jcohen-doron

March 12th, 2024

TikTok is a national security threat to the United States of America. The social media juggernaut is a Chinese Communist Party-controlled program used to surveil more than 150 million Americans – both young and old. TikTok is Chinese spyware that allows the Chinese Communist Party to manipulate the minds of young Americans at will and compromises the privacy of millions of Americans.

It is essentially digital fentanyl, a 21st century technological weapon. The app is so potent and addictive that TikTok is banned within China. The version of TikTok approved for use in China is watered down, free of an algorithm set for addiction, and focused on educational purposes. Meanwhile, TikTok is the most popular social media for American teenagers, allowing the CCP to sow discord and feed the American people communist propaganda through their phones.

While TikTok’s data and algorithm is kept secret, the anecdotal evidence is clear: TikTok pushes content aligned with the CCP’s agenda. It’s no coincidence that TikTok was flooded with pro-Hamas and antisemitic videos in the aftermath of the October 7th attack. Given who holds the purse strings, it’s unsurprising that videos on the Uyghur genocide or Tiananmen Square are virtually impossible to find on TikTok.

Ultimately, the threat which TikTok poses to the security and privacy of Americans must be addressed before it’s too late.

Fortunately, we’re not starting from square one. The Trump-Pence administration took historic action recognizing that China is the greatest economic and strategic threat facing the United States. We also set the stage for sweeping action to address TikTok as the national security and privacy threat that it is. In 2020, our administration issued an executive order intended to force the CCP to sell TikTok.

Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration revoked that executive order soon after taking office, as they sought to roll back virtually everything done by our administration, regardless of merit. Just as it ignored Chinese spy balloons flying overhead, the Biden Administration has done nothing to address Chinese spy programs on our devices.

While Congress pushed Biden to enact legislation banning TikTok on official government devices, that hasn’t stopped his campaign from posting away on its own official TikTok account. Even still, I am grateful that Biden’s use of the app hasn’t kept him from backing the bill moving through the House this week (H.R. 7521) that forces the sale of TikTok. I just wish it hadn’t required the upcoming election for him to take the threat seriously.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, expertly navigated through the Energy and Commerce Committee (50-0) by Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, is carefully crafted. While a TikTok ban would violate the First Amendment (something that could never be countenanced), forcing TikTok to divest from the Chinese Community Party—as this bill is designed to do—is just common sense.

Today, every politician likes to talk tough on China. Unfortunately, too many politicians talk a big game but crack under the pressure of wealthy donors or personal grudges—including my former running mate. When lobbyists for a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party can turn a former president against his own political legacy, we should all be concerned.

The era of appeasing the Chinese Communist Party is over. The Trump-Pence administration was the first to confront the threat posed by TikTok, and I will never falter in my commitment to confronting China at home and abroad.

Allowing TikTok to continue operating in the United States while under CCP control is simply unacceptable. We would never have let Russia run the nightly news during the Cold War, and we certainly can’t let China do the same now.

Allowing TikTok to continue to spew CCP-sanctioned propaganda poisoning the minds of American children is just wrong. Enough is enough.

Congress should pass legislation forcing the sale of TikTok as soon as possible, and President Biden must immediately sign it into law.

Read more here at FoxNews.com.

March 7th, 2024

As vice president and a member of Congress, it was my honor to be in the House chamber, where three different presidents laid out their vision for America in the annual State of the Union address.

When President Biden addresses the nation tonight, I’ll be watching from home in Indiana – and like many of my fellow citizens, I’ll be hoping against the odds that his words will be accompanied by meaningful action.

However, history has taught us to temper our optimism regarding this administration’s promises. In the past, President Biden has used this occasion to sing from the Republican hymnal – talking like a commonsense conservative while hiding the truth of his ultra-progressive, big government agenda.

Take, for example, the pledge made in his 2022 address: “My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit.” Today, cumulative inflation under Mr. Biden is over 18% – one of the worst records of any president since World War II. And despite the president’s promises to the contrary, in 2023, the budget deficit doubled to nearly $2 trillion thanks to Democrats’ profligate spending.

