Ali Majd, a Christian convert and anti-regime influencer, fled Iran and took refuge among the Kurds a few weeks ago after learning that the IRGC was coming for him.

Now, he is heading back to Iran on a mission to help his country and his people free themselves from the regime that has ruled the country since the Islamic Revolution.

In an interview from the field, he told The Gateway Pundit, “What’s happening in Iran right now is not just about me, it’s about all the Iranians. All the Persians are so happy because this is the only way we can get freedom,” said Ali.

In Iran, on top of all the other forms of repression and rights denied to its citizens, converting to Christianity is punishable by death. Ali kept his religion secret and operated his gym while quietly encouraging members to go with him to pray in the mountains.

The regime eventually shut down his gym. When he asked why, officials said, “You have long hair. That is not allowed.” Around that time, anti-regime protests began, and Ali joined them.

The government responded with violence. Ali said there was only one way to change the regime, which was to protest, and that they did so repeatedly.

“We came to the streets so many times, maybe four protests, maybe five protests. The majority of people came to the streets, and the government killed all of them.”

He took a somber tone and asked, “So how can we make a change in Iran? We don’t have a way. You come to the streets, asking for your rights, asking for freedom, and it is so easy for them. They will kill you so easily, like you are not a human, like you are a fruit, like you are a rock. They just shoot you. I lost so many of my friends, the best ones.”

However, the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran have brought hope to the anti-regime movement. “The people, and me as an Iranian, I am happy, and the other Iranians are happy, because your government is killing evil inside my country. This is how we see the situation, the Iranians.”

He went on to talk about the hard work ahead and how the Iranian people themselves will have to do most of the fighting and dying.

“I think it’s going to take a long time, but it will help a lot. So much destruction will happen, but this is the only way that we can get freedom back. We will rebuild our country once more without any IRGC, without any dictatorship, any tyranny like the Islamic Republic of Iran. Maybe more than anything, I haven’t met one Iranian who is sad about the operations against Iran. We are all happy. We feel free after 50 years of oppression in Iran.”

The U.S. and Israeli strikes, in his estimation, “will help a lot.” He said the United States is “doing the best thing for us,” and that, after the strikes, Persians now have a real chance to fight for their freedom.

“Before the United States started attacking, they didn’t have a chance,” he said. “But now we have a chance. Now we can fight with that enemy, because the United States beat them so hard.”

He added that the regime is “so weak right now,” whereas before it had been “so strong, so powerful.”

He cautioned that the fight will take time, possibly “one year, two years,” because the struggle is not only against the government but also against its supporters.

Those supporters, he explained, “live inside people,” and some are armed, while ordinary people are not, making change more difficult.

Still, he insisted there is no alternative. “This is the best way. There is no other way, brother. This is the only way,” he said, adding that freedom may require sacrifice. “Maybe we have to pay some blood for our freedom. Why not? Like every nation on the planet earth.”

Speaking personally, he said he is willing to risk his life for freedom and would do so again. “Life without freedom is nothing. That means nothing,” he said.

He emphasized that they must continue to fight and expressed gratitude for the role of the United States and Israel, saying they would “owe our freedom to the United States… and also the Jewish people, the Israelis. They help us a lot.”

While he was in Kurdistan, Ali attended a Christian church for the first time in his life. Before that, back in Iran, he had prayed in secret. He said he had only dreamed of being in a church, surrounded by other believers, praying together.

Describing his first experience, he said, “That was amazing. That was like a miracle for me.” He explained that, as someone without a pastor and living under constant threat from the IRGC, it had once seemed impossible. Leaving Iran, reaching another country, and finding a church felt, in his words, “like a miracle for me.”

In Iran, he had been reading a Bible that he kept hidden, and it appears he drew strength from the story of David. He said something inside him gave him the courage to “pick a stone,” explaining that when you trust God, He will protect you.

He reiterated that the Iranian people appreciate the support of the United States and Israel, as well as the support of the Kurds, but said they are prepared to fight by any means possible, even with stones against the IRGC’s guns.

