The Ben Shapiro Show - This Is Who Is Secretly Funding No Kings

00:00:00.000 Folks, 8 million people just took to the streets to stop a king who does not exist.

00:00:05.000 They say they are protesting tyranny, but if you look at who's actually holding the megaphone and more importantly, who's signing the checks, this grassroots movement starts looking a lot less grassroots and a lot more like a sophisticated and coordinated operation.

00:00:18.000 From Hollywood elites having public meltdowns to radical activists calling for labor militancy, we've got it all. 0.99

00:00:24.000 The real story isn't actually the useful idiots on the streets. 0.98

00:00:27.000 It's the apparent $3 billion web of funding tied to a tech tycoon living in Shanghai and a wedding-turned mysterious summit in Jamaica. 0.99

00:00:35.000 Yeah, that's a real thing.

00:00:37.000 So, who are these shadowy figures funding the chaos?

00:00:40.000 Why are America's enemies cheering from the sidelines?

00:00:42.000 We're going to name some names and follow the money from Shanghai to the streets of New York.

00:00:45.000 We'll get into all of that and a lot more.

00:00:47.000 This is The Ben Shapiro Show.

00:00:56.000 Well, President Trump is not a king.

00:00:58.000 We know this because, you know, that time he was elected and then he was not elected and he left office, which doesn't happen with kings, and then he was elected again.

00:01:05.000 Again, none of that happens with kings who are typically not elected.

00:01:09.000 Also, he's not a king because he can't just do anything that he wants.

00:01:13.000 So, for example, this is why DHS has still not been fully funded and yet to sign an executive order.

00:01:18.000 And it's why the SAVE Act is not law yet.

00:01:20.000 And why President Trump has been unable thus far, to my great consternation, to build a Trump hotel on the smoking ruins of the UN building, which I would love.

00:01:28.000 But this weekend, according to the Wall Street Journal, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across the nation for a day of no kings rallies Saturday in opposition to President Trump, who organizers say is running the country more like a king than a president.

00:01:43.000 The No Kings coalition estimates at least 8 million people nationwide participated in protests on Saturday.

00:01:48.000 Now, again, I kind of doubt those numbers.

00:01:50.000 Whenever organizers tell you a number, it's typically way more than the actual number.

00:01:55.000 Organizers said 350,000 people showed up in New York City alone, which is indeed a lot of people.

00:02:03.000 It's a pretty big turnout, and it's worth talking about why these people are turning out.

00:02:07.000 So let's start with why they are clearly not turning out.

00:02:09.000 They're not turning out because they oppose kings. 1.00

00:02:12.000 I suppose I actually agree with the stupidest person in the United States Senate, Maisie Hirono, unchallengeable title, truly a dullard. 1.00

00:02:20.000 She tweeted yesterday, quote, Donald Trump is not, never will be, and has never been a king. 1.00

00:02:25.000 Hashtag no kings.

00:02:26.000 I agree.

00:02:27.000 He has not, is not, and never will be a king.

00:02:31.000 That's true.

00:02:32.000 But let's be clear.

00:02:33.000 These people are not turning out because they suddenly oppose centralized government.

00:02:37.000 You think Democrats are anti-centralized government?

00:02:39.000 They are anti-a bigger federal government run from the executive branch.

00:02:42.000 I remember a couple of presidents, Obama and Biden, who radically expanded the power of the executive branch.

00:02:49.000 Remember that time?

00:02:50.000 Do you remember when Barack Obama said, you know, if Congress ain't going to do what I want them to do, I got a pen and I got a phone.

00:02:57.000 And you remember, he then used that pen and that phone to do things like, for example, saying that all childhood arrivals of kids who are illegally here would be deferred, right?

00:03:08.000 That was the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was not passed via Congress.

00:03:12.000 It was signed by the president as an executive order.

00:03:15.000 You also may remember that time that Joe Biden tried to use the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to cram down a vaccine mandate on 80 million Americans.

00:03:25.000 Remember that time?

00:03:26.000 Maybe you remember that time that Joe Biden decided that he was going to ignore the Supreme Court and simply get rid of student loan debt.

00:03:33.000 They weren't protesting for any of that, right?

00:03:35.000 Now, that was pretty significant centralization of power in the executive branch, but they didn't care.

00:03:41.000 They're also not turning out in the streets because they oppose foreign interventions like what's going on in Iran.

00:03:46.000 Certainly not because they oppose tyrants.

00:03:48.000 They were fine with Barack Obama's interventions in Libya and in Syria and in the drone wars he was constantly fighting.

00:03:54.000 They were totally fine with Joe Biden's funding of the war in Ukraine for that matter.

00:03:59.000 And it's not as though they're anti-tyrant. 0.68

00:04:01.000 Like right now, they are protesting that President Trump is fighting tyrants.

00:04:05.000 Like, for example, Nicolas Maduro, an actual honest-to-God communist tyrant, or the Cuban communist regime, an actual honest-to-God tyranny, or the Iranian Moans, some of the worst tyrants on planet Earth.

00:04:16.000 So they're not anti-tyranny, the No Kings people. 0.99

00:04:19.000 They're perfectly pro-tyranny in foreign countries. 0.93

00:04:21.000 And they're kind of pro-tyranny at home when they agree with the tyrants. 0.83

00:04:24.000 They're not even turning out because they're upset with corruption.

00:04:26.000 You'll remember Joe Biden pardoning his entire family on the way out.

00:04:31.000 So we all know the real reason here, right?

00:04:33.000 The real reason is because a lot of people hate President Trump.

00:04:36.000 It is indeed that simple.

00:04:38.000 They just do not like the president.

00:04:39.000 They don't have any principled stand here.

00:04:42.000 They're not protesting a specific issue.

00:04:43.000 It's an agglomeration of various people who are mad about various things, but in the end, are just mad at, quote unquote, the system and President Trump.

00:04:51.000 And also, a lot of these people are quite terrible.

00:04:53.000 Julio Rosas over at Storyful, he was out there taking videos of the protesters.

00:04:59.000 Apparently, protesters were throwing concrete bricks at a federal building.

00:05:03.000 So that was great.

00:05:09.000 Yeah, the honorary flag of third worldism everywhere, the Palestinian flag, and hurling rocks and bricks at the federal building. 1.00

00:05:18.000 Throws like a girl, by the way. 0.98

00:05:21.000 Got these significantly overweight protesters chucking concrete blocks at a federal building and a guy wearing a shirt that says the Second Amendment is for shooting ice.

00:05:34.000 Nice people.

00:05:36.000 Meanwhile, rioters were defacing federal buildings as well.

00:05:39.000 Here's one clip from Fox News. 0.98

00:05:42.000 It says, kill your local ICE agent. 1.00

00:05:46.000 So here you have this fat ass with his or her unclear, the gender of said fat ass. 1.00

00:05:56.000 Spray painting on a federal building. 1.00

00:05:58.000 Or our honorary handmaid's tail cosplay.

00:06:01.000 This is old, man.

00:06:01.000 This reference is old.

00:06:03.000 You need new references.

00:06:04.000 You just do.

00:06:05.000 The handmaid's tail stuff.

00:06:07.000 This is in Nashville.

00:06:08.000 The handmaid's tail stuff, people walking around by making reference to a TV show that has not been relevant for, what, three, four years at this point, I believe.

00:06:17.000 And they're all carrying signs like Prince Andrew, Elon Musk.

00:06:20.000 Apparently, these are all Epstein-related, I guess.

00:06:24.000 Josh Harris, and it's all dudes wearing handmaids.

00:06:27.000 By the way, nothing to say from these folks about people who are actually stuffed into handmaid's tail-like outfits in the Middle East.

00:06:35.000 But they're walking around Nashville free as a bird.

00:06:38.000 Dudes wearing handmaid's tails outfit, just genius-level stuff.

00:06:42.000 Some of the protesters in Washington, D.C., talk to our own Breca Stoll of Daily Wire.

