
Episode 4617: Over 160 Missing In Texas; Trump's Tariffs ...
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Greg Abbott
I want to talk about two different things. The first part of your question, and that is an investigation. We know a special session is coming in about 10 days. That's where I would say, where it begins. Candidly, those investigations will begin by both the House and Senate before we go into session. So probably beginning later this week or the early part of next week, there'll be committees formed that are already kind of working on ideas about ways to address this. Second part of the question needs to be addressed. You ask. I'm going to use your words, who's to blame? Know this. That's the word choice of losers. Let me explain one thing about Texas, and that is Texas. Every square inch of our state cares about football. You could be in Hunt, Texas, Huntsville, Texas, Houston, Texas, any size community. They care about football, high school, Friday Night Lights, college football or pro. Know this. Every football team makes mistakes. The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who's to blame. The championship teams are the ones who say, don't worry about it, man, we got this. We're going to make sure that we go score again and we're going to win this game. The way winners talk is not to point fingers. They talk about solutions. What Texas is all about is solutions. In fact, I want to read you something that I received last night that's worth emphasizing to put this in context. Tragedy has come. That part is done. What we do now, who we are now, that's what the story is still being written. Let it be one of grace, of grit, of fierce love in the face of grief. Let it be the kind of story that proves that the Hill country may flood, but it does not fail. Say what you will about Texas, but when the rivers rise, so do we. Not with blame, not with bitterness, but with boots on the ground, arms around strangers and hearts wide open. That's the Texans I know, and that's the America that I believe in. What this person wrote is what I know is true for all Texans and what we will achieve every single day.
Governor Burroughs
Governor Burroughs, what kind of legislation do.
Greg Abbott
You hope to see come from this special session?
Speaker
You know, part of the legislative process is policies not made in a vacuum. We have ideas. I've served on two investigatory committees out of the House before I was Speaker. Both Uvalde and Panhandle wildfires. There are things and things that we can talk about, but it is too early to commit to know the specifics until we actually talk to the members of the community and hear what they think. Talk to the experts in the field. Talk to the first responders. That's what legislative hearings are for. We are ready to get started. The legislators I talked to, the members of the House and I know the Senate are very interested in finding solutions to not accept that we can't do better. But we will have those hearings, we will synthesize what we get and we will come up with legislation that I believe will make it to the governor's desk and make us a stronger, better, more resilient Texas governor.
Greg Abbott
Governor, what do you say to these families to say these solutions may be a little too late? Well, so one thing that we're focused on is making sure that we deliver the right solutions. One thing the speaker just said is worth emphasizing and that is that for us to provide real solutions, we actually need to hear from the people who are the ones most affected. The ones most affected, they're dealing with the grievance of having lost a child or lost a business or otherwise have their lives turned upside down. They don't have the capability right now providing that information. We'll talk to local leaders, importantly, not just here, but across the state. And we want to make sure that we address what happened here, but at the same time, we want to make sure that we are able to implement measures that are going to be able to prevent loss in other regions going forward. So we have a workout for us. But I know the members of the House and members of the Senate I know will work and get some meaningful things done. So again, my focus isn't on trying to say, oh, you did wrong or you should have done better there. My job is to bring Texas and Texans together and make sure that we immediately start delivering on solutions. You talk about the heroic effort and no one has seen the level of response as what Texas has provided over the past four days or so. And we continue to maintain that response here while also going to the state capitol and working on around the clock responses there to make sure that we do deliver real solutions for these people sitting right behind you. Sure. So what your question is about what local officials knew, you'd have to ask them now what the state was aware of. The state was aware that there was a possible serious flooding event days in advance. And we pre positioned assets and resources and personnel. And remember the flood began on Friday morning. We originally positioned those assets, resources and personnel on Wednesday. Then when greater clarity was discerned on Thursday, we moved them closer, added and made sure that we had adequate supply going into Friday. So we, we, we were ready with the resources on the ground to be able to quickly respond. Some people say well we, we responded so fast. One reason we did respond fast is because we had assets here already that said we didn't know the magnitude of the storm. We knew that there was a flash flood warning and if you heard a flash flood warning no one would know that that would be a 30 foot high tsunami wall of water I don't think. But all I can tell you is what we, the information we had, the state had and that we acted on was information that catalyzed us to begin putting assets and resources in place two days before the event happened.
Community Member
Yeah, I had no idea you were going to be here today. I was out there, was here about 180 of us. They were not left with resources. I mean they're here. Don't get me how to figure out how their gear was left. I went out today, last night I spent about seven and a half hours doing an article on the basis I don't use social media. A couple days ago there was a vineyard, no one was touching it. It told it it was cleared. I just, I was like look, I.
Reporter
Don'T use social media.
Community Member
I'm gonna pull this up and I'll post a video. I posted John and the vineyard within, within 10 minutes we had 20 people and eight kids. It was going crazy. Every that home in here, over 100 acres was taking care for three days. God bless all the people that showed up. We had people who are not certified probably condone and treat about 90% of the recovery that we take. We are so grateful for everyone that has been sick. But we were strong, we came together and all of a sudden we got infiltrated with Liz got news cruise and we were told if you didn't have a certification you couldn't be here. My only certification is that I chased every summer almost 2017. That's when I've gone there. Yesterday I was driving after about 11 hours making a Coast 3 for my family and I stopped me driving and some Navy Seals walking out Lake Word and asked right up to Ms. Stick. I took them, I asked what they were doing. They said I went down there, they pretty much had cleared. They told me that they worked so long they worked several, several days. They completely wiped out. They were so efficient. Cuz I say to myself I know people, they recovered. They helped those families that now have answers because they were out there. They said man we're done. Where do you want it? I said I got you a place. We started off about five trucks of us. We got word that there was Snow. We stopped. We remained in untouched land. Completely untouched. I took some volunteers. We went out for two and half hours last night at 8am today baby seals being wared. Myself is 28 years old. We just have passion for my city. The water went there. 150 people with us. I say you're with the hunt volunteer fire department. They will let you too. You got authorized to have. We already had an excavator out there. A 346 excavator. We already had 15 skins. We had. We were ready to go. We were working hard. One across the road from us. We're also looking at a 60 foot drop down. It's completely flat, it's hollow and it's ready to go on the bridge. We had it ready. We were working on your cross. They show up. Very well known business deal. Get the F off. I know nothing. I don't know politics. I, I, I don't have access to what's going on. I've been working our ships. Long story short, these people show up, they tell us to leave. They say, hey, we're gonna work half that.
