Ep. 2155 - Stock Market PLUNGES…So What’s Next?!

Summary

Summary of "The Ben Shapiro Show" Episode 2155 - Stock Market PLUNGES…So What’s Next?!

Release Date: March 11, 2025
Host: Ben Shapiro
Podcast: The Ben Shapiro Show, The Daily Wire

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1. Introduction: Market Turmoil and Economic Concerns

The episode opens with Ben Shapiro addressing significant recent events affecting the U.S. economy. He highlights a substantial drop in the stock market, mentioning that the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 900 points on the previous day. Shapiro emphasizes his commitment to presenting unfiltered, factual information, contrasting it with mainstream media narratives.

2. Stock Market Crash and Recession Fears

Shapiro delves into the specifics of the market downturn, citing a Wall Street Journal report that links the decline to renewed recession fears. Key points include:

• Market Impact: Dow Jones fell by almost 900 points, eroding expectations that U.S. stocks would perform strongly this year. The S&P 500 decreased by 2.7%, and the Nasdaq by 4%.

• Investor Behavior: Shapiro explains that investors are withdrawing funds amidst market instability, preferring the safety of bonds during uncertain times.

• Global Economic Responses: Other nations are implementing their own economic measures—China with increased stimulus, and Germany with military and infrastructure spending—to counteract economic slowdowns.

Notable Quote:
Ben Shapiro [01:30]: "If you mess with the market mechanisms, people don't like it. Investors tend to take their money out of the market and wait for things to be a little calmer, a little more steady."

3. President Trump's Approval Ratings Amid Economic Downturn

The episode discusses the correlation between economic performance and President Trump's approval ratings. Shapiro references an Emerson poll indicating that Trump's approval on the economy has dropped by 11 points, now standing at 47. He attributes part of this decline to President Trump's stringent immigration policies, which have successfully reduced illegal immigration to historic lows.

Notable Quote:
Ben Shapiro [03:15]: "If President Trump is blamed for an economic downturn, the effects could be disastrous, not just for his administration but for free markets more generally."

4. Analysis of Trump's Tariff Policies and Market Reaction

Shapiro critically examines President Trump's tariff strategies, questioning their predictability and efficacy. He argues that while tariffs were intended to protect American industries, the unpredictable implementation—especially against Canada—has undermined market confidence.

• Impact on Trade Partners: Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China have created uncertainty, leading to significant stock market sell-offs totaling approximately $4 trillion from the S&P 500’s peak.

• Economic Predictability: Shapiro asserts that consistent and predictable policies are crucial for business confidence and economic stability.

Notable Quote:
Ben Shapiro [05:50]: "Tariffs are not free market oriented. They're effectively attacks on consumers."

5. Elon Musk on National Debt and Economic Sustainability

Elon Musk is featured discussing the alarming state of the U.S. national debt. He points out that interest payments now exceed the Defense Department budget, raising concerns about the country's financial future.

Notable Quotes:
Elon Musk [12:54]: "Our interest payments are higher than our Defense Department budget. If we don't do something about this, there won't be any money for anything. We'll just be servicing debt."
Ben Shapiro [19:05]: "Elon Musk correctly cites one of the key phenomena that demonstrates the underlying weakness of the American economic plan."

6. Expert Opinions: Balaji Srinivasan on Trump's Global Policies

Shapiro references Balaji Srinivasan, an entrepreneur and former general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, who critiques President Trump's approach to reshaping the global order. Srinivasan argues that Trump's policies may inadvertently weaken America's global economic standing by fostering perceptions of isolationism and unpredictability.

Key Points from Balaji Srinivasan:

1. Economic Competition: America’s relative decline is due to lack of competitiveness rather than external competition.
2. Global Leadership: Poor leadership, not the concept of global leadership itself, has led to the U.S.'s entanglements in unwinnable wars.
3. Selective Alliances: Overexertion against allies like Canada could alienate important trading partners.
4. Dollar Dependency: America's ability to print and sell debt is tied to its role as the global hegemon; devaluing the dollar could disrupt this balance.

Notable Quote:
Ben Shapiro [14:20]: "If the markets perceive that America is withdrawing from its global role, it is not going to be beneficial for the markets or American citizens."

7. Congressional Actions and Potential Government Shutdown

The discussion shifts to Congressional maneuvers regarding government funding. Shapiro details Speaker Johnson’s efforts to pass a six-month funding extension relying solely on Republican votes, risking a government shutdown in three days.

• Republican Division: Most conservatives support the funding bill, except for Thomas Massie, who is characterized as a staunch non-voter.

• Trump's Stance: President Trump criticizes Massie for his refusal to support the funding, labeling him an obstacle to governance.

Notable Quote:
Ben Shapiro [26:40]: "In a situation like this, what you actually need is Republicans who are willing to govern."

8. Deportation of Hamas Sympathizer Mahmoud Khalil

A significant portion of the episode covers the White House's decision to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and active Hamas supporter.

• Background: Khalil was involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and has ties to organizations advocating violence against the U.S. and its allies.

• Legal Justification: Under Immigration and Nationality Act Section 212, individuals endorsing or supporting terrorist activities are grounds for deportation.

• Democratic Response: Democrats criticized the deportation, defending Khalil despite his affiliations with a designated terrorist organization.

Notable Quote:
Ben Shapiro [38:15]: "If you're a green card holder and you support terrorism, probably you shouldn't be here."

9. Democratic Party's Focus and Internal Crises

Shapiro critiques the Democratic Party's priorities, arguing that they are misaligned by focusing on deporting a Hamas sympathizer rather than addressing the economic downturn.

• Social Issues Over Economic Policies: The emphasis on anti-Semitism and anti-terrorism measures is portrayed as political malpractice amidst economic instability.

• Public Perception: Shapiro suggests that Democrats are neglecting the broader economic concerns of Americans by fixating on isolated social issues.

Notable Quote:
Ben Shapiro [42:06]: "Democrats are stuck because they keep throwing out these same types of people. There's an entire article in Politico about Tim Walls... It's political malpractice at this point."