00:06:47.000 There was one protester, a black woman, who said that black women are being murdered when they seek medical care, which is, I feel like that'd be a bigger story if that were true. 1.00

00:06:55.000 Black women are pretty much being murdered in medical professions when we go to seek medical care. 1.00

00:07:06.000 And that research is being defunded. 0.81

00:07:10.000 We have to make sure that we are putting in the work.

00:07:14.000 Well, we have some work.

00:07:16.000 I don't understand.

00:07:17.000 First of all, that's not true.

00:07:18.000 Black women are not being murdered for seeking medical care.

00:07:21.000 That's what?

00:07:22.000 Meanwhile, there were white ladies there too. 1.00

00:07:24.000 And the white ladies were telling Brecca that there's nothing better they can do, literally nothing better they can do, than to show up on the streets of Washington, D.C., saying things as white women. 1.00

00:07:38.000 As a white woman, this is the least I can be doing.

00:07:42.000 There are so many marginalized voices in this country that need to have a safe space to be able to be who they are.

00:07:48.000 And I have that privilege to be able to come out here and stand up for something that's right.

00:07:52.000 So that's why I'm out here.

00:07:54.000 As someone who looks the way that we do, there's nothing better we should be doing on a Saturday.

00:08:00.000 Nothing, nothing better you can do on earth than stand on a street corner and hold a sign.

00:08:06.000 Also, one white protester was out there saying it's not safe for black people to be out there, which is weird because we just saw a black lady who was out there talking to Brecca. 0.80

00:08:16.000 So that's a little weird. 0.96

00:08:19.000 This is not, it is not for black people, for people of color to get out on the street. 0.87

00:08:25.000 They're at risk when they do that. 0.99

00:08:27.000 If anybody's going to get arrested here, it's going to be a black person. 1.00

00:08:32.000 It is not safe for them and they don't need to participate. 0.99

00:08:35.000 We need to walk in their name.

00:08:38.000 Meanwhile, ICE officers were laughing at activists who were calling them fascists.

00:08:43.000 So that's unacceptable.

00:08:45.000 We can't have that.

00:08:46.000 We can't have ICE officers laughing, particularly on ICE.

00:08:49.000 Is that an ICE officer of color?

00:08:51.000 No, it can't be. 0.99

00:08:54.000 I've been told by one battle after another that the people who work for ICE are all perverse white supremacists. 0.98

00:09:01.000 Are you telling me that that's a black dude who works for ICE? 0.98

00:09:05.000 That no, that cannot be. 0.89

00:09:06.000 Hispanic people work for ICE.

00:09:08.000 Spoiler alert. 0.56

00:09:09.000 Lots of black and Hispanic people work for ICE. 0.99

00:09:11.000 Well, you know, these terrible people, they're laughing. 0.79

00:09:14.000 The protesters are crying and you're laughing?

00:09:18.000 Here we go.

00:09:19.000 No thoughts.

00:09:21.000 You guys are the foot soldiers of a fascist regime, right?

00:09:24.000 Is that not what it is?

00:09:27.000 Is that funny?

00:09:28.000 Is that funny?

00:09:34.000 You know what?

00:09:35.000 All those guys for the Congressional Medal of Freedom, seriously, love it.

00:09:38.000 Love it. 0.93

00:09:40.000 An entirely bunch of people of color who work for ICE laughing at undoubtedly a white dude yelling at them for being fascist tools of tyranny. 0.88

00:09:49.000 That's some strong stuff right there. 1.00

00:09:50.000 Okay, in just one second, we're going to get into some of our favorite celebrities who showed up to be complete idiots over this. 0.99

00:09:55.000 First, as you know, we've been working with Pure Talk for six years now. 0.98

00:09:59.000 I wanted to work with a wireless company that actually shares our values.

00:10:02.000 PureTalk is veteran-led, so helping veterans is huge to them.

00:10:05.000 They've donated over half a million dollars to America's Warrior Partnership.

00:10:05.000 I mean, that's great.

00:10:09.000 It's a fantastic organization on the front lines of preventing veteran suicide.

00:10:12.000 Pure Talk is creating American jobs with a U.S.-only workforce.

00:10:15.000 Sure, it'd be a lot cheaper to send those jobs overseas.

00:10:18.000 A lot of other companies do, but they are committed to delivering the best experience possible for their customers.

00:10:22.000 And yes, I love Pure Talk Service.

00:10:24.000 They give you the same tower, same network, same 5G coverage as one of the big guys for a fraction of the price.

00:10:29.000 It is, again, not as expensive as the other guys.

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00:10:33.000 And again, it's a business that actually shares our values, supporting veterans every single day, creating American jobs.

00:10:39.000 Head on over to puretalk.com slash Shapiro and switch on over to PureTalk.

00:10:39.000 So how about you?

00:10:43.000 That's puretalk.com slash Shapiro.

00:10:45.000 Switch to my wireless company and America's wireless company over at PureTalk. 1.00

00:10:50.000 Alrighty, so back to the idiots who seem to think that President Trump is a king. 1.00

00:10:53.000 These celebrities showed up as well. 1.00

00:10:55.000 Oh, the celebrities.

00:10:56.000 And they have so many incisive takes on politics.

00:11:00.000 So many.

00:11:01.000 Robert De Niro is still wandering around, you know, with the same vim and vigor that he showed in the Irishman during that fight scene where he was de-aged but still looked like an 80-year-old man trying to kick somebody on the street.

00:11:12.000 Anyway, he is still out there doing No Kings.

00:11:15.000 By the way, the No Kings rally, he's doing this like from his, apparently from his basement.

00:11:19.000 They pipe this one in.

00:11:23.000 Every morning when I get up, I reach for my phone to look at the headlines of the day.

00:11:27.000 And for some time now, I start every morning depressed about the latest outrage from our would-be king.

00:11:34.000 I mean, it's amazing.

00:11:35.000 Every f ⁇ ing day.

00:11:41.000 Producer Savvy points out that he's basically just now playing his character in Meet the Parents.

00:11:46.000 That's where we are right now.

00:11:47.000 Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis is showing up as well.

00:11:51.000 She loves the Constitution, Jamie Lee Curtis.

00:11:53.000 That's why she is saying no kings.

00:11:57.000 Again, one of the best things about the no kings rallies is the baseline assumption that there is no king because there is no king, which is why they can do what they're doing.

00:12:04.000 So I'm not sure what they're protesting, but they know what they're protesting. 0.97

00:12:07.000 Trump, that evil Trump. 0.97

00:12:09.000 Here we go. 0.97

00:12:11.000 We have to fight for the right to party.

00:12:14.000 And I don't mean the political party because I don't really care which political party you believe in as long as you believe in the Constitution and the fundamental freedoms that the Constitution protects.

00:12:28.000 I do not believe you.

00:12:30.000 I think that when she says she does not care what political party you belong to, I do not believe her.

00:12:34.000 I do not think that she thinks that Republicans are fine and dandy at all.

00:12:38.000 Meanwhile, you thought that Robert De Niro was just going to sit in his basement?

00:12:41.000 Wrong.

00:12:42.000 He got out and he walked with some other people like El Sharpton and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

00:12:50.000 They were walking in New York, you know, like to fight tyranny.

00:12:55.000 They're going to walk.

00:12:56.000 Check out that walking.

00:12:58.000 Look at that.

00:13:02.000 Oh my gosh, they're standing there.

00:13:08.000 Wow.

00:13:09.000 Look at that.

00:13:10.000 That's what heroism looks like.

00:13:12.000 That's what heroism looked like.

00:13:13.000 Sure, all these people are protesting in favor of the United States doing nothing.

00:13:17.000 Well, 32,000 actual protesters of actual tyranny got shot in the actual street in Iran.

00:13:23.000 But, you know, that's the thing that matters, is that they're standing there at no risk to themselves.

00:13:27.000 Democratic politicians showed up to demonstrate their hatred for President Trump, of course.

00:13:31.000 Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, he says that President Trump represents an old order that is destined to die.

00:13:38.000 What is that order that he represents precisely, Senator?