Reporter
Right there in Kurtville, Texas. Keep that sound up. He's getting, I guess an absolute frontal assault appears. Maybe a parent or something like that. The governor's sitting there. I think we're going on seven minutes. I know it's tough to hear but we're going to cut back to it and just watch until the governor responds. You're in the war room.
Community Member
We don't want people coming in getting paid to knock down our building.
Greg Abbott
Well, so if I could say this. Sure.
Community Member
To have justice, to have control over the fact that every.
Reporter
Stay with this. It's a. Yeah. It's a member of the community and the government is not answering.
Greg Abbott
I'm gonna, I'm gonna connect you with someone. Yeah. Right. And I, I, I got the person for you. I'm going to give you her name, her number, let you connect with her. But let me say this. You know, people talk about how strong Texas is. People talk about how strong Texas is. It's because of people like you. People who don't wait around for orders and instructions. Yeah. So like not just you, but like you. We saw the exact same response in Hurricane Harvey. People didn't wait for a boss to tell them what to do. There was no time clock to check in or check out. They said they're getting out their own canoe, their own kayak and they're going to start helping neighbors before the sun rose up until after the sun set. But all I wanted to let you know is the spirit that lies within your heart and use the word blood in your bloodstream. You have in your blood what Texas is all about.
Community Member
And it's.
Reporter
This is a press conference that's kind of devolved into a. I think some accusations or some personal thoughts of it looks like somebody involved went on for about 10 or 12 minutes. CNN and others cut away from it. We're following. Let's cut back please. Okay. Don't need me guys. Please keep the camera where it is. Thank you. There we go. There we go. I think we got sound. Let's cut into it.
Augustus Dirico
They're moving the camera.
Reporter
I'd rather have movement than looking at me. Let's get over there so we can get sound. Okay folks, the biggest reveal today we got a pack show but the biggest reveal I think a few minutes ago is that they have now said the missing is 161. This was Ben Berkwam. I gotta give a hat tip to Ben Berkwan's question the other day. How many are really missing? Is it dozens and have you haven't put a number up. Is it dozens or hundreds? And the guy remember answered a lot didn't take the dozens and now you know why. 161 they're also from to morning's press conference. There has not been a rescue of a living human being since Friday and I think he said Friday afternoon which is it hit at what 4:00' clock in the morning or 3:30? 4:00'. Clock. 4:30 in the morning. Governor Abbott looks like they may be praying over there. He. He wheeled over after taking it sounded like an onslaught of I don't know if accusations or information or point of view from a woman in the crowd that sounds like she's either a victim or knows the victims or somehow is talking about the community. And governor Abbott eventually decided to go over and actually mingle with the crowd. He's got the kind of head of some of the leadership of the Texas Department. It looks like from this there's a lot more involvement in the state. I think taking control if it's going to be a recovery effort. Looks like it had a lot more input from the state. This was supposed to take place at 6 o' clock our time. In fact we had the whole show wrapped around doing that. We're going to continue with this picture. Let's bring in. Let's bring in our is Dave Brat with me.
Dave Brat
Dave.
Reporter
Brad joins me my co host for today for a little while. Natalie's going to Join me in a little while to take over the duty as co host. Dave. Brad, your assessment. You were a professional politician. How do you think Governor Abbott handled that? Looked like an onslaught, sir.
Greg Abbott
Yeah.
Philip Patrick
I mean, speaking as a politician, I went to seminary, you know, 30 years ago. And, you know, there's a time for rational analysis. Today's not that time. It's the time for pastoral care and to love the folks and to listen and to be at the bedside. And in the short term, I mean, the devastation is huge. The families are torn apart. The woman speaking was sharing her heart. And so, you know, he was just listening. And that's, you know, that's what you should do. There's, there's plenty of time for analysis of all the public policy issues coming out. It's, it's too bad people are taking potshots in the short run already immediately after this, you know, people can make their analysis of who the fair players are, but it looked to me like he was just intently listening and it looks like he's got, you know, people of compassion around him praying afterwards and, you know, so that it's the toughest job in the world on a day like that. There's great days in politics when things are going great and then there's the toughest days in the world. And he's in the middle of that.
Reporter
One of the women in the crowd, or a reporter, I think not a woman in the crowd, said, who is to blame? And he said, look, we're not, we're not going to go there. We're going to do a complete assessment later. Now, now is the time to. Actually, there's the governor. Let's go back to Governor Abbott.
Greg Abbott
Nim could best answer that. Nim, when? When?
Chief Nimkid
Wednesday and Thursday before the Friday morning. I can't answer the whys. I'm not going to answer the whys. You asked when we were in contact. We started having calls and messages on Wednesday from an area of I35 out I10 all the way to where it touches I20 all the way back over to where I20 touches I35 again. That is a large chunk of Texas that was anywhere in the potential area for this kind of rain could have fallen. It picked this spot right here.
Greg Abbott
One more question. Go ahead. Yeah. The man who's in charge of that assistance is Chief Nimkid. She wants to know how long does it take to get assistance?
