America's Leverage Over China, Evaluating President Trump’s Approach With Nicholas Lardy, Egg Price Hysteria & CNN’s Questionable Bernie Sanders Town Hall

Summary

Detailed Summary of "America's Leverage Over China, Evaluating President Trump’s Approach With Nicholas Lardy, Egg Price Hysteria & CNN’s Questionable Bernie Sanders Town Hall"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis
• Host: Bill O'Reilly
• Episode: America's Leverage Over China, Evaluating President Trump’s Approach With Nicholas Lardy, Egg Price Hysteria & CNN’s Questionable Bernie Sanders Town Hall
• Release Date: April 11, 2025

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Introduction

In the April 11, 2025 episode of Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis, host Bill O'Reilly delves into pressing national and international issues, focusing primarily on America's economic leverage over China. He evaluates President Donald Trump's aggressive trade strategies with insights from Dr. Nicholas Lardy, discusses the contentious topic of egg price fluctuations, and critiques CNN’s recent Bernie Sanders town hall event.

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1. America’s Leverage Over China

Bill O’Reilly opens the discussion by emphasizing the importance of understanding power dynamics in global economics. He asserts that President Trump is intent on bolstering America's economic supremacy through assertive measures against China.

“This is all about power, world economic power. President Trump wants to increase America's power and he's doing so in a very, very aggressive way.” ([03:15])

O’Reilly critiques Trump's "shock and awe" approach, suggesting a more measured strategy could yield better long-term results.

“I would have done a slower rollout on the tariffs. I would have explained it more. I would, I would have been calmer and allowed the market some kind of deliberation.” ([05:10])

He argues that the United States holds significant leverage over China, primarily through economic factors such as trade imbalance and investments.

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2. Conversation with Dr. Nicholas Lardy

To provide a balanced perspective, O’Reilly invites Dr. Nicholas Lardy, a respected professor of international economics. The conversation centers on the sustainability and effectiveness of Trump's strategies against China.

Dr. Lardy acknowledges the U.S. leverage but highlights China's capacity to counteract economic pressures.

“China has some leverage as well. And it's not clear to me that we're going to necessarily win in this contest.” ([11:51])

He discusses China's ability to mitigate the impact of reduced exports by increasing fiscal expenditure and loosening monetary policies, suggesting that the economic confrontation's outcome remains uncertain.

“They can offset that loss of demand by increasing their fiscal expenditure, loosening their monetary policy.” ([12:23])

The dialogue also touches upon America's dependency on China for essential goods, particularly rare earth elements.

“Rare earths is far and away the best example. China has almost a complete monopoly on the refining of rare earths.” ([12:57])

O’Reilly maintains his stance that the U.S. economic machine can outpace China's, especially in high-tech sectors, whereas Dr. Lardy remains cautious about the U.S.'s overestimation of its leverage.

“He may be overestimating his leverage. It's a more uncertain outcome, I would say.” ([16:54])

The discussion concludes without a definitive resolution, underscoring the complexity of U.S.-China economic relations.

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3. Trump’s Approval Ratings

O’Reilly presents recent Quinnipiac poll results indicating a decline in President Trump's approval ratings across various domains:

• Job Handling: 41% disapprove vs. 53% approve
• Economy: 40% approve vs. 55% disapprove
• Trade: 39% approve vs. 55% disapprove
• Foreign Policy: 40% disapprove vs. 54% approve

“It's all about emotion. All about the stock market decline. That's what it's about.” ([19:04])

He interprets these numbers as a reflection of public sentiment influenced by perceived stock market volatility and broader economic concerns.

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4. Economy and Key Issues

a. Oil Prices

O’Reilly highlights a significant drop in global oil prices from $85 to $59 per barrel since President Biden took office, attributing this improvement to Trump's energy policies.

“Oil today, $59 a barrel worldwide. A year ago under Joe Biden. Remember Joe, $85 a barrel gone from 85 to 59.” ([20:30])

b. Egg Price Hysteria

Addressing the controversial topic of egg prices, O’Reilly counters mainstream media narratives by asserting that egg prices have decreased by 50% under Trump, challenging reports of rising costs due to the bird flu.

