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Political Commentator 1
Foreign convicted felon Donald Trump's economic policies are so bad, even the hardcore MAGA donors are going on Fox ripping him to shreds. Watch this clip.
Robert
I don't know, Robert. Some of the people we talked to.
Political Commentator 1
Say incompetence, probably the wrong word. Unclear might be a better word. What do you say?
Robert
I mean this, I've been in Finance for 40 years. This is probably the biggest manufactured crisis I've seen with a bunch of unforced errors. The execution of Liberation Day was pathetic. I mean, you have Kevin Hassett in 2019, be very clear. Trade wars are bad, tariffs are attacks. Steve Moore, another Trump advisor. Trade wars are bad, tariffs are attacks. The GOP tariffs are attacks. Trade wars are bad. We're for free trade. You saw April until for the most part, the president blinked both on Fed Powell, Fed Chairman Powell, which I'm glad, as well as the China trade war. Then the markets recovered somewhat, but it was on for the worst month since 1932. And that's not even considering what's going on with bonds where there has been an incredible lack of confidence in the US Dollar and US Investments.
Political Commentator 1
So I've okay, one of my favorite parts about that video is Kellyanne Conway starts grinning ear to ear and she tries so hard to maintain it as he just starts leveling blow after blow after blow. In very simple language, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad. You can see the smile start to dissipate. But this is a, you know, a finance guy. This is a Trump donor and that is Fox News. And the one thing, there are different degrees of MAGA. You have like the base that's like QAnon conspiracy theorists. Then you have these country club Republicans like that guy who are all about money. And I'm just so shocked at how short, short sighted so many of these men are on the economy and they didn't play the tape through that. If we appoint a convicted felon, if we elect a convicted felon to be in charge of the economy that's bankrupted his own personal businesses that might be damaging to our economy. And I'm not an economist, I'm not even a political strategist. But I was able to deduce that that might not be very good.
Political Commentator 2
Well, and Donald Trump has never been a planner. He's never gone from point A to point B and then played the tape through. How's this going to look at point Z? He is an impulse guy. He lacks self control and so he gets mad and he taxes or he puts a tariff on China that's 145%. That's completely untenable. So he rolls it back. He, he is not a good businessman. He has no self control. He has surrounded himself with moron yes men. So of course he's incompetent. Of course this is a complete disaster. And anybody that's watched Trump throughout his lifetime could have seen this coming.
Political Commentator 1
And he was such a laughingstock in New York in the business world prior to this. But it's something about Trump that like triggers the worst impulses in people. It triggers a real short sighted consequences be damn style impulse. And here we have. This is humiliating. We have put up this headline. The CEOs of three of the nation's biggest retailers, Walmart, Target and Home Depot, privately warned President Trump in an office meeting on Monday that his tariff and trade policy would disrupt supply chains, raise prices and empty shelves. Call me crazy, but I think that the President of the United States that's in charge of the world's largest economy shouldn't have to have the CEOs from Home Depot, Target and Walmart sit him down and explain to him about tariffs and supply chain issues. Furthermore, the Home Depot guy has been a Republican mega donor his whole entire life. I mean, this guy is just all, you know, all chips in on what can enrich me. And I don't care about, you know, the rest of the country, just the worst of what Republicanism has to offer. And Target in particular, they found out, you know what happens when you abandon your core principles. And so I think this is just humiliating. And if, if these three CEOs had to sit down with Joe Biden like he was a two year old, like they just had to do with President Trump, Fox News would be in an absolute tailspin. And the way that these MAGA men are able to operate with impunity is just such a nod to how much deference we as a society give rich white men that happen to have a big bank account, that we just assume that they're so smart and we just assume they're so competent. And the dismantling of expertise in this administration and the damage to our country is I think we're approaching a part where it's going to be decades to reverse.
Political Commentator 2
I agree with you. And I also think it's unbelievable that, like you said, these three men have to go tell Trump that his tariffs are going to raise prices, hit supply trains. Like, I could have told you that, like, tariffs are bad. Anybody who studied tariffs knows it's bad. And I Wonder if these CEOs, because Trump is so susceptible to superficial flattery and, oh, you're athletic, you're so handsome. If they thought they could manipulate him out of this tariff policy that he's so high on during the election, I wonder if they thought they could manipulate him because he's so easily manipulated.
Political Commentator 1
Maybe, maybe not. I think the larger autopsy on all of this is a lot of these people need to look at the whole package of MAGA they have. They now brag openly about being a big tent party. And when you have these finance guys that are all about, you know, unleashed capitalism, combined with these Heritage foundation people that authored Project 2025 that want to take away civil liberties and concentrate all of the power in executive branch, and if you were to pause for a second and speak to experts in this, they would be able to tell you that the governments that have such a setup don't have strong sustainable economies. And so I just think that Trump, again, he, people cave to their worst impulses with this man and he gives all sorts of a permission structure. And the, the people who are rah rah cispoon ball capitalism, they are like, oh, shit. Oh shit this, we are so fucked. And so I don't know if they, at this point, he's so unhinged. I don't know if there's a psychological play with him.
