3603 - It's Taco Trump China Version; No Kings Protests w/ Jostein Hauge, Hunter Dunn

Summary

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The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3603 - "It’s Taco Trump China Version; No Kings Protests"

Date: October 15, 2025
Host: Sam Seder
Guests: Jostein Haga (Cambridge economist, Global Currents newsletter), Hunter Dunn (50501 Movement, No Kings Day Coalition)
Producers/Co-hosts: Emma Vigeland, Brian

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode of The Majority Report tackles breaking political and social news from the US and globally, with a special focus on three major threads:

• Trump’s ongoing government shutdown tactics: defunding Democratic cities, slashing ACA subsidies, and appropriating leverage via shock-and-awe grant cancellations.
• The evolving US-China trade war, featuring an in-depth, lucid interview with political economist Jostein Haga on China’s strategic countermoves, the rare earths chess game, and the wider context for American industrial policy failures.
• The No Kings Day protest movement, with organizer Hunter Dunn outlining the mass mobilizations against the Trump administration’s authoritarianism and the fertile ground for long-haul resistance.

Woven throughout are the show’s trademark irreverent deep dives, highlighting hypocrisy, policy ignorance, and the grassroots search for non-institutional avenues of power.

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KEY TOPICS & DISCUSSION POINTS

1. Political Headlines & Administration Overreach (00:07–19:05)

• Ongoing government shutdown; Trump cancels billions in pre-approved grants, mostly targeting blue/Democratic cities.
• Discussion of the administration's lack of legal/statutory authority to unilaterally cancel appropriated funding; grant freezes for infrastructure, energy, and renewal projects (Second Avenue Subway in NYC, Chicago transit, Nevada solar, etc).
• US Supreme Court hearing arguments on gutting the Voting Rights Act.
• Leaked chats from national Young Republicans reveal open Hitler admiration, racism, rape praise among members aged up to forty—a "big white hood party" (01:50), as Emma Vigeland quips.

Notable Quote:

"The funny thing, the way like the Van Wilders of fascism... most of this Hitler loving, rape praising, N word using stuff is from people who are well above college age."
—Sam Seder (04:24)

Timestamps:

• 00:07 – Sam & Emma intro headlines
• 01:55 – Commentary on the Republican Party's radicalization
• 03:07 – Satire about "protecting free speech" via visa revocations for anti-Charlie Kirk posts

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2. Government Shutdown: Trump’s Leverage and Its Fallout (07:23–19:05)

• Trump publicly brags about weaponizing the shutdown to permanently close “Democrat programs,” a move with no legal backing (07:23–09:30).
• Administration targets two main funding streams: (1) multi-billion-dollar transport/infrastructure projects for deep blue areas (NYC, Chicago); (2) climate/clean energy grants (a $1.2B hydrogen energy initiative, major solar/hydro projects), often hitting red states hardest due to ACA and Medicaid reliance.
• ACA (Affordable Care Act) subsidies set to be slashed, threatening spikes in health premiums before open enrollment (16:42–18:43).

Notable Quotes:

"There is no statutory authority for Donald Trump to do what he’s doing in terms of canceling these grants that have already been appropriated. ... He has no legal authority to do this."
—Sam Seder (05:30, expanded at 10:08)

"There are more Republicans who are using the Affordable Care act in the exchanges and in the expansion of Medicaid than Democrats. That's just the reality."
—Sam Seder (13:02)

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3. Interview: Prof. Jostein Haga on US-China Trade Escalation (23:17–48:25)

Topic: Rare Earths, Tariffs, and the Death of US Industrial Policy

• China’s tit-for-tat response to Trump’s new trade restrictions: export controls on rare earth elements and related tech, affecting global supply, not just the US.
• The US’s trade war since Trump began tariffs lacks coherent industrial policy; moves create uncertainty and harm US manufacturing more than they help.
• China’s long-term state-driven industrial planning (since the 80s) contrasts with US short-termism and Wall Street control; China now dominates rare earth processing (90% globally) and is rapidly self-sufficient in strategic resources (helium example).
• Suggests that US moves (e.g., threatening software export controls) will backfire, spurring Chinese innovation, as happened in semiconductors.
• Trump’s strategy described as bullying that has historically worked with weaker states, but China’s independence and planning now put the US on the back foot.

Notable Quotes:

"Tariffs and export restrictions... can be used for building up an industrial base. But since Trump started the tariffs, there hasn't really been a lot of economic logic... it seemed to be a negotiation tool for him to flex, without thinking about the economic rationale."
—Jostein Haga (27:27)

"China is now also trying to send a signal to the rest of the world... If people want to bully us, we cannot be bullied."
—Jostein Haga (24:35)

"China just has so much leverage in the sphere of international trade right now that this is not someone you can bully."
—Jostein Haga (39:23)

Timestamps:

• 23:17 – Interview begins
• 24:35 – Rare earths export ban and China’s leverage
• 29:56 – How rare earth processing, not mining, is the real bottleneck
• 35:28 – China’s model: long-term, state-driven vs. US short-termism
• 39:23 – Why US bullying tactics won’t work

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4. No Kings Day Protests & 50501 Movement (48:46–65:10)

Guest: Hunter Dunn, National Press Coordinator

• Origin of “50501”: 50 states, 50 protests, one movement. Born from the absence of institutional resistance to Trump’s second administration.
• “No Kings Day” started post-federal occupation of LA, now global (events in Europe, Mexico, India, etc). Slogan-laden: “We, the American people, are against Trump’s executive overreach.”
• Protest value:
  • Community solidarity across regions and globally.
  • “Educatement and recruitment”—connecting new activists to everyday direct action, mutual aid, community defense.
  • Disrupting legitimacy of federal occupations and ICE raids, as in LA, Chicago, Portland—“the emperor has no clothes.”
• Addressing state response: Smears by Mike Johnson, administration/FBI directives to target “left-wing groups,” rise of state repression.

Notable Quotes:

"The enemy can't be both weak and strong simultaneously? Well, unless you're lying fascist."
—Hunter Dunn (54:45)

"No Kings is a way to get ready. ... This isn't a sprint, this is a marathon. And we have to convince the people at those protests that this is a marathon because they need to start training now so that they can run the whole race."
—Hunter Dunn (63:33)

"We can't help other countries beat their fascists until we beat our own. ... It's the billionaires backing Trump and backing those other dictators that is causing so many of the problems we're facing today."
—Hunter Dunn (52:34)

Timestamps:

• 48:46 – Protest organizing, LA occupation, solidarity
• 54:45 – FBI/administration surveillance, “antifa” smears
• 56:43 – Why mass mobilizations matter: solidarity, education, logistics
• 59:45 – Connections to future general strike (May 1, 2028)

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MEMORABLE MOMENTS & ADDITIONAL QUOTES

• Emma on Republican hypocrisy:
  "I mean, let alone how disproportionately the Medicaid cuts are going to harm red states... they're okay with immiserating their own constituents in order to appease Donald Trump and get tax cuts for the rich and for their donors." (14:38)

• Jostein Haga on US short-sightedness:
  "You had presidential administrations that have basically tried to undo what the previous administration has done... In China you had a state that's been able to discipline capital and say, ‘here's what we want to do, we're going to do it long term.’" (33:48–35:28)

• Seder on government shutdown tactics:
  "What he's talking about is money that has been earmarked, appropriated already by the government for Democratic areas. He's not going to cancel any Democrat programs because he knows that those Democrat programs help more of his voters than Democratic voters." (13:02)

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS (Referenced by Guests)

• Global Currents Newsletter by Jostein Haga
• NoKings.org (Find protest info)
• 50501 movement info: 50.50.1
• Trust and Will (Sponsor/discount)

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SUMMARY: THEMES & TAKEAWAYS

• Trump’s “shock and awe” approach is less about policy than about projecting power, often illegally, and punishing blue states and cities—with real, destructive consequences for Americans, especially in healthcare, infrastructure, and social programs.
• US-China trade war is increasingly lopsided: US threats spur China to innovation and dominance in key sectors (rare earths, AI, EVs), while US “industrial policy” is ad hoc, driven by personality and election cycles instead of strategic planning.
• Mass protests and direct action via the No Kings Day/50501 movement are stepping up where elected Dems have failed, forging new networks of solidarity and readiness for larger confrontations over democracy and authoritarianism.
• Grassroots preparation for escalation: Organizers stress the importance of building community power for future strike actions and systemic change—protest is “not just Orange Man Bad,” but about outlasting and organizing beyond the immediate crisis.

