Speaker Mike Johnson Addresses The Hudson Institute About 'Threats To The US-Led World Order'
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) participated in a Hudson Institute conversation about about national security threats and global competition.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you so much, it's so great to be with you.
00:04John, thank you for the kind introduction.
00:06I have never had the honor of speaking at the Hudson Institute before, but I'm really
00:11grateful for the opportunity this morning and really thankful for all the good work
00:14the Institute's done over the years.
00:16It's never been more important than it is right now, as we all recognize.
00:20Last week, we celebrated our 248th birthday as a nation.
00:24And if you're speaking to a group of high school or college students, as I often do,
00:27that seems like an eternity, but we all know that's not a long span of time and a whole
00:33scale of human history.
00:35But we have the greatest nation in the history of the world.
00:37It's the strongest, most powerful, most free, most benevolent of any nation that has ever
00:42been.
00:43And that's no accident.
00:44It's because we're built on certain principles.
00:47And we feel right now, many of us feel acutely, that some of those principles, some of those
00:50foundational truths are under assault, even within our own boundaries, even within our
00:56own country.
00:57And as we near our 250th anniversary and we debate the future of America's position in
01:02the world, it is worth us just taking a moment, especially on an occasion like this, to reflect
01:08upon where we've been and where we are and where we're going as a country.
01:13In the lead up to World War II, we understood the primary threat to come from a tyrant in
01:17Europe, but we were attacked by a tyrant in Asia.
01:21And we were forced into war in two theaters.
01:26In the Cold War, of course, the Soviets were the only real threat to the U.S., but they
01:29had a block of proxies around the world and they worked together.
01:33The Tripartite Pact established an axis of power set on undoing the West.
01:39And the Warsaw Pact established a block of Soviet partners set against America.
01:44In both of those instances, we saw a group of enemies joining forces against us.
01:51Today, we don't face one primary enemy as we did in the Soviet Union, and so far, thankfully,
01:59we don't see a new kind of Tripartite Pact.
02:02But we do see a group of nations openly aligned against the United States.
02:08It's an interconnected web of threats.
02:11I refer to it as a China-led axis composed of partner regimes in Russia, Iran, North
02:17Korea, Venezuela, and even Cuba.
02:20Now they each have their own cultures and their own specific sinister aims, but they
02:25all wake up every morning thinking how they can take down America.
02:30And they are increasingly using their collective military, technological, and financial resources
02:35to empower one another in their various efforts to cut off our trade routes and steal our
02:40technology and harm our troops and upend our economy.
02:45Iran works with Russia to produce Shahed drones to hunt down and bob Ukrainians every
02:50day, while Russia launches North Korean missiles at Ukraine's electrical grids using technology
02:57provided by the Chinese.
02:59China, our single greatest threat, is engaging in malign influence operations around the
03:05world and is even working with cartels now, backed by Cuba and Venezuela, to poison Americans
03:12with fentanyl.
03:14China, Russia, and Iran all work with Cuban intelligent outposts to target Americans and
03:20provide safe harbor for terrorists in transit.
03:23And all these enemies operating in our hemisphere, they're doing this and they're trading
03:29oil with Venezuela, which is pushing illegal aliens and violent criminals towards our borders.
03:36I've been around the world on congressional trips and talked to ambassadors and foreign
03:42ministers in many countries around the world, and we know right now war is on the minds
03:47of many around the globe.
03:49And some of the threats are eerily reminiscent of the past.
03:53We hear chants of elimination of the Jewish people.
03:56We hear calls for territorial expansion and ethno-driven justifications for invasion.
04:03And we hear speeches about the annexation of Pacific islands.
04:07And all of these are echoes of some of the same things we heard 80 years ago.
04:11Until recently, in the almost 40 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, thanks
04:17to America's policy of peace through strength, those sounds of war, the interconnected global
04:23conflict, had mostly been silent.
04:27But that is no longer the case.
04:29And under the current path, the world is increasingly destabilized, and we are living now in a
04:34fateful moment, and I think all of us recognize it.
04:37Our actions here in America will continue to determine the path of the free world, and
04:42in that sense, the survival of liberty around the world.
04:46All of us here recognize that while democracy is not perfect, it is – the burden of self-government
04:51is certainly far lighter than the yoke of tyranny.
04:54But right now, absent American leadership, we're looking at a future that could be
04:59well-defined by communism and tyranny, rather than liberty and opportunity and security.
05:05In Europe, Putin has made it clear that his plans don't stop with Ukraine.
05:09He's likened himself to Tsar Peter the Great, and you can read his essay about restoring
05:14the Russian Empire, an empire that would include our military partners in Vilnius, Helsinki,
05:19and Warsaw.
05:20Xi Jinping made abundantly clear he's interested in expanding his communist footholds, including
05:26in the South China Sea.
05:28In the Middle East, the Ayatollah wants to resurrect the caliphate and eliminate Israel.
05:34They say these things out loud.
05:36And with their rising hostilities, we risk the loss of free navigation in the Indo-Pacific
05:42and the Red Sea.
05:43And we risk devastating economic harm, of course, if we lose access to semiconductors
05:48in Taiwan or have reduced trade with Europe.