10. Conclusion: Economic Outlook and Political Implications

In wrapping up, Shapiro emphasizes the intertwined fate of President Trump's economic policies and the broader health of the American economy. He warns that continued market instability could lead to a backlash against capitalism and free markets, affecting both policymakers and business leaders.

Final Thoughts:
Shapiro advocates for diversified investment strategies, such as adding gold to portfolios, as a hedge against economic uncertainty. He underscores the importance of informed financial planning to safeguard against impending market volatility.

Notable Quote:
Ben Shapiro [44:30]: "Policy genius is securing your family's future. It's of utmost importance in today's world."

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Notable Quotes Overview

• Ben Shapiro:

  • "Tariffs are not free market oriented. They're effectively attacks on consumers." [05:50]
  • "If President Trump is blamed for an economic downturn, the effects could be disastrous, not just for his administration but for free markets more generally." [03:15]

• Elon Musk:

  • "Our interest payments are higher than our Defense Department budget. If we don't do something about this, there won't be any money for anything. We'll just be servicing debt." [12:54]

• Balaji Srinivasan:

  • "MAGMA is hyper focused on cutting off any apparent flow of funds... They are trying to quickly shut off imports, close down institutions and exit all wars." [14:20]

• Van Jones:

  • "The Democratic Party is going through a massive set of internal crises." [42:06]

• Whoopi Goldberg:

  • "If you don't know anything about our bodies, you don't know how it works." [43:31]

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This episode of "The Ben Shapiro Show" provides a critical analysis of the recent stock market plunge, President Trump's economic policies, and the broader implications for the U.S. economy and political landscape. Shapiro leverages expert opinions and current events to argue that unpredictable government interventions and misaligned political priorities are undermining economic stability and investor confidence.

Transcript

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, folks, a lot to get to today on the show. Everything from the stock market dump of yesterday in the state of the economy to the White House deciding to deport a Hamas sympathizer from the United States. Green card holder. First, the mainstream media thinks you're too dumb to see through their lies. They like to twist the narrative or manipulate the headlines, bury the truth. We know better at the Daily Wire. We're going to bring you the facts, what I do here professionally, and then you get in on the conversation. Join the live chat during our Daily Shows. 100% uncensored ad free, packed with fans who actually think for themselves. Plus, every day a producer from our show will be there to talk to you about the news. Get the news lid should be honest, fearless, without the left wing agenda. Your voice matters. Be a part of it. Join [e-mail] subscribe so yesterday, obviously, we saw a massive stock market dump. The stock market, Dow Jones Industrial average dumped almost 900 points. The stock market has been in a bit of a free fall over the course of the last couple of weeks. And this is something that I've been predicting for a while. It turns out that when you mess with the market mechanisms, people don't like it. Investors tend to take their money out of the market and wait for things to be a little calmer, a little more steady. If you think of the free markets as essentially an ocean, sometimes it's pretty choppy out there. Right now it's choppy. And here's the thing. If this administration is blamed for the choppy waters, that is quite bad, not just for this administration, but for everything that in the public mind, it represents. According to the Wall Street Journal, a new round of recession fears rattled markets on Monday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 900 points, eroding Wall street consensus that US stocks would be among this year's biggest winners. By the way, this is having an impact on President Trump's approval ratings. There's a new poll out from Emerson today that shows President Trump is underwater on the economy by 11 points. He's still at 47, 45 in his overall approval rating. That is largely due to the widespread and correct perception that in immigration, he has totally changed the ball game. We are experiencing the lowest levels of illegal immigration ever recorded in the United States, as far as I'm aware. But when it comes to the economy, which is the thing that most people vote based upon, make their political decisions based upon, if President Trump is blamed for an economic downturn, the effects of that could be disastrous, not just, obviously, for the Trump administration, but for many of the things that are important for the United States, including free markets more generally. According to the Wall Street Journal, worries about a trade war. Signs of flagging growth. Splinters in the artificial intelligence trade have taken some of the shine off prior optim. President Trump over the weekend refused to rule out a recession this year. The s and P 500 fell 2.7%. Nasdaq lost 4%. Bank stocks slid along with shares of smaller companies perceived to be sensitive to the economy. Bonds rallied. That's, that's where money tends to go. When people are uncertain what to do, they start buying bonds because at least they feel like they're gonna get paid off at a certain point. While the US's strength is in question, other countries are ramping up efforts to revive their own economies. China is unleashing more stimulus to meet its economic growth target. Germany has announced a spending splurge on its military and infrastructure. Now, again, all of that is fake, meaning that if you just borrow to spend, which is what the United States has been doing for a very long time, you end up with an artificially inflated economy. This has happened in the United States. It's way more true for Germany and China, actually, than it is of the United States. However, there is something else happening and it's deeper. And that is a widespread perception that the Trump team is trying to reshape the global order in a way that will not be good for the American economy or the global economy. This is a widespread perception that is beginning to sort of percolate into the markets. And again, I'm talking to many of the market makers. I'm talking to business people who have literally hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the markets. And they are all very, very wary of the sort of signals that are being put out. And signals matter an awful lot when it comes to the economy these days. Because as I've spoken about before, if you're a, even a small business person, what do you want to make sure that you're going to invest in your business? You want a growing economy. You want to make sure that the government is going to come and take your money, the government isn't going to come in and overregulate you, and that the conditions tomorrow are going to be very similar to the conditions you have today. That's how you make predictive decision making. It's how you decide whether to hire that extra employee. It's how you decide whether to invest in more capital equipment, is how you decide whether Whether to expand your holdings in particular areas or contract your holdings in particular areas, predictability matters. Now, President Trump is not a predictable president. He has never been a predictable president, but the one area that he was always quite predictable on was economics. President Trump liked tariffs, but you know what he liked more? He liked results. And so what that meant is that during the first administration, when he talked tariffs a lot, the total amount of tariffs effectually that were put on the American economy ended up totaling something like $30 billion total. It was not huge. And much of it was designed to leverage places like Mexico into signing a new version of the usmca. I think one of the reasons that people in the markets are particularly perturbed by Trump's attacks on Canada in the markets is that it's one thing to say, we're going after Mexico to get them to close the border, that that's a piece of leverage. All right, fine. It's another thing to say, okay, we're gonna put tariffs on China because China is stealing our intellectual property and building up their military at incredibly rapid rates. Totally agree. Fine. Canada. What did Canada do exactly? And the very notion that Canada is not a major trading partner with the United States is untrue. Canada is our number one trading partner. Canada, again, has extraordinarily low average tariff rates with the United States under a deal negotiated during President Trump's first term, the usmca. So the aim at Canada appears to the global markets to be a move away from. From America's involvement in the world in total, as I've spoken about before, that doesn't mean we need to be involved everywhere, either militarily or economically. However, the reality that America is the global hegemon is one of the reasons that the American economy continues to be the behemoth that it is. When you withdraw from what is a de facto financial empire, when you withdraw from providing global security and freedom of the seas, when it appears that what you're attempting to do is draw inward, the rest of the world has less interest in investing in you, buying your debt, for example, funding your giant government expenditures. The rest of the world is less interested in doing business with you if it's harder to do business with you. And this has a very, very bad effect on the economy, not just outside the United States, but inside the United States. It turns out that autarky, the notion that we should produce and consume everything in the United States, that's a romantic idea. Everywhere it has been tried, literally everywhere it has been tried over the course of the last few Centuries. It has ended with impoverishment of the population, followed generally by expansionism. That is true in Germany, it is true in China. It is true pretty much ever. It is true in Russia. It's true pretty much everywhere it's been tried. And so if the markets think that's what you're doing, even if you're not doing it, that's not going to be good for the markets. As Reuters is reporting, President Trump's tariffs have spooked investors with fears of an economic downturn driving a stock market sell off that has wiped out $4 trillion from the S&P 500's peak. Last month, when Wall street was cheering much of the Trump agenda, a barrage of new Trump policies increased uncertainty for businesses, consumers and investors, notably back and forth tariff moves against major trading partners like Canada, Mexico and China. Now President Trump, for his part, he's saying, listen, short term pain for long term gain. Here's what President Trump had to say with Maria Bartiromo. You said, look, we're going to have a disruption, but we're okay with that. Is that what you meant? The stock market going down was the disruption. What other disruption were you alluding to?