“Since Trump has been in office, eggs are down 50%. Price of eggs is falling because that bird flu thing is over.” ([21:50])

He criticizes media outlets for perpetuating what he terms "hysteria" over egg prices, arguing that such narratives are politically motivated.

c. Defense Deals with Panama

O’Reilly discusses a recently announced defense and security pact between the United States and Panama, predicting significant economic benefits for American shipping vessels.

“They're using this to drop their shipping prices for US vessels. ... American controls the security of the canal, lower shipping rates.” ([25:15])

He anticipates a strategic weakening of Chinese influence in Panama, reinforcing U.S. dominance in critical infrastructure.

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5. CNN’s Bernie Sanders Town Hall

O’Reilly vehemently criticizes CNN for hosting a town hall with Bernie Sanders, questioning the platform's relevance and potential impact.

“CNN had a town hall with Bernie Sanders last night. Why? Why Bernie Sanders? He's not in the news cycle. He doesn't have any power. He's a communist.” ([30:45])

He dismisses the event as a ratings stunt, doubting its effectiveness in swaying public opinion or influencing political discourse.

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6. Final Thoughts and Media Critique

Concluding the episode, O’Reilly expresses frustration with the current state of media reporting, particularly the overuse of clichés and superficial analysis.

“Stop saying by the way. Stop saying at the end of the day and stop saying we'll see.” ([38:07])

He underscores the importance of substantive reporting and critical thinking, urging listeners to look beyond repetitive soundbites to understand the complexities of national and international issues.

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Conclusion

Bill O’Reilly’s April 11, 2025 episode of No Spin News and Analysis offers a robust examination of America's economic strategies against China, enriched by expert insights from Dr. Nicholas Lardy. The episode also addresses domestic economic concerns and critiques media practices, encouraging listeners to engage with information critically and prioritize factual analysis over sensationalism.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

1. On Trump’s Aggressive Strategy:

   “This is all about power, world economic power. President Trump wants to increase America's power and he's doing so in a very, very aggressive way.” ([03:15])

2. On Shock and Awe Approach:

   “His style is to throw the hand grenade in, blow everything up and then come out with a better deal.” ([05:10])

3. Dr. Lardy on China’s Countermeasures:

   “They can offset that loss of demand by increasing their fiscal expenditure, loosening their monetary policy.” ([12:23])

4. On Rare Earths Monopoly:

   “Rare earths is far and away the best example. China has almost a complete monopoly on the refining of rare earths.” ([12:57])

5. On Overestimating Leverage:

   “He may be overestimating his leverage. It's a more uncertain outcome, I would say.” ([16:54])

6. On Emotion Driving Approval Ratings:

   “It's all about emotion. All about the stock market decline. That's what it's about.” ([19:04])

7. On Egg Price Hysteria:

   “Since Trump has been in office, eggs are down 50%. Price of eggs is falling because that bird flu thing is over.” ([21:50])

8. Critique of CNN’s Event:

   “Why Bernie Sanders? He's not in the news cycle. He doesn't have any power. He's a communist.” ([30:45])

9. On Media Clichés:

   “Stop saying by the way. Stop saying at the end of the day and stop saying we'll see.” ([38:07])

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from Bill O’Reilly’s podcast episode, providing a clear and structured overview for those who have not listened to the original broadcast.

