Episode Details

IN POLITICAL NEWS

1) And just like that, President Trump reset the trade map, as over 50 countries have contacted the White House to open trade talks. Victor Davis Hanson argues that Trump is righting a 50 year wrong in a "just" trade war. That stemmed from (as Mike Allen and I note in A Patriot's History of the United Stats) a "golden accident" where, for the first time in world history a single nation was the world's largest consumer AND largest producer. The U.S. is still, by far in terms of value the largest consuming nation in the world. Quirky Niall Ferguson agrees, kinda, but says Trump is reorganizing the Pax Americana and the geographical/political map. But he doesn't think we can reindustrialize. Really? Who saved your sorry ass in 1942? It was a nation that reindustrialized on a dime, turning out brand new factories in six months and making Liberty Ships in 4 DAYS.

2) What did this do to Asian (i.e., ChiCom) markets? They utterly crashed: Here is Jeff Childers' take: Mainland China's CSI 300 index dropped sharply into a plunge of around -6% to -7%. Hong Kong's main stock measure, the Hang Seng Index, crashed -13%— its worst day since a 1997 landslide during the Asian financial crisis. Indexes in Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo fell between -7% and -10%. European markets have free-fallen between -5% and -7% since their openings early this morning. So our market is down some, theirs is down catastrophically. What will the ChiComs do? Childers had a great take: "world leaders aren’t calling Trump’s economic haggling team. They’re calling his hostage negotiating hotline." Case in point, Japan just requested a meeting. Trump has 50 meetings lined up to reciprocate/reduce tariffs. That's 25% of the globe.

3) While Trump is ready to deal with the Euros, he made it clear they are going to "pay up" for the past suckage they have put on the USA. The free ride caused by the "golden accident is kaput. They will be begging like panhandlers on the Vegas strip.

4) A Daily Mail poll shows that President Trump's approval has jumped to 53% after the tariff announcements.

5) Amazing news. The IRS is cutting its workforce by 25%, eliminating the entire "civil rights" office. You know, the same one that allowed Lois Lerner to target conservatives back in 2010? Meanwhile Trump has said he will eliminate the capital gains tax by year's end.

6) The Senate

Listen Now