Rebeccah L. HeinrichsSenior Fellow and Director, Keystone Defense Initiative
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眾議院議長邁克·約翰遜談對美國主導的世界秩序的威脅
https://www.hudson.org/events/speaker-mike-johnson-threats-us-led-world-order-rebeccah-heinrichs
2024 年 7 月 8 日 現場出席僅限受邀者。谘詢：msnow@hudson.org
邁克·約翰遜於 2024 年 6 月 4 日在華盛頓特區舉行的新聞發布會上發表講話。（照片由 Andrew Harnik/Getty Images 拍攝）
邁克·約翰遜邁克·約翰遜
美國眾議院議長
heinrichsRebeccah L. Heinrichs
Keystone Defense Initiative 高級研究員兼主任
收聽活動音頻
對美國和美國主導的國際秩序的威脅日益加劇。中國共產黨試圖取代美國，因為這個全球霸主正在組建一個經濟合作夥伴集團，並迅速建立軍事力量來威脅和脅迫美國及其盟友。俄羅斯於 2022 年全麵入侵烏克蘭，引發了二戰以來歐洲最大的陸戰。伊朗對以色列發動了前所未有的直接攻擊，並資助了針對美國及其盟友的代理攻擊。這些獨裁國家及其代理人有擴張主義目標，正在合作傷害美國並顛覆其全球影響力。
與眾議院議長邁克·約翰遜 (R-LA) 和高級研究員麗貝卡·海因裏希斯一起討論議長的議程，以增強美國威懾的可信度，加強聯盟，提高美國的硬實力，維護美國人民的自由、安全和繁榮。
活動記錄
此記錄是自動生成的，並經過輕微編輯以確保準確性。請原諒任何錯誤。
約翰·沃爾特斯：
下午好，歡迎來到哈德遜研究所的貝琪和沃利·斯特恩會議中心。我是約翰·沃爾特斯，哈德遜研究所的總裁兼首席執行官。在哈德遜研究所成立 60 多年的時間裏，哈德遜研究所接待過許多美國愛國者、軍事領導人、立法者、內閣部門負責人和總統，對此我們倍感榮幸。今天，距離我們慶祝美國愛國者誕生的獨立日不到一周，我們再次榮幸地接待了這樣一位人士：美國眾議院議長邁克·約翰遜。議長約翰遜於 2016 年首次當選，代表路易斯安那州第四區，該區包括巴克斯代爾空軍基地、空軍全球打擊司令部總部等重要軍事設施。作為一名憲法學者和備受推崇的立法者，他曾擔任過重要的國會領導職務，並在司法和武裝部隊委員會等重要委員會任職。自 10 月就任現任職務以來，議長約翰遜一直是一位傑出的立法領導人。他今天就美國主導的國際秩序所麵臨的威脅發表講話可謂恰逢其時。
僅在過去三個月，伊朗就向以色列發射了 300 多架無人機和導彈，為真主黨持續襲擊以色列北部邊境開了綠燈，坦率地說，是為了幫助德黑蘭的另一個恐怖代理人哈馬斯，伊朗還將其濃縮鈾儲備擴大到接近核武器級別的水平。在北京，普京和習近平舉行會晤，宣布兩國夥伴關係進入新時代。在古巴，俄羅斯海軍艦艇停靠在哈瓦那港，而中國則迅速擴大了在該島上的間諜基地。在平壤，俄羅斯和朝鮮之間的軍事和經濟合作在普京訪問後進一步加深。約翰遜議長在解釋美國必須與盟友一起對抗這場即將來臨的風暴的原因時說：“曆史會根據我們的所作所為來評判我們。”本著這種精神，我們期待聽到他對美國應如何應對當今威脅並確保美國安全的見解。約翰遜議長發言後，我的同事哈德遜高級研究員麗貝卡·海因裏希斯將與他一起繼續討論。現在，請和我一起歡迎邁克·約翰遜議長。
邁克·約翰遜：
非常感謝。很高興與您在一起。約翰，感謝您的熱情介紹。我以前從未有幸在哈德遜研究所發言，但我真的很感激今天上午有這個機會，也非常感謝研究所多年來所做的所有出色工作。正如我們都認識到的那樣，現在比以往任何時候都更加重要。上周，我們慶祝了我們作為一個國家的 248 歲生日，如果你像我經常做的那樣，對一群高中生或大學生講話，那似乎是永恒的，但我們都知道，在整個人類曆史上，這並不是很長的時間跨度。但我們擁有世界曆史上最偉大的國家。它是有史以來最強大、最有權力、最自由、最仁慈的國家，這絕非偶然。因為我們建立在某些原則之上。而我們現在感覺到，我們中的許多人強烈地感覺到，其中一些原則、一些基本真理正受到攻擊
甚至在我們自己的邊界內，甚至在我們自己的國家內。
在我們即將迎來 250 周年紀念之際，我們正在討論美國在世界上未來的地位，我們值得花一點時間，特別是在這樣的時刻，反思我們作為一個國家曾經在哪裏，現在在哪裏，未來在哪裏。在第二次世界大戰前夕，我們知道主要威脅來自歐洲的暴君，但我們受到了亞洲暴君的攻擊，我們被迫在兩個戰場上開戰。當然，在冷戰中，蘇聯是美國唯一真正的威脅，但他們在世界各地都有代理人，他們一起合作。三國同盟建立了一個權力軸心，旨在摧毀西方。華沙條約組織建立了一個蘇聯夥伴集團，與美國對抗。在這兩個例子中，我們都看到一群敵人聯合起來對抗我們。
今天，我們不再像蘇聯那樣麵臨一個主要敵人，而且到目前為止，值得慶幸的是，我們還沒有看到一種新的三國同盟，但我們確實看到一群國家公開結盟對抗美國。這是一個相互關聯的威脅網絡。我稱之為中國主導的軸心，由俄羅斯、伊朗、朝鮮、委內瑞拉甚至古巴的夥伴政權組成。現在他們各自都有自己的文化和自己特定的險惡目標，但他們每天早上醒來都在思考如何打倒美國。他們越來越多地利用他們的集體軍事、技術和財政資源來相互支持，以各種方式切斷我們的貿易路線，竊取我們的技術，傷害我們的軍隊，顛覆我們的經濟。
伊朗與俄羅斯合作生產 Shahed 無人機，每天追捕和轟炸烏克蘭人，而俄羅斯則利用中國提供的技術向烏克蘭電網發射朝鮮導彈。中國是我們最大的威脅，它正在世界各地進行惡意影響行動，甚至現在還與古巴和委內瑞拉支持的卡特爾合作，用芬太尼毒害美國人。中國、俄羅斯和伊朗都與古巴情報機構合作，以美國人為目標，為過境恐怖分子提供安全港。所有這些在我們半球活動的敵人都在這樣做，他們與委內瑞拉進行石油貿易，委內瑞拉正將非法移民和暴力罪犯推向我們的邊境。
我曾到世界各地訪問國會，與世界許多國家的大使和外交部長交談，我們知道現在戰爭是全球許多人的心頭之念。有些威脅令人毛骨悚然地想起了過去。我們聽到消滅猶太人的呼聲。我們聽到領土擴張的呼聲和以種族為主導的入侵理由。我們還聽到關於吞並太平洋島嶼的演講。所有這些都是 80 年前我們聽到的一些同樣聲音的回響。直到最近，在蘇聯解體近 40 年的時間裏，由於美國的以實力求和平政策，戰爭的聲音，相互關聯的全球衝突，大多是沉默的。但現在情況已不再如此。在當前的情況下，世界越來越不穩定，我們現在正處於一個決定性的時刻，我想我們所有人都意識到了這一點。
我們在美國采取的行動將繼續決定自由世界的道路。從這個意義上說，自由在世界各地得以生存。我們所有人都認識到，雖然民主並不完美，但自治的負擔肯定比暴政的枷鎖要輕得多。但現在，如果沒有美國的領導，我們所看到的未來可能會被共產主義和暴政所定義，而不是自由、機會和安全。在歐洲，普京已經明確表示，他的計劃不會止步於烏克蘭。他把自己比作沙皇彼得大帝，你可以讀到他關於恢複俄羅斯帝國的文章，這個帝國將包括我們在維爾紐斯、赫爾辛基和華沙的軍事夥伴。習近平明確表示，他有意擴大共產主義立足點，包括南海。在中東，阿亞圖拉想要複活哈裏發並消滅以色列。
他們大聲說出這些話。隨著敵對情緒的加劇，我們冒著失去印度洋-太平洋和紅海自由航行的風險，當然，如果我們失去台灣的半導體供應或與歐洲的貿易減少，我們也會麵臨毀滅性的經濟損失。與此同時，我們有可能回到一個由酋長控製耶路撒冷、猶太人沒有土地的時代。現在，你聽到很多對共和黨的批評，作為共和黨的領導人，我們確信這些威脅已經增長了一段時間，但在軟弱的總統領導下，它們被允許相當戲劇性地擴散。作為共和黨人、保守派，我們直言不諱，因為這令人擔憂。我們必須直言不諱
我們必須說實話，這些都是客觀事實。在奧巴馬政府執政期間，我們看到了八年的國際道歉之旅。我們看到了軍隊的削減、ISIS 的壯大、俄羅斯入侵克裏米亞、中國在全球的影響力蔓延，以及一項讓伊朗得到他們想要的一切的核協議。
我們今天麵臨的是什麽？我們在奧巴馬執政期間看到的同樣失敗也發生在喬·拜登執政期間，因為他授權了一個與現實脫節的外交政策機構，該機構的議程與我們現在需要的議程截然不同。他們的議程再次是安撫、道歉和遷就。喬·拜登並不把中國當敵人。他停止支持以色列，並與伊朗拉攏，以重啟失敗的核協議。在最令人費解的政策中，他向間諜和恐怖分子敞開了我們的邊境，同時減少了對在我們後院製造混亂的拉丁獨裁者的製裁。而這一切的結果是完全可以預見的，我們都在經曆著。奧巴馬的軟弱引發了侵略，而拜登的軟弱助長了這種侵略，這是我們自二戰以來從未見過的。當我在唐納德·特朗普第一屆政府期間於 2017 年進入國會時，情況有所不同，我們同時來到華盛頓，大約一年半後，即 2019 年，我當選為共和黨研究委員會主席。
那是國會中最大的黨團會議。作為共和黨研究委員會主席，我做的第一件事就是成立了一個國家安全工作組。我們發布了一份報告，其中包含 130 項政策建議，以采取一些非常重要的措施，對抗中國，遏製俄羅斯，並推進美國在中東的利益。令那些想把他描繪成孤立主義者的專家們懊惱的是，如果你看看曆史上的客觀事實，你就會知道特朗普總統建立了穩固的安全態勢，推進了我們在報告中概述的相同原則。還記得他如何用“世界從未見過的烈火與怒火”威脅朝鮮嗎？我會模仿特朗普這樣做，但今天早上我不會為你這麽做。他自己說出來會更好。還記得他是如何幹掉蘇萊曼尼和巴格達迪的嗎？還記得他是第一位向烏克蘭發射標槍導彈的總統，以及他是如何采取措施重建我們的軍隊的嗎？
還記得特朗普的軍備控製方法有多簡單嗎？他結束了單方麵條約，他指責俄羅斯違反了《中導條約》，他確保美國正在開發武器以在受到挑戰時獲勝。他指出了對中國的威脅，並承擔了中國不公平的貿易行為。他讓我們的盟友支付他們應得的份額。他對伊朗實施了石油製裁，並促成了《亞伯拉罕協議》。外交政策機構對此非常討厭。但他沒有退縮，也沒有道歉。他讓我們的敵人心生恐懼，並以他的領導力明確表示，美國的力量對二十一世紀的和平至關重要。可以肯定的是，共和黨不是國家建設者或粗心大意的幹涉主義者。我們不認為我們應該成為世界警察，也不是認為我們可以安撫暴君的理想主義者。我們是現實主義者。我們不尋求戰鬥，但我們知道我們必須做好準備。我們必須做好戰鬥的準備。如果必須戰鬥，我們會不惜一切代價。今天，當我們的對手不需要跨越海洋來傷害我們的人民時，我們需要一項以實力實現二十一世紀和平的新政策。
即使美國最後的官僚在喬·拜登的領導下重新掌權並招致敵人的侵略，在未來幾個月裏，我們有機會改變路線。我認為你會看到美國人民中出現了一股民意。我認為人們本能地認識到了這一點，而且勢頭在我們這邊。我越來越樂觀了。我非常希望我們能夠做到這一點。當我們做到了這一點，我認為我們需要為未來製定一個由三部分組成的外交政策戰略。
首先，我們必須加強我們的國內地位，因為國家安全顯然始於國內。這是一個令人不安的事實，但我們最大的國家安全挑戰是我們的國債。這是五角大樓領導人在宣誓時所說的，我們都知道這一點。為了滿足我們的國防需求，國會必須努力發展我們的經濟，大幅削減我們的總體支出。我可以向你們保證，到 2025 年，支出改革將成為我們新共和黨多數派的首要任務，這不是一場輕鬆的對話。但它們對我們的長期生存至關重要。國會必須優先考慮我們國家真正必要的需求，而我們的國家安全必須放在首位。
與此同時，我們必須解決國防基礎設施空心化的問題。2024 年軍事實力指數是我所知道的許多人都想知道的。
