Guests - Ava Chen, Elijah Norton, Betsy Smith

Apple's China Exit Strategy: Manufacturing Shift to India Signals Changing Global Alliances

CCP's Backdoor Access to Apple Devices

Apple is actively working to move the majority of its iPhone manufacturing operations from China to India, according to Ava Chen from the New Federal State of China. This strategic shift represents not only a significant business decision but also signals changing global alliances as India increasingly aligns with the United States.

"Most recently, Tim Cook announced that he planned to move an overwhelmingly majority, if not 100%, probably 90% of the iPhone manufacturing capacity from China to India," Chen explained. This transition has been underway for several years, with a percentage of iPhone 15 models already being manufactured in India.

However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is actively working to impede this transition. "The CCP has been trying to prevent those machinery, because in order to make those high-end products like chips for iPhone or screens for iPhone, you need cutting-edge machinery," Chen said. "They're finding all kinds of ways to not ship those machinery required to India... they are basically sabotaging the moving away of the entire manufacturing process and assembly line."

According to Chen, the CCP's interest in keeping Apple's manufacturing operations in China extends beyond economic considerations. She shared a disturbing revelation from Miles Guo, founder of the New Federal State of China movement: "Every iPhone made in China, you for sure guarantee has a backdoor installed and has a tracker in it."

This claim refers to alleged surveillance capabilities secretly embedded in devices manufactured in China. Chen explained that Foxconn, the major iPhone manufacturer in China with some 300,000 employees in its Henan province facility, operates under CCP oversight. According to Chen, despite providing subsidized labor and resources to Apple's manufacturing operation, the CCP's primary interest is surveillance rather than profit.

"So how do you make money if you gave all the profits to Apple? And the person basically said, every backdoor that we put in, we get more money from the CCP than from Foxconn, than from Apple," Chen recounted. "The CCP subsidizes the manufacturing process in order to put the trackers and backdoors in iPhones."

India's Strategic Pivot Toward the West

The manufacturing shift to India coincides with broader geopolitical realignments. India has been demonstrating an increasing willingness to partner with the United States, particularly in trade relationships.

"India might likely be the first country that will enter into a tariff deal with the United States," Chen noted, referring to recent reports suggesting India's growing alliance with the West.

This realignment extends beyond Apple's manufacturing decisions. Chen highlighted another recent example: "Last week we talked about Boeing... reportedly had a contract with China and they're trying to ship 10 Boeing airplanes delivered to China. But the CCP rejected receiving them because there's this trade war going on. But then Air India stepped up and said, 'Yeah, we might likely take it over if China does not want it.'"

These developments mark a significant shift in India's positioning, as the country has historically maintained closer ties with China. "India and China are really close. They're neighbors, they're bordering countries. And China has, in South Asia and Southeast Asia, China are the leaders," Chen explained.

CCP's Destabilization Strategy: Exploiting Regional Conflicts

The CCP views India's growing alignment with the West as a threat to its global influence. According to Chen, this has led to efforts to destabilize the India-US relationship through indirect means – particularly by exploiting regional tensions between India and Pakistan.

"The CCP would keep India unleashed by using India's enemy, Pakistan," Chen explained. "CCP is looking at how to sabotage this... to stall the relationship, to stall the trade deals because they don't want everybody abandoning the CCP and shaking hands with the US."

To illustrate this pattern, Chen pointed to a recent incident in Kashmir, a territory long disputed between India and Pakistan. Last week, militants opened fire on civilians in India-controlled Kashmir, killing 26 people and injuring many others, most of them tourists.

"The CCP understands that, so this is why they say, 'Hold on a second, I'm going to put on a fight.' So how do they put on a fight? They always pick up conflict. They always exert pressure through this way. They always do their hidden black hands because they're the black power," Chen said.

The timing of this attack, coming as India explores closer ties with the United States, fits into what Chen describes as a pattern of CCP interference designed to maintain control and prevent countries from forming alliances that could challenge its influence.

