Elon Musk (13:11)

That the reason that you want to get into Social Security, that you want to get into all of these different, into treasury and things like that, is that you're looking for personal information and you're trying to make more money. Yeah, I, I've never met anybody as rich as you that cared less about money in my life. Every time I hear a story about you, you're sleeping on a couch of some other guy in a city that you could buy the entire thing.

Michael Knowles (13:31)

Yeah.

Elon Musk (13:31)

I'm like, I don't think you care about money, do you?

Michael Knowles (13:33)

No, actually, I mean, listen, like, if I steal some Social Security, I can finally buy nice things. Great answer from Elon. I love that Elon. He pauses. He doesn't just answer right away. He's not like a politician where he's totally fluent and he's always got the right word ready and he sits. He, he kind of laughs, he shrugs. He goes, yeah, yeah, if I steal someone's Social Security check, I can finally buy nice things. Says the man worth $400 billion. This is the way to respond to these kinds of attacks from the left. You just have to kind of laugh at them. Yeah. That's why Elon, with five or six historically successful companies, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world in terms of just raw dollars, not inflation. Adjusted the richest man ever in the history of the world. This guy got involved in the government to get your financial information. This is the guy, by the way, who owned PayPal, that more than 70% of American adults have used. He got in it to steal your $400 Social Security check? I don't think so. All you can do is laugh. Now, speaking of revenue to the government, big, big news coming out of the White House. This care of Kevin Hassett, the director of President Trump's National Economic Council, who floated the idea of getting rid of the income tax. President Trump has spoken about replacing income tax with tariff revenue, especially with all this waste, fraud and abuse that we're seeing. Cut. Is that a possibility?

Kevin Hassett (15:25)

Absolutely. And in fact, if you think about the China tariff revenue that we're estimating is coming in from the 10% that we just added, plus the de minimis thing that it's between $500 billion and a trillion dollars over 10 years is our estimate. And that's something that is outside of the reductions that markets are seeing through the negotiations up on the Hill. And so we expect that the tariff revenue is actually going to make it much easier for Republicans to pass a bill. And that was the President's plan all along.

Michael Knowles (15:54)

That's big news. And President Trump has talked about this on the campaign trail. He suggested, oh, we're going to go back to the McKinley era. Now, the McKinley era, notably, was before the federal income tax. The history of the income tax in the United States goes back basically to the Civil War. It was floated during the War of 1812, but then the war wrapped up, so it became a moot point. We did not have federal income tax until the revenue act of 1861, which was a flat tax on incomes over $800. Now, to put that in perspective, $800 in 1861 is something like $400,000 today. It was a flat 3% income tax. Then that was repealed in 1872. And then there were all sorts of different revenue raising instruments, but we didn't really have a federal income tax until the 16th Amendment in 1913, during the Progressive Era. So when Trump comes out here and he says, look, we're gonna go back to the McKinley way of doing things, we're gonna get all of our revenue from tariffs, and who knows, we don't even need the income tax. We'll so offset. Now, again, I'm a little skeptical of being able to shift those numbers so quickly, but that would be pretty cool, man, if I didn't have to pay an income tax anymore. And I guess what's so amazing about this story is not even the notion that you might not have to pay an income tax anymore, that somehow maybe they'll repeal the 16th amendment or just not enforce an income tax. What's so amazing is that we're even having this conversation. Fifteen years ago, the idea that a Republican would campaign on tariffs was unthinkable. Today, we have the Republican president and his top economic advisors talking about using tariffs so aggressively that we don't have an income tax anymore. It's that line from Cardinal Manning. There were many beautiful lines from Cardinal Manning, one of which is, there is a day to come that will reverse the confident judgments of men. The dizzying pace of Trump's first month is so encouraging, not even just because of all the individual things he's done, virtually all of which have been great, but because it means we can still do things. Trump just basically closed up the border. The illegal border crossings just dropped to nearly zero. We can just do things. We can just rename the Gulf of Mexico. We can just slap tariffs around the world. We can maybe get rid of the income tax, maybe, but we can do things. We can still control our country. Meanwhile, back at cpac, JD Vance made a beautiful statement. In a series of beautiful statements in recent weeks, he was asked about the Christian faith, and he made a really, really important point about the meaning of Christianity.

