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Read along with Hugh and Dr. Arne.
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And enjoy Winston Churchill's My Early Life on a deeper level. Purchase your very own copy of My Early Life at the Hillsdale College Bookstore. Just visit hillsdale.edu radio. Learn about the fascinating first 30 years.
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In the life of one of the.
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Most provocative and compelling leaders of the 20th century, Winston Churchill, in my early life, Hillsdale EDU radio radio. That's Hillsdale Edu Radio. To buy your copy of My Early Life.
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The following program is pre recorded.
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Morning Glory and Evening Grace America. I'm Hugh Hewitt. Welcome to the Hugh Hewitt Show. It is that time of the week, you know from the music, the Hilltale dialogue. Whether you're listening on a radio station or watching on the Salem News Channel, you should tune in. Dr. Larry Aaron is my guest. Dr. Larri is president of Hillsdale College. All things hillsdalesdale. Edu. All of our previous Hillsdale dialogues are collected@hueforhilldale.com we're going to take a break today from our reading of the My Early Life by Winston Churchill. We'll go back to that next week and how he gets into the battle, the River War. We'll talk about that next week. But Dr. Arne, it's been almost three months. About time to take a step back and look at Donald Trump. You have always, from 2015 forward, been Trump friendly. You are not partisan. Hillsdale College is not partisan, but you have been Trump friendly. Not in any part, in any way engaged in the repetitive Trump attacks that's gone on. So I'll start with the the general question before I run through the border inflation, the tariffs, the Israel, Iran war, the Ukraine, Russia war, and the tax cuts. What do you make of everything and the speed at which it's happening thus far?
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Well, isn't it amazing that never saw so much energy and rapidity? I think the most important thing going on is the doge and all that that means. And that's because it potentially makes an adjustment between the administrative state and the constitutional processes that ought to govern the country. So it's been established that the president feels at least that he can undertake to fire people. He can cut cost. They're supposed to work for him. He's been elected. Laws are supposed to be passed by the Congress, not by them. And he's exploiting a Supreme Court case that says that if they undertake a major question in the regulatory state and it's not directly authorized by Congress, it's not constitutional. So he's been doing that. And I think that's the most important thing because it touches the question how should we decide all these other things you listed?
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Interesting. Yeah. In the NFL and you're a football fan, they always talk about how a player performs in space when he gets free with the ball. And Trump is free with the ball right now because the Democrats are on their heel and the Republicans are working on getting the tax cuts passed. I think he's going to keep moving at this speed for a good period of time. I think people need to get adjusted to a speed that is completely different from the impairment of Joe Biden. And that by the way, is another story we should talk about. The book fight came out this week and it's now conclusively proven he had cognitive problems, Dr. Arndt, the sort of problems that should have triggered the 25th Amendment and didn't. Should we pause for a moment just say that was a scandal and many people knew about it.
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Yeah, yeah. And for partisan reasons, you know, they covered it up. Many people did and they knew. And you know, the change in him, just, you know, watch interviews with him on YouTube over 10 years, he's just a different guy. And, and that should have, something should have happened about that. And you know, when I want to turn to the border, he had to be pushed.
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Yeah, he did. And that the days between June 27th and July, I guess 24th when he was pushed out are among the most dramatic. We didn't see the drama but it's now revealed in this book. And Nancy the Knife, Nancy Pelosi is the one who gutted him. But my goodness, people knew, everybody knew they ought to be tainted for life for concealing that from the country. Maybe they thought they were doing us good, but they weren't. So doctor under the border. I'll be on Brian Kilmeade show tomorrow night and I'm in talk. I hope to talk to him about what Charles Grassley revealed. Among the many stories about the open border the IG at the Department of Homeland Security revealed this week and Senator Grassley, wonderful guy at age 90 proving you can be in your 90s and be fully competent. The IG report revealed that 448,000 children crossed the border during the Biden years unaccompanied by an adult. 31,000 of them are completely missing. 48,000 of them did not show up at a court date at which they were given to talk about their circumstances. 223,000 of them haven't been given a court date yet. But it's mind boggling. We got almost a half million probably it is a half million because we're not counting unaccounted for runaways that we never saw across the border. It's astonishing we let that happen. Like a reversion to the 18th century.