[Donald Trump]

Look, what I have to do is build a strong country. You can't really watch the stock market. If you look at China, they have 100 year perspective. We have a quarter, we go by quarters.

[Ben Shapiro]

That's true.

[Donald Trump]

And you can't go by that. You have to do what's right. What we're doing is we're building a tremendous foundation for the future. Tremendous foundation.

[Ben Shapiro]

Okay, you need to explain if that's the case, what is the tremendous foundation that is going to lead to future growth? And how do we get from point A to point B in a way that doesn't blow up everybody's 401k, it turns out. By the way, more than half of Americans are heavily invested in the stock market through things like their 401 case. This is not just a quote unquote rich people problem. This is an everybody problem and sort of side effects of market downturns affect everyone from Main street to to Wall Street. As the Wall Street Journal points out, there are some red lights that are already flashing. Take Friday's jobs report which showed employers added 151,000 jobs last month. That's half as many as in November and December. Leisure and hospitality jobs have been declining in the past few months, which may indicate consumers are pulling back on their discretionary spending. The labor force participation rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 62.4%, owing to a decline among men. Manufacturing did gain 10,000 jobs in the month. But the number of workers employed part time who wanted but couldn't get full time work increased by 460,000 to 4.9 million, which is the most in spring of 2021. Service businesses are being whipsawed. Transportation equipment manufacturers are being whipsawed. Whipsaw just means one day they think that there's gonna be a tariff. One day they don't know that there's going to be a tariff. And so everybody's looking for what's the overall vision here? What is the overall vision? Is this President Trump using tariffs as leverage? We don't know. Is this President Trump using tariffs as a way to force everybody else to lower their tariffs? We don't know. We've heard that justification too. Or is it just that President Trump sees a vision of the United States with higher tariffs and a reshoring of manufacturing that is good for particular industries but very bad for the American consumer by raising prices overall and also disconnecting the American economy from other parts of the globe. That actually, by the way, again, Jews subsidized the American economy. I understand that there is this notion that trade deficits, where we buy more stuff from people than they buy from us, somehow reflects American weakness. But the reality is that there are many poor countries with trade surpluses and there are many rich countries with trade deficits. Trade deficits are not what they appeared to be. Not necessarily. The reality is that if we spend more money abroad than people spend here, those dollars come back. How do they come back? Well, very often they come back in the form of. Of governments either holding our dollars as the global reserve currency or in the form of other governments buying American bonds, which funds our growing national debt, which is out of control. And I love what Doge is doing. We need to bend the cost curve. The reality is, as I've said over and over, and I'll continue to say, we are not solving our national debt problem unless we take a look at the very things no one on either side wants to take a look at. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, means tested welfare programs. Those are the massive drivers of the American national debt. Elon Musk understands this, but trimming around the edges isn't going to do it. Obviously, it's a very dicey time for investors, and smart investors need to prepare ahead of time, just like keeping a life jacket handy before you set sail. That's why many people are adding gold to their portfolios, leading to record gold prices in early 2025, there's still a great opportunity for you to diversify and strengthen your financial future. When it comes to diversifying into physical gold, I personally trust Birch Gold. They're who I turn to for my own gold investments. Their specialty Helping you convert your existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered IRA backed by physical gold without any out of pocket costs. One five star view says it perfectly knowledgeable, helpful, non pressure. That's exactly why I've stood behind Birch Gold for years. They deliver exactly what they promise. Get your free info kit on Gold by texting the word BEN to the number 9898 98. There's no obligation, just useful information with an A plus rating from the Better Business Bureau and countless five star reviews. Text BEN to 989898 Let the experts at Birchgold help you secure your future today with gold. Again, this is a very uncertain market. It's difficult to know which way things are going and this is why diversification has always been a time tested and useful strategy. Go ask all your questions by texting BEN to 989-898 and then let the experts at Birchgold help you out. Also, you know what's funny? When we started the Daily Wire, I thought the hard part would be creating awesome content. Well, it turns out dealing with the behind the scenes stuff. The hiring, HR policies, employee issues. That's the stuff that eats up your time. And listen, I'm not alone. When you're a business owner, every second of your time is incredibly valuable. So don't waste your energy and risk losing money dealing with time, sucking payroll issues, office politics and HR infractions. Focus on the stuff that matters most running your business with help from Bambi. Here's what makes Bambi different. They give you access to your very own dedicated HR manager at a fraction of what it costs to employ someone full time. And get this Bambi costs just 29 bucks a month whether you have 10, 75 or even 100 employees. If I had Bambi when I was first building this team would've saved a lot of hours, a lot of headaches. Instead of getting bogged down with paperwork and compliance stuff, I could have focused on growing the show, connecting with the audience. With Bambi's HR autopilot, you don't have to waste your valuable time getting into the weeds on HR policies, onboarding, terminations, plus Bambi's month to month no hidden fees. You can cancel anytime. Right now get one month of Bambi for just a buck go to Bambi.com, type in Ben Shapiro on our podcast to schedule your first call with an HR manager. Right now, that's one month of Bambi for just $1. At Bam Bam be.com Ben Shapiro podcast here is Elon Musk correctly citing one of the key phenomena that demonstrates the sort of underlying weakness of the American economic plan. Based on our spending, he says our interest payments are now outstripping what we pay for defense.