Chief Nimkid
How long does it take to get assistance? So the disaster recovery centers will be published in the morning of those locations. They can go to those locations and start getting aid. There are plenty of volunteers that are out there ready to offer aid right now in addition to the federal assistance.
Greg Abbott
So you're saying that those centers will be open tomorrow morning?
Chief Nimkid
Yes, sir. Soft. We have the addresses. I need to confirm them and then we'll put them out. They will be publicized. They will be publicized. Yes, ma'.
Reporter
Am.
Greg Abbott
Thank you all.
Reporter
Thanks everyone. Okay, right there. The governor and I don't think there's going to be a six o' clock press conference. I think they just started early. The governor stepping in and handling it. Today, the big news, I think we're going to count here, but the big news is that they have announced a number of that they haven't had before of missing of 161 folks still down in this area. Do we have Augustus? Is he up? Let me go. I've got Augustus Dirico, CEO of Rainmaker. Augustus, can you walk through because there's been some controversy about seeding and geoengineering. Can you take a minute and walk through just what your company is, what it does and what have you been doing for the state of Texas, I take it by you've been retained, I take it by localities, local governments, individual agriculture businesses to do something about the lack of rain down there.
Augustus Dirico
Sure, yeah. Well, thank you for having me on. For one, my heart and prayers are with everybody affected in Texas and the entire state. I'm going to be down there tomorrow trying to help as I can. I run a company called Rainmaker that conducts cloud seeding to make it rain more for farms, for ecosystem restoration, for residential reservoirs when they're suffering from drought. And we work with municipalities and farmers throughout Texas to when there is a drought or there isn't enough water, make it rain more. We unequivocally had nothing to do with the flooding that was caused by the remnants of the tropical storm that blew in. And our biggest cloud seeding missions to date have only produced 10 million gallons of precipitation approximately. And that tropical storm dumped about 4 trillion over the course of two days. So the order of magnitude difference between what cloud seeding is even capable of and what happened is incomparable. And again, I truly am heartbroken about what has happened, but want to make it abundantly clear that cloud seeding was not involved in any capacity. And it's a technology that is used to help farmers when there isn't enough water.
Reporter
Let me ask you repeat that. 4 trillion. You're saying 4 trillion gallons was dumped on that time? I think they said 10 inches in the. Oh, no. Excuse me. The river rose 26ft in 45 minutes. I guess you're saying in the entire time of this storm that hit, There was over 4 trillion gallons of water that was dumped onto the locale?
Augustus Dirico
Correct. Yeah.
Reporter
And cloud seeding you only do. Is cloud seeding that small? What's the purpose? What are farmers. They're doing it when they're that desperate, when there's been, like, a drought for a while.
Augustus Dirico
Yeah, yeah. They'll cloud seed either to try to fill up aquifers preemptively, or when there is a drought. They not only use it for aquifer recharge and farming in Texas, but municipalities throughout Utah and Idaho also use it. This technology was invented in the United states in the 1940s, and only because of recent advents in radar technology are we able to measure exactly what the results from it are. And that's what Rainmaker's been doing for the state of Texas and other states throughout the country. It's also worth noting quickly that the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has criteria to authorize cloud seeding operations in the state, where one, you have to have an approved concept of operations, approved materials, and also you have to have what are called suspension criteria, meaning if ever there's a risk of flooding, reservoir spillage is a risk, then you have to stop operating. And a day before there was any flash flood warning, our meteorologists proactively suspended operations before even that regulatory threshold from the state of Texas. So, again, all of our operations were well within bounds from the state regulations and also had nothing to do with the flooding.
Reporter
There is the aquifer situation, I hear, in Texas, Oklahoma and other places, and maybe even Arizona are kind of in a crisis. At least they were a couple of years ago. The droughts, different droughts, have been so bad that the aquifers, where most of the water is obviously people use in a store, in the wells because of real estate development and expansion. Is that one of the issues here, why your service is used?
Augustus Dirico
Yeah, yeah, exactly. The aquifers, namely the Ogallala in Texas, are radically drawn down. The Colorado river is very much overallocated. And so now cities like Phoenix, Arizona, are turning off water to residences periodically because they just don't have enough farms throughout Utah, Texas, New Mexico, et cetera, are actually being paid by the state to not farm because the state doesn't want them to consume the water. And so Rainmaker's mission is, when there is need for water, to produce it, to stop the collapse of the American West. Not just our environment, but also our agricultural interests and also to enable the growth or at least maintain the population of all of these western cities and states.
Reporter
We say the collapse of the west too, I take it. My understanding is fairly rudimentary. But agriculture is still right now the least efficient use of water. It's not that we don't need agriculture, we do, but when we look at industrial, we look at home. That is agriculture that's considered the least inefficient about how the agriculture community uses it.
Augustus Dirico
You know, agriculture far and away is the biggest consumer of water. And that's absolutely true. Over time they've become more efficient. I think that with things like drip irrigation it's gotten a lot better. But I don't think that it's appropriate to think that, you know, agriculture is to blame for water scarcity in the American West. Right. Like I am in favor of more American farms and more growing. And I think that we should have an abundance mindset and consider cloud seeding. And insofar as it is safely regulated and not just anybody can do it, I think that cloud seeding is one way to facilitate more abundant farming and more abundant cities in drought ridden areas of the world. And also it's worth noting that it's not just the United States and it's not just Rainmaker that does this. I think it's in America's interest to continue doing it because other states around the world, like China, invest $1.4 billion a year into their program to produce more water for their farms, for their hydroelectric, to res, resupply their reservoirs. And if we don't do it, then not only will the United States not have the capacity for it, but China will have the biggest program in the world by orders of magnitude.