05:52At the same time, we risk returning to an era where sheiks control Jerusalem and the
05:57Jewish people have no land to call their own.
05:59Now, you hear a lot of criticism about Republicans.
06:02And as a leader in the Republican Party, we're sure these threats have been growing
06:07for some time.
06:08But under weak presidents, they've been allowed to metastasize rather dramatically.
06:12As Republicans, conservatives, we call this out because it's alarming.
06:17We have to speak bluntly and we have to tell the truth.
06:20These are objective facts.
06:21During the Obama administration, we saw eight years of international apology tours.
06:26We saw the sequestration of our military, the buildup of ISIS, Russia's invasion into
06:31Crimea, the spread of malign Chinese influence around the globe in a nuclear deal that gave
06:36Iran everything they wanted.
06:39And what are we facing today?
06:41The same failures we saw under Obama have happened under Joe Biden because he's empowered
06:47an out-of-touch foreign policy establishment who has an agenda very different than the
06:51one that we need right now.
06:52Their agenda is about, once again, appeasing and apologizing and accommodating.
06:59Joe Biden doesn't treat China like an enemy.
07:01He's stopped supporting Israel and has cozied up to Iran to revive the failed nuclear deal.
07:08And in the most inexplicable policy imaginable, he's opened our borders wide to spies and
07:14terrorists while reducing sanctions on Latin dictators who wreak havoc in our backyard.
07:20And the results of this were completely foreseeable, and we're all living through it.
07:25Obama's weakness invited aggression, and Biden's weakness has fueled that aggression like nothing
07:29we've seen since World War II.
07:32Things were different when I came to Congress during the first administration of Donald
07:36Trump, 2017.
07:37We came to Washington at the same time, and I was elected chairman of the Republican Study
07:41Committee about a year and a half later, in 2019.
07:43That was the largest caucus in Congress, and one of the first things I did as chairman
07:47of RSC was to create a national security task force.
07:51We published a report with 130 policy recommendations to do some very important things to counter
07:57China, to deter Russia, and to advance American interests in the Middle East.
08:02And to the chagrin of the pundits who want to paint him as an isolationist, if you look
08:06at the objective facts in the history, you know President Trump established a solid security
08:11posture that advanced the same principles that we outlined in our report.
08:16Remember how he threatened North Korea with, quote, fire and fury the likes of which the
08:19world has never seen?
08:20I would do it in my Trump impression, but I won't do that for you this morning.
08:25It's better when he said it.
08:27Remember how he took out Soleimani in al-Baghdadi?
08:31Remember how he was the first president to send Javelin missiles to Ukraine and how he
08:34took steps to rebuild our military?
08:37Remember how simple Trump's approach to arms control was?
08:40He ended one-sided treaties, he called out Russia for violating the INF Treaty, and he
08:46ensured America was developing the weaponry to win if challenged.
08:51He called out the threat to China, and he took on their unfair trade practices.
08:54He got our allies to pay their fair share, enforced oil sanctions on Iran, and he brokered
09:00the Abraham Accords, and the foreign policy establishment absolutely hated it.
09:06But he did not retreat, and he did not apologize.
09:08He instilled fear in our enemies, and with his leadership, made clear that American strength
09:14is essential to a peaceful 21st century.
09:18To be sure, the Republican Party is not one of nation-builders or careless interventionists.
09:24We don't believe we should be the world's policemen, nor are we idealists who think
09:28we can placate tyrants.
09:30We are realists.
09:32We don't seek out a fight, but we know we have to be prepared.
09:36We have to be prepared to fight, and if we must fight, we fight with the gloves off.
09:41And today, when our adversaries don't need the cross-oceans to harm our people, we need
09:46a new policy of peace through strength for the 21st century.
09:51Even as the America last bureaucrats regained power under Joe Biden and invited aggression
09:55from our enemies, in the coming months, we have a chance to change course.
10:00I think you're seeing a groundswell among the American people.
10:02I think people recognize this intuitively, and the momentum is on our side.
10:06I'm increasingly optimistic.
10:08I'm very hopeful that we're going to be able to do this, and when we do, there's basically
10:11a three-part foreign policy strategy that I think we need to pursue for the future.
10:15First, we have to strengthen our domestic position because national security begins
10:19at home, obviously.
10:21It's an uncomfortable truth, but our biggest national security challenge is our national
10:26debt.
10:27That's what the leaders of the Pentagon say when you put them under oath, and we all know
10:29that.
10:31To meet our defense needs, Congress has to work to grow our economy and significantly
10:35reduce our overall spending.
10:37And I can promise you that come 2025, spending reform will be a top priority for our new
10:42Republican majority.
10:43And they're not going to be easy conversations, but they are essential for our long-term survival.
10:49Congress has to prioritize the truly essential needs of our nation, and our national security
10:55has to be at the top of that list.
10:58At the same time, we must address the hollowing out of our defense infrastructure.
11:02The 2024 Index of Military Strength is something I know many of you are familiar with in this
11:07room.
11:08It ranks the Army's and the Marine Corps' capacity as weak, the Navy's capacity as
11:13very weak, the Air Force's readiness as very weak, and our nuclear capabilities as marginal.