[Elon Musk]

Our interest payments are higher than our Defense Department budget. That's, that's, I think, was the real wake up call for me, was looking at seeing that the interest payments, the national debt exceeded the Defense Department budget. And that was only growing over time, which meant if we didn't do something about this, then there won't be any money for anything. We'll just be servicing debt.

[Donald Trump]

And you know how to read an.

[Ben Shapiro]

Income statement and you know how to read a balance sheet. You've had some business experience. I'm kidding. But yeah, you know this stuff.

[Elon Musk]

Yeah. I mean, really, I just don't want America to go bankrupt.

[Ben Shapiro]

Okay? That is correct. But Doge is not gonna be capable of single handedly doing all of that. And many of the moves that we are currently making, it's about to make it very difficult to raise more debt. And all this is tied to what is the actual sort of overall Trump plan. And it takes a little while for the Trump Doctrine to sort of take shape again. I have my idea of what the Trump Doctrine is that's very different from, say, Tucker Carlson's idea of what the Trump Doctrine is. And President Trump doesn't really have a Trump Doctrine. President Trump just has a series of what I think are very good political instincts and a fundamentally good set of principles. But that doesn't necessarily translate into something overall. But the way the markets are increasingly reading what President Trump is doing globally is that President Trump wants to reassure everything and he wants to withdraw from the world. And that is not going to have beneficial effects for the American consumer, the American producer, the American economy at large. And here I want to talk about the sort of problems that are going to arise from this vision. So there's a really good analyst, his name is Balaji Srinivasan, who's an American entrepreneur and investor and a former general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. And he has a good tweet thread today explaining why it is that the world is perceiving some of the moves that the Trump administration is making as indicative of a broader worldview problem that could undermine sort of American strength, he says. Here are four things Maga is getting wrong and why it's handing over the world to China. 1. Maga correctly understands that America's economic position is in decline, but think this is due to economic competition itself rather than lack of competitiveness. This is a big thing. He's right about this. The reason that America has been in relative decline versus China is not because the competitive global markets are bad. It's because America is not competitive in the American global markets. And Trump understands this, by the way. It's just sort of the other half of what he's doing with tariffs, meaning when he focuses on tax policy and regulatory policy that makes America more competitive vis a vis other countries. Getting rid of competition entirely via tariffs, via cutting off world trade, via abandoning parts of the world is not likely to result in American victory. It results in American impoverishment. Second, he says Maga understands that the US has wasted trillions abroad in foreign wars, but thinks the problem is global leadership itself rather than poor leadership. Again, this is a really important point. Obviously the United States has involved itself, particularly in Iraq or Afghanistan, in wars that were either unwinnable or had such bad strategies attached to them that they became unwinnable. That does not mean that abandoning the globe to the predations of the Chinese, Russians and Iranians is going to be beneficial to America. That that is going to increase America's health in the world, economically or otherwise. We need to be concerted about how we use force and how we threaten to use force. But a world without America is a worse world, including for Americans. Third, Maga knows their Blue American enemies have allies abroad, but has incorrectly overreacted to this by treating every non red American as an enemy. Okay, this is, I think, the point about Canada. Yes, it turns out that Blue America took over the institutions of the United States. The left took over the major institutions, including things like usaid, and then they fostered abroad alliances with a bunch of people who actually don't like America very much. That does not mean that the United States does not have allies abroad who are worth cultivating and attacking places like Canada. For example, in by the way, the attacks on Canada are likely to elevate Blue American types to power in Canada. The person who just replaced Justin Trudeau as head of the Liberal Party is a Davos boy. He's a World Economic Forum guy and he is now riding high in the polls thanks to this tariff war that we're having with Canada. And fourth, says Balaji, Maga sees the billions of Dollars flowing from the United States to foreign recipients, but isn't grasping that the US can only print those dollars in the first place so long as it's the hub of a global empire. This is the point that I was making last week about the dollar as the world's reserve currency is that yes, we fund a lot of places and a lot of places fund our debt. That is just the reality. He says basically, MAGA is hyper focused on cutting off any apparent flow of funds from red Americans to blue Americans and non Americans. They're trying to quickly shut off imports, close down institutions and exit all wars. Except the reason imports exist in the first place is because the United States products are not competitive relative to other products or Fed printing. The reason those institutions exist is because the United States set them up to run the world. The reason those wars are happening is not because of American leadership per se, but because of the absence of good leadership by America. If you shut all of that down at once, you shut down American empire and with it the ability to print money, fund your debt or anything like that. This is a correct analysis. And if the world perceives that as the program, it is not going to be beneficial to the markets. It's not gonna be beneficial to American citizens. Again, this is not. America needs to be the world's global police person involved every single place. This is not. America needs to trade with everybody at the same rate. This is if there is a generalized perception in the markets and across the world that America is withdrawing, that is not going to be beneficial for the United States. Because an American led world order is better than a non American led world order. World order. Beyond that, there are gonna be some real downsides here in the United States. We need President Trump to succeed particularly economically. We need him to succeed particularly economically. This picture, I think, is gonna be the story of the next four years, one way or another. This is a picture from the inauguration. You'll remember it because it was obviously a pretty famous picture. This is a picture of all of the tech bros arriving at the inauguration. And you can see it's Elon Musk, it's Sundar Pichai, who's the head of Alphabet, it's Jeff Bezos, the head of Amazon, it's Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Facebook. Meta.