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Yeah, yeah. And mess. You know, I, apparently the border is much quieter there. I've crossed the border from Mexico on foot one time and it was a mess. And you know, long lines, things are dirty, crowds, you know, you sort of, you know, it's sort of like the third world on the Mexican side of the border and for some extent on the American side. And then it changes as you get towards San Diego. But yeah, it's, it's just, it just was complete chaos, unrestricted. And then the suddenness with which it was brought under control is itself astonishing. It's not, apparently it's not like that now. And it just took saying so and the fact that they were unwilling to say so, that's deeply. Well, it's either it's one, it's a combination of two things. Probably it's deeply irresponsible. But the other thing it is, is adherence to a set of principles that are themselves destructive of the nation state, of the idea of it, that you should have borders, that the government belongs to the citizens because the citizens are a fluid thing that change freely with whatever whim dominates.
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Dr. Arne, there is a long standing theory called the Cloward Piven theory advanced by the radical left where the radical left proposes overwhelming institutions of stability. Now, I'm not one who believes in the great replacement theory because it doesn't work out that way. Immigrants tend to work hard, generally speaking, they become good citizens and now they're voting for Donald Trump. But it did overwhelm our system. I mean, we've not done anything like this ever. It's bigger than the great migration of 1890-1920. It's just astonishing what happened during the Biden years. And I don't know, do you think they had it planned?
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Well, there's got to be, you know, first of all, you were talking about the competence of the President. I think a lot of the time, especially in the last couple of years, I think they proceeded without a plan. I think it was whoever was in the right spot at the right time deciding. And, you know, that's another thing. If there's doubt who's controlling the executive branch, then there's doubt who's accountable. So that's a problem. But I would also say that there is this belief that we have to revolutionize the country and change its institutions fundamentally. And one tool of that is the border should disappear. Elon Musk has said that, that some of this happened for political purposes. In other words, get a bunch of immigrants in swing states and get them registered to vote and change the outcome of elections. He said that. I don't know what evidence he has for that, but it's one suspects, doesn't one.
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I suspect the chaos theory is the better theory, that without a president at the helm, people didn't get orders to do their job. Because the best explanation for anything the government does is always incompetence. It always comes down to incompetence. And incompetence manifests itself in paralysis. And I think that's what happened. What's not incompetent is what is very planned, is we're talking on the second consecutive day of market tumult because of the tariffs. So let's start now and we'll go into the second segment. I approach this as understanding the tariffs occurring in the envelope of we're in Cold War 2.0 and only Donald Trump and a few people realize it, that letting China into the WTO was the biggest mistake we've ever made and we fell for it. Do you understand the tariffs as part of that construct or do you disagree with me and think we should put them to one side?
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No, I think that. I think they're thinking like that. There are two things going on with the tariffs and. And I'm not an expert on tariffs, except this way. I believe this thing is a firm thing. I believe that free trade is the correct default for the same reason that the division of labor and free trade inside a country is a good idea that's actually guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. But national boundaries matter a lot and you've got to make the stuff necessary to your national defense to have a national defense. And our ability to do that is compromised now. We've hollowed out our manufacturing base. Very important things. I was told a story. I think it's true that we have a budget for submarines, big, big submarines, where we have a decided military advantage and we have a budget for a certain number, and I think the number might be three, and we only make two a year because China only gives us the parts for two. And so that's not good. Right. They have a bigger Navy than we have and they're growing faster.
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I do know that they gave us Covid and they didn't produce the PPP that we thought they were going to produce. I do know we've just got to change that relationship to move to reality. I'll be right back with Dr. Larry Arne.