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EPISODE STRUCTURE & IMPORTANT TIMESTAMPS

| Topic | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------------|--------------------| | Headlines, ICC News, Young Republicans scandal | 00:07 – 05:15 | | Trump on the shutdown, Democratic program cuts | 05:15 – 10:08 | | Infrastructure grant freezes & ACA discussion | 10:08 – 18:43 | | Interview: Jostein Haga (Trade, rare earths) | 23:17 – 48:25 | | Interview: Hunter Dunn (No Kings/50501 movement) | 48:46 – 65:10 |

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Tone:
Wry, combative, clear-eyed, with deep dives and levity, maintaining the Majority Report’s blend of “explainer journalism” and activist energy.

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This summary provides a comprehensive guide to the episode’s content, critical analyses, and quotable moments—essential for anyone looking to catch up on US-authoritarianism, the China trade war, or grassroots anti-Trump organizing.

Transcript

[Emma Vigeland]

You are listening to a free version of Majority Report with Sam Steater. To support this show and get another.

[Sam Seder]

15 minutes of daily program, go to Majority FM please. The Majority Report with Sam Cedar. It is Wednesday, October 15, 2025. My name is Sam Seder. This is the five time award winning Majority Report. We are broadcasting live steps from the industrially ravaged Gowanus Canal in the heartland of America, downtown Brooklyn, usa. On the program today, Jostein Hogg, political economist, assistant professor at Cambridge University in in England and publisher of the Global Current newsletter on substack. Then Hunter Dunn, national press coordinator for the 50501 movement which is part of the no Kings Day Coalition. Also on the program today, in breach of phase one of the ceasefire, Israel halves aid as Palestinian hostages decry Israeli prison conditions. Supreme Court hears oral arguments over issuing a death blow to the Voting Rights Act. Young to middle age Republican groups nationwide leaked chat shows, a love of Hitler, mountains of racism and praise of rape. Surprise, surprise. Just to be clear, young Republicans apparently is age 18 to 40.

[Emma Vigeland]

They're a big tent party and thank you guys and a big white hood party.

[Sam Seder]

If it was just 18 to 24, there wouldn't be enough. Pentagon ordering staff to watch Pete Hegseth's speech or else the speech he gave a week or two ago. Louisiana county declares state of emergency over immigration raids. ICE continues to break laws and round up people in Chicago as Pritzker hints at possible state prosecutions of federal agents. Meanwhile, US Taxpayer dollars pays for the killing of another six anonymous people in the United States fifth Caribbean boat bombing.

[Emma Vigeland]

They are trying so hard to goad Venezuela into responding.

[Sam Seder]

Day 15 of shutdown. TRUMP now canceling billions in grants to blue cities. And US Revokes the visas of six people in this country for mean social media posts about Charlie Kirk.

[Emma Vigeland]

This is the administration protecting free speech.

[Sam Seder]

Seth Moulton to challenge Ed Markey in Massachusetts and Maine senatorial. Recently announced senatorial candidate Janet Mills vows that if elected, she will not serve until age 91, but rather only until age 86.

[Emma Vigeland]

That's amazing. That's galvanizing all this.

[Sam Seder]

More on today's Majority Report. That is, it is nice to see a politician come out and make a vow like that.

[Emma Vigeland]

Happy hump day. We've never heard that before, right? We've never heard like just, I don't know, infamously in the last election or two cycles, a very elderly candidate saying trust me, I'll just try to serve one term. We've never heard that.

[Sam Seder]

You know what? I don't think we have ever heard a candidate promise to serve until age 86.

[Emma Vigeland]

That is very specific.

[Sam Seder]

Right? Yeah, I mean that's, I mean you could say I'm staying in the race or anything else, but I don't, I honestly believe this is the first time in the history that we have had a candidate vow to stay in office until age 86.

[Emma Vigeland]

It's beautiful.

[Hunter Dunn]

It's a middle aged Republican.

[Sam Seder]

Yep, that's exactly right. It is. That must be. Also we'll get to those leaked chats of those. It's a young Republican organization. That's the name of it. But literally they're 18 to 40 year olds in this organization I suspect because they just can't support and actual like young people. But maybe that's wrong. But the funny thing, the way like the Van Wilders of fascism in the way, the way that like, you know, folks like J.D. vance are playing it off as if it's a college chat. It is not a college chat. In fact, as far as I can tell from what I've read so far, most of this Hitler loving, rape praising, N word using stuff is from people who are well above college age.

[Emma Vigeland]

Oh yeah.

[Sam Seder]

So it's not a college chat whatsoever. Forever young. Which is not to say that like that would be healthy to see in.

[Emma Vigeland]

A college chat, but they're downplaying it in a way that is just like, it's just a lie.

[Sam Seder]

Well, JD Van saying he's not going to clutch pearls over it the same.

[Jostein Haga]

Day that they're revoking visas for people.

[Sam Seder]

Being nasty to Charlie Kirk. Exactly. We know at pearls that they will clutch at any given time. We got a lot of news, but it is day 15 of the shutdown. We're going to play some clips later in the program that show the support for the Affordable Care act has, has grown certainly over the years, but certainly over the course of the shutdown too. Because people are starting to realize like wait a second, this is going to cost us real money. And I think the Republicans are getting a little worried. Here is Donald Trump talking about what he's going to do during the shutdown. But I want you to understand this. There is nothing about this shutdown that allows Trump to do this that he would have, I mean we could never ever know a counterfactual. But more than likely he would have done the exact same thing if the continuing resolution was passed. Just we probably wouldn't even hear about it as much because it wouldn't be in the context of a shutdown fight. But there is absolutely no statutory authority for Donald Trump to do what he's doing in terms of canceling these grants that have already been appropriated. There is no statutory authority for him to do this, but he's doing it and pretending it's about the shutdown as an attempt to get leverage.

[Brian]

Yeah, please.

[Sam Seder]

Do you feel any urgency to end the shutdown in the next week, two weeks, or would you be fine if it stretches into November and then toward.

[Hunter Dunn]

The holidays with folks not getting paid?

[Brian]

Well, you know, shut down. We've had many, many shutdowns. And this is a shutdown that shouldn't have happened. A group of people brilliantly decided to make it after the election.

[Sam Seder]

Hold on for one second.

[Brian]

Thank you very much.

[Sam Seder]

We just lost our video.

[Brian]

Give it to Trump instead of Biden.

