CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Republican J.D. Vance, running against Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) for Ohio’s open United States Senate seat, says the U.S. needs a “committed national policy of tariffs” to “rebuild the industrial heartland of America.”
Vance, whose best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy chronicled the deindustrialization of Middletown, Ohio, where he spent his childhood, told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview that a national industrial policy is vital to revitalizing what was once the heartbeat of American manufacturing.
The interview with Vance happened over lunch after one of Vance’s stops in Chillicothe — roughly 100 miles outside of Cincinnati — when he was making a swing through southeast Ohio to channel his Appalachian roots. Vance started the day in Gallipolis in Gallia County, Chillicothe in Brown County, and Mt. Orab in Ross County.
“Far too many Republicans,” Vance said, have been concerned “about the interests of multinational corporations instead of their voters” when it comes to job-killing trade deficits and free trade deals.
The U.S.-China trade deficit, alone, has resulted in the elimination of 3.7 million American jobs from 2001 to 2018. Ohio, during that period after China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO), lost nearly 138,000 jobs. Hundreds of thousands more jobs in Ohio have been eliminated as a result of other free trade deals and trade deficits with countries such as Mexico and Canada.
In Ryan’s district, since he took office in 2003, nearly 25,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost and drug overdose deaths have skyrocketed by up to 400 percent in some areas at the same time.
“It’s really straightforward and simple. The basic model of globalization has undercut the jobs of Ohioans in two basic ways: One, directly shipping their jobs overseas to places like China or Mexico, and two, through the immigration system — allowing the importation of a large class of people to undercut the wages of American citizens,” Vance said.
Signage outside the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Cleveland Works steel mill in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Both of those consequences of globalization are really horrible for Ohio workers and we have to take the country in another direction,” Vance continued. “It just hasn’t worked. It’s created a large group of people in the state of Ohio, a large class of people all over the country, who have lost good middle class jobs … I care about those people.”
Vance said the issue of offshoring American jobs is not just about economics but also about a community’s culture and social wellbeing.
“When an anchor factory that supports the middle class and the town shuts down, I mean, it destroys people’s wages, it destroys the local churches because people don’t have wages to give back to those churches, it destroys the community infrastructure,” Vance said. “It doesn’t just affect people’s jobs, it affects the entire life, the civic life of the community, which is why I think we have to be willing to protect those jobs.”
A Republican congress, Vance described, ought to take the first step in protecting American jobs and industry by passing legislation that would make U.S. tariffs on foreign imports more permanent and across the board.
“To really rebuild the industrial heartland of America, you need a committed national policy of tariffs, of protecting American industries, and of supporting the workers who are going to work in those industries,” Vance said. “Without that, you’re at best going to do a little bit less damage than before.”
The latest research has suggested that permanent U.S. tariffs on nearly all foreign imports would create about 10 million American jobs in manufacturing and supporting industries while generating $600 billion in revenue.
Former President Trump’s tariffs on billions of dollars worth of foreign imports and China-made goods helped spur a manufacturing boom, the latest data shows, across a number of states.
Such a tariff-based industrial policy would have broad support from American union workers who have urged President Joe Biden not to end U.S. tariffs on China.
Executives with Cleveland Cliffs, the largest steel manufacturer in the U.S., told Vance they began reinvesting in American plants after Trump imposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. Since then, though, Biden has considered ending the steel tariffs, throwing the industry for a loop.
Steelworkers ride on a railroad switching engine at the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Cleveland Works steel mill in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“When you talk to, like Cleveland Cliffs … they say, ‘We actually started to really reinvest in American steel production because the tariffs protected the American steel industry and the American worker from [Chinese] dumping,'” Vance said.
“They’re worried that the Biden administration is thinking about undoing a lot of those tariffs under pressure from corporate interests and that makes it harder for them to invest in the long-term capacity that employs workers because building a steel mill isn’t like flipping a switch,” he said. “It takes years of capital investment and years of planning.”
Another component of rebuilding the nation’s heartland, Vance said, is unleashing the American energy industry and ensuring wide-scale investment in energy jobs that would otherwise go to China.
“The energy piece of it, in some ways, is as important as the tariff piece of it because if you’re thinking about whether you produce steel, for example, an incredibly energy-intensive industry, you need a high amount of natural gas at a low cost to produce steel at that scale,” Vance said.
An American flag outside the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Cleveland Works steel mill in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“So if you’re an American steel maker, thinking about whether you will open a factory in China versus the United States, one of the parts of the equation is whether America will protect its industries,” he continued.
The Biden administration, Vance said, is crushing the American energy industry as its number one competitor, China, is working to dominate the sector.
“Another part of the equation is America is shutting down its energy capacity, whereas the Chinese are building their energy capacity as we speak,” Vance said. “… the [Biden administration is] really bad on American energy capacity and they are really bad on protecting our industries from the Chinese.”
“And Tim Ryan, of course, has supported them 100 percent of the time,” Vance noted.
As Vance noted, throughout Ryan’s campaign, he has attempted to portray himself as being independent of his party’s leadership . As Breitbart News has reported in the past , Ryan has voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and President Joe Biden 100 percent of the time in the most recent Congress.
