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00:00Well, good morning. I'll get right to it. What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and
00:11it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.
00:18Time for one man's final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country, and most
00:25irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it.
00:30It's a farce, and it's a stunt. And everybody knows it. In the 250 years of our American Republic, no
00:40Secretary of War or Secretary of Defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations.
00:48And in our case, successful ones at that. Not once. War powers resolution or not. Not under Reagan in Lebanon.
00:59Not under Clinton in Kosovo. Not under Obama in Iraq and Syria. Not under Biden in Iraq and Syria.
01:06That's the standard. The history is clear, and it's very straightforward. And one disgruntled congressman wants to shred it over
01:16policy disagreements.
01:18That's what it is. Policy disagreements. Not high crimes. Not misdemeanors. Not treason. Not bribery. Not the kinds of offenses
01:27the founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause.
01:30The proper remedy for a policy disagreement. It's legislation. It's debate. It's the next presidential election. It's not handing the
01:40House and Senate floor to the Democrats so that they can run a show trial against the president and the
01:47secretary of war while Republicans still control Congress and should be delivering wins for the American people.
01:55You see, we've seen this show before. They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call. They impeached him again
02:03in his final week in office. Both times they failed. Both times he came back stronger. And the American people
02:10sent him back to the White House. Now they're trying a third time. This time against a member of his
02:17cabinet.
02:17They will fail again. And if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I'll take that company every
02:25day of the week.
02:27Let's be clear about what this resolution actually does. It tells our enemies, Iran, the cartels, every adversary watching that
02:36the United States will actually punish its own warriors and its own civilian leadership for successfully executing lawful military operations.
02:45It tells them that a single rogue legislator loaded with personal animus for the president can attempt to veto national
02:54security decisions made by the duly elected commander in chief.
02:59It puts a target on the backs of American warriors by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real
03:07time. This is not patriotism. This is sabotage.
03:13You know, five years ago, America was humiliated in Kabul, Afghanistan, and every enemy on earth took notice.
03:20But somehow, as the president pointed out yesterday, no impeachment vote for Lloyd Austin for that terrible withdrawal. Not even
03:29one vote.
03:30No impeachment vote.
03:31Or no impeachment vote for when he went AWOL for over a week.
03:35No impeachment vote for when he let a Chinese spy balloon fly over the country for over a week.
03:41See, President Trump ended that kind of wokeness and weakness.
03:44Peace through strength.
03:47Not as a slogan, but as a way of war.
03:50The Houthis found out first.
03:53They fired on American ships.
03:54Biden had let it happen.
03:56President Trump said no more.
03:58Operation Rough Rider hit them more than a thousand times.
04:01They cried uncle.
04:02And they stopped shooting at our ships.
04:05To this day.
04:07Iran found out next.
04:09Operation Midnight Hammer.
04:11B2s from the heartland.
04:12Halfway around the world.
04:14Straight into Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
04:16Flawless.
04:17The largest and most successful B2 strike in American history.
04:22Nuclear sites obliterated.
04:25Later in Operation Epic Fury, by every measure we achieved a historic military victory.
04:31Under 40 days of sustained combat.
04:34More than 13,000 targets struck.
04:36Their navy sunk.
04:38Their air force grounded.
04:39Their defense industrial base gone.
04:42More than 80% of their nuclear industrial base gone.
04:45Their military in ruin.
04:48The ironclad blockade unbroken.
04:52We control the Strait of Hormuz.
04:54Crazy Islamists in Tehran will never ever have a nuclear weapon.
04:59A historic effort only made possible by a courageous commander in chief.
05:05History will judge the Iran war quite differently than conventional wisdom right now.
05:11We didn't start this war.
05:12Iran did 47 years ago.
05:15But President Trump is willing to do what no other president would.
05:19He did the tough right thing.
05:22Not for politics.
05:24But for the safety and the security of the American people.
05:27That's leadership.
05:29He did not kick the can.
05:32He kicked their teeth in.
05:33For generations, my generation fought other Middle Eastern wars.
05:39That dragged on for years.
05:41For decades.
05:43We lost thousands.
05:45Thousands.
05:47Of Americans.
05:48I wear the bracelet.
05:49of one of them on my left wrist every single day. It reminds me. And may I remind you,
05:58for perspective, we lost 60,000 Americans in Vietnam over 20 years. We lost 37,000 in Korea
06:11in just three years. That many humans are lost on the front lines of Ukraine and Russia
06:18every month. This epic fury has never been that, and it never will be. The media can just never admit
06:29the military success because they, you, hate the president more than you love our country
06:36or our troops. Then in our own hemisphere, we started at home. From day one, President Trump
06:43made homeland security national security. We sent American troops to lock down the southwest border
06:48and choked off the cartel pipeline of human smuggling, of drugs, and death. And then we took the fight to
06:56them. The cartels thought they could just poison the American people and hide from justice. So we
07:03formed a counter cartel coalition, designated them terrorists, and hunted them at sea. And now on land.
07:10More than 70 narco vessels sunk. 218 narco terrorists dead where they should be. Maritime smuggling down
07:20at least 65% and dropping even further. Thousands of American lives saved with every drug boat sunk
07:28and every shipment prevented. Indicted and wanted, Nicolas Maduro thought he was untouchable.