[Sam Seder]

Okay, let's go back together.

[Brian]

A group of people brilliantly decided to make it after the election. I said thank you very much. In other words, give it to Trump instead of Biden. So it shouldn't happen. And likewise, debt ceiling shouldn't have. But the big, great, big beautiful bill solved the debt ceiling problem.

[Hunter Dunn]

For.

[Sam Seder]

Is there a point where you would reach out to.

[Brian]

No, no. Here's what's happening in the shutdown, though, honestly, can I put it in plain words for you? And you're a smart guy, so you all understand, but a lot of people don't. The Democrats are getting killed on the shutdown because we're closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we were opposed to. So we're being. And they're never going to come back in many cases. So we're being able to do things that we were unable to do before. So we're closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we wanted to close up or that we never wanted to happen. And now we're closing them up and we're not going to let them come back. The Democrats are getting killed and we're going to have a list of them on Friday. Closing up some of the most egregious socialist, semi communist, probably not full communists. We're saving that for New York. But semi communist programs and we're closing them up. We're not closing up Republican programs because we think they work. So the Democrats are getting killed, but they're not telling the people about that. I say it.

[Sam Seder]

Nobody.

[Brian]

Well, I haven't said it probably as bluntly as I just said it, but so we are closing up Democrat programs that we think that we disagree with and they're never going to open again. Thank you very much.

[Sam Seder]

Okay. First off, aside from the, you know Partially communist, somewhat communist. But you notice that he says we're actually saving that for New York. Now that's a reference obviously to Zohra Mamdani. He's just giving it away because presumably by the time Mamdani is in office, there will not be a government shutdown. Now, maybe, maybe there will be, maybe there won't be, but he is right there giving the game away. He would do this either way.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yep.

[Sam Seder]

And by this we mean which in fact, I think they actually canceled this before the the shutdown. Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion that had been reserved for more than 200 projects, primarily located in Democratic led cities, congressional districts and states. This is according to an analysis by the New York Times. Each of these infrastructure projects had received federal aid, sometimes after officials spent years pleading in Washington. Only see that money halted as Trump has looked to punish Democrats over the course of the fiscal stalemate. He has no legal authority to do this. In some cases, recipients have started to receive portions of the federal aid. Trump aides have offered a series of explanations for the administration's decision to pause or terminate grants, claiming in some cases that the spending would be wasteful or in conflict with the president's priorities. Again, that has nothing to do with the shutdown. It's also not legal. So far, the administration has targeted essentially two broad tranches of federal aid. First, the White House has held up billions of dollars previously approved transportation funding for New York and Chicago. In New York, the administration stopped the delivery of $18 billion in pledged investments for two major projects, the Second Avenue subway and the Hudson River Tunnel, which serves as the primary railroad through New York City along the Northeast Corridor. Funding for the tunnel in particular has come after years of wrangling as New York officials and their counterparts in New Jersey looked to repair a roughly 115-year-old passage from Damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy while improving rail capacity. This, this project was actually predates Hurricane Sandy. And the guy who initially rejected these funds because they were issued for this tunnel in particular during the Obama administration, it was Chris Christie, lauded and praised by all sorts of centrist Democrats. And the reason why this money has not been actually used to fix the tunnel is because over 10 years ago, Chris Christie decided he wanted to show that he wasn't going to play footsie with Barack Obama.

[Emma Vigeland]

Well, that was because he hugged him after Hurricane Sandy, so he had to pivot back because he wanted to run for president. And look how that worked out.

[Sam Seder]

Chicago Trump administration said. A pause $2.1 billion pledged for the city's own transit transit upgrades. This is. And two days into the shutdown announced it would end roughly 7.6 billion in previously approved grants for 223 energy related projects in 16 states, 14 of which are led by Democrats. There was that big one in Nevada, the biggest solar project that we had in the country. The one in Dakota or Montana. Who's it? Montana was a hydro. Oh, the hydro, right. I'm sure that's included in this as well. It has revoked its plan to provide up to $1.2 billion for the alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, which aim to develop a clean burning power source for heavy duty trucks, port operators and other major drivers of harmful emissions. This whole thing where he's going to cancel Democrat programs, what he's talking about is money that has been earmarked, appropriated already by the government for Democratic areas. He's not going to cancel any Democrat programs because he knows that those Democrat programs help more of his voters than Democratic voters. That's just the reality of it. There are more Republicans who are using the Affordable Care act in the exchanges and in the expansion of Medicaid than Democrats. That's just the reality.

[Emma Vigeland]

I mean, let alone how disproportionately the Medicaid cuts are going to harm red states, the rural hospital closures that result and get a bulk of their funding from Medicaid patients, up to 50% of rural hospitals could close due to this bill. But Republicans in those states have packed so many different, so much red have gerrymandered their districts in such a way that they're so cynical that they're okay with immiserating their own constituents in order to appease Donald Trump and get tax cuts for the rich and for their donors. And it is interesting to see Trump try to create leverage out of thin air. I mean, we can see this for what it is. He doesn't have anything, but he's trying to make it seem like he has leverage. Because the problem that the Republicans have is that in previous shutdowns under Obama, they had, you know, messaging consistency on this where they were shutting down the government in part because they don't believe in government. They're the anti government party. They don't think government should provide certain services for people. That is their belief. How do you square that with the urgency, the need to reopen the government? How can they message that effectively when Project 2025 is all about downsizing the federal government? It's about destroying it. It's about making it difficult for people to use those services. And they've made that case over and over again, the Republicans and the Trump campaign in 2024. So then what is your leverage in terms of the political movement that you've built to make an argument that the government is essential? So if the leadership in the party was more effective, this would be the case they would be making every day. Is that government is important. We want government to function. We need these ACA subsidies to continue because there's going to be a cliff and people's premiums are going to explode, and it's going to immiserate millions and millions of folks. And that is. That is where we can we.

[Sam Seder]

Let's play this Clip number three. This is Abdul Al Said, running for Senate in Michigan. Was recently on the program.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yeah, a few months ago, but we should have him back.

[Sam Seder]

Also a left reckoning desk. And here he is explaining this slashing of ACA subsidies. Because we are literally weeks away from the open enrollment period. People are already starting to get notices about increases in their aca, but the subsidies, I think, officially run out in a couple of weeks. And then the Republicans are going to have some real pain.

[Hunter Dunn]

Well, Donnie, why you shouldn't.

[Brian]

Abdul.

[Hunter Dunn]

Donnie, why are you shutting down the government?

[Brian]

You're going to have to figure that out, Abdul.

[Hunter Dunn]

I think it's because your big, ugly bill cut subsidies for the ACA in ways that are going to leave people's premiums going up an average of 75% for 25 million people.

[Brian]

Abdul, don't do it anymore.

[Hunter Dunn]

And rather than actually protect their health care, you're more interested in picking a fight with the other party. Empowering Russ Voce or Grim Reaper to come and take out programs that Congress passed. That's what I. Why do you say my name that way?

[Brian]

Abdul?

[Sam Seder]

She makes me feel weird.

[Emma Vigeland]

Cue Dad.

[Sam Seder]

I told him. I told him, Abdul. There it is. That's the messaging that. That people are hearing across the country. And that's why it's. It's going to start to get a little more painful for them. And they're desperate right now to cut these programs. And we're starting to move into the area where we need to have Democratic politicians start talking about how they're going to respond to this if there's an opportunity for them ever to be in office. Right.