Political Commentator 2
Right.
Political Commentator 1
Because I think his actions towards the economy have surprised many because Trump 1.0, his ego was directly tied to the stock market. Now he doesn't give a shit about the stock market. So I think they're all sitting there like, what the fuck? Okay, next up here is a Republican mega donor, MAGA super donor named Ken Griffin. And he is speaking about the damage that the Trump administration is doing to the American brand and how tarnished it is getting.
Ken Griffin
But in the financial markets, no brand compared to the brand of the U.S. treasuries. U.S. treasury market, the strength of the U.S. dollar and the strength, the credit worthiness of U.S. treasuries, no brand came close. We put that brand at risk. And as you and I both know, it can take a very long time, very long time to remove the tarnish on a brand. So the President and the Secretary of Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce need to be very thoughtful that when you have a brand, you need to behave in a way that respects that brand, that strengthens that brand, because when you tarnish that brand, it can be a lifetime to repair the damage that has been done.
Political Commentator 1
Okay, so I agree with him that the American brand is getting tarnished. And when you talk about the treasury and that a lot of investors would always park their money in the dollar, it was a safe haven. And Trump is completely dismantling that. And this guy and the other guy that we played and a bunch of other rich white Republican donors that have made a lot of money in this country. This is an inflection point. And they can get on here and say Trump needs to be patient and needs to be measured and he needs to be this. That is rhetoric that the man you're talking about is incapable of doing. Nor did he surround himself with anybody who's capable of having a conversation below the surface of what his impulses are. So these business leaders that talk about the American brand, that have profited off of the American brand, have got to get in front of a camera together and say, we screwed up. We bet on the wrong horse. We have all got to come together and have a strong uprising against this president and get him out of office or the damage will be irreversible. And they're starting to tiptoe. They're getting the, their toes just barely in the water right now. But it's going to take, you know, the financial sector and then people everyday, people like our listeners and our viewers right now to band together to put the pressure on Congress because we still right now have three branches of government, although Congress seems to have abdicated their power to him. But if there's pressure on these Republican politicians from the financial sector and people that backed him, that were mega donors, like that guy that on the Fox and this guy talking about tarnishing the American brand because deep down, somewhere in the psyche of some of these country club Republicans that sit around and free base Fox News, that American brand thing and that American exceptionalism thing is very important to them. But Fox distracts. And the reason why we see all of these people in the Trump administration on camera all the time is not because they're busy grinding out policy. It's because they're busy with a propaganda campaign. And Fox News falls prey to that propaganda campaign all the time. But these hedge fund guys and these finance Guys and Home Depot and Target, they're out in the real world really trying to say, we have these big American companies, we have these big American brands, and you are fucking it up royally. And so I'm glad they're taking baby steps, but they need to consolidate and get a plan very quickly because this is getting to a point economically, and we haven't even talked about the egregious human rights violations. But that's the point of an autocrat. They throw out all this stuff so that you feel helpless and hopeless. But I do know this. Americans like their money and Americans like their economy. And these guys have a responsibility to their country and the country that has made them so wealthy to own their mistake in supporting this man. Tuck your tail between your legs and band together and help put pressure on Congress to get this MFER out of office.
Political Commentator 2
Yes, I think the pressure on Congress is absolutely what's got to happen, because a lot of these congressmen, they are in fear of Donald Trump and then in fear of the money that can be taken away from their campaigns. And we're talking about people that have a lot of money that could donate to them if they stand up to Trump. But I might even argue that Trump is rebranding. He's attempting to re. Rebrand the United States as an autocracy, where you have to come to him. And so all of the gains that we have made, all of the stability, he is rebranding it to be the Trump Show. And that should scare every single one of these people because he's a terrible fucking businessman.
Political Commentator 1
I think you're right. I think that's a really good point. He is. He's rebranding everything as being Trump centric. And I think Senator Chris Murphy talks about this, that this is. He wants all of these businessmen to bend the knee to him and say, you know, please help me, sir. Please help me. And then Trump gives them like. Like he did with Apple. He gave them, okay, we're not going to put a tariff on the iPhones or, you know, so that's what they're looking for. But anyway, that's all we have for this episode. Please subscribe and we'll see you all later.