In previous addresses, Mr. Biden has proudly trumpeted America’s commitment to our allies. Last year, he proclaimed: “America is united in our support for Ukraine. We will stand with you as long as it takes.” Yet every step of the way, we have been far too slow in doling out military aid to Ukraine. Every time the president vacillates, Russia digs in deeper. The president’s actions should match his words, and America should provide the military support Ukraine needs to drive Vladimir Putin out of their country.

As Israel is waging a war for its very survival against Hamas, intent on its destruction. President Biden says Israel’s response has been “over the top” and continues to pressure our most cherished ally to stand down. America must stand with Israel until it hunts down and destroys Hamas once and for all.

Tonight, President Biden will no doubt talk about the importance of securing the border – just as he has done in every single State of the Union he has delivered. Last year, he boasted that “we now have a record number of personnel working to secure the border.” However, contrary to his tough talk, the president’s actions prove that he wants the border to remain totally open as a matter of policy. More than 7 million illegal aliens have entered the United States through our southern border on Joe Biden’s watch. That includes tens of thousands of aliens from Communist China, Iran, and other hostile nations. Biden can end the crisis in a heartbeat. He just has to reinstate the policies he cancelled, including the Remain in Mexico policy for asylum seekers and a Title 42–like turnaway authority allowing immediate expulsion of illegal aliens apprehended at the border.

As President Biden prepares to deliver his State of the Union speech, I urge him to move beyond empty promises and partisan posturing that have characterized his previous addresses. The American people deserve more than just lofty rhetoric – they deserve deeds that match words. Like millions of Americans, I doubt this president can deliver – but for the sake of our country, I hope that he can.

Read more here at TheWashingtonExaminer.com.

March 6th, 2024

Imagine if, during the Cold War, politicians not only allowed the Soviet Union to build factories on American soil but actually paid them millions of taxpayer dollars to do so. It’s an absurd idea, yet this is precisely the situation we face today with companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party eligible for tax credits thanks to President Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress.

In 2022, Biden and the Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which included massive taxpayer giveaways for “green” energy. Now, Gotion Inc., a company affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, is building factories in Michigan and Illinois that would qualify for the tax credits. That’s on top of more than $700 million in incentives funded by state and local taxpayers.

Gotion is undoubtedly a threat to U.S. national security. According to the bylaws of its parent company, Gotion is required “to carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the [Chinese Communist Party].” Sadly, China often forces its own citizens to participate in industrial espionage against their will.

Gotion has also hosted Iran’s minister of industry at one of its facilities in China, and it is linked to companies that have participated in the genocide of Uyghurs in northwest China.

It would be an abomination of national security principles, sound public policy, and moral responsibility to allow tax dollars to flow to this company through the Inflation Reduction Act or any other legislation.

Former President Barack Obama’s defense secretary, Leon Panetta, along with former President Donald Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, recently testified that Gotion poses a significant risk to American sovereignty and security. Both of these leaders understand how the Chinese Communist Party operates and how it exploits America’s freedom and openness to hurt our country.

That is why it is time for Congress to pass the NO GOTION Act, which was introduced last year by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI). It is a simple, three-page bill that would prohibit CCP-affiliated companies such as Gotion from receiving federal tax dollars from hardworking families.

Only a fool would fund his adversaries, and Biden and the Democrats have put every member of the public in this horrible position. The NO GOTION Act would restore common sense and stop our country from being exploited by the CCP and the companies it is using to undermine our national security.

The NO GOTION Act represents a rare opportunity to safeguard our national interests, strengthen our economic resilience, and send a clear message that America will not tolerate CCP interference in our critical industries. It would also boost American companies that want to develop carbon-friendly energy instead of ones that are owned by the CCP.

In many respects, the Chinese Communist Party poses a greater threat to the United States than the Soviet Union ever did, yet today, Biden and the Democrats are poised to fund its ambitions. Congress must pass the NO GOTION Act and end the madness.

Read more here at TheWashingtonExaminer.com.