00:13:43.000 That's why they elected Donald Trump in the first place.

00:13:48.000 He represents the violent justiculations of an old order that is destined to die.

00:13:55.000 What is that old order that is destined to die?

00:13:57.000 I'd like him to be more specific on that.

00:13:59.000 Meanwhile, Tim Walz, fresh off of the lunchtime special at Chuck E. Cheese, he showed up to explain that he is indeed radical.

00:14:09.000 He is radically loving.

00:14:12.000 Oh, yeah.

00:14:13.000 Oh, yeah. 0.81

00:14:14.000 This guy was almost vice president of the United States, which I'm never going to get over, this weirdo.

00:14:19.000 I see that the president said it's a bunch of radicals. 0.92

00:14:23.000 You're damn right we've been radicalized.

00:14:26.000 Radicalized by compassion. 0.89

00:14:28.000 Radicalized by decency.

00:14:31.000 Radicalized by due process.

00:14:34.000 Radicalized by democracy.

00:14:36.000 And radicalized to do all we can to oppose authoritarianism.

00:14:45.000 Oh, boy.

00:14:46.000 Oh, boy.

00:14:47.000 Radicalized by compassion.

00:14:49.000 It's like when you go to that worst job interview you've ever gone to.

00:14:52.000 You know, if you ever interviewed anybody, sometimes you'll get somebody who comes in for an interview and you'll say, you know, tell me your shortcomings.

00:14:59.000 What are the things that you have to fight?

00:15:01.000 And they'll be like, you know, my biggest problem is I'm just too hardworking.

00:15:06.000 I just care too much.

00:15:08.000 I love that.

00:15:09.000 We're radical.

00:15:10.000 Radicalized by compassion and by love.

00:15:14.000 Meanwhile, Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has continued to preside over the downfall of his own city, says that it's time to end the assaults against immigrants over on MS Now.

00:15:23.000 No Kings Day.

00:15:26.000 What's your message for the community here?

00:15:28.000 Well, it's pretty straightforward.

00:15:29.000 We have to end the assaults against working people. 1.00

00:15:32.000 We have to end the assaults against immigrants. 1.00

00:15:39.000 You have to end the assaults against immigrants. 0.99

00:15:41.000 Now, I will point out at this point that Loyola University is in Chicago, and it was an illegal immigrant who shot to death a woman in his city pretty famously in the last two weeks.

00:15:54.000 Well, you know, these sorts of protests do have some truck outside the United States. 1.00

00:16:00.000 America's enemies are counting on the No Kings useful idiots to do their dirty work for them. 1.00

00:16:05.000 So the Iranians are super happy about this. 1.00

00:16:07.000 Ayatollah Khomeini was tweeting from the grave.

00:16:09.000 I'm not sure who was doing it.

00:16:10.000 It was not him.

00:16:11.000 He's dead. 1.00

00:16:12.000 We killed him. 0.94

00:16:13.000 So he's been dead for a few weeks now, but apparently his corpse is tweeting now.

00:16:19.000 And he put out a statement, quote, right now, people throughout all U.S. states are chanting slogans against him, Trump.

00:16:24.000 If you're so capable, solve their problem.

00:16:26.000 You interfere in the affairs of other countries.

00:16:28.000 You build military bases.

00:16:30.000 And then it quotes that from October 20th, 2025.

00:16:32.000 Wow.

00:16:33.000 Wow.

00:16:33.000 Well, I mean, Khomeini from the grave in solidarity with hashtag no kings.

00:16:39.000 Meanwhile, Mohammed Khalibaf, who is the supposed moderate head of the parliament, he's not moderate, spoiler alert.

00:16:45.000 He is making common cause with the no kings ralliers.

00:16:47.000 Quote, welcome to the party we started 47 years ago.

00:16:50.000 No kings.

00:16:51.000 This is the people of Iran.

00:16:52.000 And we approve this message.

00:16:53.000 Hashtag no kings.

00:16:54.000 Yes.

00:16:55.000 If there is one, if there's one government that says there must not be a centralized tyranny that dominates all aspects of life, it is the Iranian government. 0.77

00:17:03.000 And of course, you have Ilhan Omar, who, again, you want to talk about immigration mistakes, letting her family in, gigantic immigration mistake.

00:17:12.000 Here's Ilhan Omar suggesting that the real problem with America is that Trump is bombing schoolgirls.

00:17:17.000 Again, what's so disgusting about this particular slur, this particular calumny, is that the notion that the American military is deliberately bombing schoolgirls, while Ilhan Omar is supportive of actual terrorist groups that actually deliberately bomb schoolgirls is pretty astonishing stuff from the sitting Congress person in Minnesota.

00:17:36.000 My goodness. 0.95

00:17:39.000 And we know that what Trump calls strength is his and his idea of liberating women in Iran is to bomb and murder school children. 0.98

00:17:54.000 A little more verbal, a little more vocal grind there. 0.98

00:17:56.000 That's what we need.

00:17:57.000 A little more vocal grind on top of that would make it even more annoying. 0.92

00:18:00.000 So let's be clear about this no kings thing.

00:18:02.000 We're not looking at a bunch of well-meaning, freedom-loving people who are upset because Big Brother is watching.

00:18:08.000 We're looking mostly at an agglomeration of a lot of people who are misinformed, who've been told things that are not true by the legacy media, and their leadership who are malign.

00:18:16.000 But the big question remains, how are they getting these kinds of numbers?

00:18:19.000 And the answer, at least in part, is a lot of organizing, and that organizing costs a lot of money.

00:18:24.000 I mean, like a lot of money.

00:18:25.000 So Fox News has a new report.

00:18:27.000 It's kind of shocking.

00:18:28.000 Quote, a network of about 500 groups with an estimated $3 billion in combined annual revenues is behind the coordinated nationwide No Kings protest on Saturday, including communist groups who are using the day to call for a revolution, according to a Fox digital news investigation.

00:18:44.000 So where exactly is that money coming from?

00:18:47.000 Well, apparently, some of these groups are Soros funded, but Fox News Digital has identified key participation by a network of radical socialist and communist organizations funded by Neville Roy Singham, an American tech tycoon and avowed communist who lives in China.

00:19:01.000 So you literally have a communist living in China who is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into various protest groups.

00:19:09.000 According to Fox News, Singham has financed a constellation of activist institutions that promote revolutionary socialist policies and frequently collaborate in protest campaigns.

00:19:18.000 That includes the Answer Coalition, Code Pink, the co-founder of Code Pink, by the way, Jodi Evans, is married to Singham.

00:19:24.000 What a delightful, what a delightful couple.

00:19:27.000 By the way, Fox News has a deep dive on their marriage today, and it's a pretty great report.

00:19:32.000 Quote, as far-left American activists flood Cuba to support its flailing communist regime, U.S. officials have opened a sprawling investigation into an anti-American pro-China nonprofit network forged during a wedding celebration in late February 2017 off Runaway Bay on Jamaica's northern coast.

00:19:49.000 There beneath a canopy of palm trees, an elite cadre of activist intellectuals, celebrities, political organizers, and comrades in a global Marxist-Leninist Maoist movement assembled to celebrate the revolutionary love of two luminaries, both 62 at the time, Neville Roy Singham, American-born tech tycoon living in Shanghai, and Jodi Evans, a red-haired veteran, activist, and co-founder of CodePink Women for Peace.

00:20:11.000 Over four days of dancing, lectures, and late-night conversations in venues from the Flavor Beach Bar to Sharky Seafood, celebrating the bond of Roy and Jodi, alliances were formed that would shape protests, unrest, and political agitation over the next decade.

00:20:25.000 That weekend, Vijay Prashad, an academic described in the official wedding itinerary as a Marxist intellectual, spoke on a panel called The Future of the Left.

00:20:34.000 By the way, you want to talk about like a horrible wedding weekend, horrible wedding weekend.

00:20:38.000 You get invited to somebody's wedding and they break out Das Capital and decide to do a panel called The Future of the Left.

