Is it us — or is there something in the air?
Roughly 46 years ago, the U.S. won Olympic gold in men’s hockey, Ronald Reagan had just assumed the presidency, and Iran released American hostages that it had held for 444 days. They were 444 days of pure malaise under a feckless Democrat president, Jimmy Carter.
Doesn’t it feel like this weekend’s events finally bookend that Biden-esque era?
It’s early yet, and there’s a long way to go for the Iranian people. But this could be the beginning of something great.
If we — and the Iranian people — don’t blow it.
So with Operation Epic Fury by U.S. planners and Operation Roaring Lion by Israeli leadership, the combined forces of two of the most technologically advanced nations on Earth hit Tehran and other strategic locations across Iran. The main targets were ballistic missile sites, nuclear program facilities, Iranian military infrastructure, and — perhaps most significantly — high-level regime leadership.
The defining headline from these operations so far: Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been given a well-deserved assist into martyrdom (along with 40 top leaders). Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei’s death and Tehran has announced an official 40-day mourning period. This column doubts there will BE an Iranian state media in 40 days, but whatever.
Here’s a few points you might not be seeing yet elsewhere:
Decapitating the theocratic leadership of the Islamic Republic is a dramatic geopolitical event, but it does not, on its own, substitute for regime change inside Iran. The regime has operated for decades with a coercive security architecture — notably the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij paramilitary militia — deeply woven into the state, economy, and society.
Removing Khamenei alters the top of the pyramid, but real change will demand Iranians seizing control of media, institutions, and public narrative from the clerical elite themselves. We’ll know it’s underway when we start to see Iranians seizing control of the media outlets. We’ll also know when we start to see Basij thugs paraded through the streets in handcuffs (or worse).
Another possibility: a “rump state” created inside Iran, with an alternate government set up in a particular area as a base for change. One hopes it doesn’t come to that; it will almost certainly signal a bloody, protracted civil war.
At this writing, the Iranians are dancing in the streets, the music is blaring, the women are removing their veils — all great. But frankly, they might be better off storming a television station.
Long planning has gone into this — longer than many realize. Consider: The traditional anti-Israeli front — including groups like Hezbollah — is totally MIA. Nothing coming from Lebanon. And as for Hamas? Gaza is silent.
And the Gulf states? Quiet, non-committal… but behind the scenes, supportive. Iran knows this, which is why they struck out at the Sunni Arab world, bombing Bahrain and the UAE.
Mistake. These countries hate (and fear) Iran as it is. Don’t be surprised to see Saudi and Emerati warplanes over Iran sometime soon (this also won’t be pretty…).
Finally: This confrontation is more than a bilateral quarrel — it reverberates across global alignments:
Russia, a longtime diplomatic and defense partner of Iran, has condemned the strikes as “unprovoked aggression,” deepening the diplomatic rift between Moscow and Washington. Yawn. But interestingly, there are reports that Russia may have accepted a Ukrainian peace deal. Is Putin finally getting the message?
Cuba is about to flip to, if not friendly, at least not a hostile communist state beholden to our enemies (see below) — without a shot being fired by our military.
Venezuela, if they had any doubts, knows more than ever: Trump is serious. Best not test him.
Beijing is an undeniable loser here. Under nearly every scenario, at the least, China loses its most dependable supplier of oil. At most, it’s biggest oil supplier may end up aligned with America.
A tectonic shift in U.S. policy posture is not underway — it’s here. Almost everything about the Trump administration’s approach to foreign affairs contrasts sharply with the prior Biden years — as in, it actually moves the needle. With Trump all-but kicking China out of the Western hemisphere, a Trump Doctrine is clearly emerging. And it’s not to Beijing’s benefit. And note: not one NATO nation involved. Once again, Europe is a bystander.
So undeniably, we’re seeing a global realignment, even beyond Iran. But remaking nations requires more than explosions — it demands the hard, messy work of rebuilding civic trust, governance, and narrative power from the ground up.
In the coming days, the world we’ll all be living in — perhaps for the rest of our lives — is being defined. Let’s hope this enormous gamble justifies that.
(But now that it’s on? Enough griping from the left. Like it or not — and it’s reasonable to disagree — the action is underway. Now we need to achieve our objectives, and come home).