In fact, during the first Ohio Senate debate, Ryan again attempted to distance himself from Democrat party leadership, saying politicians “who don’t have the guts to stand up to their own party” are a “huge threat to democracy.” Ryan claimed to align himself with Trump’s policies on occasion, even though he only voted for Trump’s agenda 16 percent of the time.
Over the lunch interview, Vance spoke about the need for a new Congress to reverse federal immigration laws that allow multinational corporations to replace American professionals — often in high-paying STEM jobs — with cheaper foreign workers on the H-1B visa program.
He also acknowledged that the country needs a “new generation of leaders,” not the “old generation” like his opponent, in addition to the U.S. needing to “protect” American single-family homes and farmland from foreign investors such as China and billionaires such as Bill Gates.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here .
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss .
THE BIDEN KLEPTOCRACY American people deserve to know what China was up to with Joe Biden , especially when Beijing had already shelled out millions of dollars to Biden family members — including millions in set-asides for “the big guy.” What else is on that infamous Hunter Biden laptop? The conflicted Biden Justice Department cannot be trusted to engage in any meaningful oversight on this issue. We need a special counsel now.
TOM FITTON - JUDICIAL WATCH
“Our entire crony capitalist system, Democrat and Republican alike, has become a kleptocracy approaching par with third-world hell-holes. This is the way a great country is raided by its elite.” ---- Karen McQuillan AMERICAN THINKER.com
There it is. That's the issue. To begin, you have the corrupt family Biden. They've been scamming us and our system well for almost fifty years. The man is supposedly worth over 250 million dollars. How is this possible on his salary? It's not. So where did his wealth come from? Not from being a brilliant businessman. DAVID PRENTICE
THE BIDEN KLEPTOCRACY RIDING THE DRAGON: The Bidens' Chinese Secrets (Full Documentary) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRmlcEBAiIs
He also acknowledged that the country needs a “new generation of leaders,” not the “old generation” like his opponent, in addition to the U.S. needing to “protect” American single-family homes and farmland from foreign investors such as China and billionaires such as Bill Gates.
Chinese had the 'front door' with Hunter Biden: Rep. Darrell Issa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QiArczr2FE
Is that not what the Democrat Party has created right here n America, transforming a once prosperous, strong, united, and safe nation into a debt-laden, militarily weak, socially divided, and increasingly dangerous society? Here are some of the Bizarro policies and beliefs inflicted on us by the neo-socialist, globalist, anti-American Democrat Party over the past few decades
— PAUL E. SCATS
J.D. Vance: Tim Ryan’s ‘Kill and Confront’ Comment Was Another Attempt from the Left to Engage in Political Violence
Andrew Spear/Getty Images 3:10
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Republican J.D. Vance, running for Ohio’s open United States Senate seat, blasted his opponent Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) by saying his “kill and confront” MAGA was just another attempt from the left to engage in political violence.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News the weekend before last, Vance blasted Ryan’s “kill and confront” MAGA comments and doubled down on his “extreme rhetoric” as just another attempt from the left to engage in political violence, after a debate this month where Ryan included Vance in a group of people he labeled as “extremists.”
The interview took place in Chillicothe, roughly 100 miles outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, while the Buckeye State Republican was making a swing through the southeast part of the state to channel his Appalachian roots with two weeks left in the race.
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) speaks, May 3, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Vance told Breitbart News that if any Republican had attempted to make the same comments as Ryan did — such as wanting to “kill and confront” the far left or “kill and confront” the radical Democrats — “it would be around-the-clock national news” and “every single media figure would accuse you of inciting murder against Democratic leadership.”
The Buckeye State Republican explained that “it’s more of a commentary on the media” because Ryan has said “a lot of stupid stuff” over his last 20 years in Washington, DC, but “that the media won’t call him out on some pretty extreme rhetoric, and I do think some pretty extreme dangerous rhetoric.”
In this June 2020 photo, a rioter raises their fist as a fire burns in the street after clashes with law enforcement near the Seattle Police Departments East Precinct shortly after midnight. (David Ryder/Getty Images)
“I think that it’s irresponsible for Tim Ryan to use that rhetoric when his side is engaged in political violence,” he added.
Vance, when discussing the violence that happened during the riots throughout 2020, said, “What happened over the summer of 2020, where the media and major political figures actively encouraged looting, rioting, burning down of cities, is a far bigger threat to democracy than anything that’s happened since.”
“We’re talking about 26 people dead, tens of billions of dollars of property damage, entire communities are effectively destroyed, and it’s taken them years to recover, and the media and the Democrats egged it on,” he explained. “For them to come back and say I’m a threat to democracy because I think that people have a right to a speedy jury trial…It’s the craziest and most ridiculous accusation.”
Vance also spoke to Breitbart News about the need for a new Congress to reverse federal immigration laws that allow multinational corporations to replace American professionals — often in high-paying STEM jobs — with cheaper foreign workers on the H-1B visa program.
