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Stephen Kokx

This Week in Politics – War and Foreign Influence

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August 24, 2025
7 min read
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By Stephen Kokx (https://kokxnews.substack.com/)

President Trump hosted European leaders at the White House this week. Their focus? Ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Supposedly.

At minimum, the optics of the visit have been a massive win for Trump, who has been in need of a victory — any victory really — since the Epstein files blew up in his face this summer.

Some social media users joked about how photos of the meeting looked like troublesome high school students were being called into the principal’s office.

It certainly seems like Trump has had enough of the bloodshed and that he was finally able to sit his “allies” down for a stern talking to. His demand that they bring the conflict to an end is admirable. One hopes he will do the same with Netanyahu.

While not a Catholic, Trump seemed to reflect a Catholic view of salvation. During an interview with Fox News, he said, “If I can save 7,000 people a week from getting killed, that’s pretty good. I want to get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing [that] I’m not doing well. I hear I’m at the bottom of the totem pole. If I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”

The problem for Trump is that the men (and women) he is dealing with don’t seem to share his outlook.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the EU’s top technocrat Ursula von der Leyen seem intent on prolonging the conflict. Both have demanded a ceasefire, which they know Putin won’t agree to.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni knows a ceasefire is a non-starter. She was caught rolling her eyes while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz lectured Trump at the White House about the need for one instead of seeking an immediate lasting peace.

Majorie Taylor Green Speaks Out

On the domestic front, firebrand Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to obliterate the Zionist lobby.

Greene seems to be at the point of no return. Not only has she doubled down but tripled and even quadrupled down on her attacks on AIPAC and the Jewish lobby.

While appearing on Megyn Kelly’s podcast, she said, “Israel is the only country I know of that has some sort of incredible influence and control over nearly every single one of my colleagues.”

She also told former colleague Matt Gaetz, “We don’t go to Heaven by how much money we pay Israel and how many of Israel’s wars we fight.”

Greene has since announced that she is “America Only” in response to the Anti-Defamation League’s decision to include the phrase “America First” in its glossary of hate speech.

The ADL says the phrase “emphasizes American nationalism, noninterventionism and anti-immigrant and anti-globalism beliefs.”

How awful!

Foreign Influence in America

This week in Washington D.C. federal judge Trevor McFadden declared that the Israeli flag is not a political symbol at all, but a racial one, and that it is illegal to burn it.

What this means is that in the United States you can burn an American flag, a Chinese flag,  and the Iranian flag, but not the Israeli flag.

Speaking of Israel, warmonger Mark Levin and his buddy US Senator Lindsey Graham demanded Americans send their boys and girls to die for Benjamin Netanyahu.

At an event in South Carolina, the two lectured their Gentile audience about Islamic terrorism and how Israel is fighting a crusade and is not committing genocide.

Seriously?

Graham also claimed, “If America pulls the plug on Israel, God will pull the plug on us. I’m not going to let that happen.”

Does he not know America existed as a country for more than 170 years before Israel was founded in 1948? And that we were doing just fine before sending billions of dollars in economic aid and weapons to them?

My friend Dave Reilly hit back at Graham’s ludicrous remarks on X, noting that since the 1970s (the decade the US began “blessing” Israel with boatloads of cash), America has seen divorce, abortion, transgenderism, and an array of other sins skyrocket.

Unlike Reilly, Evangelical Zionist Charlie Kirk has been running cover for Israel.

On X, he has repeatedly warned about how “Islam” is taking over the West.

“Islam has conquered Britain. We cannot allow for the same in America,” he said on social media.

This is clearly a misdirection tactic.

Kirk was immediately met with criticism. Dozens of users pointed out the influence of AIPAC and the Israeli lobby in the United States, which is undeniable at this point.

On a positive note, the Ron Paul Institute held a “Blueprint for Peace Conference” last week which featured the top anti-interventionist voices in the West.

Traditional Catholic Daniel McAdams organized the conference, which featured fellow Catholics Andrew Napolitano, Chris Rossini, and AntiWar.com editor Dave DeCamp, among other star-studded guests. We should pray that their message is heard by Trump and other global leaders.

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Stephen Kokx

Stephen Kokx is a journalist for LifeSiteNews. A former community college instructor, he has written and spoken extensively about Catholic social teaching, politics, and spirituality. He previously worked for the Archdiocese of Chicago. He is the author of two books, Navigating the Crisis in the Church: Essays in Defense of Traditional Catholicism and St. Alphonsus for the 21st Century: A Handbook for Holiness.

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Stephen Kokx

Avatar photo

Stephen Kokx is a journalist for LifeSiteNews. A former community college instructor, he has written and spoken extensively about Catholic social teaching, politics, and spirituality. He previously worked for the Archdiocese of Chicago. He is the author of two books, Navigating the Crisis in the Church: Essays in Defense of Traditional Catholicism and St. Alphonsus for the 21st Century: A Handbook for Holiness.

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