Reporter
If China is 1.4 billion, what's the equivalent of the U.S. what's our total roughly?
Augustus Dirico
The United States Federal government spent $2.4 million, excuse me, last year on cloud seeding.
Reporter
On the cloud seed, you said during the evolution itself, you guys, you have a regulatory apparatus of, of what it tells you you can do and monitors that you said you guys voluntarily took down and stopped because I think you were cloud seeing on the 2nd of July, right? You took it down and didn't do it on the third. That's when the storm hit that night. I guess overnight no one in the regulatory apparatus came to you. Because one of the questions people have, and you can see right there with the Governor, Governor, what is the regulatory, you know, chain of command for this apparatus? You got National Weather Service, but you also have local, you got state. Who's in charge, who is kind of watching it? I mean, did anybody come to you or did you guys just voluntarily say, this looks like it could be bad? No need to. No need to continue to cloud seed?
Augustus Dirico
Yeah. So Rainmaker acted proactively and suspended operations before the National Weather Service issued any warnings that would have constituted suspension criteria per the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations statutes. Now, that being said, I think that there ought to be more regulation on cloud seeding to ensure that it's done safely. I think that there should be way more transparency in the industry. And I'm actively trying to, both on X right now and on platforms like yours. And thank you again for having me advocate for more regulation so that people do know what's going on and so that people can trust that it's being done safely.
Reporter
Well, that you know, people. Obviously you get the natural process. And then once people say we're going to use technology, what is it either about your competitors, the industry overall, that you're concerned about? Either processes that you're concerned about and. Or transparency. What are you pushing for? That certain processes shouldn't be done in cloud seeding or there should be more transparency about how everybody does this.
Augustus Dirico
So, yeah, I think there absolutely should be more transparency. And one way in which we could do that is expand upon the Weather Modification Reporting act of 1972. So right now, if you want to conduct a cloud seeding operation, the only federal oversight for it is a notification to NOAA that you're going to conduct weather modification and then also a report on what your operations consisted of. But I think there needs to be much more rigorous analysis of the effect of cloud seeding from NOAA or some institution like the Bureau of Reclamation, which is. Which is responsible for water in the west, because there should be accountability and a manner by which people can scrutinize what the effects have been. Right now there's no process like that in the federal government to enable scrutiny and oversight. And if there was, I think people would rightfully feel more trusting of it.
Reporter
Let me go back. Just the term weather modification. You have this issue of transhumanism and you have a different technologies. Artificial general intelligence, regenerative robotics, quantum computing, crispr, all these things. People are saying we're heading towards a point called the Singularity. And that's kind of man taking an active role in what heretofore has been a natural process. And clearly there's big advantages, huge great things of AI but there's also downside. The same with chipping people. There's moral questions, ethical questions. As someone that's dedicated his life not just to the industry, but then to go out to investors and say, hey, this is a smart thing to do, we need to do this. Do you have qualms or is it issues when you talk about weather modification? Like, for instance, why should the weather be. Why should you have modifications? Why just the weather? Just let it. Just let it happen.
Augustus Dirico
Totally hear where you're coming from. Do you remember that Ross du Fat, Peter Thiel interview that blew up recently where Ross asked him, like, do you believe that the human race, the rate the human race should persist? And Peter paused and waited to respond to that.
Reporter
Yeah, I do. But, you know, Peter's got a deep moral compass on certain things. Other things, like, particularly on technocracy, we don't totally agree. Is that your pause? Is this your pregnant pause?
Augustus Dirico
No, not at all. I want to say unequivocally, I'm interested in the persistence of humanity. And not only that, you know, I am a Christian. I was lucky enough to be saved when I was 20 years old while I was living in Fort Worth. I didn't grow up Christian. I grew up an atheist. But the guiding principle at Rainmaker is stewardship, right in Genesis 1:26 through 28 and then also throughout the Psalms, one of the very first commandments that God ever gave us in the Garden of Eden before the fall was to take dominion and steward the earth, the seas, the skies, and everything therein. And so I think that there is an aspect of human nature which is both, like, inclined to and responsible to responsible for making nature, or rather working with nature to steward it for our interest and creations itself to honor God. And so I think not only is it something good to do, is cloud seeding something good to do because it can help us produce water for farms in need. But as long as there are droughts, as long as there is severe weather, as long as there is hail, it does damage. And we have the technology to manage it, to mitigate the damage done by it. If we're not deploying it, then we're actually abdicating our responsibility to God to steward the creation that he gave us. And that's the perspective that I have as a Christian. When I think about weather modification and whether we should be doing it, I'm.
Reporter
More of a New Testament guy. So in the New Testament, in Mark, I think it's 13. When the disciples and apostles come back, Christ has sent them out to Teach and to heal. And they come back and they say, hey, we've healed these people. We've done this. And he says, oh, that sounds great. He says, no, they say it comes from Beelzebub and that your power comes from that. And he makes a comment to him. He said, there's only one unforgivable sin, and that is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. There's only one mortal sin, and that is to basically, you know, blaspheme the Holy Spirit. People would say the Holy Spirit is what innovates, is what the energy or the Spirit that came through Christ, you know, from the time he was baptized by John the Baptist, and that that's the guiding principle. We talk about this in transhumanism. Would that make you rethink it if you felt you were going against the tenets of the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit works through the world, particularly the natural world?