Transcript

[Bill O'Reilly]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, this episode is brought to you by Shopify. Upgrade your business with Shopify, home of the number one checkout on the planet. Shop pay boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning fewer carts going abandoned and more sales going cha ching. So if you're into growing your business, get a commerce platform that's ready to sell wherever your customers are. Visit shopify.com to upgrade your selling today. Foreign hey, Bill O'Reilly here. Welcome to the no Spin News for Thursday, April 10, 2025. Stand up for your country. It's all about emotion now. The stock market gyrations up, down, in, out. Not companies that may prosper, that may go into the tank. Not about that. It's about Donald Trump, what he's doing, how the media is spinning it, all of that. So it's all emotion. And when emotion takes over, your best strategy is to pull back. I'm not doing anything. Okay. I'm basically, I'm going to talk to my financial guys after this. Broadcasters, maybe one or two opportunities, but they're very conservative opportunities that I might take advantage of. But when you have a situation that is totally beyond your control, my control, anybody's control, then you are pull back. Don't listen to these television nitwits. They don't know what they're talking about. They got to fill their time that we here. We're going to tell you some pretty interesting things tonight, things that are going to help you if you analyze them. The first thing is that this is all about power, world economic power. President Trump wants to increase America's power and he's doing so in a very, very aggressive way. Okay, Shock and awe. I would have done it in a different way. I would have done a slower rollout on the tariffs. I would have explained it more. I would, I would have been calmer and allowed the market some kind of, you know, at least deliberation. That's how I would have done it. But that's not President Trump's style. His style is to throw the hand grenade in, blow everything up and then come out with a better deal and he may, absolutely may, but he might not. And that's where the uncertainty and the panic fit in. And that is the subject of tonight's Talking Points Memo. So let's run it down for you. Another turbulent day. I hate looking at the ticker, but I have to because of my job. And it's all about China right now. So I do anticipate that a week from today, the leader of Italy, Maloney, is going to show up here and that is going to start the deal making process with the EU and with Mexico and with Canada. I think those deals will get done. I could be wrong, but I think the strategy is get the deals done with the EU and the countries in our hemisphere and then China will be isolated. Think that's what it is. Again, nobody's told me that, but this is. I'm reading what's happening. So the United States has a tremendous amount of power over China and we don't. It's not even, it's not even reported. CNN is openly sympathizing with China and other commentators, too. They're rooting for China to beat Trump. It's unbelievable. China is the most heinous country in the world by far. As we reported yesterday. We laid it out. Their war machine is being funded by US Dollars. Now, this is vital for you to understand. Every year the United States pumps at least $600 billion into China two ways. The trade imbalance, all right, which we reported yesterday at 300 billion and investments. Chinese corporations and some individuals, not many, but the Chinese government buy U.S. trade treasuries, okay? Their bonds, they pay interest and the money comes out into China. So trade imbalance, 300 billion. And the interest level is 332 billion. That's more than $600 billion a year coming from us to them. TRUMP knows that's insane because much of that money is used to finance their war machine over there. Think about it. The stats I give you are in stone. Now, the Chinese also invest in the eu, but not as much as here. So China is dependent on the United States. They can hurt us. They pull that investment out of our Treasuries, that's going to hurt. But if we take the marketplace and say to China, you got to pay 125% on every T shirt you sent here, it's going to close down factories over there. Who's going to make that up? Putin? Nobody wants rubles, okay? I mean, who. So they know that in China, they're blustering that now the Chinese economy will collapse unless a deal is made. All right, now, I said as much on News Nation last night. Go. They're using the $300 billion trade surplus a year to fund their military machine, their war machine. That is ultra dangerous. Trump believes it. He's going to crush them economically or at least bleed them until they come to the table and make better deals. There you go. Why would they come to. Why would they come to the table? What's the theory? Because their economy is going to collapse without the US Market. Okay, so that is my belief. All right? And it's speculation, but it's educated speculation. In the next segment on NewsNation, I went away. A guy named Scott Galloway shows up. He is a professor of marketing at nyu. He's also on the New York Times Company board of directors. So that tells you pretty much all you need to know about Scott Galloway. Here's what he said. Go. I realize, I realize it's bad form to comment on a previous guest, but I just want to highlight, in terms of our ability to, quote, unquote, wreck the Chinese economy, the largest trading partner of China is the association of Southeast Asian nations at about $1 trillion. Number two is actually the EU at 900 billion worth. 30 to 800 billion. So what? The Southeast Asian nations, yeah, they trade with them, okay, but they trade at a much lower level. And they're not using Vietnamese currency to fund anything. And there's no investment by Chinese corporations to speak of in Southeast Asia. There is in the EU and Japan, but not to the level of the United States. Now, Galloway's never going to tell you that, ever, because his thesis is that Trump bad, China not so bad. Trump bad. We get this, okay? Now, I want you to know the truth. We have leverage over China. I believe a deal will get done between Xi and Trump. Not going to be easy, obviously, but they're going to meet face to face. I hope it's in June, I'm hearing in the Gulf. And then let's iron all of this out. We don't need a worldwide economic war. No one needs that. Everyone will get hurt. United States getting hurt now, folks are getting hurt now China, you'll never hear about them getting hurt. It'll be like Covid. So the Chinese government said, yeah, yeah, we had a couple of hundred cases of COVID but that's all. Meanwhile, about 100,000 people died. But you'll never get that. They'll never say it. I rely on physical precious metals like gold and silver to protect my savings. And the only company I trust is American Hartford Gold, a tax Advantaged gold IRA can protect your savings from inflation, recessions and more. You can even roll over your 401k or IRA tax and penalty free. With thousands of five star ratings and an A from the Better Business Bureau. American Hartford Gold has delivered billions in precious metals. Trust American Hartford Gold. To help you, call or text American Hartford Gold. Tell them Bill O'Reilly sent you for up to $15,000 of free silver on qualifying orders. 8663-265576-86326-5576. Or you can text Bill to 998-899 again 866-326-5576 or text Bill to 998-899. Are you a financial advisor considering the independent RIA model and wondering where to start? Start with Schwab Advisor Services. They've helped thousands evaluate the full range of options and can help you determine your best path forward. Start your journey today at AdvisorServices. Do backslash paths. So this is very intense right now. Very, very intense. I'm rooting for my country. I'm not rooting for Donald Trump or the Republican Party. I'm rooting for my country. The trade deals are not fair. Everyone, every honest person knows that they're not. Let's hope they get better for the USA and that we can de intensify all of this. This. That's a memo. Now let's bring in another point of view. Dr. Nicholas Lardy is a professor of international economics. Very smart guy, much smarter than I am. That's why I wanted him on program. And where am I going wrong here?