你們在座的各位可能都熟悉這份報告。報告將陸軍和海軍陸戰隊的能力評為薄弱，將海軍的能力評為非常薄弱，將空軍的戰備能力評為非常薄弱，將我們的核能力評為邊緣。這不是一份好的成績單。如果我們要對我們的對手展示可信的威懾力，我們必須在財政負責的同時進行重建。這就是為什麽我們在 4 月份的國家安全補充法案中投資了 230 億美元來補充基本武器並重建我們的國防能力。
展望未來，我們還必須重新投資我們的海事部門，開始建造新船和新造船廠。全球 80% 的貿易是通過海洋進行的，而中國目前的造船能力是美國的 232 倍——多 232 倍。我們需要重新上岸並安全上岸我們的供應鏈，恢複我們的國內製造和建設能力，同時保護我們的軍隊免受另一次預算緊縮的影響。
但加強我們的國內地位也意味著釋放我們的能源部門並保護我們的邊境。再次強調，這是關於優先事項的問題。當喬·拜登加入《巴黎氣候協定》並停止液化天然氣出口時，你知道誰贏了嗎？中國和俄羅斯贏了，美國家庭輸了。當喬·拜登開放我們的邊境，結束留在墨西哥的政策，停止修建隔離牆，並實行抓捕和釋放製度時，恐怖分子、卡特爾組織和芬太尼販運者贏了，美國人輸了。
但這是充滿希望的部分。2025 年，隨著共和黨領導的政府迅速加強我們的國內地位，我們還必須利用我們的經濟實力來影響我們的朋友並威懾我們的敵人。我們可以做到這一點。我們必須這樣做。隨著最近的國家安全補充法案，眾議院共和黨人推翻了拜登政府對伊朗的綏靖政策，並確保了近十年來最嚴厲的伊朗製裁方案。我們利用我們的經濟影響力對抗中共控製的 TikTok，並通過了《回購法案》，該法案允許我們扣押俄羅斯寡頭的銀行資產以支付對烏克蘭的援助。在烏克蘭補充法案中，我們要求歐洲盟友提供成本匹配。順便說一句，這些是參議院版本法案中沒有的關鍵條款。我們在眾議院添加了這些條款。我們希望在未來的日子裏，我們可以推動我們的歐洲朋友建立一個自給自足的國防工業基地，減少對美國援助的依賴。如果我們做所有這些事情，俄羅斯將無法壓倒我們的集體力量。
但由於目前中國對全球和平構成了最大的威脅，國會必須集中精力，用我們掌握的一切手段來對抗中國。在這屆國會剩下的短暫時間裏，我們已經忙得不可開交了。眾議院將對一係列法案進行投票，授權下一屆政府在第一天打擊我們敵人的經濟。我們將製定製裁方案，懲罰向俄羅斯和伊朗提供物質支持的中國軍事公司，我們將考慮限製對華對外投資的方案。我們正在製定一項立法，以推動今年秋天實現這一目標。
我們將對《生物安全法案》進行投票，該法案將停止與受製於對手並危及美國人醫療數據的生物技術公司簽訂的聯邦合同。我們將限製任何受 301 條款貿易執法關稅約束的商品的最低限度特權，這將有助於阻止中國利用美國貿易的企圖。我們的目標是在今年年底前在本屆國會上簽署一項重要的與中國相關的立法方案，其中包括這些優先事項和許多其他優先事項，我們將積極努力實現這一方案。我非常希望其中大部分內容能夠得到兩黨的認可。在下一屆國會中，我們將保持眾議院中共威脅特別委員會的地位並繼續其重要工作。
北京是我們最大的外國威脅。他們利用我們金融和經濟體係的每一個角落。正如你所知，特別委員會在揭露中共的危險性方麵發揮了重要作用。顯然，我們需要加強國內地位，需要使用所有可用的經濟工具，但我們也必須加強我們的聯盟。毫無疑問，我們不需要更多天真、理想主義的自封的外交政策專家，他們把其他國家的需求置於我們自己的需求之上。我們需要一個由美國領導、美國優先的聯盟，以促進美國人的安全利益，並在國外與國內工薪家庭和企業的利益打交道，一個對每個人都有利的聯盟。
本周，華盛頓將主辦第 75 屆北約峰會，並將慶祝北約帶來的和平與繁榮。此後不久，我將在國會大廈與北約領導人發表講話，但現在，我隻想說這些，我將向他們傳達這一信息。關於
當然，公眾會為北約所取得的和平與繁榮而歡呼，我們將繼續與我們的夥伴站在一起，防止不必要的戰爭。
但我們也認為北約需要做得更多。每個北約成員國都需要將其國內生產總值的至少 2% 用於國防。這是協議，這是交易。其中有 10 或 12 個還沒有這樣做。並非所有北約成員國都已履行其當前承諾，這種情況已不可接受。甚至可能需要更接近冷戰時期的水平。但如果我們都想享受和平與繁榮的未來，我們都需要參與其中。我認為這是一個非常常識的觀念。本周我會見北約代表團時，我將向他們每個人提出這個非常嚴重的問題。
在中東，我們看到民主黨分裂對我們與以色列的曆史聯盟造成的毀滅性影響。因為拜登總統不會這樣做，所以到了 11 月，我們將明確表示我們堅定支持以色列，並將在《亞伯拉罕協議》的基礎上繼續努力，讓猶太人民能夠在自己的祖國享受安全和自由。
同樣，在印度-太平洋地區，美國必須繼續加強與印度、台灣、韓國、澳大利亞、菲律賓、越南和英國的軍事和經濟關係。我們都對該地區有戰略利益，有了強大的統一戰線，我們就可以保護我們的貿易路線、我們的航道和我們所有的共同利益。
最後，我要提醒你們幾件事。所有這些、我今天談到的一切以及我們知道需要發生的一切都涉及選擇。我們可以選擇領導，也可以選擇成為通往奴役之路的減速帶。衰落永遠是一種選擇。我們生活在一個自由的國家，我們應該做出正確的選擇。西方曾一度麵臨法西斯和帝國主義的消滅，猶太人麵臨納粹的種族滅絕。在另一個時刻，我們麵臨蘇聯的毀滅。
今天，我們再次受到中國共產黨、俄羅斯寡頭和伊斯蘭恐怖分子的威脅。我們可以選擇忽視他們，我們可以試圖安撫他們。我們可以聽從反對者的意見，他們說我們的價值觀不值得捍衛，我們不可能取得勝利。或者我們可以選擇另一條道路。我們可以再次以曾經貫穿美國每條血管的堅韌和戰鬥精神作出回應。我們可以重新武裝、重建、重振、恢複和重新讓敵人感到恐懼。我們可以重新奪回尊重的頂峰，從而看到和平、繁榮和安全的景象。我們可以表現出勇氣，我們可以表現出英勇，我們可以讓我們的孫輩有機會成長，而不是在暴政的陰影下，而是在我們自己山頂上閃亮的城市之上。衰落永遠是一種選擇。這不是共和黨人近期會做出的選擇。
50 年前，在離我們現在坐的地方幾個街區遠的一個宴會廳裏，羅納德·裏根在保守黨政治行動會議的第一次會議上發表了講話。那幾乎就是整整 50 年前。當時，保守主義被許多人認為是一種過時且被否定的哲學。但羅納德·裏根並不這麽認為。相反，他提醒我們為什麽美國是例外。他提醒我們，我們可以成為山巔之城，對整個世界如此重要。
這就是他在演講結束時著名的總結。我曾經有這個——當我還在上高中的時候——我把這個打印出來，貼在打字機後麵的一個小公告板上。我年紀很大了。這是他說的話。他說：“我們無法逃避我們的命運，也不應該試圖逃避。自由世界的領導權是在兩個世紀前在費城的那個小廳裏強加給我們的。”第二次世界大戰後，美國的經濟實力和實力是阻止世界重回黑暗時代的唯一力量，教皇庇護十二世曾這樣說過：“美國人民擁有偉大的天賦，他們做出了傑出而無私的行動。上帝把受苦受難的人類的命運交到了美國手中。”裏根說：“我們確實是，而且今天我們是人類在地球上最後的希望。”感謝上帝的恩典，我們將永遠如此。感謝您的時間。
麗貝卡·海因裏希斯：
議長先生，感謝您的發言。我們很榮幸在哈德遜研究所接待您。我們感謝您的領導，感謝您的團隊與我們的團隊一起為實現這一目標所做的出色工作。所以感謝您的到來。
議長先生，這是您領導眾議院通過修訂的國家安全補充法案以來首次發表國家安全演講。那麽，當你離開華盛頓，回到家鄉，去其他選區時，美國人民的反應如何？
邁克·約翰遜：
反應非常積極。我說，在後麵的房間裏，約翰和我正在交談，我說：“我的工作人員一直在跟蹤這件事，但當發言人不在會議時，
我們將在全國各地為我們的現任總統和我們招募的候選人競選。” 在過去的六個月裏，我已經在 31 個州的 136 個城市舉辦了活動。自投票以來，在每一次活動中都有人來找我，這些人群規模龐大，形式多樣。我們現在看到的人口結構變化是我一生中從未見過的。例如，我們有創紀錄數量的西班牙裔和拉丁裔選民加入共和黨，我們有創紀錄數量的猶太社區，猶太社區非常熱情地加入，因為他們覺得拜登拋棄了以色列，事實也確實如此。黑人選民和非裔美國人選民的數量也創下了曆史新高。這些都是規模龐大、形式多樣的人群，人們都說同樣的話：“我們很高興這件事已經完成。”他們明白我們在世界上確實有自己的角色。我認為人們認真對待普京的願望，人們明白，如果他能拿下基輔，他就不會停下來。在我看來，他是一個殘酷的獨裁者。
我認為研究這些問題的人都明白這一點，而且大家一致認為，他不會止步於基輔，而是會在波蘭和波羅的海國家的邊境駐軍，然後我們就會陷入北約的境地，可能需要我們自己的軍隊去保衛這些邊境，防止入侵。這是一個非常非常嚴重的時刻。今天早上，我想是今天早上基輔一家嬰兒醫院發生了爆炸。我的意思是，他們很殘忍，他們現在正在考驗我們的決心。我認為如果我們失敗了，我真的相信這對我們國家來說是一個丘吉爾或張伯倫時刻。我認為我們做了正確的事情，我認為曆史會記錄下來。
麗貝卡·海因裏希斯：
我將回到烏克蘭和俄羅斯的具體問題上。但我確實想了解一下——我聽到外麵有很多噪音，我們邀請了第一位客人來這裏，所以我要把她的想法帶到這裏，談談……
邁克·約翰遜：
就像眾議院共和黨會議一樣，……
麗貝卡·海因裏希斯：
你一直是真正領先的聲音，美國需要真正提供道義、外交和軍事支持，如有必要，為以色列抵禦各種伊朗代理人的努力提供支持。為什麽以色列的安全對美國如此重要？
邁克·約翰遜：
嗯，有很多原因。我的意思是，顯然它是中東唯一穩定的民主國家，但他們是我們非常重要的合作夥伴和盟友，符合我們自己的利益和關切。我的意思是，在反恐方麵，以及我們與他們結盟所帶來的經濟利益，以及各方麵的安全方麵。對很多美國人來說，這也是一個信仰問題。我的意思是，《創世紀》開篇就寫到，我們與以色列站在一起，並祝福以色列。所以你可以問很多美國人，如果你對 100 名支持以色列的人進行民意調查，他們會給你 100 個不同的理由。我認為這些理由都??很重要。
在這種情況下，對我們來說同樣重要的是，我們會非常現實地看待這個問題，如果伊朗和以色列的敵人能夠消滅以色列，他們就會將注意力從耶路撒冷轉移到華盛頓。他們恨我們幾乎和恨以色列一樣多。所以這是一種夥伴關係。過去，我花了很多時間與內塔尼亞胡總理在一起，當然自從我成為議長以來。幾年前，當我們在以色列參加 AIPAC 之行時，他說：“我們能夠站起來的唯一原因是，我們的敵人知道美國是我們的老大哥，站在我們身後，守護著我們。”我們明白這一點的重要性，也明白維持地緣政治穩定的重要性，沒有穩定的以色列，我們就無法做到這一點。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
先生，您提到，中國、俄羅斯、伊朗、朝鮮等各種獨裁國家日益結盟，它們都想破壞美國在世界上的影響力和穩定。但您是否認為，由於中國最有能力造成最大的傷害，我們就應該把重點放在亞洲地區，而不要考慮中東和歐洲？
Mike Johnson：
我們負擔不起。我的意思是，我們沒有資源參與全球事務，也不應該這樣做，但中國和俄羅斯正在聯手試圖給我們一個錯誤的選擇。我們是參與亞洲地區、中東還是歐洲，因為周圍到處都是對抗？所有這些國家都在聯手，並炫耀這一點。他們試圖考驗我們的決心，因為他們知道，唯一能阻止他們暴虐統治整個地球的是美國的力量，就像裏根 50 年前所說的那樣。坦率地說，他們認為我們現在很虛弱，因為他們看到了橢圓形辦公室投射出的虛弱。
這對我們來說是一個非常非常危險的情況。