Cuba vs. Iran — Choices Matter
Iran had a choice — and chose bad.
Either way, however, it was clear Iran had to change. President Trump gave them that choice and they chose war. And now their leadership is dead and the country is going to be changed anyhow. There is a certain symmetry in it. For decades the leaders instructed others to embrace death in the name of revolution. In the end, they were the ones cornered, choosing between humiliation and annihilation. Good riddance.
And while Iran rages toward its inevitable conclusion, what is just as amazing is what is happening quietly on our doorstep. Cuba, it appears, chose well, and is now on the brink of an historic transformation – or what President Trump calls a “friendly takeover.”
For sixty-five years Cuba has been the unresolved Cold War artifact sitting just off our coast. A communist regime that survived ten American presidents. The Revolution. The Bay of Pigs. The Cuban Missile Crisis. The Mariel boatlift. The 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, when Cuban MiGs destroyed civilian aircraft and killed four Americans. The Elian Gonzalez standoff. The more recent CHNV fueled diaspora of over 100,000 Cuban refugees. And what looked very much like another Brothers to the Rescue style confrontation just last week.
That is quite a litany of international events for a small country in a short time, much of it colored by the outsized, almost caricature-like figure of Fidel. And after all that, Cuba now appears poised to go out with a whimper.
Every U.S. president tried something. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was complicated. The Soviet presence on the island made a military option arguably not worth the nuclear risk. After that, it became a mix of distraction and confusion.
Clinton defaulted to drift. After the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, under intense political pressure, he signed the Helms-Burton Act, which codified the embargo into law and tightened sanctions. But there was no sustained strategy to force structural change, and there was no practical impact. The outrage faded and Havana endured. The Bush administrations were consumed by far away wars, and treated Cuba as a secondary theater.
Obama chose accommodation. He reopened travel, met with Fidel Castro, and tried to legitimize the regime responsible for the misery of so many. Most astonishingly, he commuted the sentence of Gerardo Hernandez, the only Cuban official imprisoned in connection with the Brothers to the Rescue conspiracy that killed four Americans. A foolish move at best.
As for the Biden administration, they directed all foreign service personnel to prioritize the rights of “trans gender, queer, and intersex” people abroad – no need for any deeper analysis here. (Fidel was dead already but probably still laughed).
What is different now, of course, is Donald Trump. And Marco Rubio. It’s hard to imagine a better good cop bad cop tandem to deal with Cuba. While it’s true that the geopolitical landscape for a peaceful transition was already forming: The Soviet Union is gone, Venezuelan support is collapsing, and the Cuban economy is brittle and isolated. It’s also true that the Trump administration created much of that landscape. The deal is not sealed yet. But it’s close. What a remarkable thing it will be to see that Island freed. Without a shot.
Tom Homan On The Danger To The Homefront
Let’s remember who we’re dealing with here — Iran, the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism. They’ve killed more Americans than any other regime in the modern era.
So: Do we have to worry about reactions on the homefront?
We do — thanks to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Alejandro Mayorkas. Calling them The Three Stooges of national security is an insult to the Howard brothers.
Here’s a quick excerpt of my previous interview with Tom Homan on why, right now, the homefront is, in fact, another front-line in this conflict:
And Right On-Cue: Foreign-Funded Protests
So as American forces engage in Iran, reps from The People’s Forum — another radical activist group funded by communists Roy Singham from Shanghai — takes to the streets in a “spontaneous” demonstration. (Refreshingly, they’ve been met by Iranian counter-protestors calling them, “morons”).
As a reminder: A few weeks ago, we called for the DOJ to examine the funding behind radical groups sowing riots and violent protests worldwide. As discussed, the focal point of unrest moved from Minneapolis to Milan, with violence marring the opening of the Olympic Games—the very symbol of international goodwill and unity.
The House Oversight Committee currently has an investigation open into the People’s Support Foundation LTD (PSF), which, as its name suggests, appears to be a communist group spreading money far and wide to radical leftist organizations.
A review of its Form 990-PF filings did not show donations to Foreign Terrorist Organizations. However, PSF is believed to be controlled by (you guessed it) Roy Singham, former head of the Chicago-based company Thoughtworks, now living in Shanghai. On paper, PSF is run by his wife, Code Pink founder Jodie Evans.