[Emma Vigeland]

What they're for, not just what they're trying to protect.

[Sam Seder]

Exactly. And because what it's gonna take to rebuild from this.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yes. We're gonna need the same level of intensity and urgency and vision that Trump showed and luckily, the Zorong Mamdani campaign understands that they're setting themselves up to govern. Democrats nationally need to think that way too.

[Sam Seder]

In a moment, we're going to be talking to Jostein Haag. He is a political economist, assistant professor at Cambridge, and publisher of the Global Currents newsletter on substack. First, a word from our sponsor. I know folks are busy. I'm certainly busy. There's a tendency to put off things that are not immediate fires. Believe me, I understand this. But I will tell you this right now. One of the most important things on your to do list, particularly if you have a loved one or a family or frankly if you're a young person who is, you know, sort of in between, maybe sort of like having a family at this point and that is having a will or that much trust. But trust and will turns estate planning from a when I have time into a very quick, straightforward process. You can protect your family's future. Today go to trust and willcom slash majority. You'll get 20% off their simple, secure and expert backed estate planning services. Well, I will tell you that I put off getting a will for, for a year or two and it was always in the back of my mind after my daughter was born, that is 20 years ago. But you, you don't want, you don't want to deal with it, but you also don't want to have something happen where you've left your, your family unprotected. This thing is super easy. And one of the things that I'm sitting down with that same daughter 20 years later is they have a young adult plan where, because people don't realize this, but at age 18, over 18, something God forbid happens where she needs to provide me power of attorney because maybe she's been in some type of like medical situation. You don't get that just because you're a parent.

[Emma Vigeland]

That's crazy.

[Sam Seder]

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[Jostein Haga]

Thanks so much for having me back on Sam. It's a pleasure to be here.

[Sam Seder]

So I'm very happy you're here because it has almost gotten to the point where it's almost impossible for me anyways and I would imagine for a good number of our audience to follow just how effed up our trade policy is to the extent that there's actually a policy. Can you give us a sense of what has or was it was looking like it was going to be? I mean, we sort of got tacoed again, I guess maybe with Trump in terms of, of China, but what's going on with the, with, with China's, I guess, reciprocity to our trade war overtures?

[Jostein Haga]

Yeah. So the technicalities here are a bit complicated to lay out, but actually it's quite simple to understand the reasoning behind China's response. Because what China's been done, what are.

[Sam Seder]

They responding to, which series of tariffs are they responding to at this point?

[Jostein Haga]

So in many ways what China's done now is what they've done previously, which is try to somewhat mirror what the US Is doing. And they're trying especially to the US to signal and tell the US you don't really want to mess with us. So in the past few months, and a lot of people don't know this, the Trump administration has enacted a lot of trade restrictions and policies during this so called truce between China and the US and this has now upset China to the degree they are saying, okay, we're going to do something quite powerful. We're going to put restrictions on exports of a lot of rare earth metals and also machinery and technology associated with that to really make it known to the US that we're not messing around. So that's China's recent response. In many ways, it mirrors that of the US in terms of, okay, you do this, we do that. We're happy to play the tit for tat with you in the trade, trade policy game. Now, this is a bit different because the reach of the export restrictions are global. So they're not only applied to the us, they're applied to the world, essentially. So why are they global if they want to target the US? Well, the US's policies are global and they target Chinese businesses in other parts of the world. So China's response is also global. But China is now also trying to send a signal to the rest of the world, and especially Europe, saying, hey, China, you can see now what we're doing to the us. And this is also our line that we're going to play. If people want to bully us, we cannot be bullied.

[Sam Seder]

Okay, so let's. I want to just step back a little bit. Can you, when we talk about export restrictions, can you, A, walk us through what that means in laypeople's terms? And then B, what restrictions have we put on our exports to China? And if you have any sense of why? I mean, my, my initial guess would be because some guy that Donald Trump knows came into his office and said, this would be helpful to me, and I will, you know, buy a bunch of your crypto or whatever. But can you walk us through, like, what we mean by when we say export restrictions? Because generally people just assume, okay, okay, we're just putting tariffs, import taxes on. On them. The export restrictions are in. Are part of creating an industrial policy. But what's weird about this era is that we have all the tools of an industrial policy are being utilized, but we have no industrial policy.

[Jostein Haga]

Yeah, yeah. This is something that I think is quite. And before I get to the restrictions here, it's quite apparent to a lot of people who study these kinds of policies because tariffs and export restrictions and trade interventions can be used for the purpose of building up an industrial base. But since Trump started the tariffs, there hasn't really been a lot of economic logic behind his trade policies. It seemed to be a negotiation tool for him to flex without thinking too much about the economic rationale here. And you see that when you talk to manufacturing firms across the United States that are saying, this is creating uncertainty for us, this is rising, the cost of inputs for us, et cetera. So it's pretty clear that Trump's policies are not having the intended effect, or if that's even his intention, to create a strong industrial base. Now, export restrictions can work in many ways. You can simply restrict the exports of certain goods to a certain country, like the U.S. for example, did with advanced chips to China for a long time. Then it turned out that China was able to eventually make these themselves. So it backfired. What China has done now is basically made it harder for Chinese firms to export rare earth elements themselves and also technologies associated with rare earths, like magnets, for example. So they're saying you need to consult with the government before you export this. And we give ourselves the right to basically deny you exporting these goods. And that's very consequential in this rare earth supply chain, because China is Now processing roughly 90% of rare earths, and they produce a lot of the technology associated with that. So, you know, rare earths are used in tons of different technologies, high the defense sector, they're used in magnets, they're in consumer electronics, they're used in clean energy manufacturing and so on. So it has consequences. And a lot of people are terrified now because this supply chain is very much in control, in control of China's hands.

[Sam Seder]

My understanding is that the, despite their name, the rare earth metals are sort of like a second order issue as to the capacity and ability to process them. And that's where China really has an advantage and where theoretically we could get these rare earth metals, but the processing of them. We just don't have any of the elements, workforce and industrial based to do that type of work.

[Jostein Haga]

Yes, you're correct here. So there's a, you know, there's a misunderstanding among a lot of people right now, which makes complete sense, which is that these rare earth metals are actually rare. They're, they simply refer to a range of metals in the periodic table, and they're called this due to certain chemical and historical reasons. So we should be clear about that, that they're not actually or not necessarily rare. Some of them are rare. So for example, metals like lithium and cobalt, they're not rare earth metals, but lithium is in very high demand and it's considered a critical mineral or a critical metal. So some rare earth metals are critical, but some critical metals are not rare earth metals. So, yeah, it's confusing to a lot of people.

[Sam Seder]

Okay, so the US has been chipping away at these or adding export restrictions. China has now said, we're going to show you that we, we have more capacity than you think we do. And it's also saying to third parties, I guess, do not export any of our technology or our processed goods of this type to the United States or you're not going to get them anymore either. Is that basically it?

[Jostein Haga]

I think they're trying to do that by making this rule or these exports restrictions global. Yes.

[Hunter Dunn]

But.

[Jostein Haga]

I'm quite confident that if the US if the Trump administration wants to have an amicable trade relationship with China, they're happy to have an amicable trade relationship relationship. I think China is more than anything signaling something to the US Here. I don't think they have a desire or there's no indication that China has a desire to limit the access that other countries have to these things over the long term. But they definitely want to tell the world, and especially the US that, hey, we've gotten to a point now where we can do these things. Our productive capabilities across a range of sectors, industries and technologies is so strong now that you cannot simply bully us. And it really is. Has become that strong.