11:20That is not a good report card.
11:21And if we're going to present a credible deterrent to our adversaries, we have to rebuild
11:25while we are also being fiscally responsible.
11:28That's why we invested $23 billion to restock essential weapons and rebuild our defense
11:33capacities in the April National Security Supplemental Bill.
11:37Looking ahead, we also have to reinvest in our maritime sector and begin building new
11:41ships and new shipyards.
11:43Eighty percent of global trade is conducted over the oceans, and China currently has a
11:49232-time shipbuilding capacity over the United States – 232 times more.
11:56We need to reshore and safeshore our supply chains and restore our domestic manufacturing
12:02and building capabilities while safeguarding our military from another sequestration.
12:07But strengthening our domestic position also means unleashing our energy sector and protecting
12:12our borders.
12:13Again, it's about priorities.
12:15When Joe Biden joined the Paris Climate Accords and stopped LNG exports, you know who won?
12:20China and Russia won, and American families lost.
12:24As Joe Biden opened our borders and ended remain in Mexico and stopped building the
12:27wall and instituted catch-and-release, it was the terrorists and the cartels and the
12:32fentanyl traffickers that won, and Americans who lost.
12:37But here's the hopeful part.
12:39In 2025, as a Republican-led government works quickly to strengthen our domestic position,
12:44we must also use our economic might to influence our friends and deter our enemies.
12:50We can do this.
12:51We must do this.
12:53And the recent National Security Supplemental House Republicans pushed back on the Biden
12:57administration's policy of Iran appeasement and secured the toughest-to-run sanctions
13:00package in nearly a decade.
13:02We leveraged our economic influence against CCP-controlled TikTok, and we passed the
13:07Repo Act that allows us to seize Russian oligarchs' bank assets to pay for assistance in Ukraine.
13:13And in the Ukraine supplemental, we mandated cost-matching for European allies.
13:18By the way, those are key provisions that were not in the Senate version of the legislation.
13:21We added that in the House.
13:23We're hopeful that in the days ahead, we can push our friends in Europe to establish
13:26a self-sufficient defense industrial base that is less reliant on American assistance.
13:33Russia will not be able to outweigh our collective strength if we do all this.
13:37But because at this moment, China poses the greatest threat to global peace, Congress
13:42must keep our focus on countering China with every tool at our disposal.
13:48In the short time remaining in this Congress, we're busy at this already.
13:52The House will be voting on a series of bills to empower the next administration to hit
13:56our enemies' economies on day one.
13:58We will build our sanctions package, punish the Chinese military firms that provide material
14:04support to Russia and Iran, and we'll consider options to restrict outbound investments in
14:09China.
14:10We're working on a piece of legislation to move this fall to do that very thing.
14:13We will vote on the Biosecure Act, which will halt federal contracts with biotech companies
14:18that are beholden to adversaries and endanger Americans' health care debt.
14:23We'll rein in the de minimis privilege for any good subject to Section 301 trade enforcement
14:30tariffs, and that will help stymie China's attempts to exploit American trade.
14:35Our goal is to have a significant package of China-related legislation signed into law
14:40by the end of this year in this Congress, featuring these priorities and many more,
14:44and we'll work aggressively toward that package.
14:47I'm very hopeful that much of this can be bipartisan.
14:50In the next Congress, we'll maintain the status and continue the important work of
14:54our House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party threat.
14:57Beijing is our number one foreign threat.
15:00They exploit every nook and cranny in our financial and economic systems, and the Select
15:04Committee has been very instrumental, as you know, in exposing the dangers of the CCP.
15:09It's clear we need to strengthen our domestic position and we need to use all the economic
15:13tools available to us, but we must also strengthen our alliances.
15:18Make no mistake.
15:19We don't need more naive, idealistic, self-proclaimed foreign policy experts who put the wants of
15:25other countries before the needs of our own.
15:28We need a U.S.-led, America-first coalition that advances the security interests of Americans
15:34and engages abroad with the interests of working families and businesses here at home, a coalition
15:41that's good for everybody.
15:43This week, Washington is hosting the 75th NATO Summit, and we'll celebrate peace and
15:47prosperity that NATO has brought.
15:50And I'll be speaking to the NATO heads of the Capitol shortly after this, but for now
15:53I just want to say this, and I'll deliver the message to them emphatically.
15:57Republicans, of course, celebrate the peace and prosperity that NATO has secured and will
16:02continue to stand by our partners as we prevent needless wars.
16:05But we also believe that NATO needs to be doing more.
16:10Every NATO member needs to be spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense.
16:14That's the agreement.
16:15That's the deal.
16:16There's 10 or 12 of them that aren't doing that yet.
16:19It's no longer acceptable that not all NATO members have reached their current commitment.
16:24It may even need to be closer to levels during the Cold War, but if we're all going to
16:28enjoy a future of peace and prosperity, we all need to have skin in the game.
16:32And I think that's a very common-sense notion.
16:36As I meet with NATO delegations this week, I'm going to raise this very serious issue
16:39with each one of them.
16:41In the Middle East, we're seeing the devastating effects of Democrats splintering on our historic
16:46alliance with Israel.