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Hey there. It's Scott Bertram, host of the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour. Anniversaries play a key role in this week's episode. We start with Mark Moyer, William P. Harris, chair of military history at Hillsdale College. We discuss the legacy and the lessons learned from the Vietnam War 50 years after the fall of Saigon. Meanwhile, the Great Gatsby turns 100 this year. Benedict Whelan from our English department joins us to discuss the themes in that book. And Julianne Hillock, founding principal at Pozo Academy in New Mexico, talks to us about the unique challenges of running a school in a remote part of the country, plus being honored by the Hillsdale College Alumni Association. All that this week on the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour. Find it at podcast hillsdale. Edu or wherever you get your audio. Hillsdale College is a small, Christian classical liberal arts college that operates independently of government funding, and we want you or your son or daughter to apply. At Hillsdale, students grow in heart and mind by studying timeless truths in a supportive community dedicated to the highest things. Hillsdale College costs significantly less than other nationally ranked private liberal arts colleges and receives regular recognition as a best value. And nearly all students receive financial aid. Our robust core curriculum, vibrant student life and 8 to 1 student to faculty ratio make for an education like no other. For more information or to fill out an application, visit hillsdale.edu info. That's hillsdale eduinfo.
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Welcome back, America. The Hilltale Dialogue on this Friday is underway on April 4th. Dr. Arne is my guest from hillsdale college. Dr. Arn, we talked about the border. We'll come back to tariffs if we have enough time. But the tariffs are going to unfold. We're only in day two of them and it's going to take a while to figure out that. The Financial Times had a headline this morning and I think it's among the best and still most reliable newspapers in the world. That said, people are lining up to make deals with us and they want to get right with the United States. We're no longer the rich relative that's going to bail them out. And it might work, might not work. I'm going to suspend judgment because I'm not an economist and I know Thomas Sowell doesn't like him. I know David Bonson doesn't like him, but I'm a cold warrior. So I think that's the best way. I do want to go to the most obvious campaign promise he kept he said Israel would be our. Our friend, there would be no daylight between us and Israel, and that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And he has moved to make sure that we are shoulder to shoulder with Israel, that the Houthis understand they can't shoot at our ships, and that Iran is on notice. And we got more B2s assembled at Diego Garcia and two carrier groups. We got more firepower in the Gulf than we've had since Operation Praying Manus, when Reagan sunk two thirds of the Iranian navy in 1988. So I think he's delivered on the Israel, Iran war. What do you think?
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Oh, yeah, mostly it's, you know, in. In Gaza, their rule, Hamas rule in Gaza was cruel and exploitive and despotic. And there are demonstrations against them right now. And that's dangerous for anybody who does it because they shoot people. And so Gaza is not happy and the Houthis are not good people and the Iranians are not good people. And so the idea that we will stand against Israel when they're the ones who got attacked is just crazy. And we're not doing that anymore. And that's a good thing.
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Yeah. And again, I return to the book that came out this week, fight, and to a conversation Prime Minister Netanyahu had with a Hebrew speaking journalist. But I read the subtitles. Biden actually put a lot more pressure on him or Biden and Blinken and Sullivan than we ever knew. There was a lot of daylight between Israel and the United States, and as a result, a display of weakness that encouraged resistance and may have brought Iran closer to a nuke. I just don't think people have any understanding what American weakness means. It's so provocative. And we're learning it again. Reagan showed us after Carter, it can be repaired. Do you think we have enough time to repair it now?
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Well, we don't know, of course, but we're taking all deliberate steps to do so. And that's all we can do. Right? I mean, we're, you know, weapons are changing very fast. I watched a YouTube for the first time the other day with Palmer Luckey, and he's a really interesting guy. He invented Oculus, sold it to Facebook, got rich. I think he was 19 years old when he did it. And he's making weapons now. And he doesn't do it in the regular way. The regular way is you go to the Defense Department, these big defense contractors with a cost plus contract. We want to study this thing. And you get paid for studying it. And the longer it takes, the more money you spend. You get 10% on top of that. Right. So they have every incentive to take time and spend money. What he does is he designs things, then he goes and tries to sell them. And he has every motive to move at speed and try to come up with something innovative and offer a good deal. So he's taken the risk. That would be a great reform of defense procurement right there.
