Miranda Devine

POD Force One's up! "Diplomatic Gangster": Mike Waltz, our UN ambassador, on what's next in Iran. He rejects claims Israel calls the shots. Plus, DOGE-ing the UN, countering China's influence, and new questions about Butler assassin Thomas Crooks. youtu.be/rjIFzYq7GfM?si… via @YouTube

These are the Twitter/X accounts with the most engagement so far in 2026. I suppose I had some intuition for how bad it was, but jeez, this is what you get when the ecosystem is broken.

Today is an extraordinary day for Catholics like myself, celebrating the Resurrection of Christ, and so proud of our CIA and elements of our armed forces who made the safe return of our downed aircrew members a rousing success. That Others May Live (USAF Pararescue)

An Easter miracle. In hostile Iranian territory, our forces did what only America can do: bring our airman home. Extraordinary courage from this F-15 WSO, our special operators, and our intel teams. We never leave our own behind 🇺🇸

@HansMahncke "Earmarks"! As stupid as that is.

To paraphrase the 51 intelligence officials, the fake story bears all the hallmarks of a coordinated disinformation campaign. Who funded and directed it?

Chris Murphy, Feb 2024: "Joe Biden is incredibly competent and he's incredibly effective."

Gen. Frank McKenzie (ret.): "If you're at Central Command, you've got to be reasonably satisfied with where you are right now. In fact, when I was the CENTCOM Commander, if you had given me this situation at +30 days, I would have rejected it as being too optimistic by far."

THE EASTER MIRACLE Today, Easter Sunday, marks the triumph of life over death, the defeat of sin, and the assurance of eternal hope. It is that celebration of eternal hope which brings peace, renewal of life and the triumph of love over hate. The Easter miracle is considered the greatest victory in history. And so, it fitting on this holiest of Christian days that a brave American warrior was rescued from behind enemy lines in one of the greatest search and rescue missions in military history. This soldier’s family will know today the full joy of Easter. We are grateful for the leadership of our intrepid Commander-in-Chief @POTUS, our brilliant military leaders, and our brave special forces for this Easter miracle. My thoughts and prayers are with the 13 families who will not have their heroes with them today. They gave the ultimate sacrifice. America owes these brave soldiers, and their families, a debt of gratitude for generations to come.

We’re being told this country is broken beyond repair. And then this happens. An American Olympic gold medalist, bloodied and grinning, wrapped in the Stars and Stripes, after decades of waiting, sacrifice, and belief, reminding the world what it looks like when America rises again. 🇺🇸 Two kids on a quiet sidewalk, watching Artemis II tear through the sky, like history reaching forward and backward at once, reminding us we are still the nation that dares to go farther. 🚀 And an American Air Force colonel, shot down over enemy territory, alone in the mountains of Iran for 48 hours, hunted, wounded, waiting, And America came for him anyway. Through the dark. Through the risk. Through the fire. Because we don’t leave our own. Same year. Same country. Not spin. Not noise. This is real. They can keep selling division. They can keep feeding the noise. But this? This is different. This is who we are when it matters. Not perfect. Not polished. But still capable of courage. Still capable of wonder. Still capable of loyalty. The darkness is loud right now. But the light? The light doesn’t ask permission. It just shows up. GOD BLESS AMERICA 🇺🇸❤️ HAPPY EASTER 💜

My message here clearly struck a nerve. A few friends from when I was press secretary, domestically and abroad, don’t like what I said. Instead of seeing how Western European nations must change, they just want to attack Trump. The reason it struck a nerve is because they recognize that this time NATO nations are being held to account. They know they’ve come up short for decades and by denying us overflight rights, they’ve gone too far. Americans are fed up, especially with France and Spain. Trump won’t stand for it and they know it. They now fear the consequences of their inaction. The UK, unlike its days under Thatcher or Blair, is wishy-washy. They’ve often been a good allie, but this time they want to sit it out and have it both ways. We can use their bases, but only for limited operations. At least the UK spends real money on defense. France, Spain, and Italy are another story. So too is Canada. None of these four contribute seriously to NATO. They’re laggards, trying to get away with it. Spain and France force our pilots to fly thousands of miles out of the way (I thought they didn’t like carbon footprints) en route to Iran. Eastern Europe is a different story. They spend more on defense and they understand power. They lived under Soviet domination and recognize weakness when they see it. They won’t be weak. Western European governments, especially France, are good at issuing communiques and statements. They enjoy hosting conferences. They love to ponder deeply. Getting them to act is another matter, unless it’s to purchase Russian LNG, which they still do. The world is changing. Out of this war will come a new group of younger nations that understand real power and the importance of strength. The UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Eastern Europe will emerge stronger than ever. Western Europe will continue to fall behind. As for Trump, you don’t have to like him. He often says things none of his predecessors would say. But don’t underestimate the fact that US taxpayers are fed up with nations that don’t pull their weight, and then force our pilots to take risks and longer flights so we can rid the world from the menace that is Iran. Today’s Western European leaders would rather mollify Iran and pay them ransoms (trade) than support the US. Things are different today. We all know it. The UK, France, Spain and Italy (despite its Prime Minister) have earned the consequences that will unfold. They could have and should have supported us. Not as a NATO alliance. But as individual free nations. All we wanted was overflight rights and full access to airfields. They’ve made their choices. Soon, they’ll see the results.