00:20:46.000 That sounds horrible.

00:20:49.000 Well, from that beginning of Godfather One Wedding, apparently springs, a magical nexus of wild left organizations that now numbers an estimated 2,000 parroting propaganda from China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, and Gaza.

00:21:07.000 Within activist circles, according to Fox News, far-left critics refer to leftists who align with authoritarian regimes as tankies.

00:21:14.000 Many groups and leaders from Singam's network, including Evans and Benjamin, are part of the pro-communist convoy.

00:21:19.000 Now, in Cuba, apparently, Singham has pushed some $278 million from him into organizations that sow discord in the United States.

00:21:30.000 So, no, this is not all innocent.

00:21:32.000 No, it's not just all happening by accident.

00:21:34.000 Yes, it takes an awful lot of money to make this magic happen.

00:21:39.000 I mean, who is Neville Roy Singham, by the way?

00:21:42.000 Well, here he was at a conference in November 2025.

00:21:47.000 If we want to therefore have a new world order that is based on multilateralism that President Xi and CPC and China have proposed, we have to undo the ideological damage that has been done by the narrative of World War II.

00:22:02.000 And I'm real proud, of course, that it was first in Guancha here in China because I will tell you, the majority of my friends in the global south do not know that 35 million Chinese perished.

00:22:13.000 It's not a known fact in the majority of the world.

00:22:15.000 It's very important that this story is told to the whole world because my friends in Latin America were shocked when they find this out.

00:22:23.000 So China has a very important role, and we in this forum have a very important role that to envision a new multi-order polarity order requires the, quite frankly, the deconstruction, a restorationist history. 0.75

00:22:37.000 What really happened?

00:22:38.000 Who really suffered?

00:22:39.000 Of those who died, almost 70% of the people who died in World War II were in China and the Soviet Union.

00:22:47.000 It is they today that I hope that we honor.

00:22:52.000 Oh my goodness.

00:22:53.000 Oh my goodness.

00:22:54.000 So, I mean, again, you might be hearing this message over and over from the entire grievance party, from the left and from the horseshoe right.

00:23:01.000 Again, what he said there is multipolar world order with China and Russia as leading forces.

00:23:07.000 And we need to rewrite the history of World War II in order to achieve this new world order. 0.72

00:23:14.000 Man, I wonder where I've heard something like that before.

00:23:16.000 That's so weird.

00:23:17.000 Well, President Trump, for his part, calls these people deranged.

00:23:20.000 He is not wrong about that.

00:23:21.000 Here was the president over the weekend.

00:23:23.000 For the radical left Democrats in Congress to immediately end their dangerous shutdown of our Department of Homeland Security, you know, they want to play games.

00:23:32.000 That's all they are. 0.99

00:23:33.000 These people are lunatics. 1.00

00:23:35.000 They sort of remind me of, they remind me actually a little bit of Iran. 1.00

00:23:41.000 The deranged, the deranged, the deranged Democrats. 0.89

00:23:48.000 Well, I mean, the No Kings protesters are certainly the leadership are deranged. 0.98

00:23:54.000 The leadership are absolutely deranged for sure. 0.96

00:23:56.000 But deranged, not in the sense that they're just crazy, but politically deranged. 0.97

00:24:02.000 They're literally not on the normal range.

00:24:05.000 Well, in just a second, we're going to jump into what's happening in Iran, which, of course, is a flashpoint in American and international politics.

00:24:11.000 But first, when you are hiring, it's not just about qualifications on paper.

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00:24:24.000 Well, you know, that kind of interest in the job makes a huge difference hiring the right people.

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00:25:24.000 Also, Passover is almost here.

00:25:26.000 Right now, things are very rough in Israel.

00:25:28.000 People have been out of school for a month.

00:25:30.000 Enormous number of people in Israel are still living under the sirens from the north, firing rockets from Iran every single day. 1.00

00:25:37.000 Passover reminds us that God still hears the cries of his people and answers with love and compassion, which is why the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is on the ground right now, delivering food, equipping shelters, and caring for Israel's most vulnerable.

00:25:49.000 IFCJ is doing tremendous work over there, making sure, particularly that people who are old and vulnerable, actually have resources.

00:25:55.000 You can stand with Israel today.

00:25:56.000 Your Passover gift declares that the story of deliverance lives on through faith, through action, and through you.

00:26:01.000 Visit benforthefellowship.org to rush your life-saving gift again.

00:26:04.000 That's benforthefellowship.org.

00:26:07.000 There's a lot going on over there.

00:26:08.000 A lot of people who are in need.

00:26:09.000 It's been several years of war at this point.

00:26:11.000 You can help out by heading on over to benforthefellowship.org again.

00:26:14.000 That's benforthefellowship.org, all one word.

00:26:18.000 Meanwhile, speaking of the Middle East, President Trump is keeping all options open to finish off the Iranian threat. 0.98

00:26:18.000 All right. 0.98

00:26:25.000 Now, that might include special operations ranging from attempts to take Kharg Island, that, of course, is the source of 90 to 95% of all Iranian oil, to operations against areas on the shores of the Strait of Hormuz to make sure that the Iranians don't have a source from which to fire their drones at shipping, to an operation on the ground to seize enriched uranium.

00:26:43.000 CBS News reports that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran as thousands of American soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East for what could become a dangerous new phase of the war should President Tronel Trump choose to escalate.

00:26:56.000 Any potential ground operation would fall short of a full-scale invasion and could instead involve raids by a mixture of special operations forces and conventional infantry troops, which, again, is what we have been talking about.

00:27:07.000 That if there are going to be any sort of American boots on the ground, we're not talking about tens of thousands or 100,000 American troops on the ground in Iran, a rock style.

00:27:14.000 That is not what we're talking about.

00:27:16.000 We've never been talking about that.

00:27:18.000 According to CBS News, discussions within the administration over the past month have touched on the possible seizure of Kharg Island, also raids into other coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz.

00:27:29.000 The Wall Street Journal reports alongside all of this that the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit has now arrived in the Middle East, bringing a range of capabilities into theater, giving President Trump more options in the war against Iran.

00:27:42.000 Now, again, all this makes sense.

00:27:44.000 You want all options at your disposal, particularly because if the idea is to ratchet up the pressure in order to ensure some sort of negotiation, right?

00:27:52.000 Keep that pressure up, you want more resources available.

00:27:55.000 Well, the president put out a statement to that effect on Monday morning via Truth Social.

00:27:59.000 He said, United States of America is in serious discussions with a new and more reasonable regime to end our military operations in Iran.

00:28:06.000 Great progress has been made, but if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately open for business, we will conclude our lovely stay in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their electric generating plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island, and possibly all desalinization plants, which we have purposefully not yet touched. 0.60

00:28:25.000 This will be in retribution for our many soldiers and others that Iran has butchered and killed over the old regime's 47-year reign of terror. 0.94

00:28:32.000 Thank you for your attention to this matter, President Trump.

00:28:34.000 Now, the question there, of course, is whether the president sticks with those threats.

00:28:38.000 How relevant are those threats?

00:28:40.000 Obviously, we have seen a couple of those sorts of threats that have not fully materialized in the past.

00:28:45.000 The president, for example, absolutely gave the go-ahead to the Israelis to bomb the South Pars gas field.

00:28:53.000 And then, when Qatar got upset and the president said that Israel had kind of gone off the leash and they'd done it themselves, and then he said that he would not be bombing any more energy fields to allow time for negotiation.

00:29:04.000 You know, is he actually going to go ahead and bomb desalinization plants, for example, which basically shuts down all resources in the country?

00:29:11.000 Unclear, right?

00:29:12.000 But we'll have to see.

00:29:13.000 Again, this is one of the things about President Trump.

00:29:14.000 The answer could absolutely be yes.

00:29:16.000 The Iranians are hoping that President Trump is bluffing. 0.98

00:29:19.000 That's the entire game.