[Emma Vigeland]

Well, can you speak about that strength? When you were on last we spoke about the paper that you had written, the New Economic Nationalism, where you studied industrial policy and the different approaches in the U.S. china and the EU and you were making the case that the U.S. has been incredibly hawkish and that over the past decade or so, China has really ramped up its industrial policy internally in ways where it seems like the United States should be, should have anticipated or should know the basic facts about how much China has progressed in its ability to create these things domestically. Like that reality was always obvious. But why is the US So slow to understand China's leverage here?

[Jostein Haga]

Yeah, well, I think a lot of the developments that we've seen in terms of China's industrial competitiveness have taken a lot of people by surprise across the world, not only the U.S. i was quite shocked when I saw how far China had advanced in artificial intelligence and developing capabilities to produce parts for advanced chips across the entire supply chain. So I do think it's starting to take a lot of people by surprise, but now realizing that the capabilities are strong. If you look at industrial policy in the rare earth supply chain, it's interesting because it goes back to the 1980s and it goes to show how extremely long term minded that the Chinese government has been and how extremely clever they've been with industrial policy over a very long time, which contrasts the US where you've had certain efforts to do industrial policy here and there, but generally it's been very hard to plan. You've had presidential Administrations that have basically tried to undo what the previous administration has done. And I think most importantly in the US you've had a for profit financial sector that has had, has much more control and has chased short term profits, whereas in China you haven't had that. You had a state that's been able to basically discipline capital and say, here's what we want to do, we're going to do it long term. Of course, you need really, really capable, skilled people at the helm to be able to do this. And China has had that.

[Sam Seder]

It really does seem like the, the ability to say to for profit entities that your profit's going to be X as opposed to X plus. Like so, for instance, I mean if we need housing, it may not be, you know, 10x profitable for you, but it's going to be 2% profitable and that's what you're going to do. Like it's some measure of being able to sort of say you're going to produce even, even beyond a certain measure of what would be profitable, because this is what we need under an industrial policy. My understanding too is that as late as 2022, like helium, which apparently is involved in these processes, processing of rare earth metals, China was dependent on outside sources for helium, like 95% and over the course of just two or three years was able to rely on the outside sources for helium to around 5%. And that they have been like actively sort of saying like we now have more leverage in these areas and they're exercising them now.

[Jostein Haga]

Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it boggles the mind when China says they're going to do something or plans to do something, they do it. And they don't underperform. They often overperform. I also think it was, this was recently Xi spoke at a climate summit and laid out sort of the targets that China have for carbon reductions in the future. And some people said that China isn't ambitious enough. They need to reduce their emissions more than he's planning to do. And most likely they will. But when China says they're going to do something, they will do it. And oftentimes they will actually overperform. That's also happened with made in China 2025, which was this huge industrial policy plan published in China in 2015 that aimed to make China a global leader in a range of Industries. And 10 years later, when they were supposed to achieve these things, they had and actually had overperformed.

[Sam Seder]

And as far as climate change, I mean, for years the argument was there's no point in the US doing anything. And this is what you hear from the right, there's no point in the US doing anything because China and China now seems to have like completely lapped us in solar generation, power generation and of course like EVs, it's just, it's, I don't even think like, you know, if Americans understood what a Chinese EV vehicle was selling for and how far it could go, I think there'd be some type of revolt in this country. The latest reporting from Reuters is that the US and it's hard to know at this point whether it's just sort of a threat or not, has drafted countermeasures if negotiations fail with China that include requiring export licenses for software sent to China. If they were to do this, are we looking at basically like China basically then saying, okay, we're going to make our own software and basically due to software, what they did to electric vehicles, like, I mean if the US does this for someone who doesn't want to maybe pay for, you know, Microsoft operating system, it feels like I'm 16 months away from getting an open source version of Microsoft operating system. That's going to be one tenth the cost.

[Jostein Haga]

Yeah, I think, you know, what happened in semiconductors is the best parallel here because that's, you know, the sector where the US were trying to, trying to formulate policy to prevent China from having access to advanced chips. And China essentially said that's fine, we'll just make these chips ourselves. And they started doing that. Now at this point, the technological capabilities in China are so strong and so broad based that yes, I do think you're right, we might end up seeing this happening. But you mentioned Taco in the very beginning. Trump always chickens out and this is the outcome that I think we'll see yet again. Trump likes to pretend that he is this, he knows the art of the deal and he knows how to be an effective bully, et cetera. But China just has so much leverage in the sphere of international trade right now that this is not someone you can bully. And I think this is a mindset that's been part of American politics and especially US Administrations for years that we will bully developing countries to do what we want. And if they are a threat, if their sovereign independent development are a threat to us, we'll use international trade sanctions, etc, etc and we'll get the, you know, we'll get what we want. And you know, this mentality will, with China will have to change because China has now, it's without a doubt they have successfully, you know, an independent embarked on an economic development path that's independent, that's sovereign, that's in many ways goes against US Imperialist ambitions. And at this point it's really hard for the US Ruling class to do anything about it. So this kind of approach isn't going to work with China.

[Sam Seder]

I know this is an impossible thing to divine, but do you have a sense of who understands this in this administration or even within the context of like the, these circles and who doesn't? I mean, Scott Bessant is on there yesterday saying that these export controls that China's talking about with rare is a sign of their weak economy, which you would have a better sense than I. But I imagine it sounds like, you know, I'm going to, we're going to talk a lot of bluster. But like, who's the audience for that? Like, I just, the stock market, you know, reacted for the first time in months and months because of China's threat. So it feels like in vet the investor class understands the, how strong China is. I can't figure out like, who is Trump doing this for?

[Jostein Haga]

Yeah, I don't, I don't have a good answer to that other than I think we just need to understand Trump's, Trump's personality here and the fact that he just, I mean, again, he's also threatening with tariffs and he loves, he just loves tariffs and he loves to try, you know, he loves to embrace his personality of a bully. But in D.C. i mean, in D.C. generally there seems to be, you know, more people are understanding the strength of China's economy. There are, you know, you can point out to some problems in China's economy, like, you know, consumption or like deflationary pressures, et cetera, that are more, I think, about what's going on in the short term. But when it comes to long term strength, when it comes to really the foundations of what builds a strong economy, having developed capabilities in producing a lot of high tech stuff also at an incredibly cheap price, which not enough people are talking about being able to do this. China is doing this right now across a range of sectors. So they've set them even with, even if you can agree that there are certain short term wobbles in the Chinese economy, they've set themselves up for really strong success in the long term.

[Sam Seder]

And do you think that the, I mean, so far it seems like the people who understand that ultimately get Trump's attention one way or another and then he starts to sort of back down and just, I don't know, puff up his chest and then pretend like something else is happening or something.

[Jostein Haga]

I think we'll see some kind of solution between the two countries soon because the economic dependence between them is just so strong, although there gradually, the trade dependence between China and the US and vice versa, is lower than it was, say, in 2015. So both countries are somewhat decoupling from one another, although China's exports are still surging. But what strikes me is that in the administration right now, there seems to be this idea that China is the country that's retaliating. And this is what doesn't make sense to me, because if you start analyzing the pattern, you see a Chinese response to certain policies enacted by Trump, and smart people should be able to see that it's the Chinese responding here with aggressive policies. They're not the ones starting to bark up the tree.