16:48Because President Biden will not do it, come November we will be clear about our steadfast
16:53support for Israel and will build upon the Abraham Accords so the Jewish people can enjoy
16:58safety and freedom in their homeland.
17:00Likewise, in the Indo-Pacific, America must continue to build upon our military and economic
17:06relationships with India, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the
17:11United Kingdom.
17:13We all have strategic interests in the region, and with a strong united front, we can protect
17:17our trade routes, our shipping lanes, and all of our shared interests.
17:20I'm going to wrap all this up by reminding you of a couple of things.
17:25All this, everything that I've talked about today, and everything that we know needs to
17:29happen involves choices.
17:32We can choose to lead or we can choose to be a speed bump down the road to serfdom.
17:37Decline is always a choice.
17:40We live in a free country and we ought to make the right choice.
17:43At one point, the West was facing elimination by fascists and imperialists and the Jews
17:47were facing genocide by the Nazis.
17:50At another point, we faced annihilation by the Soviets.
17:53Today we are threatened again by Chinese communists, by Russian oligarchs, and Islamic terrorists.
18:00We can choose to ignore them, we can try to appease them, we can listen to the naysayers
18:04who say our values aren't worth defending and that there can be no victory, or we can
18:11choose another course.
18:12We can respond again with all the fortitude and fight that once ran through every American
18:16vein.
18:17We can rearm, rebuild, reinvigorate, restore, and reinstate fear in our enemies.
18:23We can retake the summit of respect and thus look out on a landscape of peace and prosperity
18:28and security.
18:29We can show courage, we can show valor, and we can give our grandchildren the chance to
18:34grow up not in the shadow of tyranny, but atop our own shining city on a hill.
18:40China is always a choice, but that is not a choice that Republicans will be making anytime
18:45soon.
18:46Fifty years ago at a banquet hall a few blocks from where we're sitting, Ronald Reagan
18:50spoke at the very first meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference.
18:54It was almost exactly 50 years ago.
18:57At the time, conservatism was considered by many to be an out-of-date and discredited
19:01philosophy, but Ronald Reagan didn't buy that.
19:04Instead, he reminded us all why America is exceptional.
19:08He reminded us that we can be that shining city on a hill and so important to the entire
19:12world.
19:13And this is how he famously summarized it at the end of that speech.
19:15I used to have this when I was in high school.
19:17I had this printed and put on a little bulletin board behind my typewriter when we had it.
19:22I'm very old, guys.
19:24This is what he said.
19:25He said, we cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so.
19:28The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall
19:33in Philadelphia.
19:34In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America
19:38was all that stood between the world and the return of the Dark Ages, Pope Pius XII said
19:43it this way, the American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions.
19:49Into the hands of America, God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.
19:55Reagan said, we are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.
20:00By God's grace, we will always be.
20:02Thanks for your time.
20:03Thank you for those remarks, Mr. Speaker.
20:17We are privileged to host you here at Hudson Institute.
20:20We thank you for your leadership and for your team's great work with our team to make this
20:23happen.
20:24So thanks for being here.
20:25Mr. Speaker, this is your first national security address since you led the House to pass that
20:31amended national security supplemental.
20:34So as you've gone outside of Washington and gone back home and gone to other districts,
20:38what has been the response from the American people?
20:40It's been very favorable.
20:41I was saying in the back room over here, John and I were talking and I said, my staff keeps
20:47track of this.
20:48But when the speaker is not in session, we're expected to be around the country campaigning
20:52for our incumbents and our candidates we recruited.
20:56And I've done events in now 136 cities in 31 states in the last six months.
21:01And since the vote, I have people come up to me at every one of these events.
21:06And these are big, diverse crowds.
21:07We have a we're seeing a demographic shift right now in the country that has I've not
21:11seen in my lifetime.
21:12We have a record number of Hispanic and Latino voters, for example, coming in the Republican
21:15Party.
21:16We have a record number of Jewish community.
21:19The Jewish community is coming in very enthusiastically because they feel like Biden's abandoned Israel
21:24and he has.
21:25A record number of black voters, African-American voters.
21:27And these are big, diverse crowds and people all say the same thing.
21:31We're so glad that that was done.
21:33They understand that we do have a role to play in the world.
21:36And I think people took Putin's aspirations seriously, that people understand that he
21:42would not stop if he could take Kiev.
21:45He's a ruthless dictator, in my view.
21:47And I think people who study these issues understand and there's a consensus that he
21:53would not stop at Kiev, but he would set up on the border of Poland, the Baltic states,
21:57and then we would be in a NATO situation where there might be a need for our own troops to
22:02go and defend those borders against an invasion.
22:05It's a very, very serious time.
22:07This morning, there was, I think, a bombing at an infant hospital in Kiev this morning.
22:13I mean, they're ruthless and they're testing our resolve right now.
22:16And I think if we had failed, I really do believe it was a Churchill or Chamberlain
22:20moment for our country.
22:22I think we did the right thing.
22:23And I think history is going to record that.
22:25And I'm going to get back to that on specifically on Ukraine and Russia, but I do want to get,
22:29I can hear a lot of noise outside, and we had that initial guest coming here.
22:33And so I'm going to take her idea here and talk.
