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WATCH: Protesters clash outside Trump trial court, police forced to intervene

Protests grew heated Thursday outside the New York City courtroom where former President Trump’s trial is taking place. A group of protesters gathered in support of Trump appeared to surround protesters backing his possible conviction in the case, forcing police to intervene and separate the two groups, video footage shot by Fox News Digital shows. “We ran you out of town! We deported your a–! We deported your a– last time! Get the f— out! Get the f— out of here!” yelled one protester who appeared to be wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. SUPPORTERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP OUTSIDE NYC COURTHOUSE: BIDEN ‘AIN’T FOR’ BLACK AMERICA The anti-Trump protester on the receiving end of the insults was holding signs that read, “Trump is a danger to us all,” and, “Do not let Trump make a fool of you,” as they appeared to try and block another protester holding a flag that read, “F— Joe Biden.” Other pro-Trump protesters joined in on telling the anti-Trump protester to leave, with one of them grabbing and ripping up one of the anti-Trump signs. “Knock her down!” another protester repeatedly yelled. CONSERVATIVES UNLOAD ON ‘POLITICAL’ NYC PROSECUTION OF TRUMP OUTSIDE COURTROOM: ‘DAMAGING TO THE COUNTRY’ Police eventually broke up the altercation, but it wasn’t immediately clear if any arrests were made. Jurors continued deliberations on Thursday after having Judge Juan Merchan reread the deliberation instructions and rehearing testimony from Michael Cohen and David Pecker. Fox News’ Mitch Picasso contributed to this report.

Trump gets win in New York appeals court as he awaits separate trial verdict

Former President Donald Trump received a small victory in a New York appeals court Thursday as he awaits the verdict in his Manhattan criminal trial. The appeals court cleared the way for Trump to sue his niece, Mary Trump, for providing information to the New York Times for its 2018 article on the former president’s taxes. Lawyers for Mary Trump had argued that Trump’s lawsuit was not permitted under New York laws barring frivolous lawsuits that are intended to silence opponents. They further argued that Trump cannot claim to have been harmed by the release of accurate information. In a June 2023 ruling, New York judge Robert Reed sided against Mary, who appealed the decision. The five-judge panel upheld the previous ruling on Thursday, saying Trump has standing to sue his niece for breaching confidentiality agreements made in a 2001 settlement over the estate of Fred Trump Sr., the former president’s father. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL The court’s ruling has no impact on whether Trump’s lawsuit will be successful. His original lawsuit called for his niece to hand over $100 million in damages. The court says he may still be successful in securing funds. “At a minimum, nominal damages may still be available on the breach of contract claim even in the absence of actual damages,” the court wrote. WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP AND BIDEN AS THEY CAREEN TOWARD NEXT MONTH’S FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE The Times’ 2018 article, which received a Pulitzer Prize, shined a light on the former president’s finances, notably revealing substantial funds he had received from his father. Mary Trump revealed herself as one of the sources for the story in a memoir, a book Trump derided as “stupid” and “vicious.” WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL SHOWS IN THE BIDEN-TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION REMATCH The win for Trump comes as the jury deliberates in his New York criminal trial, which has him charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. The trial has lasted five weeks, and there is no timeline for how long the jury will deliberate. READ THE APPEALS COURT DECISION – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: Trump faces three additional indictments once the New York case concludes. He faces election charges in Washington, D.C., and Georgia, as well as classified documents charges in Florida.

Rajkot Fire Incident: Town planning officer, three other govt officials arrested

On May 25, a welding spark ignited a fire at the TRP Game Zone in Rajkot, resulting in the deaths of 28 people.

Vermont Christian parents say they were punished by foster system over transgender stance

