Guests - Ava Chen, Richard Battle, Elijah Norton

GNC: The CCP's Covert Presence on US Military Bases

China's Strategic Infiltration Through Nutrition Retailers

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has established a direct presence on U.S. military bases through GNC, the national nutrition retailer now fully owned by a Chinese state entity. While Congress focuses on banning China from buying land near military installations, the CCP already operates 85 stores directly on military bases across America, including four at Fort Bragg alone.

"GNC is not just a vitamin store," explains Ava Chen from the New Federal State of China. "This is a sinister plot by the Chinese Communist Party."

The concerning acquisition began in 2018 when Harbin Pharmaceutical, a Chinese state-owned company, purchased a 40% stake in GNC. By 2020, when GNC filed for bankruptcy, Harbin acquired full ownership in a $770 million deal, despite national security concerns raised by then-Senator Marco Rubio.

What makes this particularly alarming is the strategic value of monitoring U.S. military personnel. Fort Bragg, which hosts four GNC stores, is home to approximately 50,000 active service members, including the U.S. Army Airborne Forces, Special Operations Command, and other elite units.

"The CCP could be tracking and monitoring the health condition of your combat troops and your most elite class," Chen warns. "GNC isn't just selling vitamins—they're collecting customer purchase data from service members and their families."

The company did not disclose its Chinese ownership on its website and allowed its registration to expire in October 2024. Despite these red flags, GNC continues to operate on military bases under long-term concessions contracts, meaning these stores are operated, staffed, and supplied directly by the CCP-owned entity.

Timeline of Infiltration and National Security Failures

This infiltration follows a pattern identified by whistleblower Miles Guo, who in October 2017 exposed the CCP's "3F plan" targeting America: "weakening, chaos, and eventual destruction of the United States." Guo also warned about the CCP's bioweapon program, predicting devastating consequences that would be "thousands of times worse than 9/11."

The GNC acquisition occurred shortly after these warnings. By 2019, COVID-19 emerged from China, and in 2020, Harbin Pharmaceuticals completed its takeover of GNC while the world was distracted by the pandemic.

The Senate hearing on this issue revealed that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CIFAS) repeatedly failed to block problematic acquisitions. Even when Senator Rubio raised alarms and wrote to then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urging a national security review of the GNC purchase, the sale proceeded.

This pattern extends beyond GNC. In 2016, CIFAS approved a Chinese aviation corporation with military links to purchase an American maker of anti-vibration technology with military applications. In 2022, another Chinese military-linked company received approval to acquire technology that could enhance missile capabilities.

"This is consistent failure," Chen emphasizes. "The CCP alone cannot do damage to you without traitors inside helping them. This is a real wake-up call for Americans."

Military Installation Retail Security Act

In response to these concerns, Congressman Pat Harrigan from North Carolina has introduced the Military Installation Retail Security Act of 2025, which would ban companies from China, North Korea, Iran, or Russia from owning or operating businesses on U.S. military installations.

"We were worried about something, and it's already happened," notes Kathleen Winn. "Here it is, 2025—five years after the acquisition—how much data and information do they currently have on our military?"

The most immediate question is what can be done now that this foreign adversary has established operations directly on military soil. Will GNC be forced to divest, or will these stores simply be shut down? The challenge lies in ensuring that any new owner isn't another CCP proxy operating through complex offshore structures.

China's Broader Strategy Against America

The GNC situation represents just one aspect of China's comprehensive strategy against the United States, which includes economic warfare, media manipulation, information operations, and political infiltration.

"The highest they think they can achieve is by winning without fighting, without a shooting war," Chen explains. "They want to be crystal clear about your combat power and your military capability."

This connects to other concerning patterns, such as China's donation of COVID-19 vaccines to military forces in Southeast Asian and African nations in 2021. "The CCP was hoping those nations would mandate their military to inject those shots, which would take out either completely or knock off at least half of their combat power," Chen reveals.

With GNC now operating 4,000 stores across the U.S. and 2,000 internationally, the scale of potential intelligence gathering extends far beyond military installations. As Chen warns: "You are transparent to them. They know everything you're doing internally."

The Path Forward: Vigilance and Accountability

The ultimate question remains: How did this happen, and who allowed it? The evidence points to potential compromise at the highest levels of American government.

"How many of our elected officials are currently compromised? The CCP has their tentacles into our elected officials," Winn observes. "This doesn't happen unless people vote for it, allow it, and don't stand in the way of it."

Chen calls for American citizens to hold their representatives accountable and ask difficult questions: "Who pushed these acquisition decisions? What was the discussion on the review committee? Was any individual under duress or blackmail from the CCP?"

The New Federal State of China offers "three F solutions" to counter the CCP's strategy: Follow the money, follow compromising information, and follow the New Federal State of China's intelligence.

"The Chinese people are going to take down the CCP regardless of what you do," Chen concludes. "American people, if you don't join this fight, you will lose your freedom and you will be governed by a communist regime that is well-positioned inside your own country."

Tariffs and Trade Balance: Economic Security for America

Understanding America's Trade Deficit

Richard Battle, author of "Made in America by Americans, not Americans," explains the importance of tariffs in addressing America's trade imbalance with countries like China.

"Let's say we spend $100 to buy goods from China. China only spends $5 or $10 to buy goods from us," Battle illustrates. "Over time, that means we send more dollars to China, which strengthens their economy and weakens ours."

This trade deficit impacts more than just economics—it affects national security. "If you look back, the thing that saved us in World War II was that we were the arsenal of democracy. It was our manufacturing that supplied the world, and we cannot do that today," Battle notes.

The recent tariff increases announced by the Trump administration represent an attempt to rectify these imbalances. Battle reminds listeners that for most of American history, tariffs—not income taxes—were the primary revenue source for the federal government.

"Unlike the 1930s Smoot-Hawley tariffs, we now are in a much better position because of the negative trade balance we're in. We can use those tariffs as leverage to renegotiate our trade deals around the globe," Battle explains.

Embracing Positive Change Through Discomfort

Battle describes the current economic shifts as "deliberate discomfort" or "the strategic deployment of calculated chaos to forge stronger outcomes." This approach differs from the unpredictable chaos of previous years.

"The only thing certain in our lives is change. And the better we can anticipate it, recognize it as quickly as possible, and adapt to it, the better we will be able to prosper from it," Battle advises.

He cites numerous examples throughout American history where technological disruption initially caused discomfort but ultimately led to growth and progress—from the transition from horses to automobiles to the development of computers and modern telecommunications.

"Our whole country, since our founding and with our free enterprise system and the liberties we've had to do what we want with our lives—we create discomfort. That's how we get technological innovation," Battle says.

The key distinction is between chaotic, directionless change and strategic, calculated change with clear goals. Battle urges Americans to embrace the latter: "If we hunker down and don't change, then we're basically sentencing ourselves to no better life than we have right now. If we want something better, we have to prepare, do more, and grow with those changes."

Taxpayer Respect and American Renewal

Battle highlights that throughout his lifetime, the government has shown little respect for taxpayers, instead focusing only on those receiving tax dollars. The current administration's efforts to reduce government spending and prioritize taxpayer interests represent a potential turning point.

"It was World War II that changed the game because that's when they instituted a withholding tax to raise money for the war and 100% of the people started paying income tax," Battle explains. "When the war was over and they cut spending for defense, all of a sudden the coffers in Washington overflowed and the politicians said, 'What do we do with all this money? Do we send it back to the taxpayers?' And one of the politicians said, 'Well, nobody's asking for it. So I guess they want us to spend it.'"

This mentality has dominated for decades, with little accountability to taxpayers. "During my lifetime, there's never been any respect, and they always want us to sacrifice and suffer. So Washington never has to sacrifice and suffer," Battle notes.

The current focus on "making America great again" isn't about claiming superiority, Battle explains, but about restoring America's focus on self-improvement rather than integrating into global governance structures. "He recognizes and respects individual sovereignty of those nations, and we're all better off when governments deliver closer to us versus being delivered further away from a much bigger bureaucracy."

Arizona Insurance Regulation at Risk

Barbara Richardson's Controversial Nomination

Elijah Norton, an Arizona insurance business owner, is sounding alarms about Governor Katie Hobbs' nominee for Director of the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI), Barbara Richardson.

Richardson, who previously served as Nevada Insurance Commissioner, has been acting as the de facto director of DIFI without Senate confirmation for nearly two years. Hobbs initially attempted to bypass the constitutional confirmation process by creating "cabinet executive officer" positions, but eventually capitulated after legal challenges.

Norton's firsthand experience with Richardson dates back to his dealings with the Nevada Department of Insurance. When he challenged a bureaucrat who was demanding arbitrary changes to insurance forms without legal basis, Norton found himself banned from contacting the department.

"The mere fact that this insurance commissioner was allowing bureaucrats to essentially make laws on the fly, and then banning someone from calling in just because they were not capitulating to what the bureaucrat wants, is extremely alarming," Norton states.

Questionable Regulatory Practices

In her Arizona Senate confirmation hearing, Richardson faced tough questioning about her regulatory approach. Senators discovered she had been implementing rules through the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing (SERF) without going through Arizona's required Governor's Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) process.

"She bypassed the GRRC process using this SERF system and was putting all these onerous regulations on insurance companies," Norton explains.

Under Richardson's leadership, licensing times for insurance agents have increased from 2-5 days to approximately 30 days, creating hardships for the 18,000 insurance agents in Arizona, many of whom are small business owners.

DEI in Insurance Premiums

Perhaps most concerning, Richardson served on two working groups of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners focused on "diversity, equity and inclusion" in insurance. According to Norton, one group was studying the implementation of race-based premium rates.

"They had this entire race-based premium thing that they were trying to analyze whether it was feasible from an insurance standpoint," Norton explains. "That is totally contrary to the spirit of insurance, which is a colorblind business. Banking and insurance are colorblind—it's supposed to be everyone is equal."

When questioned about her involvement, Richardson reportedly downplayed her role, claiming she "was just there eating breakfast." However, she was listed as a director of the committee.

Potential Impact on Arizona's Insurance Market

Norton warns that Richardson's confirmation could lead to higher premiums and insurance company exodus, similar to what happened in California under poor regulation.

"Arizona has some of the best pro-business insurance regulations in the country, and I would actually argue the world," Norton states. With Richardson at the helm, "You're going to have lower options, higher premiums, and it's going to be absolutely terrible for Arizona."

Norton urges citizens to contact Republican senators on the confirmation committee—Jake Hoffman, John Kavanaugh, and TJ Schope—to express opposition to Richardson's nomination before the final hearing.