“I feel so courageous right now. I don’t fear anything,” he said. “God shows me His miracles in my path. I can pick up a stone and fight against an army. I believe that God will stop the bullets. He shows me He can do that.”

Ironically, Ali realizes that he and his people not only have to overcome the IRGC but must also contend with political uncertainty in the U.S. He said they worry about the possibility of a deal between the United States and Iran and are praying that the regime will be finished during the current operations.

“We just worry about a deal between the United States and Iran,” he said. “We are just praying for the regime to fall.” He added that they are also concerned about support from China and Russia and the possibility that pressure could push U.S. politicians, including President Trump, toward an agreement with Tehran.

The post EXCLUSIVE: “The People Are Happy!” – Heroic Christian Convert Who Fled IRGC Returns to Iran to Topple Evil Regime appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

During a phone call with NewsNation correspondent Hannah Brandt, President Donald Trump delivered a clear message to the radical Democrats holding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hostage: no deal on funding until they pass the critical SAVE America Act to safeguard our elections from non-citizen voting and ensure only American citizens decide American elections.

Democrats are now scrambling to cut a deal on DHS funding after a month of obstruction, following Trump’s order to deploy brave ICE agents to airports to fill the gaps left by unpaid TSA workers amid the ongoing Democrat-caused partial shutdown.

“The Radical Left Democrats have hurt so many people with their vicious and uncaring ways. What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace,” Trump said on weekend.

“If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before! The Fascist Democrats will never protect America, but the Republicans will. Just like the Radical Left allowed millions of Criminals to pour into our Country through their ridiculous and dangerous Open Border Policy, the Republicans closed it all down, and we now have the Strongest Border in American History,” Trump said.

“Likewise, I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, “GET READY.” NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” Trump said on Truth Social.

Democrats are now panicking, but Trump won’t allow any agreement until they pass the critical SAVE America Act.

Hannah Brandt wrote:

“In a phone call just minutes ago President Trump told me Democrats want to make a deal on DHS funding but he doesn’t “think any deal should be made on this until they approve save America.”

First I asked him how long he’s prepared to have ice agents help out at airports

He told me, “For as long as it takes.”

Then I asked “Some lawmakers are saying they should just fund TSA while they negotiate on DHS. What do you think about that?”

President Trump said “Now that I did this the Democrats want to make a deal. And I don’t think any deal should be made on this until they approve SAVE America. Ok, so you have a scoop.””

BREAKING: In a phone call just minutes ago President Trump told me Democrats want to make a deal on DHS funding but he doesn’t “think any deal should be made on this until they approve save America.”

First I asked him how long he’s prepared to have ice agents help out at…

— Hannah Brandt (@HannahBrandt_TV) March 22, 2026

Just hours after his explosive phone call with NewsNation, President Trump ramped up the pressure on the radical left Democrats and any wavering Republicans, making it abundantly clear: There will be NO compromise on funding the Department of Homeland Security until the SAVE America Act is passed and he’s ready to bundle it all into one massive, America-First package that crushes election fraud, protects women’s sports, and saves our children.

Trump also turned his attention to Senate leadership, specifically calling on John Thune to take aggressive action.

Trump wrote on Truth Social:

“I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass “THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.”

It is far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate, and that includes giving these same terrible people, the Dems (who are to blame for this mess!), a Five Billion Dollar cut in ICE funding, a deal which, even when disguised as something else, is unacceptable to me and the American people – UNLESS it includes their approval of Voter I.D., (with picture!), Citizenship to Vote, No Mail-In Voting (with exceptions), All Paper Ballots, No Men In Women’s Sports, and No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our precious children.

Put it all together, and also, let Leader Thune clearly identify those few “Republicans” that are Voting against AMERICA. They will never be elected again!

In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!! Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

As The Gateway Pundit has repeatedly reported, the SAVE America Act is essential to preserving election integrity. Non-citizens should never dilute the votes of American citizens, a fundamental right that millions fought and died to protect.

Democrats’ reckless shutdown has already hurt hardworking federal employees and travelers nationwide.

Now, faced with ICE stepping up to keep airports secure and the president refusing to cave, they’re scrambling. But Trump isn’t budging: fund DHS only after they secure our elections with the SAVE America Act.

The post Trump Says No DHS Funding Deal with Democrats Until the SAVE America Act is Approved “For As Long As It Takes” — Pressures Thune to CANCEL Easter Recess appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Senate Democrats have given the world a sneak preview of how they will manage the government if they return to power by effectively shuttering Homeland Security of all mission-critical operations because of a policy disagreement over how ICE, which is housed under the agency, handles deportations of illegal aliens.

The strategy to obstruct DHS operations has become a microcosm for Democratic leadership: at one and the same time, malevolent and incompetent.

Its malevolence is exhibited in the fact that deportations operations are being used as the putative basis for suspending funding indefinitely for the agency.

Its incompetence is on full display in the fact that ICE, the one agency that DHS Democrats hate the most, remains funded and active due to the One Big Beautiful Bill, which allocated hundreds of millions in funds to the subagency separate and apart of the yearly appropriations bills.

The policy of strict immigration enforcement, which has overwhelming and indeed, even bi-partisan support among broad swaths of the electorate, was a core part of President Trump’s re-election campaign.

The Biden years demonstrated the utter destructiveness of a runaway, open-borders immigration policy – which had the effect of unleashing tens of millions into the interior, including dangerous criminal organizations, which have been directly or indirectly responsible for claiming the lives of millions of Americans.

The fentanyl epidemic is directly linked to Joe Biden and Barack Obama’s reckless open borders policies, which used demonizing rhetoric against anyone who asserted that national sovereignty and the protection of American interests is virtuous for the health, safety, and welfare of the nation.

As a result of that culture of admonishment, which Obama dressed up in flowery rhetoric, suffused in self-righteous indignation, America’s southern border was opened to the world.

Naturally, who entered from that policy were the most pernicious drug traffickers, gangbangers, and terrorist sleeper cells – which infiltrated the country by the millions, destabilizing the rule of law and eroding public trust in the process.

Quality of life in America, measured in real terms, from wages to public infrastructure to institutional safety and trust, only worsened appreciably.

Our elections became discredited because there was no way to check who wound up on voter rolls, and indeed, who exercised the franchise – a problem that got worse and worse with each passing election.

Tens of millions of unaccountable non-citizens springing up in communities across the nation made a near-impossible challenge for authorities to keep track – leaving an outsized burden on local municipalities that were already ill-equipped to manage the headcount.

And this was all by design: a feature not a bug of a policy that was intentionally driven to make Democrats the supermajority party in power, bolstered for all time by a virtually limitless supply of alien newcomers.

When the President ran on a policy of closed borders and mass deportations, first in 2016 and then again with a vengeance in response to the Biden catastrophe in 2024, it sent shockwaves across the political establishment, sending Washington into a collective tailspin.

Harvesting dollars and votes through illegal aliens was – aside from waging wars – one of the biggest for-profit businesses in the nation’s capital and had been for decades.

That a President had ascended to power on a platform directly opposed to this prerogative was, in their eyes, unforgivable.

However, because the policy – and administration that ran on it – enjoyed unprecedented momentum, the Democrats were forced underground, resorting to extra-political means, like the power of the purse, to backchannel their disfavoritism towards a policy their fellow countrymen by and large supported.

And so, we arrive at the current predicament, the chaos at airports nationwide spawned by a Congress unwilling to pledge funding to an agency whose most critical task is the fulfillment of the President’s immigration enforcement policy.

The Democrats have in their hubris and arrogance waged war directly on the American people.  The policy of not funding DHS harms the agents of TSA, who must endure weeks without reliable pay.

This has led many of them to stop showing up to work entirely, or outright resigning, despite having a requirement by law to do so given the essential nature of their tasks, because of the demoralization campaign by the Democrats.  Those to whom they serve, travelers and airports, are then made less safe.

But overburdened workers, contending with a significantly reduced workforce and deferred payment, must continue their jobs anyway.  This has caused lengthy lines at airport checks, sometimes contributing to hours-long delays in major transportation hubs, exacerbating a broader crisis of missed flights, cancellations, and stressful experiences.

The policy is reminiscent of the Democrats’ sadistic treatment of ordinary Americans during the covid pandemic.

Even among TSA civil servants, which are a core voting bloc for the Democratic Party being government workers after all, they are subjected to harsh and inhumane treatment.

Though on the surface ostensibly counterintuitive, upon deeper inspection it makes a good deal of sense.

As we so easily recall, the Democrats, whenever put in charge of government operations, allow their incompetence to inflict maximum harm upon the population overall.

It does not matter how terrible the repercussions of their policies are, prudence always and everywhere takes a backseat to ideological rigidity.  Better to crash an economy or sink a nation than face public humiliation by admitting one’s mistake.

To make matters worse, airlines themselves are struggling with the Iranian conflict overseas.

Already oil is topping $100 a barrel, with some major airlines forecasting that oil prices could reach as high as $175 per barrel soon.

This has impacted all travel, both foreign and domestic.  And with no clear path towards re-opening the Strait of Hormuz in sight, the larger war effort figures to compound preexisting domestic challenges, especially if the war proves to be longer-lasting than once prognosticated.

Even though Homeland Security may have a new Secretary as early as Monday evening, with Senator Markwayne Mullin scheduled for an imminent floor vote, the ongoing dilemma of DHS only being partially funded will persist.

Even with a resolution to the short-term funding problem, however, the deeper problem of one of America’s two main political parties being in active rebellion against what is arguably the second most important executive branch agency is unsolved – portending bleak implications for the long-term safety of the nation.

The post Democrats Hold Air Travelers Hostage By Keeping DHS Unfunded appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Donald Trump has installed a statue of Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds, according to officials.

The statue is located outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and is visible from Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street NW.

It is a reconstruction of a monument first unveiled by President Ronald Reagan in Baltimore in 1984.

The original was torn down and dumped into the Baltimore harbor during the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020.

Trump has now installed the Christopher Columbus statue on the White House’s grounds.

He ended up putting it outside the EEOB building, per our photos snapped today. https://t.co/tBR9WvQaXu pic.twitter.com/1VaMVsUTdm

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) March 22, 2026

A plaque at the base of the rebuilt statue references both events. It states that the monument was “Destroyed July 4, 2020” and later restored.

The statue was gifted to the White House and formally rededicated by Trump.

“In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero,” a spokesperson said.

The installation is part of a broader effort by the administration to place additional statues on White House grounds and other federal land.

Several statues of early American figures have already been added to the Rose Garden.

White House installs Christopher Columbus statue made from remains of toppled sculpture pic.twitter.com/Dn94w5IhGy

— The American Girl (@TheAmericanGrl) March 22, 2026

The administration is also planning a larger sculpture project known as the “Garden of Heroes.”

The proposed site is expected to feature statues of dozens of historical figures.

Officials have also discussed reinstalling statues that were removed from public spaces in recent years.

One such statue is a bronze monument of Caesar Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, which had been taken down in Delaware.

During his first term in office, Trump issued an executive order addressing the removal of monuments.

“These statues are not ours alone, to be discarded at the whim of those inflamed by fashionable political passions; they belong to generations that have come before us and to generations yet unborn,” the order stated.

“My Administration will not abide an assault on our collective national memory.”

The order described such actions as an “assault on our collective national memory” and created a federal task force on the issue.

Columbus is known for his 1492 voyage across the Atlantic, which established contact between Europe and the Americas.

Most states continue to observe Columbus Day, although some blue states have adopted “alternative” holidays.

The post Trump Installs Columbus Statue at White House, Restoring Monument Destroyed in 2020 Riots appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.