U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., is warning that the political battles over anti-Israel activism on college campuses and the rapid buildout of artificial intelligence data centers are being shaped by foreign influence operations, casting the fight as an existential struggle to preserve Western civilization.
In an exclusive interview, Fine said he believes Iran and China have spent decades working to manipulate American public opinion, and that those efforts have accelerated since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. He pointed to what he described as massive amounts of foreign money flowing into social media to distort the debate.
«I think it's a focused effort over many decades to try to pollute our population with these ridiculous ideas,» Fine said. «But I think it's accelerated since Oct. 7 as massive amounts of foreign money have come in to try and manipulate public opinion through social media.»
Fine argued that the reaction to Israel's military campaign is inconsistent with the international community's silence on other conflicts. He claimed Iran killed 40,000 of its own people earlier this year, yet those who criticize Israel are effectively siding with Tehran. «The good news is the vast majority of the American people understand that the United States and Israel are fighting to save Western civilization,» he said.
The Florida Republican also defended Robert Kraft's decision to cancel Macklemore's stadium tour dates, rejecting the characterization of the move as «conservative cancel culture.» Fine said the rapper's criticism of Israel crosses into antisemitism, comparing it to racism, and argued that private venue owners have every right to refuse a performer.
«He didn't want a guy who puts a prosthetic nose on his face, in order to appear to be a Nazi, performing in his stadium,» Fine said. «He has every right to say that is not welcome.»
Fine drew a distinction between being denied a platform and being unable to function in society, saying cancel culture occurs when someone is debanked or cannot exist. He said he supports Kraft's decision and wants to see more private citizens exercise similar judgment.
On the campus protests that have roiled universities over the past year, Fine said the line is crossed when Jewish students cannot attend class or walk across campus safely. He recalled encountering «free Palestine» demonstrators when he was in college three decades ago, but said they did not disrupt his ability to be a student.
«Every student has the right to get an education,» Fine said. «When Jewish students are not able to come to class, when they're not able to walk across campus, when they're blamed for the actions of a country on the other side of the world, that is where you've crossed a line.»
Fine, who describes himself as «MAGA through and through,» said he was the first member of the Florida House to support President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. He called himself a «warrior and a soldier» for the president's agenda and said Trump is «putting his fingers in the dam of the destruction of Western civilization.»
Turning to artificial intelligence, Fine warned that China is using domestic opposition to data centers to gain a geopolitical advantage. He said the 21st century will be defined by who wins the war over AI, which he breaks into four fronts: hardware, software, energy infrastructure and compute.
While the United States leads in hardware and software, Fine said China has the advantage in energy because it continues to build coal-fired power plants while the U.S. moves toward solar and wind. He argued that cheap, plentiful energy is critical to powering the data centers needed for AI tools like ChatGPT, Grok and Claude.
«I think it's largely an op by China,» Fine said of the domestic backlash against data centers. «If you want to use Grok, if you want to use ChatGPT, if you want to use Claude and you type that stuff in, something needs to be doing the thinking.»
Fine's remarks come as AI regulation emerges as a major issue heading into the midterm elections and as opposition to data centers has grown in communities across the country. He framed the debate as part of a broader contest with Beijing, warning that losing the AI race would have consequences for American security and prosperity.
The congressman's comments reflect a growing push among some Republicans to link domestic political disputes to foreign adversaries, particularly China and Iran. Fine has positioned himself as one of the most vocal foreign policy voices in Congress during his short tenure, and he shows no signs of softening his approach.
«I'm here to be a warrior and a soldier for President Trump's agenda,» Fine said, «and I've been proud to do it since I got elected.»