Donald Trump got one piece of bad news about this American hostage that no President wants to hear

President Trump’s America First foreign policy means American safety comes first.

But terrorists just threw down a challenge Trump can’t ignore.

And Donald Trump got one piece of bad news about this American hostage that no President wants to hear.

ISIS terrorists strike in the heart of Niger’s capital

American missionary Kevin Rideout was kidnapped Tuesday night from his home in Niamey, Niger’s capital — just 100 yards from the presidential palace where ousted President Mohamed Bazoum has been held captive since the 2023 military coup.¹

Three armed men neutralized Rideout’s security guard before seizing the missionary pilot who has served in Niger since 2010 with Serving in Mission, training aviation pilots for evangelical, medical, and humanitarian operations across the Sahel.²

U.S. officials told Fox News they suspect Rideout has already been moved north to Islamic State-controlled territory where ISIS in the Greater Sahara operates.³

The kidnapper’s phone was tracked less than an hour after the abduction to a location 56 miles north of Niamey — an area security sources describe as "a sanctuary for groups affiliated with the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara."⁴

Biden’s withdrawal created this disaster

This kidnapping exposes the catastrophic consequences of Joe Biden’s decision to abandon America’s counter-terrorism partnerships in West Africa.

The U.S. military completed its withdrawal from Niger in September 2024 after the military junta that seized power in July 2023 demanded American forces leave.⁵

For over a decade, roughly 1,100 U.S. troops operated two drone bases in Niger that were critical for monitoring and responding to ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorism across the Sahel region.

Biden frittered away America’s intelligence capabilities and left missionaries like Rideout defenseless against the terrorists we had been keeping in check.

The timing of this kidnapping isn’t coincidental.

Terrorists know America can no longer monitor their movements from drone bases or conduct rapid response operations to rescue hostages.

Niger has become the epicenter of global terrorism since Western forces withdrew.

The Sahel now accounts for 51% of all terrorism-related deaths worldwide — up from 48% just last year.⁶

Trump Administration mobilizes rescue operation

The State Department confirmed it’s working with local authorities on Rideout’s rescue after being alerted to the situation.

"It is a top priority for the Trump Administration to look after the safety of every American, and we are seeing efforts from across the U.S. Government to support the recovery and safe return of this U.S. citizen," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News.⁷

The U.S. Embassy in Niger immediately tightened security protocols, requiring all American personnel to travel only in armored vehicles and declaring all restaurants and open-air markets "off-limits."⁸

This marks a surge in kidnappings of Westerners in Niger during 2025.

An Austrian woman was kidnapped in January, a Swiss citizen in April, five Indian technicians in April, and four Moroccan drivers who were held captive for eight months before their release in August.⁹

President Trump has made rescuing American hostages a hallmark of his foreign policy, securing the release of dozens of Americans held captive worldwide.

Trump brokered the temporary Gaza ceasefire that freed American hostages — a deal Biden couldn’t deliver after four years of failure.

The Trump Administration helped Pakistani authorities arrest and extradite the ISIS terrorist who orchestrated the deadly Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 American service members.

Trump designated deadly drug cartels and transnational gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, giving law enforcement unprecedented tools to protect Americans.

ISIS fills the vacuum Biden created

The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara exploits the governance vacuum left by military coups in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso — all countries that expelled Western forces after juntas seized power.¹⁰

These terrorist networks finance operations through ransom kidnappings, illicit gold mining, and drug trafficking, with the Sahel now serving as a major cocaine smuggling route from South America to Europe.¹¹

Niger’s junta expelled 1,500 French troops by December 2023 and ordered remaining American forces out in March 2024 after more than a decade of counter-terrorism cooperation.¹²

Russian mercenaries from the Africa Corps — formerly the Wagner Group — moved in to fill the void, but they’re focused on extracting minerals rather than fighting terrorism.¹³

ISIS in the Greater Sahara has approximately 1,000 fighters and regularly conducts ambushes, armed assaults, roadside bombings, and kidnap-for-ransom operations targeting security forces, civilians, and humanitarian workers.¹⁴

The group killed at least 44 Muslim worshippers during a mosque attack in March 2025 and has carried out massacres across Niger’s Tillabéri and Tahoua regions that killed more than 600 people.¹⁵

Trump inherited another foreign policy disaster where American lives hang in the balance because Biden abandoned our counter-terrorism operations and surrendered the field to ISIS.

And now it looks like the global police Deep Staters and warmongers can see the writing on the wall and are furiously documenting their list of excuses to shift their operations from Europe and the Middle East to South America and Africa.

¹ CBS News, "American missionary kidnapped from home in Niger’s capital by armed men," October 22, 2025.

² Zagazola Makama, "American missionary pilot abducted in Niger Republic," October 22, 2025.

³ Fox News, "American missionary kidnapped in Niger by suspected Islamist militants," October 22, 2025.

⁴ CBS News, "American missionary kidnapped from home in Niger’s capital by armed men," October 22, 2025.

⁵ France24, "US military says withdrawal from Niger is complete," September 16, 2024.

⁶ Security Council Report, "West Africa and the Sahel, April 2025 Monthly Forecast," April 2025.

⁷ Fox News, "American missionary kidnapped in Niger by suspected Islamist militants," October 22, 2025.

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ Pravda Niger, "Three in the night. The disappearance of an American in Niger," October 22, 2025.

¹⁰ Wikipedia, "Islamic State – Sahel Province," August 5, 2025.

¹¹ Ibid.

¹² France24, "US military says withdrawal from Niger is complete," September 16, 2024.

¹³ Fox News, "Russian mercenaries replace Western forces as ISIS surges across Africa’s Sahel region," October 19, 2025.

¹⁴ National Counterterrorism Center, "ISIS-Sahel flag," 2025.

¹⁵ Wikipedia, "Islamic State – Sahel Province," August 5, 2025.