Staff Reports
On December 9, 2025, President Trump went to Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania and laid out what ought to be straightforward policy: a permanent pause on migration from failed states that export chaos and don’t share our values. He named Afghanistan, Haiti and Somalia as examples and made clear that American safety and economic common sense come first — the kind of no-nonsense stance voters elected him to enforce.
When someone in the crowd yelled the vulgar phrase tied to the 2018 controversy, Mr. Trump laughed and replied, “I didn’t say shithole—you did,” turning the media’s old gotcha into a grin-and-go moment that exposed their predictable outrage. The back-and-forth was captured on video and in transcripts, and it underscored that the president refuses to bow to political correctness when defending the American people.
Washington and the coastal elites will howl that this is undignified, but dignity doesn’t keep kids safe from cartels, it doesn’t protect Social Security, and it doesn’t stop fentanyl from pouring across an open border. The real scandal is the permanent, costly softness in Washington that treats sovereignty like a suggestion — not the leader who finally names the problem and proposes a solution.
Trump’s pause on third-world migration is not theater; it’s policy aligned with conservative principles: lawful, merit-based immigration that serves America’s interests first rather than an endless charity that strains schools, hospitals, and communities. Americans fed up with the consequences of open-door immigration want policy that secures the border and prioritizes those who can integrate and contribute, and that’s exactly what he offered.
Let’s not forget why this argument matters: the 2018 episode blew up because the ruling class wanted to weaponize language instead of fixing the underlying failures abroad that send desperate people here. Trump’s willingness to say what Washington won’t admit — that some countries are dysfunctional and that unchecked flows from those places cause real harm — is politically risky but morally honest.
The elites in the press will try to make this a distraction from Democrats’ perennial refusal to secure the border, but working Americans see the difference: one side talks platitudes, the other acts to protect wages, safety, and culture. If conservatives want to win and govern, we embrace tough talk backed by hard policy, support leaders who put Americans first, and stop apologizing for defending our country.
