Transcription
Welcome in, everyone! As always, good to see you all. We have a very important topic to discuss today, and that is Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Germany, sending a clear message to the Chinese while also addressing our border.
When discussing the two biggest threats the United States faces in the modern world during the second Trump Administration, we're going to break both of those down. He had two big points to make. Before we do, as always, please like and subscribe, and comment with your thoughts. I want to hear what you are all thinking. Above all else, we like to see the debate unfold, so like and subscribe, comment, and let's get into it.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is in Germany right now, carrying out his duties as the leader of the Pentagon under President Trump during Trump's second Administration. He's there to meet with a bunch of different people. He did a little bit of PT with the 10th Special Forces Group. He got up early in the morning, before the sun was up, was out there running around with them, working out, getting some exercise in, staying in shape. You don't really ever see a Secretary of Defense do that. Pete Hegseth, to his credit, looked great doing it.
But he also made some comments that are sending shockwaves through the international community. The world is talking, and he was asked point-blank about the biggest threat the United States faces while in Germany meeting with military leaders and such. He didn't mince words; he showed no hesitation with his answer. I think his answer was direct and straight to the point, so we're just going to go ahead and play his whole answer right now.
"Yes, America, as the leader of the Free World, defending American interests is going to need to make sure we're focused properly on the Communist Chinese and their ambitions in the Indo-Pacific and, as I mentioned before, around the world. We would be remiss in not reviewing force posture everywhere, but it would be the wrong planning assumption to say, 'Oh, America's abandoning something' or 'America's leaving.' No, America's smart to observe, plan, prioritize, and project power where we need to deter conflict. We don't want conflict with China; we don't want that. The president has run on being a peace president, and he's delivered that. But being strong—peace through strength—is how you deter that, and we want to posture for that, just like we believe the Europeans, alongside our support, need to on the continent as well."
"Is China the biggest threat to the United States? Well, right now, the biggest threat is securing our own border, which we are addressing rapidly. I'm proud of what Northcom has done and what the Defense Department has done in shifting there. You don't have a country if you don't have borders, as the president has pointed out. We've been defending other people's borders for a long time; it's time to defend ours. So we're sealing that border, and we're continuing to do that. But as far as external threats, there's just no doubt the Communist Chinese and their ambitions are robust. Their view of the world is quite different than ours, and whoever carries that mantle is going to set the tone for the 21st century."
So there you have Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth making two things crystal clear. Number one, the biggest immediate threat to the United States is our wide-open Southern border, which President Trump came in and sealed. He signed orders to seal the border, declaring drug cartels and foreign terrorist organizations a great idea. You have to do it. Troops have been sent to the border; a few thousand troops are down there now sealing it off, doing what must be done to make sure that poison and violence from the cartels cannot come over. People who we don't know cannot be in this country, and that was a day-one priority. They took care of business there; they put their foot down and said we are absolutely not going to tolerate this anymore. We're not going to allow it anymore. The military is going to step up under Pete Hegseth's leadership, and they're going to do something about this.
At the same time, we have China, which is rapidly building its military capabilities, specifically its Navy. It is investing billions and billions and billions of dollars into its Navy, modernizing its forces, and expanding its nuclear arsenal. We know that they're building a bunker outside Beijing meant to ride out a nuclear war, and it is ten times the size of the Pentagon, according to the images that have been picked up by satellites. It has huge nuclear facilities—nuclear facilities that are meant for what? Not nuclear war with anyone other than the United States. Let's just be honest about that. They're not worried about the French coming in; they're not worried about the Brits coming in. They're worried about the United States.
If a conflict kicks off in the Pacific, in Asia, in the South China Sea, a potential invasion of Taiwan, at which point the U.S. and our regional allies—Australia, South Korea, Japan—are all going to have to scramble to do something. And let's not forget the Chinese continue to make fake islands to push out their territory and say, "This is ours now; our defense zone is bigger and bigger and bigger."