現在，我在過去幾周的采訪中迅速指出，我盡可能多地直視鏡頭，我鼓勵你們所有人在你們擁有的每個環境和影響範圍內都這樣做，並提醒我們的敵人，不要認為這對你們來說是一個機會，無論我們現任總司令周圍有什麽戲劇性事件，美國軍隊裝備精良，隨時準備發動襲擊。我們將捍衛我們的利益。我認為我們必須非常大膽地發表這一聲明，確保他們了解國會和這個國家其他人的決心，不要惹我們。但中國、俄羅斯現在已經與所有媒體慶祝的達成了重大協議。伊朗正在加入，朝鮮不想被排除在外。我的意思是，這是一個由中國領導的軸心，我認為如果我們低估它，我們會對我們的事業造成巨大損害。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
因此，在這一點上，我注意到特朗普政府仍然將俄羅斯視為嚴重威脅，美國必須應對的同等對手威脅。拜登政府似乎也想像奧巴馬政府那樣將戰略重心轉向亞洲。但是，您提到俄羅斯繼續威脅波羅的海國家和波蘭，所以您是否認真對待普京的說法，即如果他在烏克蘭的行動不被阻止，他將繼續向北約推進？
Mike Johnson：
我認為這確實令人擔憂。現在，烏克蘭衝突、烏克蘭戰爭帶來的唯一好處是，我們已經表明，普京在發動戰爭的能力方麵被高估了。據估計，他們在衝突中損失了超過 50 萬俄羅斯士兵。他們顯然已經損失了大量資產、裝備和彈藥。因此，從某種意義上說，參與那裏的行動對我們的長期利益非常有益，因為在這個過程中，俄羅斯正在被削弱。但他已經將經濟調整為戰時經濟。從各方麵來看，他可能會繼續這樣做很長一段時間，我認為這是非常嚴重的。
他用自己的話說，他渴望再次擁有偉大的沙皇帝國。我認為，如果他有能力，而他又沒有威懾力，我認為他會這樣做。我認為大多數認真研究這個問題的人都認為這是一個真正的嚴重威脅。所以我認為不能低估它。我認為我們必須同時關注中國、俄羅斯、伊朗、朝鮮、委內瑞拉、古巴。我們可以，我們必須非常聰明，我們必須通過實力來投射和平。如果我們不回到裏根主義，我們將陷入嚴重的麻煩。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
正如您所提到的，北約本周將訪問美國。Hudson 有幸成為協助接待他們的智庫之一。您如何看待北約在當今的作用？有人說它已經過時了。您對此有何看法？
Mike Johnson：
它已經達到了目的。它在很大程度上有助於遏製戰爭和衝突並維護和平。從曆史上看，這是一個非常重要的組織，具有巨大的潛力。但與此同時，我們必須注意到，所有參與者的參與率肯定已經過時。我的意思是，如果你承諾要花費 GDP 的 2%，你就必須這樣做。正如我之前在評論中提到的，可以說可能需要更多。現在，我們幾乎處於冷戰時期的水平，因此可能需要做出更大的貢獻，但我認為維持這一點非常重要，我們支持它。
我們慶祝其成就，但我想說，成員國需要重新樹立承諾感，其他國家也渴望成為其中的一部分，但我們必須確保進入該機製需要支付入場費。不是每個人都能搭美國便車。唐納德·特朗普說得和其他人一樣直白。我們要求其他國家盡自己的一份力量是正確和公平的。我認為人們已經收到了這一信息。我們很高興看到更多國家參與其中，但我們在這方麵還有很多工作要做，我們將努力鼓勵這樣做。
麗貝卡·海因裏希斯：
先生，我也注意到，在您的新聞稿和講話中，您總是非常小心地提到那些正在盡自己一份力量的國家，我注意到這些國家正處於危險的前沿。所以你想談談波羅的海國家，以及你與他們會麵並看到他們遇到的麻煩時觀察到的情況？
邁克·約翰遜：
是的。當手榴彈靠近你自己的後院時，它會讓你重新感受到優先權和承諾。我的意思是，相比之下，可恥的是，加拿大在過去幾天或最近幾天宣布他們不會
他們不會付錢。他們不會盡到 2% 的責任。為什麽？他們搭美國的便車。他們在我們的邊境上很安全，不用擔心這一點。我認為這很可恥。我認為，如果你要成為成員國和參與者，你就需要盡自己的一份力量。有些人顯然對此有更大的緊迫感，因為威脅是他們自己的後門。但現實是：如果我們不在那裏阻止它，它就會來到這裏。沒有任何保證。我們生活在這種錯誤的假設或錯誤的安全感中，認為我們永遠不會在自己的海岸上發生戰爭。
但猜猜怎麽了？敵人來了。邊境已經敞開了三年半。據估計，有 1600 萬非法移民越境，他們並不都是好人。1 月 3 日，我帶領有史以來最大的國會代表團前往邊境。我們去了伊格爾帕斯，即南德克薩斯州的德爾裏奧地區，當時是震中。他們告訴我們，邊境和海關人員告訴我們，僅在德爾裏奧地區，非法越境者中估計有 70% 是 18 至 49 歲之間的單身成年男性。他們不是成群結隊逃離迫害的家庭。他們不是在尋求庇護。這些人是懷著不良意圖來到這裏。到今年年底，預計兩年內試圖非法越境的中國民族主義者人數將增加 23%——2,300，對不起——2,300%。增加 2,300%。
如果你是一名適齡的成年男性，你就不能離開中國，然後就去美國旅行。我的意思是，中共參與了這件事。我們知道恐怖分子監視名單上有恐怖分子，嫌疑恐怖分子已被逮捕，根據上次統計，有超過 250 人。但有多少人完全沒有躲避就通過了邊境？我的意思是，ISIS 戰士就在這裏。我的意思是，他們現在全副武裝，你已經看過視頻了。所以這不再是發生在那邊的事情了。它可能就在這裏發生。你知道，聯邦調查局局長現在在國會山多次作證說，所有的紅燈都在閃爍。雷局長，他指的是，我們很可能在美國各地都設立了恐怖分子窩點，我們不知道他們在策劃什麽，也不知道什麽時候策劃的，這會讓每個美國人都感到震驚，我們應該要求關閉邊境。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
那麽你剛剛回答了我的下一個問題，即將邊境安全與這個針對這些獨裁者的最大危險時代聯係起來，它們是相關的。這不是國內問題與外交問題。
Mike Johnson：
再次強調，國家安全始於國內。如果你自己的邊境都不能保障安全，那麽談論威懾是毫無意義的。順便說一句，喬·拜登從上任第一天就開始發布所有行政命令。我的意思是，上任第一天，他們就開始取消特朗普總統實施的所有安全措施。我們彈劾了馬約卡斯部長。我的意思是，這是曆史性的事件。這是一項絕望的措施，因為危急時刻需要它。當然，參議院沒有同意，但我認為他是美國曆史上最糟糕的內閣部長，因為我們將麵對他們策劃的災難。他們策劃了開放邊境。我們將在未來幾十年內應對這一問題。特朗普總統說：“我們希望啟動曆史上最大規模的驅逐行動。”這是必要的。我們需要找到所有這些危險的人。
罪犯，他們清空了中美洲的監獄，把他們送到了邊境。是的，但問題就在這裏。你知道，我們無法找到所有這些人，因為國土安全部沒有追蹤他們的下落。這是完全顛覆性的，是反美的，是反移民的，因為遵守法律並以正確方式行事的人對此最為不滿，這也是你看到選民人口結構變化的原因。所以這件事對我來說非常令人惱火，我曾一對一地問過總統，拜登總統，“總統先生，你為什麽要這樣做？”他沒有答案。這些利益集團鼓勵他這樣做，他不知道政策是什麽，也不知道如何解決。他說他沒有權力，這簡直是笑話。
麗貝卡·海因裏希斯：
回到中國軍事侵略日益加劇的問題，哈德遜研究所的學者們也注意到，即使在混合戰區，侵略行為也愈演愈烈。中國越來越習慣於對我們的條約盟友菲律賓采取咄咄逼人的行動，實際上這是在威脅台灣。您能談談您的觀點嗎？美國人應該如何理解台灣保持安全的重要性？
邁克·約翰遜：
我
不為別的，就一個詞，半導體。你喜歡你的電器嗎？你用手機嗎？你需要電子產品嗎？如果中國占領台灣，想象一下中國幾乎掌控著世界上所有的半導體生產，並控製著通過這部分海外貿易的貿易路線。這是一個難以想象的前景。所以我們捍衛人民的自由，我們支持自由。台灣這個國家值得捍衛，因為它有各種優點，但它也直接符合我們的經濟利益，我們的穩定利益。想想你的溝通方式。想想你當地醫院的所有設備，成像設備。現在，經濟穩定和健康所需的一切都與半導體生產有關。所以如果這隻是純粹的私利，那麽每個美國人都應該參與其中。我們必須確保這種情況不會發生。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
這讓我想知道，你談到共和黨是如何現實主義的。我們必須保持清醒的頭腦，但先生，您也非常雄辯地談到了自由原則和美國的立場，尤其是與我們的對手形成鮮明對比。美國應該在支持中國、朝鮮、伊朗和俄羅斯等國家的異見團體、支持自由的團體和受迫害的宗教團體方麵發揮什麽作用？
邁克·約翰遜：
好吧，在這方麵，我們的外交努力和我們對宗教自由的倡導確實非常重要。《權利法案》中列出的第一項自由是宗教自由。建國者們明白，如果剝奪了一個民族的宗教自由，他們的政治自由很快就會隨之而去，這一點你在曆史上已經看到了。我們捍衛良知的權利，這是我們擁有的最基本的自由，即信仰和采取行動的權利，這對我們作為美國人至關重要。我經常談論我所說的美國保守主義的七項核心原則，但它們實際上是美國本身的七項核心原則。我認為它關乎個人自由、有限政府、法治、以實力求和平、財政責任、自由市場和人類尊嚴。我們相信，正如我們在剛剛慶祝 7 月 4 日的宣言中大膽宣稱的那樣，這是一個不言而喻的真理。
傑斐遜在將其交給富蘭克林和亞當斯編輯之前撰寫的原始草稿是，他說它是神聖而不可否認的，“我們認為這些真理是神聖的、不可否認的，或者不言而喻的。”顯而易見的是，我們都是被創造出來的。我們生來不平等，我們生來平等，上帝賦予我們權利，而不是政府。這是開創美國並讓我們走上成為有史以來最強大國家之路的革命性宣言。我和許多議員一樣在深夜參觀——我不再這樣做了。在我成為議長之前我曾經這樣做過——但我會深夜帶領團隊進入眾議院會議廳，向他們展示眾議院會議廳周圍所有很酷的東西，所有的象征意義。順便說一下，很多都是宗教性的。我們有“我們信仰上帝”。如你所知，這句話就寫在演講台上方的大金字上。
我總是指出這一點，並說：“你知道這句話是什麽時候放在那裏的嗎？為什麽？翻到你的讚美詩集第 14 頁。”當你來到眾議院議事廳，人民之家時，有一份訪客指南。你翻到第 14 頁，在頁麵的中間部分，它非常清楚地寫著：“哦，你會看到，‘我們信仰上帝’，在演講台上方。”1963 年，國會把我安排在那裏，因為當時正值冷戰的開始。它說這是對當時蘇聯哲學的譴責。馬克思主義的前提是沒有創造者。沒有上帝。因此它導致了錯誤的假設。
我們捍衛自由、捍衛個人尊嚴、捍衛每個人可貴的尊嚴和價值的原因在於，我們的建國先驅相信，而且我們大多數人仍然相信，我們是按照上帝的形象造出來的。因此，每個人都有可貴的價值。這是值得為之奮鬥的。這就是我們作為一個國家的定義。如果我們失去了這一點，我們就失去了成為美國人的基本要素。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
議長先生，我們的時間不多了，但我確實想回到俄羅斯和烏克蘭的話題上，因為您也確實站出來支持烏克蘭的基督徒。您能談談嗎，因為我覺得有時我們有點……我們可能會感到困惑，也許是因為外麵有很多虛假信息，情況令人困惑。烏克蘭基督徒的狀況如何，俄羅斯的獨裁主義和對烏克蘭的侵略對他們造成了怎樣的傷害？
Mike Johnson：
他們是被專門針對的。我曾多次與那裏的宗教領袖和牧師會麵。我所在的教派，南方浸信會的一些傳教士也在那裏。很多神職人員都擔心自己的家人會受到傷害。
不為別的，就一個詞，半導體。你喜歡你的電器嗎？你用手機嗎？你需要電子產品嗎？如果中國占領台灣，想象一下中國幾乎掌控著世界上所有的半導體生產，並控製著通過這部分海外貿易的貿易路線。這是一個難以想象的前景。所以我們捍衛人民的自由，我們支持自由。台灣這個國家值得捍衛，因為它有各種優點，但它也直接符合我們的經濟利益，我們的穩定利益。想想你的溝通方式。想想你當地醫院的所有設備，成像設備。現在，經濟穩定和健康所需的一切都與半導體生產有關。所以如果這隻是純粹的私利，那麽每個美國人都應該參與其中。我們必須確保這種情況不會發生。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