IHIP News: Episode Summary
Title: Catastrophe for Trump as Even Fox News Abandons Him
Hosts: Jennifer Welch & Angie “Pumps” Sullivan
Release Date: April 24, 2025
In this compelling episode of IHIP News, hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan delve deep into the tumultuous political landscape surrounding former President Donald Trump. Titled "Catastrophe for Trump as Even Fox News Abandons Him," the episode canvasses a range of critical topics, including Trump's economic policies, the wavering support from Fox News, and the growing concerns among major business leaders. Through sharp analysis and engaging discussion, Welch and Sullivan provide listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the current political climate and its implications for the future.
The episode opens with a robust critique of Donald Trump's economic strategies. The hosts highlight the significant miscalculations and unforced errors that have plagued Trump's administration, particularly focusing on trade wars and tariffs.
Robert, one of the political commentators, provides an in-depth analysis:
"I've been in Finance for 40 years. This is probably the biggest manufactured crisis I've seen with a bunch of unforced errors. The execution of Liberation Day was pathetic." [00:52]
Robert further elaborates on the detrimental impact of Trump's policies on the U.S. economy, noting the severe market downturns and loss of confidence in the US Dollar and investments:
"The markets recovered somewhat, but it was on for the worst month since 1932. And that's not even considering what's going on with bonds where there has been an incredible lack of confidence in the US Dollar and US Investments." [01:43]
A pivotal moment in the discussion centers around the private warnings issued by CEOs of major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot. These leaders expressed their concerns over Trump's tariff and trade policies, fearing disruption to supply chains, rising prices, and depleted shelves.
Political Commentator 1 underscores the gravity of this situation:
"The President of the United States that's in charge of the world's largest economy shouldn't have to have the CEOs from Home Depot, Target and Walmart sit him down and explain to him about tariffs and supply chain issues." [03:31]
He criticizes the irony of Republican mega-donors supporting a leader whose policies are harmful to the very businesses that contribute significantly to the economy. This disconnect highlights a broader issue within the GOP, where short-sighted economic decisions are undermining long-term stability.
Another critical theme explored is the tarnishing of the American brand under Trump's leadership. Ken Griffin, a Republican mega-donor and financial expert, is cited discussing the long-term damage being inflicted on the nation's financial reputation.
"We put that brand at risk. And as you and I both know, it can take a very long time, very long time to remove the tarnish on a brand." [08:00]
Political Commentator 1 concurs, emphasizing that the dismantling of the American brand extends beyond economic metrics to include broader implications for national prestige and global standing:
"The American brand is getting tarnished. And when you talk about the treasury and that a lot of investors would always park their money in the dollar, it was a safe haven. And Trump is completely dismantling that." [08:48]
A surprising development discussed is Fox News' apparent distancing from Trump, a once staunch ally. This shift signals a monumental change in media support for the former president.
Political Commentator 1 reflects on this departure:
"If these three CEOs had to sit down with Joe Biden like he was a two-year-old, like they just had to do with President Trump, Fox News would be in an absolute tailspin." [03:31]
He suggests that Fox News' abandonment of Trump underscores the severity of his policy failures and the growing disillusionment even among conservative institutions.
The hosts and commentators converge on the necessity for Congress to intervene and curb Trump's influence. They argue that the combination of economic mismanagement and autocratic tendencies necessitates immediate legislative action to prevent further damage.
Political Commentator 2 asserts:
"The pressure on Congress is absolutely what's got to happen, because a lot of these congressmen, they are in fear of Donald Trump and then in fear of the money that can be taken away from their campaigns." [12:21]
He emphasizes that only through concerted pressure from both the financial sector and everyday Americans can Congress be swayed to act against Trump's detrimental policies.
A significant concern raised is Trump's attempt to rebrand the United States into a Trump-centric autocracy, undermining previous gains in stability and governance.
Political Commentator 1 notes:
"He's rebranding the United States as an autocracy, where you have to come to him. And so all of the gains that we have made, all of the stability, he is rebranding it to be the Trump Show." [12:58]
This rebranding poses a threat to democratic institutions and the foundational principles of American governance, with potential long-term repercussions.
As the episode draws to a close, Welch and Sullivan underscore the urgency for collective action to mitigate the ongoing crisis. They highlight the responsibility of business leaders and the general populace to hold their representatives accountable and restore the integrity of the American economy and governance.
Political Commentator 1 passionately concludes:
"Americans like their money and Americans like their economy. And these guys have a responsibility to their country and the country that has made them so wealthy to own their mistake in supporting this man." [11:00]
The hosts reiterate the critical need for a united front to pressure Congress and reverse the extensive damage already inflicted by Trump's administration.
In "Catastrophe for Trump as Even Fox News Abandons Him," Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan provide a thorough and incisive examination of the political and economic turmoil surrounding Donald Trump. Through detailed analysis and strategic discussions, the episode illuminates the multifaceted challenges facing the United States and underscores the imperative for decisive action to safeguard the nation's future.
Listeners are encouraged to stay informed and engaged, recognizing the pivotal role they play in shaping the political landscape.
Notable Quotes: