carl higbie NzMAx

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Trump administration appointee Carl Higbie resigned Thursday as chief of external affairs for the federal government's volunteer service organization after a CNN KFile review of racist, sexist, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT comments he made on the radio. 1 2018

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ELIM RHET: SAVAGE, WANT TO KILL YOU, SO OK TO NUKE THEM

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Right-wing media react to Trump's slush fund for allies with unquestioning loyalty — and some vague skepticism

Written by Sophie Lawton

:{Published 05/21/26

Some right-wing media figures are jumping on board with the Trump administration's newest effort to support MAGA allies despite numerous questions about its legality; a few are voicing light skepticism of the plan.

This week, the Department of Justice announced that the Trump family had agreed to drop a legally questionable $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for the creation of a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the fund's intended recipients are “victims of lawfare and weaponization” by the federal government. Critics of the move are calling the idea a “slush fund,” and The New York Times called the deal “highly unusual” and wrote that the fund is “a pipeline to funnel taxpayer money to President Trump’s allies.”

Some right-wing media figures have been praising the fund, calling it a great idea and complementing Trump for his “patriotic” use of the number 1776 while ignoring the more problematic details of the fund.

Newsmax host Carl Higbie staunchly defended the fund, claiming that Trump has “dropped — he dropped — his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for a $1.776 — 1776 — billion-dollar fund set up for truth and justice compensation for people who were victims of Biden's weaponization of government” and that “Trump and his family will get $0 in exchange for just simply an apology from the IRS and a fund set up for every other person who Biden targeted.”

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From the May 18, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Carl Higbie: Frontline

Fox's Sean Hannity said the Department of Justice “rightly agreed to set aside the patriotic amount of $1.76 billion to settle other claims like this.”

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From the May 19, 2026, edition of Fox News' Hannity

Trump's former co-deputy director of the FBI Dan Bogino praised the fund and the Trump administration on his podcast, saying that “things are happening all over the place, good, positive things.”

Another right-wing podcaster, Vince Coglianese, said on his show that the fund “sounds like justice” and said, “I think it's perfectly wonderful.”

Coglianese also suggested a few people and groups who could benefit from the fund, including anti-abortion activist Mark Houck, other “conservatives who stood outside of abortion mills” and who faced charges, “parents at school board meetings” complaining about curricula and gender-neutral bathrooms who he said were attacked by the FBI and left-wing groups, and “traditional Catholics” who he claimed were targeted by Biden's FBI.

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From the May 19, 2026, edition of VINCEstreamed on Rumble

Greg Kelly took to his Newsmax show to make specific claims about the legal precedent for the fund, stating, “The US government gets sued all the time, and they make settlements. This is not an outlandish arrangement. It actually makes a lot of sense.”

Kelly also claimed that the announcement of the fund came after he sat down with Trump and proposed a “compensation fund for the January 6ers.”

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From the May 19, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports

The DOJ also claims there is precedent for this type of fund, saying it’s similar to the Obama-era "Keepseagle" case. In reality, the fund seems to have little legal basis.

As Mike Masnick wrote for Techdirt, the fund was created as a settlement offer because “Trump needed to drop that lawsuit in order to end it before a judge called bullshit on the fact that he was negotiating with himself to take $10 billion from American taxpayers.”

Masknick also refuted the DOJ claims of legal precedent, writing, “The Keepseagle settlement was approved by a court in response to a class action lawsuit. Here, this fund, is being created in a manner deliberately to avoid having the court review it.”

A New York Times piece reported that “legal experts struggled to make sense of this week’s developments, saying tentatively that it was unlikely anyone could sue to stop the moves.” The article noted nevertheless that the fund’s creation is a “jarring shock to the conventional understanding of the constitutional system.”

Reuters quoted Tax Law Center policy director Brandon DeBot calling the fund a “breathtaking abuse of the tax and legal system" and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) calling it a “slush fund” that represented “a stunning act of corruption.”

Some Republican lawmakers have spoken out against the fund, such as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who said he doesn't “see a purpose” for it, and others seem bothered by the lack of details surrounding where the money might go. “I’ve got more questions than I’ve heard answers for,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

January 6 Capitol Police Officers have sued to block the fund on the grounds that it violates the 14th Amendment's prohibition on using federal funds for “any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”

Even a few right-wing media voices have been lightly skeptical of the move.

On Fox's Special Report, guest anchor Trace Gallagher admitted that “who gets the money and where it comes from is a bit unclear.”

Special Report's reporting on the topic also included clips of Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) asking for clarity on where the money is coming from and “the legality of creating a fund that Congress hasn't had anything to say about.”

The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro touched on the matter, saying on his show, “I'm generally against slush funds, to be clear. I do not like them. I think there are other ways of pursuing redress for grievances in this fashion. However, many of the myths that you're hearing about it are overstated.”

Megyn Kelly said on her podcast about the fund, “I don't like it,” explaining that she'd rather see individual suits. But she also made false correlations between this move and Obama's Keepseagle fund, saying, “This was created by Barack Obama,” and, “The same media that's now ripping Trump to shreds for doing it said nothing, nothing when Barack Obama started it. … So I really have no tolerance for their cries and protestations about what Trump is doing.”

Already, January 6 rioters, election deniers, and Trump allies are lining up for a chance at the taxpayer money.

### True the Vote founder hopes “we will see some level of compensation” from Trump's weaponization fund

05/21/26 11:50 AM EDT

### Enrique Tarrio: “Every J6er needs to be able to get some type of funds” from Trump's weaponization money

05/20/26 5:26 PM EDT

### Newsmax's Greg Kelly defends Trump “weaponization” fund: “This is not an outlandish arrangement”

05/20/26

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How right-wing media helped the Trump administration push a “psyop” against Iran's new supreme leader

At least 40 shows within the right-wing media ecosystem ran with unsubstantiated rumors that the new Iranian ayatollah may be gay

Written by Harrison Ray, Noah Dowe & Reed McMaster

Research contributions from Tyler Monroe

Published 03/27/26

At least 40 shows within the right-wing media ecosystem helped the Trump administration push an unsubstantiated narrative that the new Iranian ayatollah, Mojtaba Khamenei, is gay — a move that Zeteo reports was meant to be a “psyop against their Iranian enemies and the new supreme leader.”

On March 16, the New York Post published an article which claimed that President Donald Trump was told “US intelligence indicates new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei may be gay.” The Post suggested that its sources “say the implausible-sounding allegation is viewed as credible by US spy agencies, rather than false information intended to undermine Khamenei.”

Yet according to a March 27 report from Zeteo, there exists “no credible intel” on Khamenei’s sexuality; rather, “the idea was fabricated and pushed behind the scenes in the past several weeks by a cohort of Trump advisers, US government personnel, and MAGAworld associates.” One source told Zeteo that the administration “wanted to mindfuck [the Iranians] with gay shit,” while another suggested, “It’s some 20-year-old frat boy in the federal government’s idea of a good joke.”

Media Matters found that at least 40 shows within the right-wing media ecosystem — including at least 6 on Fox News, at least 8 on Newsmax, at least 2 on One America News Network, and at least 24 podcasts or radio shows — repeated the administration’s narrative, with some adding their own absurd and bigoted commentary. Following the story's surge of attention on March 16, it has continued to be mentioned daily within the right-wing media sphere as recently as yesterday.

While some within the right-wing media simply highlighted the New York Post story, others added their own takes.

Fox host Greg Gutfeld joked about the rumor on March 16, saying, “Speaking of world leaders, rumors are circulating that the new Iranian supreme leader is gay. They know this because he keeps throwing himself off a building — that’s what they do in Iran.”

Newsmax host Chris Plante made the same joke on his March 17 podcast, saying, “If he became the ayatollah, the first thing he’d have to do as ayatollah is kill himself.” Following a lengthy and graphic fantasy about Khamenei committing suicide, Plante explained, “That’s what they always do when they hang the gay people in Iran, and the Democrats are on the side of the Iranian regime because of their many mental illnesses.”

Referencing the death of the new supreme leader’s father, former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Plante added, “And here’s the headline: Ayatollah disappointed to learn 72 virgins awaiting him in paradise are all women. Oh no, not the women. That is because, you know, it might run in the family, like monkeypox.”

That same day, Daily Wire host Michael Knowles ranted, “The ayatollah might be a homosexual, might be a little light in the loafers. You know what I'm saying? A couple fries away from a Happy Meal. The kind of fella has a long handshake.” While Knowles acknowledged that the story seemed at first “like an op” and “a demoralization tactic from our intelligence services,” he claimed, “There's a little bit of evidence that the ladies are not exactly his type.”

Newsmax host Rob Carson repeated the claim on March 22 and suggested the ayatollah has not been going out in public because “he's been in the closet.” After showing a clip of host Carl Higbie mocking “the Strait of Hormuz and the gay son,” Carson broke out in song, seemingly parodying “It's Raining Men.”

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### Newsmax host discusses a Senate filibuster against the SAVE Act: “This is why people need guns in this country, because a government is willing to go 80% against the country”

03/18/26

March 17, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Carl Higbie: Frontline

CARL HIGBIE (HOST): Alright, for more on the SAVE Act, I want to bring in my friend, CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp. Alright, this is huge that it passed this hurdle. But some people are saying that it's just not going to get anywhere because of the filibuster.

MATT SCHLAPP (GUEST): Yeah. So in the old days they used to have real filibusters. Filibuster means talk a bill to death. And you got to love the Senate, they decided that that would be too much work. So you just have to threaten to talk of bill to death. And that kills the bill. And Mike Lee's saying, hey, that shouldn't work anymore.

HIGBIE: Yeah, no, it's just unbelievable to me. And I — look, I think that they should just blow the filibuster and do this whole thing anyway because it's — like, I say all the time, this is why people need guns in this country, because a government is willing to go 80% against the country. It's unbelievable.

### Newsmax host: “America doesn't even buy oil from Iran, meaning we can walk away any time we want to and declare victory, which is what I think the president should probably do soon”

03/18/26 8:49 AM EDT

### Newsmax host Michael Savage proposes “internment camps” for “homeless bums”

03/17/26 11:47 AM EDT

### After declaring that “we kind of just won the war,” Newsmax's Greg Kelly says that Americans can “handle” higher gas prices

03/17/26

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context divert blame

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airbaGs went off, doors locked auto; bystanders had to pull out; baby lAST, NOT BREATHING MOM MOUTH TO MOUTH; ICE BLOCKED EMT?

NOTE PAWN // PAID PROTESTOR: VICTIM NOT OF STATE THUGS BUT DERSERVE HARM BECAUSE DUMB ENOUGH TO BE MANIPULATED BY EXTREME LEFT LUNATICS?

January 15, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Carl Higbie Frontline

CARL HIGBIE (HOST): And to counter that, though, the liberal media is trying to go out and tell, like the most insane thing — like, here, about this six-month-old who unfortunately got tear gassed by ICE. Well, like, that sucks. But why was the six-month-old, even exposed or near tear gas in the first place? Huh?

I mean, this has become such a problem that people are using their children as political pawns that DHS had to tweet this out. We told you about this other day. Do not bring your baby to a violent riot. The fact that you have to tell someone that — you should be — your kids should be taken away from you. But that baby was exposed to tear gas because the mob — baby was in the mob in a car — the mob was attacking the ICE agents. They didn't aim the tear gas. They weren't like, hey, check out that six month-old. Let me shoot him in the face. Not at all. That's not at all what happened. They were aiming at the crowd where, for some reason, the car with this six month-old was. Now, if the crowd — I don't know. And I'm just spitballing ideas here — If they listened to law enforcement, no one would have gotten shot with tear gas.

Also showing stuff like this. Kids skipping school to protest ICE turns into violent mosh pits and all this stuff. Here the kids are just piling out of classes like, hey, no, no, they should probably not be in class at all. It's just unbelievable. The only reason that kids would protest ICE because they were taught to protest ICE by liberal teachers in Tim Walz's school districts.