[Elon Musk]

Right.

[Ben Shapiro]

They were all there at the inauguration. They were flanking President Trump. And it was sort of an amazing moment because you had all these business leaders, many of whom were not in fact allied with President Trump over the course of his career. Here were at the inauguration now the only downside to that is that if the economy sinks, what do you think is going to take the blame? What President Trump is doing right now with tariffs, that is not free market oriented. Tariffs are not free market oriented. They're a government control on imports and exports. That's what they are. They're effectively attacks on consumers. If the economy dips. If the economy dips, the American people are going to perceive that business itself is to blame for. For what happens next. Regardless of the fact that many of the measures that are currently being taken by the sort of nationalist conservatives in terms of economics measures like subsidies, new regulations in certain areas, tariffs, which are a form of regulation, that all of these sorts of battles really are not oriented toward free markets. They are more of a Bernie Sanders economic program in some ways than they are in a sort of traditional libertarian free market program. The perception of President Trump, correctly, is that he is a businessman and that he is capitalism oriented. If the economy sinks while he is president in a serious way, where Americans turn against him, and again, he's underwater on the economy right now, if that happens, it is not just going to damage Trump, which would be terrible, and damage the Trump administration and the Republican future, which would be terrible. It is going to be used as a club against all of business, all of it. There will be a blowback against business, capitalism and free markets. Despite the fact that it wasn't business, capitalism and free markets that brought us to this point. It was overweening government spending and then a bunch of pseudo corrective measures that are attempting to be taken by the Trump administration in the form of autarkic. Autarkic reshoring. The sort of popular response is something that I've learned over the course of watching politics at a granular level for almost a quarter of a century. I've been doing this since I was 17. I'm currently 41. One of the things that I've noticed, and this is true for everybody in every industry, when you're in an industry and you know the ins and outs of a thing, when you know the details of the thing, you think everybody else knows the details of the thing. You think everybody else follows the ins and outs. That's not true. And let's say that you are Leonardo da Vinci and you're painting the Mona Lisa. You know where every single brushstroke went, you know the amount of effort it took in. What did people take away from the Mona Lisa? For most people, they walk into the Louvre, they look at the Mona Lisa, they see it's A lady with no eyebrows, they kind of shrug and they walk away. That is most people. And the same thing is true in every industry. If you're an accountant, you know the ins and the outs of the tax laws and so you figure maybe everybody else kind of has a general idea, the answer is no. They just know whether they're paying more or whether they're paying less. And when it comes to politics, I may know, or you as a listener to shows like this one, may know the ins and outs of global geopolitics and economics. You may follow this stuff at a closer level than 99% of the rest of America. Most people only see line go up, line go down. And if line goes down while President Trump is president, the blowback is going to be not just against tariff policy, it's going to be against business, it's going to be against capitalism. It's going to be against Elon Musk and Pichai and Zuckerberg and Trump and everyone associated. The American public does not see issues in terms of nuance. The American public sees good or bad. If the economy goes down, then what you are likely to see is an upsurge in left wing populist sentiment against free market capitalism. You're likely to still see the sort of Bill Burr perspective on economics, which is totally ignorant and by the way, utterly hypocritical given the fact that he's a millionaire himself who makes money saying used to be funny things on tv, but here, for example, is Bill Burr going after Elon Musk.

[Bill Burr]

You're gonna leave the country cuz of one guy with dyed hair plugs and a laminated face who runs a. Who makes a bad car and has. Has an obsolete social media platform. You're gonna leave this. Why doesn't he leave? Why isn't he stopped? What are we so afraid of? This guy who can't fight his way out of a wet paper bag, you.

[Ben Shapiro]

Can take him on like, what is.

[Bill Burr]

Why do liberals just sit back and not. They just, they have nothing.

[Ben Shapiro]

What are you doing?

[Bill Burr]

This, okay? This, you gotta speak up about it. You don't just go like, oh my God, what? Like, listen, first of all, it's like, I'm a standup comedian, it's not my frigging job. I'm talking about like Democratic politicians. Where is their pushback? They're allegedly liberal. You see this guy do this thing, you know what the end result of this thing is? Which all these neo Nazis, not only are they stupid because they're neo Nazis, they don't Even look at what Hitler did. He ruined their country. And this idiot is gonna try to lead us down that road and then play it off and act like he didn't do what he just did. And you can get canceled as a comedian for doing a frigging Caitlyn Jenner joke. But this can seek Kyle and nothing. Where are all the liberals? Where are all of these white chicks at the award shows that were speaking truth to power? Where are they? Why did they choose to go after comedians and not the Ku Klux Klan? How come they never got canceled?

