The Josh Hammer Report

Josh Hammer

Newsweek Senior Editor-at-Large And Host,
"The Josh Hammer Show"

President Donald Trump's immigration policies remain front and center in our national political conversation. From the president's invocation of the dusty Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to his decision to arrest and commence removal proceedings for former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil and other prominent jihad-sympathizers, it has not taken long for Trump to turn in earnest toward his signature issue. To be sure, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency are continuing their proper and popular work of gutting taxpayer-funded bureaucratic bloat. But the conversation in Washington right now is squarely centered on the issue that is MAGA's raison d'être: immigration.

This is politically propitious terrain for President Trump and his nationalist-populist coalition. The American people, by overwhelming margins, do not side with Democratic officials and outspoken left-wing activists when it comes to such things as the deportation of Khalil, a clear Hamas-sympathizer, or the loathsome murderers, rapists, and gangbangers of Tren de Aragua. I filled in on radio earlier this week for Dallas-based Salem Media Group radio host Mark Davis (you can find Mark's latest Newsweek op-ed below, incidentally!), and one of my on-air guests, freshman Congressman Brandon Gill (R-Tex.), described this as not merely being an "80/20 issue"—but a "90/10 issue."

Ultimately, the radical left-wing opposition to deporting subversive miscreants like Khalil and Tren de Aragua thugs comes from a distinctly globalist starting position. The activists' goal here is nothing less than the total eradication of the nation-state itself—the blurring of all discernible lines between citizen and noncitizen. This is the homogenizing imperative of global neoliberalism, which I identify as one of the three hegemonic forces—along with wokeism and Islamism—now threatening to destroy Western civilization in my brand-new book, Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West. I hope you'll support your humble newsletter correspondent by ordering a copy of Israel and Civilization today! It's been near the top of the book rankings on Amazon all week—you won't be disappointed!

To keep up with everything I'm doing, follow me on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook. You can listen to all episodes of "The Josh Hammer Show" at the Newsweek website or on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts—as well as on select radio stations across the country. I also have a second podcast, "America on Trial with Josh Hammer," with The First. And one final time: Make sure to order my debut book, which just came out yesterday, Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West!

Our highlighted recent Newsweek op-eds include selections from yours truly, Mark A. DiPlacido, Stuart Gottlieb, Gordon G. Chang, and Mark Davis.

Have a great rest of your week! We'll be back in your inbox next week.

Spotlight

AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

Mahmoud Khalil and the Red-Green Assault on American Sovereignty

The stock market of late has been on a veritable roller coaster, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency continues to ruffle feathers, Iran marches ever harrowingly closer to a nuclear weapon, and Russia and Ukraine get tantalizingly close to a ceasefire. But the national political conversation this week has curiously tended to focus not on any of that but instead on the uncertain fate of a lone noncitizen and former Columbia University graduate student, Mahmoud Khalil.

Talk about a misplacement of priorities. Most American media consumers care a great deal about their pocketbooks and retirement accounts. They likely also care about stability on the world stage—a subdued China, a relatively calm Middle East, and a long-overdue peace deal to end the bloodshed in Eastern Europe.

By contrast, here is one thing media consumers probably don't care a lot about: whether a Syrian national and Algerian citizen who was the face of last year's violent pro-Hamas Columbia University campus riots gets deported. You would never know that, of course, from the media's incessant focus on the Khalil saga. Is it any wonder that only 31% of Americans told Gallup last fall they have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of confidence in the media?

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