I don’t think I made up the term “Fortress America,” but I can’t remember where and if I heard it from someone else. In any case, it is an apt description of where I believe the Trump foreign policy is headed.

Next year, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence which was the foundational document of the United States of America. Our place in the world has been far from static during those 2 1/2 centuries.

You have a seven figure IRA and stock market investment account and it is down double digits. Your house that was worth $3M just a few months ago is down to only $2.5M. Even your Bitcoin has dropped and suddenly your FartCoin is off 95% from what you paid. The company you work for says they may lay off white collar workers for the first time in a decade. You talked to your spouse, and the $10,000 deposit on that European cruise is non-refundable. The NGO client you have says that DOGE just cancelled their $10M consulting contract they had with the Federal government which netted the organization $9.5M. Therefore, they can’t afford your services anymore.

The Leftist Media is trying to manufacture a scandal out of the Signal Chat conversation released by the Neo-Marxist Atlantic Magazine. In their rabid attempt to smear anyone and everyone associated with the Trump administration, they have missed the main point we can learn from the text exchange itself. These are serious and intelligent people with differing viewpoints having important discussions about the future of American foreign policy without feeling shackled to any previous strategies.

Bravo.

Wait. What? Didn’t we just have an election? Don’t tell me that all those ads and incessant text messages are coming back?

Fear not. Unless you are in New Jersey, Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Louisiana or one of the special congressional election districts, you are safe from electioneering bombardments until 2026.

What we used to call the “mainstream media” is complete propaganda and indoctrination. It is worthless. But in the interests of brevity or a catchy headline, even non-woke media can fail to tell you, as Paul Harvey always said “the rest of the story.”

Here are a few items that were in the news in the last week, that you either heard only the partial truth, or perhaps didn’t hear at all:

I’ve used these recent country song lyrics before, but they just fit so well. There is escalation everywhere. But that is what happens when you are trying to tear down an old non-functioning order to replace it with a new one, and the beneficiaries of the old order fight hard to keep it, because it works for them, and only them.

If you have read my missives over the last few years, you know that I have had my issues with Donald Trump. I did not vote for him in the primary in 2024. I actually voted for Ron DeSantis, even though he had already withdrawn from the race. I thought he would make the best president. I am not a Never Trumper. Nor am I an Always Trumper. I am maybe best described as a Trump skeptic.

But I am rapidly becoming a fan.

You Asked, I Answered – My Guest Host Spot on The Hugh Hewitt Show.

Many of you have asked if I’d consider doing a podcast or something audio instead of just a written blog. Well, this week, I did just that – I guest-hosted The Hugh Hewitt Show.

Rather than writing a blog post, I’m giving you direct access to Highly Concentrated Hugh so you can watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform.

Guests: Noah Rothman, David Drucker, Christine Rosen, Byron York, and Steve Hilton

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like Presidents Nixon and Trump have much in common. They are of different generations having been born 33 years apart. Nixon grew up in modest circumstances and was never rich. Trump was born into a well-to-do family and has obviously been a billionaire for decades. Nixon spent most of his life in public service, first in the Navy during WWII, then as a Congressman, US Senator and Vice President before being elected to the White House in 1968. Trump was in the private sector all of his life and his first elected office was that of president. Nixon was married to only one woman, Pat Nixon. Trump has had three wives, and allegedly multiple other “relationships.” Their character was not similar. They even had very different hair with Nixon’s thinning scalp contrasting against Trump’s famous mop.

But in terms of the policies they sought to achieve and the things they did or attempted to do, there are many similarities.