[Ben Shapiro]

Okay, now again, this sort of attack on Musk, this sort of neo Nazi, he raised his arm stuff is nonsense. But the populist, anti capitalist, anti free market, anti business attitude is going to be extremely common if the economy sinks. That's gonna be a real, real problem. Well, he is not a genius. But you know what is genius? Policy genius. Securing your family's future. It's of utmost importance in today's world. As somebody who's always advocated for smart financial planning, I can tell you having the right life insurance coverage is not just about peace of mind. It's about giving your family options if the unexpected occurs. That's why I want to tell you about policygenius. They're not an insurance company themselves. They are the country's leading online insurance marketplace. They let you compare quotes from America's top insurers side by side, completely free, with absolutely no hidden fees. 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That's policygenius.com Shapiro Also, what does the future hold for business? If you ask nine experts, you'll get 10 answers. Bull market. Bear market inflation. Up, down. Well, until we know for certain what's coming over 38,000 businesses have found a way to future proof their operations with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP. Imagine having your accounting, financial management, inventory all seamlessly integrated into one fluid platform. That's NetSuite. With this unified business management suite, you're not just juggling numbers, you're wielding a powerful tool that gives you visibility and control to make quick, informed decisions. It's like having a map in a maze of market uncertainties, real time insights and forecasting check. It's like peering into the future with actionable data at your fingertips. And here's a game changer. You'll be closing your books in days, not weeks. That means less time drowning in paperwork, more time focusing on what truly matters, steering your business towards success. At the Daily Wire, we're proud to partner with NetSuite because they're leading the way in future proofing operations for businesses around the world. Whether your company's earning millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars, NetSuite adapts to your needs, helping you respond to immediate challenges and seize your biggest opportunities. Speaking of opportunity, download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning at netsuite.com Shapiro the guide is free to you at netsuite.com Shapiro that's netsuite.com Shapiro now one of the theories here is that one of the things President Trump is trying to do actually is devalue the American dollar so as to BO exports for purposes of fixing the trade deficit. So I went to our friends over at Perplexity and I asked a simple question and Perplexity does a good job of explaining this sort of stuff. Quote what are the effects on the ability of the United States to sell our debt if the value of the dollar drops? Because this is sort of the biggest single question you heard Elon earlier talking about the fact that we pay more interest on our debt than we are currently paying on the defense budget. So what happens to can we raise new debt if the dollar is devalued? And here is Perplexity's excellent answer. Negative effect Reduced foreign demand for US Treasuries A weaker dollar may lower the appeal of dollar denominated assets, including U.S. treasuries for foreign investors. If the dollar depreciates, foreign holders of U.S. debt could face losses when converting interest payments or principal back into their own currencies. This could lead to reduced investment in US debt markets. 2. Higher interest rates to attract buyers for its debt amid declining demand, the US Government may need to offer higher Yields on Treasuries, increasing borrowing costs. Rising interest rates can also exacerbate concerns about debt sustainability and put upward pressure on real yields. 3. Loss of confidence A sustained drop in the dollar's value could signal broader economic instability, potentially triggering a loss of confidence among investors in U.S. financial assets. This could result in a sell off of U.S. treasuries and further depreciation of the currency. In other words, everybody else who's holding our debt thinks that the new debt actually is going to be less valuable than the old debt and they start selling it off. 4. Inflationary pressures A weaker dollar increases the cost of imported goods and services, potentially fueling inflation. Higher inflation erodes the real returns on fixed income assets like Treasuries, making them less attractive to investors. Now, what President Trump could be focusing on theoretically is the positive effects of a weaker dollar. And President Trump talks about how he wants the Federal Reserve to lower the interest rates and inject money into the economy. Increased competitiveness. A weaker dollar makes US exports cheaper and more competitive internationally, which could boost economic growth and improve trade balances over time. However, the reality of a weaker dollar is that America can be competitive without doing that. You don't need to upend America's ability to raise debt by increasing tariffs by lowering the value of the dollar. Those are not things that are necessary right now. We're already in an inflationary spiral. We don't need more inflation on top of all of this. And as Perplexity points out, the major long term effect of would be things like de dollarization. So again, something I was mentioning last week. The entire American economy is reliant on other people buying our debt on a continuous basis to fund our government spending. Countries might diversify away from dollar denominated assets, reducing their reliance on US Treasuries as reserve holdings. And concerns about sanctions or asset freezes might further reduce foreign official demand for US debt. I totally agree with Perplexity's conclusion here that while a weaker dollar could stimulate certain aspects of the economy, it poses risks to the US's ability to sell its debt efficiently by increasing borrowing costs, undermining investor confidence in treasury securities. That is correct. Thanks to our friends at Perplexity for sponsoring that search. Well, again, in the search for some sort of sobriety and stability in the economic space, the Congress right now is looking to push forward a continuing resolution. We spoke with Representative Chip Roy again, a very strong fiscal conservative in Congress, yesterday on the program. Speaker Johnson is now eyeing a House vote today on a six month funding extension that was crafted on a partisan basis. He's going to rely on only Republican votes to pass it in the House and dare Democrats to try to oppose. Looks as though there's a strong shot that it is going to pass. The shutdown countdown is down to three days. Because the shutdown happens on Friday. Many again of the more conservative members of the caucus are on board. There's one who is obviously not going to be, and that, of course, is Thomas Massie, who's reliable. No vote on everything. Like on everything. He's essentially Ron Paul, but from Kentucky. Same voting record, same general worldview, all of it. Well, this prompted President Trump to go after Massie, correctly noting that Massie basically has no interest in governing almost ever. And in a situation like this, what you actually need is Republicans who are willing to govern. Again, the job of being a congressperson is not the same as the job of being a podcast host or the job of being a CNN commentator or something like. It is literally your job to try and go for 80% of the pie. This is why, again, I think the chip Roy does a good job of this Chip actually tries to push the ball as far as it will go while recognizing that the ball eventually is gonna have to be kicked right. Something's gonna have to happen. He will push the line as far as he can without falling into the trap of just saying no to everything. Well, President Trump put out a statement yesterday saying that he will lead the charge to oust Thomas Massie for his refusal to support the government funding bill. He put out a truth social post. He said, congressman Thomas Massie of beautiful Kentucky is an automatic no vote on just about everything. He said Massey should be primaried and I will lead the charge against him. Now, Trump had also prior times tried to unsuccessfully oust Massie. Massey responded by saying, I've had a challenger who tried to be more maggot than me three times. None busted, 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance. Again, totally fair for Massey there. However, it is a reality that Massey is reliable. No vote on everything. That would be sort of effective for Republicans to do. And even though I agree with Massey actually more than many other Republicans on his generalized spending proposals, is Trump wrong to target Massey about all of this? I mean, if the continuing resolution fails and we get to Friday and the government shuts down, the downside effects are going to be very, very strong for the Republicans, including Republican Congress. And it's easy for Massie to say since he's not in a purple district. He's not somebody who's gonna battle his way back to the. Back to the Congress. His district is like a plus 20 Republican district. So all of this, you would think, might provide an opening to Democrats. Right? This would be the moment where Democrats start to make their economic pitch. Oh, look at the oligarchic Republicans with their business ties, and yet they're sending your 401k spiraling