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November 24, 2025, edition of Newsmax's Carl Higbie Frontline

CARL HIGBIE (HOST): Folks, don't doubt me on this one. I literally did this in other countries.

But this is just the current lever being pulled. They've been prepping this for 10 years. They've been trying to cast Donald Trump as crazy, unconstitutional or whatever else, trying to create the vulnerability to crack his support. And none of it's true. Here from the manual quote, a vulnerability — it's critical when its exploitation will significantly influence the threat's ability, the threat being Trump — ability to conduct support or operations; operations in this case, meaning carefully convinced young service members that striking a drug boat in international waters might be an illegal order without saying it, because it's not.

Oh, Carl, the military can't — the CIA can't actually be using a psy-ops campaign on the American people. You bet they can.

You ever heard of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948? This actually prohibited the US government from disseminating government-funded propaganda or psychological operations materials on American citizens. Well, the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, which was incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, signed by president, then Barack Obama, changed that. Specifically, section 1078 — got the receipts, folks. The primary goal was to remove limits to the United States government's ability to counter foreign propaganda. This basically showed the government the ability to influence US public opinion. I mean, don't even get me started on the Patriot Act and how it allowed it to spy on all Americans, but whatever.

So think about this.

If your opinion has gone negative of Trump, especially in the last few weeks, folks, you are likely a victim of a massive psy-ops.

:{:{Trump hasn't changed in the last three weeks. Your opinion might have because of the psy-ops funneled through all these liberal medias because they're the easiest to convince to toe this line because they hate Donald Trump. That's their vulnerability that I just told you about to exploit by people like these six Democrats. They did this with Russian collusion. Hillary Clinton had them open an investigation to legitimize just the claim of it. And after $50 million dollars, they found nothing. They knew there never was anything, that wasn't the point. }:

The point was to convince half the country before an election it was, though. Hunter Biden's laptop, with the 51 former officials saying that it's Russian disinformation. With the Trump very fine people comment where they literally tried to erase the other half of his sentence that said, quote, and I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis. They should be condemned totally. Covid, oh, and the power grab that followed that as a response. That was a test to see how far they could go and what they could get away with. These are all psy-ops on the American people, straight out — literally verbatim out of the Army field manual.}:

This illegal order campaign that they're running, no different. That is why they need to recall these people to active duty and court martial them for sedition, because the US government right now, via those six Democrats, is treating American citizens like our own enemy combatants.

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November 17, 2025, edition of Newsmax's Frontline with Carl Higbie

CARL HIGBIE (HOST): U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issuing a special message to our country on immigration.

First of all, stay in your lane, guys. This is why we separated the church and the state. After all, the church loves not paying taxes. Second, isn't the Vatican literally protected by wall — oh yes, it is. It has walls all the way around it. Big ones at that. Do you want our country to be open up to everyone? I tell you what, lead by example. You tear down your walls. I mean, why not? Matter of fact, how many immigrants are you offering to house in your churches or even your own home? A few have done it, but not in the rectory. Brianna Lyman, election correspondent at The Federalist, and David Medina, founder of Project Libertas. Brianna?

BRIANNA LYMAN (GUEST): You know, Carl, first and foremost, they're not actually upset or concerned with immigration. They're upset about the fact that President Trump's administration took away all their funding that they got under Biden.

Second of all, it's a little disingenuous for these Catholic bishops to come out and talk about humanity. They say nothing when abortion is running rampant in this country. But they're so-called devout Catholics, aren't they? They said nothing when devout Catholic Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi were over here encouraging abortions and Planned Parenthood, but they speak up as soon as their funding gets threatened.

HIGBIE: That's actually an excellent point.

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The split in the right over SNAP and food stamps: Some attack the program and its recipients, while others try to use cuts as a cudgel against Democrats

Written by Jason Campbell

Research contributions from Helena Hind & Jane Lee

Published 10/29/25

The 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will not receive assistance in November, and some right-wing media are using the opportunity to attack the program and its recipients while others are using SNAP recipients as a cudgel against Democrats.