22:34It's like a House Republican conference meeting.
22:39You have been a really leading voice on the need for the United States to truly provide
22:46moral and diplomatic and military backing, if necessary, to provide support to Israel's
22:52efforts to defend itself against the various Iranian proxies.
22:57Why is Israel's security so important to the United States?
23:01Well, for so many reasons.
23:02I mean, obviously, it's the only stable democracy in the Middle East, but they're a very critical
23:07partner and ally in us for our own interests and concerns.
23:11I mean, in terms of counterterrorism and for the economic benefits we have in our alliance
23:17with them and for security in every way.
23:20For a lot of Americans, it's also a matter of faith.
23:23I mean, this is something that's written in the book of Genesis, in the very beginning
23:27of the book, that we stand with and bless Israel.
23:31So you can ask a lot of Americans, if you polled 100 who were in favor of supporting
23:35Israel, they'd give you 100 different reasons, and I think they're all important.
23:39What's also important for us in a setting like this, we'd be very realistic about this.
23:42If Iran and the enemies of Israel were able to eliminate Israel as a state, they would
23:47then shift their focus from Jerusalem to Washington.
23:50I mean, they hate us almost as much as they hate Israel.
23:53So this is a partnership.
23:55I spent a lot of time with Prime Minister Netanyahu over the last, certainly since I
24:00became Speaker, and when we were in Israel on an AIPAC trip years ago, he said, the only
24:07reason that we're able to stand is because our enemies know that America is our big brother
24:12standing behind us, looking over our shoulder.
24:14And we understand the importance of that and the importance of maintaining that geopolitical
24:21stability, and we can't do it without a stable Israel.
24:25And, sir, you mentioned that there is this growing alignment of China, Russia, Iran,
24:32North Korea, various authoritarian countries that all seek the same thing, which is to
24:38undermine U.S. influence and stability in the world.
24:42But are you of the mind of a school of thought that believes that because China has the most
24:48capacity to do the most harm, that we should focus on the Asia geographic region to the
24:53exclusion of the Middle East and Europe?
24:55We can't afford to.
24:57I mean, we can't – we don't have the resources to be engaged all around the world,
25:01and nor should we be.
25:03But China and Russia in particular are working together to try to present to us a false choice.
25:08Do we engage in the Asia region or the Middle East or in Europe?
25:12Because there's confrontation all around, and all of those countries are working together
25:18and flaunting it.
25:19They're trying to test our resolve because they know the only thing standing between
25:24their tyrannical overrun of the entire globe is the might of the U.S., just like it was,
25:30as Reagan said, 50 years ago.
25:32And they see us as weakened right now, to be frank, because they see weakness projected
25:37from the Oval Office.
25:39And it's a very, very dangerous situation for us.
25:41Now, I've been quick to point out in interviews I've done over the last couple of weeks
25:48and I look right into the camera as often as I can, and I would encourage all of you
25:50to do the same in every setting and sphere of influence you have and remind our enemies,
25:55do not think this is an opportunity for you.
25:56Regardless of the drama surrounding our current commander-in-chief, the U.S. military is well
26:00equipped and ready to strike at any time.
26:02We will defend our interests.
26:04And I think we've got to be very bold in that assertion and make sure they understand
26:08the resolve of Congress and the rest of this country.
26:12Don't mess with us, OK?
26:13But China, Russia have made their big pact now with all the, you know, celebrated that
26:18in the media, that, you know, Iran is joining in.
26:21North Korea doesn't want to be left out.
26:23I mean, it's a China-led axis, and I think we do great damage to our cause if we underestimate.
26:30And so then on that point, I mean, I noticed in that the Trump administration still viewed
26:34Russia as an acute threat on peer, a peer adversary threat that the United States had
26:41to contend with.
26:41And it seems like the Biden administration also wants to do sort of an Asia pivot like
26:45what the Obama administration did.
26:47So is your view, though, when you mentioned about Russia's continued threat to the Baltic
26:51countries and to Poland, so you take Putin seriously at his word that if he's not stopped
26:57in Ukraine that he will continue to advance on NATO?
27:00I think it's a real concern.
27:02Now, we have the only good thing that's come out of the conflict in Ukraine, the war in
27:07Ukraine, is that we've shown that Putin was overestimated in terms of his ability to prosecute
27:13a war.
27:14And by some estimates, they've lost over a half a million Russian troops in the conflict,
27:18and they've obviously gone through a lot of their assets and their equipment, their munitions.
27:24And so in a certain sense, engaging there has been very helpful for our long-term interests
27:30because you're weakening Russia in the process.
27:33But he's realigned his economy to be a wartime economy.
27:36And by all appearances, he could go on for quite some time.
27:40And I think it's very serious.
27:42He said it in his own words.
27:43He aspires to have the great czar empire again.
27:47And I think if he had the ability and he did not have deterrence, I'm of the mind that
27:52I think he would.
27:53And I think most people who study this seriously believe that's a real serious threat.
27:58And so I don't think it could be underestimated.
28:00I think we have to watch China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, all of them
28:04at the same time.
28:06And we can.
28:07We have to be very smart, and we have to project peace through strength.
28:09If we don't return to the Reagan doctrine, we're going to be in serious trouble.