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Dr. Well, Bill, you're right. The US does have leverage, but China has some leverage as well. And it's not clear to me that we're going to necessarily win in this contest. China is in a position where if their exports to the US Fall, they can offset that loss of demand by increasing their fiscal expenditure, loosening their monetary policy. It won't be perfect, but they can offset part of the loss of export revenue.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But that's short term. They can't do that long term. They got 1.5 billion people and those factories start to turn down. Those people don't have 401ks, doctor they don't have any bank. That's communists. They live week to week.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

They can do it for quite a while. On the other hand, the United States depends on China for some goods that we can't produce here and we can't source from other countries. So I think our adjustment may be a little bit more challenging Give me.

[Bill O'Reilly]

An example of some of those goods that we can't source from another country.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Rare earths is far and away the best example. China has almost a complete monopoly on the refining of rare earths, which are.

[Bill O'Reilly]

That's why Trump wants to deal with Greenland. Right.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

It will be a decade before you get any rare earths out of Greenland.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, but that's the reason, right?

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

That's part of it, certainly, yes.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, and let's get back to the.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Let me go back to what you said about 401 s. Another reason the Chinese are not in such a tough position is their pension system does not depend on the stock market in China. In the US we see a lot of people panicking because their 401ks are going down in value. They're cutting back on their expenditure.