The $8 billion in congressional appropriations for the benefits, known as food stamps, lapsed with the October 1 government shutdown, and there is no indication that Congress will appropriate funds for the program. The Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, has further said it will not shift funds around to keep the program operational despite SNAP having having some contingency funds available and the department's own "shutdown-funding plan," which was struck from its own website, that indicated emergency funds could be used.

About 1 in 8 Americans rely on SNAP benefits, receiving an average of $187 a month in food aid. The vast majority of households which receive SNAP benefits include children, an elderly person, or someone with a disability.

Right-wing pundits are calling the program too generous, with some attacking recipients — who now are also being attacked online with fake racist AI-generated videos.

The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh: “If you look at what food stamp recipients are saying in their own words ... you come away with the impression that many of these people are simply entitled, lazy, barely literate, and, like, some of them are just frankly bad people."

While discussing SNAP benefits, Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt denied that there is food insecurity in the U.S. and asked, “Why is it that we are subsidizing food for people that weigh 300 pounds?” He also said, “The entitlement of the people on these programs is through the roof."

Podcaster Steven Crowder insulted SNAP recipients in some pretty ugly ways typical of his program.

While discussing SNAP, Newsmax host Carl Higbie said that “our welfare programs are out of hand” and “these programs should definitely sunset."

The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro: “It is insane that there are 42 million Americans on food stamps. That is a wild statistic. And the amount of government dependency in this country is just way too high, period. But they are, in fact, dependent on food stamps."

While some right-wing pundits are claiming that too many people are receiving SNAP benefits, others are arguing that SNAP is an essential benefit and blaming Democrats for taking it away.

Fox & Friends host Ainsley Eardhardt said if Democrats “really care about families, and people in need, and people who can’t afford to go to the grocery store, then open up the government."

Turning Point USA’s Alex Clark posted, “So when people claim they’re starving and have no food remember it was the democrats, not Trump, who did this to you."

And Fox anchor Harris Faulkner said that “we have food insecurity in this country” and blamed Democrats for keeping the government shut down.

During the Obama administration, many right-wing media pundits attacked the SNAP program, often calling for it to be discontinued, while others attacked food assistance recipients.

The gleeful enthusiasm with which some right-wing media personalities suggest food should be taken away from their fellow countrymen is truly disturbing — and ultimately in line with the cruelty which defines so much of the MAGA movement.

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Matt Walsh: “We need drug testing and weight testing for anyone receiving SNAP”

:{10/29/25

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October 20, 2025, edition of Newsmax's Carl Higbie Frontline

CARL HIGBIE (HOST): Now here's another one. Mamdani. OK, this guy is at it again. I know, right? We got to deal with him here. You're 3000 miles away and probably a worse place -- but campaigning with this imam who turns out this guy -- and people, we've known this for a while. He's got a guy who is linked to the World Trade Center attacks in 93, but he's also got this imam that's like super anti-gay. He's calling him filthy and sick and all this stuff. This is a Democrat?

SAVAGE: I was in a lawsuit many years ago with one of those groups, and it was not very pretty what we found out. I mean, look, I have thought from the beginning, and I certainly don't have the proof, but the earmarks are there, that this Mamdani is a front for the Muslim Brotherhood --

HIGBIE: Could be.

SAVAGE: It's another footstep into America by the Muslim Brotherhood. You face them in Iraq with machine guns or automatic weapons or whatever you had. This guy is going to be much worse than the one who took over London, if this smiling fraud is allowed to win --

HIGBIE: But here's the thing, Michael --

SAVAGE: And he can be stopped.

HIGBIE: You've got Curtis Sliwa, OK, who's a Republican. I'd love him to win. But he gets endorsed by Rudy Giuliani. The problem is you got Cuomo in there. That's like, in a plurality, this guy's going to win, Mamdani.

SAVAGE: There's a good saying that I learned years ago - do you want to be right or do you want to be smart? That's what I try to say online to the supporters of the Sliwa voters. I watched the debate from the beginning to the end I thought Sliwa was great, I thought he did a great job. But he has no management experience. He could never manage a budget of the size of New York. So that leaves us with one choice only, and that is the corrupt old guard Democrat type of machine politician Cuomo. But at least when guys like Cuomo, when his father ran New York, my mother could walk to the corner grocery store, God bless her soul --

HIGBIE: Didn't have to worry.