00:29:20.000 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araki put out a tweet: quote: Nisanya, who gambled with American taxpayer dollars and American lives, having badly lost that gamble, is now single-handedly making sure that ordinary Americans, particularly retirees and those retiring in the next few years, will pick up the tab.

00:29:34.000 Again, it is incredible how open, like truly open, the appeal from the Iranian government directly to the grievance party right is.

00:29:41.000 Directly to them.

00:29:43.000 He is absolutely like the Iranian government is counting on the grievance party right to shout in President Trump's ear and get him to stop. 0.56

00:29:49.000 That is their last available opportunity.

00:29:51.000 They know Trump doesn't care what the Democrats have to say.

00:29:53.000 They know President Trump doesn't care what the legacy media have to say.

00:29:56.000 So they're just trying to ratchet up pressure from the grievance party right.

00:30:00.000 Mohamed Khalibaf, their terrorist parliament leader, again, he was IRGC, who may or may not be negotiating with the U.S., said this: quote, heads up, pre-market so-called news or truth is often just a setup for profit taking.

00:30:11.000 Basically, it's a reverse indicator.

00:30:13.000 Do the opposite.

00:30:14.000 If they pump it, short it.

00:30:15.000 If they dump it, go long.

00:30:16.000 See something tomorrow, you know the drill.

00:30:17.000 So now he's giving investment advice.

00:30:18.000 Again, the idea being that President Trump is bluffing, that really there's nothing going on.

00:30:24.000 Well, Secretary of State Rubio says, listen, Iran is behind all the problems in the Middle East.

00:30:30.000 We are not taking our eye off the ball.

00:30:33.000 The Iranian government.

00:30:34.000 Oh, okay.

00:30:35.000 Well, he's an expert in genocide.

00:30:36.000 They're experts in that because, you know, they sponsor terrorism all over the world and they've killed thousands and thousands of people.

00:30:43.000 Look at the Middle East.

00:30:45.000 Look at the Middle East, guys.

00:30:46.000 Every problem in the Middle East tracks back to Iran. 0.99

00:30:51.000 So he is right about that.

00:30:52.000 Now, the Iranians, again, they are trying to increase attacks on America's Gulf allies in the region. 0.98

00:30:56.000 So on Friday night, Iran launched an attack on a Saudi Arabian airbase.

00:31:00.000 They injured some 12 American troops, two of them relatively seriously, is my understanding.

00:31:05.000 10 not nearly as seriously.

00:31:06.000 They damaged an American E-3 sentry, which is an airborne warning and control system aircraft.

00:31:10.000 Those are the airplanes that look like they have a big radar dish on top of them.

00:31:14.000 The United States has approximately 30 of those aircraft in operation.

00:31:17.000 Again, the goal here would be to scare the Gulf allies into begging the United States to call it all off. 0.91

00:31:23.000 Iranian President Mahmoud Pezezkian is trying to plead with our Gulf allies to tell the U.S. to stop.

00:31:28.000 He put out a tweet quote: They've said many times that Iran doesn't carry out preemptive attacks, but we will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted.

00:31:36.000 Well, I mean, they have literally carried out preemptive attacks on all of the Gulf allies, none of whom have actually participated in offensive action.

00:31:44.000 He says to the countries of the region: if you want development and security, don't let our enemies run the war from your lands.

00:31:50.000 The idea that UAE, that Saudi, that Bahrain, that they're all sitting around believing that Iran is going to make a deal with them, it's not going to work.

00:31:58.000 The thing the Gulf allies are most afraid of is that the Iranian regime survives in rump form and then rebuilds.

00:32:04.000 And by the way, it is Russia feeling the pressure too.

00:32:07.000 So there's been a lot of talk about Russia benefiting from the war.

00:32:09.000 In the short term, sure.

00:32:10.000 In the long term, not even remotely close.

00:32:13.000 According to the Wall Street Journal, over the long term, the conflict poses a much bigger threat to Russia's global ambitions.

00:32:19.000 In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up its support for Iran, its closest partner in the Middle East, providing satellite imagery and drone technology to help Iran target U.S. forces in the region.

00:32:28.000 By the way, remember, this is a supposed allied country.

00:32:30.000 Remember, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and others have said Russia is our friend.

00:32:34.000 Why can't we be friends with them?

00:32:36.000 They are literally providing satellite tech and drone technology to help Iran target U.S. forces in the region.

00:32:43.000 Why are they doing this?

00:32:44.000 Well, because if Iran were to go down, then Russia's connections in the region basically disappear.

00:32:50.000 The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Russia has been advising the Iranians based on their experience in Ukraine.

00:32:55.000 And again, Russia's advice and targeting is believed to have aided Iran in strikes on U.S. radar systems in the region.

00:33:01.000 Now, there are those of us who are very anti-Vladimir Putin and Russia throughout the war in Ukraine.

00:33:06.000 There is a reason for that.

00:33:07.000 If you know a single thing about what the Russian dictator actually believes and the people around him, you know that they are not oriented toward the West.

00:33:15.000 They are oriented toward their own imperialistic interests.

00:33:18.000 They have been for legitimately generations.

00:33:22.000 So, with all of that said, it is now becoming clear that Russia is in trouble as well.

00:33:31.000 Russia is feeling the heat.

00:33:32.000 That is the reason why they've gotten so involved.

00:33:34.000 Iranian President Mahmoud Pazeshkin is actually thanking Russia.

00:33:37.000 Quote: President Putin's messages and the support of the Russian people inspire us in this war.

00:33:41.000 The resistance and courage of the Iranian people promise new bonds that will ensure the security of East Asia by the countries of the region.

00:33:48.000 On behalf of the people of Iran, I thank the government and people of Russia.

00:33:53.000 So, again, the Russians, not the good guys, they never were. 1.00

00:33:58.000 Well, President Trump, for his party, says there are still a lot of targets left on the board.

00:34:02.000 In fact, thousands of targets left on the board.

00:34:04.000 Here he was.

00:34:08.000 And now we're just going after targets.

00:34:09.000 And again, they have no anti-aircraft.

00:34:12.000 So we're just floating over the top looking for whatever we want.

00:34:15.000 And we're hitting it.

00:34:16.000 And we have another 3,554 targets left.

00:34:22.000 And that'll be done pretty quickly.

00:34:24.000 And then, you know, at some point, we're going to have to determine what we do.

00:34:28.000 But they have never seen anything like it.

00:34:34.000 President Trump also said that there are a lot of weapons that we have not even revealed yet.

00:34:41.000 We have weapons that nobody's ever seen before.

00:34:44.000 We have weapons that nobody even knows about.

00:34:48.000 President Trump also added that the Gulf allies and Israel are on the same side, so it's about time for the Saudis to join the Abraham Accords.

00:34:54.000 This, of course, is exactly correct.

00:34:55.000 The Saudis, by the way, would like to join the Abraham Accords. 0.67

00:34:57.000 That's the reality.

00:34:58.000 The Saudis would like to do it.

00:35:00.000 The Saudis basically have said that as long as there is a plan to make a plan to one day make a plan with regard to a Palestinian state, then an Abraham Accord or something like it would be on the table.

00:35:10.000 President Trump is saying: listen, you can see who the enemy of any sort of common peaceful interest is.

00:35:17.000 And it's not the Israelis. 0.97

00:35:18.000 So now would be a good time for everybody to sign on.

00:35:23.000 So the Middle East will be transformed and the future of that region is never, I don't think it's ever looked brighter. 1.00

00:35:30.000 You couldn't have, you know, we did the Abraham Accords. 0.95

00:35:32.000 I hope you're going to be getting into the Abraham Accords finally. 0.99

00:35:35.000 Yeah, sir, will you please go back and explain?

00:35:37.000 It's time now.

00:35:39.000 You know, Muhammad say, oh, yes, as soon as we do this, as soon as we do that, I said, Mohammed, we did that.

00:35:47.000 Oh, yes, but we have a couple of other things.

00:35:49.000 It's now time.

00:35:51.000 We've now taken them out and they are out bigly.