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NEW: "If they don't make a deal and fast, I'm considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil," President Trump told me. President Trump added that he believes he'll be able to get a deal with Iran by tomorrow.

So, let me get this straight.... Either a deal Monday or total & complete annihilation (and maybe the taking of Iran's oil) on Tuesday. Seems clear. Or: ALWAYS KEEP 'EM GUESSING!!!!

Ed Martin should be promoted to high ranks within the DOJ. Unleash the Eagle! 🦅🇺🇸

He gave the Iranian Regime billions of dollars in cash, credit and sanctions relief. He is part of the problem we are fixing.

Trump orders two transport planes blown up so Iranians don’t steal and reverse-engineer our technology after a wildly successful rescue mission of two American pilots deep inside Iranian territory. Biden leaves behind $85 billion in military equipment to the Taliban and over 100 military K9s abandoned at Kabul airport during a disastrous withdrawal that killed 13 service members. Take a guess which one Democrats are calling a success.

This guy got famous for telling a blatant lie in October 1980 about a supposedly secret compact between Reagan and Iran and here he is again, at the age of 284, bullshitting, when he should have been run out of town on a rail for his outrageous slander 45 years ago.

This is the bitter end stage revenge fantasy of a loser acolyte of a lost party who knows his life's work has been flushed down the toilet.

From Martin Iles, reposted: Having lived in the USA for nearly two years, I've realised something. The USA and the remainder of the Western world are no longer aligned. We all laugh and mock when the Americans say, "Freedom!" because we truly think we're as free as they are. Wrong. We're not. Not even close. The laws, the mindset, and the behaviour, is totally different in this regard. Most of all, the governments are totally different. The USA's convictions around core freedoms are on a scale we do not share. Meanwhile, Donald Trump wins the popular vote, the electoral college, the House, and the Senate... a man who, in every other Western country, is held in open derision, if not contempt. For these and other reasons, we are not the same. Yet the West, including Australia, fully expect to rely on the USA for our very survival. If the world turns bad (which will happen - only a question of time), then the whole West, without America, is toast. So, you may ask - if we're not very aligned ideologically, then it must be that we bring something to the party militarily? Well, no... actually... we don't matter that much militarily. The USA has about 470 ships in its navy, including 11 aircraft carriers, 69 submarines, 75 destroyers... plus 110 new ships in the pipeline. Australia has about 30, including 3 destroyers, 7 frigates and 7 outdated submarines. The UK does a little better, with about 60. Meanwhile, the US has over 14,000 military aircraft. A staggering number. Australia has 252 military aircraft. The UK has 556. The US army has just shy of 1,000,000 uniformed personnel in its military. Australia has about 45,000. The USA spends 3.4% ($968 billion) of its GDP on defence. Australia spends 2% ($36.4 billion). The US spends as much as the next 15 largest military-spending countries (including China) combined. The USA has a fighting culture. The men shoot things (a lot) and hunt things, the veterans get favoured in everything from parking spots to boarding planes. A uniformed young man is thanked in the street a dozen times a day. "Oh, the Americans and their guns!" we say, in our smug way. Yes, they have a warrior culture. We do not. We don't have to, because we're a leech on theirs. How many young British men are willing to fight for their country? Now ask the same regarding young American men. The difference is about as wide as it could be. Militarily, we don't offer squat. Meanwhile, look at the way Australia works against America's interests by loving on China. China made us rich and we stay close. This is a Marxist regime with expansionist aims. Again, you have to spend time in the USA to realise just how vast a gulf there is between us on China. Europe, too. They let China have their way everywhere from Germany to Greenland, all the while importing Islam and sending their own people to court for saying hurty words. Somehow, we have landed the deal of a lifetime with the USA that says, "when the baddies come, you'll save us ok?" Because we can't save ourselves. And we live in peace. But we keep gnawing away at freedoms, keep enabling China, and get flabby and disinterested about our military because Uncle Sam's got it. And, let's be honest, Americans are widely looked down on. To add insult to injury, we don't think that highly of our protectors. So, the USA is finally saying "enough." I am here, I can tell you what the vibe is, and that's it. Trump is doing what people want in this regard. They're over it. And we come across all shocked and hard done by. We behave like people with no self-insight at all. Yes, the global alliance system is all over the place now. From America's perspective, it's about time. And I must say, though I be a proud Australian, I am forced to agree. Something has to change.

And let us all thank God for listening to our prayers and allowing for this miracle Easter rescue in Iran.

U.S. DECEPTION CAMPAIGN: The CIA leaked through multiple sources that they were trying to move a valuable package out of the country through a maritime exfil, I'm told by a senior U.S. official. This was meant to draw the Iranians away from the area where the U.S. crew member was located. The deception campaign worked.