Trade War Detente & USAID Closes Up Shop | 2.4.25

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary: Trade War Detente & USAID Closes Up Shop | 02.04.25

Released on February 4, 2025, "Morning Wire" is presented by John Bickley and Georgia Howe of The Daily Wire. In this episode, they delve into significant developments in international trade negotiations, the controversial shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the intensified immigration enforcement efforts in Texas.

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1. Trade War Detente with Mexico and Canada

The episode opens with Georgia Howe highlighting a major breakthrough in the ongoing trade tensions between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Following a series of intense negotiations, both Mexico and Canada have made substantial concessions to President Donald Trump, resulting in a temporary pause on the previously imposed tariffs.

• Mexico's Concessions:

  Georgia Howe reports, "Mexico and Canada back down, making major concessions to Trump and vowing to send troops to their borders in exchange for a pause on tariffs." ([00:03]).

  Cabot Phillips, Daily Wire senior editor, elaborates on the situation: "Mexico agreed to send 10,000 soldiers to the U.S. border to prevent drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl, while Trump has committed to increasing efforts to stop the trafficking of high-powered weapons into Mexico." ([01:59]).

• Canada's Response:

  Canada initially resisted, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging Canadians to boycott American goods. However, after a direct conversation with Trump, Trudeau conceded by implementing a comprehensive border reinforcement plan. This includes deploying helicopters, advanced technology, and nearly 10,000 frontline personnel to combat fentanyl trafficking. Additionally, Canada has pledged to appoint a fentanyl czar and establish a joint U.S.-Canada Strike Force to tackle organized crime and money laundering. Phillips summarizes Trudeau’s commitment: "Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan... launching a Canada U.S. joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl, and money laundering." ([04:13]).

• Trump's Stance and Reactions:

  John Bickley comments on Trump's unwavering position: "I'd like to see Canada become our 51st state. We give them protection..." ([04:25]).

  Vice President J.D. Vance supports Trump's strategy, lauding the effective use of tariffs as leverage ([03:26]). Conversely, Democratic critics argue that Trump capitulated under economic pressures, suggesting he "blinked first" to protect the stock market ([02:00]).

  Notable Quote:
  "Canada needs America far more than America needs Canada." – John Bickley ([04:25])

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2. USAID Shutdown and Controversy

The conversation shifts to the abrupt closure of USAID, an international agency responsible for humanitarian missions, following an audit initiated by Elon Musk and his DOGE agents. This move has sparked significant controversy and political backlash.

• Allegations Against USAID:

  White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt outlines the grievances: "USAID was spending taxpayer money on a slew of left-wing political priorities, including $1.5 million for DEI initiatives in Serbia, $70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland, $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, and $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru." ([09:55]-[10:25]).

• Trump's Response and Leadership Changes:

  Trump criticizes the agency's leadership, stating, "They misuse their authority partly for ideological reasons... the concept is good, but it's all about the people." ([10:52]).

  Professor Dr. Mark Moyer provides additional insight: "There are people, good Americans, but a lot of the worst actors have floated to the top and misuse their authority partly for ideological reasons... simple greed and corruption in contracting have been issues." ([11:16]).

  In response, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken control of USAID as its acting head, aiming to realign the agency with American foreign policy and eliminate the controversial spending practices. Rubio emphasizes the need for the agency to reflect America's values: "It's also recently done a lot of harm to our image because we are pushing LGBTQ agendas... making enemies by pushing these sorts of things." ([12:36]).

• Political Reactions:

  Democrats have vehemently opposed the shutdown, with Senator Chris Van Hollen leading protests outside the USAID building. However, reports indicate that USAID employees were instructed to stay home, leaving the actual impact of the protests unclear ([13:07]-[13:53]).

  Notable Quote:
  "It's a completely unresponsive agency... it refuses to respond to policy directives of the State Department." – Marco Rubio ([12:09])

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3. Texas National Guard's Enhanced Role in Immigration Enforcement

Amidst rising anti-ICE protests across several cities, Texas has expanded the role of its National Guard in immigration enforcement, a move that has significant implications for border security and local communities.

• New Authorization and Deployment:

  Spencer Lindquist introduces the topic: "Members of the Texas National Guard can now make immigration-related arrests thanks to an authorization from Governor Greg Abbott." ([06:31]).

  Tim Pierce explains the details: "The memo allows Texas National Guardsmen to partake in immigration-related arrests within Texas, provided they are accompanied by Customs and Border Protection agents. This applies to approximately 3,000 National Guardsmen, significantly boosting manpower for border security." ([06:57]).