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And Joe Lonsdale is doing that. Palantir, Peter Thiel is doing that. It's long overdue. And by the way, when you build a building at Hillsdale College, all things hillsdalesdale Edu, including a wonderful video of the college, you're building a lot right now. Do you do it on a cost plus basis or do you do it on a bid basis?
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Bid basis. What are you talking about? Yeah, you know, and I like to. It puts people to a lot of work, but it's better to work on the cost for a long time before you build the dang building. And then it's a really good idea to remember what the budget was. And, you know, it takes three or four years, and it's really easy to cover that up if you want to. But the truth is, we take that to the board repeatedly how we do it against the budget, and that's, you know, because, you know, billing costs have expanded terribly. Right. And we are building some beautiful things right now. And we're doing it, you know, there was an advantage to building them all at once. Start with the thing in the back of the quad, the north quad of the campus, and proceed then to the. Toward the mouth of the quad. And do it in that order and you can get it all done faster. And I didn't want to do that because the more urgent things are actually near the mouth of the quad. The library is the big thing. We're expanding the library. Our library is divided into hell, purgatory, and heaven. There are three floors, and they move among them on the state of their soul. And so we've had to preserve the three floors so we can still have hell purgatory in heaven, but it's going to be more spacious and very beautiful. Really great. Right. And we need that. There's an urgent need for that thing because it's crowded in there and you have to like, they're the kids today. It's odd. They still use books like crazy, but now they've got their computers and so they. It's. It's like going in a cubicle in a. In a. One of these airline lounges in the airport. They kind of work like that. They spread out. Right. And so it's cool. And they like to work with commotion around them. And it's pretty quiet in the library, but there's stuff going on. And by the way, heaven is quieter than hell in our library. And individual students, like, they'll have a long day or evening studying and they might be in all three of those places in the course of it.
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Yeah. I was listening to Charlie Kirk this week talk to Victor Davis Hanson. And Victor noted he's going to be your commencement speaker in May. That's going to be a great one, I think it's going to be. I'll be right back with Dr. Lilly on don't Go Anywhere America. It's the Hillsdale Dialogue. You can, however, if you sign up for Imprimis, which is free, go to Hillsdale Edu and you can sign up. It's the monthly speech digest that Hillsdale College sends out for free. I am absolutely certain that whatever it is that Victor Davis Hanson says in May on the campus in Hillsdale will be the following edition of Imprimis. So don't miss it with Dr. Larry Arn as we review everything that's gone on in the first few weeks of the Trump administration. Stay tuned. Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh Hewitt. Dr. Larry Ahren is president of Hillsdale College. This is the Week in Review segment that I do with him every four or five weeks we stop doing the My Early Life book. We'll be back on it next week. Dr. Arn, maybe the most significant thing Donald Trump has done has been to uproot dei. There was an announcement this week. University of Michigan is shutting it. It's pulling up root and branch. Other schools are collapsing it left, right and center. Law firms are dumping it, everyone. It's an enormous achievement. And it's a constitutional objective that has been I know this week is tariff week, so we're talking about tariffs, tariffs, tariffs, but we can't go past that. Do you think it will hold, in other words, the reversion to merit that he's pushing for? Do you think it will hold?
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Well, we'll see. That's a prediction, right? The future, though imminent, is obscure, but it is the right principle because, you know, all this DEI stuff in any university that receives money from the public, which we're proud not to do, that's illegal. And it's been illegal since this, you know, since the Civil War and the Civil War amendments extended through the late the biggest thing is the 64 Civil Rights Act. You're not supposed to demonstrate. Demonstrate on discriminate sex. Yeah, discriminate. And they, and they do. And, and they even codify that. They do. And publish that. They do. And they apologize that they hadn't been doing that before. And so that's nuts. Right. And so he just took it on directly. And he's got the Supreme Court behind it, it appears. And I wish he didn't even need that. But I do believe in the independent courts. I just don't believe the Supreme Court is the absolute and final judge of the Constitution. But I agree with Abe Lincoln on that. But yeah, it's an amazing thing. And the fact that he took it on head on and the fact that the scamper away from it is pell mell. That's great to see.