A Christian couple in Vermont say the state threatened to revoke their foster license over their position on transgender ideology and sex-change treatments for kids in their care. Melinda Antonucci, 44, and Casey Mathieu, 42, say the state made them take part in an LGBTQ+ training – as part of their license application – which discussed medical procedures for trans kids.  They secured their license in January and fostered one child on an emergency basis for two weeks in February. Relations with the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) began to strain that month when Antonucci posted to her personal Facebook page a link to a petition advocating for parental rights in the Essex Westford School District. Antonucci says DCF started questioning the couple’s stance on gender issues a few weeks later and threatened to revoke their license if they wouldn’t affirm gender ideology. The couple have refused to go along with the requests and say that their foster license has been effectively shadow-revoked, since they have not received correspondence about foster placements in weeks. BIDEN ADMIN IMPOSES GENDER IDEOLOGY ON FAITH-BASED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN NEW HHS RULE: ‘SHAMELESS TARGETING’ Now the married couple say they are speaking out against the state’s gender-affirming rules, which they say appear to be required for parents to be assigned foster children. “There’s probably been a lot of mixed emotions. In some ways we are angry and also very frustrated that we’re trying to do something good, trying to give something back,” Antonucci told Fox News Digital. “And we’re essentially being told that we’re not fit to do that because of our beliefs, basically DCF’s beliefs on gender ideology. And their beliefs, in my thought process, is not even really based in fact, it’s just their opinion. And because of that, they’re not allowing us to foster children, and there’s a lot of children out there that need a home.” The couple already have three children – a 19-year-old son, a 16-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son – but are eager to expand their family. Last year, they started the process of obtaining a foster care license. On the license application, they were asked about their views on trans kids and if they were willing to foster an LGBTQ+ child. They said that they would but were hesitant about facilitating any medical treatment or procedures. They were also made to take part in a training module, which they said teaches foster parents to affirm a trans child’s gender identity and facilitate a child’s transition should he or she request it.  “They made us take LGBTQ training, and a lot of their training focused on medical intervention, and one training actually alludes to the fact that sometimes it’s better to intervene medically earlier rather than later,” Antonucci told Fox News Digital. “So, I didn’t want to have a transgender child and have to go along with giving them hormones or anything like that. That was a real point of contention, and that is something that [DCF] feel strongly about.” NEW FEDERAL TRANSGENDER RULES PLACE WOMEN’S WORKPLACE RIGHTS ‘UNDER ATTACK,’ EEOC COMMISSIONER CHARGES Antonucci posted about the parental rights petition in February, which called on the school district to recognize parents’ constitutional right to raise their children and for the district to inform parents should it start helping students transition their gender. A few weeks later, a DCF worker got in touch with her about her public support for the petition. According to a letter sent to DCF by the Center for American Liberty, a civil liberties nonprofit group representing the couple, the worker then told Antonucci that her support for the petition was concerning because all foster homes must “affirm” transgender-identifying children. Antonucci says the worker then “interrogated” her about her beliefs on trans children, asking questions about her willingness to use preferred names and pronouns and whether Antonucci would require her five-year-old son to use a foster child’s preferred name and pronouns should they foster a transgender child, something Antonucci says the couple refused to go along with. “They asked where the petition originated, did I fully believe in everything that the petition stated, because they had concerns about our family not being affirming to transgender children,” Antonucci told Fox News Digital. “And based on that phone conversation, the licensor said to me, because these are my beliefs, most likely they will have to pull our license.” “And so a few days later, the licensor sent me an email saying that she spoke to her supervisor and because I would not foster a transgender child or discuss they/them pronouns with my son, that they were going to have to pull our license.” VERMONT GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM BANNED FROM PLAY AFTER FORFEITING GAME AGAINST TEAM WITH TRANSGENDER PLAYER In the email to the couple, DCF states that it does not know how it can move forward with their fostering, “given the inability to predict any foster child’s journey with their own identity.”  DCF told the couple they could opt to pull the license, or DCF would need to formally deny it. The couple told DCF they were not willing to voluntarily close their license and that if the department wished to revoke it, it needed to provide them with a formal notification. To date, DCF has not yet told the couple whether it has – or intends to – make good on the worker’s threat to revoke their license, the couple’s lawyers say. They have not received an email about potential foster kids since May 10. “Thus, it appears the Department has made the decision to exclude Melinda and Casey from being a foster family without formally revoking their license,” the letter reads.  Fox News Digital reached out to DCF but had not received comment at the time of publication.  The Center for American Liberty said in its letter that DCF had violated the couple’s First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights. READ THE LETTER TO VERMONT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: The group is demanding that