28:13And as you mentioned, NATO is in town this week.
28:17Hudson has the privilege of being one of the think tanks helping to host them.
28:21How do you view the role of the alliance today?
28:24Some have said it's outdated.
28:26What would you say to that?
28:28Well, it served its purpose, right?
28:33It has largely been helpful in deterring war and conflict and maintaining peace.
28:40Historically, it's been a very important organization, and it has tremendous potential.
28:44But at the same time, we have to note that what is certainly outdated is the participation
28:50rate of everyone who's involved.
28:51I mean, if you make a commitment that you're going to spend 2 percent of your GDP, you
28:55need to do that.
28:57As I noted in my remarks earlier, arguably, there may need more needed.
29:02Now, we're almost at the level of the Cold War or World War II at this point.
29:06And so there might need to be a greater contribution.
29:09But I think it's a very important thing to maintain, and we support it.
29:13We celebrate its accomplishments.
29:15But there needs to be a renewed sense of commitment, I would say, on the part of the
29:20member nations.
29:21And there's others who aspire to be a part of it, but we've got to make sure that there's
29:25an entrance fee to this.
29:27Everyone cannot ride along on the coattails of America.
29:30And Donald Trump says this as bluntly as anyone.
29:33It's just right and fair for us to demand that others do their part.
29:38And I think that message is being received.
29:40We're encouraged to see more nations bringing that to the table.
29:44But we've got a lot more work to do in that respect, and we'll be trying to encourage
29:49that.
29:50Sir, I have noticed, too, in your press releases, in your remarks, you're often very careful
29:56to mention the countries who are doing their part.
29:58And I've noticed those are the ones that are on the front end of where the danger is.
30:02So you want to talk a little bit about just the Baltic countries and what you've observed
30:06from meeting with them and seeing their troubles?
30:08Yeah.
30:09When the grenades are close to your own backyard, it gives you a renewed sense of priority and
30:14commitment.
30:16I mean, by contrast, shamefully, Canada announced in the last few days or last couple of days
30:21that they won't be ponying up.
30:24They're not going to do their 2%.
30:26Why?
30:27Talk about riding on America's coattails.
30:28They have the safety and security of being on our border and not having to worry about
30:32that.
30:33I think that's shameful.
30:34I think if you're going to be a member nation and participant, you need to do your part.
30:39Some have a greater sense of urgency about that, clearly, because the threat is at their
30:43own back door.
30:43But here's the reality.
30:45If we don't stop it there, it will come here.
30:48There's no guarantee.
30:49We live under this false assumption or false sense of security that we would never have
30:53a war on our own shores.
30:55But guess what?
30:56The enemy is here.
30:58The border's been wide open for three and a half years.
31:00By some estimates, 16 million illegals have come across.
31:03And they're not all good people.
31:04In January, January 3rd, I took the largest congressional delegation to the border that
31:10had ever been.
31:11We went to Eagle Pass, the Del Rio sector in South Texas, and at the time, it was the
31:14epicenter.
31:15They told us there, the border and customs agents told us there, that at the Del Rio
31:19sector alone, an estimated 70, 70, 70% of the people who crossed illegally are single
31:26adult males between the ages of 18 and 49.
31:29These are not huddled masses of families seeking, you know, running from persecution.
31:33They're not seeking asylum.
31:34These are people coming here with bad design.
31:36We know we have, by the end of this year, it's estimated we'll have a 23% increase,
31:432,300, sorry, 2,300% increase in the number of Chinese nationalists who come, try to come
31:49across that border illegally in two years, okay?
31:522,300% increase.
31:53You can't leave China if you're a, you know, military-aged adult male and just kind of
31:58come take a voyage to the U.S.
31:59I mean, the CCP is involved in this, right?
32:02We know we have terrorists on the terrorist watch list, suspected terrorists who have
32:05been apprehended, over 250 of them by last count.
32:08But how many came through totally unabated?
32:10I mean, ISIS fighters are here.
32:12I mean, they're coming across in full fatigues now.
32:14You know, you've seen the videos.
32:15So this is no longer something that's happening way over there.
32:19It's potentially happening right here.
32:21And you know the FBI director has testified multiple times now on Capitol Hill that all
32:25the red lights are flashing.
32:26Director Wray, what he's talking about is that we've got, very likely we have terrorist
32:30cells set up all around America.
32:32And we don't know what they're plotting or when.
32:34And that would alarm every American.
32:35And we ought to demand that the border be closed.
32:37And then you just answered my next question then, which is tying border security with
32:42this era of maximum danger against these authoritarians.
32:46That they are related.
32:47It's not a domestic issue versus a foreign affairs issue.
32:50No, I mean, you know, again, national security begins at home.
32:54It's pointless to talk about deterrence if you can't, if you don't have your own border
32:59secured.
33:00And Joe Biden began on day one, by the way.
33:02He issued all the executive orders.
33:04I mean, the first day in office, they started unwinding all the security measures that President
33:07Trump had put in place.
33:09We impeached Secretary Mayorkas.
33:10I mean, that's a historic thing.
33:12It was a desperate measure because desperate times called for it.
33:15Senate didn't go along, of course.