[Sam Seder]

I mean, he's out there saying that it's a hostile act by China not to buy US soybeans and threatening for us to develop our own cooking oil. I guess industry, it's nuts, and a lot of people are getting crushed economically in this country from it. And I think we'll have a better sense of that once we start to get some numbers at one point. But anything else you think we should be looking out for in the coming weeks?

[Jostein Haga]

Well, I mean, there's one thing, you know, one area where you can argue that the Chinese have done things not unfairly, I would say, but, you know, they've had a strong and powerful state that has used industrial policy actively for many years. And this is where the US Administration seems to be also reacting to, in addition to the trade interventions. I don't think personally that this is unfair practices by China simply using the state or using subsidies to develop industry. The US did that for a long time with its own tech industry, with darpa, with defense, with the military industrial complex, and so on. So every sovereign state should have the ability to do that. You know, I think we'll just have to wait and see for the next Xi Trump meeting to see what the outcome is. But we are seeing a pattern here emerging, that Trump does something, China responds, and then there is some kind of. Some kind of truce. So, you know, that's my prediction, that we'll have Taco again, that some kind of trade relations will normalize, but that both countries are trying to use trade to signal to the other their strength and that China is more successful at doing it and that they actually also have more leverage in these trade negotiations.

[Sam Seder]

There's a real quality to this. When I was like 12. I had two cousins who were twins and they were like five. And I would wrestle with the two of them. And then they moved away and came back like six to eight years later. And I realized, like, I'm in big trouble now. And that sort of feels like what's going on?

[Jostein Haga]

I think that's a good analogy. Yeah. I, you know, one thing I heard this is very funny, more and more commentators in the US Are explicitly saying now, now we have to become Chinese, we have to become China. And this is a line I hadn't heard until very recently.

[Sam Seder]

Well, we'll see. Jostein Haga, political economist, publisher of the Global Current newsletter on Substack. We will link to that at Majority FM and on the podcast in the YouTube description. Thanks so much for your time today. Really appreciate it.

[Jostein Haga]

Thank you very much.

[Emma Vigeland]

Thank you.

[Sam Seder]

All right, folks, we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, Hunter Dunn, national press coordinator for the 50501 movement, which is part of the no Kings Day Coalition. No Kings Day this Saturday, Saturday the 18th. We got a link in the notes where you can find anyone near you.

[Hunter Dunn]

Any protests near where you live.

[Sam Seder]

All right. We're going to take a quick break and we'll talk to Hunter. Sam, we are back. Sam Cedar, Emma Viglin, Majority Report. Joining us now, Hunter Dunn, national press coordinator for the 50501 movement. She's part of the no Kings Day Coalition. Hunter is helping organize the Downtown LA demonstration for October 18th. Hunter, welcome to the program.

[Hunter Dunn]

Thanks for having us on.

[Sam Seder]

What's the 50501 movement?

[Hunter Dunn]

Yeah, 5051 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement. It started at the beginning of the second Trump administration. Everyday people were looking for some form of meaningful resistance from against the Trump administration and they weren't seeing it from their elected officials. So eventually they decided to form one on their own. Basic idea was getting having a protest at the same time at the state capital of every state across the country to show the entire world that we, the American people are against Trump's executive overreach. That quickly grew not just every state capitol but major cities. We had about 20 to 50,000 people in total. But cut to a couple months later. There's over 5 million people at over 2,000 events around the entire country and the entire world.

[Sam Seder]

And that and that being the no Kings Day. And that was the first one that took place. I remember on my wedding and Trump's birthday, we were out. And no, we made it on that day or, you know, I think you were probably tied up with your wedding.

[Emma Vigeland]

A little bit.

[Sam Seder]

Yeah.

[Emma Vigeland]

A little bit. Sorry, I was making last time I.

[Sam Seder]

Was representing for Emma. So give us a sense of like, I would imagine in the context of Los Angeles, there's even a greater intensity in the wake of all the sort of like, federal invasion of la, but give us a sense of like, what's, what is the value of this? Like, what's supposed to happen at these events, but after these events.

[Hunter Dunn]

Yeah, absolutely, Sam. I mean, the first no Kings happened right after the invasion of LA started. I was there on June 6, the day David Huerta got arrested after large ice raids led to mass protests. Then we had a labor leader arrested. I was on the ground, I got tear gassed while passing out water. While talking to the National Lawyers Guild. For the, basically the week in the lead up to the first no Kings protest, it was the entire world standing with Los Angeles against Donald Trump's fascist invasion of our community. And now that that occupation invasion has mostly been phased out, we're seeing Trump try the same thing in dc, in Memphis, and in more notably and more recently Chicago and Portland. Right. Trump claiming Portland's war ravaged. And then we cut to a live feed of Portland and it's people in giant inflatable frog costumes doing the electric slide.

[Sam Seder]

Well, it was also new bicyclists, so. And that apparently caused Mike Johnson, he.

[Emma Vigeland]

Had to check in with his son. Yeah, their heart rate monitor.

[Hunter Dunn]

I'm sure he was watching that feed very closely. I'm sure he hasn't looked away from the nude bicyclist the entire time. Yeah, but, yeah, I would say Los Angeles. Yeah, I would say in Los Angeles, in the greater Los Angeles area and the entirety of Southern California, the people who were hit the hardest by the first Trump occupation, for us, it's so important because we want to stand with those cities that stood with us. We, we want to stand with those communities that stood with us when Donald Trump attacked us. Now that he's attacking them, no one's free until we're all free. Right. I like to say we pass out these signs at least to the LA events where we're like, I'm here because. Or I say no Kings because. And then there's a blank. And we give people sharpies and they write in their reasons. And almost everyone's got some reason relating to, like, their community. Right. Like, I want to protect my family, I want to protect my neighbor, the tariffs, ice throwing, people in concentration camps. But we also see from people talking about, we can't beat, we can't help other countries beat their fascists until we beat our own. Right? Talking about Putin, talking about Netanyahu, talking about these other dictatorial regimes that are supporting Trump because it's the billionaires backing Trump and backing those other dictators that is causing so many of the problems we're facing today.

[Emma Vigeland]

You mentioned Mike Johnson. I was trying to remember which Republican had spoken directly about no Kings recently and it was him where he claimed that the no Kings marches include a pro Hamas wing, that it's filled with antifa people and that this is the so organized and that there's these liberal groups that are funding it. When they speak in those terms, I see them probably targeting organizations like Indivisible and other liberal groups that have and left wing groups that have come together on this front. Is that a concern for you guys as organizers that the administration and including with Ken Klippenstein's reporting about what the directive is to target left wing groups? I believe it was the FBI. Is that something that you're prepared for or something you're considering?

[Hunter Dunn]

Well, first off, we're not just liberals. We're broad tense. We include people who are left, right and center. We include leftists. That's how I self identify. But yes, absolutely. When I read the, the NSPM 7, I think that's what it's called. Some of the stuff that the Trump administration putting out, I was reading it, I'm like, Antifa is not an organization. So they're talking about us, they're talking about indivisible, they're talking about these different groups, some of them liberal, some of them leftist. And obviously that's a concern. I've spoken with organizers on the ground who have been, you know, detained by dhs. I've spoken with people, I've received reports that they've asked about me, they've asked about other members of our movement in states that we're not from, which is of course horrifying to hear, but it's not new. Last time we were part of a deep state global conspiracy, I received a lot of anti Semitic slurs, which is interesting because I'm not Jewish. Like, you know, they're like, george Soros is paying us. And now they can't decide whether or not it's the ineffective Dem leadership. We agree on that point. But the ineffective Dem leadership that wants to sell T shirts at the National Mall or if it's these radical terrorist pro Hamas militants. Right. You kind of got to pick a lie, Mike. The enemy can't be both weak and strong simultaneously? Well, unless you're lying fascist. But we knew that.