這讓我想知道，你談到共和黨是如何現實主義的。我們必須保持清醒的頭腦，但先生，您也非常雄辯地談到了自由原則和美國的立場，尤其是與我們的對手形成鮮明對比。美國應該在支持中國、朝鮮、伊朗和俄羅斯等國家的異見團體、支持自由的團體和受迫害的宗教團體方麵發揮什麽作用？
邁克·約翰遜：
好吧，在這方麵，我們的外交努力和我們對宗教自由的倡導確實非常重要。《權利法案》中列出的第一項自由是宗教自由。建國者們明白，如果剝奪了一個民族的宗教自由，他們的政治自由很快就會隨之而去，這一點你在曆史上已經看到了。我們捍衛良知的權利，這是我們擁有的最基本的自由，即信仰和采取行動的權利，這對我們作為美國人至關重要。我經常談論我所說的美國保守主義的七項核心原則，但它們實際上是美國本身的七項核心原則。我認為它關乎個人自由、有限政府、法治、以實力求和平、財政責任、自由市場和人類尊嚴。我們相信，正如我們在剛剛慶祝 7 月 4 日的宣言中大膽宣稱的那樣，這是一個不言而喻的真理。
傑斐遜在將其交給富蘭克林和亞當斯編輯之前撰寫的原始草稿是，他說它是神聖而不可否認的，“我們認為這些真理是神聖的、不可否認的，或者不言而喻的。”顯而易見的是，我們都是被創造出來的。我們生來不平等，我們生來平等，上帝賦予我們權利，而不是政府。這是開創美國並讓我們走上成為有史以來最強大國家之路的革命性宣言。我和許多議員一樣在深夜參觀——我不再這樣做了。在我成為議長之前我曾經這樣做過——但我會深夜帶領團隊進入眾議院會議廳，向他們展示眾議院會議廳周圍所有很酷的東西，所有的象征意義。順便說一下，很多都是宗教性的。我們有“我們信仰上帝”。如你所知，這句話就寫在演講台上方的大金字上。
我總是指出這一點，並說：“你知道這句話是什麽時候放在那裏的嗎？為什麽？翻到你的讚美詩集第 14 頁。”當你來到眾議院議事廳，人民之家時，有一份訪客指南。你翻到第 14 頁，在頁麵的中間部分，它非常清楚地寫著：“哦，你會看到，‘我們信仰上帝’，在演講台上方。”1963 年，國會把我安排在那裏，因為當時正值冷戰的開始。它說這是對當時蘇聯哲學的譴責。馬克思主義的前提是沒有創造者。沒有上帝。因此它導致了錯誤的假設。
我們捍衛自由、捍衛個人尊嚴、捍衛每個人可貴的尊嚴和價值的原因在於，我們的建國先驅相信，而且我們大多數人仍然相信，我們是按照上帝的形象造出來的。因此，每個人都有可貴的價值。這是值得為之奮鬥的。這就是我們作為一個國家的定義。如果我們失去了這一點，我們就失去了成為美國人的基本要素。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
議長先生，我們的時間不多了，但我確實想回到俄羅斯和烏克蘭的話題上，因為您也確實站出來支持烏克蘭的基督徒。您能談談嗎，因為我覺得有時我們有點……我們可能會感到困惑，也許是因為外麵有很多虛假信息，情況令人困惑。烏克蘭基督徒的狀況如何，俄羅斯的獨裁主義和對烏克蘭的侵略對他們造成了怎樣的傷害？
Mike Johnson：
他們是被專門針對的。我曾多次與那裏的宗教領袖和牧師會麵。我所在的教派，南方浸信會的一些傳教士也在那裏。很多神職人員都擔心自己的家人會受到傷害。
其中一些人已成為攻擊目標。我見過一些例子和照片，一些家庭因為是基督徒而被火箭彈擊中，他們所在的公寓樓位於五樓。我之前提到過，維護宗教自由的重要性在於，如果你能……共產黨總是這樣做，他們首先攻擊基督徒。
他們以基督徒為目標。為什麽？因為他們相信他們應該效忠於比政府、比國家更高的權力。所以你必須消滅它。然後隻是出於……在我看來，這是一種邪惡的東西，但他們瞄準有這種信仰的人，他們想消滅它。這是邪惡和卑鄙的，它恰恰表明了普京和他的政權的所作所為。我認為這是一件值得強調的重要事情。我不認為這是應該被低估的事情。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
最後一個問題。我們談到了您所在地區如何設立全球打擊司令部，而我的重點領域是確保美國擁有強大的核威懾力量，能夠可靠地威懾中國、俄羅斯和任何其他核威脅。我們在這裏接待了布西爾將軍。先生，您有什麽想說的嗎？確保我們擁有可靠、強大的軍隊，尤其是核威懾力量的重要性？
邁克·約翰遜：
是的。最後說一句很好。上周四，我們把我的大兒子送到海軍學院。他是一名海軍中校，現在正在經曆新生暑期。所以為傑克祈禱吧。他們對孩子們很粗暴，但是是的。但我們昨晚接到了第一個家庭電話，因為他們給了他們 30 分鍾的時間打電話回家，為期七周。所以我們焦急地等待著。昨天下午 12:30，全家人都圍在身邊，我們打開免提電話，問他：“傑克，你能用 FaceTime 通話嗎？”“不行，爸爸，我們站在體育館裏。我周圍還有 1100 名新生。我們相距三英尺，必須把手機拿在這裏。”而且非常非常嚴格。我告訴你，當我們送他去參加新生入學日時，他們稱之為入學日，如果你從未去過所有新生入學的學院，那會讓你感到自豪。
隻要國旗飄揚，國歌響起，所有這些真正聰明的孩子都在那裏服務，他們有一顆仆人的心，他們想為國家服務，他們的家人都在那裏歡呼。如果你對國家有信心，這會讓你愛上它。我強烈建議你參加其中一次這樣的活動。但強大軍隊的重要性、核威懾的重要性可以說從未如此重要，至少自第二次世界大戰以來如此。冷戰很重要，但我們再次強調，我們主要關注的是一個敵人。這是多方麵的，也是危險的。隨著技術和其他能力的進步……我們聽說俄羅斯人想在衛星上安裝核彈。這是更高層次的事情。所以我們不能認為這是理所當然的。
現在，我們在開支和武器方麵都落後於中國，我們必須認真對待。裏根提醒我們，“自由不是血統繼承的。”必須為之奮鬥。必須捍衛、保護，傳給下一代，否則我們的子孫後代將無法享受它。所以我們都需要在某個方麵參與其中。其中一部分是我們的投資。作為一個國家，我們必須明白這有多重要。因此，我們將為此而倡導，我們將利用我們擁有的每一個影響範圍。我知道你們所有人也會這樣做。我希望你們能向我們的美國同胞解釋，我們不能將這種自由視為理所當然。我們在這裏沒有發生過衝突，但我們不會發生衝突並非不可避免。所以我們必須做好準備。這就是為什麽這項工作如此重要。哈德遜研究所的獎學金和工作非常重要。真的非常感謝它，我認為它現在比以往任何時候都更重要。
Rebeccah Heinrichs：
先生，我們感謝傑克的服務，我們感謝您的領導和您所做的工作。請和我一起感謝眾議院議長。
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Speaker Mike Johnson on the Threats to the US-Led World Order
Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference on June 4, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Mike JohnsonSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives
Rebeccah L. HeinrichsThe threats to the United States and the US-led international order are growing increasingly hostile. The Chinese Communist Party seeks to supplant the United States as the preeminent global power is forming an economic bloc of partners and quickly building its up military to threaten and coerce the US and its allies. Russia initiated the largest land war in Europe since World War II with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack against Israel and is funding proxy attacks against the United States and its allies. These authoritarian countries, and their proxies, have expansionist goals and are collaborating to harm the United States and subvert its global influence.
Join Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs for a discussion about the speaker’s agenda to bolster the credibility of US deterrence, strengthen alliances, improve America’s hard power, and maintain freedom, security, and prosperity for the American people.
Event Transcript
This transcription is automatically generated and edited lightly for accuracy. Please excuse any errors.
John Walters:
Good afternoon and welcome to the Betsy and Wally Stern Conference Center here at Hudson Institute. I am John Walters, Hudson’s president and CEO. In its more than 60 years, Hudson has been honored by hosting a number of American patriots, military leaders, legislators, cabinet department heads, and presidents. Today, less than a week after our celebration of Independence Day, the day that created American patriots, we are honored to again host such an individual: the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. First elected in 2016, Speaker Johnson represents the Fourth District of Louisiana, a district that includes critical military installations such as Barksdale Air Force Base, headquarters of the Air Force Global Strike Command. A constitutional law scholar and highly regarded legislature, he has held key congressional leadership positions, and served on critical committees including judiciary and armed services committees. Since assuming his current position in October, Speaker Johnson has been an exceptional legislative leader. His remarks today on the threats to the US-led international order could not be more timely.
