EXCLUSIVE: The chair of the House Republican campaign arm says the Democrats' sweeping victories in this month's 2025 elections are a "wake-up call" for GOP voters.

And Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who's chairing the National Republican Congressional Committee for a second straight election cycle, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that he wants President Donald Trump "out there on the trail" in next year's midterm elections, when the party defends its razor-thin House majority.

Democrats won the only two races for governor this year, in New Jersey and Virginia, by double digits, and also scored big wins in ballot box showdowns in battlegrounds Georgia and Pennsylvania and left-tilting New York City and California.

Plenty of Republicans have discounted the Democrats' high-profile victories, since they mostly occurred in blue-leaning states, since they mostly occurred in blue-leaning states.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS

Hudson noted the top elections took place in "Democrat states," but added, "I think our big takeaway as Republicans is the Democrats were energized. They turned out at record levels. Republicans turned out in normal levels."

"I think there's a wake-up call there to conservatives and Republicans who are happy with the direction of the country. They're glad President Trump's back in the White House. But if they want to keep this momentum going, they've got to show up and vote," he emphasized.

Many of Trump's MAGA supporters are considered low-propensity voters, who head to the polls only when Trump is on the ballot. But Trump won't be on the ballot in the 2026 midterms.

SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR'S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS

Hudson, who noted that "House Republicans are very closely aligned with President Trump, and we're supporting his agenda," said that "we want him out there on the trail, campaigning with our candidates. I think he brings a lot of energy."

Pointing to "a lot of folks who don't vote when he's not on the ballot," Hudson said, "I don't need all of them to show up, but I need some of them. And so having President Trump out there will be a big benefit for us."

Those requests for the MAGA motivator are already coming in to the president's political team.

Matt Van Epps, the Republican nominee in next month's special congressional election for a vacant GOP-held House seat in Tennessee, has asked for Trump to campaign in person with him ahead of the Dec. 2 election.

Democrats were laser-focused on affordability on the 2025 campaign trail.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said his party's candidates met "voters at the kitchen table. . . . From New Jersey and Virginia and New York, to Georgia and beyond, Democrats ran campaigns relentlessly focused on costs and affordability."

And Martin emphasized the 2025 elections were a preview of things to come in next year's midterms.

"In ‘26, we’ll do it again. We’ll run a National Coordinated Campaign to win races up and down the ballot to provide a check on the out-of-control Trump administration and its Republican rubber stamps," he argued.

DEMOCRATS SEE MANDATE AFTER 2025 WINS — REPUBLICANS SAY IT'S A MIRAGE

Hudson, pointing to former President Joe Biden, said "there are challenges out there with the economy, because Biden broke it, and House Republicans, working with President Trump, are going to fix it, and we're working very hard to do that. "

"Certainly, we could always improve the way we communicate with our voters about it," he added. "But we are laser focused on the issues that matter to them. You know, it's the cost of things, it's the security in their neighborhood, it's a secure border. We are very focused on that, and we've delivered a lot of things that are going to make their lives better."

And looking ahead to next year, he added, "come tax season, a lot of families are going to be really happy to see they've got a lot more take-home pay, and that's because of Donald Trump and House Republicans."

Hudson, in step with fellow Republicans, aimed to link Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a socialist who pushed a far-left platform on the campaign trail this year, to House Democrats who may face challenging re-elections next year.

"The entire Democrat Party has shifted to the left. This is Mamdani’s party now," Hudson charged. "And every single House Democrat needs to answer for his policies, and they need to let their constituents know, do they stand with Mamdani or not?"

The power in power, which nowadays is clearly the Republicans, traditionally faces political headwinds in the midterm elections.

And Hudson was interviewed as two new national polls indicated Democrats with the upper hand in the 2026 battle for the House majority.

But Hudson said: "The only number I'm concerned about is three. We have three Republicans in seats Kamala Harris carried."

And he highlighted that Democrats have "thirteen sitting in seats Donald Trump won. They've got 21 more sitting in seats that Donald Trump barely lost. So there, there are only a few seats up for grabs this time, most of them are Democrat seats."