Bipartisan criticism targets Biden for his lack of ‘moral clarity’ on Taiwan

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – A top Republican on the House Taiwan Caucus is blasting President Biden for what he calls a lack of “moral clarity” on the U.S. relationship with Taiwan. Caucus co-Chair Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., spoke with Fox News Digital in Taipei as part of the first U.S. Congressional delegation to meet with Taiwan’s newly-inaugurated government.  “This is the problem with the Biden administration, they’re not— it’s not ambiguity,” Barr said. “It’s the fact that they contradict themselves.” “It’s the fact that Biden makes a statement to try to clarify the U.S. position and then the state department walks it back. And so the fact that there’s not a moral clarity, and a consistency, in communicating about the threat from China, undermines the credibility and the deterrence provided by this administration,” he said. CHINA’S THREATS, ‘NAKED AGGRESSION’ LOOM LARGE AS HOUSE LAWMAKERS MEET TAIWAN’S NEW PRESIDENT There have been several high-profile instances since Biden took office in which his forceful statements in Taiwan’s defense have had to be walked back by officials within his own administration, according to published reports.  He told CNN in October 2021 that the U.S. had a “commitment” to come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked the island. It prompted an aggressive response from the Chinese Communist Party, which accused Biden of violating the longstanding “One China” policy, which does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation with its own formal diplomatic ties.  Then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki later said, “The president was not announcing any change in our policy, nor has he made a decision to change our policy.” HOUSE LAWMAKERS VISIT TAIWAN AS CHINA WARNS US TO STAY OUT Similar incidents occurred in August 2021 as well as May and October of 2022. Dr. I-Chung Lai, president of the Taiwan-based think tank The Prospect Foundation, explained that while those situations are not interpreted as U.S. support wavering, they did somewhat undermine the president. “It did help people to have the perception that, internally, the U.S. government is not coherent in its approach, and especially the walk-back by the people under you…that also in my view, makes President Biden [not look] as authoritative as he should be. I do not think that will help the U.S. credibility in the world,” Lai said. CHINA’S FOREIGN MINISTRY BLASTS TAIWAN INAUGURATION, PHILIPPINES STANDOFF IN SOUTH CHINA SEA Democrats on the Taiwan trip, meanwhile, argued that Biden’s statements and the subsequent clean-up attempts did not undercut the U.S. position and actually bolstered the country’s goal of “strategic ambiguity” on Beijing and Taipei. “I think it’s honestly kind of an asset – a feature, not a bug,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., told Fox News Digital in Taipei. “It’s strategic ambiguity…but I do believe that he means it when he says that America will stand with Taiwan.” Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., told Fox News Digital: “I actually think we’re making them stronger. Because trust me, the four times that the president has made those statements, the people here in Taiwan are counting each and every one of them.” The congressional delegation is led by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and also includes the panel’s subcommittee chair for the Indo-Pacific, Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., subcommittee chair for the Middle East. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back at press time.

How to navigate FEMA for the upcoming hurricane season

The upcoming hurricane season is anticipated to be “above-average,” potentially causing those in its path to suffer from property damages. Here is how federal assistance may help you in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

‘Beyond alarming’: Jewish leaders demand House Dem fire top campaign aide who praised notorious antisemite