In the last three months alone, Iran has fired over 300 drones and missiles toward Israel, gave a green light to Hezbollah’s ongoing attacks on Israel’s northern border, frankly, to aid Tehran’s other terrorist proxy, Hamas, and Iran has expanded its enriched uranium stockpile to near nuclear grade for weapons. In Beijing, Putin and Xi met to declare a new era in their partnership. And Cuba, Russian Naval ships docked in Havana Harbor while China has rapidly expanded its spy base on that island. And in Pyongyang, military and economic cooperation between Russia and North Korea deepened in the wake of Putin’s visit. And explaining why the US must join with our allies against the gathering storm, Speaker Johnson said, “History judges us by what we do.” It is in that spirit that we look forward to hearing his insights on what the US should do to meet today’s threats and ensure the security of America. Following his remarks, Speaker Johnson will be joined by my colleague, Hudson Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs, to continue the discussion. But now please join me in welcoming Speaker Mike Johnson.
Mike Johnson:
Thank you so much. It’s so great to be with you. John, thank you for the kind introduction. I have never had the honor of speaking at the Hudson Institute before, but I’m really grateful for the opportunity this morning, and really thankful for all the good work the institute’s done over the years. It’s never been more important than it is right now, as we all recognize. Last week we celebrated our 248th birthday as a nation, and if you’re speaking to a group of high school or college students, as I often do, that seems like an eternity, but we all know that’s not a long span of time in a whole scale of human history. But we have the greatest nation in the history of the world. It’s the strongest, most powerful, most free, most benevolent of any nation that has ever been, and that’s no accident. It’s because we’re built on certain principles. And we feel right now, many of us feel acutely that some of those principles, some of those foundational truths are under assault even within our own boundaries, even within our own country.
And as we near our 250th anniversary, and we debate the future of America’s position in the world, it is worth us just taking a moment, especially on an occasion like this, to reflect upon where we’ve been and where we are and where we’re going as a country. In the lead up to World War II, we understood the primary threat to come from a tyrant in Europe, but we were attacked by a tyrant in Asia, and we were forced into war in two theaters. In the Cold War, of course, the Soviets were the only real threat to the US, but they had a block of proxies around the world and they worked together. The Tripartite Pact established an axis of power, set on undoing the West. And the Warsaw Pact established a block of Soviet partners set against America. In both of those instances, we saw a group of enemies joining forces against us.
Today, we don’t face one primary enemy as we did in the Soviet Union, and so far, thankfully we don’t see a new kind of Tripartite Pact, but we do see a group of nations openly aligned against the United States. It’s an interconnected web of threats. I refer to it as a China-led axis, composed of partner regimes in Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and even Cuba. Now they each have their own cultures and their own specific sinister aims, but they all wake up every morning thinking how they can take down America. And they’re increasingly using their collective military, technological, and financial resources to empower one another in their various efforts to cut off our trade routes, and steal our technology, and harm our troops, and upend our economy.
Iran works with Russia to produce Shahed drones to hunt down and bomb Ukrainians every day, while Russia launches North Korean missiles at Ukraine’s electrical grids using technology provided by the Chinese. China, our single greatest threat, is engaging in malign influence operations around the world, and is even working with cartels now, backed by Cuba and Venezuela, to poison Americans with fentanyl. China, Russia, and Iran all work with Cuban intelligence outposts to target Americans and provide safe harbor for terrorists in transit. And all these enemies operating in our hemisphere, they’re doing this and they’re trading oil with Venezuela, which is pushing illegal aliens and violent criminals towards our borders.