• Impact on Law Enforcement:

  Brandon emphasizes the authority granted to the National Guard: "They have full authority. They can arrest and prosecute those breaking the law, ensuring that illegal activities are effectively managed." ([07:48]).

• Protests and Public Response:

  The increased enforcement has led to widespread protests in cities like Houston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago. Protesters have engaged in disruptive activities, such as blocking highways and challenging law enforcement's ability to maintain order. Allegations persist that police are inadequately addressing the riots, leading to heightened tensions ([08:44]-[09:22]).

  Notable Quote:
  "These National Guard members... can go out there and get the bad guys and make sure that they're prosecuting them." – Brandon ([07:48])

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4. International Developments: Panama Canal Negotiations

Beyond North American affairs, the podcast touches on strategic moves concerning the Panama Canal, highlighting the broader geopolitical maneuvering between the U.S. and China.

• Trump's Leverage on Panama:

  Cabot Phillips details the negotiations: "President Trump threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal unless Panama offered cheaper passage for American naval vessels and resisted China's growing influence. Following Secretary Rubio's visit, Panama agreed to offer free passage to American naval ships and withdraw from China's Belt and Road Initiative." ([05:19]).

  This agreement marks a significant setback for China's ambitions in Central America and reinforces U.S. dominance in the region.

  Notable Quote:
  "Panama is withdrawing from China's Belt and Road Initiative entirely." – Cabot Phillips ([05:19])

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Conclusion

In this episode of "Morning Wire," John Bickley and Georgia Howe provide an in-depth analysis of critical developments shaping U.S. domestic and international policies. From the easing of trade tensions with Mexico and Canada through strategic concessions to the contentious overhaul of USAID under heightened political scrutiny, the hosts offer a comprehensive overview of the current political landscape. Additionally, the expansion of the Texas National Guard's role in immigration enforcement amidst nationwide protests underscores the ongoing challenges in border security. The discussion on the Panama Canal negotiations further exemplifies the intricate balance of power between the U.S. and China on the global stage. Overall, the episode underscores significant shifts in policy and enforcement that could have lasting impacts on both national and international fronts.

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For those seeking to stay informed on the latest in politics, culture, education, and more, "Morning Wire" continues to deliver insightful and timely coverage.

Transcript

[Georgia Howe]

Mexico and Canada back down, making major concessions to Trump and vowing to send troops to their borders in exchange for a pause on tariffs.

[John Bickley]

10,000 soldiers are going to keep illegal aliens out. Otherwise, they're going to have a big penalty.

[Georgia Howe]

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor in chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, February 4th, and this is Morning Wire. Texas calls in the cavalry to assist with immigration enforcement while anti ICE protesters take to the streets.

[Spencer Lindquist]

And a controversial international agency is effectively shut down after claims of fraud and insubordination.

[Tim Pierce]

If you've got an apple that's got.

[Brandon]

A worm in it, maybe you can.

[Tim Pierce]

Take a worm out.

[Brandon]

But if you've got actually just a ball of worms, it's hopeless.

[Tim Pierce]

And USAID is a ball of worms.

[Georgia Howe]

Thanks for waking up with MORNING wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

[Brandon]

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[Spencer Lindquist]

In a stunning move, Donald Trump has agreed to pause looming tariffs on Mexico and Canada following a series of concessions from the leaders of both countries.

[Georgia Howe]

Here to break down the trade war detente is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. So, Cabot, that was fast. What happened in the last 24 hours?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, very fast indeed. So we'll start with Mexico. As we discussed yesterday, President Trump ordered 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada, saying they would remain in place until the countries made more of an effort to prevent drugs and legal immigrants from crossing into the U.S. mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum initially struck a defiant tone, announcing 25% tariffs of her own. But on Monday morning, there was an apparent diplomatic breakthrough following a phone call between the two leaders Trump called very friendly. He agreed to pause the implementation of those tariffs for a month to allow for further negotiations. That pause came after Mexico agreed to send 10,000 soldiers to the border to, in Sheinbaum's words, quote, prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the U.S. particularly fentanyl. Steinbaum added that for his part, Trump has agreed to increase efforts to, quote, prevent the trafficking of high powered weapons to Mexico. Now, while the White House is touting the news as proof that Trump's use of tariffs as leverage is getting results, Trump Democrats, as you can imagine, say otherwise. They argue that Trump quickly agreed to lift the tariffs because he was worried about the stock market, which did slip Monday morning on fears of a trade war, but then jumped back up at the news of these deals. A number of Democratic lawmakers are saying that Trump supposedly blinked first.

