vast amounts of wealth into our country...AI is coming at levels that nobody has ever seen before.” [62:28]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I've seen better pictures of Bigfoot. It's really embarrassing for...the university. Law enforcement is doing what they can…”
  —Steve Gruber [06:55]
• “Time kills investigations.”
  —Chris Piotta [07:23]
• “The scope of the problem is going to outrun even the considerable resources of the FBI.”
  —Chris Piotta [11:52]
• "We went from having millions of people pouring over our border to having none in the last eight months. None."
  —Donald Trump [19:46]
• "No bomb does what [fentanyl] is doing...So we're formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction."
  —Donald Trump [30:21]
• "I went hundreds of miles of border and didn't see one illegal alien. ... None has done more than President Trump."
  —Tom Homan [36:07]
• "We got rid of Assad, we got rid of other people that were really bad people and that were in the way of peace in the Middle East..."
  —Donald Trump [57:34]

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Important Timestamps

• 02:26–10:08: Brown University shooting, investigation challenges, analysis with Chris Piotta
• 10:08–15:17: LA bomb plot, soft targets, homegrown extremism
• 18:20–19:46: ISIS attack on U.S. troops in Syria
• 19:46–45:17: Trump discusses border, security achievements, and awards medals
• 45:17–62:28: Press Q&A with Trump covering Brown shooting, drugs, Israel, Syria, crypto, healthcare, Russia-Ukraine

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains a distinctly conservative, pro-America First tone, marked by stark contrasts between the Trump and Biden administrations, and punctuated by direct criticisms of political opponents and institutions. The rhetoric is urgent, at times combative, loaded with national pride, and focused on security, law enforcement, and the defense of American values.

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This summary encapsulates the episode’s breadth: from breaking news and law enforcement interviews to a lengthy, wide-ranging exchange with President Trump, capturing its urgent, unapologetic, and confrontational spirit.

Transcript

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[Chris Piotta]

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[Reporter]

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[Donald Trump]

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[Steve G]

Live Breaking news right now here in real America's Voice Filtered. These people are domestic terrorists and unapologetic. We're here to take a stand for God and country. Does feel good. America's Voice Live starts now. Welcome to America's Voice Live. I'm Steve gur. Today, Monday, 15th of December, year of our Lord 2025. Let's get to the day's top stories. There's a lot to talk about today. An ISIS ambush on U.S. forces resulted in the death of two U.S. army soldiers and a civilian interpreter. President Trump responded forcefully vowing very serious retaliation against the Islamic state for targeting U.S. personnel. I'll bring on a former army colonel to discuss that. Also, supporting President Trump's America first agenda is essential to ensure that America continues to repair itself after four years of failed administration, of the Biden years. And that all starts at the voting booth this coming year. More on that as well. And then later. Ex Michigan head football coach Jerome Moore was recently dismissed from his job due to an investigation found he had been having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Details coming. But first we want to start here, a weekend of unspeakable violence here and around the world. The attack on Jews celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi beach in Australia left at least 15 dead. One of the shooters, a father and son team. The father was also killed. 50 years old when police finally decided to step in after 20 minutes of carnage. His 24 year old son survived in critical condition but alive. In addition to the dead, more than 40 remain hospitalized. Just the latest example of deadly anti Semitism we've been witnessing around the world. And the worst attack on Jews since that October 7th attack. Meanwhile, a manhunt still underway after a deadly mass shooting at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. It shattered the campuses final exam week. Authorities say the attack occurred Saturday afternoon inside an engineering building, leaving at least two students dead, nine others wounded. As shots rang out and terrified students ran for cover. Police initially detained a person of interest, but officials later released that individual as the investigation took a different direction and the actual shooter remains at large. At this hour, law enforcement continues to comb through video and anything else that could lead to identifying a gunman. Among the victims. Ella Cook, a Brown sophomore remembered as an incredible light in her community. And Muhammad Aziz Ermer Zokov, a freshman with dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon. His friends and family mourning their loss. Nine others injured in the attack, several still hospitalized, authorities say as the Brown community grapples with grief and shock. Officials have now canceled all remaining classes, urging anyone with information to come forward as the search for the suspected gunman continues. Now this tragedy has once again raised concerns about safety on college campuses and the need for vigilance and accountability as Americans demand answers. Joining me to discuss this, retired FBI Executive Assistant Director Chris Piotta. Chris, nice to see you today. Let's start with this.

[Chris Piotta]

Steve, good to be with you.

[Steve G]

How is it that in 2025, there aren't 27 different camera angles of this assailant? How is it that this suspect was able to walk out of that engineering building, walk down the sidewalk, make a couple of turns, and he's not on cameras? Does Brown University have a lack of cameras, a lack of resources to buy security cameras? What are your thoughts on this?

[Chris Piotta]

Well, from what I understand, the university grounds are plentiful with cameras. They have many, many cameras. I've seen numbers up at the 800 range of deployed cameras and security surveillance footage. So hard to believe that there wasn't any other footage of the shooter or any kind of angles. So law enforcement may have footage that they are just not willing to divulge right now, and we'll have to wait and see what the investigation comes up with. But it is hard to believe that that's the only shot we have.

[Steve G]

Yeah, I just saw a release of footage. To be honest with you, Chris, I've seen better pictures of Bigfoot. It's really embarrassing for law enforcement here. Not for law enforcement, for the university. Law enforcement is doing what they can with the information they have, with the evidence they have. This is a terrible attack. We heard it was called a targeted attack initially. There's not much to go on here. How difficult is this sort of an investigation? We have such little to work with.