down. Right? This would be like, if you were a smart Democratic politician, this is the thing you would be doing. Correct? You'd be focusing in like a laser beam on the economy, because if the economy continues to decline, if we fall into recession, that's gonna be your move. And yet Democrats are apparently complete idiots. They fell off the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down because they are focused in laser, like on the defense of a Hamas sympathizer whose green card is going to be removed. This is the thing they have decided is absolutely vital for them to stand against. It's unreal. I mean, seriously, it's just political malpractice at this point. So this person's name is Mahmoud Khalil. Yesterday, the White House announced that they would be moving to deport Mahmoud Khalil. Who the hell is that Mahmoud Khalil? Well, he's an anti Israel, pro Hamas activist, and he's an actual pro Hamas activist who led protests at Columbia University when all those buildings were occupied and the Tentifada was taking place. It was announced by the White House that ICE would be arresting him and removing him. The White House put out a meme reading Shalom Mahmoud, which, of course is a reference to President Trump's statement Shalom Hamas, telling Hamas they needed to give up all the hostages or they would cease to exist. Obviously, the connection there has to do with the fact that this person is extraordinarily pro Hamas. President Trump said, we will find, apprehend, and deport terrorist sympathizers from our country, never to return again. Which seems like a pretty commonsensical policy that if you're here on a green card and you support terrorism, probably you shouldn't be here. We don't need you here. According to the Wall Street Journal, Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was the first to be arrested by Homeland Security agents for his participation in pro Palestinian demonstrations on campus. President Trump vowed he would not be the last. And again, that is a misread by the news department at the Wall Street Journal, which is to the left of the New York Times. He was not arrested because he went to a pro Palestinian demonstration. He was arrested because he has active ties to groups that openly support Hamas. That would be the reason Trump said in a social media post, quote, we know there are more students at Columbia and other universities across the country who have engaged in pro terrorist, anti Semitic, anti American activity. The Trump administration will not tolerate it. The Education Department said Monday it sent letters to 60 schools warning of potential enforcement actions if they don't fulfill obligations to protect Jewish students. And again, that is an outgrowth of the Civil Rights act, which lays out that all these colleges have anti discrimination policies on the basis of race. That applies to black students, white students, Jewish students, Arab students, everybody. So you can't selectively fail to enforce the law when it comes to the Jews is sort of the point that Trump has made. Khalil played a prominent role in organizing protests last year against the war in Gaza, often addressing crowds on Colombia's lawn and giving interviews to national media. He was inside the Barnard Library during an occupation last week to protest the expulsion of two students for earlier demonstrations, according to photographs posted on social media. But that is not actually the full story about Mahmoud Khalil and the people he has associated himself with. Secretary of State Marco Rubio put out a statement. We'll be revoking the visas and or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported. The Homeland Security Department put out a statement as well. Quote, on March 9, 2025, in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting anti Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil. A former Columbia University graduate student, Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. Again, there's a difference between pro Palestinian and aligned with Hamas, although distinction has been obliterated by the pro Palestinian crowd who have largely aligned with Hamas at this point. So what are exactly beyond him saying bad stuff? What exactly is the thing that's getting him in trouble here? Well, it turns out that the group that he headed, Columbia University, Apartheid Divest, withdrew an apology that it made for a member who said Zionists don't deserve to live. Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which is this, this guy's group, put out a statement. This is according to the New York Times, October 9, 2024, quote, we support liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance. That's not just pro Palestinian, that is pro Hamas. That is what you are talking about. They then distributed a newspaper with a headline that used Hamas's name, quote, one year since Al Aqsa flood. Revolution until victory. It read over A picture of Hamas fighters breaching the security fence to Israel. The group posted an essay calling the attack a moral, military and political victory. I mean, that's pretty pro Hamas. That's not like pro, that's like pro a terrorist group. And again, if you're an American citizen and you do this sort of stuff, that's one thing. If you're a green card holder, why do we need you here? Green card does not give you the right under American law to actively orient yourself toward terrorism. That is not a thing. When the founders were constructing the Constitution, they're not like, let's bring people from abroad who hate America and love terrorism. That was never considered a right under American law. The group wrote on October 7, 2024, quote, The Palestinian resistance is moving their struggle to a new phase of escalation. It is our duty to meet them there. It is our duty to fight for our freedom. That'd be Hamas that this person is talking about. So again, the New York Times recognized at the time, this is before the election, that this could lead to federal investigations into campus anti Semitism or on campus discipline if these were deemed to create a hostile environment for Jewish students. Now, again, it's more than that. It turns out that Khalil's group, the Columbia University apartheid divestiture, was one of 150 pro terrorism groups identified by journalist Ryan Morrow over at Capital Research. Khalil's group says that it is, quote, fighting for a total eradication of Western civilization. It also asked for help from violence extremists abroad. Quote, we seek instructions from militants in the global South. Khalil's group said, we in America must be killed, jailed and tortured and targeted in order to genuinely threaten the state. As part of the global intifada. He suggested the only way to respond to state repression is to storm prisons and release prisoners and burn down prisoners, prisons, government offices and state vehicles. That's Khalil's group. I mean, like, I don't know how much clearer your sympathy for Hamas has to get in order for you to, you know, violate the law. So what does the law actually say on this? What exactly does the law actually say? Well, good news. We actually know what the law says. According to Immigration and National act section 212, there are a number of grounds for ineligibility for a green card or immigration based on security grounds. That includes, quote, anyone who endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization. So Yeah, I mean, that the Supreme Court has ruled back in 1904 that anarchists, for example, could be barred from the United States Congress of the opinion that the tendency of the general exploitation of such views is so dangerous to the public wheel that aliens who hold and advocate them would be undesirable additions to our population. Again, there's a section of the INA that grants the State Department broad authority to deport any alien, quote, whose presence or activities in the United States, the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. And that is exactly the authority that Secretary of State Rubio is citing in this guy's deportation. So you're hearing the sob stories from the left. He said it. So what did the Senate Judiciary Democrats do again? The stock market tanked to the tune of 900 points yesterday, and it has tanked to the tune of a significant percentage of the stock market's total value since the election. So what are Democrats focused laser like on their hero of the day, Hamas open. Hamas sympathizer and pseudo revolutionary, Mahmoud Khalil. They put out a tweet, the Senate Judiciary Democrats, with a picture of this guy that said, free Mahmoud Khalil. So, just to get this straight, Democrats would not cheer last week for the family of Lake and Riley. They would not stand up and applaud the family of Jocelyn Nungarry was killed by illegal immigrants, but they are going to stand four square behind a terrorist sympathizer who used to work for the UNRWA when not calling for the overthrow of Western civilization. They're gonna cheer for that guy. He has to stay in the United States. Guys, the political malpractice here is so strong. The Democrats here are so bad, so unbelievably bad at this. Truly, truly awful at this. Now a judge has temporarily blocked the deportation. He's gonna get overruled. This judge also happens to be brothers with Jason Furman, member of the Obama administration. Most of his relatives work in, like, deep blue American institutions and all the rest. Van Jones, perhaps the last sane man on the Democratic side of the aisle. He was pointing out, like, guys, what are you doing? Like, what are you doing?

