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

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.

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

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)

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

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)

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)

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)

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.

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 |

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

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.