[Chris Piotta]

Well, it's getting to be more and more difficult. As time passes, the ability to locate the shooter becomes less and less for law enforcement. Time kills investigations. And what we're finding now is that you know, we're expending a lot of energy on, you know, running down initial leads, but now they're going to run out of investigative leads and they're going to have to figure out a different investigative strategy moving forward because this, whoever the shooter is, could be very far away from the scene. Evidence is being degraded, leads are getting cold. So it becomes much more difficult and complex for the law enforcement authorities, you.

[Steve G]

Know, almost two days on now. I mean, this suspect could be anywhere in the country or even out of the country at this point, couldn't they?

[Chris Piotta]

That's correct. And that's why I said time kills investigations.

[Steve G]

Yeah. Let me ask you about something else we've been watching here in the headlines, Chris. This attempted bombing. There was this terrorist group, the Turtle Island Liberation Front, strange name, very progressive anti capitalist organization of people. Apparently they had assembled all the materials to make real bombs, powerful bombs, and had selected about five targets in and around the Los Angeles area for New Year's Eve. The FBI said they went out to the Mojave Desert, that's places like Joshua Tree in Death Valley, and were planning to set off these bombs to test the materials they had. Now, when they went out there, they did not put the bombs together. The FBI descended, arrested four, picked up one in New Orleans in addition to that. But how many? I mean, look, we see the attack in Israel, we see the attack at Brown University. None of us, sadly, Chris, would be shocked if we started tomorrow's program with an attack right here in the United States. And in the Christmas season and New Year's revelry, these are soft targets, aren't they?

[Chris Piotta]

Well, we have a problem in the United States where we have a free and open society. It's one of our greatest strengths, but it's also a vulnerability where we have a great number of what you consider to be soft targets, permissive environments, and especially around the holidays, where people start gathering and massing up for certain events and traditional activities. So unfortunately, we have allowed a threat environment to develop in the nation over the last several years and we're starting to see a little bit of the results of some of the, I would say, irresponsible practices and policies when it came to border security and national security. And yeah, I'm just surprised that we haven't had more of a problem yet. But, you know, I hope law enforcement's on top of it.

[Steve G]

All right, so FBI gave a very detailed briefing here earlier in California. I want to share part of that with you and get your reaction on the backside. Go ahead. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force intercepted a scheme by members of a violent extremist group we believe determined to detonate explosives at multiple businesses on New Year's Eve. Last Friday, The FBI arrested four of those subjects near 29 Palms in San Bernardino county while they planned and rehearsed their attack. The four subjects are a members of a radical faction of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, tilf, a violent homegrown anti government group. The subject arrested envisioned planting backpacks with improvised explosive devices to be detonated at multiple locations in Southern California targeting US Companies. These bombs were to blow up at the same time on midnight this New Year's Eve. The plan stated that the IEDs would be complex pipe bombs. It included instructions on how to manufacture the bombs and contained guidance on how.

[Donald Trump]

To avoid leaving evidence behind that could.

[Steve G]

Be traced back to them. Our investigation uncovered evidence in that the group would test the explosives in the desert. Yeah, Testament that is. Now, Chris, I commend the FBI for getting ahead of this one. We just saw a recent case similar to this just outside of Detroit in Ferndale, Michigan, that was supposed to happen on Halloween. They were there in time stop that mass attack as well. So the FBI doing good work. But at some point, at some point, these unvetted people, as you point out, or homegrown terrorists, as you point out, at some point, you can only stop so many threats. That's the concern, isn't it?

[Donald Trump]

Absolutely.

[Chris Piotta]

And I think the FBI is doing the best it's best it can to be predictive and preventative. But the scope of the threat environment, the scope of the problem that we're looking at is going to outrun even the considerable resources of the FBI. And you know, there are just too many, too many opportunities for people in those extreme ideologies to inflict pain and damage and violence on the society. So, I mean, great job, FBI Los Angeles, and I wish my former colleagues great luck and success this holiday season in keeping us all safe.

[Steve G]

Yeah. What does it take to find these in the first place? Chris, you worked on the inside there. You have institutional knowledge. That's why we bring you here because you're so well versed on this. Do you get a tip? Do you get some information? Do you have human intelligence? How does something like this come to light?

[Chris Piotta]

All of the above, Steve. The FBI has intelligence networks across its operating environment. We use friends in the community. We use confidential informants, we use technical surveillance. We also have what we call tripwire operations where certain things happen, we get notified or we get a heads up on hey, this is going on. You may want to look here or this looks weird. And then our investigative folks will take a look at it and do a threat assessment and see if it requires further action or interest. But yeah, the FBI is always even. Ever since 9, 11, the FBI has taken a much more proactive, predictive and preventative approach. And that's what you're seeing right now.

[Steve G]

Yeah. And again, I commend the people in law enforcement for, you know, local, state and federal officials working together to bring something like this to a stop. That's important. But any given day, we could witness what we just saw in Bondi beach in Australia any given day because somebody sneaks through, right?

[Chris Piotta]

Oh, absolutely. I mean, and again, you know, we have that open society. People can move around freely.

[Steve G]

Sure.

[Chris Piotta]

And it gives the, I call them the adversary. It gives the adversary an opportunity to operate in a relatively low risk environment. So, you know, it's the old paradox between security and civil liberties. And we like to protect our civil liberties and we want to have adequate security. And those two items exist in an antagonistic state. And what you're going to see is increased security reduces civil liberties. And, you know, we have to figure out as the American people how we want to move forward and protect our communities from. You can see the threats are arising around the, around the country, around the world. And we got to figure out what we're going to do with it. And we have to do it with clear thinking and we have to use a little bit of courage to actually clearly identify and articulate the threat environments and not be so worried about offending people.

[Steve G]

Chris, I always appreciate your insights, but I hope I don't have to talk to you for a while. I do. Don't take that personally. I just don't want to talk about this stuff for a while. I hope that we can get through the holiday season unscathed, as they say. In the meantime, Merry Christmas, my friend.

[Chris Piotta]

Same to you. Merry Christmas.

[Steve G]

There you have it. Look. How do you get through these things? Well, it's difficult. The FBI is doing everything they can as our local and state law enforcement officers. We tip our hat to them collectively. From Real America's Voice today. Coming up after the break, President Trump sent a strong message to those accused of killing two U.S. army soldiers and an American interpreter in Syria. Happens Saturday. More coming up after the break.

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[Steve G]

All right well, American troops and allied Syrian forces came under fire this weekend conducting a patrol near Palmyra, Syria, part of the ongoing mission to keep ISIS remnants from regrouping in the region. The dangerous incident, which involved unidentified gunfire during a Kolish patrol, underscored the persistent threat these terrorists still pose to all of us abroad. Tragically, an ISIS ambush on U.S. forces resulted in the deaths of two U.S. army soldiers and a civilian interpreter. The U.S. army named the two soldiers as Iowa National Guard member, 25 year old Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres Tovar of Des Moines and 29 year old Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown. The attack also left three other soldiers wounded. President Trump responded forcefully, vowing very serious retaliation against the Islamic state for targeting U.S. personnel and pledging that our military will continue to confront terrorists wherever they threaten American lives and national security. Join me to discuss this former Congressman, Executive Director of the American Constitutional Rights Union, Lieutenant Colonel Allen West. We're going to go to the Oval Office. Instead, we're going to Donald Trump. Colonel, hold tight. We'll be back. Here he is.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you very much. Appreciate it. We had a very good conversation 1 hour ago with the European leaders, many of them involving the war with Russia and Ukraine. We were, we had a long discussion and things are seemingly going well, but we've been saying that for a long time and it's a difficult one. We had, as you know, settled eight wars and one was having a little problem yesterday, Thailand and Cambodia, we were able to straighten that out. There was some killing going on that shouldn't have happened. And we appreciate them working to get it straightened out. And they have. The security protocols yesterday were amazing and they have been amazing having to do with Russia and Ukraine. And I had a long talk with President Zelensky also. I spoke with the heads of Germany, Italy, NATO, Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. We had very long and very good talks. And again, I think things are going along pretty well. 27,000 soldiers were killed last month. It shouldn't happen, should have never happened, should have never started that war, should have never, ever started. But it did. And we're trying to get it solved. That was Biden's situation. We're trying to get it done. And I think we're closer now and they will tell you that they're closer now. We had numerous conversations with President Putin of Russia and I think we're closer now than we have been ever. And we'll see what we can do. We want to save a lot of lives. We sell equipment to NATO. We don't spend any money, but we do want to see if we can save a lot of lives. When you're losing 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers, mostly soldiers, other people, too, from towns and like places like Kiev, various other places throughout Ukraine. It's pretty bad. Nobody has seen anything like it actually since World War II. But we're, but we're getting closer. We're having tremendous support from European leaders. They want to get it ended also. And at this Moment Russia wants to get it ended. The problem is they'll want to get it ended, and then all of a sudden they won't. And Ukraine will want to get it ended, and all of a sudden they won't. So we have to get them on the same page. But I think that's working along. Very good talk. On day one of my administration, I signed an executive order making it core mission of the United States military to protect and defend their homeland. And today we're here to honor our military men and women for their central role in the protection of our border, something that I campaigned very, very strongly on. And they made me look really good. They're unbelievable. They made us all look good. I mean, we went from having millions of people pouring over our border to having none in the last eight months. None. In a few moments, we'll officially recognize their service by awarding them the Mexican Border Defense Medal, which is a big deal. We're joined for this occasion by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chairman of The Joint Chiefs, General Dan Kaine, Commander of U.S. northern Command, General Gregory Guillaume, Commander of the Southern Border Task Force, Major General Scott Nomen Command Sergeant Major Brett Johnson of the U.S. army's 10th Mountain Division, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency Terry Cole, and many other members of our administration who have done an incredible job on the border. You know, people forget now that the border has been secure for actually seven months. Think of it more. And they don't mention the border anymore. Nobody talks about the border. They talk about affordability, and we're the ones that are bringing the prices down. We were given the worst inflation in our country's history, and we're bringing the prices down. But the affordability is on the Democrats because they have made it unaffordable to be in this country. But we're bringing those prices down, and they're coming down quickly. Energy is coming way down. And if you look, gasoline prices are hitting in many locations, $1.99 a gallon. Nobody thought they'd see that there were four, five, and six dollars a gallon under Biden. In the four years before I took office, our southern border was surrendered to criminals, drug cartels, human traffickers, and child smugglers. Our entire southwest border on the Mexican side is under the physical control of cartels that are among the most violent entities nobody's ever seen anywhere on the planet. The most violent people on the planet. Remember when the Democrats and others, the radical left, used to say that the people they're allowing into our country, immigrants, are Nice people. They're not violent like our people. Well, they make our people look like babies. These are some of the most violent criminals anywhere on earth. From many countries, not just Venezuela. Venezuela emptied their jails into our country, but others have also. The Congo has. So many other countries have, and we don't put up with it. I have to say the drugs coming in by sea are down 94%. And we're trying to figure out who the other 6% are, but they're down 94%. And we're going to start hitting them on land, which is a lot easier to do, frankly. But these are a direct military threat to the United States of America. They're trying to drug out our country. And you can look throughout history. Look at China, when they were loaded up with drugs, they were suffering greatly, and others were able to take them over. And other countries also. They're trying to drug out our country. And we're reversing it rapidly, actually. But with the help of our great service members, we've stopped the invasion in its tracks. And we're dismantling the cartels very rapidly. And they are being declared enemies of the United States of America. They have been so declared, legally declared. More than 25,000 warriors have served in this historic operation. It is indeed an incredible and historic operation. And we've never done anything so effectively. And we've had a lot of victories. They've spent night and day enduring scorching hot and bitter cold. And they've given up their holidays and their weekends working with the officers of Customs and Border Protection. Our armed forces have already conducted nearly 13,000 patrols along the border. And today, we give these great warriors the recognition that they have earned, and they have really earned it. The military component of our border security efforts is just the beginning. We're also designating the drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. A big deal from a legal standpoint and military standpoint. We've ended catch and release, and we endured and ensured that anyone who sets foot across our border illegally is intercepted, arrested, and immediately deported. Or if they're really bad, they're put into prison because we don't want to ever take a chance if they come back. As a result, illegal border crossings have plummeted to the lowest level ever recorded in the history of our country. Think of that. The history of our country. You can all be very proud. For the past seven months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States of America. We inherited the worst border in the history of our country. One of the worst borders I would say in the world. I can't imagine any border in the world being worse when they allowed 25 million people to come in. And again, many of these people are gang members. And from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums and some of the worst people on earth, they're allowed to come into our country. We're getting a lot of them out. We're getting, we've made a big dent. And the self deportation is something nobody talks about. But literally millions of people are self deporting because they don't want to be captured. Once they're captured, they don't have the chance to self deport and they never have the chance to come back into our country. We inherited that border from an incompetent administration and turned it into the strongest border in the history of our country. So we took the worst border in the history of our country and in a period of two months we turned it into the strongest border in the history of our country. During this time we've also achieved a 50% drop in the amount of fentanyl coming across the border. And China is working with us very closely on bringing down the number and the amount of fentanyl that's being shipped. You know, fentanyl is very bad when you mix it with certain ingredients. But it also is very important for medicine, for anesthesia, various other things. I want people to understand that it's not made necessarily for bad. When it's mixed with certain things, it becomes bad. And that's what's taking place in Mexico. And we've got it down to a much lower number. Not satisfactory, but it will be satisfactory soon. In May we executed the largest fentanyl bust in the history of the US seizing 3 million fentanyl pills all at one time. Think of that, 3 million pills. It's amounted to billions of dollars worth of drugs. And last month we seized another 1.7 million fentanyl pills in the state of Colorado, the poorly run state of Colorado with a governor who's incompetent. And frankly, with a governor that won't.

[Steve G]

Allow.

[Donald Trump]

Our wonderful Tina to come out of a jail, in a high intensity jail because she caught people cheating on an election. And they said she was cheating, she wasn't cheating. She went over, she looked at one of the election scams going on. And because she did that, they put her in jail for nine years. The governor of Colorado is a weak and pathetic man who was run by trend Aragua, the criminals from Venezuela took over sections of Colorado and he was afraid to do anything. But he puts Tina in jail for nine years because she caught people cheating. And when she walked over and got involved in it, they said she was cheating. She wasn't cheating. She caught people cheating on the election 2020, along with a lot of other people that cheated on that election. You'll see that coming out more and more. But there's no doubt that America's adversaries are trafficking fentanyl into the United States in part because they want to kill Americans. If this were a war, that would be one of the worst wars. I believe they killed over the last five or six years, per year, 200 to 300,000 people. You hear about 100,000, which is a lot of people, but the number is much higher than that. That's been proven. And they've destroyed a lot of families because when they lose a child, or even if their child is heavily addicted, you lose that family. The family will never be the same. That's why today I'm taking one more step to protect Americans from the scourge of deadly fentanyl flooding into our country with this historic executive order I will sign today. We're formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, which is what it is. No bomb does what this is doing. 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year that we know of. So we're formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. But before I sign the fentanyl order, we will pin these great service members with their medals. And here today are the first 13 warriors who will receive the Mexican Border Defense Medal, which is a big deal. First, I'd like to ask Secretary Hegseth and Chairman Kaine to say a few words. I'd like to have Tom Homan come up, please, if you would say a few words. And I want to thank all of the people, Pam and everybody. Stephen Miller, the great Stephen Miller, what a job he's doing for being here. Thank you both. Appreciate it very much. We have so many great people here. But I do want to ask Tom to say a few words also. So, Pete, why don't you start it off, please? Thank you.

[Reporter]

Mr. President. Thank you. I would echo what you said. This has been a team effort from the beginning. Tom Holman, Terry Cole, Stephen Miller, Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem, Customs and Border Patrol Protection. It has been one team, one mission to get 100% operational control of the southern border. You want to talk about America first? Peace through strength and common sense. It all manifests in one basic phrase. Down there, border security is national security. And we had the task of 100% control. And because of these men and women back here, we've achieved that. Nobody is crossing the southern border. And I want to give a big shout out to our Northern command, General Guyot. From day one, our department didn't look at the border this way before. Before you, Joe Biden, allowed an invasion of this country. Tens of millions of people, drugs, gangs, violence, and the military jumped to it on day one with our partners. Ultimately, it was incredible. Americans, there's 13 up here with us today. They all represent about 2,000 people who have served at the border so far. So 25,000Americans qualify for this Mexican National Defense Border Medal that we're announcing today. And what's cool about this medal, it was actually first given out in 1918. So we're reviving an old medal that existed, was given to men and women who defended the southern border. We found out about it. We used the exact same foundry with the exact same imagery, same color, same metal, same everything. So our men and women will be wearing that very same medal as Americans 100 years before who were asked to defend the sovereignty of our country. President Trump was elected to do that. You have done that, Mr. President. We're proud of this mission. We're proud to defend the American people. And pinning these medals on is an example of how important it is to us. So thank you, Mr. President.

[Donald Trump]

Appreciate it.

[Steve G]

Well, Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, I want to echo your thanks and gratitude for the Joint Force. I also want to highlight General Guillot, General Naumann, and Command Sergeant Major Johnson, but also leaders at every level that came together, not just in our Joint Force, but in the interagency. And I want to specifically highlight our Border Patrol teammates and our Office of Air and Marine teammates, who, when I went down to the southern border and visited, were right there next to the Joint Force. I also want to thank not just these 13 individuals, but the Joint Force that was also down there and your families who poured in to make this deployment possible on the southern border. And, of course, this time of the year, I'm always thinking about our currently deployed forces who are out there around the world doing our nation's business, and of course, our fallen and their families who show what courage and tenacity really are as they move forward after the loss of a service member. So thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

[Donald Trump]

Tom, please.

[Tom Homan]

You know, it's always an honor for me to be in the Oval Office with the greatest president of my lifetime. Yes, I Said it and I meant it. You know, I was just, I just got home last night. I toured the border in California, Arizona and Texas. I didn't four wheel drive. I did it on the river. I did it from the air. Hundreds upon hundreds of miles of border. I didn't see one illegal alien. Not a single one. I've done this since 1984. I worked for six different presidents. None has done more than President Trump. What he has done is gave us the most secure border in the history of this nation. Hard to stop. I went hundreds of miles of border and didn't see one illegal alien. Incredible. Considering the Biden administration, we had 10, 12,000 a day, most released in the United States. I'm proud to be with these patriots behind me. I'm already proud to be in the Oval Office of the President. But being with these heroes, I met some of these soldiers down on the border and actually a shout out to Fort Drum, New York. We got some 10th Mountain Division here. So Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tennant. We all love Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain. So look, this is a game changer. I want to make something perfectly clear because we get attacked all the time being inhumane. The Biden administration is much more humane. It's just, it's a bunch of crap because there's been studies done that 31% of women that make that journey through the cartels get sexually assaulted. They get raped. And not just the women, children too. I've done numerous investigations in that. Sex trafficking was historic highs with the open border fentanyl, historic highs that killed a quarter million Americans. No, inspector, terrorists that came across the border record historic. What happened under the Biden administration was the most inhumane thing I've seen in my lifetime. Now that the border is 96% decline, 96% less people are coming. How many women aren't being raped? How many children aren't dying making that journey, how many women and children aren't being sex trafficked into this country every day? How many known suspected terrorists aren't just walking across that border. President Trump in this administration is saving thousands of lives every month. Hard stop. That's just a stone cold fact. I'm just proud to be a part of this. I work with Steve Miller every day. Steve Miller is one of the most brilliant people I've met in my entire life. President Trump brought together one hell of a team here. And the success proves we all working together. One team, one fight. We're not done yet. We're going to keep going and I guarantee you we can continue saving thousands and thousands of lives. Secure border means strong national security. Secure border saves lives. Thank you.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you. Okay, let's do the medals. And I'll be signing this. Maybe you'll do the medals first and then I'll sign.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Donald Trump]

Please. Nice money. It's not bad. That's. Great job. Great job. No auto pen. None ever. We don't like auto pens. Right? We don't like auto pens. How about gathering around me and we'll hold this up? Congratulations. That's an amazing job. Come on around. Come on around. Let's take a good picture. Fantastic job, you guys. Fantastic job. Thank you very much. Great job. Thank you, Mr. President. Great job. What you've done is unprecedented. How about holding that up, you guys? Hold it up nice. Holding up high. You deserve it more than me. So I'm going to give you another metal, though, that may be more beautiful. I'm not sure it means as much, but it's really good. Okay. This is gun metal. This is the one the military loves. So we're going to start. Okay. Thank you. Here you go. Thank you, Mr. President. It's pretty nice. Want to compare it? Let me see. Compare it. Let me see how that looks. I don't know. That looks pretty good. Thank you, Mr. President. That means something very special.

[Steve G]

Thank you, Mr. President.

[Donald Trump]

Thanks, Mr. President. Thank you very much. You can. What you can do, Tie it around your neck, get a nice ribbon. I think you'll like it. It's special. We don't give it to many people.