PSF has donated to numerous communist-aligned groups worldwide, including PPK Newsclick Private, an India-based media organization raided for ties to the Chinese government; the People’s Welfare Association, which has given tens of millions overseas without disclosure requirements; the Marx Memorial Library; and the United Community Fund, staffed by Singham associates and linked to the Marxist-oriented Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.
The House Oversight Committee is examining possible FARA violations to determine whether PSF is acting as a proxy for China. Yet the group operates from a Chicago PO Box—a red flag warranting a full DOJ investigation, including suspicious activity reports and possible money laundering.
The question is why Congress is handling this at all. This is exactly the type of organization the DOJ should investigate, using FBI legats abroad to determine the extent of Singham’s donations and whether terrorist funding occurred directly or through proxies.
We must send a clear message to foreign governments seeking to sow violent dissent and promote communism. That requires the full force of the American justice system. Trump and his DOJ should give organizations like this a close look to determine whether enforcement is warranted.
This should be a criminal investigation — not another entry on the docket of our do-nothing Congress.
The Generals Know The Risks
We cannot blame Trump for the Ukraine war—that rests on Putin, and partly Joe Biden for failing to deter him. However, with the raid on Iran, we feel it’s prudent to raise the following: General Wesley Clark’s 2007 warning.
If you don’t recall it, Clark said he was told after 9/11 that the U.S. planned regime change in seven countries: Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, Libya, and Iran. The U.S. has since invaded or deployed troops in all of them.
This pattern spans four presidents and suggests military-industrial influence. Trump was elected to break that cycle. We hope that with this latest strike, he is not falling into the same trap that led to past quagmires and unintended consequences.
Trump called his prior strike on Iran’s nuclear facility successful. If so, it raises the question of why another strike is necessary.
At this point, with hostilities underway, Americans deserve compelling justification, presented to Congress as the Constitution requires. Whether Congress can’t vote down the current action remains a constitutional gray area — but Trump owes what is supposed to be our primary branch of government (under Article One) the details.
Recall that Americans elected Trump to end foreign wars, not start new ones. He should honor that mandate—and ensure Iran is not the next place Americans risk their lives in a prolonged conflict, for questionable reasons.
This Week’s Pod: Can Minnesota Go Red?
Minnesota Senate candidate Michele Tafoya on Somali fraud, ICE ops, the SAVE Act, and U.S. hockey
Gang, 2026 will be a pivotal year for the nation’s future. Can the Republicans hold the Congress? Will ICE deportations continue? And: How many of our tax dollars have been leaving our country due to various frauds?
You know Michele Tafoya from Gutfeld! and other Fox shows — as well as her previous years as a sideline reporter in numerous other sports. At this writing, she is the leading candidate for the Republican candidate for senate in Minnesota. Can she pull it off?
And if so… can she turn a Minnesota Senate seat red? In a state that seems to be at the point of the spear for so many of the nation’s 2026 controversies?
Join us for a fun conversation with Michele Tafoya, Republican candidate for Senate from Minnesota (who also happens to be very funny…!).
So click here for a sizzle... and subscribe for the full pod.
And finally….
History just accelerated. The decapitation of the regime led by Ali Khamenei is seismic — but don’t confuse shockwaves with stability. Killing the head of a theocracy doesn’t dismantle the machinery beneath it. The IRGC, the patronage networks, the coercive state — that’s the real fight. President Donald Trump just placed a massive bet that precision force plus internal uprising equals transformation. Maybe it does. Maybe it spirals. The Left will scream “World War III.” The neocons will chant “finish the job.” The truth? Victory isn’t airstrikes. It’s what replaces the rubble. If America engages, it must be decisive, limited, and tied to a clear exit — not another forever war.
It wasn't that Jimmy Carter did not try to rescue the Hostages, it was that he had surrounded himself with semi-competent 'yes men' who did not speak truth to power in an effective way. Carter launches two attempts to rescue the Hostages. Operation Eagle Claw in April of 1980 failed because of a desert sandstorm that caused fatal damages when two aircraft hit each other because of the unpredictable, but preventable, harsh desert environment. The second attempt occurred in the fall of 1980, just before the 1980 election named Operation Credible Sport when another plane crashed during the operation planning. IMO - Carter was all appearance and no substance. No one can EVER say that about Trump!