33:17But I think he's the single worst cabinet secretary in the history of America because
33:21we'll be dealing with a catastrophe that they engineered.
33:24They engineered the open border.
33:26We will be dealing with this for decades to come.
33:28President Trump has said, we want to start the largest deportation effort in history.
33:34It's needed.
33:34We need to find all these dangerous people, criminals.
33:36They've emptied out prisons in Central America and sent them all over the border.
33:40Yes, but here's the problem.
33:41We will not be able to locate all these people because DHS is not keeping track of their
33:45whereabouts, as you know.
33:47It is completely subversive.
33:49And it's anti-American.
33:50And it's anti-immigrant because the people who follow the law and do it the right way
33:54are the most upset about this.
33:55And that's why you're seeing the demographic shift in the electorate as well.
33:58So I mean, this is the thing to me that is so maddening.
34:03And I've asked the president about this one-on-one.
34:06President Biden, Mr. President, why would you do this?
34:09He doesn't have an answer.
34:11These are interest groups that encouraged him to do it.
34:13And he has no answer as to what the policy is or how he could fix it.
34:17He says he doesn't have the authority, which is a joke.
34:20Can I back over to the problem of China's military, increasing, really, military aggression?
34:28And it's something that we've tracked here, the scholars here at Hudson Institute, that
34:31the aggression, even in sort of the hybrid warfare zone, is getting worse.
34:37China is becoming increasingly comfortable acting aggressively against our treaty ally,
34:40the Philippines, really being threatening against Taiwan.
34:44Can you speak to what is your view?
34:50How should Americans understand why it's important that Taiwan remains safe and secure?
34:55If for no other reason, one word, semiconductors, OK?
34:58I mean, do you like your appliances?
35:00Do you use your cell phone?
35:02Do you need your electronics?
35:03I mean, if China takes Taiwan, imagine China being in charge of almost all the semiconductor
35:08production in the world and controlling the trade routes through that part of overseas
35:15trade.
35:16I mean, it's an unimaginable prospect.
35:19And so we defend freedom of people.
35:22We stand for freedom.
35:26The nation of Taiwan is important to defend for all of its merits.
35:28But it also is directly in our economic interest, our stability interest.
35:34Think of your methods of communication.
35:37Think of all the equipment at your local hospital, right?
35:39You know, imaging devices.
35:40I mean, everything, everything that is necessary for economic stability and health now is tied
35:46into semiconductor production.
35:49And so if you had no, if it was just purely selfish interest, every American should be
35:54dialed in on this.
35:55We have to make sure that doesn't happen.
35:59Which then leads me to wonder, you talked about how the Republican Party is realist.
36:04We have to have clear eyes.
36:06And yet you also speak very eloquently, sir, about the principles of freedom and what the
36:10United States stands for, especially in contrast to our adversaries.
36:15What role should the United States take in supporting dissident groups, pro-freedom groups,
36:21persecuted religious groups in countries like China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia?
36:26Well, our diplomatic efforts are really important in that regard and our advocacy for religious
36:31freedom.
36:32The first freedom listed in the Bill of Rights is religious liberty.
36:36And the founders understood if religious freedom is taken from a people, their political freedom
36:40soon follows.
36:40And you've seen that throughout history.
36:42We defend the right of conscience, the most fundamental freedom that we have is the right
36:47to believe and act upon it.
36:48And that's essentially who we are as Americans.
36:51I talk a lot about what I call the seven core principles of American conservatism.
36:54But they're really the seven core principles of America itself.
36:57I think it's about individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through
37:01strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity.
37:05We believe, as we boldly proclaimed in our declaration that we just celebrated July 4th,
37:11that it's the self-evident truth.
37:12The original draft that Jefferson wrote before he handed it to Franklin and Adams to edit
37:17was he said it was sacred and undeniable.
37:18We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable or self-evident, something that's obvious,
37:23that all of us are created.
37:24We're not born equal.
37:25We're created equal.
37:26And God's the one who gives us our rights, not the government.
37:29That is the revolutionary statement that started America and set us on the course to be the
37:34most powerful nation ever that there was.
37:37I take tours late at night as many members of Congress.
37:40I don't do it anymore.
37:40I used to before I became Speaker.
37:41But I take groups into the House chamber late at night and show them all the cool things
37:46around the House chamber, all the symbolism.
37:48A lot of it's religious, by the way.
37:51And we have in God we trust, as you know, that's right there in big gold letters above
37:55the Speaker's rostrum.
37:56And I always point that out.
37:57And I say, do you know when that was put there and why?
38:01Turn in your hymnal to page 14.
38:02There's this visitor's guide, OK, when you come to the House chamber, People's House.
38:06And open it up to page 14.
38:08And it says very clearly, about halfway down the page, it says, oh, you'll see in God we
38:12trust above the Speaker's rostrum.
38:13That was placed there in 1963 by the Congress because it was in the beginning of the Cold
38:21War.
38:21And it says it was a rebuke to the Soviet era's philosophy, the Soviet's philosophy
38:26in that era.
38:28Marxism begins with the premise that there is no creator, there is no God, right?
38:32And so it leads to false assumptions.