I’ve been around the world on congressional trips, and talk to ambassadors and foreign ministers in many countries around the world, and we know right now war is on the minds of many around the globe. And some of the threats are eerily reminiscent of the past. We hear chants of elimination of the Jewish people. We hear calls for territorial expansion and ethno-driven justifications for invasion. And we hear speeches about the annexation of Pacific Islands. And all of these are echoes of some of the same things we heard 80 years ago. Until recently, in the almost 40 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, thanks to America’s policy of peace through strength, those sounds of war, the interconnected global conflict, had mostly been silent. But that is no longer the case. And under the current path, the world is increasingly destabilized, and we are living now in a fateful moment, and I think all of us recognize it.
Our actions here in America will continue to determine the path of the free world. And in that sense, there’s survival of liberty around the world. All of us here recognize that while democracy is not perfect, the burden of self-government is certainly far lighter than the yoke of tyranny. But right now, absent American leadership, we’re looking at a future that could be well-defined by communism and tyranny, rather than liberty and opportunity and security. In Europe, Putin has made it clear that his plans don’t stop with Ukraine. He’s likened himself to Tsar Peter the Great, and you can read his essay about restoring the Russian Empire, an empire that would include our military partners in Vilnius, Helsinki, and Warsaw. Xi Jinping made abundantly clear he’s interested in expanding his communist footholds, including in the South China Sea. In the Middle East, the Ayatollah wants to resurrect the caliphate and eliminate Israel.
They say these things out loud. And with their rising hostilities, we risk the loss of free navigation in the Indo-Pacific and the Red Sea, and we risk devastating economic harm, of course, if we lose access to semiconductors in Taiwan or have reduced trade with Europe. At the same time, we risk returning to an era where sheiks control Jerusalem and the Jewish people have no land to call their own. Now, you hear a lot of criticism about Republicans, and as a leader in the Republican Party, we’re sure these threats have been growing for some time, but under weak presidents, they’ve been allowed to metastasize rather dramatically. As Republicans, conservatives, we call this out, because it’s alarming. We have to speak bluntly and we have to tell the truth. These are objective facts. During the Obama administration, we saw eight years of international apology tours. We saw the sequestration of our military, the buildup of ISIS, Russia’s invasion in the Crimea, the spread of maligned Chinese influence around the globe, and a nuclear deal that gave Iran everything they wanted.
And what are we facing today? The same failures we saw under Obama have happened under Joe Biden, because he’s empowered an out-of-touch foreign policy establishment who has an agenda very different than the one that we need right now. Their agenda is about, once again, appeasing and apologizing and accommodating. Joe Biden doesn’t treat China like an enemy. He’s stopped supporting Israel, and has cozied up to Iran to revive the failed nuclear deal. And in the most inexplicable policy imaginable, he’s opened our borders wide to spies and terrorists, while reducing sanctions on Latin dictators who wreak havoc in our backyard. And the results of this were completely foreseeable, and we’re all living through it. Obama’s weakness invited aggression, and Biden’s weakness has fueled that aggression like nothing we’ve seen since World War II. Things were different when I came to Congress during the first administration of Donald Trump, 2017, we came to Washington at the same time, and I was elected chairman of the Republican Study Committee about a year and a half later, in 2019.
That was the largest caucus in Congress. And one of the first things I did as chairman of RSC was to create a national security task force. We published a report with 130 policy recommendations to do some very important things, to counter China, to deter Russia, and to advance American interest in the Middle East. And to the chagrin of the pundits who want to paint him as an isolationist, if you look at the objective facts in the history, you know President Trump established a solid security posture that advanced the same principles that we outlined in our report. Remember how he threatened North Korea with “Fire and fury, the likes of which the world has never seen?” I would do it in my Trump impression, but I won’t do that for you this morning. It’s better when he said it. Remember how he took out Soleimani and al-Baghdadi? Remember how he was the first president to send Javelin missiles to Ukraine, and how he took steps to rebuild our military?
Remember how simple Trump’s approach to arms control was? He ended one-sided treaties, he called out Russia for violating the INF Treaty, and he ensured America was developing the weaponry to win if challenged. He called out the threat to China, and he took on their unfair trade practices. He got our allies to pay their fair share. He enforced oil sanctions on Iran, and he brokered the Abraham Accords. And the foreign policy establishment absolutely hated it. But he did not retreat, and he did not apologize. He instilled fear in our enemies, and with his leadership made clear that American strength is essential to a peaceful twenty-first century. And to be sure, the Republican Party is not one of nation builders or careless interventionists. We don’t believe we should be the world’s policeman, nor are we idealists who think we can placate tyrants. We are realists. We don’t seek out a fight, but we know we have to be prepared. We have to be prepared to fight. And if we must fight, we fight with the gloves off. And today, when our adversaries don’t need to cross oceans to harm our people, we need a new policy of peace through strength for the twenty-first century.
Even as the America-last bureaucrats regained power under Joe Biden and invited aggression from our enemies, in the coming months, we have a chance to change course. I think you’re seeing a groundswell among the American people. I think people recognize this intuitively and the momentum is on our side. I’m increasingly optimistic. I’m very hopeful that we’re going to be able to do this. And when we do, there’s basically a three-part foreign policy strategy that I think we need to pursue for the future.
First, we have to strengthen our domestic position because national security begins at home, obviously. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but our biggest national security challenge is our national debt. That’s what the leaders of the Pentagon say when you put them under oath, and we all know that. To meet our defense needs, Congress has to work to grow our economy and significantly reduce our overall spending. And I can promise you that come 2025, spending reform will be a top priority for our new Republican majority, and they’re not going to be easy conversations. But they’re essential for our long-term survival. Congress has to prioritize the truly essential needs of our nation and our national security has to be at the top of that list.
At the same time, we must address the hollowing out of our defense infrastructure. The 2024 Index of Military Strength is something I know many of you are familiar with in this room. It ranks the Army’s and the Marine Corps’ capacity as weak, the Navy’s capacity as very weak, the Air Force’s readiness as very weak, and our nuclear capabilities as marginal. That is not a good report card. And if we’re going to present a credible deterrent to our adversaries, we have to rebuild while we are also being fiscally responsible. That’s why we invested $23 billion to restock essential weapons and rebuild our defense capacities in the April National Security Supplemental Bill.
Looking ahead, we also have to reinvest in our maritime sector and begin building new ships and new shipyards. Eighty percent of global trade is conducted over the oceans, and China currently has a 232 time shipbuilding capacity over the United States—232 times more. We need to reshore and safe-shore our supply chains, and restore our domestic manufacturing and building capabilities, while safeguarding our military from another sequestration.
But strengthening our domestic position also means unleashing our energy sector and protecting our borders. Again, it’s about priorities. When Joe Biden joined the Paris Climate Accords and stopped LNG exports, you know who won? China and Russia won, and American families lost. As Joe Biden opened our borders and ended Remain in Mexico, and stopped building the wall, and instituted catch and release, it was the terrorists and the cartels and the fentanyl traffickers that won, and Americans who lost.
But here’s the hopeful part. In 2025, as a Republican-led government works quickly to strengthen our domestic position, we must also use our economic might to influence our friends and deter our enemies. We can do this. We must do this. And with the recent National Security Supplemental, House Republicans pushed back on the Biden administration’s policy of Iran appeasement and secured the toughest Iran sanctions package in nearly a decade. We leveraged our economic influence against CCP-controlled TikTok, and we passed the REPO Act that allows us to seize Russian oligarchs’ bank assets to pay for assistance in Ukraine. And in the Ukraine Supplemental, we mandated cost matching for European allies. By the way, those are key provisions that were not in the Senate version of the legislation. We added that in the House. We’re hopeful that in the days ahead, we can push our friends in Europe to establish a self-sufficient defense industrial base that is less reliant on American assistance. Russia will not be able to outweigh our collective strength if we do all this.
But because, at this moment, China poses the greatest threat to global peace, Congress must keep our focus on countering China with every tool at our disposal. In the short time remaining in this Congress, we’re busy at this already. The House will be voting on a series of bills to empower the next administration to hit our enemies’ economies on day one. We’ll build our sanctions package, punish the Chinese military firms that provide material support to Russia and Iran, and we’ll consider options to restrict outbound investments in China. We’re working on a piece of legislation to move this fall to do that very thing.
We will vote on the BIOSECURE Act, which will halt federal contracts with biotech companies that are beholden to adversaries and endanger Americans healthcare data. We’ll rein in the de minimis privilege for any good subject to Section 301 trade enforcement tariffs, and that will help stymie China’s attempts to exploit American trade. Our goal is to have a significant package of China-related legislation signed into law by the end of this year in this Congress featuring these priorities and many more, and we’ll work aggressively toward that package. I’m very hopeful that much of this can be bipartisan. And in the next Congress, we’ll maintain the status and continue the important work of our House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Threat.
Beijing is our number one foreign threat. They exploit every nook and cranny in our financial and economic systems. And the Select Committee has been very instrumental, as you know, in exposing the dangers of the CCP. It’s clear we need to strengthen our domestic position and we need to use all the economic tools available to us, but we must also strengthen our alliances. Make no mistake, we don’t need more naive, idealistic self-proclaimed foreign policy experts who put the wants of other countries before the needs of our own. We need a US-led, America-first coalition that advances the security interest of Americans and engages abroad with the interests of working families and businesses here at home, a coalition that’s good for everybody.
This week, Washington is hosting the seventy-fifth NATO summit and will celebrate peace and prosperity that NATO has brought. And I’ll be speaking to the NATO heads at the capitol shortly after this, but for now, I just want to say this, and I’ll deliver the message to them emphatically. Republicans, of course, celebrate the peace and prosperity that NATO has secured, and we’ll continue to stand by our partners as we prevent needless wars.
But we also believe that NATO needs to be doing more. Every NATO member needs to be spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense. That’s the agreement, that’s the deal. There’s 10 or 12 of them that aren’t doing that yet. It’s no longer acceptable that not all NATO members have reached their current commitment. It may even need to be closer to levels during the Cold War. But if we’re all going to enjoy a future of peace and prosperity, we all need to have skin in the game. And I think that’s a very commonsense notion. As I meet with NATO delegations this week, I’m going to raise this very serious issue with each one of them.
In the Middle East, we’re seeing the devastating effects of Democrats splintering on our historic alliance with Israel. Because President Biden will not do it, come November, we will be clear about our steadfast support for Israel and we’ll build upon the Abraham Accords so the Jewish people can enjoy safety and freedom in their homeland.