00:35:53.000 We got to get into the Abraham Accords. 0.99

00:35:57.000 He is right about that.

00:35:59.000 Meanwhile, by the way, the Iranian government is divided against itself.

00:36:04.000 According to Iran International, serious disagreements have now arisen between Pazehkin, who, again, is the one who's kind of like appealing to the Gulf allies to stop, and the IRGC chief commander, Ahmed Vahidi, over how to manage the war.

00:36:15.000 Pezehkian, who's widely perceived in the region as weak, is criticizing the IRGC for continuing to up the ante.

00:36:22.000 The IRGC, meanwhile, they're basically saying we want to keep upping the ante because eventually the Americans and Israelis will back down.

00:36:29.000 The Iranian regime, by the way, has taken it directly on the jaw.

00:36:32.000 Again, all of the talk about how America's, quote-unquote, losing the war, Iran has been absolutely pummeled.

00:36:37.000 Absolutely pummeled.

00:36:38.000 According to the Washington Post, four of Iran's key ballistic missile manufacturing locations and at least 29 ballistic missile launch sites have been damaged in the first four weeks of the U.S. Israeli offensive, undermining Iran's central military strategy.

00:36:53.000 The damage, according to the Post, has most likely halted Iran's ability to produce short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles until the facilities can be rebuilt.

00:37:02.000 Again, there's only one way that Iran gets out of this situation. 0.86

00:37:05.000 It is if the U.S., Israel, the Gulf allies somehow decide to basically leave the Iranian regime in place and in effective control of the Strait of Hormuz.

00:37:13.000 That is the entire Iranian game. 1.00

00:37:15.000 I think the president knows that, which is why I think it is highly unlikely that that is the end point here.

00:37:20.000 Meanwhile, there was a tempest and a teapot on X this weekend surrounding Israeli home front restrictions on gatherings in Jerusalem's old city.

00:37:29.000 So first, before I start explaining this story, you need to understand the geography of the old city.

00:37:32.000 You've got to spend a lot of time in the old city.

00:37:34.000 The old city is a warren.

00:37:36.000 What I mean by that is the streets are about the size of my desk.

00:37:40.000 I mean, the streets are incredibly narrow.

00:37:43.000 You cannot fit emergency vehicles through those streets.

00:37:45.000 You can't drive a normal car through those streets.

00:37:48.000 You can maybe fit a VESPA.

00:37:49.000 All the buildings are chic and jal next to each other.

00:37:52.000 Many of the buildings do not have any sort of protective infrastructure for missile attacks.

00:37:57.000 They were built literally a thousand years ago.

00:37:59.000 And so many of them, particularly the holy sites, were built so long ago.

00:38:03.000 It's not as though if a missile hits the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aqsa or, as it turns out, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, that somehow it's going to stand up to that.

00:38:12.000 Okay, so there have been significant restrictions in Jerusalem's old city.

00:38:15.000 Those restrictions are not the same as in the rest of Jerusalem.

00:38:17.000 Again, makes sense.

00:38:18.000 If you've ever visited the old city, it is geographically distinct from the rest of Jerusalem.

00:38:23.000 If you go out into, right outside the old city, to say Mamila, Mamila is a modern mall.

00:38:28.000 Mamila has bomb shelters.

00:38:29.000 Mamila has parking lots.

00:38:30.000 Mamila has streets, right?

00:38:32.000 All of the buildings were built sometime over the course of the last 40, 50 years.

00:38:36.000 That is a different thing.

00:38:37.000 Okay, so you need to know that so that you understand the backdrop to what happened over the weekend.

00:38:42.000 So controversy broke out over a visit by the Cardinal Pier Battista Pizzabala and other prominent Catholic figures, like a couple of other prominent Catholic figures, to the church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday.

00:38:54.000 That is the date, of course, that traditionally marks Jesus entering Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.

00:39:00.000 That's why they were going.

00:39:02.000 So apparently, Pizzabala and the others, again, there's a couple of other people, they wanted to go and they wanted to do the Mass by themselves, and they were stopped by Israeli police.

00:39:12.000 Again, the reason that that happened, it was a mistake, as we'll see.

00:39:15.000 But the reason that happened is because the entire old city is currently under severe restrictions thanks to safety concerns over Iranian missile attacks.

00:39:24.000 Why are people concerned?

00:39:25.000 Well, because of situations like this.

00:39:28.000 What you see here is a piece of Iranian missile.

00:39:31.000 It is on a roof, a red tile roof.

00:39:33.000 That red tile roof is maybe 30 feet from the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

00:39:39.000 Or this, March 20th.

00:39:41.000 This is March, again, this was like 10 days ago.

00:39:44.000 This is a picture of what it looks like when a missile fragment slams into the old city.

00:39:48.000 This is about 1,500 feet from the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

00:39:54.000 So if that hits the church of the Holy Sepulchre and there are people inside, those people are dead.

00:39:58.000 That is why you have homefront regulations.

00:40:01.000 Now, what do those regulations say?

00:40:03.000 The current homefront regulations in the old city prevent all gatherings in the old city more than 50 people.

00:40:08.000 But that's not the only restriction.

00:40:10.000 In areas that are not within immediate reach of a Muhammad, a Mamad is a protected space in Jerusalem, or a bomb shelter. 1.00

00:40:17.000 There are no gatherings that are permitted at all.

00:40:20.000 Unless you like live in your house, you're not supposed to go to places that do not have a Mamad or access to a bomb shelter in the Old City.

00:40:29.000 The Old City is basically shut down.

00:40:31.000 Again, there is a reason for that, because if you go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and it is hit by a missile, you can't even get an emergency vehicle in there.

00:40:39.000 The streets are incredibly narrow.

00:40:42.000 Police say the alleys correctly are mass casualty risks, which is why the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been largely closed to the entire public since early March.

00:40:51.000 By the way, everything in Israel is like the schools are closed.

00:40:55.000 As we'll talk about in a second, it's not the only holy site in the Old City that's closed.

00:40:59.000 It is not a standard protected space against direct ballistic missile assault.

00:41:03.000 It isn't close to a mamad.

00:41:04.000 It is not close to a bomb shelter.

00:41:05.000 It is in the middle of a honeycomb of close quarter alleyways.

00:41:09.000 The church of the Holy Sepulchre was not being treated literally any differently than any other site in Jerusalem.

00:41:14.000 Okay, so the idea that there was like a double standard being applied to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, which as we'll see is sort of the accusation, it's not true.

00:41:21.000 This is a picture literally yesterday while this was happening of the Western Wall, which is treated by most Jews as the holiest site in Judaism.

00:41:29.000 The actual most holy site is above the Western Wall in the Temple Mount.

00:41:31.000 That's also totally empty.

00:41:33.000 There's no one there.

00:41:35.000 If you've ever been to the Western Wall, I've been there many times.

00:41:37.000 There are always tons of people there because, again, it is iconic.

00:41:40.000 No one there.

00:41:41.000 It's closed.

00:41:43.000 Al-Aqsa, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, up on the Temple Mount, a holy site to Muslims, is closed.

00:41:48.000 Nonetheless, the Patriarchate put out a statement, quote, the two were stopped en route while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act and were compelled to turn back.

00:41:59.000 As a result, and for the first time in centuries, the heads of the church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

00:42:05.000 This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who during this week looked to Jerusalem.

00:42:12.000 The heads of the churches have acted with full responsibility and since the outset of the war have complied with all imposed restrictions.

00:42:17.000 Public gatherings were canceled.

00:42:19.000 Attendance was prohibited.

00:42:20.000 Arrangements were made to broadcast the celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide who, during these days of Easter, turned their eyes to Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

00:42:29.000 Preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos, who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church in the holy places, constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.

00:42:40.000 This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the status quo.

00:42:49.000 So I don't know what the improper considerations here are supposed to be.

00:42:54.000 That's the only part of the statement that I find somewhat objectionable.

00:42:56.000 I'm not sure what the improper consideration was, because I'll tell you what almost certainly happened.