[Bill O'Reilly]

That's a given. I mean, there's no free investment in China at all, except for the oligarchs. But you said that they can sustain supporting their own population, again, 1.5 billion, for a while. You know, you know that the Chinese deficit, now, the deficit spending over there is at a record high. I mean, their whole yuan gonna collapse if they can't get out of this trade war with Trump. It's gonna collapse. Nobody's gonna want their money. You know that.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

They have a. They have, yes, you're right. They do have a current deficit, but their government debt compared to that of the United States is very small. They've got some headroom.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But again, we have an economic machine that generates trillions of dollars. They don't have that. They're dependent on selling stuff to us, to Southeast Asia and the eu. Believe me when I tell you, Doctor, that part of the deal that Trump's going to make with the EU is, yeah, we're going to cut back a little on your China exports. Right? He goes, okay, that's what's going to happen. You know.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Maybe, but all I'm saying is the leverage is not entirely on the US Side.

[Bill O'Reilly]

No, no, and I agree with that. It's dangerous, ultra dangerous. What about the war machine? Are you worried about the Chinese war machine?

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Well, they're ramping up their military expenditures and it's been going on for a decade. Quite frankly, not very much of it is financed by the 6 or 700 billion we send to China. They have a, you know, their domestic economy is 12, 13 trillion. So a few hundred billion coming from the United States is not a decisive factor.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But if they want to buy tech and stuff like that, they got to buy with dollars yuan's not going to. People aren't going to sell them stuff for their currency. They can operate within their borders with that, but if they want to go out, they have to pay dollars.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

They have a, an industrial complex that produces most of their military equipment. They're not buying a lot of sophisticated military equipment on the international market. They don't need dollars to build up their military strength.

[Bill O'Reilly]

No, I disagree with that 100% because I know what they're doing with Star wars and these drones up there and the space stuff and all of those high tech weapons. They're not self sufficient in that area.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

They're a leader in drones. They're a leader in drones and then producing them domestically.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yeah, but they need parts to produce it. They need all of that tech to produce it. Now what about Apple? Apple is going to probably pull out of China. How badly is Apple going to hurt them?

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Well, the question I would say is how bad is Apple going to be hurt by Trump's tariffs? Their market in the US Is going to collapse when the price of iPhones doubles or triples.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, I don't disagree with that. Apple's going to get hurt, but they're going to find a way to bring down their costs. It's a pretty genius company. So the scenario that you're portraying is that China has much more advantage and that Trump's foolish to go up against them and should have just left everything alone. Is that what you're telling me?

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

No, I'm saying that Trump is overestimating his leverage. He certainly has some leverage. He may prevail in the end. I'm not forecasting that he's going to fail, but I think he's probably overestimating his leverage. It's a more uncertain outcome, I would say, than what you're portraying.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Do you think that Xi wants this confrontation?

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

No, I don't think he does.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Do you think he's willing then to deal?

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Well, his people have said they're willing to come to negotiating table, but they're not going to do it if they have to make a whole lot of.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Concessions as they're going to keep the unfair trade thing in place no matter what.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

They will make some concessions in a balanced negotiation, but I don't think they're going to put themselves in the same position as the 70 some other countries that are begging for a deal they.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Don'T want even if the economy of China wobbles, because that's what Trump is hoping for, that maybe.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

But their economy has slowed down quite a bit over the last decade, and they're still carrying on.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But quality of life is not approved in our country very much.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Well, for most people in China, their incomes are two to three times what they were a decade ago.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yeah, which was nothing a decade ago. Come on, you know what the incomes are. They. They live. They live week to week over there. I mean, this is what I mean. If those factories start to slow down, those people are laid off. Yeah, you're right. The Chinese government can pump in artificial stuff to keep it going for a little while, but I'll tell you what, they're messing around with that fuse there. Whereas the United States capacity to support its population of 330 million is vastly superior to China. Last word.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Well, I'm not a predictor, but we'll see how this plays out. I think China has a few more strengths than you're giving them credit for.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, And I appreciate that.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

I'm not saying they'll prevail.

