Weaponized smear, The China “debt-trap” narrative is a falsehood that is a tool of geopolitics 武器化的抹黑，中國「債務陷阱」論調是地緣政治工具 By HUSSEIN ASKARY | China Daily Global | Updated: 2025-03-07
Although it has been debunked thoroughly by international experts, the “China debt-trap” narrative keeps surfacing as a mantra of anti-China campaigns. Most recently, a Swedish member of parliament brought it up in a public debate as part of what he called “China’s aggressive neocolonial operations in Africa”. While the impact of this narrative has diminished in recent years in the Global South, with more and more nations joining the Belt and Road Initiative, it is being repeated in the West to mobilize forces that consider China’s successful and peaceful rise as a geopolitical threat.
The narrative was launched as part of the first Donald Trump administration’s tool kit to counter the influence of China. In 2018, according to US media reports at the time, the United States Department of State commissioned two Harvard University students to write a report which was titled “Debtbook Diplomacy: China’s Strategic Leveraging of its Newfound Economic Influence and the Consequences for US Foreign Policy”.The Department of State informed the US and international mass media in May 2018 of the report and helped promote it. At the end of 2018, the Department of State even bragged in its financial report to US Congress that “the department continues to message on this subject, delivering additional high-performing materials, including: Harvard study warns of perilous ‘debt-trap diplomacy’”.
The Department of State requested more financing for such operations. In 2021, the US Congress responded through “the Strategic Competition Act of 2021”, allocating $300 million every year from 2022 to 2026 for this purpose. A major part of the financing will be utilized, according to the text of the Act, to provide “support for local media “stating that “the secretary of state, acting through the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor and in coordination with the administrator of the US Agency for International Development, shall support and train journalists on investigative techniques necessary to ensure public accountability related to the BRI”.
In September 2021, Zimbabwean media revealed that the US embassy in the country was recruiting and financing young activists and journalists to tarnish the investments made by China in the country as harmful to the nation. This made it clear that the anti-BRI propaganda with the debt-trap narrative as its main tool was going into high-gear throughout the world. A USAID-financed NGO in Serbia made global headlines by claiming that cancer rates had risen in Smederevo, a town where a Chinese steel plant was operating. The health authorities in Smederevo later challenged the information presented to the international media by the NGO.
The USAID’s role in financing anti-China and anti-BRI smear campaigns is well documented. It funds NGOs both in the US and abroad to recruit and organize talented “young leaders “and “opinion makers” pumping both finances and disinformation about China’s investments in the Global South through the BRI. The William & Mary’s Global Research Institute’s so-called information lab, AidData, is well known as such a USAID-financed source of disinformation about the BRI. It is not clear how the shutting down of the USAID will impact the channeling of the resources allocated by US Congress to anti-China and anti-BRI operations, but it is a strong blow to such operations according to some Western media.
The irony is that if the US had used these large amounts of money to do good in Africa through public goods projects rather than tarnishing the BRI and China with disinformation, the US would have had greater soft power in its competition with China. For example, with the $1.5 billion, the US could build 250 hospitals of the same type as the China-built Mahusekwa Hospital for antenatal care in Mashonaland in Zimbabwe, which cost $6 million. The same amount could be used to build about 500 level-three hospitals such as the Gachororo Health Centre in Juja, Kenya, a 200-bed facility that cost $3.2 million. However, such win-win thinking does not penetrate the mind of policymakers in Washington who are saturated with the zero-sum game of geopolitics.
There are two ways to deal with the debt-trap narrative: one is to show its fallacies in a systematic and pedagogical way; the other is to develop innovative methods in financing infrastructure along the BRI in addition to the way China has successfully done in the first 10 years. It is a matter of reality that many nations, especially developing countries, are in dire need for infrastructure to release their economic growth potential and sustain it. Nations are tired of aid programs that have continued for decades without any tangible results in their attempts to eliminate poverty and achieve prosperity.
Regarding the first point, a three-step method of exposing the fallacies of the debt-trap narrative can be adopted so that it can be applied to any country that is alleged to be a victim of a “Chinese debt-trap”. The three steps are examinations of the composition of the debt of that country, the quality of the debt incurred by that country, and finally the sources of financial instability in that country. The samples used to develop this method are famous cases singled out by the narrative creators: Sri Lanka, Zambia, Kenya, Pakistan and Montenegro. They show that there is no basis for blaming China for the financial problems of those countries.
As for financing infrastructure in Belt and Road countries, it is imperative to continue the success of the Chinese method of low-interest and long-term loans no matter what the opponents say. But China alone cannot fill the gap of tens of trillions of dollars necessary for developing modern infrastructure in Asia, Africa and South America. Other actors have to step up and resources have to be pooled. First, nations must develop national financial institutions to mobilize local resources through national “development banks”.Regional development banks are also advisable. For example, the Arab countries of the Gulf have more than $4 trillion in their sovereign wealth funds. The Chinese financial markets can also become a source of credit, as has been proven by the Panda bonds that are becoming increasingly popular in developing countries. In addition, bilateral development funds between creditors and debtors can be created in which a small portion of the natural resources of debtor country can be leveraged to generate credit from financial institutions in the creditor nations. In addition to China’s rise, the BRI is one of the great success stories of the 21st century. It must be promoted and defended against ill-intended and geopolitically motivated attacks such as the “debt trap “narrative.
The author is vice-chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden and a distinguished research fellow at the Guangdong Institute of International Strategies. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
How DeepSeek is Preventing AI from Replacing Humanity. AI won’t just be a tool, it could become humanity’s equal partner or its downfall. It all depends on what our human society demonstrate to it. If it’s built solely to maximize profits for a few, we’re headed straight for a highway to hell. DeepSeek, by going open-source, offers a way out. DeepSeek 如何阻止人工智慧取代人類。人工智慧不僅僅是一種工具，它可能成為人類的平等夥伴，也可能成為人類的垮台。這完全取決於我們人類社會向它展示什麼。如果它只是為了少數人的利潤最大化而建造，那麼我們就會直接走上通往地獄的高速公路。 DeepSeek 透過開源提供了一條出路 March 5 2025
This dystopian nightmare—where a billionaire monopolizes 99% of Earth’s land, water, and even air, while billions of impoverished people are confined to tiny homes surviving on their own waste, and anyone who resists will be killed by robots and drones—comes from 刘慈欣(Cixin Liu), China’s most renowned sci-fi writer. Best known for The Three-Body Problem, which earned him the Hugo Award and was praised by Obama. However, few Western media have paid attention to Liu’s earlier short story, For the Benefit of Mankind, which paints a chilling vision.
Unlike Western sci-fi, where robots are bound by the rule “do not harm humans,” Liu’s creations prioritize “the inviolability of private property,” granting them license to kill the poor to protect resources hoarded by the wealthy. This grim outlook stems from a pre-DeepSeek era when Silicon Valley dominated AI development—a trajectory already unfolding in the U.S. In 2021, Google disclosed that its U.S. data centres consumed 4.34 billion gallons of water—freshwater effectively diverted from American communities.
Take Arizona, one of the driest states, with annual rainfall just half of the national average. Yet following Apple, Microsoft and Meta, Google planning a massive data centre in Mesa, demanding 1-4 million gallons of water daily for cooling—equivalent to the daily usage of 27,000 local residents. In 2023, Business Insider revealed Arizona’s groundwater faces a 4% annual deficit, projected to take a century to recover. Despite this, the state didn’t restrict tech giants’ “water-guzzling beasts,” but the development of Phoenix.
Silicon Valley giants not only threaten the American people’s right to development but also their right to survival.
In 2019, during a severe drought in South Carolina, Google’s Berkeley County data centre drained 1.5 million gallons of groundwater daily while siphoning 5 million gallons from municipal supplies—tripling the region’s safe water consumption limit. Local residents protested, but the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control approved Google’s request. Ironically, the same department ordered the utility company Mount Pleasant Waterworks, responsible for supplying water to 45,000 residents, to reduce its usage by 57% over the next four years.