[Emma Vigeland]

Unless you're Donald Trump, who is the weakest man ever and constantly the pettiest guy ever, but also the strong man.

[Sam Seder]

So. So Hunter, let me wake some what I just want to hone in on this. Let's say we get a protest and last night was 5 million people across the country and let's say it's 7 or 6 or 8, what then happens? Like how is that people turning out there? What's the next step for organizers for those people? Do they just wait until the next no Kings or what?

[Hunter Dunn]

Yeah, no, I appreciate the opportunity to talk about this because when we talk about no Kings, so much of the coverage is just woo, big event and not why are we doing this? Because it's not just Orange Man Bad. It's so much more than just Orange man bad. I think that there's three main reasons and three main results of a mass mobilization event like no Kings. Number one is the one that everyone talks about, community solidarity, right? Getting millions of people across the country and across the entire world. We have events in Western Europe, Mexico, Canada, India. I saw the other day, really excited about that one. All those people standing up together against fascism, against tyranny, against Trump's regime, against the billionaires backing him, against Russell Vaught. But that's just one thing. The other two things are educatement and recruitment is one of them. Getting people connected with groups on the ground that are doing work every day, whether it's direct action like anti ICE demonstrations, anti ICE patrols, community defense groups, Tesla takedowns, Fox takedowns, putting pressure on the pillars of support of this administration and getting those pillars to defect like we saw a brigadier general for the National Guard do last week. Right? Getting people involved in mutual aid, getting people involved in connecting their community, providing for people who are being hurt by these terrorists and by Trump destroying our economy. We're in borderline hide your neighbors territory and we need to be ready for that once we get to that territory. Right? So that's number two. And number three is I want to go back to that invasion occupation points. Being on the ground, watching what federal law enforcement was doing in Los Angeles, trying to agitate, attacking people, throwing community leaders on the ground, hurting them, shooting people in the face with rubber bullets. Right. I know people personally who were hit. I'm sure you all saw the video of them shooting at a journalist. I'm sure you guys saw what happened to the priest in Chicago. I'm sure you Guys saw what happened to protesters in Portland. Those are massive issues, and those don't stop until you freak out the people doing them, until they realize that they don't have control and there's nothing they can do to regain control. When over 200,000 people. Drone footage suggests close to 300,000 thousand total in Los Angeles alone at one time. The emperor has no clothes. The occupations defanged. They tried to bring in more National Guard. They tried to film propaganda videos in Los Angeles to regain control. But every time they took another step, it backfired because the game was already revealed, it was already over when they couldn't control that size of a crowd. And I want to do for Chicago and for Portland what we were able to do for Los Angeles, right? Getting people connected on the ground, getting people into those groups that are making a difference every day and putting pressure on the regime to end those horrifying occupations for more people get harmed or at least embarrassing them into moving their tactics down a couple of notches.

[Sam Seder]

And what about perhaps, like, does this lead in any way to the. You know, May 28th has been. Excuse me, May 1st, 2028 has been. Has been called for a national strike. You know, we've. We've heard that talk from Fain of the uaw, and he encouraged unions to have their contracts and sign that, those contracts so that they end on that day. How much down the road are you folks who are organizing these things thinking? Like, we've got these emails. We've got a way to contact people. Hopefully. I mean, hopefully people. That's what the, the point of RSVPing is. Or, and hopefully there are people there on the ground with you.

[Hunter Dunn]

You don't need to RCP for a protest. Whoever told you to that is lying to you. Okay? Like, you can, if you want to. Please use a burn. Please use a burner. Please don't use your real contact information.

[Sam Seder]

Right.

[Hunter Dunn]

Use a burner email for this. Do the same thing for anytime you donate to a Dem, because we'll send you a million scam emails. As Grant talked about. Use a burner, please. Sorry, keep going. No, no, no.

[Sam Seder]

That's great advice. I think that's. It's increasingly more important, too. But we want a way where these, where organizations can contact people. Right? I mean, and I don't know if that's, you know, signing up or booths at some of these things or what. Like, how do we take these people who've been mobilized this one time and get them involved in things like mutual aid or in, like, you know, we need an emergency protest here or people need to come defend their community against ICE there.

[Jostein Haga]

Yeah.

[Hunter Dunn]

So obviously a lot of those community networks are on the ground. They're using encrypted secret platforms that the administration can't really tap into, mostly Signal. But there's other stuff too. I saw a great ad for this thing called Briar that I have to look into, but looks interesting as a way to help connect on the ground. So getting people to these events like to these mass mobilizations are important because it's really one of the best ways to get FaceTime and meet with those groups that are doing that work that they're not going to be posting about publicly. When it comes to May 1, 2028. I mean, I'm glad to see that the majority report knows ball. I figured you guys did. But I'm glad to see it in reality that you guys know what you're talking about because most people don't know what I'm talking about. Even in some of these spaces. When I'm talking about 2028, we have to at some point, right? Trump's going to do. Trump or his handlers or J.D. vance of Trump is no longer in the picture, are going to take an action to try to take permanent control of this country. Right. They're going to try to rig elections, they're going to try to put something on, more than just an occupation, but like an insurrection act, right. Full on martial law everywhere. And we have to be ready for that. We have to be organized for that. America doesn't have the protesting muscle that places like France do that. Places like clearly Nepal and Madagascar do. Right. So we have to build up to that. We have to build those community networks now. So we're ready then. So we're ready to support May 1, 2028. So we're ready to shut it down if in 2026 or 2028 they try to rig elections and not just through state legislators switching up the districts because that's what Prop 50 is for. If you're in California, I'm in California. Please vote yes on Prop 50. That might help save our democracy, but we have to be ready. And no kings is a way to get ready. Going to a mass mobilization protest, making your voice heard, exercising the First Amendment in such large numbers that Trump can't possibly arrest all of you. That is very important. I don't want to understate that importance, but that's just one day we're in. This isn't a sprint, this is a marathon. And we have to convince the people at those protests that this is a marathon because they need to start training now so that they can run the whole race, so that we can save our country from fascism and so that we can make the changes we have to make. Overturning Citizens United States ranked choice voting, universal health care, building more housing, universal childcare. Anything on Zoran Mamdani's platform? Just all of that, in my opinion. Right. We need to make those changes so that once we get Trump out of office, once we get this regime out of office, we don't just get another Trump in 10 years.

[Sam Seder]

Right. Hunter, where can people get information as to where their nearest no Kings protest is?

[Hunter Dunn]

Yeah, just go to nokings.org and you can find your nearest no Kings protest for 50:51. You can go to the word 50, the word 50 period, and then the word 1, 50.50.1 to get more information on us. But there's tons of amazing organizations at the local, national level. Involves. I don't need you to join 5051. I need you to join something and do something next week. Right. From who you meet at no Kings. Thanks.

[Sam Seder]

We'll put links to both those. Hunter, thanks so much for your time. And I won't run into you in LA on the streets there, but maybe we'll see some people spiritually.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yes.

[Sam Seder]

Good luck. Thanks.

[Jostein Haga]

Thank you, guys.

[Emma Vigeland]

Later.