SAVAGE: At midnight and buy a loaf of bread. We want that old Democrat machine. The Cuomo machine would be safer for women than anyone else in the city, even though he's just a corrupt old Democrat politician.

HIGBIE: Yep.

NEW

GGL 10 25

Carl Higbie

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Carl_Higbie

Carlton Milo Higbie IV (born April 23, 1983) is an American conservative political activist, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL. He was director of advocacy ...

carl higbie from en.wikipedia.org

SOME TALK

Carlton Milo Higbie IV (born April 23, 1983) is an American conservative political activist, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL. He was director of advocacy for America First Policies,^[1] a group that promotes Donald Trump's policy agenda.^[2] In August 2017, Higbie was selected to serve as the chief of external affairs for the Corporation for National and Community Service, resigning several months later after his comments denigrating minorities were discovered by media. He served as a spokesperson for Great America PAC, which supported Trump's 2016 presidential candidacy and assisted his transition into office.

In April 2023, Newsmax began airing Carl Higbie Frontline, a daily program hosted by Higbie.^[3]

Higbie served in the U.S. Navy from 2005 to 2012. He served two tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, reaching the rank of Special Warfare Operator, First Class. He has written two books about his experiences, and has regularly appeared as a commentator on Fox News, CNN, and Newsmax.

On February 5, 2024, he and two other people filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York challenging New York's laws that ban non-residents from bringing and publicly carrying firearms in the state.^[4][5]

Early and personal life

Higbie was born on April 23, 1983, in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[6] After graduating Greenwich High School, he attended college at Sacred Heart University before dropping out to join the military as troops were being deployed to Iraq.^[7] During his show on October 17, 2024, Higbie revealed that he has ADD, better known as ADHD.[citation ^needed]

Military service

Higbie enlisted in the United States Navy and became a SEAL in 2005,^[8] ultimately reaching the rating of Special Warfare Operator, First Class.^[9] He was twice deployed to Iraq to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom,^[8] once each under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Higbie is the author a self-published book titled Battle on the Home Front: A Navy SEAL's Mission to Save the American Dream in 2012,^[10] after which his security clearance was downgraded from "top secret."^[9] He signed out of the SEALs before the end of his term of duty with an honorable discharge. Some two months later, the Navy downgraded his discharge to "general."^[9] However, upon appeal his Honorable Discharge was restored. A second book, Enemies, Foreign and Domestic: A SEAL's Story, was published by Post Hill Press in 2016.^[11]

Congressional campaign

:{:{In 2014, Higbie announced that he was running to be the Republican Party nominee to challenge Democrat Jim Himes in Connecticut's 4th congressional district, declaring himself to not be "bound by the same conformist rules that most Republicans are bound by."^[7] At the time, Higbie was working as a personal trainer at Equinox in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[12] The other Republican candidates were former State Senator Dan Debicella^[13] and State Representative John Shaban.^[14] Higbie described himself as a social conservative with "moral oppositions to abortions and same-sex marriage, but my legislative position is live and let live," and stated that he would vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act.^[7] }:

On economic issues, Higbie supported "a balanced budget amendment and an across-the-board personal income tax rate of 10 percent, with a maximum annual deduction of $50,000," and he favored eliminating corporate taxes to attract overseas businesses.^[7] Higbie had difficulty with fundraising during his candidacy, and sought to force a primary election if he were not endorsed as the candidate.^[15] Debicella won the nomination overwhelmingly, with support from 195 of the 210 delegates,^[16] but lost the general election to the incumbent, Jim Himes, who won with 53.7% of the vote.^[17]}:

Great America PAC

Higbie is a spokesman for Great America PAC, an independent-expenditure only political action committee (Super PAC) which advocates for Donald Trump. In this capacity, he has acted as a Trump surrogate,^[18] appearing on news networks including Fox News and CNN. Higbie has discussed a variety of topics including the war in Iraq,^[19] the composition of the Trump transition team,^[20] the controversy relating to Khizr Khan's appearance at the Democratic National Convention,^[21] the proposal for a registry of Muslim immigrants,^[22] and the National Policy Institute conference.^[23]