J.D. Vance (18:54)

First, is I. I believe, like, the fundamental tenet of the Christian faith, it's not just a set of good moral principles, though. It is that I think the fundamental tenet of our faith is that the Son of God became man. He died, and he raised himself from the dead. That is the fundamental tenet of the Christian faith. And I think so, so much flows from that. And I think one, one, one lesson that flows. Flows from that is that we shouldn't fear death. Of course, death is a very bad thing, but there are much more, there are much more terrible things than just losing one's life. And importantly, you could lose one's soul. And I think whether it's fighting for the unborn or fighting for peace and security for our citizens, I want us to be the kind of society where my kids can grow up to be virtuous young people can be good, good young Christians, of course, because that's what I'm trying to raise them to be, and that's what our public policy is trying to do.

Michael Knowles (19:54)

Beautiful. This is straight out of C.S. lewis. Not just C.S. lewis, but out of many, many Christian writers. And it's contradicting the prevailing spirit of the age, which says if it says anything nice about Christianity at all, it says that Jesus was a nice moral teacher. That's really, we should just learn some lessons. And J.D. vance is saying, no, no, no, he's really not primarily a good moral teacher. The essential fact is that God becomes man and dwells among us and is crucified and is raised from the dead. That's the really important part. The parables are important. Every word uttered by our Lord is important. I don't mean to diminish the importance of his teachings, but what matters is God becomes man. God sends his only begotten Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. God becomes man, dwells among us, is crucified, dies and is buried, and then is resurrected on the third day. That tells us really practical things about human nature, about our relationship to God, about the forgiveness of sins, about life everlasting, about the meaning of life, about our purpose, at the very least about how we ought to view death. Because from the political perspective, the resurrection of our Lord is the ultimate political revolution inasmuch as the ultimate power that rulers have in pagan societies is the fear of death, that they can punish and kill subjects. And the resurrection of our Lord says, actually death has no ultimate power on you. That is profoundly important. It is the fact that created our civilization, allowed our civilization to flourish. Even if you don't believe in it, though, you should because all the evidence is for it. But even if you don't believe in it, you have to recognize that is a crucial, pun intended fact about the civilization once known as Christendom. There's so much more to say. First though, go to livemomentous.com, use promo code Knowles. Success is not built on resolutions. Those are made to break. Success is built on taking action and building unstoppable momentum. When it comes to optimizing your health span, living better and longer, certain things are non negotiable. Quality sits at the top of the list. In the world of performance focused supplements, Momentous stands alone. Their commitment to NSF certification means every batch undergoes rigorous testing for heavy metals, harmful additives and label accuracy. You know, sweet little Elisa is pretty serious about making sure we don't have anything that's gonna turn the frogs gay in the house or whatever, you know, they don't like with their plastics and this and the that. Okay, one of the first things even Mr. Davies, it's not just me, it's even Mr. Davies said about momentous is he said, you know, this is Molly Approved. Even my crunchy wife says this is good stuff, okay? NFL teams trust it. It's great. Are you ready to start living on purpose? Go to livemomentous.com, use code knowles k, w l e s for 20% off your order today. My favorite comment Yesterday is from CJ Blake, RF7M V, who says the racist South African DJ is using the English language because it's inferior. LMAO. That's a good point. There was this guy who is South African, he's a black guy, and he's saying the whites are inferior. They're Neanderthals, they are subhuman, they are this, they are that. But of course, one notices he is speaking in English. You know, there's not a lot of clicking or. Any of. It's not Swahili. I don't really know what the indigenous language of South Africa is, but it ain't that he's speaking in English. So, you know, if the white people are so inferior, I don't know, why are you allowing their language to actually form the substance of your conscience? Crazy, crazy stuff. Now, speaking of moral clarity, the State Department has officially classified a bunch of criminal cartels, drug cartels, at the southern border, as foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. department of State designated six Mexican drug cartels, plus MS.13, which is a Salvadoran criminal syndicate, plus the Venezuelan gang Trende Aragua, which recently took over Aurora, Colorado. Trump has designated them as foreign terrorist organizations. So this is the State Department following up on an executive order which instructed them to do that. Now it's happened. What does it mean practically? I think some people hear this. They heard the executive order, they hear this news report at the State Department. They think it means that we're gonna be harsher in our rhetoric about the drug cartels, means we're gonna really start to think seriously about them. No, no. That designation brings with it real power to the government to take them on. Notably, it means that the commander in chief can now use the military against them. I said, the moment that Trump announced that he was going to reclassify these drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, I said, oh, so that means he's gonna send in a ton of special operators to just blow these guys tattooed faces off in the middle of the night. Previously, he was somewhat restricted in unleashing the full force of the US Military. Now he can do really whatever he wants. Also, now that these groups are foreign terrorist organizations, it becomes illegal for US Persons to provide material support to them. Which means that people who are operating in The United States, maybe who are United States citizens, maybe who in some way have legal status, but they're working with these organizations because those organizations control the border. And many, many people across the border illegally wind up in debt to these organizations. Well, now it means that those people are committing crimes. Perhaps they could even be deported. This means that the Trump administration can deny entry to people who are linked to these groups. Makes it easier to stop them from coming here in the first place. Means that the US can coordinate international efforts to stop them. The same way we're able to form an international coalition to take out Saddam Hussein, we can form an international coalition to fight ISIS. Now, we can do the same thing for Ms. 13 or trend aragua or any of the other cartels, which. Which pose a far more direct and serious threat to the United States even than isis. And then what it also means is Trump is now free to digitally and financially attack their organizations with far greater severity than they were able to before. All good stuff. This is all really, really good news. Now a little bit of bad news. There's a report out on Mr. Kanye. It says Kanye west has relapsed and is inhaling nitrous oxide, leaving his memory messed up. Now, you might have heard, I think these reports have been published that Kanye has an affinity for laughing gas, for nitrous oxide. And I think Milo Yiannopoulos, who was his campaign manager when he was running for president, briefly, I think he testified about this. So one doesn't wish to reveal any personal sins, but this has all been reported in the press. In any case, this is what the report says. Kanye west is back huffing laughing gas again. Multiple concerned sources tell the Post. This is the New York Post. When he got back to la, he got dental work again. And I think that's when he relapsed, a friend said, referencing his return to the city after six months away at the end of January. The 47 year old rapper and clothing designer's recently erratic behavior has worsened by using nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, an anesthetic. I don't want to reveal any personal sins of Kanye. I don't want to engage in the sin of detraction. I'm not, you know, Kanye is an eccentric figure and has been for a long time. But there's an important lesson here. If this report is true, there seems to be some evidence that it's true. Political nerds, political nerds like you and me, we tend to think a lot about ideology. God, did you see the tweet that Kanye sent. He said in all caps that he's a Nazi. And then he was tweeting about doing stuff with various people and different threats. And then he was tweeting out how much he loved porn, and then he was just tweeting out porn. And did you see all the tweets from. Wow. What does it mean? What's the ideology? Did he read Mein Kampf one day? And it often behavior is just best explained by vice, by habitual vice, which darkens the intellect and messes up our appetites. It's kind of it. When people come to me, when guys come to me, sometimes they write into the show. Many times they write into the show, say, I have this problem. I have a problem with women. I'm either I'm fighting with my girlfriend, I'm fighting with my wife, or I can't attract a girl. And I go on these dates, and it's not satisfying. And this, that, and the other. They complain about their relationship issues. My first question always, do you look at pornography? Do you look at pornography? Now, I'm not getting in your head on your grand theories of romance and your understanding of what marriage is. Does it match up with the traditional view and the catechism? Let me just add one quick question. Do you look at porn? You do. Okay. Wow. So you look at this obscene material that we know warps people's minds and appetites and desires and actually messes up even their biochemistry, and it totally shifts how you view women. And now you're telling me you have problems with women. Wow. Okay. Hey, come back to me again when you stop doing that. I think with Kanye. Okay, he's tweeting all this crazy stuff. Is it because he read Mein Kampf and we watched Triumph of the Will, and now he's just suddenly so taken with Hitler's arguments? Yeah, maybe. Or maybe he just has a drug problem or something, you know, and actually a porn problem. Speaking of, we know that because he admits that publicly. Maybe it's. Maybe we can fix a lot of the problems that we attribute to ideology just by correcting our behavior and cutting out some vice and practicing virtue. I suspect that would go a very, very long way. And then we don't need to be nerds arguing about abstract ideology forever. Now, speaking of vice, transgender cult members who are vegans have been arrested and charged with murder in Maryland. That's a plot twist, right? Not really. Not really. You know, I've spoken my mind on the gender ideology for a long time, including at cpac, where I am right now. And I've spoken on many topics, though, and I've been involved in plenty of political campaigns and I have plenty of ideological interests that I speak on. I rarely have an unexpressed opinion. And the only times that I have been threatened with violence or nearly attacked or actually attacked have been when I have criticized transgenderism or contradicted transgenderism. First time was at UMKC, University of Missouri, Kansas City in 2017 or 2018. Second time was at the University of Pittsburgh recently where antifa terrorists tried to blow up the building and actually seriously injured a cop when I was walking on stage. Both times it was about transgenderism. So I'm not surprised. These are very violent political groups, trans in particular. Okay, but the thing that's kind of funny is the vegan thing, though. It makes sense. Every vegan, you know, I bet just about is in favor of abortion. They would never harm the Delta smelt. They won't eat an anchovy, but they'll happily kill a human baby. But this story is pretty crazy. Just a. Just the broad strokes of it. It's this cult called the Zizians. They are linked to several deaths. Andy Ngo, a great reporter, especially Antifa, has a great thread on the subject. The Zizians have been tied to the killing of a US Border Patrol agent, David Milland, near the Canadian border. They've been linked to five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania, California. You know what I say to this transgender, murderous vegan cult? So much for the tolerant left. You know, so much for the tolerant left. I hate that phrase. It's just like the laziest phrase you could possibly hear in political commentary. Because of course, the left is not peaceful or tolerant at all. But these people in particular are seriously misanthropic. And it really is always the ones you most expect. Because when we're talking about this kind of people in particular, they are divorced from reality. They have a fundamental misunderstanding of the world, or a willful misunderstanding of the world. And they are misanthropic in the truest sense in that they hate their own actual human identities and they hate human identity, period. And the fact that our identities are linked with our bodies and we don't have a choice over it and we can't change it. That is serious misanthropy. And it is why they are angry a lot of the time and why they become violent and in some cases commit murders. Okay? The best reason to become a Daily Wire plus member, you are directly supporting the fight. Every dollar goes right back into building a real alternative to the establishment legacy, mainstream media. That means more shows, more movies, more investigative journalism, more. This is how we continue to reshape the culture. Here's another reason. If you like this show, there is more of it waiting for you. Only Daily Wire plus members get exclusive content at the end of every episode, the show, after the show, live chats, much more. Do not just listen, be a part of it. Download the Daily Wire app or go to dailywire.com subscribe and become a member today. Finally, finally, we've arrived at my favorite time of the week when I get to hear from you in the mailbag. This mailbag is sponsored by PureTalk. Get your iPhone 14 or Samsung Galaxy for $0 with a qualifying plan by going to PureTalk.comKnowles Take it away.

Audience Member 1 (34:40)

Hey Mike, so I just saw your fantastic debating performance in that jubilee video where you were talking to a bunch of LGBTQ activists. One of the things that they kept trying to do was accuse you of being poorly motivated. And one of the guys afterwards was saying, all you do is try to get people to have emotional reactions to what you say so that you can make them look dumb. And my whole thing is, even if that were the case, who cares? They should still be able to win the debate. If they're right, like who cares how poorly motivated you are, that should make it easier for them to take apart your arguments. And in my opinion, the only people that complain about their opponent's tactics are losers. And there are a lot of people complaining about your tactics that evening. So what are your thoughts? Would that be something that you would employ in another debate?

Michael Knowles (35:32)

Thanks. Yeah, that's a good point. I mean, their premise is false. I understand you're saying, well, even if the premise were true, you know, what would it matter? But their premise is false. They're saying that I wish ill on them. Or that one guy who said I was just trying to push his buttons. But that is very much not what I do. In fact, I'm kind of rare in political commentary and even on the right in that I really am not just provoking for provoking's sake. I'm happy to be convinced by nuance or subtlety or whatever, maintain my composure. I don't use nasty, obscene language or anything like that. So I don't know. I think the reason that so many of those interlocutors maligned me and questioned my motives is because they had nothing else to say. They couldn't answer the point, the arguments. So they just said, well, you're a meanie or something. But your point is quite good. Yeah, even if I hated their guts, they should still just answer the arguments. But of course they can't. Next question.

Audience Member 2 (36:53)

Hey, Michael. As a Catholic preparing for an upcoming marriage, I've been revisiting the Gospels to strengthen both my relationship with God and the Church. In this pursuit, I've become curious about the non canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Thomas. Do you believe these non canonical works hold any value for study or spiritual growth? Especially for someone seeking to deepen their faith? Thanks for your time and all the incredible work you do.

Michael Knowles (37:21)

Good question. No, they don't. They have value as quirks of the 4th century. They have value as evidence of what the Gnostics believe, not of what the Christians believe, but of what the Gnostics believed. They have value in as much as they're weird and that's illuminating in some ways. But no, they don't have any value for Christians. And we know this from antiquity. Early Christian writers discuss the Gospel of Thomas, so called Gospel of Thomas. But even to call it a gospel, albeit a non canonical gospel, is really giving it much more credit than it deserves. The actual Gospels are written within living memory of the events that they describe. The so called Gospel of Thomas is from the 4th century. It's like centuries later and it depicts a person who might be named Jesus, but who is a rather different person than the actual Jesus. You'd even have to be specific on what you mean by the Gospel of Thomas. There are two books that purport to be Gospel of Thomas. One is a sayings gospel, you know, just purported quotes of our Lord which are not real. And then the other is the Infancy Gospel, which involves all sorts of heretical nonsense. So no, if you are seeking to deepen your Christian faith, then you should read the Christian works. You know, the Church fathers, the Ecumenical Councils, they did a good job at figuring out which books are legit and which books are not. And I don't think we need to upend that with 4th century Gnostic nonsense. Next question.

Audience Member 3 (39:05)

Happy feast of St. Valentine. Love, Dr. Knowles. It's the Schuckmeister and I'm checking myself in for a little dating advice. I've had a hard time getting past the first date. I've been trying to date more traditional girls, especially those from the Latin mass, and they seem the least likely to want to go on a second date. I just do the typical date activities like dinners and outings instead of rizzing them up with my diatribes about the fourth Lateran Council. I feel like I'M finally in a place where I've cultivated a lot of virtue and I'm ready for something more. But the dating pool is very, very poor right now. I know you always say dating should be fun, and you're right. Until I get ghosted or rejected. What would you recommend in my situation? Thanks.

Michael Knowles (39:42)

Yeah, you're in a tough spot. And folks, you know, I know the Schuckmeister. I personally know many of the members of the Creme, but I know the Schuckmeister because I see him at Latin Mass. So lovely gals there. But one issue about dating at the Latin Mass, I've heard this for years now. Dating at the Latin Mass is kind of like dating in Alaska. The odds are good, but the goods are odd. And I say this as someone who attends the Latin Mass. I love the Latin Mass. I love it more than almost anything in this world. But, you know, it attracts a quirky kind of set. So your problem, shark, since I know you personally, I can say you're a normal kind of guy. You know, you dress well, you speak normally, you want to take a woman out to a nice dinner. But if you want to date at the Latin Mass, you need to show up in like a horse drawn carriage with mules and you need to go take the woman to milk some cows or something and churn butter. I don't, you know, I mean, you gotta do. It's not. You're too normal and that's a problem. So I don't mean to be glib in my response to you. I know it's tricky out there, but what would I look at if I were you? I would look at, well, keep looking around the tlm, you know, there's some nice ladies around there. But you might also look more broadly at Catholic social groups. There are plenty of them. You might look at friends of friends. I think that's really helpful. I know it's not abstract enough for modern liberal sensibilities, but I think people you've gone to school with or people that you've worked with, or friends of friends, or being set up on blind dates or that sort of thing, I think that's good. I think the personal connection is a good thing. But I would expand that circle out a little bit. I understand why in principle, one would say, well, the Latin Mass is the first place to go. It's probably the first place that I would go to look if I were single. God forbid if I were single. But if it's not working out, all right, expand it out a little bit. Maybe look at that. Catholic young adult, whatever, mid-20s meetup group or whatever. I would just expand it out a little bit. It's okay. And keep going on dates and keep being your normal self. I'm not saying you really need to hire the mule drawn carriage and go churn butter. You are who you are. You're going to be a charming guy in your own right. Go for that. All right, last one. This is parental advice.