Likewise, in the Indo-Pacific, America must continue to build upon our military and economic relationships with India, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom. We all have strategic interest in the region, and with a strong united front, we can protect our trade routes, our shipping lanes, and all of our shared interests.
I’m going to wrap all this up by reminding you of a couple of things. All this, everything that I’ve talked about today and everything that we know needs to happen involves choices. We can choose to lead or we can choose to be a speed bump down the road to serfdom. Decline is always a choice. We live in a free country and we ought to make the right choice. At one point, the West was facing elimination by fascists and imperialists, and the Jews were facing genocide by the Nazis. At another point, we faced annihilation by the Soviets.
Today, we are threatened again by Chinese Communists, by Russian oligarchs, and Islamic terrorists. We can choose to ignore them, we can try to appease them. We can listen to the naysayers who say our values aren’t worth defending and that there can be no victory. Or we can choose another course. We can respond again with all the fortitude and fight that once ran through every American vein. We can rearm, rebuild, reinvigorate, restore, and reinstate fear in our enemies. We can retake the summit of respect and thus look out on a landscape of peace and prosperity and security. We can show courage, we can show valor, and we can give our grandchildren the chance to grow up not in the shadow of tyranny, but atop our own shining city on a hill. Decline is always a choice. That is not a choice that Republicans will be making anytime soon.
50 years ago at a banquet hall, a few blocks from where we’re sitting, Ronald Reagan spoke at the very first meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference. It was almost exactly 50 years ago. At the time, conservatism was considered by many to be an out-of-date and discredited philosophy. But Ronald Reagan didn’t buy that. Instead, he reminded us all why America is exceptional. He reminded us that we can be that shining city on a hill and so important to the entire world.
And this is how he famously summarized it at the end of that speech. I used to have this—when I was in high school—I had this printed and put on a little bulletin board behind my typewriter when we had them. I’m very old guys. This is what he said. He said, “We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall in Philadelphia.” In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the Dark Ages, Pope Pius XII said it this way, “The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America, God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.” Reagan said, “We are indeed and we are today the last best hope of man on earth.” By God’s grace, we will always be. Thanks for your time.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
Thank you for those remarks, Mr. Speaker. We are privileged to host you here at Hudson Institute. We thank you for your leadership and for your team’s great work with our team to make this happen. So thanks for being here.
Mr. Speaker, this is your first national security address since you led the House to pass that amended National Security Supplemental. So as you’ve gone outside of Washington and gone back home and gone to other districts, what has been the response from the American people?
Mike Johnson:
It’s been very favorable. I was saying in the back room over here, John and I were talking, and I said, “My staff keeps track of this, but when the speaker is not in session, we’re expected to be around the country campaigning for our incumbents and our candidates that we recruited.” And I’ve done events in now 136 cities in 31 states in the last six months. And since the vote, I have people come up to me at every one of these events, and these are big, diverse crowds. We are seeing a demographic shift right now in the country that I’ve not seen in my lifetime. We have a record number of Hispanic and Latino voters, for example, coming in the Republican Party, we have a record number of Jewish community, the Jewish communities coming in very enthusiastically because they feel like Biden’s abandoned Israel, and he has. A record number of Black voters, African American voters. And these are big, diverse crowds and people all say the same thing, “We’re so glad that that was done.” They understand that we do have a role to play in the world. And I think people took Putin’s aspirations seriously, that people understand that he would not stop if he could take Kyiv. He’s a ruthless dictator in my view.
And I think people who study these issues understand, and there’s a consensus that he would not stop at Kyiv, but he would set up on the border of Poland, the Baltic states, and then we would be in a NATO situation where there might be a need for our own troops to go and defend those borders against an invasion. It’s a very, very serious time. This morning, there was, I think a bombing at an infant hospital in Kyiv this morning. I mean, they’re ruthless and they’re testing our resolve right now. And I think if we had failed, I really do believe it was a Churchill or Chamberlain moment for our country. I think we did the right thing and I think history’s going to record that.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
And I’m going to get back to that on specifically in Ukraine and Russia. But I do want to get—I can hear a lot of noise outside and we had that initial guest come in here, and so I’m going to take her idea here and talk . . .
Mike Johnson:
Just like a house Republican conference meeting, there’s . . .
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
You have been a really leading voice on the need for the United States to truly provide moral and diplomatic and military backing if necessary, to provide support to Israel’s efforts to defend itself against the various Iranian proxies. Why is Israel’s security so important to the United States?
Mike Johnson:
Well, for so many reasons. I mean, obviously it’s the only stable democracy in the Middle East, but they’re a very critical partner and ally in us for our own interests and concerns. I mean, in terms of counterterrorism and for the economic benefits we have in our alliance with them, and for security in every way. For a lot of Americans, it’s also a matter of faith. I mean, this is something that’s written in the Book of Genesis in the very beginning of the book that we stand with and bless Israel. So you can ask a lot of Americans, if you polled 100 who were in favor of supporting Israel, they give you 100 different reasons. And I think they’re all important.
What’s also important for us in a setting like this, we’d be very realistic about this, if Iran and the enemies of Israel were able to eliminate Israel as a state, they would then shift their focus from Jerusalem to Washington. They hate us almost as much as they hate Israel. So this is a partnership. I’ve spent a lot of time with Prime Minister Netanyahu over the last, certainly since I became speaker. And when we were in Israel on an AIPAC trip years ago, he said, “The only reason that we’re able to stand is because our enemies know that America is our big brother standing behind us, looking over our shoulder.” And we understand the importance of that and the importance of maintaining that geopolitical stability and we can’t do it without a stable Israel.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
And sir, you mentioned that there is this growing alignment of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, various authoritarian countries that all seek the same thing, which is to undermine US influence and stability in the world. But are you of the mind or the school of thought that believes that because China has the most capacity to do the most harm, that we should focus on the Asia geographic region to the exclusion of the Middle East and Europe?
Mike Johnson:
We can’t afford to. I mean, we don’t have the resources to be engaged all around the world and nor should we be, but China and Russia in particular are working together to try to present to us a false choice. Do we engage in the Asia region or the Middle East or in Europe, because there’s confrontation all around? And all of those countries are working together and flaunting it. They’re trying to test our resolve, because they know the only thing standing between their tyrannical overrun of the entire globe is the might of the US just like it was as Reagan said, 50 years ago. And they see us as weakened right now to be frank, because they see weakness projected from the Oval Office. And it’s a very, very dangerous situation for us.
Now, I’ve been quick to point out in interviews I’ve done over the last couple of weeks, and I look right into the camera as often as I can, and I would encourage all you to do the same in every setting and sphere of influence you have and remind our enemies, do not think this is an opportunity for you regardless of the drama surrounding our current commander in chief, the US military is well-equipped and ready to strike at any time. We will defend our interests. And I think we’ve got to be very bold in that assertion and make sure they understand the resolve of Congress and the rest of this country, don’t mess with us. But China, Russia have made their big pact now with all the, celebrated that in the media. Iran is joining in, North Korea doesn’t want to be left out. I mean, it is a China-led axis, and I think we do great damage to our cause if we underestimate it.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
And so then on that point, I noticed that the Trump administration still viewed Russia as an acute threat, a peer adversary threat that the United States had to contend with. And it seems like the Biden administration also wants to do sort of an Asia pivot like what the Obama administration did. But is your view though, you mentioned about Russia’s continue to threat to the Baltic countries and to Poland, so you take Putin seriously at his word that if he’s not stopped in Ukraine, that he will continue to advance on NATO?
Mike Johnson:
I think it’s a real concern. Now we have, the only good thing that’s come out of the conflict in Ukraine, the war in Ukraine, is that we’ve shown that Putin was overestimated in terms of his ability to prosecute a war. And by some estimates, they’ve lost over a half a million Russian troops in the conflict. And they’ve obviously gone through a lot of their assets and their equipment, their munitions. And so in a certain sense, engaging there has been very helpful for our long-term interests because you’re weakening Russia in the process. But he’s realigned his economy to be a wartime economy. And by all appearances, he could go on for quite some time and I think it’s very serious.
He said it in his own words, he aspires to have the great czar empire again. And I think if he had the ability and he did not have deterrence, I am of the mind that I think he would. And I think most people who study this seriously believe that’s a real serious threat. And so I don’t think it could be underestimated. I think we have to watch China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, all of them at the same time. And we can, we have to be very smart and we have to project peace through strength. If we don’t return to the Reagan doctrine, we’re going to be in serious trouble.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
And as you mentioned, NATO is in town this week. Hudson has the privilege of being one of the think tanks helping to host them. How do you view the role of the alliance today? Some have said it’s outdated. What would you say to that?
Mike Johnson:
Well, it served its purpose. It has largely been helpful in deterring war and conflict and maintaining peace. Historically, it’s been a very important organization and it has tremendous potential. But at the same time, we have to note that what is certainly outdated is the participation rate of everyone who’s involved. I mean, if you make a commitment, you’re going to spend 2 percent of your GDP, you need to do that. And as I noted in my remarks earlier, arguably it may need more needed. Now, we’re almost at the level of the cold war II at this point, and so there might need to be a greater contribution, but I think it’s a very important thing to maintain, and we support it.
We celebrate its accomplishments, but there needs to be a renewed sense of commitment, I would say, on the part of the member nations, and there’s others who aspire to be a part of it, but we’ve got to make sure that there’s an entrance fee to this. Everyone cannot ride along on the coattails of America. And Donald Trump says this as bluntly as anyone. It’s just right and fair for us to demand that others do their part. And I think that message is being received. We’re encouraged to see more nations bringing that to the table, but we’ve got a lot more work to do in that respect, and we’ll be trying to encourage that.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
Sir, I have noticed too, in your press releases and your remarks, you’re always often very careful to mention the countries who are doing their part, and I’ve noticed those are the ones that are on the front end of where the danger is. So you want to talk a little bit about just the Baltic countries and what you’ve observed from meeting with them and seeing their troubles?
Mike Johnson:
Yeah. When the grenades are close to your own backyard, it gives you a renewed sense of priority and commitment. I mean, by contrast, shamefully, Canada announced in the last few days or the last couple of days that they won’t be ponying up. They’re not going to do their 2 percent. Why? Talk about riding on America’s coattails. They have the safety and security of being on our border and not having to worry about that. I think that’s shameful. I think if you’re going to be a member nation and participant, you need to do your part. Some have a greater sense of urgency about that clearly, because the threat is that their own back door. But here’s the reality: if we don’t stop it there, it will come here. There’s no guarantee. We live under this false assumption or false sense of security that we would never have a war on our own shores.