Iraq

In a CNN interview with retired-Major General Paul Eaton and Chris Cuomo, Higbie was critical of the use of air power and drone strikes by the Obama administration and argued in support of Trump's promise to address problems in Iraq with "boots on the ground."^[19] He was also critical of Eaton, who was the U.S. Army Chief of Infantry and then the Commanding General of the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team in Iraq (2003–2004),^[24] stating that the leadership "[Eaton's] articulated here today is not conducive to winning a war."^[19]

Trump transition team

During the transition following the 2016 presidential election, Higbie defended Steve Bannon from accusations of anti-Semitism, misogyny, and racism.^[20] Of Bannon's appointment as chief strategist to President-elect Trump, Higbie said: "Steve Bannon has excelled in every single role he has held dating back to his service in the US Navy. I cannot imagine a better person to be advising an already successful businessman taking on the biggest business in the world, the US Government."^[20]

Television

Higbie started hosting Saturday Report on Newsmax TV in 2020 and has also filled in as guest host for other Newsmax hosts. In 2022 he quit Saturday Report to host Wake Up America Weekend. In April 2023 he got his own nightly show Carl Higbie Frontline airing at 5PM ET, replacing Spicer & Co. after Sean Spicer's departure from Newsmax.^[25] In September 2025 Newsmax announced Carl Higbie Frontline would air at 6PM ET.

Controversy

Registry of Muslims

In an interview with Megyn Kelly of Fox News,^[20] Higbie cited the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the associated Supreme Court decision in Korematsu v. United States as providing legal justification for Trump's campaign promise of a registry for Muslim Americans.^[26] Higbie repeated his comments on CNN to Erin Burnett the following day.^[18] Kelly replied that Higbie "knows better" than to make such suggestions, as they scare people.^[27] Kelly met Higbie's further assertion that he was only noting "there was precedent for it" with the declaration: "You can't be citing Japanese internment camps for anything the President-elect is going to do."^[27] Trump's transition team later issued a statement to the Huffington Post that denied that Trump supported a Muslim registry,^[28] though he had made comments supporting such an idea in 2015.^[29][30]

George Takei, who was detained in one of the World War II internment camps, described Higbie's comments as "dangerous"^[31] and went on to say that "[r]egistration of any group of people, and certainly registration of Muslims, is a prelude to internment."^[28] Higbie's comments attracted media criticism,^[22] and Representative Judy Chu (D–CA), the first Chinese American woman elected to the U.S. Congress,^[32] declared that "[a]ny proposal to force American Muslims to register with the federal government, and to use Japanese imprisonment during World War II as precedent, is abhorrent and has no place in our society. These ideas are based on tactics of fear, division, and hate that we must condemn."^[29] Constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein addressed Higbie's suggestion that Korematsu could be used to support a Muslim registry, describing the case as having "joined Dred Scott as an odious and discredited artifact of popular bigotry"^[33] even though it has never been overturned.^[34] Harvard University's Noah Feldman concurred, declaring that "Korematsu's uniquely bad legal status means it's not precedent even though it hasn't been overturned."^[35]

Corporation for National and Community Service resignation

In 2018, Higbie was forced to resign as the Chief of External Affairs for the Corporation for National and Community Service (an organization which runs AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, Senior Corps, and other national service initiatives), a position to which Trump had appointed him. His ousting occurred after CNN discovered Higbie's racist and inflammatory remarks (on a 2013 radio talk show) about Black Americans, Muslims, women, LGBT people, veterans suffering from PTSD, welfare recipients, and immigrants, which included suggesting withdrawing the right to vote from welfare recipients, and advocating free rein for all to go and shoot undocumented immigrants at the southern USA border.^[36][37] Higbie had also repeatedly stated his belief that Barack Obama is Muslim and not a U.S. citizen.^[36]

In a 2018 tweet, Higbie apologized for his comments,^[36] though later that year he maintained his statements had been taken out of context.^[38]

References

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Carl Higbie

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1.1K+ likes · 2 days ago

carlhigbie

Instagram

I’m thinking about starting a non profit with the SOLE purpose of buying pre-workout supplements for @DHSgov ICE agents to take before their shift.

390+ likes ·

2 days ago

CarlHigbie

1.6K+ reactions · 2 days ago

Carl Higbie

Facebook

1.2K+ likes · 2 days ago

carlhigbie

Instagram

0:33

Livin the farm life

1.5K+ likes · 2 days ago

carlhigbie

Instagram

Not going away

960+ likes · 2 days ago

carlhigbie

Instagram

Quick reminder:

The Epstein questions are not going away.

Still gonna need that list

350+ likes ·

2 days ago

CarlHigbie

3:24

They got me with the “buy a rock prank”

1.1K+ likes · 3 days ago

carlhigbie

Instagram

Carl Higbie (@CarlHigbie) / X

X · CarlHigbie

198.2K+ followers

Host @NEWSMAX "Carl Higbie Frontline” M-F 6pm EST. Flag waving, meat eating, gun toting, unapologetic #NavySEAL. Bad speller. “Be someone worth dying for”

carl higbie from x.com

Carl Higbie

Facebook · Carl Higbie

47.8K+ followers

Carl Higbie. 47364 likes · 14946 talking about this. Host of FRONTLINE in Newsmax, 5pm Mon-Fri.

carl higbie from www.facebook.com

Carl Higbie (@carlhigbie) • Instagram photos and videos

Instagram · carlhigbie

221.3K+ followers

Host; @NEWSMAX "Carl Higbie Frontline” M-F, 6 pm. You can't out America me! Husband, Dad, Navy SEAL. · Livin the farm life · Photo by Carl Higbie on October 11, ...

Carl Higbie: books, biography, latest update

Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com › Carl-Higbie

Carl Higbie was born in April of 1983 and lived in southwestern Connecticut. He is one of those men who has given so much and expected very little.

Newsmax: Carl Higbie to Lead Key 6:00 PM Hour

Newsmax

https://ir.newsmax.com › news › news-details › Newsma...

Sep 8, 2025 — Former U.S. Navy SEAL and seasoned political commentator Carl Higbie has been a dynamic presence at Newsmax since launching Carl Higbie ...

Carl Higbie Frontline (TV Series 2023– )

IMDb

https://www.imdb.com › title

Carl Higbie Frontline focuses on providing common sense news analysis, exposing big government overreach and the media's shortfalls.

6.9/10(52)

Carl Higbie FRONTLINE

YouTube · Newsmax

2.5M+ followers

Carl Higbie provides common-sense news analysis, exposing big government overreach and the media's shortfalls — all while always fighting for American values ...

Live News | Videos - Carl Higbie Frontline

Newsmax TV

https://www.newsmaxtv.com › Shows › Carl-Higbie-FRO...

Carl Higbie Frontline focuses on providing commonsense news analysis, exposing big government overreach and the media's shortfalls.

Carl Higbie

Tactical 16 Publishing

https://tactical16.com › carl-higbie

The Crisis of Culture: The Political Battlefield of the New Civil War. Crisis of Culture by Carl Higbie. Tactical 16 Publishing. Buy Now on Bookshop.org ...

carl higbie from tactical16.com

Books

Profiles in Freedom: Heroes Who Shaped America with a Foreword by Senator Markwayne Mullin

2024

Enemies, Foreign and Domestic: A SEAL's Story

2016

Battle on the Home Front: A Navy SEAL's Mission to Save the American Dream

2012

Crisis of Culture: The Political Battlefield of the New Civil War

2018

Be a Man: Mentally Tough, Physically Strong, Morally Straight, and Financially Independent

2026

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10 25

Carl Higbie FRONTLINE

by Newsmax

Playlist

•

1,042 videos

•

144,787 views

Carl Higbie provides common-sense news analysis, exposing big government overreach and the media's shortfalls — all while always fighting for American values on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE," weeknights at 5 PM ET, only on NEWSMAX.

...more

Videos

Shorts