Broader CCP Global Strategy

Chen placed these events within the context of the CCP's larger global strategy, which includes multiple forms of warfare beyond traditional military confrontation.

"This is why the CCP has not just one weapon in their arsenal. They have economic warfare, financial warfare, currency warfare," Chen said. "They are multifaceted and multi-pronged, and they are trying to win without the fight."

Chen also highlighted the CCP's ability to exploit existing tensions in various regions: "If you're looking at the Kashmir and India conflict, who is helping the CCP? CCP is a very hidden hand hiding behind. The divide is already there. CCP did not create the divide, they're exploiting those relationships."

This same pattern, according to Chen, can be observed in other global conflicts: "Iran and Israel, right? Russia and Ukraine. They are exploiting the weaknesses."

Chen emphasized that the CCP's ultimate goal is world domination rather than partnership. She noted the strategic importance of maintaining conflicts in various parts of the world to prevent unified opposition to CCP influence: "Why are they at each other's throat? It's power. So who stands to gain?"

Trump's Executive Order Empowers Law Enforcement and Rejects DEI Policies

Strengthening America's Law Enforcement

President Trump recently signed an executive order titled "Strengthening and Unleashing America's Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens," which has been strongly endorsed by the National Police Association.

Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association, praised the order for its focus on empowering police officers to effectively combat crime. "He starts this order by declaring that safe communities depend on a tough and well-equipped police force," Smith explained. "You don't want cops that are weak. You don't want cops that are poorly educated. You don't want cops that don't know what they're doing."

A key provision of the executive order is the rejection of race and sex-based equity policies in law enforcement, effectively eliminating DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) considerations from police hiring and promotion practices. Smith, who served as a police officer for 29 years, emphasized the importance of this approach: "I was a cop who happened to be a woman. And I didn't get hired because of DEI policies. I got hired because I was fit and I was young and I was ready to do the job."

Smith noted that women currently make up only 10-15% of American law enforcement, a proportion that has remained relatively stable for decades. Rather than trying to artificially increase these numbers, Smith advocates for ensuring that those who are attracted to the profession—regardless of demographics—are properly qualified: "You don't need to be able to bench-press 300 pounds to be a cop, but you do need to be able to have great cardio. You need to be able to fight. You need to be able to shoot. You need to be able to take care of yourself and others."

The executive order also addresses sexual orientation bias in hiring, with Smith noting: "I don't care who my officers are attracted to sexually as long as it's not children. They can be gay, straight, non-binary, whatever it happens to be as long as they can do the job."

Legal Support for Officers and Enhanced Resources

Another significant aspect of the executive order is its commitment to defending law enforcement officers who face legal challenges while performing their duties. "The Trump DOJ is pledging to help defend law enforcement officers who are being wrongly prosecuted and persecuted for simply doing their jobs," Smith said.

This support includes soliciting pro bono legal assistance from private attorneys, indemnifying officers facing frivolous lawsuits, and maximizing federal resources for crime suppression. The order also calls for better and more police training, increased pay and benefits, and enhanced sentences for crimes committed against police officers.

Smith highlighted the order's focus on improving the collection and analysis of crime data, addressing what she described as misleading claims about crime trends during the previous administration: "For the last four years, what were we told? 'Oh, crime is going down'... It was a lie. It was an absolute lie. And part of that was because of the poor job the FBI did in gathering this data."

The executive order also aims to restore law enforcement access to surplus military equipment, reversing policies implemented under the Obama and Biden administrations that restricted such access. Smith clarified that this doesn't mean "your local police department driving an M1 tank," but rather providing access to equipment such as vehicles, shields, technical devices, and communications gear that can help police respond more effectively to emergencies.

"The military gets new gear, but they have perfectly workable gear... And there's a lot of small towns and counties around this country who can't afford all of that gear," Smith explained. "When we have a school shooting, right? Everybody says, 'Why aren't the police going in faster?' Well, a lot of this military equipment will help police get in faster and be able to rescue people."