He also acknowledged that the country needs a “new generation of leaders,” not the “old generation” like his opponent, in addition to the U.S. needing to “protect” American single-family homes and farmland from foreign investors such as China and billionaires such as Bill Gates.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss .
THE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY
GOP Lawmaker: 'Once Joe Biden Gets In The White House, Suddenly Hunter Biden's An Artist' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaCah_BKAlg
However, the lust for power and immense pecuniary gains cause people to behave in the most cold-hearted fashion. It is inhuman of Biden's wife and family to allow him to be exploited like this, such that he becomes the target of ridicule.
'Abundantly Clear Why His Handlers Have Been Keeping Him Away From Cameras': GOP Rep Rips Biden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8EjOxytgic
VIDEO
MARK LEVINE OUTLINES JOE BIDEN'S CATASTROPHIC FAILURES
What if America gave away highest technologies to its enemies?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C00OcRojFT8
On the 14 th of August 2020, Politico Magazine , in a lengthy article, revealed for the first time Barack Obama’s true opinion of Joe Biden together with his warning to the people of America. During the 2020 primary Obama told a fellow Democrat: “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to fuck things up.”
DO A SEARCH FOR BIDEN AND HIS BIGGEST BRIBSTER BLACKROCK!
J.D. Vance: Americans and their Property Must Be Protected from China, BlackRock Buying U.S. Land Gaelen Morse/Bloomberg
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Republican J.D. Vance, running against Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) for the state’s open United States Senate seat, says the U.S. must “protect” American single-family homes and farmland from foreign investors like China and billionaires such as Bill Gates.
“The Founding Fathers recognize that to have a constitutional republic, we needed a nation of owners, not a nation of renters, and there is this large-scale effort to turn the American people into a permanent renter class,” Vance told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview.
The interview took place over lunch after Vance’s second campaign stop last Saturday in Chillicothe — roughly 100 miles outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Buckeye State Republican was making a swing through the southeast part of the state to channel his Appalachian roots with two weeks left in the race. Throughout the day, Vance made multiple stops starting in the village of Gallipolis, a stone’s throw from West Virginia and ending 40 miles east of Cincinnati.
Vance told Breitbart News that forcing Americans into a permanent renter class rather than making home ownership easier is a “huge mistake.” Vance emphasized that single-family homes and farmland need to be protected from China-linked investors, Wall Street firms like BlackRock, and billionaires such as Bill Gates — the largest private owner of U.S. farmland.
“BlackRock is going around and buying billions of dollars of American single-family homes,” Vance added. “That’s a problem whether Blackrock is getting the money from the Chinese or somewhere else. The issue is you want Americans to be able to buy those homes and actually own a stake.”
Specifically, Vance told Breitbart News he would co-sponsor Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) legislation that bans China and China-linked firms from buying land anywhere in the U.S.
Vance said he would like to see the legislation expanded to include restrictions on how many acres of land one particular Wall Street firm, corporation, or billionaire can purchase.
On the other hand, Ryan voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act without raising concerns about farming provisions that do nothing to protect American farmland from continuing incursions from China. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) proposed an amendment to ban China from buying American farmland, but the measure was blocked by Senate Democrats.
Analysis from 2019 shows that about half a million acres of farmland in Ohio are owned by foreign investors — primarily from China, Germany, and the Netherlands. Bill Gates alone now owns nearly 250,000 acres across 19 states, including nearly 9,000 acres in Ohio.
In 2021, Chinese investors were allowed to buy $6.1 billion worth of homes and land across the U.S. Most recently, a Chinese firm bought 300 acres of farmland in North Dakota that sits just 20 minutes from a U.S. Air Force Base.
The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figure reveals that Chinese investors’ holdings of U.S. farmland skyrocketed from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 352,140 acres in 2020. Foreign investors now hold interest in more than 37 million acres of U.S. farmland — a region larger than the state of Iowa.
As Breitbart News reported this week, Vance spoke on the need for a new Congress to reverse federal immigration laws that allows multinational corporations to replace American professionals, often in high-paying STEM jobs, with cheaper foreign workers on the H-1B visa program.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here .
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss .
Wall Street CEOs Planning MASS LAYOFF (75% Job Cuts at Twitter)
Senate GOP Gives Victory to Kamala Harris, Her Big Tech Donors with Green Card Giveaway…. WITH KAMALA, JUST FOLLOW HER LONG HISTORY OF BRIBES SUCKING! Big Tech is facilitating the border crisis: Rep. Cammack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bzvanfZ838
Democrat Joe Biden has chosen Ronald Klain to be his chief of
staff should he enter the White House in January. Klain
worked on behalf of Silicon Valley executives and their
interests, which include providing tech corporations with an
endless supply of H-1B foreign visa workers (THROUGH
TOTAL AMNESTY) and more free trade.
JOH N BINDER (MORE BELOW)
Trickle Down Zuckanomics: Service Workers Supporting Facebook to Lose Their Jobs
WHITE COLLAR WORKERS GET THE SHAFT
Time to Panic. Wall Street CEOs Planning MASS LAYOFFS.
Analysis conducted last year reveal that 71 percent of tech workers in Silicon Valley are foreign-born (DATED FIGURES), while the tech industry in the San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward area is made up of 50 percent foreign-born tech workers.