Augustus Dirico
If someone were to present to me theological arguments as to why this was not in God's interest or why this was wrong and blaspheming God in some manner, I would stop immediately. I would shut the doors of my company. I would want to participate in that. In no way. Right. Like, I'm very concerned with heaven and hell and living a life that is, to the extent possible, without sin. And so, you know, I'm always open to discourse about it. I haven't yet been convinced that it's against God's interest to try to make creation better. But I also think the Tower of Babel is a story we should consider very seriously and cautiously. Right. Whenever man is inclined to make himself God or make himself too much like God, without the humility that we're supposed to have, there can be bad outcomes. And so I try to manage this company and this technology very prayerfully. And that's why I, proactively, as a business owner, am advocating for more regulation on the technology in the industry so that we can ensure it's done safely and so that we can ensure it's done in the interest of both our country, our farmers in our country, God and all of his creation.
Reporter
You have control of your company. Are you certain there weren't other people? Cloud seeding, particularly in some of maybe these methods that you question, or with lack of transparency. Do you think anybody. Because here's what happened. You had this horrific thing on Friday, July 4, in the Hill country of Texas. Then on Sunday down in Southern Pines, North Carolina, Pinehurst, all the way up to Chapel Hill. You really had a biblical in Fact, people in the Southern Pines, Pinehurst area and central North Carolina was saying people have been there for 30 years, had never seen rain like this. It just seems odd that within 48 hours. Right. And we don't believe in coincidence here. You had these two kind of biblical, biblical downpourings. Do you think in any way could be associated with people doing geoengineering?
Augustus Dirico
I have as yet not seen any evidence to suggest that any flooding in North Carolina or again, Texas, had to do with cloud seeding or geoengineering. Now, that said, I think that if we as a country, be it through noaa, the National Weather Service, private institutions, or otherwise, have a better forecasting capacity, if we invest in researching the atmosphere more so that we can forecast farther into the future, warn people sooner, then we'll be able to alert people at the very least of these impending calamities and then potentially mitigate them in the future. Now, that being said as well, there should be more federal oversight. Absolutely. Because if there is something going on that is nefarious or that's just grossly negligent, it should stop and be held to account. And, you know, again, a lot of people, maybe my lawyers would scrutinize me for saying that people contributing to calamities like this should be held to account, but I earnestly believe that, and I'm willing to say it because I know that Rainmaker, and to my knowledge, no other cloud seeding companies are responsible for those floods.
Reporter
Last question, since you mentioned the lawyers. You saw the raw motion. You were here. We had you up. You saw the raw motion with Governor Abbott. And it happened earlier today in the, in the other press conference. And people, you know, because look, it's been since Friday morning. People are tired. This is, this is a horrific, not just event, but the recovery process is horrific. I mean, do you worry that as this thing goes, investigations and lawsuits, that everything that you wanted to do and felt you were doing altruistically for the betterment of mankind, you may end up in, you know, depositions and hearings, commissions, all of it, as they try to get to. And as you know, they're bad actors. In fact, they said the other day in one of the press conferences, they're not giving the names of the victims, particularly the little girls at mystic, because, and this is one of the director operations said people were actually calling the parents and saying, I have your child here, but you got to send me, you got to wire me money. Or people were saying, I've had a vision, or I'm a mystic. And I can tell you exactly where they're. They're calling out for you horrific things like this that no parent should have visited on them. So my point is there's demonic people out there. They're bad actors out there. Are you concerned that everything you've tried to do altruistically for the betterment of mankind, in your view, may turn out to be something that just keeps you tied up for years, walking through the events of July 2nd, 3rd, 4th of 2025?
Augustus Dirico
Yeah. I can't imagine what the people of Texas are feeling, particularly the parents and those that lost family members or friends in the floods. And so I'm sympathetic, obviously, again, still can't understand, but I'm sympathetic to how emotions are running high right now, how people are looking for a scapegoat or someone to blame. Of that I'm understanding. And again, even though we didn't have anything to do with it, I understand where people might be coming from in this moment. And I'm trying to transparently and honestly and quickly answer as many questions from the public as I can about this. Now, that said, it would be a tragedy as well if farmers and people were deprived of water that they could have otherwise from cloud seeding, because people want to capitalize politically on this tragedy to rally their base around some sort of legislation or investigation that would ban cloud seeding entirely. And so, even though I think that that would be a bad outcome, I. I trust in the United States in people's ability to scrutinize evidence. I trust in probably not our government writ large, but in the best possible outcome over the course of time. And so though there is a lot of controversy about this right now, though I think some people are trying to politically capitalize on the tragedy with unfounded claims and accusations, I think that the truth will always come to light and that cloud seeding will be technology that we can use cautiously and for the benefit of all mankind.
Reporter
And last thing, on Tuesday, 8th of July in the year of our Lord 2025, at 5:40 in the evening, you still believe in your heart and in your soul that weather modification and geoengineering are something that we should pursue as a country.
Augustus Dirico
Weather modification and cloud seeding? Yes, in my heart and my soul, I do. Geoengineering, dimming the sun, things with global climatic implications, I think deserve a lot more caution and scrutiny because we don't have 80 years of data on what their effects would be. But cloud seeding itself, yes, in my heart and in my soul, absolutely.
Reporter
Augustus Durickey, thank you so much for coming on. Where do people follow you? I know you want to get your message out. The best way to do that, obviously social media and coming on shows like this. Where do people follow you, sir? And where do they go? I want to make sure they go to your company site and check it out. So where they go.
Augustus Dirico
Sure. They can go to rainmaker.com for more information on our company. And then also on X a d', Orico, that's at Adorico.
Reporter
Augustus Dirico, thank you very much for joining us in the war room on a very intense afternoon. Thank you so much.
Augustus Dirico
Thank you so much.
Reporter
Do I have Natalie? We had to change shift because Dave Brat's going to do the Matt Gates show and. Okay, we'll get Natalie up in a second. Do I have Philip Patrick?
Greg Abbott
Yes.