But guess what? The enemy is here. The border’s been wide open for three and a half years. By some estimates, 16 million illegals have come across, and they’re not all good people. On January 3, I took the largest congressional delegation to the border that had ever been. We went to Eagle Pass, the Del Rio sector in South Texas and at the time, was the epicenter. They told us there, the border and customs agents told us there that at the Del Rio sector alone, an estimated 70, seven- zero, 70 percent of the people who crossed illegally are single adult males between the ages of 18 and 49. These are not huddled masses of families running from persecution. They’re not seeking asylum. These are people coming here with bad designs. By the end of this year, it’s estimated we’ll have a 23 percent increase—2,300, sorry—2,300 percent increase in the number of Chinese nationalists who try to come across that border illegally in two years. A 2,300 percent increase.
You can’t leave China if you’re a military aged adult male and just come take a voyage to the US. I mean, the CCP is involved in this. We know we have terrorists on the terrorist watch list, suspected terrorists who have been apprehended, over 250 of them by last count. But how many came through totally unevaded? I mean, ISIS fighters are here. I mean, they’re coming across in full on fatigues now, you’ve seen the videos. So this is no longer something that’s happening way over there. It’s potentially happening right here. And you know, the FBI director’s testified multiple times now on Capitol Hill that all the red lights are flashing. Director Wray, what he’s talking about is that we’ve got very likely we have terrorist cells set up all around America and we don’t know what they’re plotting or when, and that would alarm every American and we ought to demand that the border be closed.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
Then you just answered my next question then, which is tying border security with this era of maximum danger against these authoritarians, that they are related. It’s not a domestic issue versus a foreign affairs issue.
Mike Johnson:
Again, national security begins at home. It’s pointless to talk about deterrence if you don’t have your own border secured. And Joe Biden began on day one, by the way, he issued all the executive orders. I mean, the first day in office, they started unwinding all the security measures that President Trump had put in place. We impeached Secretary Mayorkas. I mean, that’s a historic thing. It was a desperate measure because desperate times called for it. The Senate didn’t go along, of course, but I think he’s the single worst cabinet secretary in the history of America because we’ll be dealing with a catastrophe that they engineered. They engineered the open border. We will be dealing with this for decades to come. President Trump has said, “We want to start the largest deportation effort in history.” It’s needed. We need to find all these dangerous people.
Criminals, they’ve emptied out prisons in Central America and sent them all over the border. Yes, but here’s the problem. We will not be able to locate all these people because DHS is not keeping track of their whereabouts, as you know. It is completely subversive and it’s anti-American and it’s anti-immigrant because the people who follow the law and do it the right way are the most upset about this, and that’s why you’re seeing the demographic shift in the electorate as well. So this is the thing to me that is so maddening, and I’ve asked the president about this one-on-one, President Biden, “Mr. President, why would you do this?” He doesn’t have an answer. These are interest groups that encouraged him to do it, and he has no answers to what the policy is or how he could fix it. He says he doesn’t have the authority, which is a joke.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
Back over to the problem of China’s increasing, really, military aggression and something that we’ve tracked here, the scholars here at Hudson Institute, that the aggression, even in the hybrid warfare zone is getting worse. China is becoming increasingly comfortable acting aggressively against our treaty ally, the Philippines, really being threatening against Taiwan. Can you speak to what is your view, how should Americans understand why it’s important that Taiwan remains safe and secure?
Mike Johnson:
If for no other reason, one word, semiconductors. Do you like your appliances? Do you use your cell phone? Do you need your electronics? If China takes Taiwan, imagine China being in charge of almost all the semiconductor production in the world and controlling the trade routes through that part of overseas trade. It’s an unimaginable prospect. And so we defend freedom of people, we stand for freedom. The nation of Taiwan is important to defend for all of its merits, but it also is directly in our economic interest, our stability interest. Think of your methods of communication. Think of all the equipment at your local hospital, imaging devices. Everything that is necessary for economic stability and health now is tied into semiconductor production. And so if it was just purely selfish interest, every American should be dialed in on this. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
Which then leads me to wonder, you talked about how the Republican Party is realist. We have to have clear eyes, and yet you also speak very eloquently, sir, about the principles of freedom and what the United States stands for, especially in contrast to our adversaries. What role should the United States take in supporting dissident groups, pro-freedom groups, persecuted religious groups in countries like China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia?
Mike Johnson:
Well, our diplomatic efforts are really important in that regard and our advocacy for religious freedom. The first freedom listed in the Bill of Rights is religious liberty. And the founders understood if religious freedom is taken from a people, their political freedom soon follows, and you’ve seen that throughout history. We defend the right of conscience, the most fundamental freedom that we have as the right to believe and act upon it, and that’s essential to who we are as Americans. I talk a lot about what I call the seven core principles of American conservatism, but they’re really the seven core principles of America itself. I think it’s about individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets and human dignity. We believe, as we boldly proclaimed in our declaration that we just celebrated July 4, that it’s a self-evident truth.
The original draft that Jefferson wrote before he handed it to Franklin and Adams to edit was he said it was sacred and undeniable, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable, or self-evident.” Something that’s obvious that all of us are created. We’re not born equal, we’re created equal, and God’s the one that gives us our rights, not the government. That is the revolutionary statement that started America and set us on the course to be the most powerful nation ever that there was. I take tours late at night as many members—I don’t do it anymore. I used to before I became speaker—but I take groups into House chamber late at night and show them all the cool things around the House chamber, all the symbolism. A lot of it’s religious by the way. And we have, “In God we trust.” As you know, that’s right there in big gold letters above the speaker’s rostrum.
And I always point that out and I say, “Do you know when that was put there and why? Turn in your hymnal to page 14.” There’s this visitor’s guide when you come to the House chamber, the People’s House. And you open it up to page 14, and it says very clearly about halfway down the page, it says, “Oh, you’ll see, ‘In God we trust,’ above the speakers rostrum.” I was placed there in 1963 by the Congress because it was in the beginning of the Cold War. And it says it was a rebuke to the Soviets’ philosophy in that era. Marxism begins with the premise that there is no creator. There is no God. And so it leads to false assumptions.
The whole thing about why we defend freedom, why we defend the dignity of the individual, the estimable dignity and value of every human is because our founders believed, and most of us still believe that we are made in God’s image. And so every single person has an estimable value. That’s worth fighting for. It’s what defined us as a nation. If we lose that, we lose an essential ingredient about what it means to be an American.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
Mr. Speaker, we’re running out of time here, but I do then want to turn back on the subject of Russia and Ukraine because you really also have come out in support of the Christians in Ukraine. Can you talk, because I think sometimes we’re little bit . . . we can be confused, maybe because there’s a lot of disinformation out there and it’s just a confusing situation. What is the state of Christians in Ukraine and how Russia’s authoritarianism and aggression against Ukraine is harming them?
Mike Johnson:
They’re targeted specifically. I’ve met multiple times with religious leaders, pastors who are there. Some of my own denomination, Southern Baptist have missionaries there. And a lot of these clergy are in fear for their own families. And some of them have been targeted. I’ve seen examples and photographs of families who were taken out by targeted rockets to their apartment building on level five of an apartment building because they’re Christians. I mentioned earlier, the importance of maintaining religious freedom is if you can . . . and the communists always do this, they go after the Christians first.
They target Christians. Why? Because they believe they owe an allegiance to a power higher than the government, than the state. And so you have to eliminate that. And then just out of just . . . it’s a demonic thing in my view, but they target people who have that belief and they want to stamp it out. And it’s vicious and vile, and it shows exactly what Putin and his regime is all about. And I think it’s an important thing to highlight. And I don’t think it’s something that ought to be underestimated.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
Last question. We talked about how you’ve got Global Strike Command in your district, and my area of focus is making sure the United States has a robust nuclear deterrent that’s credible to deter both China, Russia, and any other nuclear threat. And we’ve hosted General Bussiere here. So anything you want to say about the importance of just making sure that we have a credible, robust military and especially our nuclear deterrence, sir?
Mike Johnson:
Yes. It’s a good thing to close on. A week ago Thursday, we dropped my oldest son off at the Naval Academy. He’s a midshipman, and he’s going through plebe summer right now. So pray for Jack. They’re rough on the kids, but yeah. But we got our first family phone call last night because they give them 30 minutes to call home for seven weeks when they’re in this thing. So we’re anxiously awaiting it. And it’s 12:30 yesterday afternoon, and the whole family’s around, and we got him on speakerphone, “Jack, can you do FaceTime?” “No, dad, we’re standing in a gym. I have 1100 other plebes around me. We’re three feet apart and we have to hold our phone right here.” And it’s very, very strict. I tell you what, when we dropped him off for induction day, they call it, if you’ve never been to one of the academies for the day where all the freshmen come in, it would make your heart swell with pride.
Just the flags waving and the national anthem and all these really sharp kids that are there to serve and they have servants hearts and they want to serve their country and their families are all there cheering. It’ll make you love your country if you’re down on it. I highly recommend showing up for one of those things. But the importance of a strong military, the importance of nuclear deterrence has arguably never been more important, at least since World War II era. The Cold War was an important thing, but again, we were focused on primarily one enemy. This is multifaceted and it is dangerous. And with the advance of technology and all the other capabilities . . . we heard the Russians wanted to put a nuke on a satellite. This is next level stuff. And so we cannot take this for granted.
We’re being outspent and outgunned by China right now, and we have to take seriously. Reagan reminded us, “Freedom is not inherited in the bloodstream.” It’s got to be fought for. It’s got to be defended, protected, passed along to the next generation or our children and our grandchildren will not enjoy it. So we all need skin in the game in one respect or another. Part of it is our investment. And as a nation, we have to understand how important that is. So we’ll be advocating for that, and we’ll be using every sphere of influence we have. And I know all of you will as well. I hope you will, to explain to our fellow Americans that we cannot take this freedom for granted. We have not had a conflict here, but it’s not inevitable that we won’t. And so we’ve got to be ready for it. And so that’s why this work is so important. The Hudson Institute’s scholarship and work is so important. Truly, truly grateful for it, and I think it’s more important now than it’s ever been.
Rebeccah Heinrichs:
Well, sir, we are thankful for Jack’s service, and we thank you for your leadership and the work that you’ve done. Please join me in thanking the speaker of the House.
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