Despite his Wall Street, big business, Big Tech, and billionaire donations, Biden has attempted to portray himself as a small-town fighter from Scranton, Pennsylvania.
By failures of border security, a lack of the enforcement of our immigration laws from within the interior of the United States and huge numbers of visas for high tech workers, the lives and livelihoods of Americans and their children, are being stolen by America’s corrupt political elite who are doing the bidding of those who provide them with huge “Campaign Contributions” (Orwellian euphemism for bribes) pursue legislation that is diametrically opposed to the best interests of America and Americans.
MICHAEL CUTLER
J.D. Vance: New Congress Must Go After Corporations Replacing Americans with Foreign H-1B Visa Workers
Namas Bhojani for Bloomberg News/Gaelen Morse/Getty Images 6:29
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Republican J.D. Vance says a new Congress must reverse a policy that allows corporations to replace American professionals, often in high-paying STEM jobs, with cheaper foreign workers on the H-1B visa program.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News on Saturday, the Ohio Senate candidate blasted a plan by OhioHealth where nearly 640 American tech and finance employees are being laid off and having their jobs sent to Accenture — a Fortune 500 multinational corporation notorious for importing foreign H-1B visa workers to replace Americans in white-collar jobs.
The interview took place over lunch after Vance’s second campaign stop for the day in Chillicothe — roughly 100 miles outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Buckeye State Republican was making a swing through the southeast part of the state to channel his Appalachian roots with two weeks left in the race. Throughout the day, Vance, vying for the open United States Senate seat, visited Gallipolis in Gallia County, Chillicothe in Brown County, and Mt. Orab in Ross County.
While speaking with Breitbart News over a Mad Dog sandwich at 7 Mile Smokehouse, Vance spoke on a number of issues including what he calls the “bipartisan … big mistake” of shipping American jobs to China and, in some cases, Mexico, as well as crime, the U.S.-Mexico border, and inflation, which he attributes mainly to the Democrats shutting down American energy.
On the OhioHealth layoffs, set to occur early next month and continue through the beginning of 2023, Vance said federal law must be overhauled to ensure corporations like OhioHealth are not allowed to replace their American employees via third-party outsourcing firms like Accenture.
Generally speaking, a lot of the H-1B abuse we see is in the interests of the people hiring the [foreign visa] worker, who can undercut the wages of Americans, but is it in the interest of the 700 Ohioans who lost their jobs? Absolutely not,” Vance told Breitbart News.
“This is one of these issues where you actually need public policy to solve this problem because they’re taking advantage of a visa system that’s meant to ensure that American companies have the workers that they need, it’s not meant to undercut the wages of American workers in this country,” Vance continued. “Unfortunately, that’s what the H-1B visa is just being used to do right now.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), whom Vance is running against, has for years voted to increase foreign competition in the labor market that working and middle class Americans are forced to compete against.
“My argument to [Tim] Ryan is the legislature creates these policies that allow these companies to take advantage of American workers, the only real solution is for the legislature to make different policies,” Vance said. “I really think we have to cut down on the abuse of the H-1B visa system.”
The outsourcing-offshoring business model has proven extremely lucrative for Fortune 500 companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, JP Morgan Chase, and others as they often contract with “body shop” firms like Cognizant, Tata Consulting Services, Infosys, Accenture, IBM, and Capgemini to lay off their American employees and replace them with tens of thousands of foreign H-1B visa workers primarily from India.
VIDEO
Accenture, for instance, sought to import more than 3,800 foreign H-1B visa workers this year alone. In 2021, Accenture sought to bring 6,200 foreign H-1B visa workers to the U.S. to take white-collar American jobs.
While being laid off, Americans are often forced to train their foreign H-1B visa replacements. If they do not, in most cases, their employer withholds their severance package. There are about 650,000 foreign H-1B visa workers in the U.S. at any given moment.
In Ohio, alone, firms and corporations including Cognizant, Tata Consulting Services, Accenture, and JP Morgan Chase were allowed to fill more than 9,700 American white-collar professional jobs with foreign H-1B visa workers this year.
Vance said “the first principle” of national immigration policy ought to “be about defending the interests of America and America’s workers” rather than corporate special interests.
“The question when we allow a new person to come to America should be, ‘Is this in the interests of the people who live here? Or is this in the interests of some narrow, multinational corporate interests?'” Vance told Breitbart News.
Economic Policy Institute research has shown that most corporations importing foreign H-1B visa workers are making significant savings in wages paid by doing so.
Likewise, internal documents from the India-based HCL Technologies body shop firm have detailed how the company grows its profit margins by hiring cheaper foreign H-1B visa workers over American professionals who have worked in the tech industry for years.
Last year, Facebook reached two settlements with the federal government after it was sued for discriminating against qualified American professionals and graduates in favor of imported foreign H-1B visa workers.
Though Vance is one of only a couple of Republicans to speak on H-1B visa abuse this election cycle, the GOP base, swing voters, and a majority of Americans — for years — have said U.S. employers should boost wages and offer better benefits to attract Americans for jobs rather than being allowed to import foreign visa workers whenever possible.