Audience Member 4 (42:12)

Hello, Mr. Knowles, I am looking for some advice on how to effectively and yet respectfully communicate a difference of religious opinions to one's parents. I grew up in a very non denominational charismatic household. My father and my uncle. In fact, my entire family is very, very conservative and religious. However, I have recently converted to the Anglo Catholic Church. And I know you might not consider it to be Catholic, but coming from my background, my parents certainly find it to be much too Catholic. They've largely accepted or at least realized that I am staunch in my decision. Yet I still get videos about Explain the saints. Explain this aspect. Make sure you don't listen too much to tradition. Make sure you still allow freedom, which are true things. But there's always just this undertone of what you're doing is a little silly or you should come back to us. So I'm wondering how I might responsibly and effectively communicate a difference of opinion on something with my parents. On a separate note, when is there going to be some nice, juicy, delicious Mayflower pipe tobacco? I love cigars, but I love pipes and even more. I look forward to a response. Thanks.

Michael Knowles (43:26)

The pipe tobacco, it's not my expertise. I smoke a pipe once a year and I have for probably 20 years, but I'm just not good enough at it. I can't. Cigars are a little bit of an expertise, so I know I can make a great cigar product. But the pipes, well, you'll have to leave it. Maybe we'll create a subsidiary with you. As for your parents, it's kind of interesting that you've converted to Anglo Catholicism, which is Anglicanism. It's a form of Protestantism, but it's a high church Protestantism that has a lot of trappings of Catholicism and even a fair bit of Catholic theology, but no Pope. And it's just interesting. There aren't that many people who convert to Anglo Catholic Protestantism. Andrew Clavin is one who has done that too, and he loves his Anglo Catholic Church, so that alone it's quite interesting. And it's understandable if your parents are lower church Protestants who not only don't like the liturgical aspects of what you're getting into now, but probably disagree in a lot of theological things. It's perfectly understandable. And they're your parents, and you owe them respect. So when they ask you questions, it's a great opportunity to answer those questions. People ask me all the time, why do you confess your sins to a priest? Why do you believe that our Lord is really and truly present in the Eucharist? Why do you pray to Mary? Why do you do this? That. What a great opportunity to tell them the scriptural basis for those practices and beliefs. What a great opportunity to deepen your own understanding of what you believe. What a great opportunity to maybe pull them over. That's great. Now, when they say, don't do this, don't do that, when they start haranguing you about it, you say, listen, listen, mom and dad, I'm just telling you this is biblical, then hopefully we'll get to pull you all the way across the Tiber, too, so that you come all the way to Rome. But in any case, you could say, look, this is a biblical practice. Confession is biblical. The Eucharist is biblical. Look in the writings of the church fathers, very early Church fathers, you can see the Eucharist, the belief in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. You see it in Scripture, too, in John, chapter six. It's an opportunity to evangelize. What more could you ask for? Okay, no member block today because I'm still here in the imperial capital, and I got to get out of Dodge. So I apologize that we've not had sufficient Membrum segmentum this week because of, you know, the Daily Wire shuts down for three snowflakes, and then I fly to D.C. but I don't know. We need to do extra Membrum segmentum next week. I look forward to it. I'm Michael Knowles. This is the Michael Knowles Show. See you then.