The conservative movement has found itself in a season of confusion in recent weeks. Former friends quarrel, familiar institutions are in turmoil, and some voices, both new and old, on the right have begun to wonder aloud whether the United States should still stand with Israel. 

That question deserves a resolute answer, and the answer is this: for our security, for democracy in the Middle East and for the very destiny of our nation, America must stand with Israel.

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Americans should always be open to debate how we spend our money abroad and whether our foreign policy truly serves national interest. The rising generation in particular demands rigorous answers beyond empty platitudes.  

But lately, it seems that something deeper, something darker, has driven those questions. After decades of conflict in the Middle East, some are tempted to embrace isolationism, to treat moral clarity as naïveté, and to spurn our allies as unwanted burdens under the strain of massive national debt. For others, it is nothing more than antisemitism.  

The acceptance of antisemitic voices on the left and the right, from the halls of Congress to social media, represents a vile and dangerous trend in American politics and it must be forcefully opposed wherever it appears. There is no place in the conservative movement for antisemitism.

MORNING GLORY: AMONG AMERICA’S ALLIES, ISRAEL IS 'FIRST AMONG EQUALS'  

For nearly 80 years, the bond between the United States and Israel has been more than a diplomatic arrangement. It has been a covenant of free peoples who share the same ideals: faith in God, belief in human dignity and gratitude for the blessings of liberty. Israel’s survival has never depended on our charity; it has depended on our partnership, and that partnership has made America safer and paid dividends. 

Centuries before the founding of modern Israel, our Founding Fathers championed the return of the Jewish people to Israel and made special provision for the Jewish faith in America. George Washington assured Jewish Americans that the fledgling United States "gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance." John Adams supported "the Jews again in Judea" as "an independent nation." Elias Boudinot, the president of the American Revolution’s Congress, boldly suggested that "God has raised up these United States… for the very purpose of… bringing his beloved people to their own land." Even the famously thrifty Benjamin Franklin once opened his coffers to help a local Philadelphia synagogue weather financial difficulty.  

But the case for Israel is far more than historic.

CHARLIE KIRK REMEMBERED AS FRIEND OF ISRAEL, ALLIES SLAM CONSPIRACY THEORIES  

Today, Israel stands as an oasis of democracy in a Middle East where dozens of its neighbors are Islamic states or still practice monarchy. It is a cruel irony that, in a world of 46 majority-Muslim nations, the presence of a single majority-Jewish nation is seen by many of Israel’s neighbors as one too many. Thirty-one countries still refuse to recognize Israel on their maps. Some of those would love nothing less than to see Israel wiped off the map altogether. And yet Israel persists.  

Thanks to Israel’s courage and the decisive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities by the United States, we no longer live under a nuclear sword of Damocles wielded by a regime that chants "Death to America." From the Stuxnet cyber operation that crippled Iran’s enrichment program, to Israel’s assistance with U.S. airstrikes, and to many heroic covert operations, Israel has repeatedly helped delay Tehran’s progress toward obtaining nuclear weapons. Those actions protected not only Jerusalem and Tel Aviv – they protected Washington, New York and every American city within reach of Iran’s hatred. 

That may not matter much to a segment of the New Right that confuses isolation for safety. But the rest of us know better. We understand what it would mean if the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism ever possessed nuclear weapons.  When Israel takes the fight to Iran’s terror network proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas and the Revolutionary Guard, it is not merely doing our bidding; it is doing what conscience and common sense require. It stands between civilization and chaos. Israel’s cause is our cause.  

When Israel succeeds, as it did in 2024 by decapitating Hezbollah’s leadership in a precision pager-bombing campaign, America is safer. The practical case for our alliance is clear.

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But the heart of American support is still a matter of shared values and faith. We stand with Israel because we believe in right over wrong, in good over evil, and in liberty over tyranny. Israel must be empowered to finish the fight against those who would harm her, terrorists who hide behind women, children, hospitals and holy places as they launch rockets indiscriminately into Israel. Peace and justice, within Gaza and without, require that Hamas be destroyed. 

In the end, Americans have always supported Israel because the very existence of this enduring nation bears witness to God's faithfulness. And the support of millions of Americans throughout the generations has been built upon the ancient words recorded in Genesis where God promises to "bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

For 250 years, America has been blessed like no other country in history. As we prepare to celebrate our blessings as a nation, I believe we must never forsake that promise or our cherished ally. If the world knows nothing else, let the world know this: America stands with Israel. 

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It is sad to say, but what Americans have been seeing unravel before their eyes in recent weeks with the revelations of Arctic Frost and other FBI-related scandals are not the least bit shocking to me.  In fact, it validates what I detail in my book "The Two FBIs: The Bravery and Betrayal I Saw in My Time at the Bureau" which was published by Broadside Books on November 11. I was humbled to personally be invited to the Oval Office last week to meet with President Donald Trump who endorsed my book.  

I loved being an FBI special agent for over a dozen years and considered it a sacred responsibility and mission. After graduating from the FBI Academy, I was assigned to the Miami Field Office, initially working on white-collar crimes and then transferring to then squad C15 working tirelessly on the number one nationally ranked violent crime fugitive task force, obliterating the most heinous crimes. I share harrowing investigations and gripping takedowns. 

Yes, it was physically taxing and emotionally jarring, but I believed I was fulfilling a greater purpose—until things changed and the FBI’s trajectory was upended. I watched as the FBI became politically and socially weaponized. It was as if there became two FBIs.

NICOLE PARKER ON BRAVERY AND BETRAYAL IN THE FBI

I believe that being honest is vital to living an honorable life. This means speaking up when things do not sit well in your soul, telling it as it is. That’s not always easy. Sometimes it puts a target on your back. While at the FBI, I knew agents who chose either to tell the truth or to tell a varnished version of it; they told others what they wanted to hear. That’s not me.

FBI 1 is comprised of those who join the FBI with pure motives to serve Americans, putting the needs of victims first. They are ethical, honoring their oath to uphold the Constitution and protect in a fair and unbiased manner. They keep their heads low, stay off the radar, and work hard, doing the heavy lifting while pursuing noble cases without fanfare or self-promotion. FBI 1 makes the agency proud.

FBI 2, on the other hand, is the antithesis of FBI 1. It is comprised of FBI employees who abuse their law enforcement power to push their political and social agendas. Many are self-promoters in leadership positions either at headquarters in D.C. or in executive management nationwide, while others are field agents or support staff. 

FBI 'STONEWALLED' HOUSE TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT INVESTIGATION, CONGRESSMEN ALLEGE

FBI 2 is not confined to one location or one role; its members are interspersed throughout the agency from top to bottom. FBI 2’s mindset covers a broad spectrum exuding haughty arrogance from some and blasé laziness from others. FBI 2’s shameful actions have destroyed the bureau’s once stellar reputation.

Is it an overstatement to say that the FBI is embroiled in a civil war? I do not think so. Lines have been drawn and sides taken: FBI 1 versus FBI 2.

On the one side: integrity, meritocracy, protecting the American people. On the other side: personal agendas and identity politics, DEI, serious crime investigations replaced by politically motivated cases, the upholding of law and order replaced by performative posturing.

FBI TARGETS DANGEROUS ONLINE '764' NETWORK INCLUDING ALLEGED AFFILIATE PREYING ON 11-YEAR-OLDS, TEENS

I agonized over my decision to leave the FBI two years into the Biden administration. Ultimately, my identity was not my career. I had prayed and knew it was time to go in October 2022. 

Following the Lord’s intended path for you is not always easy. Sometimes it does not make sense, and you may be going against the grain. In fact, you may feel alone. But if you trust Him, you can never go wrong. That reassurance was what enabled me to walk away.

I am still profoundly saddened that conditions deteriorated to the point that leaving was my best option. But leaving has allowed me the independence to be forthright, to speak the truth as a witness.

As Abraham Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

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In my new book, "The Two FBIs" I explain how that contest was waged—the battles, the constant tug of war between FBI 1 and FBI 2. In any war, there are casualties, both literal and figurative. In my time at the FBI, I experienced both.

I still feel the pain of witnessing up close the degradation of what had once been the premiere law enforcement agency in the world. Sadly, my perspective was not unique. Others like me also left the agency.

Far beyond that, two agents were killed while executing a search warrant on a child predator. One of them was my closest friend in the bureau, a spectacularly gifted and devoted agent whose legacy deserves better than what the FBI was offering.

My story isn’t always pretty, but it is the truth as I saw it and as I lived it. The war goes on. But I am hopeful with the new administration that FBI 1 will be elevated while FBI 2 must be eliminated. 

I believe that in the end, good will win. I chose to share my story of the two FBIs with the world, to make it my contribution to hastening that outcome.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM NICOLE PARKER

This opinion article was adapted from the author's book, "The Two FBIs."

Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet told Fox News Digital on Monday that the Trump administration needs to "pull every lever at its disposal" to overhaul higher education.

"I think the administration should pull every lever at its disposal to make sure that colleges and universities are living up to the ideal that college needs to be a collision of ideas. It needs to be a place where you're challenged in your way of thinking. And orthodoxies need to be challenged," Kolvet said.

The Trump administration announced last week that it identified civil discourse as one of four areas of national need through its competitive grants program.

The other areas of national need include expanding the use of artificial intelligence, "building capacity for high-quality short-term programs," and encouraging accreditation reform.

CONSERVATIVE STUDENT EXPOSES MIDWESTERN COLLEGE FOR PREVENTING TURNING POINT USA CHAPTER

The Department of Education (ED) unveiled seven priorities under their Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) for the FY 2025 competition, which are intended to support those national needs.

There will be $60 million in grants distributed under "one absolute priority," according to the ED, which includes "Promoting Civil Discourse on College and University Campuses." 

Colleges that qualify for the FIPSE competition have supported "initiatives to foster respectful deliberation and debate on college and university campuses, where free expression has too long been eroded by censorship, harassment, and even violent unrest." 

Such initiatives include "seminars, speaker series, conferences, debates, and other learning opportunities that include a range of viewpoints and encourage dialogue."

Turning Point, the conservative advocacy organization co-founded by Charlie Kirk, is aligned with the administration's higher education goals.

"The academy itself has been completely captured by liberal, we call it woke ideologies, and in order to challenge those orthodoxies, in order to create actual viewpoint diversity on these college campuses, it's going to take both a carrot and a stick," Kolvet said, applauding the incentive the Trump administration is providing for higher education institutions.

HOW TURNING POINT USA COULD REVIVE CIVICS EDUCATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Kolvet said that TPUSA historically faced issues with the University of California system as they pushed to install chapters in every high school and college in the country.

COLORADO COLLEGE STUDENT VOWS TO FIGHT BACK AFTER STUDENT BOARD BLOCKS TPUSA CHAPTER

Kolvet’s comments came after violence and chaos erupted near UC Berkeley last week while TPUSA was conducting an event, "This Is The Turning Point," featuring author Frank Turek and actor Rob Schneider.

Left-wing agitators swarmed Zellerbach Hall, where the event was held. A man was seen in a viral video assaulting a TPUSA supporter near the campus and was later arrested, according to local police.

"When you see what happened with UC Berkeley… yeah, the stick is, 'Hey, listen, if you don't do a good job of protecting students at a peaceful event to go hear from Rob Schneider and Frank Turek, there's going to be a stick involved, and we're going to launch an investigation, and we’re going to see if the university was complicit or even perhaps cooperative with agitators and with rioters,'" Kolvet said.

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UC Berkeley released a statement to Fox News Digital emphasizing a commitment to free expression and safety.

"Our university is committed to an open and robust marketplace of ideas and to maintaining a campus where people of all beliefs and perspectives can feel safe and respected," Chancellor Rich Lyons told Fox News Digital.

"UC Berkeley is committed to continuing to host speakers and events representing a variety of viewpoints in a safe and respectful manner. We will continue to evaluate our policies and practices to ensure that open dialogue and the rule of law continue to be upheld on our campus."

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives in Washington on Tuesday for his first White House visit in seven years, marking a pivotal moment to rebuild U.S.-Saudi ties and strengthen a partnership that remains central to American security and energy interests.

Ahead of the meeting, a group of 9/11 survivors, first responders and victims’ families urged President Donald Trump to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged role in the 2001 attacks. This follows a United States federal district court judge, George B. Daniels, ruling against Saudi Arabia's efforts to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it by the families of 9/11 victims, which alleged the country was party to the attacks.

The visit comes as Trump has publicly confirmed the United States will sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, telling reporters on Monday, "I will say that we will be doing that. We’ll be selling the F-35s," a move that immediately places Israel’s qualitative military edge and the region’s future defense architecture at the center of the conversation.

9/11 FAMILIES URGE TRUMP TO PRESS SAUDIS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AHEAD OF MBS VISIT TO DC: 'OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE'

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital that "President Trump looks forward to welcoming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to the White House, where the two leaders will participate in an official working visit. Thanks to our Dealmaker-in-Chief, the United States secured $600 billion in historic investments during the President’s visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this year, and Americans can expect more good deals for our country spanning technology, manufacturing, critical minerals, defense, and more."

A senior administration official, speaking on background, told Fox News Digital that the expected agreements will include a multibillion-dollar investment in America’s AI infrastructure, enhanced cooperation on civil nuclear energy and defense sales aimed at strengthening defense cooperation between the two countries.

The official added that the visit will also focus on the fulfillment of the Saudis’ $600 billion investment pledge through dozens of targeted investments across key U.S. sectors.

In Saudi Arabia, the visit is being seen as historic. Aziz Alghashian, a lecturer in international relations at Naif Arab University in Riyadh, said there is "a lot of excitement. The Saudis have said they’re not isolated in the region… this is back through open doors and the front door again." He said the moment reflects a broader shift in how Saudis understand their country’s place in the world. According to Alghashian, Trump’s repeatedly warm comments about the crown prince and the kingdom also contribute to a sense that Riyadh is re-entering Washington on strong footing.

The visit by MBS will be his first White House appearance since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence assessed he approved, a charge he denies.

Jacob Olidort, director for American Security at the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital that "Saudi Arabia is one of the top partners of ours in the region," calling the trip "well overdue, a reset of relations." 

At the heart of the visit is the emerging U.S.-Saudi security pact. Alghashian described its purpose in three words: "elevate, facilitate and consolidate." 

In his view, the agreement is meant "to elevate the Saudi-American relationship," transforming it from what he called a "strategic partnership" into a more formalized security alignment. Although not a full treaty, which Riyadh had previously pursued, the pact would still represent the most significant upgrade to the relationship in decades. He said the shift also has a domestic political rationale in Washington, arguing that being included in an "alliance" category "helps make Saudi Arabia become more of a bipartisan issue, and not just necessarily a Trump legacy."

Alghashian added that Saudi Arabia wants to finalize as much as possible now. "The Saudis… feel urgency to get as much as they can from the Trump administration before these deals get complicated in the next administration," he said. 

That urgency extends to nuclear cooperation, where Saudi Arabia has made clear that while China and South Korea exist as alternatives, its preference is for an American program. "Saudi Arabia really wants American nuclear cooperation because it adds more security," he said, adding that Riyadh will not "wait forever" if conditions become overly restrictive but sees the current U.S. posture as an opening.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL BACKS TRUMP'S GAZA PEACE PLAN AFTER WALTZ CALLS TERRITORY 'HELL ON EARTH'

Olidort said Saudi Arabia has been "very categorical" in what it expects in a changed Middle East: a defense pact and movement on Palestinian statehood. He recalled hearing a senior Saudi official say recently that "there will be no regional integration without Palestinian statehood," a line that reflects the kingdom’s long-standing public position that recognition of Israel will only come after a credible pathway to a Palestinian state is in place.

Still, Olidort said full Saudi-Israel normalization may not be necessary at this moment for U.S. priorities to advance. He said normalization "doesn’t need to be the immediate priority" and suggested that "an upgraded deepening of cooperation, but short of full normalization," could be possible if both sides see value in closer security integration.

TRUMP SECURES DEALS WITH 3 MIDDLE EASTERN NATIONS IN 1ST MAJOR TRIP OF 2ND TERM 

That perspective is particularly relevant given the war in Gaza and Riyadh’s position on reconstruction. As Alghashian noted, Saudi Arabia has said it "will not do reconstruction unless Hamas is gone and Israel withdraws," a stance that places the kingdom at odds with any rushed postwar plan and, in his view, leaves the region "in no man’s land."

Trump’s decision to approve F-35 sales to Saudi Arabia adds another layer. Saudi Arabia has formally requested up to 48 of the fifth-generation jets, making it the largest potential F-35 buyer outside NATO and the first Arab state after the United Arab Emirates to receive them. The move would test Washington’s commitment to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge. 

Olidort, however, argued that the sale does not automatically threaten Israel’s superiority. "I don’t know that it will mean Israel losing air superiority," he said, noting that Israel’s defense and aerospace sectors are "world-class" and that the sale could "potentially deepen collaboration between Israel and Saudi Arabia and make each of our partners… more effective."

Beyond defense, the visit is also anchored in technology. Saudi Arabia is pushing for access to advanced American AI chips and positioning itself as a global data and energy hub. 

Olidort framed the issue bluntly, saying AI cooperation with Saudi Arabia is a strategic priority for Washington because "the United States is in ‘a race’ with China" and cautioning that "if we don’t get there, then we will be in a China-dominated AI space." That view reflects the broader U.S. assessment that the future of artificial intelligence — from data-center capacity to semiconductor access — is inseparable from great-power competition.

Fox News' Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. 

If you love America and want it to flourish — and most Americans do — it is necessary to understand that America’s most important ally is Israel. Period. Full stop. 

In early October, Pew Research found 56% of Americans supported Israel, which is up sharply from earlier in the year. That earlier drop was during the closing phase of the long offensive by the Israeli Defense Forces against Hamas inside Gaza City — a brutal, extended season of combat mixed with massive infusions into America of Islamist propaganda about imaginary famines in Gaza, especially into the social media feeds of younger Americans. That "information war" had driven support for Israel among Americans to historical lows. As noted, those numbers have rebounded, but that they fell at all should alarm Americans who are realists about the world.

In the 25 months since the invasion of Israel by Hamas and rampaging massacre by the terrorist army from Gaza, the grinding battle of the IDF against the terrorists as well as battles on six other fronts has seen American support for the Jewish state slip. Historically, support for Israel among all Americans has been high: From 2000 to 2019, an average of 59% of Americans expressed more sympathy for Israelis, compared to 17% for Palestinians.

NEW YORK TIMES 'BY FAR' HAD THE WORSE ISRAEL-HAMAS COVERAGE IN US MEDIA, JERUSALEM POST EDITOR SAYS

By 2024, but before October 7, sympathy for Israel had slightly decreased to 56%, while sympathy for Palestinians rose to 26%. Two years of war — and pictures of the destruction of Gaza as Hamas hid within its underground tunnel fortress and booby-trapped buildings — along with IDF artillery and bombs ravaging the area, left Americans deluged with online propaganda about the war. That drove support for Israel below 40%.

Support for Israel is rebounding now and that is great news for both the U.S. and Israel, and for the region and the world.

The reason is simple: Free states must balance the power of the world’s evil regimes — lest the latter overcome the former.

Some Americans might say they support Israel because they are Jewish and support the Jewish state. Some might say they support Israel because they are Christians of a particular sort that views history through the prism of the Judea-Christian understanding of history.

But, every American, regardless of ethnicity or theology, should say they support Israel as a simple matter of American national security. Put simply, Israel is the country most important to America’s long-term strength and position in the world.

America leads "the West," and has many allies within or adjacent to the West. "The West" is best understood as the collection of nations where the governments are based on the consent of the governed and the rule of law in which any adult citizen is expected to participate, or at least respect.

As the leader of the West, America both protects and depends upon its allies in the assembly of nations of the world. "West-adjacent" nations lack some, or most, of the defining characteristics of America — individual freedoms, including of religion, speech, press, assembly, property and due process of law — but, have some of these features or aspire to and/or are allies of America and the larger West because in the growing global division between tyrannies and free or mostly free states, that state more aligned with the West is to be preferred to one more aligned with the People’s Republic of China — the leading power of the alliance of tyrants which includes Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

There are very few countries which are not part of one block or the other. The "non-aligned" movement of nations that existed in the shadow of the first Cold War between the United States and its NATO allies in opposition to the U.S.S.R. and the Warsaw Pact countries has slowly, but surely, withered since the PRC, under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping, has thrown off all of its pretense to be committed to any sort of rules-based international order. The "alliance of tyrants" is open and quite powerful.

The rejection by Xi and his fellow tyrants of such rules defines the "anti-West," so we should not be surprised that Russia invaded Ukraine twice and continues to wage barbaric war there, or that Iran has spent almost 50 years devoted to the destruction of Israel and the construction of a theocratic arc of powers which, while now largely in ruins, remains virulently anti-liberal and piratical, as seen just this weekend with the hijacking of an oil tanker owned by the United Arab Emirates, a country very much part of the alliance of allies gathered around America.

Of all of America’s allies — and there are many, despite frequent disagreements — Israel is the most important to the U.S. because it is the strongest: a nuclear and intelligence superpower committed to the rule of law, with the will and ability to project power across vast distances, and which cooperates closely with the U.S.

The United Kingdom was, for all the 20th century, America’s most important ally, and for nearly half the century the leader of the West as the U.S. grew into that role. Now, it is Israel, and it will likely remain Israel for decades to come.

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The U.K. has fallen on hard times and seems destined for a slow, but not easily reversed decline as a result of the lack of dynamism that comes with an abandonment of free markets and the suffocating embrace of modern bureaucratic rule, as does most of Europe. There are bright spots like Poland. There are countries in the West which seem lost, like Spain. But, while the West still includes most of Europe, Europe needs America to defend it against Russia and behind Russia, China.

America’s allies in the Pacific — Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan and more — matter a great deal in standing resolutely against the hegemonic ambitions of the PRC. But, to stand the West’s ground there, we need Israel just as much as we do in the Middle East. Israel is one of the two R&D centers of the West. If we and our allies ever want a "Golden Dome" to protect us from wave after wave of ballistic — and even hypersonic — missiles that we have seen Iran use against Israel and Russia against Ukraine, we need Israel’s Iron Dome technology as well as our own research and development efforts. We need, as well, the intelligence capabilities of Israeli intelligence agencies, especially the Mossad, and the tech marvels that emerge from Israel with the speed and remarkable utility as ours do from Silicon Valley.

Much damage has been done by the propaganda wars waged against Israel. Although it is ignorant to proclaim oneself "anti-Zionist" (one might as well declare themselves anti-Republic of Ireland or anti-India, as Israel, like those countries, emerged in the decolonization movements of the 20th century), knowing that proclamations are ignorant doesn’t make them less effective. Students or activists proclaiming themselves anti-Israel are similarly stupid as to the facts of history, and those dabbling or immersing themselves in antisemitism are simply submitting to evil. 

"In vain are we loyal citizens," Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism declared of Jews around the world. Eventually, Herzl and his early Zionist allies concluded, antisemitism is coming for all Jews. Even in those societies that are the most cultured, in those societies where Jews feel they belong the most, Herzl believed, that is where antisemitism will come in its fiercest form.

I learned of this fundamental pessimism about the world on Herzl’s part from a conversation between Israeli journalist and public intellectual Haviv Rettig Gur and Israeli international law expert Dr. Tal Becker. It is a disturbing bit of undeniable history. But, Herzl perhaps also failed to account for the success of his vision: That national self-interest drives nations, that the reborn state he imagined could reach such power and importance as to help lead the West, and that it could become in America’s self-interest and the interest of every state in the West, or countries allied to the West, to realize Israel is just as inseparable from America’s future and America is inseparable from the future of the West.

Hugh Hewitt is host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," heard weekday mornings 6am to 9am ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh wakes up America on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990.  Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcast, and this column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.

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A startling rise in human trafficking cases throughout one of the nation’s most populous states is putting both experts and parents on alert, with data indicating that criminals are targeting children in unprecedented numbers. 

North Carolina is ranked ninth in the country for human trafficking, according to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline. In 2024, the state identified 301 cases of human trafficking involving 580 victims, the Hotline indicated. 

These cases involve instances of sex trafficking, labor trafficking and additional types of exploitation that may not be specified or remain unknown, according to the Hotline. In North Carolina, data indicates that in 2024, there were 145 reported cases of sex trafficking, 73 cases of labor trafficking and 38 cases of both sex and labor trafficking. 

Hannah Arrowood, executive director of Present Age Ministries, spearheads a partnership with the Charlotte Metro Human Trafficking Task Force in an attempt to understand and combat the rise in cases.

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"It really is kind of like a perfect storm," Arrowood told Fox News Digital. "There are a lot of variables. One of the things that we have to know is that trafficking happens everywhere. It happens in every city and every town, whether you're rural [or in a] city – it really doesn't matter. But for Charlotte, one thing is that we have a lot of factors that attract demand." 

The eye-watering number of cases is best explained by North Carolina’s sweeping interstate highway system, high demand for inexpensive labor throughout its agricultural industry and increased amount of gang activity, experts said. 

"Part of the reason why Charlotte is such a huge trafficking hub is because of the highway system," Toby Braun, founder of American Special Investigative Group, told Fox News Digital. "A lot of these traffickers are running victims and may start in South Florida. From South Florida, they go to Atlanta, and from Atlanta, they pass through Charlotte. Oftentimes there, they may put them in safe houses."

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According to Braun, victims will then be transported to other major cities throughout the country – like New York or Houston – after passing through Charlotte. 

"Charlotte is kind of like a central hub, or an epicenter," Braun said. "For the most part, it’s kind of a pit stop." 

The number of Charlotte residents falling victim to trafficking can partially be attributed to the prevalence of gang activity within the city, with criminal organizations maintaining a firm grip on the area’s network, according to experts.

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"The Bloods have a huge stronghold in human trafficking," Braun said. "They're one of the primary organized crime groups responsible for trafficking [in Charlotte]. For the most part, these are criminal networks. And that also makes it tougher, because of the kind of resources that they have and the ability to traffic people around, hide them in places and really stay undetected." 

While many victims can be from out of state, Arrowood emphasizes that many of the individuals being trafficked are coming from within the Charlotte area, with perpetrators targeting school-aged children within the city. 

According to data from the Charlotte Metro Human Trafficking Task Force, 48% of trafficking cases in 2024 involved minors aged 15 or younger.

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From 2020 to 2024, Charlotte saw a 76% increase in reported cases of minor trafficking, according to the task force.

"We do see every ethnicity affected – every socioeconomic class," Arrowood said. "The pathway or grooming might look different if someone has housing insecurity or food insecurity, versus living in a middle-to-upper class, two-parent home, right? The method might look different, the coercion might look different, but we do see it across the board."

Of the reported cases, residence-based commercial sex and domestic work were the leading venues for sex and labor trafficking, respectively. Additionally, 214 victims were female, 63 were men, and four included gender minorities, according to the Hotline.

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In 2024, data provided by the task force revealed that authorities identified 106 minors within the Charlotte area who were confirmed or suspected victims of trafficking. The number is primarily attributed to criminals using newer, more creative methods to recruit their victims. 

"The primary way is through online [platforms]," Arrowood said. "They are connecting in some way or somehow, whether it's through social media, a gaming app, [or] through a dating app. Then there usually is a meet in-person, right? We call it digital grooming. They're grooming them, building trust – a lot of times they're presenting as boyfriend, so [victims] are thinking they're in a relationship with this person." 

However, due to the nature of trafficking crimes, most cases go unreported. Arrowood also points to a backlog of cases piling up for local law enforcement, who may not have the resources needed to fully investigate each case. 

"Agencies are just always at limited capacity in terms of the amount of work, or the amount of people and manpower they have to manage the amount of referrals that are coming in," Arrowood told Fox News Digital. 

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department declined Fox News Digital’s request for an interview and request for comment.

As the city continues to see a startling rise in trafficking throughout the area, particularly involving minors, Braun urges parents to take steps to keep their children safe.

"People think that these traffickers are these monsters – and they are," Braun said. "They can be boyfriends or classmates. We've seen cases with coaches and people that you would never really expect, and I think that's what makes them dangerous – the fact that they can be individuals that are hiding in plain sight."