The latest Rasmussen Reports survey on the issue shows that 57 percent of American adults, 65 percent of Republicans, and nearly 6-in-10 swing voters say companies should raise their pay and try harder to recruit Americans for blue-collar and white-collar jobs over the federal government subsidizing them with foreign labor year after year.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here .
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss .
New Hunter Biden revelation undermines president's comments: Turley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCk4RlPkFSQ
Bidens of all sorts are under federal investigation for tax evasion, money-laundering, and unregistered agent foreign ties, as this Politico report citing
Hunter notes .
Biden lied when he denied knowledge of Hunter’s businesses deals: Devine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=680-KEfZuT8
Joe Concha blasts media over Hunter Biden diamond scandal: 'He is untouchable'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L80nVRtiUoc
New details further link Hunter Biden to China’s payroll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgVOirLNWpw
I'm Going To Highlight A New Hunter Biden Record...': Grassley Goes After POTUS Son On Senate Floor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY_UrM8TvGE
This is Biden's biggest problem: Steve Moore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqP7hPQACFA
HUNTER AND JOE BIDEN: CHINA'S RENT BOYS!
Hunter Biden will be a top priority for Republicans: Rep. Comer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AumMMgIGNs '
'The Five' knock Biden for reassuring Dems he's running for reelection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0zYoaV9VOs
America sees two weak leaders in the White House: Mercedes Schlapp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVL-8P82_20
Naïve American people had no idea what they were getting with Biden: A senile, corrupt, debauched old man with a son who was a conduit for his dirty dealings and who has a personal life so disgusting it’s hard to write about it. That’s what the American media and the tech tyrants have done to America. ANDREA WIDBURG
New Hunter Biden revelation undermines president's comments: Turley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCk4RlPkFSQ
Bidens of all sorts are under federal investigation for tax evasion, money-laundering, and unregistered agent foreign ties, as this Politico report citing Hunter notes .
China Working To Undermine Midterm Elections, Cybersecurity Group Says China, Russia, Iran sowing dissent ahead of midterm elections
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 24: Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) and other Chinese politicians and delegates listen to the national anthem duirng the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People on October 24, 2017 in Beijing, China. The 19th CPC National Congress is set to run 7 days and a new central committee of CPC will be produced. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) Adam Kredo • October 31, 2022 3:10 pmCommunist China is behind a massive online disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, according to findings by a cybersecurity group.
China is using a network of social media accounts and altered news articles to "sow division both between the U.S. and its allies and within the U.S. political system itself," according to a threat assessment by Mandiant, a cybersecurity and intelligence organization that works with governments and the public sector. China’s latest efforts to undermine the American democratic process come amid parallel attempts by Russia and Iran to interfere with the upcoming elections.
The CCP influence operation, dubbed Dragonbridge, is attracting concern in the cybersecurity sector for its "aggressive attempts to discredit the U.S. democratic process, including attempts to discourage Americans from voting in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections," according to Mandiant’s research. The organization assesses "with high confidence" that the online campaign is "operating in support of the political interests of the People’s Republic of China."
Efforts by foreign actors to meddle in the upcoming elections have fueled concerns among federal authorities, including the FBI, which recently warned that an Iranian government-backed hacking collective is working to target U.S. entities. Russia also "is working to amplify doubts about the integrity of U.S. elections" as voters head to the polls next week, according to the Associated Press.
The CCP’s Dragonbridge operation has similar hallmarks to those of other foreign actors, according to Mandiant. Dragonbridge, through a network of online social media accounts that obfuscate their true identity, is promoting "narratives that appeared intended to discredit and undermine the U.S. political system."
In September, for instance, Dragonbridge-affiliated accounts posted an English-language video on online platforms that included "content attempting to discourage Americans from voting in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections." Like the efforts helmed by Russia and Iran, China wants to sow doubts about "the efficacy of voting and of U.S. government institutions more broadly," according to Mandiant.
The video, portions of which were captured by Mandiant, claimed "the solution to America's ills is not to vote for someone," but to "root out this ineffective and incapacitated system"—a narrative that mirrors those promoted by U.S.-based radical groups on the left and right.
Chinese operators also promoted rhetoric meant to divide Americans and reinforce the impression that the country is irrevocably broken.
Dragonbridge content collected by Mandiant promotes the narrative "that political infighting, partisanship, polarization, and division had become fundamental aspects of American democracy. The campaign also pointed to frequent mentions of ‘civil war’ on social media and incidents of politically motivated violence, including confrontations between individuals supporting opposing parties and acts against the FBI, as evidence of the deterioration of the political process and its impending demise."
The group also has been observed altering actual news articles and pushing content that appears to be legitimate but is actually the product of CCP manipulation.
Throughout the 2022 election cycle, the CCP-orchestrated campaign has exhibited "aggressiveness through both the content of its narratives and its willingness to experiment with new tactics to accomplish its aims," according to Mandiant. This includes attempts to mobilize American protesters to take to the streets and potentially commit violent acts.
"Such persistence, combined with clear intent and scale, renders the campaign a priority for monitoring," the security group warned.
John Hultquist, head of threat intelligence for Mandiant, said in a statement that while Russia and Iran are more aggressive in their efforts to undermine U.S. elections, "what’s troubling [about the CCP groups is] their aggressive growth."
A Chinese Influence Operation Promoted an Anti-Trump PAC for the Midterms
In May 2022, Mary Trump tweeted, “Hundreds of voter subversion laws are only a governor’s signature away from going into effect. Please join the Democracy Defense Fund in supporting these gubernatorial candidates who are committed to protecting our #VotingRights.”
Mary Trump, the former president’s niece, has become an anti-Trump figure specializing in deranged rhetoric like calling him “mass murderer criminal Donald Trump”. DDF is a PAC that is intervening in races across the country, including in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Ohio.
The Democracy Defense Fund, a nationwide PAC, was supposedly created by Mary Trump, who has no apparent background or ability to create or manage such an organization. After an extensive search, I was unable to locate any other employees or personnel involved with it.
Who’s really behind DDF which claims to have a nationwide reach for the midterms?
Aside from Mary’s name out front, the DDF PAC has been a black box. The site only mentions her name and no other employees, advisers or board members. And yet DDF has sent out fundraising emails urging donations to Stacey Abrams, Beto O’Rourke and Raphael Warnock. It bombarded mailboxes with a plea from Mandela Barnes, running against Senator Ron Johnson: something that the Democrat Senate candidate and DDF could do because it’s a hybrid PAC.
The only address listed by DDF is a post office box at a Bay Area post office. But this particular post office is also used by the Hold the House PAC fronted by former Democratic Rep. Mike Honda and run by a Silicon Valley strategy firm. The former congressman was a controversial figure who was accused of a pay-to-play scheme with donors.
An Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) report stated that there is “substantial reason to believe … Honda improperly tied official activities to past or potential political support.”
Honda’s “1,000 Cranes” list served as an index of special favors that appeared to be performed for top donors. And Honda was one of the politicians targeted by Fang Fang, a Chinese spy. Honda can be seen posing with the foreign agent at the Chinese Embassy in D.C.
The existing questions about who is really behind the Democracy Defense Fund took on a new urgency with the release of the Dragonbridge or the Spamouflage Dragon influence operation running out of China. The latest Chinese operation in which operatives pretended to be Americans made waves because for the first time they appeared to be directly interfering in an election by adopting American personas and promoting American political organizations.
While the Chinese Communist operatives pretended to be Americans from across the spectrum, the Left and the Right, one tweet was notable. It read, “Hundreds of voter subversion laws are only a governor’s signature away from going into effect. Please join the Democracy Defense Fund in supporting these gubernatorial candidates.”
Dragonbridge was amplifying Mary Trump’s tweet and promoting the Democracy Defense Fund. There is no record of the Chinese influence operation promoting any other PACs.
DDF claims that “our democracy is in danger”, but it’s being promoted by one of the world’s most brutal totalitarian dictatorships which is at war with the United States. It alleges that Republicans are “planning the next coup”, but DDF’s amplification by Communist China raises questions about where the real backing for the next coup is coming from.
The account in question has since been suspended but it raises troubling questions about not only Communist China’s involvement in the midterms, but its support for a Democrat PAC.
And it makes it more urgent than ever to answer the question of who’s really behind DDF.
While the Democracy Defense Fund seeks to intervene in battleground elections, its only listed address is in the Bay Area. That is also where China’s espionage and influence operations are strongest. It’s also the wellspring of money pouring into American elections.
California is the only state where the PRC’s Ministry of State Security has a unit. Chinese operatives were able to recruit a staff member working for Senator Dianne Feinstein. Fang Fang pursued primarily California Democrats like Rep. Eric Swalwell and Rep. Ro Khanna.
Chinese-owned firms have already been caught donating to PACs. Others, like Huawei, TikTok and Hikvision have invested a fortune in lobbying Congress. But beyond the millions of dollars being spent by companies with links to the Communist Party, and with lobbyists formally registered as foreign agents, there is a hidden underworld of spies and political operatives.
It may be entirely a coincidence that a Chinese influence operation promoted a Democrat PAC, just a question of random algorithms and 50-cent party ignorance, but it is dangerous to assume that China has no interest in our political system and no plans for calculatedly disrupting it.
The Biden administration and the Democrats have dismantled many of the safeguards and preventative measures put into place to deter China by the Trump administration.
The destruction of the China Initiative by the Biden administration in particular has given the Communist enemy regime a green light to resume its mass theft of our technologies and secrets. Would Beijing like this state of affairs to continue? The answer is all too obvious.
A shadowy PAC with a post office box is out to influence midterm elections in Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania among other places. An even more shadowy Chinese influence operation has promoted it. While the media has eagerly talked up Mary Trump, it’s shown no interest in the question of who is behind the Democracy Defense Fund. That lack of accountability is a cloak under which foreign interests and enemy states can operate safely while knowing that they won’t be exposed. The media would rather attack Republicans than defend America.
And Communist China knows it.
Who is behind the Democracy Defense Fund? The answer likely lurks in the Bay Area, but who is to say that it may not have an echo thousands of miles away in the corridors of Beijing?
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.
Antony Blinken Checks in with Chinese Foreign Minister for Routine Scolding STEFANI REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty 7:40
Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday in which the latter chided Blinken to “stop trying to put up new obstacles to bilateral relations.”
The State Department readout of the call, published on Sunday (the call appears to have taken place on Monday Beijing time), does not mention anything that Wang said, instead focusing on Blinken, who allegedly “raised Russia’s war against Ukraine” and the “security situation in Haiti.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry and the government, through state propaganda outlet Global Times , offered much more specificity, depicting a frustrated Wang hectoring Blinken to urge the administration of left-wing President Joe Biden to stop trying “to contain and suppress China.”
The tone echoed that of multiple past encounters between the two, as well as discussions held between Blinken and other Chinese Communist Party envoys, in which aggressive Chinese representatives badgered Blinken over his government not acting sufficiently in the best interests of China. The pattern began after a disastrous meeting between Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Wang and senior Politburo member Yang Jiechi in Alaska last year during which Yang ranted for 16 minutes about alleged racism and “Black Lives Matter” in America.
“On human rights, we hope the United States will do better on human rights. China has made steady progress in human rights, and the fact is that there are many problems within the United States regarding human rights, which is admitted by the U.S. itself as well,” Yang protested in Alaska. “The challenges facing the United States in human rights are deep-seated. They did not just emerge over the past four years, such as ‘Black Lives Matter.’ It did not come up only recently.”
The Biden representatives notably did not mention the fact that China is currently engaging in genocide against majority-Muslims groups in occupied East Turkistan, among other Communist Party atrocities.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi L meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a day after the Group of 20 G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, in Bali, Indonesia, July 9, 2022. (Xu Qin/Xinhua via Getty Images)
According to the State Department, Blinken “discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the U.S.-PRC [China] relationship” with Wang, adding no more detail on what would presumably be the most important issue between the top diplomats of the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China.
“The Secretary raised Russia’s war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability,” the readout continued. “The Secretary also noted the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in Haiti and the need for continued coordinated action in support of the Haitian people.”
In contrast, the Chinese Foreign Ministry depicted a fuming Wang berating Blinken on American foreign policy.
“The US side should stop its efforts to contain and suppress China, and not create new obstacles to the relationship between the two countries,” the ministry paraphrased Wang as saying. “Wang Yi pointed out that bringing China-US relations back to the track of stable development is not only in the common interests of China and the US, but also the general expectation of the international community.”
The Global Times claimed that Wang spent much of the call pressuring Blinken to closely study the 2022 Communist Party Congress , which concluded last month and cemented dictator Xi Jinping’s stranglehold on power. The Congress, which occurs every five years, determines who remains or gets promoted to the Politburo, the highest authority in the Party. This year, Xi removed several top officials on the basis of their advanced age, replacing them with a host of loyalists that are unlikely to question controversial policies such as an endless wave of city lockdowns to fight Chinese coronavirus.
The Congress was also the site of a bizarre scene in which elderly former President Hu Jintao, who preceded Xi Jinping in power, appeared to be hauled off violently by security while pleading with Xi for mercy. Hu has not been seen in public since his apparent purge was caught on camera.
Wang, the Global Times said , essentially assigned Blinken to read Xi Jinping’s report to the Congress as homework.
“If the US truly wants to know about China, it should carefully read the report, Wang said, noting that China’s domestic and diplomatic policies are open and transparent and its strategic intention is frank and forthright,” the state newspaper relayed, “and the US should not make subjective conjectures, nor be blinded by its ideological prejudice.”
It also repeated Wang’s lecture on respecting the genocidal communist Chinese government.
“When talking with Blinken, Wang pointed out that bringing bilateral relation back on track is not only in accordance with the two countries’ mutual interests, but also what the international community expects,” the Global Times reported. “The US should stop cracking down on China, and also stop trying to put up new obstacles to bilateral relations, Wang urged.”
The state newspaper nonetheless described the phone call as “positive” and potentially an avenue for future high-level talks, including a possible meeting between Biden and Xi. Biden and Xi are both expected to attend the G20 summit in Indonesia this month, but have not made any official announcements on meeting. As of Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denied having any information on a potential in-person discussion between the two leaders.
The G20 is expected to be an explosive meeting this year due to its invite list, which not only includes Biden and Xi but both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose nations are currently at war. Biden has publicly demanded Indonesia disinvite Putin to no avail.
Also expected to attend is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose relationship with Biden is arguably the world’s most deteriorated. The White House has denied any plans for Biden to meet with the crown prince amid a growing diplomatic crisis triggered by Washington accusing Riyadh of supporting OPEC oil production cuts to support Putin. The Saudi government has reacted to the accusation with outrage and received support from Zelensky. Saudi officials have also taken Biden’s strident stance as an indication to enhance diplomatic ties with China.