FIRST ON FOX: A Jewish organization is calling on a House Democrat running for Senate to sever ties with a top campaign adviser who attended a convention organized by a notorious antisemite and posted a photo online smiling alongside him. “It is beyond alarming that a major U.S. Senate candidate and sitting member of Congress employs political staff who associate with Louis Farrakhan,” Liora Rez, Founder and Executive Director of Stop Antisemitism, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “For decades now, Farrakhan has in the most vile, disgusting, and radical terms denounced Jews and Judaism,” she said. “Given Rep. Slotkin’s extensive experience in counterterrorism, intelligence, and international security, it is concerning that she was unaware of this advisor’s connection to Farrakhan.”  “Not only should Rep. Slotkin immediately remove this individual from her orbit, but more importantly, she must make it clear that this type of hate has no place in her campaign for Senate, and put into place thorough vetting processes,” Rez continued. “Additionally, it is incumbent upon the press to dig deeper and demand more answers as to how the Congresswoman became affiliated with such a radical.” ‘SATANIC MINDS’: NAACP LEADER WHO GAVE BIDEN AWARD INVITED NOTORIOUS ANTISEMITE TO HIS CHURCH MULTIPLE TIMES Rez’s comment follows a Fox News Digital report on Terra DeFoe, Slotkin’s deputy political director, who posted on Facebook in 2017 about her “full week” of “supporting the Nation of Islam and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan” at the Nation of Islam’s “Saviours’ Day Convention.” One of the photos DeFoe posted included Farrakhan and a smiling Mike Duggan, the Democratic mayor of Detroit recently praised by President Biden at the NAACP dinner earlier this month, alongside Nation of Islam members.  Between July 2023 and March 2024, DeFoe received almost $60,000 from Slotkin’s campaign for a range of payments, including salary, stipends, and reimbursements, according to FEC records reviewed by Fox News Digital. March 2024 disbursements are from the most up-to-date public filings, so the amount will likely be higher when July’s report is released. LEFT-WING ACTIVIST WHO HIRED ONE OF FARRAKHAN’S ‘TOP SOLDIERS’ HAS VISITED BIDEN WHITE HOUSE 7 TIMES Farrakhan has compared Jewish people to termites, praised Hitler as a “great man” and has become one of the most controversial religious figures in the United States due to his derogatory comments about Israel. Since taking leadership of the Nation of Islam in the late 1970s, Farrakhan has been accused of antisemitism and homophobia for his comments and sermons. Farrakhan has blamed Jews for, among other things, the slave trade, Jim Crow and black oppression in general. “In today’s world, support for Jew-hatred – like support for other forms of bigotry and racism – cannot be tolerated,” Brooke Goldstein, a human rights attorney who serves as the CEO of the Lawfare Project and founder of the End Jew Hatred Movement, told Fox News Digital. WHITE HOUSE VISITOR LOGS CONTRADICT BIDEN SPOKESMAN’S VOW TO BAN DC OFFICIAL WHO PRAISED NOTORIOUS ANTISEMITE “It is inexcusable that anyone supports Louis Farrakhan’s venomous hate, but all the more troubling that supporters like Terra DeFoe are in a position of trust and authority among elected officials, and are therefore capable of causing significant damage to our core value of equality under the law.” “It should be uncomfortable for Democrats that Michigan political operatives like DeFoe and politicians like Tlaib to brazenly attend antisemitic events – but it isn’t,” Goldstein added. “Elissa Slotkin has not yet fired Defoe, signaling a shocking level of comfort with Jew-hatred for an elected official who is both Jewish and has called on universities to do more to keep students safe.” Goldstein also called for Slotkin, who is Jewish, to “demonstrate her commitment to equality under the law by immediately terminating Defoe’s employment.” “We don’t need equivocation or justification on the part of elected representatives like Slotkin, any more than we need inaction. Failure to impose consequences on blatant Jew-hatred and anti-Americanism will have a significant impact on Election Day.” Slotkin is currently running as a Democrat to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate. Fox News Digital reached out to Slotkin’s office and campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

New poll reveals how Trump trial verdict will impact 2024 election

A new national poll is the latest to indicate that regardless of whether former President Trump is found guilty or acquitted in his criminal trial, the verdict will not have a large impact on voters’ perceptions in his 2024 election rematch with President Biden. Two-thirds of registered voters nationwide questioned in a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll released on Thursday said a guilty verdict in the trial would make no difference to their vote in the presidential election. Seventeen percent said a conviction of Trump would make them less likely to vote for him and 15% said they’d be more inclined to support the former president at the ballot box. If Trump is acquitted, three-quarters of those surveyed said it wouldn’t impact their vote. Fourteen percent said a not guilty verdict would make them more likely to back Trump, and 9% said they’d be less likely to vote for the former president. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL Trump currently holds a slight edge over the president both in national polling and in public opinion surveys in most of the crucial battleground states that will likely decide their rematch. But the pending verdict in the historic case – Trump is charged with 34 state felony charges in what is the first criminal trial in the nation’s history for a former or current president – could impact what’s shaping up to be a close contest with Biden. Trump is charged with falsifying business records in relation to payments during the 2016 election that he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in return for her silence about allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors have argued that this amounted to illegally seeking to influence the 2016 election. WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP AND BIDEN AS THEY CAREEN TOWARDS NEXT MONTH’S FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE  Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that has grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media. The former president has repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels, and he has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the case is a “SHAM TRIAL instigated and prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ.” Trump has also been fined a couple of times and threatened with jail by the judge in the case for violating a gag order aimed at protecting witnesses and jurors from the former president’s verbal attacks. Veteran pollster Chris Anderson, a member of the Fox News Election Decision Team and the Democratic partner on the Fox News Poll, said he did not think “a guilty verdict would fundamentally change the landscape of the race.” Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who also serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, noted that “prior to 2020, no one would have thought that a candidate could survive a criminal conviction.” “But times and circumstances have evolved. And while the specific findings of the jury could matter, I think there is a sense that a conviction in this case would not appreciably change the dynamics of the race,” Shaw emphasized. Both pointed to the fact that “attitudes are so set in concrete” regarding both the former Republican president and his Democratic successor in the White House. The Marist Poll for NPR and PBS NewsHour was conducted May 21-23, with 1,122 registered voters nationwide. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

What Trump is doing while the jury deliberates in NY trial

Former President Donald Trump is required to sit in the courthouse amid jury deliberations in the unprecedented NY v. Trump trial, where he has continued firing off Truth Social posts and holding press conferences.   “Hey guys, I’m here with your favorite president. We’re cranking out a couple of mean tweets at the courthouse,” Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s eldest son, said in a TikTok video posted Wednesday.  The video showed a glimpse behind the scenes of what Trump is up to during jury deliberations, with him seated at a table surrounded by a couple of stacks of papers and some snacks.  The Trump campaign told Fox News Digital that Trump also has a TV in the room where he is awaiting a verdict in the trial.  TRUMP SAYS COSTLY TRIAL IS ‘PROVING MY POINT’ THAT COURTS ARE WEAPONIZED AGAINST HIM: ‘DISGRACE’ Thursday marks day two of jury deliberations, with the 12-member body sitting in a closed-door room to discuss whether Trump is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.  Trump is required to be present in the courthouse, not the courtroom itself, in case the jury hands presiding Judge Juan Merchan a note. The jury handed Merchan two notes on Wednesday, including a request to hear his instructions again and another request to hear testimony again from former media publisher David Pecker and ex-Trump attorney and the prosecution team’s star witness, Michael Cohen.  NY V. TRUMP: JURY TO CONTINUE DELIBERATIONS FOR 2ND DAY IN UNPRECEDENTED CASE As the jury continues weighing the case, Trump has continued posting to Truth Social.  “Can anybody believe that our Government would be spending Tens of Millions of Taxpayer Dollars on prosecuting this RIDICULOUS Case? I DID NOTHING WRONG! IN FACT, I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT. The testimony in Court was amazing for the Defense!” Trump said in one post from Thursday morning.  “Testimony conclusively showed that I clearly stated, ‘I DON’T BUY STORIES!’ — Not that there would be anything wrong with doing that — NDA’s are PERFECTLY LEGAL AND COMMON!” Trump said in another post.  NY V. TRUMP: DEFENSE SAYS PROSECUTORS ‘DID NOT MEET THE BURDEN OF PROOF,’ FORMER PRESIDENT IS ‘INNOCENT’ Throughout the trial, Trump has held brief addresses to the press, including after jury deliberations began this week. He has stressed his claim that the trial is “rigged” against him, and said Wednesday that he is facing charges that Mother Teresa could not beat.  “The judge, who, as you know, is very conflicted and corrupt. Because of the confliction, very, very corrupt. Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged,” Trump said late Wednesday morning as jury deliberations kicked off.  NY V. TRUMP: PROSECUTION SAYS THEY HAVE PRESENTED ‘POWERFUL EVIDENCE’ AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT “The whole country is a mess, between the borders and fake elections, and you have a trial like this where the judge is so conflicted, he can’t breathe. He’s got to do his job. … it’s a disgrace. And I mean that, Mother Teresa could not beat those charges. But we’ll see. We’ll see how we do.”  On Thursday, Trump again argued in public comment that Merchan is “corrupt” and “conflicted,” while arguing that the prosecutors in the case are “proving” his point that the legal system is weaponized against him.  “Mike Davis: ‘The U.S. would sanction a country for doing this.’ I think that’s good. I think that’s good. Steve Hilton: ‘It seems that every single day these proceedings go on, the judge or the prosecutor just go out of their way to prove Trump’s point,’” Trump said while reading excerpts of legal experts’ insight into the case. Trump added after reading the excerpt, “…They are proving my point when you think. That’s why I write some of these things that are very sad.” A verdict could be reached as soon as Thursday.   Fox News Digital’s Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report. 