[Bill O'Reilly]

No, I know. We got it. You think? I'm underestimating Trump's advantage here, and you may be right. And we appreciate you coming in, Doctor. Thank you.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Thank you.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, Trump's approval rating, and this was right after the first stock market pullback. Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac's not a great poll. I hope it's getting better. I like the school. Great hockey team, fair sample. First question, do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump's handling the job? Proof. 41 disapprove. 53. That's down big for Trump. Okay. Second, do you approve or disapprove of Trump handling the economy in general? 40 approved, 55 disprove. That's all about the stock market there. 100%. Third, do you approve or disprove the way Trump is handling trade? Same number. 39 approved. 55 disapprove. Exactly the same number. Foreign policy. Approved. 40% disapprove. 54. Same number. All about emotion. All about the stock market decline. That's what it's about. And next week, who knows, right? I. These people on television are telling you they know, oh, we might have a recession. Whoa, don't listen. Nobody know. Just heard me in the doctor. I thought it was a pretty good discussion. He's got his point of view, I got my point of view. All right. I think we got a little more juice than he does, but he could be right. I can't guarantee my analysis 100% correct, but I think it is. You heard a lot about inflation not coming down. That's bull. The precious Lies about this. So oil today, $59 a barrel worldwide. A year ago under Joe Biden. Remember Joe, $85 a barrel gone from 85 to 59. Hello, mainstream media want to report that no eggs. Remember the egg hysteria? Okay? So since Trump has been in office, eggs are down 50%. Price of eggs and falling because that bird flu thing is over. And here's what the anti Trump people, here's how they set up the eggs. Go. What's going on in the world in the last 30 days? Well, let's see. Egg prices are up, goods are up, stock market is down. I mean, try to explain that to a mother now that's paying $6 for egg.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

Or me, who paid $6 for a.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Gallon of gas just a mile away from here.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

I mean, it's hard to explain to.

[Bill O'Reilly]