Reporter
We're kind of juggling here because we took along for the Abbott conference. But I thought it was very illustrative of the raw emotions that are now starting to come to the surface. Philip Patrick joins us from Rio. Philip, you brought me a long memo this afternoon. Why don't you, we got some time. Why don't you break it down as we leave here? You know, you leave this conference. Bolsonaro, President Trump threw down hard on Bolsonaro yesterday about the political situation, the law firm situation. Lula's at the center of this, although it's the Judge Maurices that's doing it. But tell me about his handling of the, of the BRICS conference and your thoughts as you get ready to leave where we are on all this?
Joe Laverne
Yeah, I mean, last time, I think it was Monday, Monday I was on last and we were talking about how the entire conference at that point was covert.
Reporter
Right.
Joe Laverne
It was de dollarization without mentioning the dollar explicitly. It was trade security without talking about tariffs. And then I think it was an hour after our last interview, everything changed.
Dave Brat
Right.
Joe Laverne
Obviously, President Trump came out overnight and posted a warning to BRICS nations, 10% tariffs on any nation if they continue to bypass the dollar. And Lula's response was swift and it was unusually direct, I would say. But the verbiage was interesting. He said that President Trump's message was very mistaken and irresponsible. And then he went on to say, and I thought this was telling, he said, look, the world has changed. We don't want an emperor. We are sovereign countries. And he said, there is no going back. Reducing dependence on the dollar will happen step by step until it's consolidated. So what was perhaps covert before is now in the open. The BRICS have made their intentions clear and they sort of brought it to the forefront. And we've been seeing it. China and Russia striking deals in yuan and rubles, Brazil and Venezuela bypassing the dollar for regional commercial commerce. So it's happening and it's at the forefront. You know the message I sent you, I spent a lot of time thinking last night, what do we do about this? How do we fix the situation? And I think the answer is, is not to panic, but rather to prepare.
Reporter
Right.
Joe Laverne
We have to remember the dollar remains the global reserve currency for a reason.
Augustus Dirico
Right.
Joe Laverne
And that is trust. Its depth, it's credibility. What we've been seeing out here is that trust is eroding not just because of our rivals, but because of what we've done domestically as well. Right. So in terms of a plan, I don't know how much time I have have here, Steve, so I'll sort of cut it. Hang on.
Reporter
You're going to have all the time. This is, this is incredibly important. We're going to take a short commercial break and bring you back. We don't have to cover. We're trying to get you in before the press conference is going to take place in Kerrville, but the governor stepped up and did one that took place earlier. So we got the six o' clock hour. Philip Patrick is with us from Rio, folks. Very big deal down there and they kind of laid their cards on the table. It ain't going to happen overnight, but they're saying it's going to happen. The end of the dollar empire according to them. Philip Patrick next. Also Joe Lavanier trying to get Joe in from Treasury. Talk all about this next in the war.
Dave Brat
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Reporter
I love this guy.
Dave Brat
He's our wise man. A former CIA, Pentagon and White House advisor with an unmatched grasp of geopolitics and capital markets. Jim predicted Trump's electoral College victory exactly 312 to 226, down to the actual number itself. Now he's issuing a dire warning about April 11, a moment that could define Trump's presidency and your financial future. His latest book, MoneyGPT, exposes how AI is setting the stage for financial chaos. Bank runs at lightning speeds, algorithm driven crashes and even threats to national security. Right now, War Room members get a free copy of MoneyGPT when they sign up for Strategic Intelligence. This is Jim's flagship financial newsletter, Strategic Intelligence. I read it.
Reporter
You should read it.
Dave Brat
Time is running out. Go to Rickards War room dot com.
Reporter
That's all one word.
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Reporter
Do it today.
Dave Brat
Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.
Reporter
Okay, Philip Patrick is going to stick with us and into the 6 o' clock hour. Natalie's also here. We're going to get her comments on the, on the rainmaker situation. I want to go to Joe Laverne now over at Treasury Counsel, special counsel to the Secretary of Treasury. You've had the tariff situation, President Trump, you know, you had this two and a half hour, I think cabinet meeting today. The whole Cabinet meeting, most of it was done publicly. President Trump's talking about tariffs. We got, we got letters going out to Korea, south to Japan, you guys. Now treasury are executing on the big beautiful bill, right? The tax cuts, all the, the industrial side of it for the supply side. Where is, where the tariffs fit into this entire strategy, sir? Because I think there's a little confusion. But look, we love tariffs. We're the tariff guys. We love it, what President Trump's doing, but we're little. Is it.
Governor Burroughs
Sure, Steve, it's a. Thank you again for having me. It's a very integrated, holistic approach. So the tariffs are used as an incentive to bring capital and monies back to the US and as you know from all the deals that have been announced all over the world, there's trillions of dollars that are coming in. So the tariffs are incentive to get capital to the U.S. but when you bring that capital to the U.S. you're also going to benefit from low corporate rates, cheap and abundant energy and very pro growth tax policy currency. So everything kind of works, works together. And that's how you're going to re industrialize on the tariffs. What we could say are two things, very important. Number one, Steve, we could raise upwards of 300 billion. I mean, the numbers keep going up every month. Like to run the third week of the month you get the customs payment. That tends to be the biggest. So we're ratcheting higher. I mean, we may have 300 billion in calendar year revenues this year, which is massive. CBO has scored potentially getting 2.8 trillion over the next 10 years. That's not part of their official scoring. So the tariffs right now, we know are raising tremendous amounts of money. The other point which is very important is that my colleagues over at Council Economic Advisors have done incredible work that shows actually, if you look at the price of imported goods, those prices have actually declined, which is remarkable. Declined in both the personal consumption expenditures deflator, which is what the Fed follows, or the more popular, at least in the Main Street Consumer Price Index, where imported goods prices not only haven't risen, they've actually declined. So we're not seeing any inflation to this point, which tells us that foreign producers are absorbing it in their margins, which makes sense because the US Is the world's largest, the most important consumer for about 35% of global consumption or.