You cannot win if you do not name what you are fighting against. I did a great interview with Bill Rapier years ago, a former Navy SEAL at both the regular SEAL Teams and then obviously at the tier one level. Great guy. He had a great moment in that interview where he talked about naming your enemy. Now, when he was doing it, he was talking about threats in the Middle East and the Cold War. We have to be crystal clear on what is at stake, and what's at stake, as Pete Hegseth said, is that the Chinese have ambitions that are much different from our ambitions, that are not at all like us. They want to dominate the region; they want to expand their influence.
That's why you see them going to Africa, South America, Central America, all over the globe. Why is that? Because they want to have as much say in what's going on as they possibly can. So then the United States has a choice to make: do you deter that or do you not? Because let's remember, Pete Hegseth gave some comments the other day about the critical role of deterrence and how if you don't have deterrence and America is perceived as weak, then the world has chaos.
Let's roll those comments right now. "Rebuilding our military is key, and then third is reestablishing deterrence. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years, we've seen events that have occurred that have created the perception—reality or perception—but I would argue more perception of American weakness. Whether it's what happened in Afghanistan, by the way, which we're going to have accountability for, deserve accountability for what occurred in Afghanistan, for what happened on October 7th, the war that was unleashed in Ukraine. Chaos happens when the perception of American strength is not complete, and so we aim to reestablish that deterrence, and it starts with our own Southern border. It starts with the defense of our homeland."
The reason I showed that clip is because it's important to understand that peace through strength is a very real thing. If the enemy fears you—whether it's China, the Russians, the Mexican drug cartels—it doesn't matter; the same principles apply across the board. If the enemy fears you, they're going to be hesitant to do something stupid. You got to be strong. It's just like standing up to a bully in a schoolyard. If they fear how you might retaliate, they're probably not going to want to mess with you. It applies in foreign policy just as much as it applies on a micro scale.
So for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to come out and say the border is the number one threat in the immediate moment, which he's not wrong about, and then two, globally, the Chinese Communists present a very serious and very real problem, he's also 100% correct about that.
Now, I don't want anyone to panic and see this and think, "Oh, war is imminent; war is inevitable with the Chinese." We still maintain a significant technological advantage over the Chinese military, certainly when it comes to stealth fighters, our submarines, our ability to conduct all sorts of different kinds of warfare operations, special forces, special operations, and combat experience. This country has been at war steadily for more than 20 years. We have been out there and done it. I'm not saying me personally; I wasn't in the military, but I'm saying the United States military has been out there and done it. The Chinese haven't; they don't have any experience, and you cannot put a price on that kind of experience.
It doesn't mean it won't be ugly if it happens; it doesn't mean a lot of people won't be lost. I do believe we will win that fight; it might come at an incredible cost. But the way you avoid that fight is by deterring them and making it crystal clear to the Chinese that it would be borderline crazy for them to even attempt it. Now, maybe they are crazy enough to attempt it, at which point you got to have a very different conversation.
But we need to name the enemy we're fighting, and right now, our border and the CCP are the two biggest threats the United States faces. Put aside the Middle East; put aside Russia. None of that compares to China's global ambitions, which they have the money and the growing technological capabilities to carry out. If their military grows and grows and grows, and we don't do anything to stuff them in a corner and make sure our military edge stays forever, that's how you find yourself in a real conflict. Because then they're going to start to think that there is no deterrent and the stakes are low.
So we need—and this Hegseth talking represents a new era of—we're going to name who we're fighting, we're going to name what the stakes are, and we're going to avoid the distractions. A lot of what you see out there is a distraction; it doesn't really impact you, but it's said to distract you. The Chinese and the border—one and two. You can debate the order, but one and two. We cannot allow the Chinese to push us around, and the way you make sure they don't is by ensuring they understand the cost of such an action. Pete Hegseth is making that crystal clear.
Anyways, I want to hear your thoughts. You've heard mine. Comment below your thoughts on the Chinese threat, the border, the cartels, everything Pete Hegseth and the military is doing to get that situation under control. Like and subscribe, comment. I love reading your comments and love seeing the debates. I'll see you all next time.