How a Chinese attack on Taiwan could lead to a direct war between the US and Beijing

TAIPEI, Taiwan – A failure to deter China from invading Taiwan could well lead to a deadly conflict between Beijing’s troops and the U.S., lawmakers and policy experts warn. As hot wars rage in the Middle East and Europe, the fragile peace in the Indo-Pacific is being regarded by some as one of the last barriers between the U.S. and a full-scale global fight not seen since World War II. “What I do worry about is it would escalate to a scale that we have not seen,” House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital from a hotel in Taipei. “I talk about Churchill and the unnecessary war – we could have prevented it earlier and saved a lot of blood and treasure. We’re gonna be spending a hell of a lot more money, and a lot more blood and treasure, if we get thrown into what my father’s generation got thrown into.” McCaul led a delegation to Taiwan to meet with its newly-inaugurated government days after China staged large-scale military drills in the region, sending dozens of warplanes and ships to simulate a blockade and rapid-fire takeover of the island. ‘SHUT DOWN THE WORLD’: MCCAUL WARNS OF GLOBAL ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE IF CHINA INVADES TAIWAN House Taiwan Caucus co-Chair Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., who is also on the trip, told Fox News Digital, “If the United States were to not show up in a conflict, or if we were to lose a conflict, and if the island were overrun, it would drive a wedge between our other allies – Japan, and the Philippines – and the broader Indo-Pacific in ways that would have massive negative repercussions.” He pointed out that Taiwan is one of the few U.S.-friendly islands in the Pacific that sits between China and the U.S. West Coast. Barr said a takeover of Taiwan would “embolden” China to push its territorial claims further towards U.S. soil and its neighboring territories. “So, the whole security structure of the world would be altered in a very negative way,” he said. CHINA’S THREATS, ‘NAKED AGGRESSION’ LOOM LARGE AS HOUSE LAWMAKERS MEET TAIWAN’S NEW PRESIDENT Dr. I-Chung Lai, president of The Prospect Foundation, a Taiwanese think tank, argued that a direct war between the U.S. and China could kick off if China took over Taiwan and was emboldened to hit U.S. military units elsewhere in the region. He noted that China would feel threatened by the possible existence of a U.S. B-21 stealth bomber in the region. The development and testing of the high-tech aircraft has already prompted criticism from Beijing’s state media. “They could attack the U.S. bases in Japan, for example, the Philippines for example. And even in [South Korea], because from Beijing’s point of view, the closest space that can threaten China [are] actually the U.S. bases in Korea, which is…probably just several hundred kilometers [away],” Lai said. “And if there’s a B-21 there, they can shoot at Beijing, just [with] a snap of their fingers. So China definitely would try to take all those bases.” Dr. Ming-Shih Shen of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said, “Of course, China will think about the cost of a direct war between the United States and China,” when considering an invasion of Taiwan. HOUSE LAWMAKERS VISIT TAIWAN AS CHINA WARNS US TO STAY OUT “I don’t know how the Chinese wouldn’t perceive that an aggression to Taiwan would be perceived as an aggression to the United States,” said Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., another lawmaker in the delegation. In addition to being strategically important to the U.S. for its location in the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan also plays a critical role in the global economy due to its massive semiconductor industry. Sixty percent of the world’s semiconductors are produced here. China has the second-largest share of production. “What would happen if there was any sort of invasion…not just Taiwan would shut down, but you’d see a major shutdown in a lot of parts of the world, including parts of the United States,” said delegation member Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.  “Look what happened in COVID. Look what happened when you drove by and wanted to buy a vehicle, the car dealerships were completely empty. When you needed an appliance, [stores] were completely empty. And that was just because of supply chain slowdowns.” He pointed out that semiconductors are used in everything from everyday kitchen appliances to smartphones. “This would be an actual stop of everything – not a slowdown – a stop of these types of semiconductor chips that are literally in almost everything we use right now,” Panetta said. “That’s what people need to realize that when they pick up their iPhone or go to the refrigerator or get in their car, most likely that semiconductor chip is coming from Taiwan.”