Reporter
Somewhere around there, I think the Secretary also said, I think 100 billion have already been collected, which is just absolutely stunning. That's correct.
Dave Brat
I want to pivot.
Reporter
We got Philip Patrick and our team from Birchgold have covered for four or five days the Rio reset. And initially they were just doing. They were trying to hide it. They didn't want to talk de dollarization. They were doing these bilateral deals and saying it's all for free trade. President Trump came out as President Trump wanted to do and say, yo, if you don't sign up for any of this BRICS nonsense, I'm going to add another 10% or more to the tariffs already. And that chilled things. But I think Lula came out and made a statement, said, hey, it's not going to happen overnight, but it's happening. We're moving away from this. We don't believe that one system for currency is good for our nations. Any initial response to first off, do you believe that the BRICS nation can actually move off the dollar as the prime reserve currency?
Governor Burroughs
No, certainly not. And President Trump, as you know, Steve, is a tremendous negotiator. You saw what happened with Canada with the digital tax they wanted to impose. And also when the President had threatened significant tariffs on the eu, they quickly backed. The fact is, when you look at the data, it shows that demand for U.S. assets has never been higher. That's in our own official data that we put out every month. And it's in various private sector reports that show tremendous capital inflows to the US it's still the world's reserve currency. As Secretary Besson said many times, the dollar's demise has been greatly exaggerated. People have been saying this since right after the Second World War. We've got the reserve currency. We're going to have the strongest, most dynamic economy in the world with the fastest growth rate among all the industrialized countries. Inflation's falling, as I mentioned earlier, got all these huge capital commitments that are coming in. I mean, that's a sign of dollar strength that will persist as long as President Trump's policies are in place.
Reporter
Joe, last question. You're one of the guys brought in to help forecast this. Put together the dashboard monitor and help execute it with the Secretary of Treasury for the president. Do you feel better, you know, four or five days into this than you did last week when it was up in the air what was actually we were going to close on or you feel concern?
Governor Burroughs
Steve I'm an optimist. I learned that from my old Boss and Trump 1.0 Larry Kudlow I'm an optimist. I was always, I was kind of backing the president. He wanted a July 4th into Speaker Thune and leader Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson. They do great working with Treasury Secretary Besson and moving the ball down the field. They I was optimistic I thought was going to get done on July 4th and just as the president wanted it got done. And it makes me more confident because, because you know people talk about all the uncertainty, the tariffs. What I think they missed or they miss now is the uncertainty the tax policy imposed. Companies not being able to plan for the outlook because they didn't know if they're going to get a huge tax hike next year with the biggest ever. Now that we've got that certainty, yes, I'm much more confident now that it's done that they're going to be a second half growth boom and I'm expecting to see that in the data. We're going to get more Capex. Capex is going to give you faster productivity, faster wages as blue collar wage boom that we've been talking about persist and it's going to be great, great news for for Americans all alike.
Reporter
By the way, Larry Kudlow has preached this for decades and he finally got it. This is a massive supply side tax cut that's really going to drive things. I'm glad to know one of his, someone that was mentored by him is here in the war room. I know it hurts you guys sometimes to talk about tariffs but you know President Trump is the tariff guy. I tell Larry all that all the time. Joe, social media, where do people go to keep up with your analysis, forecast, all of it.
Governor Burroughs
Thank you. SteveAnianomics.
Reporter
Joe, thank you so much. I'm so glad you're over Treasury. Love having you on the show.
Governor Burroughs
Steve, Always a pleasure. Thank you. Always a pleasure. Thank you.
Reporter
My Patriot supply still got today's the last day for their July 4th I think you've seen and by the way the imperial capital here is about to get a massive thunderstorm, right? Massive thunderstorm. You never know when one of these things gonna sneak up on you. These should be regular thunderstorms, but man, that thing in Texas, in, in Hill country and also down in central North Carolina, I don't know, man. Different deal. Felt like a different deal. But there'll be people to go through this in quite a bit of detail. My Patriot Supply, they kind of invented the industry, but now it's everything. So just, just be prepared, get prepared, get ahead of the curve. You're smart enough on everything else we talk about. Get smart on this. My Patre Supply. It's the end of the July 4th. Tonight is the end of the July 4th sale. Virtually everything's on sale. So go check it out. Mypatriotsupply.com use promo code Bannon. Best thing they've got is advisors and consultants. Get on there. If you've never done this before, make sure you get get all the information. We every time we have a sponsor, we want to make sure that the war room posse can make contact because not only do you like the receipts, you'd like to talk to a human being, maybe ask a couple, three questions like we do here in the war room. Short commercial break Take you out with the right stuff. Going to bring you back with Philip Patrick. Next.
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Podcast Summary: Bannon's War Room – Episode 4617: Over 160 Missing In Texas; Trump's Tariffs
Release Date: July 8, 2025
Introduction
In Episode 4617 of Bannon's War Room, hosted by WarRoom.org, Stephen K. Bannon delves into two critical and intertwined issues: the devastating floods in Texas that have led to over 160 missing persons, and the ongoing impact of former President Donald Trump's tariff policies. This episode provides a comprehensive analysis by bringing in political leaders, community members, and industry experts to discuss the immediate and long-term ramifications of these events on Texas and the broader national landscape.
I. Texas Flooding Crisis and Missing Persons
Timestamp: [00:00] – [17:02]
A. Governor Greg Abbott’s Address
Governor Greg Abbott opened the episode addressing the severe flooding in Texas, emphasizing the state's proactive measures in response to the disaster. He highlighted that investigations into the flood’s causes are underway, with both the House and Senate initiating committee formations even before the special session begins in approximately ten days.