These data centres could originally be relocated to underwater or high-latitude regions for natural cooling. Instead, they cluster near urban areas to shave milliseconds off-network latency, evaporating billions of gallons as collateral damage.
Chinese strategist, Prof. Wang Xiangsui warns of an emerging “quasi-human society” dominated by AI and robots. If governed by profit-obsessed corporations or individuals, clashes over resources between humans and this artificial society could escalate into full-scale conflict. While water scarcity now grabs headlines, energy poses a longer-term crisis.
Elon Musk’s Grok3, powered by 100,000 NVIDIA H100 chips, consumes up to 28% more annual electricity than New York City. This electricity power is enough for 8.2 million people, yet its daily U.S. user base remains under 1 million, largely due to its $40/month subscription fee – According to the US Federal Reserve System, 37% of Americans are not even able to cover $400 unexpected expenses. Let alone OpenAl’s ChatGPT-4.5, which charges $150 per million tokens.
In contrast, DeepSeek R1 costs just $2.19 for the same output—democratizing AI access for all. Prof. Wang points out; the more important point is DeepSeek offers humanity an alternative to self-destruction. Autonomous AI could evolve into an equal partner or a lethal adversary, akin to Oedipus in Greek myth. Its trajectory hinges on its foundational code: profit-maximization for elites risks creating a “quasi-human” society that overthrows humanity.
Fortunately, DeepSeek recently open-sourced 7 technologies addressing a core challenge—training powerful AI without expending more resources. This could drastically reduce the water and energy conflicts between humans and quasi-human societies.
Traditional AI training wastes energy by processing data in batches. DeepSeek’s DualPipe allows simultaneous data intake and training, cutting runtime by half and saving 30% energy and water. Innovations like DeepEP, DeepGEMM, and 3FS boost server efficiency, enabling clusters to support 4-7 times more users. FlashMLA democratizes access by empowering low-cost chips to rival premium hardware, narrowing the global digital divide. Even scheduling tweaks—prioritizing user services by day and AI training at night—shrink infrastructure demands.
To sway profit-driven U.S. firms, DeepSeek revealed the staggering profitability of these open-sourced technologies: a 545% margin, earning $562,027 daily, theoretically $200 million annually. On the other hand, according to CNBC, OpenAI lost $5 billion in 2024.
Overnight, OpenAI and NVIDIA stocks plunged over 10%. European banks now hail Chinese tech as a historic investment. Prof. Wang believes this is “humanity’s greatest self-rescue mission,” DeepSeek need not top every single AI performance chart. Its mere existence as an open-source rival blocks tech oligarchs from realizing Cixin Liu’s nightmare. Originally, Silicon Valley envisioned AI as a first-class ticket for elites to soar above the masses. DeepSeek, however, adds economy seats—allowing ordinary people to ascend alongside billionaires.
The battle between open-source collaboration and closed-profit models may never end, resembling quantum tides in perpetual flux. Yet this dynamic equilibrium sustains hope. So long as 99% of humanity can still afford open-sourced AI like DeepSeek, it marks a victory for China’s millennia-old ethos of “deep seeking.”
In March, 2025, as global capital fuels a new future, the “quasi-human society” remains unborn, but the crown of computational hegemony is already trampled underfoot. The open-source president ascends the palace, steps onto the balcony, and in his face, every person sees their own reflection.
China Is in the Good Part of the Historical Cycle. Professor Peter Turchin predicted the onset of political unrest in the U.S. In the first part, he outlined the factors driving America toward civil war. In the second, he examines China’s integrative stage, noting that administrative elites dominate, unlike the U.S., where economic elites hold power. Overall, he remains optimistic about China. 中國正處於歷史週期的良好階段。彼得·圖爾欽教授預測了美國政治動盪的爆發。在第二部分中，他審視了中國的一體化階段，指出行政精英占主導地位，而美國則由經濟精英掌握權力。整體而言，他對中國仍持樂觀態度 March 6 2025
The China Academy: In your view, where does China currently stand in the cycles of political integration and disintegration, especially given the endless predictions of China’s collapse by Western scholars?
Peter Turchin: First of all, in order for me to speak authoritatively, my group would need to analyze a lot of data.
However, we have done this for the previous cycle in Chinese history—the Qing Dynasty. We have a paper where we showed what happened, specifically focusing on the crisis of the Taiping Rebellion.
Starting with the Taiping Rebellion and ending with the fall of the dynasty and the Chinese Revolution, this period fits the theory very well. During this time, there was widespread popular immiseration, elite overproduction, and resulting state weakness. We can speak confidently about that period.
But what happened after that? And what is happening now? China experienced a 100-year disintegrative period, starting with the Taiping Rebellion and ending with the victory of the Communist Party in 1949.
After 1949, China entered an integrative period. There were some aftershocks, such as the Cultural Revolution, but with the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping, China firmly entered the integrative period. Typically, integrative periods last for about a century. Based on this, one might conclude that China still has time to resolve its issues.
However, there are some problems, even without doing a deep dive into data. Based on what I’ve read and from speaking to people during my visit to China in December, I see a real issue with the overproduction of degree holders. The jobless rate for these individuals is high, and many are taking positions unrelated to their training. This creates a lot of discontent.
This issue is partly similar to challenges faced by other East Asian countries like South Korea and Japan. It stems, in part, from Confucian philosophy, which pushes parents to encourage their children to pursue higher and higher education. While this is a good individual strategy, it can have negative societal impacts.
But there are other factors that counteract this issue. For instance, while everyone is worried about China’s low birth rate, from the perspective of political stability, this can actually work in China’s favor.
Revolutions are typically driven by young people in their 20s and 30s, as they are more reckless and willing to take risks. These young people act as “revolutionary troops,” even if they are not the leaders. This phenomenon is called the “youth bulge.” When there is a large cohort of people in their 20s, it creates the potential for discontent to escalate into violence, as seen during the Arab Spring.
In China, however, the “youth bust” is reducing the number of young people. This has two effects. First, it decreases the supply of revolutionary troops in the long run. Second, as the number of workers declines, market forces will push wages higher because businesses will compete for a smaller labor pool. This will prevent the “wealth pump” effect from operating as strongly.
Another factor is the nature of China’s ruling system. Unlike the United States, which is a plutocracy (rule by the wealthy), China’s ruling class is essentially made up of mandarins. In many ways, China has reverted to its traditional governance structure, which has been in place for over 2,000 years. While the ruling party is called the Communist Party, it could just as easily be called the Confucianist Party.
One key issue is fiscal capital. If fiscal capital becomes too powerful, it can be corrosive, as it doesn’t produce much and is largely parasitic. By controlling billionaires, as the current administration in China is doing, the government is addressing one potential source of instability.
Q8 The China Academy: From the current state of society, it seems that the “wannabe elites” in China might choose to “lie flat” (i.e., give up striving). By contrast, in the U.S., frustrated wannabe elites are more likely to express anger. What is your view on this?
Peter Turchin: I don’t think so. Let’s look at Chinese history again—take the Taiping Rebellion, for example. It was an extremely violent rebellion. China has a long history of peasant uprisings.
If you examine Chinese history, even just within the last century, you see the civil war between Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists and Mao Zedong’s Communists—it was incredibly violent. Then, during the Cultural Revolution, young people in China were also extremely violent.
I believe that this is fundamentally human nature. It’s not unique to China or America—it’s just human nature. When the conditions in a country become strong enough to push it into instability, then civil war or revolution will occur. It’s all about the conditions. However, I don’t see those conditions currently operating in China.
Q9 The China Academy: Have you observed the societal conditions in Japan? Peter Turchin: Yes, one of my colleagues has studied Japan. First of all, immiseration in Japan is very serious, although it’s not often reported.