[John Bickley]

There was no blanking. She's a wonderful woman. But she did agree to 10,000 soldiers on the border. I would say that's a lot. Would you say that's pretty good?

[Cabot Phillips]

And Vice President J.D. vance echoed that sentiment Monday, lauding Trump's strategy.

[Brandon]

So for literally three days, I heard the far left in this country say that these tariffs would make Americans lives worse off. And what actually happened is the Mexican government was so afraid of the tariffs that they actually are taking their border enforcement and their anti cartel activity more seriously.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, we also saw a very similar response from Canada. Tell us about that.

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah. Initially, it appeared Canada was gearing up for a fight. Leaders in both parties, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, called for Canadians to unite against the tariffs by boycotting American products in favor of domestic goods. But speaking in the Oval Office Monday, Trump stood his ground, saying, Canada needs America far more than America needs Canada.

[John Bickley]

I'd like to see Canada become our 51st state. We give them protection, military protection. We don't need them to build our cars. We don't need them for lumber. We don't need them for anything.

[Cabot Phillips]

Trump and Trudeau held a phone call shortly after those comments. And as Trump supporters put it, Trudeau bent the knee, offering a long list of concessions in exchange for a 30 day pause on tariffs. The list is very long. So I'll just read the post that Trudeau made, quote, I just had a good call with President Trump. Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan, reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl. Nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border. In addition, Canada is making new commitments to appoint a fentanyl czar. We will list cartels as terrorists, ensure 247 eyes on the border, launch a Canada U.S. joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering. So quite the list there.

[Georgia Howe]

Right now, all of this comes as Trump is also pursuing a firm approach with Panama. What's the latest there?

[Cabot Phillips]

Right. So quick refresher. President Trump last month threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal if the country's leaders did not offer cheaper passage to American naval vessels and do more to combat China's growing influence over the canal. But following a trip from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Panama's President Jose Raul Molino announced that he would not only be offering free passage through the Canal for American naval vessels, but that his country would be withdrawing from China's Belt and Road Initiative entirely. So a major victory for the White House and importantly, a significant blow to China's influence over the canal and Central America more broadly.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, three very significant developments. Cabot, thanks for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Anytime.

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[Georgia Howe]

Members of the Texas National Guard can now make immigration related arrests thanks to an authorization from Governor Greg Abbott. The move comes as anti ICE protests are causing chaos in multiple cities, including Houston.

[Spencer Lindquist]

Here to explain the new agreement between Border Patrol and Texas and give us the latest on a rash of protests is Daily Wire investigative reporter Spencer Lindquist. Hey Spencer. So first, tell us about this new National Guard memo.

[Tim Pierce]

Sure. So this is a major development. This memo allows members of the Texas National Guard to partake in immigration related arrests within Texas so long as they're accompanied by a member of Customs and Border Protection. This is expected to apply to an estimated 3,000 Texas National Guardsmen who will now be able to assist with immigration enforcement. Texas Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the new memo in a post on X. He stressed that the agreement is effective immediately and boosts manpower for border security. DHS Secretary Christie Noem talked about the significance of the decision as well.

[Brandon]

These National Guard members that are down here, they have full authority. They can before I think they felt like they were facilitating the illegal immigration because they didn't have the authority to arrest and detain those that were breaking the law. Now they're fully deputized. They can go out there and get the bad guys and make sure that they're prosecuting them.

[Spencer Lindquist]

And what about other law enforcement officers? Police along the border have expressed frustration for some time now with their inability to enforce the law. Can they also be deputized in the same way?

[Tim Pierce]

Yes, but it doesn't apply to local police. Trump's Homeland Security just recently gave other law enforcement agents the power to conduct immigration enforcement activities. They can now investigate, determine the location of and apprehend illegal aliens present in the country. That decision applies to federal agents within the dea, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives, and the U.S. marshals Service. Of course, there is also a lot of tension between the Texas National Guard and the Biden administration over the right of the National Guardsmen to secure the border. As we reported here, Texas National Guardsmen took control of Shelby park on the border through Operation Lone Star after the Biden administration had allowed migrants to enter the country through it. And a final note on all this, all deportations have to actually be carried out by ICE itself rather than through these ancillary agents. So that final process is still up to ice.

[Cabot Phillips]

Got it.

[Spencer Lindquist]

Now, as we noted at the top, all of these immigration actions have sparked some pretty major protests in big cities. What's going on in LA and Atlanta?

[Tim Pierce]

Well, it's been very disruptive. There's thousands of people who have taken the streets in both of the cities. In LA over the weekend, protesters marched on the 101 Freeway, blocking traffic for hours before police force them to disperse. Several cities in Texas also saw significant protests as well as Chicago and Atlanta. And a flood of video has been circulating online. Things have certainly gotten tense with some allegations that police are being told to largely let the rioters do their thing.

[Spencer Lindquist]

And we'll certainly be tracking that and those deportation operations as well. Spencer, thanks so much for reporting.

[Tim Pierce]

Thank you for having me.

[Spencer Lindquist]

The US Agency for International Development was closed on Monday as Elon Musk and his DOGE agents audit the bureau. The interruptions at USAID have drawn outcry from Democrats who say the agency is under illegal attacks from the Trump team.

[Georgia Howe]

Here to talk about the controversy over USAID is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. So, Tim, first off, what is usaid?

[Caroline Levitt]

Yeah, so USAID was created by Congress to be a sort of global humanitarian mission funded by the US Taxpayer. It directs taxpayer money toward goals such as feeding starving children in Africa. But Elon Musk and Doge took a look at some of its books and found that USAID money was spending funds on a slew of left wing political priorities. Here's White House press Secretary Caroline Levitt.

[Georgia Howe]

These are some of the insane priorities that that organization has been spending money on. $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia's.

[Brandon]

Workplaces, 70,000 for a production of a.

[Georgia Howe]

DEI musical in Ireland, 47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, 32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.

[Caroline Levitt]

And that's just scratching the surface. There have been a slew of reports of controversial spending over the years, such as funding opium farms in Afghanistan. For his part, Trump said those misplaced priorities are pushed by bad personnel at the agency.

[John Bickley]

I love the concept, but they turn out to be radical left lunatics. And the concept of it is good, but it's all about the people.

[Caroline Levitt]

Morning Wire also spoke with Hillsdale Professor Dr. Mark Moyer for some outside perspective. He was a senior political appointee in the first Trump administration and wrote a book afterward, Masters of How the Federal Bureaucracy Sabotaged the Trump Presidency. Here's what he said about usaid.

[Marco Rubio]

There are people, good Americans, on that agency, but the problem is that a lot of the worst actors have floated to the top and hold positions of tremendous authority, and they misuse that authority partly for ideological reasons. A lot of them don't agree with Trump's agenda, and so they have tried to obstruct what he wants to do. And part of it is simple greed that they want to exploit their position to help enrich themselves or enrich their friends. Part of the problem is how the contracting is done and how it has been corrupted.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, is there a way to clean house and get more politically neutral people in charge?

[Caroline Levitt]

A lot of the higher ups have already been put on leave since last week. That tally is about 100 or so and includes many senior officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken control of the agency as its acting head. Here's Rubio.

[Brandon]

It's a completely unresponsive agency. It's supposed to respond to policy directives of the State Department, and it refuses to do so. There are a lot of functions of USAID that are going to continue that are going to be part of American foreign policy, but it has to be aligned with American foreign policy.

[Caroline Levitt]

And Rubio has a special interest in USAID programs because some of the spending on DEI and transgender projects actually reflects badly on the US on the world stage. Here's Moyer.

[Marco Rubio]

It's also recently done a lot of harm to our image because we are, for example, pushing LGBTQ agendas in all sorts of countries. That was done in the Biden administration. And of course, a lot of these countries don't agree with the Biden view on these issues, and so we're actually making enemies by pushing these sorts of things.

[Caroline Levitt]

Trump is reportedly interested in merging USAID under State anyway, so Rubio is the ideal choice for Trump.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, is this a politically partisan move or are Democrats on board?

[Caroline Levitt]

Yeah, Democrats are definitely not on board. They held a rally in front of the agency on Monday. Senator Andy Kim said Trump's actions on USAID are weakening America. Senator Chris Van Hollen called Elon Musk a wannabe dictator and then led a crowd of people to storm the USAID building.

[Brandon]

We are here to enter the building and so we can hear firsthand from whoever is here at AID, or at least witness firsthand what is happening with this Elon Musk attempted takeover, which will not stand. We will prevail. Let's go.

[Caroline Levitt]

All USAID employees were told to stay at home yesterday, so it's unclear who was there from the agency to actually greet the senator.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, fringe priorities are unfortunately a trend we've seen with some of these big agencies. Tim, thanks for reporting.

[Caroline Levitt]

Thanks for having me on.

[Spencer Lindquist]

Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.

[Brandon]

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