At least year’s G20 summit, Blinken and Wang repeated their regular scolding sessions on the issue of Taiwan, which did not reportedly come up during this week’s call. Taiwan is a sovereign, democratic nation off the coast of China that has long sought relations with America. Beijing falsely claims Taiwan as a province of China and regularly pressures America to cut economic and strategic ties with Taipei, even though Washington does not recognize Taiwan as a country.
“We urge the United States to realize the serious harm of the ‘Taiwan independence,’ to pursue a real one-China policy, instead of a fake one, to fulfill its commitments to China faithfully rather than treacherously,” Wang demanded last year.
Wang also complained about specific legislation in the American Congress at the time, meddling in domestic affairs.
“The United States has wantonly interfered with China’s internal affairs, Wang stressed, noting that the current U.S. Congress has introduced more than 300 anti-China bills,” Xinhua reported , “and the United States has included more than 900 Chinese entities and individuals in various unilateral sanctions lists, which severely disrupted the normal bilateral exchanges.”
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.
Feds Charge 7 Chinese Nationals Over Plot to Repatriate U.S. Resident to China Eight-count indictment is latest case by Justice Department targeting Beijing's expatriation campaign in U.S.
Reuters • October 20, 2022 4:50 pmBy Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The United States unsealed criminal charges on Thursday against seven Chinese nationals accused of waging a surveillance and harassment campaign against a U.S. resident and his family, in a bid by the Chinese government to repatriate one of them back to China.
The eight-count indictment, unsealed in a U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, is the latest case by the Justice Department targeting China's apparent expatriation campaign, known as "Operation Fox Hunt."
The seven individuals charged are Quanzhong An, 55, of Roslyn, New York his daughter Guangyang An, 34, and five others still in China: Tian Peng, Chenghua Chen, Chunde Ming, Xuexin Hou, and Weidong Yuan.
The lead defendant, Quanzhong An, and his daughter were arrested on Thursday morning. The rest of the defendants remain at large. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with China.
According to the indictment, Quanzhong An is accused of working at the behest of China's Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to harass and intimidate a Chinese man and his son living in the United States. The man and his son are identified only as "John Doe-1 and John Doe-2."
As part of the plot, the defendants allegedly coerced a relative of the family to travel from China to the United States in a bid to convince John Doe-1 to return to the country.
At a meeting in a restaurant in Sept. 2018, the relative explained to John Doe-2 that he had been forced to travel there by the government as part of a plan to repatriate the 100 most-wanted fugitives, the indictment said.
Other examples of harassment the family endured included a letter-writing campaign, with one letter warning that "coming back and turning yourself in is the only way out."
The Chinese government also filed a lawsuit against the father and son in a New York state court, claiming the father had stolen money from a Chinese employer and his son illegally profited from the scheme.
"The victims in this case sought to flee an authoritarian government, leaving behind their lives and family, for a better life here. That same government sent agents to the United States to harass, threaten, and forcibly return them to the People's Republic of China," said Michael Driscoll, the FBI's assistant director in charge in the New York office.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
VIDEO
Republican J.D. Vance secured 53.9 percent of support from likely voters in the Ohio U.S. Senate race and has a ten-point lead over Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan in the latest Trafalgar Group poll.
Trafalgar’s late Sunday night poll showed that 53.9 percent of voters in Ohio would support Vance in the midterm election in just two days, compared to the 43.5 percent who said they would support the Democrat. Only 2.5 percent were undecided.
The poll sampled the 1,123 likely general election voters from November 3 to 5, with a 2.9 percent margin of error and a 95 percent confidence level. The poll’s respondents were 45.1 percent Republican, 40.6 percent Democrat, and 14.3 percent had no party or other affiliation.
Sunday night’s Ohio poll indicated that Vance had gained ground since the Trafalgar poll from roughly three weeks ago when the Buckeye State Republican had support from 47.3 percent, leading Ryan by 3.5 points when the congressman had 43.8 percent support.
During the election cycle, the two candidates have gone back and forth on who would be better to represent the state. However, Ryan has done a disservice to himself by trying to campaign like a moderate.
In fact, during the first debate between the two, Ryan, who votes with his own party’s leadership 100 percent of the time, said that politicians “who don’t have to guts to stand up to their own party” are a “huge threat to democracy.”
But, as Breitbart News has reported in the past , Ryan has voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and President Joe Biden 100 percent of the time in the most recent Congress. Additionally, Ryan has even claimed to align himself with Trump’s policies occasionally, even though he only voted for Trump’s agenda 16 percent of the time.
However, Vance acknowledged during an exclusive interview with Breitbart News that, despite what Ryan is saying, the country needs a “new generation of leaders,” not the “old generation” like his opponent the congressman is a part of.
Ohio’s U.S. Senate race is critical to the Republicans’ chance to retake the majority in the 2022 midterm elections. With Ohio currently being represented by a Republican, it is crucial for the party to keep the seat.
The Senate is currently divided 50-50 between the parties, with Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Senate Republicans must hold seats in states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania and net at least one seat to put the GOP back in the majority and hinder Biden’s agenda.
The Ohio Senate election, along with other races throughout the country, will take place on November 8.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss .