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That's an accomplishment we can't overlook. Now, he has been enjoined in many of the things he's trying to do and he's been enjoined with nationwide injunctions, also known as universal injunction. Andy McCarthy and I were talking about this yesterday and that's got to get to the court soon and the Supreme Court has got to stop that because that is not what Article 3 was intended. It was not intended to run the executive branch. And there were steps made last year, as you said, the major question doctrine, the reversal of the Chevron deference. Do you think the court will get it right, Dr. Arne?
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Well, I think if they don't, it'll be a real live constitutional crisis because it'll be a ruling that the president cannot control the executive branch. And so I pray that they will. If you want to know how it should be, all you got to do is read the opinions, sometimes dissenting opinions of Thomas and Alito, who've written about these universal injunctions and how silly they are and wrong they are. And if they sustain that and if they, if they say that the president can't fire people who are working on major questions not authorized by Congress, they'll be reversing themselves. But that would be like the Dred Scott decision. That would be, you know, that would. The Dred Scott decision gutted the original platform of the Republican Party, which was to forbid slavery from growing anywhere else in the Union. And the court ruled that they couldn't do that. And Lincoln writes in paraphrase, if in a single case before ordinary parties in a divided court, the Supreme Court can establish for all time the law. The people are not their own rulers anymore. And because the war intervened, Churchill didn't. Churchill, Lincoln didn't have to react to that what he said he was going to do was carry on and forbid slavery from, from going into the federal territories. But he was told by the court he couldn't do that. And that's, you know, devastating. Right. This would be like that. And then I think it's handy that we have Abraham Lincoln to tell us how to react to that.
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That is, I hope it doesn't come to that. I am optimistic that the court has allowed it to season and there are some really awful nationwide injunctions out there, the substance of which have to be struck down, but the practice of which must be curbed. And I'm kind of an optimist on this. I do think the court realizes the balance is unbalanced and they can't allow a district court judge. And true or false, you're more optimistic about the court now than you were 10 years ago. Sure.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's some disturbing signs, you know, among a couple of them. But I want one should be hopeful. That's right. And, and, you know, that's, yeah.
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We'll be right back. Dr. Larry Aharon is my guest. All THINGS Hillsdale at Hillsdale.
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Edu.
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All of the courses we've talked about, whether it's the totalitarian books, whether it is the progressive era, whether it is the one on the Constitution, their first one, they're all available for free, as is in Primus. All you have to do is sign up for it. And all the Hillsdale dialogues are found@youforhilsdale.com next Ukraine and Russia. Stay tuned. Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh Hewitt. Dr. Larry Arne is my guest, president of Hillsdale College. All things hillsdalesdale.edu. Dr. Ahn Much focus was on the Ukraine, Russia war, and everyone was eager to proclaim Donald Trump an appeaser of Putin. Turns out he's not. Turns out he took care of getting Zelenskyy to the table first. Now he's mad at Putin because Putin isn't dealing straight. And I think once again, people jump the gun on underestimating Donald Trump. What do you think?
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Yeah, he's not an easy guy to push around. I have thought for a year or more that this would be hard to settle. And the reason is it takes two to tango. And Russia is going to have to think it's in its interest to settle. And that can't just be carrots. There's going to have to be stick. And Trump is talking about the stick part now and he's going to need that. And I, you know, I think it's a very complex situation. And I think a better, you know, probably it's true a better diplomacy over the last 20 years might have stopped this thing. You know, Ukraine became an independent country because the Soviet Union wanted still to control it, which they did. But they wanted another vote at the United Nations. And it's got a long complicated history. Apparently there is a Ukraine and its independence should be protected. Exactly what its borders are has been controversial for generations. So I don't think that.
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Can I tell you something about giving up everything. I've been rereading Solzhenitsyn one day in the Life of Ivan Denesevich I had forgotten that there are Ukrainians in the camp and they're different from the Russians in the camp. They are Catholics and they cross themselves and they pray differently. But that most important of books noted that the Ukrainians were different from the Russians was to me a reveal. I'd forgotten. I haven't read the thing in probably 10 years. I try and reread it every 10 years because it reminds us why Leninism is so awful and Stalin was so brutal. But the difference between Ukrainians and Russians are real. But there are also Russian speaking Ukrainians in the book. So this problem is not new.
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No, no. And you know the borders of Europe, one of the. We've talked about this, talking about America, one of them. One of the moving ideas of the America's founders was that we should not reproduce Europe in North America. We need one united nation, vast and sprawling across the whole thing, living under common laws. Because if you get borders among tribes, you get problems. And that's the story of Europe. Europe is a. The center of wonderful and essential things in civilization. And its border wars are the wars they have and have always had and have now today and. And the borders are missing.
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What do you make of J.D. vance going to Greenland? The talk about the Panama Canal and the punching back and forth with our Canadian neighbors Because to me I don't think he's James K. Polk, but I think he is certain about wanting to define the North American sphere in which the Russians and the Chinese may not meddle. That's what I think is driving this.
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Oh yeah, I think so too. It's, you know, we. I looked up some trade numbers because I knew he was going to ask me about that. And in the last, what, 50 years the percent of American GDP involved in international trade has gone from about 16% to about 31% by world standards. That's still pretty low, but it's higher than it used to be. And the idea that we've got, you know, first of all, we suffer a disadvantage. We are separated by oceans from most of the world's people, but there's also an advantage in that, and that is we have time and distance to protect ourselves and build our lives here. Right. And so you don't want to give up the advantage. You're going to suffer the disadvantage. Their place in Ukraine is important. Trump wants minerals there. Right. To want them. Right. We do want to trade with the world and we want freedom of the seas, but it doesn't. It can't start by giving up the advantage of our relative isolation. We'll still have the disadvantage even after that. So he's, you know, and Greenland is important because between Greenland, Iceland and the UK is the choke point of the North Atlantic. And it was very important in the Second World War, and it will be very important again. Also true that the polar routes are the short way to get in the other hemisphere, and it's up there by the Pole toward that way, as is Seattle and as is Alaska and as is much of Canada. And so, yeah, that land matters.
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In Blind Man's Bluff, A story of the Cold War under the water, it's absolutely the case that the North Atlantic is where Cold War II will play out under the oceans. That's where the Chinese. Chinese are going to be pretty good at building their own nuclear submarines pretty soon. They're trying. They had one sink on them, but that's where it's going to play out. Our friend Tom Cotton very, very clear on that. I wish people, more people would understand. Trump is very clear on China, and I don't know that the Republican Party, Democrats aren't. Do you think the Republican Party is clear on China now?
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Oh, yeah. And also he's clear in this way. China is very big and very strong, and it isn't going to go away, not soon anyway. And so we have to deal with it, and we would infinitely prefer not to have war with it.
C
Amen.
A
Right. But the way not to have war with it is be strong enough that it's not. It's clearly not in their interest either.
C
That brings me to the last subject between this and the second segment. The Trump economic program is twofold. One's got to get through the Congress and that. A quick prediction before we go to break. Do you think Congress will get the. The reconciliation and budget package done before the majority falls apart?
A
I do, yeah. The reason is concentrates the mind wonderfully when you're about to be hanged in two weeks. So they need to do it because otherwise what are they there for? And the midterms are not so far away.
C
Oh my goodness. So please, from your lips to God, that Senator Cotton told me yesterday he thinks it'll get done. But there are some members of the House who love the spotlight so much you must have a show pony or two on the faculty, but boy, they cannot be there in the next two to three weeks. I'll be right back with the final segment of today. We'll talk tariffs after this.
