Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax Monday that the leak of highly classified military and intelligence documents is linked to the declining state of U.S. international relations and stressed that "we’re in real trouble right now."
"It’s all linked — when you look at the leak, and you look at the recent visit from [French President Emmanuel] Macron and [European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen into China, walking back, hat in hand, saying, ‘We should probably distance ourselves from the United States, de-dollarize’ at a time when China is not only threatening Taiwan, but engaging in psychological operations," Holt said during an appearance on Newsmax’s "Spicer & Co."
Macron wrapped a 3-day state visit to China on Sunday, where he reportedly received a warm welcome from Chinese President Xi Jinping. On Friday, an adviser to Macron told reporters that Xi and Macron had a "dense and frank" discussion about Taiwan during their meetings.
When asked about the heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, which is the world’s leading manufacturer of semiconductors, Holt said, "I'm really glad you brought up the TSMC chip factory [in Taiwan] because this chip factory is part of our national security."
"Yes, of course, we're allies and friends with Taiwan, or partners, at least, but that factory we're going to have to account for that in our national security plans," he said.
President Joe Biden said on Monday that he’s planning to run for reelection in 2024 but Holt said Biden has not done the United States any favors on the world stage.
"We've been just projecting weakness since the start of this administration," he said. "It starts with the Chinese, the build-up into Ukraine on a deterrable war, and then we get to the disaster that is Kabul, [Afghanistan] that no one will take responsibility for, and the laughable excuses that they gave in that 12-page paper."
Holt also said that news and social media, including the Chinese video sharing app TikTok, work hand-in-glove with the White House, as well as international entities, to undermine American freedoms.
"We've got a media machine that's aligned with an administration that's aligned with this messaging box in the social media and the entire thing and it all leads up to compromise, the Chinese Communist Party, the World Economic Forum being contra to our Constitution, our liberties and first principles in this nation," he said. "People have to wake up very quickly because we're in real trouble right now."
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