The American people today that somehow this is going to get better and their situations are going to get better. One thing that I know everyone cares about right now is egg prices. And we did see another big increase in egg prices. This is just month over month, 10%. That was March 12th. You see, if you hate Trump, you're going to find a way, no matter what it is. Now, all of those egg heads, thank you. Thank you very much. You think they're going to go, gee, you know, I was wrong about the eggs, I was wrong about the oil. No, let's ignore it because they know that people don't even remember what they say. Panama is another one. Remember the hysteria about Panama. Trump's going to take over Panama. And Trump did nothing to stop that. But yesterday, a deal was announced between the United States and Panama. New defense and security pact aimed at reinforcing control over the canal. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says, hey, we're happy with this deal. We like the deal. So no takeover. The Panama has made a deal, a security deal with the usa. And mark my words, they're going to drop their shipping prices for US vessels. So here's what I said on January 20, go, whatever deal President Trump wants, you'll get from Panama. They can't stand up. So he's got that in his mind, believe me. And that'll be one of the first things he'll get, what, 75% discount on all American ship, including military. And then they'll have to boot the Chinese out and replace them with American security companies. That's what I think. It's going to go down like a bull in a China shop. Donald Trump came in to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. but with his bold reform and Rejuvenation agenda comes so many legal questions. Nationwide injunctions, are they constitutional? What's the deal with birthright citizenship? What about the administrative state? Can he actually clean the deep state and end the politicization of the federal bureaucracy? I'm Josh Hammer, host of America on Trial with Josh Hammer. Subscribe to America on Trial with Josh Josh Hammer, for your daily updates on all of these questions and more. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Good night. Now, I'm not a genius. I just know the world. I understand the dynamic of the world. Trump goes take over Panama. Not going to take it over. He got what he wanted. New security pack. American controls the security of the canal, lower shipping rates. Chinese companies already got. He got 100%. Greenland is going to be the same thing. Same thing. Iran, now we're getting a little more complicated. So Iran's got a nuclear weapons facility. Okay. It's outside of Tehran. It's underground. Israel has infiltrated it. The Mossad. Israel knows pretty much what's going on there. As far as the Iranians developing a nuclear weapon, both Israel and the United States agree that cannot happen, will not happen. And if the Iranians don't give it up, there are going to be military action. Here's what Trump said yesterday. Go with Iran. Yeah, if it requires military, we're going to have the military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. He'll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do. Okay? So on Saturday, this coming in Oman, there is a face to face with the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragachi and the US envoy to Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and they're going to discuss nukes. Now, all that has to happen to prevent any military action against Iran, and I'll explain what that would be in a moment, is that Iran says, you know what, we're going to pause our nuclear weapons program. I'm going to allow UN inspectors into our facility to make sure that happens. That's all. And then Trump will sweeten it up with some kind of economic benefit to Iran. Now, say Iran doesn't do that, says Fu to Witkoff in the United States and to Netanyahu in Israel. What will happen is that the Israeli air force, maybe the US in conjunction with the Israelis, will bomb their ports. They get four, four major ports on the Gulf. That's where the oil, Iranian oil, goes out for sale and the food comes in. There's no food in Iran. It's a desert. They need to import their food for the Persian people. To stay alive. Afghanistan borders them to the east. They don't have any food. Putin could get some food in, but Putin's got his own problems now. All right? So those four ports to disable them, five hours, maybe, maybe six, and they're done. Nothing in, nothing out. That's the military action. Iran has got no cards. Media madness. Okay? So we have discussed a little bit, and I'm going to write a Sunday column on this. There's a bunch of books out about Biden, how befuddled Biden was. I don't know why anybody buy these books. I reported that four years ago. It was not hard to ascertain Joe Biden's mental condition. It was very easy. These books are based on anonymous sources, okay? Which I don't read books that are based on anonymous. So it's a waste of my time. Okay? So the central thesis of the books, all of them, is that the Democratic Party knew that Biden was diminished and so did the corporate media. Enter Chuck Todd, who was on Piers Morgan. Go. The only thing I can chalk it up to is this, whatever you want to call it, this fear that some members of the media had sometimes that they would be perceived as helping Trump if they somehow diminished Biden. Right. That it was some sort of zero sum game. And I think this has been the fundamental mistake that many members of the traditional press have done. I mean, the only thing I can chalk it up to is that, no, they were told to do this. And Chuck Todd knows that. He worked for NBC. The entire culture of NBC News, the entire culture, 100%, is Trump bad, liberals good. Every show, everywhere, everyone. And there's Todd. Well, you know, it's just. They didn't want to enable Trump. No, did what you were told to do and they hosed you anyway. CNN had a town hall with Bernie Sanders last night. Why? Why Bernie Sanders? He's not in the news cycle. He doesn't have any power. He's a communist. Why would you give him an hour and they're gonna believe me? I don't have the ratings in yet. But nobody, nobody, they won't crack a million on that. And it was Anderson Cooper and they don't get any ratings anyway, but they'll go down. So I said to my staff, I can't watch this. I was just too busy. So just give me what Bernie. Give me one soundbite in an hour that Bernie said. Here it is. There are some of us who from day one have understood that we've got to stand up and rally the American people to fight against this horrendous agenda, which at the end of the day is really significantly about giving massive tax breaks to the top 1%. All right, so what Trump and the Republicans are saying is, hey, let's cut Medicaid by some 880 billion and let's use those savings to give tax breaks to the very wealthiest people in this country. It's so ridiculous. So ridiculous. But he says it every day, Bernie Sanders, and he believes it because he wants to believe it. There's absolutely no truth at all. It would be like me coming on this broadcast tonight and saying next Tuesday the nation of Canada is going to apply for U.S. statehood. That's not happening. It's never going to happen. But I would tell you that as a Bernie Sanders does. Now, who wants to hear this? It's so far out of the realm of possibility. That's what they do. Apartment of Homeland Security says that thousands of illegal immigrants have moved out of here. Okay. They have said we're not staying in the US we're self deporting. So what is the number? Well, my crack staff got it 5,000. Let's see, 5,000 out of 14 million. No, that's not a big number. 5,000 said. Now they may have been homesick or they might, you know, but that's not a lot. Now it was 5 million, but the self deportation, not working. Smart life. Okay. This study is from aarp. And I know some of you don't like aarp, but I'm kind of neutral on it. I like AMAC better, but aarp, they're not totally useless. They did a study and it says 20% of Americans over the age of 50 have no retirement savings at all. Not a dime. I believe it. 61% say they're worried they're not going to have enough money to support themselves in retirement. And you should be worried. If you're 50 years old and you got no retirement savings, you're in a heap of trouble. Now every day I get letters from concierge members and that's on billoriley.com that's a program. If you get into trouble or have questions about anything, we will help you with the trouble and answer your questions within 24 hours. Okay. I would say that 25% of the letters begin with I have no money, I'm broke, I'm sick, I got this, my kids, that, I don't have any money. I just got laid off. I don't have any money. I don't have any money. Heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking. To me because I want all Americans to prosper. I can't understand why people don't have any money. Because from the time I was 10 years old, I worked cutting lawn, shoveling snow, babysitting. Then I painted houses. On and on and on. Always, always worked. My father said, you are going to save 10% of everything you earn. And I did so. Therefore I always had money. But apparently millions and millions of Americans don't. And I don't own it. I don't get it. If you don't have any money, you are powerless. You are dependent on other people. That is the worst thing you can be. You cannot depend on another person, even if it's your wife or husband or. You can't. You have to be self sufficient, smart life. The other people can help you and add to the quality of your life. But you cannot be dependent on anyone. And the only way out of that is, is to have resources, to have money in this capitalistic system. Think about it. Because you're going to get it if you don't have any money. If I were 50, I had no money. I'd hop in an Uber and I'd. I'd work two jobs for two years. That's what I would do. Stay in history. April 10th, 1970. Paul McCartney says he's through with the Beatles. Fascinating story. 55 years ago I wrote about it and Killing the Legends in great detail. Essentially what happened to the Beatles was they became so successful and so wealthy so fast. Remember, 1964-70 is a six year arc where they sold billions of records. But they went nuts. They started taking drugs and doing all this other thing. The only guy who was even relatively stable was Ringo. The other three were like all over the place. And then Lennon takes up with Yoko Ono complete. I don't know what word I want to use, but when you read Killing the Legend to see how she behaved. Yoko Ono, nobody could have put up with that. So McCarthy. Enough. Okay? No statement issue. We look for some tape on this. Nothing. McCarty went out and immediately founded his own band, Wings. Go. Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time. Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you. Maybe I'm amazed at the way you me out of time. You hung me on a line. Maybe I'm amazed. All right. To this day the Beatles have streamed 2 billion times a year, hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to the two survivors, Star and McCartney. And that happened to break up 55 years ago today. Okay, we are going to do in the Final thought, a piece on how dumb the press is. Right back with it. All right. Final thought of the day, as I have told you. And I did an interview with Dan Abrams on his Serious channel today. And I just said, you know, a lot of the television pundits aren't smart enough to do the job. They don't know enough. So let me give you a you know about me and cliches, cliches drive me nuts. This is what I hear every single day that I watch television news. All right. Every day I hear that, the same words over and over and over. The first one, by the way, go. And by the way, this whole thing with Trump right now, and I take the view that he's going for real here.

[Dr. Nicholas Lardy]

And oh, by the way, he hasn't charged reciprocal tariffs.

[Bill O'Reilly]

We're not using Jennifer's last name, by the way, for privacy reasons. By the way, 39 billion reopened. And by the way, the average US tariff was two and a half percent. Stop saying by the way. Stop saying at the end of the day and stop saying we'll see. Go. All right. Well, we'll have to see how it all plays out. Well, we'll see if the fiscal problems are fixed in the near term and then we'll see if they have the votes and we'll see how they cover it this time. Kay, when you're being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, you got to give me more than we'll see. Okay. Geez. I mean, where is the quality control, by the way? By the way, by the way, this means they're not thinking. They're not thinking, they're reciting. I know, I know it's me. I know it's me. I know you don't care, but I had to do it. Final thought, we have a column on the Biden books. You're going to like this column on Sunday. We thank you for watching us today. I'm Bill O'Reilly, and we'll see you again on Monday.