[Van Jones]

Look, man, we're screwed. I mean, we don't know. Democrats don't know what to do. This is a nightmare. You know, somebody like Donald Trump. We thought we'd at least have, you know, Hakeem Jeffries in the Speaker's chair to hold him back if we didn't have Kamala in there to do the Right thing. Listen, the Democratic Party is going through a massive set of internal crises. You have a party that got trapped two ways. One, defending a broken status quo that nobody likes because they thought that Donald Trump was going to make it worse. But when you're defending the status quo, you're going to lose. And then offending most people in the country, calling everybody sexist and racist and transphobic and every other name, and then say, please follow us. That's not a good strategy, folks. Defending a broken status quo and offending most of the country, turns out, is not as popular as my party thought it was going to be.

[Ben Shapiro]

You know, again, Van is the only person speaking truth to power on CNN who is not a stated Republican. But the Democrats are gonna keep going down this path, which is why Whoopi Goldberg had on Dylan Mulvaney singularly responsible for the. For the complete collapse of the Bud Light brand. They had on Dylan Mulvaney a man pretending to be a woman, to talk about how men should compete with women in athletics. I mean, they just, they keep doubling down on stupid. It's amazing. It's amazing. The roulette wheel keeps turning up the other way and they're like, what if I just keep doubling down on the stupid? No.

[Whoopi Goldberg]

Well, I think part of the problem that the trans community is facing, and it's the same problem that women face, is if you don't know anything about our bodies, you don't know how it works. So when you come in and you say, oh, you know these men, these are men, you know, competing against women, competing against women, you're assuming that the women are weak and just can't do anything except be here. Have you seen female athletes? They know what they're doing. So I'm not sure what's going on or why this is an issue.

[Ben Shapiro]

Okay? Unbelievable. I'm sorry, but female athletes who know what they're doing, like Riley Gaines, who's like an NCAA champion, they're gonna get clobbered by any half decent dude in the pool. Everyone knows this. This is just basic human biology. I'm sorry that facts exist for Whoopi Goldberg because it makes her job really uncomfortable, but let Democrats keep following this path. Seriously. And Democrats are stuck because they keep throwing out these same types of people. There's an entire article in Politico about Tim Walls, as though Tim Walls is going to make a giant comeback after his goofball presentation on the national stage. Or Kamala Harris. Or Gavin Newsom, who's now cleverly attempting to move away from some of the woke stuff. The thing that I'm absolutely puzzled by, if you're a Democrat, I do not understand. You have a point of vulnerability now in the markets. Why are you not focusing on that? And the answer is they're so tied to their own social issues that they can't let go of them. This is the thing they actually care about. It's truly amazing, by the way, when it comes to the colleges and universities we mentioned what's going on at Columbia, something fairly amazing happened yesterday. So Harvard and Yale were among 60 colleges who were warned of fund cuts over claims that they have not properly policed discrimination against Jews on campus. And these universities are panicking. They're freaking out. These universities are claiming that this will mean serious cuts to their budget, to their ability to take care of students. I mean, you're saying the quiet part out loud, which is that your government supported institutions, all of these campuses have billion dollar endowments. They have much money, lots and lots of money, but they are adjuncts to the federal government. And now the federal government is saying, no, we're done with this. They're freaking out. Which demonstrates just how deeply intertwined pseudo private institutions like Harvard and Yale are with the blue state Democratic Party in the federal government already. Coming up, we're gonna get into the latest in Ukraine. We are also going to be getting into a piece of interesting news from Netflix. First, you actually go become a subscriber. And the reason you do that is because we have all sorts of great stuff behind the paywall, right? Got Morning Wire, we got Am I racist? We've got what is a woman? We have all access live, tons of stuff. And you get to hang out with us behind the paywall, right? If you're not a member, become a member. Use code Shapira checkout for two months free on all annual plans. Click that link in the description and join us.