07:38He was not kidnapped. He was brought to justice by America's best. Victory in one night. Victory in
07:4648 minutes, to be precise. And today he sits in front of an American judge in New York City. Flawless
07:53success. Panama kicked China's Belt and Road Initiative to the curb, and we, along with them, control the
08:02canal. The message is simple. This is our hemisphere. Act accordingly. Our NATO allies, after decades of
08:10riding on the American taxpayer in Europe, committed to 5% of GDP for their own defense. Our allies are
08:18finally stepping up. Out with being a burden, in with burden sharing. Why? Because President Trump demanded it.
08:27America is the only country on earth, and this military, the only one that could successfully, could
08:33successfully execute and lead all of these operations and efforts. Sheer success. Victories in both Venezuela
08:41and Iran. Energy security in our hemisphere in a way none thought possible for a generation. And no nuclear bomb
08:50for Iran ever. But of course, security doesn't come free. Nobody was lost in the mission in Venezuela, but 18
08:59Americans have given their lives in Operation Epic Fury. We know their names. I've been to Dover. We honor
09:07them every day. But their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve. As it happens, tomorrow is Veterans Day. This year, the
09:17operators of absolute resolve, the operators of absolute resolve, and the warriors of Epic Fury, were marked for the first
09:21time. They stand shoulder to shoulder with the pilots of Midnight Hammer, and the sailors of Rough Rider, who went
09:28before
09:29them. They answered the call. They executed. They won. And on the eve of Veterans Day, these resolutions tell every
09:39one of
09:40them that their service was a crime. Their service was not a crime. These are heroes. And no politician in
09:49Washington will tell them otherwise while I hold this office. President Trump gave this department what it
09:57has not had in a generation. A commander in chief with the courage to lead and the resolve to win.
10:02I stand behind
10:04every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow.
10:12And while this defeated politician, defeated ironically by a Navy SEAL, I might add, while this defeated
10:19politician drafts articles of impeachment, we've delivered the first increase and a big one in hostile
10:25fire and imminent danger pay in more than 20 years. We've reinstated over 600 service members who were forced
10:32out under the previous administration's COVID mandate. All five of our services broke historic
10:37recruiting records. The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Space Force, the Marines for two years in a row.
10:44In fact, the Marines in FY27 met half of their goal on day one. Americans are lining up to serve
10:50in
10:50President Trump's Department of War. And by the way, to those Marines and all those Marines out there,
10:55Semper Fi and happy 251st birthday today. Two years of historic recruitment after Biden couldn't
11:05recruit anyone. Same with retention, by the way, through the roof. That means the troops that are
11:11in are staying in the best of the best based on merit staying in night and day from Biden to
11:18Trump.
11:19We cut unnecessary senior officer billets by 20% and raised combat performance standards.
11:24Through the one big beautiful bill, we're investing in troop pay and housing and healthcare and advanced
11:29weapons and equipment our war fighters actually need to win. That's the record. That's what we're
11:37defending. Make no mistake about what is happening. This is not about me. Politicians in Washington have
11:47accused the sailors and the pilots who struck narco terrorist boats of war crimes for doing
11:54their job. Senators in cute videos have suggested the same. This resolution is the next step. Put the
12:04secretary on trial today and the men and women who carried out those orders tomorrow. If they want to
12:12come for the warriors, they're going to have to come through me. As for the articles themselves,
12:22Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen, everyone was a lawful operation ordered by the commander in chief,
12:30then ordered by myself, notified to Congress and executed by American warriors who did their jobs. We
12:41sank the boats carrying poison into our communities. We put a narco dictator in handcuffs. These are not
12:48high crimes. This is the job. And it's the job well done. For the first time in American history,
12:57a cabinet secretary overseeing America's military is being attacked not for losing conflicts with our
13:05enemies, but for winning them. Condemned not for defeat, but for military victory. The disgruntled
13:13congressman even admitted this himself yesterday. No failure here, just impeachment for success.
13:24As to the claim that the American military targets civilians, well, that is a lie and that is a slander
13:29against every professional who flew, sailed and fought on these missions. The only people who
13:36target civilians are the terrorists that we hunt. And I will dignify this claim no further.
13:42None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors. They're partisan policy disagreements from people who want
13:48to politicize our military. We will not apologize for putting American lives first. We will not apologize
13:57for stopping the flow of drugs that kill our citizens. We will not apologize for destroying
14:03the capabilities of a regime that chants death to America. And if that regime makes one wrong move,
14:10as the president said, we remain locked and loaded with the full weight and lethality of central command.
14:18We will not apologize for restoring a military that recruits based on merit, restores real standards,
14:25and fights to win. These resolutions are a farce. They mock the Constitution, they attack the chain of
14:33command, and they criminalize the war fighters who execute lawful orders. This process hands our
14:40adversaries a propaganda victory and wastes the time of Congress that should instead be focused on
14:46protecting the American people. We will continue to do the job the American people elected President Trump
14:52to do. Protect this country, defeat our enemies, and rebuild a military worthy of the warriors who wear
14:58the uniform. I pray each day, and I hope you do too, for our troops. They are the best of
15:07our nation.
15:09Like the president, I will defend them with every fiber of my being every single day. That includes
15:16having their back no matter what. So to the troops, as I've said before, don't blink. Ignore the noise.
15:25Never hesitate. This is all politics. You do real things. Stay the course. May almighty God protect them
15:36always. And may our actions today and every day bring glory to him. We will stand, we will fight,
15:46and we will defend this republic against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And amen.