Over the past 20 years, real wages in Japan have declined by about 20–25%, which is astonishing. The economy hasn’t grown much, but wages have declined even more sharply. As a result, a “wealth pump” is at work, creating a growing number of wealthy individuals. However, the political system in Japan is extremely corrupt, and much of this wealth is used to maintain politicians in power.
Immiseration in Japan is so bad that the average height of the population is actually declining. I saw the data myself, and I could hardly believe it. There’s a lot of underlying discontent. For example, one of Japan’s prime ministers was recently assassinated—a clear sign of instability just beneath the surface.
At the same time, Japan is also experiencing a “baby bust.” The majority of the population is now elderly, and they are not likely to revolt due to the absence of a “youth bulge.” It’s possible that Japan won’t experience a civil war or revolution, but conditions will likely continue to deteriorate. Things may simply get worse and worse until something unpredictable happens. Japan is definitely in a crisis mode at this point, unlike China.
Q10 The China Academy: In your research on ancient China, you’ve highlighted characteristics of Chinese society such as its capacity for collective action, centralized governance, and strong internal cohesion. Could these traits explain China’s rise over the past 4–5 decades?
Peter Turchin: Absolutely. I’ve written another book, Ultrasociety, which explains this theory. Essentially, societies that evolve on steppe frontiers, like China on the frontier between China and Mongolia, experience intense interaction with external threats. These threats drive societies to become more cohesive internally and more cooperative.
This phenomenon isn’t unique to China. The same thing happened in Russia and even the United States, which had its own frontier.
The result of such conditions is the evolution of institutions that are conducive to centralization and the coordination of large populations. Confucianism, for example, is one of these institutions. It’s a creed that promotes internal cohesion.
Additionally, China’s administrative elites dominate the system, unlike in the United States, where economic elites hold the most power. This difference is also a result of China’s cultural “genome,” so to speak.
If I were making predictions in 1950, I would have confidently predicted that China would rise again. Institutions like these take a long time to dissipate, and that dissipation was not happening in China. Therefore, I would have confidently predicted that China would eventually become a preeminent power.
Q11 The China Academy: Do you think that the governance institutions of China—centralized and bureaucratic, with meritocracy as some describe—are a uniquely distinguishing trait of the Chinese state?
Peter Turchin: No, it’s not unique to China. For example, if you look at France, it has also been a bureaucratically ruled country. Although this is changing now, if you examine France from around 1870 to 2000—during the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Republics—the elites were recruited through a system very similar to China’s.
In France, the system was based on educational credentials. There are a set of elite schools called thegrandes écoles. If you wanted to enter government, you went to a school for public administration. If you wanted to lead a major company, you attended a different grande école. Most of the largest French companies were state-owned enterprises, so the system was similar to China’s in many ways. It produced a very similar class of elites, or “mandarins.”
This system remained highly effective until the last 10–15 years, when it started to break down. But up until that point, it was a very functional system.
Q12 The China Academy: The U.S.-China rivalry is very intense. In your view, would the U.S. strategy of containing China further strengthen China’s internal cohesion? I recall you mentioned that Russia became more internally unified during the Ukraine war.
Peter Turchin: Yes, this is a pattern that many American leaders fail to understand. Containment strategies often create feedback loops, strengthening internal cohesion within the targeted country.
That said, interstate competition—so long as it does not escalate into violent conflict—is actually beneficial. Competition in economic, ideological, and cultural spheres can be good for all parties involved. It helps counteract the “iron law of oligarchy,” which holds that elites, when left unchecked, tend to become selfish and drive their countries into decline.
For example, the Soviet Union did not lose a “hard war” against the United States. Instead, people became dissatisfied with how the country was being governed, which led to its collapse. Interstate competition helps to prevent such stagnation.
Looking forward, I hope we continue to see interstate competition, even if it takes extreme forms like tariffs or trade restrictions, as long as it doesn’t lead to violence. Such competition benefits everyone. For instance, the United States has imposed numerous restrictions on China, and China is finding ways to overcome them. Similarly, Russia, despite being the most sanctioned country in history, has managed to grow economically during the war, while Germany is now in decline.
Of course, the Ukraine war is a tragedy—it has already killed hundreds of thousands of people. But competition without war would be good for everyone.
Q13 The China Academy: Some people believe that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has broken free from the historic cycles of rise and fall in Chinese history. What’s your view on this?
Peter Turchin: So far, I see Chinese history continuing to follow the dynastic cycle. Right now, we are in the “good” part of the cycle. There may not be an emperor, but power is still being transferred—just in different ways, not from father to son. Otherwise, the system is very similar to the traditional dynastic cycles.
Whether the Chinese leadership will be able to break this cycle depends on two things. First, advancements in our understanding of societal dynamics—what I call “cliodynamics.” Second, whether government officials take this knowledge into account and use it to prevent a slide into crisis.
This is one of the reasons for my work—I want us to break free from these cycles. China certainly has time to do this because I don’t see a revolution happening anytime soon. There is time to understand the causes of instability and take action.
China can implement policies that are impossible in Western liberal democracies. One possibility is limiting the number of university places and encouraging more people to pursue vocational training or skilled trades, such as operating machinery. This could help address the overproduction of degree holders. Of course, I hope people won’t hate me for suggesting this.
Q14 The China Academy: Many Chinese people are now worried about AI. They fear that the development of AI could lead to widespread unemployment and further overproduction of elites. What should human society do in response? Is there a way to achieve a fair distribution system?
Peter Turchin: Yes, that’s one of the most important things—to make sure that AI, which will be very powerful, benefits society as a whole. The benefits of AI technology must not end up concentrated in the hands of a small elite. Instead, they need to be shared broadly across the population.
Q15 The China Academy: And finally, what factors do you think are truly concerning for China’s future?
Peter Turchin: I think controlling the overproduction of youth with advanced degrees is the most important long-term issue for China.
China does have other problems, such as the real estate bubble. However, I don’t think this will cause irreparable damage. It just means that people who bought second or third apartments will become poorer—they already have, since property prices have dropped. But this situation can be resolved without undermining the overall capacity of society. Another key factor is avoiding getting into a hard war, especially over Taiwan. From what I perceive, Chinese leadership really does not want a war, and I think that’s a good strategy.
In principle, I’m actually very optimistic about China—much more so than many other parts of the world. That said, take my optimism with a grain of salt, as I would need to conduct much deeper analysis to make definitive statements of this kind.
Peter Turchin Peter Turchin is a complexity scientist, emeritus professor at the University of Connecticut, project leader at the Complexity Science Hub Vienna, founder of Cliodynamics, and author of End Times (2023)
NYT: Full Transcript of President Trump’s Speech to Congress. In a speech to Congress in his first weeks in office, the president laid out his vision to remake U.S. policy on the military, trade, immigration and foreign aids.
President Trump standing at a dais and speaking, with Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson behind him. People on the right side of the room are standing and applauding while people on the left are sitting.
President Trump delivered his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. The following is a transcript of his remarks, as recorded by The New York Times. President Trump: Speaker Johnson. Vice President Vance, the first lady of the United States. Members of the United States Congress, thank you very much. And to my fellow citizens, America is back. Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years — and we are just getting started. Thank you. I return to this chamber tonight to report that America’s momentum is back. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back. And the American dream is surging — bigger and better than ever before. The American dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again. Never been anything like it. The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades. We won all seven swing states, giving us an Electoral College victory of 312 votes. We won the popular vote by big numbers and won counties in our country — Crowd: U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! Mr. Trump: — and won counties in our country, 2,700 to 525 on a map that reads almost completely red for Republican. Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction. In fact, it’s an astonishing record: 27-point swing, the most ever. Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, interrupts President Trump. Mr. Trump: Likewise, small business optimism saw its single largest one-month gain ever recorded, a 41-point jump. Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana: Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the house, and to cease any further disruptions. That’s your warning. Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum, and the chair is prepared to direct the sergeant-at-arms to restore order to the joint session. Mr. Johnson: Mr. Green, take your seat. Take your seat, sir. Take your seat. Finding that members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chair now directs the sergeant-at-arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber. Mr. Johnson: Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the house. Mr. President, you continue. Mr. Trump: Thank you. Over the past six weeks, I have signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken more than 400 executive actions, a record to restore common sense, safety, optimism and wealth all across our wonderful land. The people elected me to do the job, and I’m doing it. In fact, it has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency — it’s our presidency — is the most successful in the history of our nation. By many. And what makes it even more impressive is that do you know who No. 2 is? George Washington. How about that? How about that? I don’t know about that list, but. But we’ll take it. Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border. And I deployed the U.S. military and Border Patrol to repel the invasion of our country. And what a job they’ve done. As a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded ever. Editors’ Picks
See Spot Spa: Hotels Are Ready to Pamper Your Pup Designers Really Want Us to Wear Fur Nothing Quenches Thirst Like a Lassi They heard my words and they chose not to come. Much easier that way. In comparison, under Joe Biden, the worst president in American history, there were hundreds of thousands of illegal crossings a month and virtually all of them, including murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and people from mental institutions and insane asylums, were released into our country. Who would want to do that? This is my fifth such speech to Congress, and, once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations or announce the answers to greatest economy in history or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded, and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won’t do it no matter what. Five, five times I’ve been up here. It’s very sad. And it just shouldn’t be this way. So, Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America? For the good of our nation, let’s work together and let’s truly make America great again. Every day my administration is fighting to deliver the change America needs to bring a future that America deserves, and we’re doing it. This is a time for big dreams and bold action. Upon taking office, I imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring, a freeze on all new federal regulations and a freeze on all foreign aid. I terminated the ridiculous “green new scam.” I withdrew from the unfair Paris climate accord, which was costing us trillions of dollars that other countries were not paying. I withdrew from the corrupt World Health Organization. And I also withdrew from the anti-American U.N. Human Rights Council. We ended all of Biden’s environmental restrictions that were making our country far less safe and totally unaffordable. And importantly, we ended the last administration’s insane electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto workers and companies from economic destruction. To unshackle our economy, I have directed that for every one new regulation, 10 old regulations must be eliminated — just like I did in my very successful first term. And in that first term, we set records on ending unnecessary rules and regulations like no other president had done before. We ordered all federal workers to return to the office. They will either show up for work in person or be removed from their job. And we’ve ended weaponized government where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent, like me. How did that work out? Not too good. Not too good. And I’ve stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America. It’s back. And two days ago, I signed an order making English the official language of the United States of America. I renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. And likewise, I renamed, for a great president, William McKinley, Mount McKinley again. Beautiful Alaska, we love Alaska. We love Alaska. We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government. And indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be woke no longer. We believe that whether you are a doctor, an accountant, a lawyer or an air traffic controller, you should be hired and promoted based on skill and competence, not race or gender. Very important. You should be hired based on merit. And the Supreme Court, in a brave and very powerful decision, has allowed us to do so. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. We have removed the poison of critical race theory from our public schools, and I signed an order making it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female. I also signed an executive order to ban men from playing in women’s sports. Three years ago, Payton McNabb was an all-star high school athlete, one of the best, preparing for a future in college sports. But when her girls’ volleyball match was invaded by a man, he smashed the ball so hard in Payton’s face, causing traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side and ending her athletic career. It was a shot like she’s never seen before. She’s never seen anything like it. Payton is here tonight in the gallery, and Payton, from now on, schools will kick the men off the girls’ team or they will lose all federal funding. And if you really want to see numbers, just take a look at what happened in the women’s boxing, weight lifting, track and field, swimming or cycling, where a male recently finished a long-distance race five hours and 14 minutes ahead of a woman for a new record by five hours — broke the record by five hours. It’s demeaning for women, and it’s very bad for our country. We’re not going to put up with it any longer. What I have just described is only a small fraction of the common-sense revolution that is now — because of us — sweeping the entire world. Common sense has become a common theme, and we will never go back, never — ever going to let that happen. Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families. As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare. Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up grocery costs and drove the necessities of life out of reach for millions and millions of Americans. They’ve never had anything like it. We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years. But perhaps even in the history of our country, they’re not sure. As president, I’m fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again. Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control. The egg prices, out of control. And we’re working hard to get it back down. Secretary, do a good job on that — you inherited a total mess from the previous administration. Do a good job. A major focus of our fight to defeat inflation is rapidly reducing the cost of energy. The previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95 percent, slowed pipeline construction to a halt and closed more than 100 power plants — we are opening up many of those power plants right now. And frankly, we have never seen anything like it. That’s why, on my first day in office, I declared a national energy emergency. As you’ve heard me say many times, we have more liquid gold under our feet than any nation on earth, and by far, and now I fully authorize the most talented team ever assembled to go and get it. It’s called drill, baby, drill. My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska, among the largest in the world, where Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partner with investments of trillions of dollars each. It has never been anything like that one. It will be truly spectacular. It’s all set to go. The permitting has gotten. And later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the U.S.A. To further combat inflation, we will not only be reducing the cost of energy, but will be ending the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars. And to that end, I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight. Thank you, Elon. He’s working very hard. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this. Thank you very much, we appreciate it. Everybody here — even this side appreciates it, I believe. They just don’t want to admit that. Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified. $22 billion from H.H.S. to provide free housing and cars for illegal aliens. $45 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion scholarships in Burma. $40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is. $8 million to promote L.G.B.T.Q.I.+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of. $60 million for Indigenous peoples and Afro-Caribbean empowerment in Central America — $60 million. $8 million for making mice transgender — this is real. $32 million for a left-wing propaganda operation in Moldova. $10 million for male circumcision in Mozambique. $20 million for the Arab “Sesame Street” in the Middle East. It’s a program. $20 million for a program. $1.9 billion to recently created decarbonization of homes committee, headed up — and we know she’s involved — just at the last moment, the money was passed over by a woman named Stacey Abrams. Have you ever heard of her? A $3.5 million consulting contract for lavish fish monitoring. $1.5 million for voter confidence in Liberia; $14 million for social cohesion in Mali; $59 million for illegal alien hotel rooms in New York City. He’s a real estate developer. He’s done very well. $250,000 to increase vegan local climate action innovation in Zambia. $42 million for social and behavioral change in Uganda. $14 million for improving public procurement in Serbia. $47 million for improving learning outcomes in Asia. Asia is doing very well with learning. You know what we’re doing — could use it ourselves. And $101 million for D.E.I. contracts at the Department of Education — the most ever paid, nothing even like it. Under the Trump administration, all of these scams — and there are far worse — but I didn’t think it was appropriate to talk about them. They’re so bad. Many more have been found out and exposed and swiftly terminated by a group of very intelligent, mostly young people headed up by Elon, and we appreciate it. We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud. And we’ve taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight inflation and other things — taken back a lot of that money. We got it just in time. This is just the beginning. The Government Accountability Office, the federal government office, has estimated annual fraud of over $500 billion in our nation. And we are working very hard to stop it. We’re going to. We’re also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors, and that our seniors and people that we love rely on. Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119. I don’t know any of them. I know some people who are rather elderly but not quite that elderly. 3.47 million people from ages 120 to 129. 3.9 million people from ages 130 to 139. 3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149. And money is being paid to many of them, and we are searching right now. In fact, Pam, good luck. Good luck. You’re going to find it. But a lot of money is paid out to people, because it just keeps getting paid and paid and nobody does — and it really hurts Social Security, it hurts our country. 1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159, and over 130,000 people, according to the Social Security databases, are age over 160 years old. We have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby. Including, to finish, 1,039 people between the ages of 220 and 229. One person between the age of 240 and 249 — and one person is listed at 360 years of age. More than 100 years — more than 100 years older than our country. But we’re going to find out where that money is going, and it’s not going to be pretty. By slashing all of the fraud, waste and theft we can find, we will defeat inflation, bring down mortgage rates, lower car payments and grocery prices, protect our seniors and put more money in the pockets of American families. And today, interest rates took a beautiful drop, big beautiful drop — it’s about time. And in the near future, I want to do what has not been done in 24 years: balance the federal budget. We are going to balance it. With that goal in mind, we have developed in great detail what we are calling the gold card, which goes on sale very, very soon. For $5 million, we will allow the most successful job-creating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship. It’s like the green card but better and more sophisticated. And these people will have to pay tax in our country. They won’t have to pay tax from where they came. The money that they’ve made, you wouldn’t want to do that. But they have to pay tax, create jobs. They’ll also be taking people out of colleges and paying for them so that we can keep them in our country instead of having them be — being forced out. No. 1 at the top school, as an example, being forced out and not being allowed to stay and create tremendous numbers of jobs and great success for a company out there. So while we take out the criminals, killers, traffickers and child predators who were allowed to enter our country under the open-border policy of these people, the Democrats, the Biden administration — the open border, insane policies that you have allowed to destroy our country — we will now bring in brilliant, hard-working, job-creating people. They’re going to pay a lot of money, and we’re going to reduce our debt with that money. Americans have given us a mandate for bold and profound change. For nearly 100 years, the federal bureaucracy has grown until it has crushed our freedoms, ballooned our deficits and held back America’s potential in every possible way. The nation founded by pioneers and risk-takers now drowns under millions and millions of pages of regulations and debt: Approvals that should take 10 days to get instead take 10 years, 15 years and even 20 years before you rejected. Meanwhile, we have hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have not been showing up to work. My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again. And any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately. Because we are draining the swamp. It’s very simple. And the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over. And the next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody. They’re in there. They’re waiting for you to vote. And I’m sure that the people on my right, I don’t mean the Republican right, but my right — right here — I’m sure you’re going to vote for those tax cuts, because otherwise I don’t believe the people will ever vote you into office. So I’m doing a big favor by telling you that. But I know this group is going to be voting for the tax. Thank you. It’s a very, very big part of our plan. We had tremendous success in our first term, with a very big part of our plan, we’re seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board. And to get urgently needed relief to Americans hit especially hard by inflation, I’m calling for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security benefits for our great seniors. And I also want to make interest payments on car loans tax deductible — but only if the car is made in America. And by the way, we are going to have growth in the auto industry like nobody has ever seen. Plants are opening up all over the place. Deals are being made — never seen. That’s a combination of the election win and tariffs. It’s a beautiful word, isn’t it? That along with our other policies will allow our auto industry to absolutely boom. It’s going to boom. Spoke to the majors today, all three, the top people, and they’re so excited. In fact, already numerous car companies have announced that they will be building massive automobile plants in America, with Honda just announcing a new plant in Indiana, one of the largest anywhere in the world. And this has taken place since our great victory on Nov. 5, a date which will hopefully go down as one of the most important in the history of our country. In addition, as part of our tax cuts, we want to cut taxes on domestic production and all manufacturing. And just as we did before, we will provide 100 percent expensing. It will be retroactive to Jan. 20, 2025. And it was one of the main reasons why our tax cuts were so successful in our first term, giving us the most successful economy in the history of our country, first term. We had a great first term. If you don’t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and in some cases, a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada — have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. Trump Administration: Live Updates› Updated March 4, 2025, 10:02 p.m. ET1 hour ago The Trump administration marks hundreds of federal properties for potential sale. Top Democrats accused Trump and Musk of imperiling national security. Hegseth cuts the Pentagon’s work on preventing civilian harm. It’s very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent. China’s average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them. And South Korea’s average tariff is four times higher. Think of that. Four times higher. And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea. But that’s what happens. This is happening by friend and foe. This system is not fair to the United States and never was, and so on April 2 — I wanted to make it April 1, but I didn’t want to be accused of April Fools’ Day — it’s not — it’s just one day which costs us a lot of money. But we are going to do it in April. I’m a very superstitious person. April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That’s reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do nonmonetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do nonmonetary barriers to keep them out of our market. There’s a lot of that too. They don’t even allow us in their market. We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before. I did it with China, and I did it with others and the Biden administration couldn’t do anything about it because it was so much money they couldn’t do anything about it. We’ve been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on earth, and we will not let that happen any longer. Much has been said over the last three months about Mexico and Canada. But we have very large deficits with both of them. But even more importantly, they have allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens and many very young, beautiful people, destroying families. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. They are in effect receiving subsidies of hundreds of billions of dollars. We pay subsidies to Canada and to Mexico of hundreds of billions of dollars. And the United States will not be doing that any longer. We are not going to do it any longer. Thanks to our America First policies we are putting into place, we have had $1.7 trillion of new investment in America in just the past few weeks. The combination of the election and our economic policies that people of Softbank, one of the most brilliant anywhere in the world, announced a $200 billion investment. OpenAI and Oracle, Larry Ellison, announced $500 billion investment, which they wouldn’t have done if Kamala had won. Apple announced $500 billion investment. Tim Cook called me. He said: I cannot spend it fast enough. It’s going to be much higher than that I believe. They will be building their plants here instead of in China. And just yesterday, Taiwan Semiconductor, the biggest in the world, most powerful in the world, has a tremendous amount, 97 percent of the market, announced a $165 billion investment to build the most powerful chips on earth, right here in the U.S.A. And we are not giving them any money. Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of billions of dollars and it doesn’t mean a thing. They take our money and they don’t spend it. All that meant to them — we giving them no money — all that was important to them was that they didn’t want to pay the tariffs, so they came and are building, and many other companies are coming. We don’t have to give them money; we just want to protect our businesses and our people, and they will come because they won’t have to pay tariffs if they build in America. That feel like it’s amazing. You should get rid of the CHIP Act and whatever’s left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt. Or any other reason you want to. Our new trade policy will also be great for the American farmer — I love the farmer — who will now be selling into our home market, the U.S.A., because nobody is going to be able to compete with you. Because those goods that come in from other countries and companies are really, really in a bad position in so many different ways. They are uninspected, they may be very dirty and disgusting when they come in, and they pour in and they hurt our American farmers. The tariffs will go on — agricultural product coming into America and our farmers starting on April 2, may be a little bit of an adjustment period. We had that before when I made the deal with China. $50 billion of purchases and I said just bear with me and they did. They did. Probably have to bear with me again. And this will be even better. That was great. The problem with it was that Biden didn’t enforce it. He didn’t enforce it. $50 billion of purchases and we were doing great, but Biden did not enforce it and it hurt our farmers. But our farmers are going to have a field day right now. So to our farmers, have a lot of fun. I love you too. I love you too. And I have also imposed a 25 percent tariff on foreign aluminum, copper, lumber and steel because if we don’t have, as an example, steel, and lots of other things, we don’t have a military and frankly we won’t have — we just won’t have a country very long. Here today is a proud American steelworker. A fantastic person. From Decatur, Ala., Jeff Denard, has been working at the same steel plant for 27 years in a job that has allowed him to serve as the captain of his local volunteer fire department. Raised seven children with his beautiful wife Nicole and over the years provide a loving home for more than 40 foster children. So great job. Thank you. Thank you, Jeff. Stories like Jeff’s remind us that tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs. They are about protecting the soul of our country. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again, and it is happening and it will happen rather quickly. There will be a little disturbance, but we are OK with that. It won’t be much. No, you’re not. And look where Biden took us. Very low, the lowest we’ve ever been. Jeff, I want to thank you very much and I also want to recognize another person who has devoted herself to foster care, community, she works so hard on it. Very loving person, our magnificent first lady of the United States. Melania’s work has yielded incredible results, helping prepare our nation’s future leaders as they enter the work force. Our first lady is joined by two impressive young women, very impressive, Haley Ferguson, who benefited from the first lady’s Fostering the Future initiative, and is poised to complete her education and become a teacher. And Elliston Berry, who became victim of an illicit deepfake image produced by a peer. With Elliston’s help, the Senate just passed the Take It Down Act. And this is so important, thank you very much, John. John Thune, thank you. Stand up, John. Thank you, John. Thank you all very much. Thank you. And thank you to John Thune and the Senate. Great job. Decriminalize the publication of such images online is terrible, terrible thing. And once it passes the House, I look forward to signing the bill into law. Thank you. And I’m going to use that bill for myself too, if you don’t mind, because nobody gets treated worse than I do online, nobody. That’s great. Thank you very much to the Senate, thank you. But if we truly care about protecting Americans’ children, no step is more crucial than securing America’s borders. Over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the United States — many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members and other criminals from the streets of dangerous cities all throughout the world. Because of Joe Biden’s insane and very dangerous open border policies, they are now strongly embedded in our country. But we are getting them out and getting them out fast. And I want to thank Tom Homan and Kristi, I want to thank you, and Paul of Border Patrol. I want to thank you. What a job they’ve all done — everybody, Border Patrol, ICE, law enforcement in general is incredible, we have to take care of our law enforcement. We have to. Last year, a brilliant 22-year-old nursing student named Laken Riley, the best in her class, admired by everybody, went out for a jog on the campus of the University of Georgia. That morning, Laken was viciously attacked, assaulted, beaten, brutalized and horrifically murdered. Laken was stolen from us by a savage illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Biden’s open southern border and then set loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration. It was indeed a failed administration. He had then been arrested and released in a Democrat-run sanctuary city, a disaster, before ending the life of this beautiful young angel. With us this evening are Laken’s beloved mother, Allyson, and her sister, Lauren. Last year, I told Laken’s grieving parents that we would ensure their daughter would not have died in vain. That’s why the very first bill I signed into law as your 47th president mandates the detention of all dangerous criminal aliens who threaten public safety. It’s a very strong, powerful act. It’s called the Laken Riley Act. So, Allyson and Lauren, America will never ever forget our beautiful Laken Hope Riley. Thank you very much. Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history, and we quickly achieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crossers ever recorded. Thank you. The media and our friends in the Democrat party kept saying we needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border. But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president. Thank you. Joe Biden didn’t just open our borders, he flew illegal aliens over them to overwhelm our schools, hospitals, and communities throughout the country. Entire towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like nobody’s ever seen before. Beautiful towns destroyed. Now just as I promised in my inaugural address, we are achieving the great liberation of America. But there’s still — there still is much work to be done. Here tonight is a woman I’ve gotten to know, Alexis Nungaray from Houston, wonderful woman. Last year, Alexis’s 12-year-old daughter, her precious Jocelyn, walked to a nearby convenience store. She was kidnapped, tied up, assaulted for two hours under a bridge and horrifically murdered. Arrested and charged with this heinous crime are two illegal alien monsters from Venezuela, released into America by the last administration through their ridiculous open border. The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation, greatly. Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter, you are a magnificent daughter, and earlier tonight I signed an order keeping my word to you. One thing I’ve learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so much, she loved nature. Across Galveston Bay from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you’ll find a magnificent National Wildlife Refuge, a pristine, peaceful 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God’s creatures on the edge of the Gulf of America. Alexis, moments ago I’ve formally renamed that refuge in loving memory of your beautiful daughter, Jocelyn. So, Mr. Vice President, if you would, may I have the order? Thank you very much. All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken’s murderers were members of the Venezuelan prison gang, the toughest gang, they say, in the world, known as Tren de Aragua. Two weeks ago, I officially designated this gang, along with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations. They are now officially in the same category as ISIS, and that is not good for them. Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the U.S. by the Biden administration. But now every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country, or if they are too dangerous, put in jails, standing trial in this country because we don’t want them to come back ever. With us this evening is a warrior on the front lines of that battle. A Border Patrol agent, Roberto Ortiz. Great guy. In January, Roberto and another agent were patrolling by the Rio Grande near an area known as Cartel Island — doesn’t sound too nice to me. When heavily armed gunmen started shooting at them, Roberto saw that his partner was totally exposed to great danger and he leaped into action, returning fire and providing crucial seconds for his fellow agent to seek safety — just and just barely. I have some of the prints of that event and it was not good. Agent Ortiz, we salute you for your great courage and for your line of fire that you took and for the bravery that you showed. We honor you and we will always honor you, thank you, Roberto, very much. Thank you, Roberto. And I actually got to know him on my many calls to the border. He is a great, great gentleman. The territory to the immediate south of our border is now dominated entirely by criminal cartels that murder, rape, torture and exercise total control. They have total control over a whole nation, posing a grave threat to our national security. The cartels are waging war in America, and it’s time for America to wage war on the cartels, which we are doing. Five nights ago, Mexican authorities, because of our tariff policies being imposed on them, think of this, handed over to us 29 of the biggest cartel leaders in their country. That has never happened before. They want to make us happy. First time ever. But we need Mexico and Canada to do much more than they’ve done, and they have to stop the fentanyl and drugs pouring into the U.S.A. They are going to stop it. I have sent Congress a detailed funding request laying out exactly how we will eliminate these threats to protect our homeland and complete the largest deportation operation in American history, larger even than current record-holder President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a moderate man but someone who believed very strongly in borders. Americans expect Congress to send me this funding without delay so I can sign it into law. So Mr. Speaker, John Thune, both of you, I hope you’re going to be able to do that. Mr. Speaker, thank you. Mr. Leader, thank you. Thank you very much. Let’s get it to me. I’ll sign it so fast you won’t even believe it. And as we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and order to our cities and towns. In recent years, our justice system has been turned upside down by radical left lunatics. Many jurisdictions virtually ceased enforcing the law against dangerous repeat offenders while weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents, like me. My administration has acted swiftly and decisively to restore fair, equal and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law, starting at the F.B.I. and the D.O.J. Pam, good luck. Kash, wherever you may be, good luck. Good luck. Pam Bondi, good luck. So important. You’re going to do a great job. Kash, thank you. Thank you, Kash. They’ve already started very strong. They are going to do a fantastic job. You’re going to be very proud of them. We are also once again giving our police officers the support, protection and respect they so dearly deserve. They have to get it. They have such a hard, dangerous job, but we’re going to make it less dangerous. The problem is the bad guys don’t respect the law, but they are starting to respect it and they soon will respected. This also includes our great fire departments throughout the country; our firemen and women are unbelievable people and we’ll never forget them. And besides that, they voted for me in record numbers, so I have no choice. One year ago this month, 31-year-old New York police officer Jonathan Diller, unbelievably wonderful person and a great officer, was gunned down at a traffic stop in Long Island. I went to his funeral. The vicious criminal charged with his murder had 21 prior arrests, and they were rough arrests too. He was a real bad one. The thug in the seat next to him had 14 prior arrests and went by the name of “Killer.” He was “Killer.” He killed other people; they say a lot of them. I attended Officer Diller’s service and when I met his wife and 1-year-old son, Ryan, it was very inspirational, actually. His widow’s name is Stephanie, and she is here tonight. Stephanie, thank you very much. Stephanie, thank you. Stephanie, we’re going to make sure that Ryan knows his dad was a true hero, New York’s finest, and we’re going to get these cold-blooded killers and repeat offenders off our streets and we are going to do it fast. Got to stop it. They get out with 28 arrests, they push people into subway trains. They hit people over the head, back of the head with baseball bats. We’ve got to get them out of here. I have already signed an executive order requiring a mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer, and tonight I’m asking Congress to pass that policy into permanent law. I am also asking for a new crime bill, getting tough on repeat offenders while enhancing protections for America’s police officers so they can do their jobs without fear of their lives being totally destroyed. They don’t want to be killed. We are not going to let them be killed. Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is DJ Daniel, he is 13 years old and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true and DJ has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer, actually a number of times. The police love him. The police departments love him. And tonight, DJ, we are going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service. Crowd: DJ! DJ! DJ! Mr. Trump: Thank you, DJ. DJ’s doctors believe his cancer likely came from a chemical he was exposed to when he was younger. Since 1975, rates of child cancer have increased by more than 40 percent. Reversing this trend is one of the top priorities for our new presidential commission to Make America Healthy Again chaired by our new secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. With a name Kennedy, you would have thought everybody over here would have been cheering. How quickly they forget! Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply, and keep our children healthy and strong. As an example, not long ago, and you can’t even believe these numbers, one in 10,000 children have autism. One in 10,000. And now it’s one in 36. There’s something wrong. One in 36. Think of that. So we’re going to find out what it is and there’s nobody better than Bobby and all of the people that are working with you. You have the best to figure out what is going on. OK, Bobby, good luck. It’s a very important job. Thank you. Thank you. My administration is also working to protect our children from toxic ideologies in our schools. A few years ago, January Littlejohn and her husband discovered that their daughter’s school had secretly socially transitioned their 13-year-old little girl, teachers and administrators conspired to deceive January and her husband while encouraging her daughter to use a new name and pronouns. They/them pronoun actually. All without telling January, it was here tonight and is now a courageous advocate against this form of child abuse. January, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Stories like this are why shortly after taking office, I signed an executive order banning public schools from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology. I also signed an order to cut off all taxpayer funding to any institution that engages in the sexual mutilation our youth. Now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie. And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you. Because we are getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military and it’s already out and it’s out of our society, we don’t want it. Wokeness is trouble, wokeness is bad, it’s gone. It’s gone. And we feel so much better for it, don’t we? Don’t we feel better? Our service members won’t be activists and ideologues, they will be fighters and warriors, they will fight for our country and Pete, congratulations. Secretary of defense. Congratulations. And he is not big into the woke movement, I can tell you that. I know him well. I am pleased to report that in January, the U.S. Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years. And that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services. What a difference. And you know it was just a few months ago where the results were exactly the opposite. We could not recruit anywhere, we couldn’t recruit. Now we are having the best results — just about that we ever had. What a tremendous turnaround. It’s really a beautiful thing to see. People love our country again, it is very simple. They love our country and they love being in our military again. So it’s a great thing and thank you very much. Great job. Thank you. We are joined tonight by a young man, Jason Hartley, who knows the weight of that call of duty. Jason’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather all wore the uniform. Jason tragically lost his dad, who was also a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, when he was just a boy. Now he wants to carry on the family legacy of service. Jason is a senior in high school, a six-letter varsity athlete, really good athlete they say, a brilliant student with a 4.46 — that’s good — G.P.A. His greatest dream is to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. And Jason, that’s a very big deal, getting in. That’s a hard one to get into. But I am pleased to inform you that your application has been accepted. You will soon be joining the corps of cadets. Thank you. Jason, you’re going to be on the long gray line, Jason. As commander in chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future. As a first step, I am asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art golden dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland — all made in the U.S.A. Ronald Reagan wanted to do it long ago, but the technology just wasn’t there, not even close. But now we have the technology. It’s incredible, actually. And other place — they have it, Israel has it. Other places have it. And the United States should have it too, right, Tim, right? They should have it too. So I want to thank you. But it’s a very, very important — this is a very dangerous world — we should have it. We want to be protected, and we are going to protect our citizens like never before. To boost our defense industrial base we are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding. And for that purpose, I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House that offers special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America where it belongs. We used it to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact. To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it. Just today a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple other canals. The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others. But others could use it. But it was built at tremendous cost of American blood and treasure. 38,000 workers died building the Panama Canal. They died of malaria, they died of snakebites and mosquitoes. Not a nice place to work. They paid them very highly to go there knowing there was 25 percent chance that they would die. The most expensive project also that was ever built in our country’s history, if you bring it up to modern-day costs. It was given away by the Carter administration for $1. But that agreement has been violated very severely. We didn’t give it to China; we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back. And we have Marco Rubio in charge. Good luck, Marco. Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong. No, Marco has been amazing and he’s going to do a great job. Think of it. He got 100 votes. You know, he was approved with actually 99 but the 100th was this gentleman, and I feel very certain, so let’s assume he got 100 votes. And I’m either very, very happy about that or I’m very concerned about it. But he’s already proven — I mean he’s a great gentleman, he’s respected by everybody and we appreciate you voting for Marco. He’s going to do a fantastic job. Thank you. Thank you. He’s doing a great job. Great job. And I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it — one way or the other, we’re going to get it. We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. It’s a very small population but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security. America is once again standing strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism. Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Not that they were withdrawing, it was the way they withdrew. Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country. Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice. And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster. This was very momentous day for those 13 families, who I actually got to know very well, most of them, whose children were murdered and the many people that were so badly — over 42 people — so badly injured on that fateful day in Afghanistan. What a horrible day. Such incompetence was shown — that when Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, “Wow, maybe this is my chance.” That’s how bad it was. Should have never happen. Grossly incompetent people. I spoke to many of the parents and loved ones, and they’re all in our hearts tonight. Just spoke to them on a phone. We had a big call. Everyone one of them called, and everybody was on the line, and they did nothing but cry with happiness. They were very happy. As happy as you can be, under those circumstances. Their child — brother, sister, son, daughter — was killed for no reason whatsoever. In the Middle East, we’re bringing back our hostages from Gaza. In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations: the Abraham Accords. And now we’re going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region. A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. People have been talking about that so much lately with everything going on, with Ukraine and Russia. A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. It’s a rough neighborhood, actually. I’m also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict with no end in sight. The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense with no security, with no anything. Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah? You would say. Pocahontas says yes. 2,000 people are being killed every single week — more than that. They are Russian young people, they’re Ukrainian young people. They’re not Americans, but I want it to stop. Meanwhile, Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they’ve spent on defending Ukraine, by far. Think of that. They’ve spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending. We’ve spent perhaps $350 billion, like taking candy from a baby. That’s what happened. And they’ve spent $100 billion. What a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us, and they don’t. But we’re getting along very well with them and lots of good things are happening. Biden has authorized more money in this fight than Europe has spent by billions and billions of dollars. It’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t have stopped it at some point. Come on, let’s equalize. You’ve got to be equal to us. That didn’t happen. Earlier today I received an important letter from President Zelensky of Ukraine. The letter reads: “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.” “Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,” he said. “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. … We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine, maintain its sovereignty and independence. … Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time.” That is convenient for you. I appreciate that he sent this letter. I just got it a little while ago. Simultaneously we’ve had serious discussions with Russia. Then I’ve received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn’t that be beautiful? Wouldn’t that be beautiful? Wouldn’t that be beautiful? It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end the senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides. Nearly four years ago, amid rising tensions, a history teacher named Marc Fogel was detained in Russia and sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony. Tough stuff. The previous administration barely lifted a finger to help him. They knew he was innocent but they had no idea where to begin. But last summer, I promised his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, that we would bring her boy safely back home. After 22 days in office, I did just that, and they are here tonight. To Marc and his great mom, we are delighted to have you safe and sound and with us. As fate would have it, Marc Fogel was born in a small rural town in Butler, Penn., where his mother has lived for the past 78 years. I just happened to go there last July 13 for a rally. That was not pleasant. And that is where I met his beautiful mom right before I walked onto that stage, and I told her I would not forget what she said about her son, and I never did, did I? Never forgot. Less than 10 minutes later, at that same rally, gunfire rang out and a sick and deranged assassin unloaded eight bullets from his sniper’s perch into a crowd of many thousands of people. My life was saved by a fraction of an inch. But some were not so lucky. Corey Comperatore was a firefighter, a veteran, a Christian, a husband, a devoted father and, above all, a protector. When the sound of gunshots pierced the air — it was a horrible sound — Corey knew instantly what it was and what to do. He threw himself on top of his wife and daughters and shielded them from the bullets with his own body. Corey was hit really hard. You know the story from there — he sacrificed his life to save theirs. Two others, very fine people, were also seriously hit, but thankfully with the help of two great country doctors — we thought they were gone, then they were saved. So those doctors had great talent. We are joined by Corey’s wife, Helen, who was his high school sweetheart and their two beloved daughters, Allyson and Kaylee. Thank you. To Helen, Allyson, and Kaylee: Corey is looking down on his three beautiful ladies right now and he is cheering you on. He loves you. He is cheering you on. Corey was taken from us much too soon, but his destiny was to leave us all with a shining example of the selfless devotion of a true American patriot. It was love like Corey’s that built our country, and it’s love like Corey’s that is going to make our country more majestic than ever before. I believe that my life was saved that day in Butler for a very good reason. I was saved by God to Make America Great Again — I believe that. I do. Thank you. Thank you very much. From the patriots of Lexington and Concord to the heroes of Gettysburg and Normandy, from the warriors who crossed the Delaware to the trailblazers who climbed the Rockies and from the legends who soared at Kitty Hawk to the astronauts who touched the moon, Americans have always been the people who defied all odds, transcended all dangers, made the most extraordinary sacrifices and did whatever it took to defend our children, our country and our freedom. And as we have seen in this chamber tonight, that same strength, faith, love and spirit is still alive and thriving in the hearts of the American people. Despite the best efforts of those who would try to censor us, silence us, break us, destroy us, Americans are today a proud, free, sovereign and independent nation. That will always be free, and we will fight for it till death. We will never let anything happen to our beloved country. Because we are a country of doers, dreamers, fighters, survivors. Our ancestors crossed a vast ocean, strode into an unknown wilderness and carved their fortunes from the rock and soil of a perilous and very dangerous frontier. They chased our destiny across a boundless continent. They built the railroads, laid the highways and graced the world with American marvels like the Empire State Building, the mighty Hoover Dam, and the towering Golden Gate Bridge. They lit the world with electricity, broke free of the force of gravity, fired up the engines of American industry, vanquished the communists, fascists and Marxists all over the world, and gave us countless modern wonders sculpted out of iron, glass, and steel. We stand on the shoulders of these pioneers who built the modern age. These workers who were there swept into the skylines of our cities, these warriors who shed their blood on fields of battle, gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom. Now it is our time to take up the righteous cause of American liberty. And it’s our turn to take America’s destiny into our own hands and begin the most thrilling days in the history of our country. This will be our greatest era; with God’s help over the next four years, we are going to lead this nation even higher, and we are going to forge the freest, most advanced, most dynamic and most dominant civilization ever to exist on the face of this Earth. We are going to create the highest quality of life, build the safest and wealthiest and healthiest and most vital communities anywhere in the world. We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond. And through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit, and we are going to renew unlimited promise of the American dream. Every single day we will stand up, and we will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in and for the country our people deserve. Crowd: Fight! Fight! Fight! Mr. Trump: My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future because the golden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
SHOCKED TAIWAN RESIDENTS are fighting back against a surprise plan to move their main industry to the USA. And they are saying NO. 震驚的台灣居民正在反對一項將其主要產業轉移至美國的意外計劃。而他們卻說「不」. . The most advance semiconductor technology will not be transferred to the US, despite what was said at an announcement hosted by Donald Trump, the island’s politicians said yesterday. . Extraordinarily, even the US-allied ruling party said that Taiwan must stand up for its rights against Washington DC plans. . FAKE THREAT The outcry from the island, legally part of Greater China, came after Donald Trump announced a US$100bn deal between the US and chip maker TSMC. . Trump says the move is necessary because soldiers from mainland China “may invade” the island in the next few years – a claim that western media has shamelessly repeated for more than three decades without a break. . DEAL ‘NOT CLEARED YET’ The present row started on Monday when Trump and the chief executive of TSMC, CC Wei, announced that Taiwan would invest $100 billion in US manufacturing of chips. . During the announcement, Mr Wei said TSMC would be “producing the most advanced chip on US soil”—a line that delighted US hawks but horrified the Taiwanese. . The Taiwanese economy has been dangerously distorted by US “advisors” over many years to the present situation where it largely relies on a single industry. The loss of control over that industry would be catastrophic for the economy. . Even President Lai Ching-te, normally seen as subservient to the US government, had to speak out against the plan—and his staff said that all deals must go through government assessments, so the deal was not concluded. . ANALYSIS: TAIWAN IS ****ED Taiwan’s widely celebrated semiconductor industry is turning out to be an Achille’s heel. Over-encouragement from the island’s US-focused ruling politicians means that more than 40 per cent of total business activity is tied to a single activity – a widely risky position for any society, as economists have repeatedly warned. . Furthermore, chipmaking is an inherently volatile industry, swinging between shortages and gluts—and that’s BEFORE Washington decreed that decision-making should be divorced from business concerns and determined largely by political considerations. . This has created multiple areas of concern. Most notably, the US has forced high level chipmakers everywhere to stop selling high end chips to China—a move which directly harms profits of all chip-makers and shrinks their markets, including those on the island of Taiwan. . DANGER AHEAD Furthermore, the move forced mainland Chinese scientists to make their own high-end chips, and they are proving better at it than expected. While Taiwan makes about 46 per cent of the world’s semiconductors, mainland China is now the second largest manufacturer, producing about 26 per cent. . If we focus on 300mm fabrications, mainland China and the island of Taiwan are neck and neck, with 22 per cent each. . Also, other nations are also now making high-end chips, including the US itself. . Taiwan is discovering what the EU has already discovered: to partner with the US is often to embark on a path of long-term self-harm.
WSJ: China tells its AI leaders (and top scientists) to avoid US travel over security concerns, they could face the same fate as Subrina Meng of Huawei by way of kidnapped, extortion or worst. WSJ reports By Reuters 中國告訴其人工智慧領導人（和頂尖科學家）出於安全考慮避免前往美國，他們可能會面臨與華為的孟晚舟相同的命運，包括被綁架、敲詐勒索或最糟糕的情況 (被自殺），其實華人高科技研究生留在美國是極大風險，有機會不能活著回家。路透報《華爾街日報》Feb 28 2025
March 1 (Reuters) – Chinese authorities are instructing the country’s top artificial intelligence entrepreneurs and researchers to avoid travel to the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The authorities are concerned that Chinese AI experts traveling abroad could divulge confidential information about the nation’s progress, the newspaper said.
Authorities also fear that executives could be detained and used as a bargaining chip in U.S.-China negotiations, the Journal said, drawing parallels to the detention of a Huawei executive in Canada at Washington’s request during the first Trump administration.
The U.S. and China are locked in a global AI race, with Chinese startup DeepSeek recently launching AI models that it claims rival or surpass U.S. industry leaders such as OpenAI and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) opens new tab Google, at significantly lower cost.
The White House and China’s State Council Information Office, which handles media enquiries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told a meeting of top Communist Party officials on Friday to improve China’s overall security, including in the realms of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, China’s state broadcaster reported on Saturday.
“We should give top priority to defending the country’s political security,” Xi was quoted as having told other members of the governing Politburo.
Last month, the Chinese leader held a rare meeting with some of the biggest names in the world’s second-largest economy’s technology sector, urging them to “show their talent” and be confident in the power of China’s model and market.
Chinese executives who choose to travel are instructed to report their plans before leaving and, upon returning, to brief authorities on what they did and whom they met, the Journal report said.
DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng declined an invitation to attend an AI summit in Paris in February, according to the report. Another founder of a major Chinese AI startup cancelled a planned U.S. trip last year following instructions from Beijing, the Journal added.
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