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Hey there, it's Scott Bertram, host of the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour. Anniversaries play a key role in this week's episode. We start with Mark Moyer, William P. Harris, chair of Military history at Hillsdale College. We discuss the legacy and the lessons learned from the Vietnam War 50 years after the fall of Saigon. Meanwhile, the Great Gatsby turns 100 this year. Benedict Whelan from our English department joins us to discuss the themes in that book. And Julianne Hillock, founding principal at Pozio Academy in New Mexico, talks to us about the unique challenges of running a school in a remote part of the country, plus being honored by the Hillsdale College Alumni Association. All that this week on the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour. Find it at Podcast Hillsdale Edu or wherever you get your audio. On the new episode of the Larry Arn Show, Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arn sits down with pastor, professor and author Kevin DeYoung for a one on one conversation. They saw that, you might say, reason and revelation coming together in the American founding and that they didn't have to be it and that there was this groundwork. And it's interesting you talk about in the Hillsdale founding documents because Witherspoon gives a famous sermon in May 1776 leading to the independence, and he says that very civil liberty and religious liberty have always stood or fallen together. Listen to this exclusive interview with Kevin DeYoung right now, only available on the Larry Arn Show. Find it on the Hillsdale College Podcast Network at podcast hillsdale.edu also at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube and subscribe to receive new episodes delivered right to your device. That's Podcast Hillsdale. Eduardo.
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Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh Hewitt. We will come back to my early life next week, but Dr. Larry Arn is with me. I wanted to ask him about the tariff upheavals of this week. Dr. Arn early this morning the Financial Time had the headline donald Trump Triggers race to offer U.S. concessions before tariffs hit Nations. Prepare Offers to Washington, including weapons deals, dropping their own tariffs and moves against China. I began here. I want to end here. I don't understand tariffs. I'm not an economist. I don't know who wins and loses. But I do understand that Donald Trump is not going to let the United States get played again. And that by again, I mean after 1991 when we let China into the WTO, do you think the legacy media can overcome their hostility to him to actually cover the story?
A
No. Well, some of them can, but not much. It's a very partisan world. Right. And it's shameful the way they behave. And here's another thing that listeners should hear. There's a lot going on with the economy and I bet much of it is bigger than the tariff question. And I'll name two things. One is we flooded the country with money. It's never had money policy like we've had lately, and that caused the inflation. And we regulate the banks now to try to keep a damper on it. But we're trying to come out of that. That's one thing. Second, government spending has never been so high for domestic stuff now. And we're trying to get out of that and transfer the resources to the private sector where they can grow, people can work. Right. Those are. And then, goodness sakes, we shut down the whole economy for a year. We never did that before. And so what that means is we are entering a period of profound adjustment and pray that it will work. But it's bound to be difficult. Right. And the tariffs are just the thing. Right. Because that's something different that Trump is doing. And of course, there'll be a tendency to blame everything that's going on on that. But you know, the great Brian Westbury, our friend, writes this week about those other big things that are happening in the economy, and they're big and they're bigger than the tariff question.
C
You know, I have to get Brian on to talk about that. That's an excellent suggestion, as usual. That concludes our look back at the first, not the first 100 days a little bit early, but given the tariff upheavals of this week, I thought I would move up our look back at that. Dr. Larry Arn will be back with me next week. We'll be talking about my early life. We're only on chapters 13, 14 and 15. We're barely starting the Sudan war. So go out and catch up with us because it's a marvelous read. It's an adventure story and there is just fabulous level after fabulous level in it. I know a lot of you have sent me notes saying you're enjoying it greatly after that. Dr. Ryan, I haven't figured it out yet, but I think we're going to go to World War II because it's so relevant, especially the run up to World War II right now.
Podcast: Hillsdale Dialogues
Date: April 7, 2025
Host: Hugh Hewitt
Guest: Dr. Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale College
In this episode, Hugh Hewitt and Dr. Larry P. Arnn pause their regular series on Winston Churchill to reflect on the first three months of the second Trump administration. They explore the rapid pace of change under President Trump, analyzing major policy moves—on the border, tariffs, foreign affairs, DEI, the administrative state, and the courts. Interweaving historical perspective and contemporary developments, they probe the constitutional implications and wider societal effects of Trump’s opening months.
This conversation provides a sweeping, granular look at what the Trump administration has attempted—and often achieved—in its first few months, from border enforcement and DEI dismantling to resetting global alliances and reasserting constitutional prerogatives. Dr. Arnn and Hugh Hewitt intersperse references to history, American founding principles, and the necessity of robust, accountable institutions, always with a focus on why these constitutional questions matter for the country’s direction now.