[Hunter Dunn]

Bye.

[Sam Seder]

All right, folks, we're going to take quick break, head into the fun half of the program, wherein. Oh, I should tell you before we go into this fun half, folks, gonna be in the fun half. Some of this is not gonna be kid friendly. We've got some good clips of people telling off ice, but there are swear words and I know some people are very sensitive to it. Brian listened to this stuff earlier and it took like 20 minutes to console him. As a Young Republican, I've never heard words like that before in my life. You gotta warn me.

[Brian]

Shit.

[Emma Vigeland]

So lucky we bought that fainting couch when I joined. Brian needed it.

[Sam Seder]

We're going to be demonetized in the fun half of the program today. But be that as it may, this is important. It's so worth it.

[Emma Vigeland]

This one particular video, people may know what we're doing.

[Sam Seder]

She's fantastic. But there's a couple. There's a couple of these ice. And just watching people pushback on ice is spreading. You know, showing these videos to people, spreading them around, encouraging people. You know, there's a lot of stuff that I haven't liked that Pritzker did, but I do think there is value in telling people to go and videotape because it incurred, you know, like, it's an intimidating thing. You have a bunch of, like, thugs, masked thugs around telling you not to videotape, not to do this. And it's intimidating and it's, it is, you know, helpful for people to feel like there's been a, an authority that is said to do this and, and, and, and in some way feeling like I'm not going to get in trouble because the local authorities are telling me I can do it, but we're going to play that in the final. I just wanted to give a warning to people whose sensitivities I'm, I don't like to, I don't like to hear too many swear words. Yeah, my kids know this. I, it's just the way I am. And also just a reminder, your support makes this show possible. You can become a [e-mail] when you do, you not only get the free show, free of commercials, you get the fun half. And you let us demonetize ourselves in the fun half when we know we're going to be like having a. Lots of expletives.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yep, yep.

[Sam Seder]

Also just coffee, co op, fair trade coffee, hot chocolate. Use the coupon code. Majority get 10% off. Matt last night left recording Alex Copic.

[Jostein Haga]

Talking about a Javier Malay and the giant bailout that we gave his country $20 billion.

[Sam Seder]

You're welcome, libertarians. Now, have we given it or are we waiting to see? Because we've got footage of Trump saying, like, we're not gonna give the money unless Javier wins. Bessant said that too. So I don't know if the money's actually gotten there. It's sort of like the backstop from Uncle Sam. I guess that's true. We could. It's the backstop. It's not like we're dumping off just 20 million and 20 billion in a. This isn't a Tom Homan type of situation where we would put all that in a big bag and drop it off there with French fries. It's nice to know that. Well, Bessant said stabilizing Argentina is America.

[Jostein Haga]

First on Fox Business, I think a couple weeks ago. And it would be nice if that wasn't contingent on stabilizing Argentina. Wasn't contingent on their freak corrupt losers like Javier Milei being in power because I think, you know, maybe he's the one unstabilizing the country. Yeah.

[Emma Vigeland]

And, but that's what they're concerned about, is that didn't he have some issues? Melaye in the last cycle electorally or is it the polling?

[Sam Seder]

The most recent elections.

[Jostein Haga]

He did not perform well.

[Emma Vigeland]

Right.

[Sam Seder]

Noel from San Francisco. It's like a 20 billion line of credit. Yes, but they're going to use that 20 billion because the bottom line is there's a couple of Bessant's friends who are billionaire hedge funds who have serious investment in Argentina. Very America first, guys. It's so obvious. Yeah, it is. Malay is the only one who's going to use that line of credit to put money into these hedge funds pockets. This is just another extraction play. And I would be shocked if there wasn't then a kickback. You know, it's never in cash. It's like some. I'm gonna invest in your Trump Inc. Of course. Hotel Tower.

[Emma Vigeland]

It's because I'm smart.

[Sam Seder]

Okay. See you in the fun half. Three months from now, six months from now, nine months from now. And I don't think it's gonna be the same as it looks like in six months from now. And I don't know if it's necessarily gonna be better six months from now than it is three months from now. But I think around 18 months out we're gonna look back and go like wow.

[Jostein Haga]

What?

[Sam Seder]

What is that going on? It's nuts.

[Hunter Dunn]

Wait a second.

[Sam Seder]

Hold on. Hold on for a second. Emma. Welcome to the program. What is up everyone? Fun hack.

[Hunter Dunn]

No.

[Sam Seder]

Me. Keen.

[Hunter Dunn]

You did it.

[Sam Seder]

Fun hat.

[Emma Vigeland]

Let's go, Brandon.

[Sam Seder]

Let's go, Brandon. Fun hat. Bradley, you want to say hello? Sorry to disappoint everyone. I'm just a random guy. It's all the boys today. Fundamentally false.

[Emma Vigeland]

No. I'm sorry.

[Hunter Dunn]

Women.

[Sam Seder]

Stop talking for a second.

[Emma Vigeland]

Let me finish.

[Hunter Dunn]

Where is this coming from? Dude.

[Sam Seder]

But. Dude, you want to smoke this? 7A.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yes.

[Sam Seder]

Hi, me.

[Hunter Dunn]

Is this me?

[Sam Seder]

Yes. Is this me?

[Jostein Haga]

Is it me?

[Sam Seder]

It is you.

[Brian]

If it's me.

[Sam Seder]

If it's me. I think it is you who is you. No sound. Every single freaking day. What's on your mind?

[Emma Vigeland]

Sports.

[Hunter Dunn]

We can discuss sports.

[Emma Vigeland]

Free markets.

[Hunter Dunn]

And we can discuss capitalism.

[Sam Seder]

I'm gonna go Libertarians. They're so stupid. Though common sense says. Of course.

[Emma Vigeland]

Gobbledygook.

[Sam Seder]

We nailed him.

[Emma Vigeland]

So what's 79 plus 21?

[Sam Seder]

Challenge.

[Hunter Dunn]

Matt, I'm positively quivering.

[Sam Seder]

I believe 96. I want to say 8 5, 7, 210-355-0111. 3, 8, 9, 11.

[Hunter Dunn]

For instance.

[Emma Vigeland]

$3,400. $1900.

[Sam Seder]

5 for $3 trillion. Sold. It's a zero sum game.

[Emma Vigeland]

Actually, you're making me think less.

[Sam Seder]

But let me say this.

[Hunter Dunn]

You call it satire, Sam goes satire on top of it all.

[Jostein Haga]

My favorite part about you is just.

[Emma Vigeland]

Like every day, all day, like, everything you do.

[Sam Seder]

Without a doubt. Hey, buddy. We see you. All right, folks, folks, folks, folks.

[Emma Vigeland]

It's just the week being weeded out, obviously.

[Sam Seder]

Yeah. Sun's out, guns out. I. I don't know.

[Emma Vigeland]

But you should know.

[Sam Seder]

People just don't like to entertain ideas anymore. I have a question. Who cares?

[Jostein Haga]

Our chat is enabled, folks.

[Sam Seder]

I love it. I do love that. Gotta jump. Gotta be quick. I gotta jump. I'm losing it, bro. Two o', clock, we're already late, and the guy's being a dick. So screw him. Sent to a gulag.

[Emma Vigeland]

Outrageous.

[Sam Seder]

Like, what is wrong with you? Love you.

[Jostein Haga]

Bye.

[Sam Seder]

Love you.

[Hunter Dunn]

Bye.

[Sam Seder]

Bye.