00:43:01.000 What almost certainly happened is that there was a police officer stationed outside the church.

00:43:05.000 And the cardinal, who again proceeded privately with the custos without any characteristics, according to their statement, of a procession or ceremonial act, the police officer probably said it's closed.

00:43:16.000 And they said, well, we want to go inside.

00:43:17.000 And I'm the cardinal and I want to do the mass.

00:43:19.000 And the police officer, being, you know, a low-level police officer, probably said, wait for it.

00:43:24.000 It's closed.

00:43:25.000 And that was probably the whole story.

00:43:28.000 Now, let's start with the very obvious.

00:43:29.000 This is a blunder by the Israeli police.

00:43:31.000 Duh.

00:43:32.000 Yes, they were trying to maintain safety standards.

00:43:34.000 And also, given the importance of Palm Sunday Mass, some prior planning should have been done with the Patriarchate to allow a private service to take place.

00:43:42.000 By the way, it's still unclear in any of the reporting whether the Patriarchate actually went to the government to initiate those discussions prior to heading over to the church.

00:43:50.000 So if they did not, then the reality is they probably walked up to a random Israeli police officer who is stationed outside and told not to let anyone in.

00:43:58.000 And he said, we can't let anyone in.

00:44:00.000 And that's a blunder by the police for not pre-approving that.

00:44:05.000 But also, if the patriarchate didn't reach out in the first place, they should have done that, right?

00:44:08.000 Bottom line is it's a mess up.

00:44:10.000 The Israeli police put out a statement yesterday.

00:44:13.000 Here was a spokesperson for the Israeli police.

00:44:17.000 The Israel police is committed to the safety of every soul in Jerusalem.

00:44:20.000 During Operation Roaring Lion, while our civilians are being targeted by Iranian regime ballistic missiles, our mission has been very simple, protecting life.

00:44:29.000 Under Home Front Command Directives, life-saving restrictions have been applied to all holy sites in the Old City.

00:44:35.000 This includes for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.

00:44:39.000 We've already seen the Old City targeted by these murderous missiles, not just once, and that's alongside the residential communities that are being targeted non-stop over the last month.

00:44:49.000 These threats, they don't discriminate by religion or background, and neither does our duty to protect you.

00:44:54.000 And because the lives of our Christian residents, civilians, and clergy are precious to us, we cannot allow public gatherings in areas that lack standard protected spaces.

00:45:04.000 The narrow alleys of the old city where emergency and rescue vehicles cannot quickly arrive to scene or victims means a single incident can become a tragedy.

00:45:14.000 Okay, so the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the police officer went on to explain, by the way, they're in dialogue and figuring it out.

00:45:20.000 So the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs then put out their own statement on this, quote, all safety and precautionary instructions in the old city are a direct result of Iranian missile fire.

00:45:29.000 Duh, again, duh.

00:45:31.000 I've been with my staff to Israel many times at this point.

00:45:34.000 My staff is largely Christian.

00:45:36.000 They all go to the site.

00:45:38.000 They all go to the site.

00:45:39.000 They have visited it many times.

00:45:42.000 Fabi, who does makeup here, she's been there pretty much.

00:45:44.000 When she goes, she goes all the time.

00:45:46.000 It's great.

00:45:47.000 It's a wonderful site, and it is perfectly open to Christians when there isn't missile fire raining down on the city.

00:45:53.000 Now, as the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, as is known, the Iranian regime has fired on the Old City on multiple occasions, striking sites in the vicinity of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Western Wall.

00:46:04.000 In light of this, and in order to protect the lives of worshipers of all faiths, precautionary instructions have been issued for all holy sites of all religions, and mass gatherings are not possible.

00:46:13.000 The concern over a mass casualty event in the Old City is particularly acute, given the area's density and the difficulty of deploying first responders in such an incident.

00:46:21.000 The police will meet with Cardinal Pizzabella, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and work to explore solutions that allow for as normal a routine as possible while ensuring public safety.

00:46:30.000 In the picture, and then they included a picture that we showed you of the Iranian missile that hit just a few feet from the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

00:46:37.000 Then the prime minister, Netanyahu, also put out a statement, quote, over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles.

00:46:48.000 As a result, Israel has temporarily asked worshipers from all faiths not to worship at the holy sites in Jerusalem's old city to protect them.

00:46:55.000 Today, out of special concern for his safety, Jerusalem police prevented the Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pizzabala from holding Mass this morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

00:47:03.000 Again, there was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his safety and that of his party.

00:47:07.000 However, given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world's Christians, Israel's security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days.

00:47:19.000 And then the Israeli president put out a statement, again, similarly oriented, saying, quote, I just called the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, his Beatude, Cardinal Pier Batista Pizzabala, to express my great sorrow over this morning's unfortunate incident in the old city of Jerusalem, in which Cardinal Pizzabella and the Custos were prevented from entering the church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers amid the ongoing security situation.

00:47:42.000 I clarify that the incident stemmed from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks from the Iranian terror regime.

00:47:49.000 I reaffirmed the state of Israel's unwavering commitment to freedom of religion for all faiths.

00:47:53.000 Okay, so as if that weren't enough, then the Cardinal put out his own statement too.

00:47:57.000 Quote, it is true that the police had said that the orders from the internal command prevented any kind of gathering in places where there is no shelter.

00:48:03.000 But we had not asked for anything public, just a brief and small private ceremony to preserve the idea of a celebration in the Holy Sepulchre.

00:48:09.000 So first of all, any kind of gathering in places where there is no shelter.

00:48:13.000 So in other words, it doesn't sound as though they actually went to the police to clarify before they went that you showed up and they wanted to do it.

00:48:19.000 And the police probably, again, it was a low-level police person who was there and probably said, it's closed.

00:48:24.000 And they said, but we want to go in.

00:48:25.000 He said, well, I'm sorry, it's closed.

00:48:27.000 And as the Cardinal says, quote, there were no clashes.

00:48:29.000 Everything was done in a very polite manner.

00:48:31.000 I do not want to force the issue.

00:48:33.000 We want to use this situation to try to clarify better in the coming days what to do in respect for everyone's safety, but also in respect for the right to prayer.

00:48:41.000 Again, the police should have responded by trying to accommodate the important private service.

00:48:46.000 And again, it is not just possible, but probable that the particular police officer at issue had no idea the cardinals and others were coming or that there was an important service plan.

00:48:55.000 And the state has made clear from literally every level that they will work with the cardinal and others to ensure that services over Holy Week can advance as necessary.

00:49:03.000 In fact, here is the Cardinal smiling with the Israeli police as of today.

00:49:09.000 Clearly, massive religious discrimination happening against Catholics in the Holy Land.

00:49:13.000 The Israeli police then posted, quote, following a productive meeting between the Israeli police and Latin Catholic Cardinal Pier Batista Pizzabella, a mutual framework has been established for upcoming Easter ceremonies.

00:49:24.000 Due to the complex security reality of Operation Roaring Lion, ceremonies including the Holy Fire will be held in a symbolic limited format.

00:49:31.000 This coordination ensures that freedom of worship is maintained alongside our shared primary duty, the protection of human life.

00:49:38.000 The life-saving restrictions are a direct response to a real and present danger to all worshipers.

00:49:42.000 And then the Latin Patriarchate itself put out the following statement this morning, quote, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the custody of the Holy Land hereby confirm the matters concerning the Holy Week and Easter celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have been addressed and resolved in coordination with the relevant authorities.

00:49:59.000 Naturally, and in light of the current state of war, the existing restrictions on public gatherings remain in force for the time being.

00:50:04.000 Accordingly, the churches will ensure the liturgies and prayers are broadcast live to the faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world.

00:50:10.000 And they expressed sincere gratitude for the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, for his prompt attention and valued intervention.

00:50:18.000 And they say, it is our hope that appropriate arrangements will continue to be found enabling prayer to take place in places of worship, particularly in the holy places of all religions, in a manner that both respects legitimate safety needs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

00:50:29.000 Okay, so why was this an international story?