Tucson's Crime Crisis

Smith also addressed the local crime situation in Tucson, Arizona, which currently has a "D+" overall crime grade. According to Smith, crime will cost each household in Tucson $1,191 in 2025, with a total citywide cost of $515.4 million per year.

She noted that these statistics reflect only reported crimes, with an estimated 43% of crimes nationwide going unreported. "People get frustrated so they don't even bother to report crime," Smith explained, citing her own experience with vandalism at a Republican Party office that went unreported after initial police responses proved ineffective.

The situation is exacerbated by staffing shortages in the Tucson Police Department, with officers often beginning their shifts with "20 plus priority one and two calls holding." This forces officers to focus solely on the most serious ongoing incidents, leaving little time for addressing property crimes or other less immediate concerns.

Smith emphasized that the crime problem in Tucson and other urban areas disproportionately affects residents in poorer neighborhoods, rejecting the notion that poverty causes crime: "I get so tired of hearing the left talk about crime and criminals are caused by poverty. I know a lot of poor people who aren't criminals... We malign people living in poverty by assuming that they're criminals."

The Ongoing Battle to Remove Arizona Insurance Director Barbara Richardson

Senate Rejection and Political Maneuvering

Elijah Norton, candidate for Arizona State Treasurer, provided an update on the ongoing controversy surrounding Barbara Richardson, Governor Katie Hobbs' nominee for director of insurance and financial institutions.

Richardson's nomination was unanimously rejected by Republican members of the Director of Nominations committee, chaired by Senator Hoffman. Despite this rejection, Richardson and Governor Hobbs have refused to withdraw the nomination. "Normally, the majority of the time, the nominee at that point would just withdraw," Norton explained. "They would go quietly into the night. Katie Hobbs would withdraw the nomination. Well, of course, as with everything involving Katie Hobbs and Barbara Richardson, that's not what has happened."

According to Norton, a Republican lobbyist has been actively working to secure votes for Richardson despite the committee's rejection: "She's been going around to different state legislators trying to flip their votes. Republicans trying to say, if this goes to the floor, we want you to vote in Barbara's favor."

Norton suggested that the lobbyist's motivation is financial self-interest: "She's a health insurance lobbyist. And health insurance companies like increased regulatory environments. And if Barbara gets confirmed, it's going to be helpful for her and she'll be able to make money off of the fact that she'll be known as the Barbara Whisperer."

Alleged Retaliation Against Norton

Norton also described what he believes was retaliation against him by Richardson after he announced his candidacy for State Treasurer. The day after his announcement, Norton's company received an unusual request from the Nevada Division of Insurance, where Richardson previously served as commissioner until 2023.

"We get an email from the Nevada Division of Insurance... [requesting] an updated NAIC biographical affidavit," Norton explained. This document, which Norton described as "tantamount to like a mini investigation," requires detailed personal and professional information dating back to age 16.

The timing and nature of the request struck Norton as suspicious, particularly since his company's license had recently been renewed and wasn't due for expiration until July 2026. "It's virtually unheard of for someone to answer an NAIC biographical affidavit a year ahead of time," he noted.

After Norton began discussing this apparent retaliation with state legislators, the Nevada Division of Insurance suddenly reversed course. "About 45 minutes after I get a text from this person at the legislature... I get a call from the Nevada Division of Insurance," Norton recounted. "She sounded very nervous... she goes, 'I don't need it. We don't need it anymore.'"

Call to Action for State Residents

Norton urged listeners to contact their state senators to oppose Richardson's nomination. "Please contact your state senators and let them know. I don't know when it's going to go to a floor vote, hopefully as soon as possible. Every day this woman sits in the chair, she's going to cause more and more problems for our insurance industry."

He emphasized the importance of rejecting Richardson's nomination to protect Arizona's insurance market: "Email their state senators and tell them to vote no and reject her and get her out of our state as soon as possible."