[Tom Homan]

Thank you, Mr. President.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you, Mr. President. Come on over here. Come here. Look at this guy. That's four sides up big. That means a lot. Hey, General, come on over here. Even though you have one, I gave him one. This general right here, General raising cain. He's a great general. Thanks, President. Well, thank you very much, everybody. It's an honor. This is a fantastic moment. I haven't done this before. And the job they've done on the border is unthinkable. What they left us with, that they would have open borders with millions of people, 25 million people, probably more than that, pouring into our border totally unchecked and unvetted. Now we have the opposite. And we allow. We want people in our country, but they have to come in legally. And they know that, and they know they're not getting through. So now they don't even try. So all of the death that Tom Holman talked about, the rape and the death and all the problems doesn't have really happen because the caravans name I think I came up with maybe, maybe not. But the caravans are very small. In fact, for the most part, they don't even exist anymore because they know they're not going to get through. In a little while, you'll be seeing I'm suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth. Literally, they put words in my mouth. They had me saying things that I never said coming out. I guess they used AI or something. So we'll be bringing that lawsuit. A lot of people are asking, when are you bringing that lawsuit? Even the media can't believe that one. They would. They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with January 6th that I didn't say and the beautiful words that I said. Right? They're beautiful words talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said. They didn't say that, but they put terrible words. They actually have me speaking with words that I never said. And they got caught because I believe somebody at BBC said this is so bad it has to be reported. That's called fake news. So we'll be filing that suit probably this afternoon or tomorrow morning. I want to thank all of you for being here. If you have any questions, I guess you could ask. But this is really a day of celebration for these people. The job they've done is really unprecedented.

[Podcast Host]

So go ahead On Brown University, Mr. President, do you know what the motive of the shooter was? Is it one attack?

[Steve G]

No, we don't.

[Donald Trump]

That's moving along now and we don't. And we'll. We're going to see what happens. Hopefully they're going to capture this animal. Hopefully they're going to capture it.

[Podcast Host]

Has Cash Patel told you why it's been so difficult for the FBI to.

[Steve G]

Identify who the shooter is?

[Donald Trump]

Well, it's always difficult. So far we've done a very good job of doing it with Charlie, with, you know, the various times this has happened. They've done it in pretty much record time. But you really have to ask the school a little bit more about that because, you know, this was a. A school problem. They had their own guards, they had their own police, they had their own everything. But you'd have to ask that question really to the school, not to the FBI. We came in after the fact and the FBI will do a good job. But they came in after the fact.

[Podcast Host]

Do you know if it was targeted, Mr. President?

[Donald Trump]

No, they don't know that yet. No, sir.

[Steve G]

On the issue of drugs, is it.

[Donald Trump]

Is it accurate that you are considering an executive order to reclassify marijuana under the control? We are considering that, yes. Are you planning. Because a lot of people want to see it, the reclassification, because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can't be done unless you reclassify. So we are looking at that very strongly.

[Steve G]

Mr. President.

[Podcast Host]

Mr. President. Katie, is it true that the reports that you rebuked the Israeli prime minister. Are the reports that you review rebuked the Israeli Prime Minister for the hit on the Hamas general true. And is Israel undermining your efforts to be a peacemaker?

[Donald Trump]

No, Israel and I have gotten along very well. My relationship with Bibi Netanyahu has been obviously a very good one. Look, we, we took out Iran. We, we, we wiped out with that plane right there. We wiped out the B2 bomber, we wiped out the Iran nuclear threat and because of that we were able to make peace in the Middle East. No, we've had a very good relationship with Israel. We actually have a very good relationship with just about everybody in the Middle East.

[Podcast Host]

But was that a violation of the ceasefire, the strike in the Hamas general?

[Donald Trump]

We're going to have to see. We're looking into that. We're looking into it.

[Chris Piotta]

On the Syria ambush of US forces, do you still have confidence in the Syrian President?

[Donald Trump]

I do. I mean, this had nothing to do with him. This is a part of Syria that they really don't have much control over and it was a surprise. He feels very badly about it. He's working on it. He's a strong man. And no, this had nothing to do with the Syrian government. This had to do, this had to do with isis.

[Steve G]

What will the US Response to As.

[Donald Trump]

A response, they'll be hit hard. Yeah. Javier Negre, Real Americas Voyage first of all, thanks for honoring these heroes. The communists have not Chile. The pro Trump candidate Jose Antonio Cast won the elections. Do you think this right wing wave in the Spanish world is due to your influence? Well, I just, we just had a good one in Honduras, as you know, had a great election there. I endorsed somebody that was not leading and he won the election and we had a good one. Just a little couple of hours ago, I found out in Chile the person I endorsed who was not leading ended up winning quite easily. So I look forward to paying my respects to him. I hear he's a very good person.

[Podcast Host]

Thank you, Mr. President. This year you fired Democrats from a number of federal agencies.

[Donald Trump]

And now going into 2026 there are.

[Podcast Host]

Some key regulators like the SEC, the.

[Donald Trump]

CFTC that are going to have zero Democrats.

[Podcast Host]

Do you plan to appoint Democrats to fill those empty spots, or do you.

[Donald Trump]

Think that federal agencies shouldn't have Democrat commissioners? Well, do you think they would be appointing Republicans if it were up to them? So, you know, we'll look at it. Look, we want to be fair. But typically they're not appointing Republicans. So you're asking me the question whether or not I appoint Democrats. But there are certain areas that we do look at and there are certain areas that we do share and share power, and I'm open to that. Please.

[Steve G]

Mr. President, a number of Republicans have.

[Podcast Host]

Denounced your statement on Truth Social after the murder of Rob Reiner.

[Steve G]

Do you stand by that post?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I was a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned. He said he liked. He knew it was false. In fact, it's the exact opposite that I was a friend of Russia, controlled by Russia. You know, it was the Russia hoax. He was one of the people behind it. I think he hurt himself in career wise, he became like a deranged person. Trump derangement syndrome. So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Mr. President, Leader Thune doesn't seem like he wants to get rid of blue slips. Will there be consequences for the Senate?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I think they should get rid of blue slips because as a Republican president, I am unable to put anybody in office having to do with US Attorneys or having to do with judges. In other words, if you have one, not two, you don't need to just one. If you have one Democrat senator where we have a lot of them, you have one Democrat senator in a state it is not possible to appoint because of blue slips, a judge. It's not possible to appoint a U.S. attorney. You see that happening and I think it's a disgrace. I think blue slips are a disgrace. They've long since. I mean, they're not, they should not be relevant anymore. This is a different world than it was 15, 20 years ago. You know, that was a gentleman and gentlewoman world. This is a little bit different, Unfortunately. Yeah. Please, Mr. President, what do you want.

[Chris Piotta]

To see Congress do this week as it relates to health care and the expiring aca?

[Donald Trump]

That's a good question. I'd like to see the people get the money. I'd like to see all of the money that's going to the Democrat insurance companies. You know, the insurance companies are making a Fortune. They're up 1,700% and more and they're taking in hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars, even trillions of dollars. And Obamacare gives you terrible healthcare. Just so you understand, Obamacare was set up, and I said it right from the beginning, for the benefit of the health insurance. Insurance companies. Of the insurance companies. They're making billions and billions of dollars. Their stock is through the roof. I don't want to give them anything. I want all money going to the people and let the people buy their own healthcare. It'll be unbelievable. They'll do a great job. They'll get much better health care at a much lower cost.

[Steve G]

Would you like Republicans next year to just use, excuse me, use reconciliation to do with healthcare exactly what you laid out and they wouldn't have to worry about Democratic votes.

[Donald Trump]

Well, that would knock out the filibuster. If you knocked out the filibuster, it would all go away. But we have a few people that wouldn't do that. It's crazy. Look, we should knock out the filibuster. And if you did that, we'd get voter id, you'd have no mail in voting, all things that make our elections dishonest. And you'd get a lot of other things having not even to do with voting. But Republicans should knock out the filibuster and we should approve a lot of things. You wouldn't have January 30th looming because, you know, you have, you have the 30th of January looming. You know that. Right? And if we knocked out the filibuster, it would be just a simple approval. But you have some Republicans, they're unable to explain why, you know, they, if you ask them why they're unable to explain, they cannot win the debate. But they should knock out the filibuster. And frankly, they should get rid of the blue slips, too. Yes, Mr. President, the Democrats won Miami, where you won the election one year ago. Do you think it's because of Hispanic media like Telemundo that are publishing fake news about the ICE operations? How do you plan to win back those votes for midterms? Yeah. Well, I won that whole election. And, you know, it's interesting, when I'm not running, we don't do as well. And I'm going to try and get that changed for the midterms. But we did have a big win in Tennessee. As you know, Matt Van Epps. Van Epps had a big win in Tennessee against a very strong candidate, attractive candidate, who a lot of people thought would do very well. And Matt won by a lot. And I Won Tennessee by a real lot. You know, we had a great. We had a great election. We won every single swing state. We won the popular vote. We won everything. And there's a thing that they have now, districts, which is a big deal. I think, in a way, it's the most important stat from the standpoint of, you know, looking at numbers accurately. So out of thousands of districts, I won 2,750 versus 525. Think of that. 2,750 versus 525. It was great. That's why the map. When you see a map of the election, it's all red, other than two little narrow lines on the other side. Please, sir.

[Steve G]

Jimmy Lai was convicted today in Hong Kong. Do you have any reactions?

[Donald Trump]

I feel so badly. I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release. He's not well. He's an older man, and he's not well. So I did put that request out. We'll see what happens. Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Question about Ukraine. Now that the meetings in Berlin have wrapped up with Zelensky, is there a timetable for going to Moscow? Is the delegation going?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I think that the delegation is largely there right now, actually. They're in Europe, and they've met with those people that I called out before the various countries, plus some others. They want to see it end, Katie. They want to see it end. They all. I want to see it end. They want to see it end. I actually think that President Putin wants to see it end. You know, I've had good talks. We've had good talks with Russia, and I think they'd like to get back to a more normal way of life.

[Podcast Host]

Mr. President, follow up there. An Article 5 like deal seems to be emerging without NATO membership for Ukraine. If such a security guarantee is offered, what incentive is there for. For Ukraine to give up any sort of territory?

