It was one of those moments you don't forget.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of joining a broadcast aboard the USS Intrepid. As classic warbirds took to the skies—followed and preceded by the most lethal fighting aircraft ever built—the entire spectacle spoke to me.

Our ability to design the F/A-18, the F-22, and the F-35, launch them from sea and land, and watch them perform with breathtaking precision is one of the chief reasons evil tyrants around the globe think twice before testing America.

The fact that we use such innovation and overwhelming power in defense of freedom—and not for conquest—is a testament to both American military strength and American restraint.

But it also made me ask a different question.

How do we stay ahead of the rest of the world? How do we preserve that freedom not just for today, but for the next 50 or 100 years?

I believe a significant part of President Trump’s strategy answers that question in two words:

Not energy independence.

There’s a difference. Independence means meeting your own needs. Dominance means having so much energy that you shape the future for everyone else. President Trump understands that energy has become the world’s most valuable currency.

This weekend, the Marxist mayor of New York City was telling residents to keep their thermostats set at 78 degrees because, supposedly,........

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