00:50:33.000 Well, I mean, it really shouldn't have been.

00:50:35.000 It was a local screw-up by local police in a dangerous time of war amidst broad-scale restrictions that apply equivalently to people of literally all religions in the old city.

00:50:46.000 Muslims, Jews, Christians, Armenians, Ethiopians, literally people of all forms of Christianity.

00:50:53.000 So why was this an international issue?

00:50:55.000 Well, because by some, particularly the World of X, it was treated as an all-out assault on Catholics everywhere, which again, you've seen the context.

00:51:04.000 That is, shall we say, unmerited.

00:51:06.000 The amount of outrage over the police's mistake, again, was treated by people in the world of X, which is psychotic, as an assault, a purposeful assault by the state of Israel on Catholic practice.

00:51:18.000 Emmanuel Macron, who, by the way, should never get to sound off on these issues.

00:51:22.000 He has presided over the wholesale surrender of his country to radical Islamism and radical secularism. 0.93

00:51:27.000 He's suddenly speaking out, quote, I condemn the decision of the Israeli police, which adds to a troubling series of violations of the status of the holy sites in Jerusalem.

00:51:35.000 Now, again, Macron had literally nothing to say about missiles being fired at the holy city. 0.99

00:51:39.000 He's too busy kissing the ass of Iran. 0.99

00:51:42.000 The same was true for Canada's Mark Carney, who suddenly found it necessary to sound off. 1.00

00:51:46.000 Let us make something absolutely clear because it's true.

00:51:49.000 Israel protects the rights of religious minorities in Israel, which is why the indigenous Christian population of Israel has increased over the decades.

00:51:57.000 That is not true of any surrounding country.

00:52:00.000 Now, you may have heard from professional lawyers about the increasing Christian population of UAE or Qatar or Kuwait or Bahrain or Saudi.

00:52:00.000 None.

00:52:08.000 You want to know why?

00:52:09.000 Because they're all foreign workers who have been shipped in. 1.00

00:52:13.000 They are not citizens.

00:52:14.000 They're not indigenous. 0.98

00:52:15.000 Christian churches in Israel own nearly 25,000 acres of land in Israel.

00:52:21.000 Churches own roughly 32%, one-third of all land in the old city.

00:52:28.000 And let's make something else clear.

00:52:29.000 Again, information, information.

00:52:31.000 It is totally meritless to suggest that the state of Israel is purposefully targeting Christian sites and leaders.

00:52:37.000 It is merit-free.

00:52:39.000 The law of Israel literally prevents this.

00:52:41.000 The Declaration of Israeli Independence guarantees freedom of religion.

00:52:44.000 There is a law from 1967 called the Protection of Holy Places law, and it mandates that holy sites of all religions, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, be protected from desecration and that access to them be guaranteed.

00:52:56.000 In fact, as far as I'm aware, literally the only religion that is being given specific, specific carve-outs here is Cardinal Pisabella and the Catholics.

00:53:07.000 There are Jewish rabbis who are not allowed to get together in areas in the Old City.

00:53:11.000 And now, I'm fine with that.

00:53:13.000 I think the carve-out is good.

00:53:14.000 I think it is useful, and I think it is worthwhile.

00:53:16.000 And it is totally legitimate to be upset about a bad local police decision preventing a religious ceremony of tremendous importance from going forward. 0.96

00:53:23.000 But what is totally illegitimate and ill-advised and stupid and also malicious in many cases is to suggest that this was a purposeful state-driven attempt to discriminate against Catholics. 0.84

00:53:34.000 Again, the Patriarchate here will be the only such institution, as far as I'm aware, allowed to perform such services under current circumstances. 0.94

00:53:43.000 So don't pay attention to the not, and I will just point out the number of tweets on this topic, it trended number one yesterday, the number of tweets on this mistaken turning away of the Cardinal, hundreds of thousands, over 300,000.

00:54:00.000 The number of tweets total when a piece of Iranian missile nearly destroyed the place, 9,000.

00:54:07.000 So yeah, I'm not going to put a ton of stock in the sort of overwrought response that suggests not that a terrible mistake took place and should be rectified, which it has been, according to the Cardinal.

00:54:21.000 I'm not going to put stock in people who suggest that this is part of a total Israeli war on Catholics or some such nonsense because it isn't true.

00:54:29.000 It is not factual.

00:54:29.000 It isn't true.

00:54:31.000 And last I checked, telling lies remains immoral.

00:54:36.000 All righty.

00:54:37.000 So in just a moment, we are going to get to your questions.

00:54:41.000 But in order for your questions to be answered, well, actually, you know what?

00:54:44.000 We'll do it now.

00:54:45.000 Okay, so we have some questions from our friends, and it's sponsored by our friends over at PeerTalk.

00:54:50.000 This segment is sponsored again by our friends over at PeerTalk.

00:54:54.000 Here is Carol from Tampa, Florida.

00:55:00.000 Hi, Ben.

00:55:02.000 What do you think about the filibuster?

00:55:04.000 Is Trump right as he has been about so many other things?

00:55:08.000 Will the Democrats just eliminate the filibuster when they come back into power?

00:55:13.000 It seems that so many great policies could breeze right through Congress if they could just rid us of the filibuster.

00:55:22.000 What are your thoughts?

00:55:26.000 So, you know, again, this is sort of the great call that's being put out there.

00:55:29.000 The Vice President JD Vance actually said this yesterday.

00:55:32.000 So the Vice President put out a statement yesterday in which he claimed that we ought to basically trash the filibuster now because if we don't, then Democrats will.

00:55:39.000 Here was the VP with Benny Johnson.

00:55:42.000 So when Mitch McConnell and Lisa Murkowski say, well, we need to protect the filibuster because the Democrats, they're not going to do it.

00:55:50.000 So we shouldn't do it either.

00:55:51.000 The Democrats ruined the career of Kirsten Sinema for not overruling the filibuster.

00:55:57.000 They're going to do it.

00:55:58.000 So we might as well do it now to enforce the protection of the American electoral system. 0.98

00:56:04.000 It's the dumbest political argument I've ever seen. 0.72

00:56:07.000 I promise you, Benny, I would bet every dollar that I own that the next time the Democrats have control of the Senate, they will break the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, and destroy this country. 0.98

00:56:18.000 We have to do it now in order to save the country.

00:56:22.000 Now, again, I don't think this is totally non-credible.

00:56:24.000 I think that it is an argument worth listening to.

00:56:26.000 I asked Senator Thune directly about this just last week on the program.

00:56:31.000 I will say that if this is true, and the move Republicans should make right now is that they should immediately, like right now, say that there ought to be a constitutional amendment to enshrine the filibuster for all time.

00:56:43.000 And that if it is not passed within the course of the next three months, they're going to just nuke it.

00:56:49.000 This is a suggestion put forward by the co-founder of the Daily Wire, Jeremy Boring.

00:56:54.000 I've always thought it was a good idea.

00:56:56.000 The sort of mutually assured destruction of the filibuster, it seems like it might not hold in the future.

00:57:02.000 However, you just don't have the political support among Republican senators to, I mean, you would need unanimity among the Republicans.

00:57:08.000 I'm not sure that you have 30 Republican senators for destroying the filibuster.

00:57:12.000 And also, again, I will point out that there are a lot of Democrats.

00:57:16.000 I think John Fetterman is not going to vote in favor of destroying the filibuster, for example.

00:57:21.000 So, if you lost so much trust that you can't count on the other side to maintain the filibuster, you really should push for a constitutional amendment.

00:57:29.000 That should be the next move rather than just destroying the filibuster wholesale.

00:57:32.000 All righty, folks, the show continues for our members right now.

00:57:34.000 We'll be answering your questions over there as well.

00:57:36.000 If you are not a member, become a member.

00:57:38.000 Use Code Shapiro at checkout to try two months free on all annual plans.

00:57:41.000 Click that link in the description to join

The Ben Shapiro Show - March 30, 2026

This Is Who Is Secretly Funding No Kings

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