Former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence gave what the media are calling “dueling speeches” in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. For Trump, it was his first speech in Washington since Joe Biden’s inauguration.

I was invited to both events because I am close to both men. Sadly, I could not attend either event as both Carol and I have been diagnosed with COVID.

There was very little difference in the substance of their remarks. Both Trump and Pence outlined a populist conservative philosophy, and, in my humble opinion, a much brighter vision for our future than the Biden/Harris malaise we’re currently suffering through.

Seriously, Biden’s top economic adviser stepped up to the podium Tuesday to essentially tell us, “Just be glad you’re not starving.” Venezuela seems to be their new standard!

Both Trump and Pence addressed not just foreign policy and economics, but also the importance of cultural and values issues. Unlike most of the GOP establishment, I believe the Democrats are more vulnerable on culture and values than economics. (See below.)

The vast majority of Americans know our country, under Biden, Pelosi and Schumer, is barreling off a cliff. They are desperate for a change in direction and leadership. Donald Trump clearly believes that only he can rescue the country by running again.

My friend, Mike Pence, as well as Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Ambassador Nikki Haley, Secretary Mike Pompeo and others all think that they would have a better chance of winning in November of 2024.

Frankly, I wish that none of this early 2024 handicapping was happening right now. We’ve got just 104 days before the November 8th midterm elections when we had better take back the Congress or the country may be too broken by 2024 to save it.

We need to stay focused on the most immediate challenge!

An Immediate Threat

While many Republicans are eagerly looking forward to 2024, something happened Tuesday that may not only impact Donald Trump, it could literally destroy the chances of anyone else who wants to be the next Republican president.

According to the Washington Post, the corrupt Biden Justice Department (see last item) has already launched a criminal investigation against Donald Trump built on the hearsay testimony and speculation of the January 6th Stalinist show trial.

In an interview with NBC News, Attorney General Merrick Garland said:

“We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding January 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable.”

Garland reiterated that he would not be deterred from criminally investigating anyone, even someone running for president of the United States. His statement was clearly aimed at Donald Trump.

There are many in the GOP establishment, and I suspect not a few potential 2024 candidates, who are privately cheering Merrick Garland on. They wrongly believe that the best way to end the Trump chapter of GOP history and move on to victory is if Trump gets indicted or is somehow kept off the ballot.

I vehemently disagree.

Yes, the left wants to destroy Donald Trump. That was the entire purpose of the January 6th Committee.

But their ultimate target is the half of America that elected Donald Trump. Their ultimate goal is to completely demoralize millions of Americans by utterly destroying the man they saw as the first guy who was actually willing to fight for them.

Without those millions of voters, none of the other contenders stand any chance of winning the White House, especially if they are seen as not really fighting back against the political persecution of the January 6th Stalinist show trial.

So, I would just say to all these men and women, who are good people, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Looking Ahead

Since we’re on the subject of 2024, the latest poll out of New Hampshire is rather amusing.

• Only 20% of New Hampshire residents want Biden to run again.

• When given a choice of 16 potential Democrat candidates, Biden loses to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg 17% to 16% in a hypothetical 2024 primary.

• Kamala Harris finishes 7th with just 6%.

• Only 2% of New Hampshire Democrats name Biden as their “second choice.”

Stop The Insanity!

Joe Biden’s Supreme Court appointee, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, made headlines several months ago when she claimed she was unable to define what a “woman” is. Well, it turns out that Justice Brown Jackson is not alone in her cluelessness or complete insanity. (I’ll let you decide which it is.)

Evidently, many Senate Democrats and Democrat Senate candidates can’t define what a “woman” is. They’re also confused about exactly who can get pregnant!

Here’s my point: The American people overwhelmingly believe Biden’s economy is a disaster. They’re worried about record inflation and record gas prices. Yet, Republican candidates are not cruising to landslide victories in any critical battleground Senate race.

It’s not at all clear that we will win in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Clearly, Joe Biden’s lousy economy is not the “silver bullet” that Beltway consultants think it is.

As I have been arguing for a long time, the economy alone, as bad as it is, will not defeat the Democrats. The “green eyeshades” strategy didn’t work for Mitt Romney, and it won’t work this time either.

But a lousy economy coupled with their cultural extremism will defeat the Democrats — IF Republican candidates will aggressively attack the radical Democrats over their insane ideas like “pregnant men.”

This isn’t hard. Here’s what we should be saying to voters:

“This guy can’t define what a woman is. Why would you trust him on anything else? Do you really think he’s got the best answers for the economy? Do you really think he’ll be tough on communist China? If your four year-old knows more than a left-wing candidate, vote Republican!”

This is a huge gift. It’s so easy to mock these insane ideologues who are afraid of the left-wing fringe of their own party. It may also supercharge Republican outreach efforts to culturally conservative and religiously conservative minority communities!

But we must not be afraid of forcefully engaging on cultural and values issues!

And that’s a good lesson not just for GOP candidates, but for parents, pastors, and all of us.

We must stop the left’s insanity before it destroys our country!

Do not be afraid. Be bold!

Speak up for our values.

Fight for what you know is right!

The China Threat

As the Trump/Pence Administration warned repeatedly, communist China is stealing vast amounts of data on the American people, and we appear incapable of even recognizing what’s happening.

For example, we know now that when your child posts a video or watches a video on TikTok, the communist Chinese are collecting every bit of data they possibly can from your child’s phone. It’s all going back to data centers controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

The Chinese communists are buying up U.S. homes and farm land near sensitive U.S. military facilities. They are buying up our farms while they are hoarding massive stockpiles of food and grain.

They’re putting sophisticated technology in rural communities near our nuclear missile silos.

They’ve been stealing technology from our top research universities for years.

During the Obama/Biden Administration, communist China hacked the U.S. government and stole information on millions of federal employees.

Now we’re learning that they ran a multi-year operation to compromise the Federal Reserve.

Here’s the bottom line: We must extricate ourselves from communist China!

Communist China has clearly declared war on us, and the more information and influence they have, the greater the danger they pose.

Corrupt To The Core

Yesterday, we told you about Senator Chuck Grassley’s shocking accusation that the Department of Justice and the FBI may be “corrupt to their very core.” Well, here’s an example of what Grassley was referring to.

FBI Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten is one of the agents accused of leading the Hunter Biden coverup. It turns out that Auten was also a key figure in the Russian collusion hoax.

In the early weeks and months of 2017, Auten interviewed Igor Danchenko, the source of Christopher Steele’s infamous dossier. Auten could have and should have exposed the absurdity of the dossier.

Instead, he allegedly covered up the weaknesses and inconsistencies in Danchecko’s statements, which allowed the Russian collusion hoax to advance.

The Justice Department inspector general referred Auten for disciplinary action as a result of his failures in the Danchenko case and for his involvement in the wiretapping of Carter Page.

Yet somehow this anti-Trump agent ends up managing the investigation of Hunter Biden. Go figure!