Abbott stressed the importance of a solution-oriented approach, drawing an analogy to football teams that focus on winning rather than assigning blame. He underscored Texas's resilience and unity in the face of tragedy.
B. Community Member’s Testimony
A distressed community member recounted their firsthand experience during the floods, highlighting the chaos and the challenges faced by local volunteers. They expressed frustration over perceived insufficient state support and the sudden appearance of certified rescue teams, which they felt marginalized the efforts of uncertified but dedicated volunteers.
This segment illustrated the tension between official disaster response agencies and grassroots volunteer efforts, reflecting the community's struggle for effective support.
C. Press Conference Dynamics
The press conference showcased a mix of emotional appeals and strategic responses from Governor Abbott. Despite interruptions and emotional outbursts from community members seeking accountability, Abbott maintained a composed demeanor, focusing on unity and immediate solutions rather than delving into blame.
His remarks aimed to bolster community morale and reinforce a collective effort towards recovery.
II. Cloud Seeding Controversy and Geoengineering
Timestamp: [17:30] – [43:28]
A. Introduction of Augustus Dirico from Rainmaker
The episode brought in Augustus Dirico, CEO of Rainmaker, a company specializing in cloud seeding—a geoengineering technique intended to induce rainfall. Dirico vehemently denied any involvement of his company in the recent flooding disaster, clarifying the limitations and regulatory compliance of cloud seeding operations.
B. Explanation of Cloud Seeding
Dirico provided an overview of cloud seeding, emphasizing its role in addressing droughts and supporting agricultural and municipal water needs. He detailed Rainmaker’s operations, regulatory adherence, and the minimal impact of their cloud seeding activities compared to the massive volume of rainfall from the storm.
C. Regulatory and Ethical Considerations
Dirico advocated for increased regulation and transparency in the cloud seeding industry to build public trust and ensure safety. He expressed concerns over potential misuse and the need for stringent oversight to prevent any unintended environmental consequences.
D. Public Reaction and Moral Implications
The discussion touched upon the ethical dimensions of geoengineering, with Dirico addressing concerns related to transhumanism and the potential overreach of human intervention in natural processes. He articulated his stance rooted in Christian stewardship, emphasizing responsible management of natural resources.
This segment highlighted the ongoing debate between technological intervention for human benefit and the preservation of natural processes.
III. BRICS Conference and Trump’s Tariff Policies
Timestamp: [43:36] – [60:22]
A. Analysis of the BRICS Summit
The episode transitioned to global economic dynamics, focusing on the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit held in Rio de Janeiro. Stephen K. Bannon discussed President Trump’s stern stance against BRICS nations' efforts to displace the US dollar as the global reserve currency through aggressive tariff threats.
B. Governor Burroughs on Tariffs and the Dollar
Governor Burroughs provided his insights, aligning with Trump’s economic policies. He emphasized the effectiveness of tariffs as incentives to repatriate capital and promote US industrial growth. Burroughs highlighted the robustness of the US dollar, attributing its strength to continued economic policies and soaring global demand for US assets.
C. Economic Implications and Future Outlook
The discussion elaborated on the interconnectedness of tariffs, capital inflows, and the US's strategic positioning in the global economy. Burroughs projected optimism about a second-half economic growth boom, fueled by increased capital expenditures and job growth.
D. Promotional Segment and Advertisements
Interspersed within the discussions were promotional segments for various services, including tax relief, home title protection, and precious metals investment. While these segments provided additional information, they were acknowledged as part of the podcast’s sponsorships and did not detract from the core content.
IV. Community and Emotional Responses
Timestamp: [21:48] – [43:28]
A. Governor Abbott’s Pastoral Approach
Amid the chaos, Governor Abbott’s responses were characterized by empathy and encouragement. He likened the state’s response to that of communities during Hurricane Harvey, where Texans mobilized without waiting for official directives.
B. Press Conference Breakdown
The episode detailed the emotional exchanges during the press conference, where community frustration met Governor Abbott's call for unity and collective action. The governor's ability to listen and provide reassurance was highlighted as pivotal in maintaining public morale.
V. Key Takeaways and Conclusions
Proactive Leadership: Governor Abbott showcased a leadership style focused on unity, solutions, and proactive measures rather than assigning blame, which is crucial during disaster management.
Geoengineering Debate: The inclusion of Augustus Dirico's testimony brought to light the complexities and controversies surrounding geoengineering practices like cloud seeding, emphasizing the need for regulation and ethical considerations.
Economic Resilience: The discussions on Trump's tariffs and their role in strengthening the US economy against global shifts towards de-dollarization underscored a strategic approach to maintaining economic supremacy.
Community Empowerment: The episode highlighted the resilience and initiative of local communities in Texas, reinforcing the narrative of Texas as a state that thrives on solidarity and proactive problem-solving.
Global Economic Shifts: The examination of the BRICS summit and the potential challenges to the US dollar as the global reserve currency illustrated the dynamic and competitive nature of international economics.
Notable Quotes:
Governor Abbott: “Let it be the kind of story that proves that the Hill country may flood, but it does not fail.” ([02:35])
Community Member: “We are so grateful for everyone that showed up... the spirit that lies within your heart.” ([07:02] – [16:31])
Augustus Dirico: “Cloud seeding was not involved in any capacity... the truth will always come to light.” ([23:30] – [42:51])
Governor Burroughs: “The dollar's demise has been greatly exaggerated.” ([55:30])
Conclusion
Episode 4617 of Bannon's War Room provided an in-depth exploration of the intersection between natural disasters, technological interventions, and economic policies shaping Texas and the broader United States. Through insightful discussions and firsthand accounts, the episode underscored themes of resilience, proactive leadership, and strategic economic maneuvering in the face of both environmental and geopolitical challenges.