38:34The whole thing about why we defend freedom, why we defend the dignity of the individual,
38:40the value, the estimable dignity and value of every human is because our founders believed
38:44and most of us still believe that we are made in God's image.
38:48And so every single person has an estimable value.
38:50That's worth fighting for.
38:52It's what defined us as a nation.
38:54If we lose that, we lose an essential ingredient about what it means to be an American.
38:59Mr. Speaker, we're running out of time here.
39:01But I do then want to turn back on the subject of Russia and Ukraine because you really also
39:08have come out in support of the Christians in Ukraine.
39:13Can you talk?
39:14Because I think sometimes we can be confused.
39:16Maybe there's a lot of disinformation out there and it's just a confusing situation.
39:20What is the state of Christians in Ukraine and how Russia, Russia's authoritarianism
39:26and aggression against Ukraine is harming them?
39:28They're targeted specifically.
39:30I've met with multiple times with religious leaders, pastors who were there, some of my
39:36own denomination, Southern Baptists, missionaries there.
39:40And a lot of these clergy are in fear for their own families.
39:44And some of them have been targeted.
39:47I've seen examples and photographs of families who were taken out by targeted rockets to
39:52their apartment building on level five of an apartment building because they are Christians.
39:58I mentioned earlier the importance of maintaining religious freedom.
40:02If you can, and the communists always do this.
40:04They go after the Christians first.
40:06They target Christians.
40:07Why?
40:07Because they believe they owe an allegiance to a power higher than the government, than
40:12the state.
40:13And so you have to eliminate that.
40:14And then just out of just, I mean, you know, it's a demonic thing in my view, but they
40:19target people who have that belief and they want to stamp it out.
40:23And it's vicious and vile and it shows exactly what Putin and his regime is all about.
40:28And I think it's an important thing to highlight.
40:31And I don't think it's something that ought to be underestimated.
40:34Last question.
40:34We talked about how you've got Global Strike Command in your district.
40:38And my area of focus is making sure the United States has a robust nuclear deterrent that's
40:43credible to deter both China, Russia, and any other nuclear threat.
40:47And we've hosted General Boussier here.
40:49So if anything you want to say about the importance of just the American, making sure that we
40:53have a credible, robust military and especially our nuclear deterrent, sir.
40:57Yes.
40:58It's a good thing to close on.
40:59A week ago, Thursday, we dropped my oldest son off at the Naval Academy.
41:03He's a midshipman and he's going through plebe summer right now.
41:05So pray for Jack.
41:08They're rough on the kids, but yeah, that's good.
41:10Yeah.
41:12But we got our first family phone call last night because they give them 30 minutes to
41:16call home for seven weeks when they're in this thing.
41:18So we're anxiously awaiting it.
41:20And it's 1230 yesterday afternoon.
41:21And the whole family's around.
41:23And we got him on speakerphone.
41:24Jack, can you do FaceTime?
41:25No, Dad, we're staying in a gym.
41:27I have 1,100 other plebes around me.
41:30We're three feet apart.
41:31And they won't let us.
41:31We have to hold our phone right here.
41:32And it's very, very strict.
41:35I tell you what.
41:36When we dropped him off for induction day, they call it.
41:38If you've never been to one of the academies for the day where all the freshmen come in,
41:42it would make your heart swell with pride.
41:44I mean, just the flags waving the national anthem and all these really sharp kids that
41:50are there to serve.
41:51And they have servant's hearts.
41:52And they want to serve their country.
41:53And their families are all there cheering.
41:55And I mean, it'll make you love your country if you're down on it.
41:58I highly recommend showing up for one of those things.
42:00But the importance of a strong military, the importance of nuclear deterrence,
42:07has arguably never been more important, at least since World War II era.
42:10I mean, the Cold War was an important thing.
42:13But again, we were focused on primarily one enemy.
42:15This is multifaceted.
42:17And it is dangerous.
42:18And with the advance of technology and all the other capabilities.
42:21I mean, we heard the Russians wanted to put a nuke on a satellite, right?
42:24Like, this is next level stuff.
42:27And so we cannot take this for granted.
42:29We're being outspent and outgunned by China right now, right?
42:32And we have to take seriously.
42:35Reagan reminded us freedom is not inherited in the bloodstream, right?
42:38It's got to be fought for.
42:39It's got to be defended, protected, passed along the next generation.
42:42Or our children and our grandchildren will not enjoy it.
42:45So we all need skin in the game in one respect or another.
42:48Part of it is our investment.
42:49And as a nation, we have to understand how important that is.
42:53So we'll be advocating for that.
42:54And we'll be using every sphere of influence we have.
42:57And I know all of you will as well.
42:58I hope you will.
42:59To explain to our fellow Americans that we cannot take this freedom for granted.
43:02We have not had a conflict here.
43:06But it's not inevitable that we won't.
43:07And so we've got to be ready for it.
43:09And so that's why this work is so important.
43:10The Hudson Institute's scholarship and work is so important.
43:13Truly, truly grateful for it.
43:15And I think it's more important now than it's ever been.
43:17Well, sir, we are thankful for Jack's service.
43:19And we thank you for your leadership and the work that you've done.
43:23Please join me in thanking the Speaker of the House.