[Donald Trump]

Well, look, you have. Well, they've already lost the territory, to be honest. I mean, they've. The territory is lost. But. But in terms of security guarantee, we're working. We're working with Europe on it. Europe would be a big part of that. And we're working on the security guarantee so the war doesn't start up again. We don't want to have a war start up again. You know, as I said, with Thailand and Cambodia, two people I get along with great. And I dealt with them, and I called them and I said, look, fellas, you got to relax. You got to take it easy. They lost, you know, they started the war again. I got it ended. And things like that are going to happen. War, there's nothing, nothing pretty about war. Nothing good. And there's nothing you can do to predict what's going to happen. But I think we've made a lot of progress with respect to Russia and Ukraine. I hope, I hope, you know, last, last month it was close to 27,000 soldiers were killed, mostly soldiers, but 27,000 people, but mostly soldiers were killed last month in Russia versus Ukraine. Is there a time limit on security guarantees? Well, there's no time limit. We just, the time limit is whenever we get it done. I mean, we're going to try to get it done. We're making progress. It's more difficult than anybody could have thought. I would have said that half of the wars that I got settled, some were going for over 30 years, that half of them should have been more difficult. And they actually haven't been. There's a lot of dislike between the two leaders. You know that. And so it probably makes it a little bit tough.

[Podcast Host]

Have you recently spoken directly to Putin? Have you recently spoken directly to Putin?

[Donald Trump]

Yeah, I have.

[Podcast Host]

On Syria, Mr. President, on the US troops killed in Syria over the weekend. Weekend. Why do we have troops in Syria?

[Donald Trump]

Because we're trying to make sure that there's going to be and remain peace in the Middle east and Syria is a big part of it. The new leader is a strong person and that's what you need. This is a rough part of the world and we've, it's been amazing what's taken place in Syria. We got rid of Assad, we got rid of other people that were really bad people and that were in the way of peace in the Middle East. You know, we have legitimate peace in the Middle east, first time in 3,000 years and we have 59 countries backing it. And we'll see what happens with Hamas, we'll see what happens with Hezbollah. But regardless, I mean, we have countries that want to go in and clean that out if we want them to do it. But they said in the case of Hamas, they said that they're going to disarm and we're going to find out whether or not that's true. Hezbollah in Lebanon has been a problem. We'll see what happens there. But there is legitimate large scale peace in the Middle east. And if there weren't, we wouldn't have been able to make all of those deals that we've made with the various countries. They would have never been able to do that. If, for instance, if Iran, if we didn't with that B2 bomber right there on the desk if we didn't. Of which we just ordered a lot more of the newer version, totally stealth. They could not see it. They knew it was coming. They had no idea where it was. It was pretty amazing, actually. Every bomb hit its mark perfectly. Despite CNN trying to say differently. They didn't know. They just, you know, hoped. They hoped that we didn't, but turned out that they did. Atomic Energy Commission confirmed it. So did actually. So did Iran confirm it. They got knocked to hell. But if we didn't knock out their nuclear capability, we would have never had peace in the Middle east because you would have had a dark cloud hanging over Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and all the other countries, and they would have never, ever been able to sign an agreement. Yeah, please.

[Chris Piotta]

How soon do you expect that international stabilization Force to be up and running in Gaza?

[Donald Trump]

I think that it's in a form. It's already running. In a very strong form. It's already running, but it'll get stronger and stronger and more and more countries are coming into it. They're already in, but they'll send. They'll send any number of troops that I ask them to send. They want to see peace. We have more than 59 countries. We have many countries that aren't even in the Middle east, but they're fairly close to the Middle East. They want to be involved. So it's been pretty amazing.

[Podcast Host]

Mr. President, this week a man named.

[Donald Trump]

Keone Rodriguez is going to federal prison.

[Podcast Host]

For creating crypto privacy software. The case was started under the Biden administration, but your DOJ kept it going.

[Donald Trump]

And secured the conviction.

[Chris Piotta]

A lot of people in crypto are.

[Donald Trump]

Saying that this man should be pardoned.

[Podcast Host]

Are you familiar with the case at all, or would you be interested?

[Donald Trump]

I've heard about it. I'll look at it. Why, you think he should be pardoned? Sounds like. It sounds like, based on your question, many people on the Rodriguez. We'll look at that, Pam. Okay, let's take a look at it. You know, you'll have to tell me. I don't know anything about it, but we'll take a look on Friday. Yeah, please. Mr. President, market analysts are calling for a Santa rally. Typically it's five trading days going into Christmas.

[Steve G]

In the first two trading days in.

[Donald Trump]

January, that's a sign of market optimism. Do you anticipate, along with the historical below gas prices, that continuing in the first quarter? Well, we've had the greatest stock market in history, Brian. We have a stock market that's gone up 52 times to new highs during a 10 month period. My 10 months, you know, my first 10 months, we set a record 52 days. We had the highest stock market in history, including a day ago. And I didn't look today. Maybe it's up to that or. But we had 52 altogether and there's never been anything like it. And the reason are the tariffs have brought vast amounts of wealth into our country. That countries that have taken our car companies, those car companies are all coming back. The AI is coming at levels that nobody has ever seen before. That's going to be a massive industry. Without the tariffs, we wouldn't have that. Chips are coming in. Chip companies are coming in from Taiwan and other places, but mostly from Taiwan, which has almost 100% of the market. And we're now making chips and we're not paying anything. It's not the Chips act where they give billions of dollars to companies and then they just take the money and they run. That was under Biden. The fact that I set tariffs up and that if they don't make their chips here, they have to pay a big tariff in order to send them into the US they have to be here. You know, tariffs really work in my opinion. Almost only in the United States. They've been used against us.

[Podcast Host]

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