Ep. 1709 - The Stock Market Is Crashing — and Americans Love It

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Michael Knowles Show – Ep. 1709: "The Stock Market Is Crashing — and Americans Love It"

Release Date: April 7, 2025
Host: Michael Knowles
Publisher: The Daily Wire
Episode Title: The Stock Market Is Crashing — and Americans Love It
Duration: Approximately 23 minutes

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1. Introduction and Episode Overview

In episode 1709 of The Michael Knowles Show, host Michael Knowles delves into the alarming global stock market downturn and its paradoxical effect on American public sentiment, particularly favoring President Trump’s policies. The episode explores the disconnect between the economic realities portrayed by mainstream media and the actual perceptions of the American populace, highlighting how President Trump's tariff implementations, despite tanking the markets, have bolstered his approval ratings.

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2. Stock Market Downturn Amid Tariffs

Michael Knowles opens the discussion by outlining the severe global stock market decline. He cites staggering figures such as the Dow Futures posting back-to-back losses exceeding 1,500 points, the S&P 500 dropping by 6% on a single Friday, and the Nasdaq entering a bear market. Despite these downturns, Knowles points out an unexpected political boon for President Trump:

Michael Knowles [00:45]: "When Trump implemented the tariffs that tanked the market, his public approval rating went up."

This sets the stage for exploring why, contrary to expert consensus, Trump's approval ratings surged in the wake of policies that ostensibly harmed the market.

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3. Public Approval Rating vs. Market Performance

Knowles presents data from JL Partners indicating a 4-point increase in Trump's approval rating—from 49% to 53%—during the week tariffs were announced, despite the economic turmoil these tariffs caused. Notably, this approval spike included significant gains among traditionally Democratic and younger voters:

• Young Voters (18-29): Up by 13 points
• Democrats and Independents: Approval increased by 6 points
• Black Voters: Approval soared by 17 points

Furthermore, public opinion on the tariffs themselves leans slightly in favor:

Michael Knowles [03:25]: "More people support the tariffs than oppose the tariffs. They’re 39% support, 37% oppose."

Knowles emphasizes the chasm between the "chattering class" of economists and pundits and the broader American public, who remain largely indifferent to stock market fluctuations due to the intangible nature of such investments for the average person.

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4. Dialogue with Scott Besant, Treasury Secretary

At [06:19], Scott Besant, Treasury Secretary, engages in a discussion with Knowles about the rationale behind Trump's tariff policies. Besant likens the tariffs to medicine, acknowledging that while the economic pain is significant, it is intended to rectify long-standing issues of trade imbalances and job outsourcing:

Scott Besant [06:20]: "The tariffs are like medicine... Harsh, but necessary to fix the economic ailments caused by previous administrations."

Knowles challenges Besant by comparing the current economic strategy to President Reagan's approach in the early 1980s, suggesting that while the intention may be to stabilize the economy, the implementation might be misaligned with the political goals, especially with the looming midterm elections.

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5. Political Strategy and Midterm Implications

Knowles analyzes the potential long-term political ramifications of Trump's tariff strategy, considering the upcoming midterm elections. He posits that, similar to Reagan's strategy, Trump may be banking on enduring short-term economic pain to secure long-term political gains. However, he expresses concern that if the economy continues to decline into a recession, it could negatively impact Republican performance at the polls:

Michael Knowles [14:32]: "The midterm election season is about to start... The markets most likely will not have recovered. We very likely could be in a recession, and that will clobber Republicans at the ballot box."

This segment underscores the precarious balance Trump faces between maintaining his approval among his base and managing broader economic fallout.

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6. Critique of Democratic Strategies and Media Narratives

Knowles critiques the Democratic Party's response to the economic downturn and Trump's tariffs, highlighting hypocrisy and inconsistent messaging. He references a Democratic Congressman’s video:

Chris D'Aluzio [19:43]: "The President's tariff announcement... has been chaotic. We need meaningful industrial policies and pro-worker policies."

Knowles points out that while Democrats criticize Trump’s tariffs publicly, their acknowledgment of the underlying issues aligns with Trump's narrative, inadvertently validating his policies:

Michael Knowles [20:42]: "Even while the Democrats are taking advantage to pummel Trump... they're admitting that Trump is right in principle."

He argues that this duality weakens the Democrats' stance and may further bolster Trump’s support among voters who recognize the systemic issues being addressed by the tariffs.

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7. Russell Brand's Rape Charges

The episode shifts focus to high-profile legal cases, prominently featuring British celebrity Russell Brand, who has been charged with multiple counts of rape and assault dating back 20 to 26 years. Brand, who denies the allegations, addresses the accusations by attributing his past behavior to addiction and personal transformation:

Russell Brand [30:43]: "I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist."

Knowles expresses skepticism regarding the timing and validity of the charges, introducing his "Knowles rule of forensics":

Michael Knowles [31:50]: "For every year that passes between an alleged crime and a formal allegation, skepticism should increase by 5 percentage points."

He concludes that the delayed nature of the allegations warrants significant skepticism, aligning Brand's case with other politically motivated accusations.

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8. Analysis of Social Decorum and Public Criticism

Knowles transitions to discuss societal norms and the erosion of decorum, using the reaction to Jeff Metcalf's response to his son's murder as a case study. Metcalf's decision to publicly forgive his son's attacker attracted widespread criticism, which Knowles attributes to declining societal standards influenced by social media:

Michael Knowles [25:12]: "We can have a little class, folks. You know, we can have a little decorum."

He laments the lack of compassion and understanding in public discourse, emphasizing the importance of maintaining respect and restraint, especially in the face of personal tragedy.

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9. Concluding Remarks and Final Thoughts

In wrapping up the episode, Knowles reiterates his main thesis: despite severe economic downturns, President Trump's policies resonate with a significant portion of the American public who prioritize social solidarity and disdain perceived elite exploitation. He criticizes Democratic strategies as ineffective and misaligned with the needs of average Americans, predicting that Trump's approval will continue to rise unless significant economic hardships alter public perception.

Michael Knowles [22:48]: "Most Americans here are saying, nah, you know, we want a country, actually, we want social solidarity."

Knowles concludes by reinforcing the notion that the American public is more aligned with Trump's approach, despite the economic challenges, and remains skeptical of the Democratic Party's ability to effectively counter these sentiments in upcoming elections.

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Key Takeaways

• Economic vs. Political Sentiment: The episode highlights a significant disconnect between economic indicators and public approval, suggesting that voters prioritize political narratives and perceived protection against elite exploitation over tangible economic performance.

• Trump’s Tariff Strategy: Despite causing market instability, Trump's tariff policies have garnered increased approval, particularly among demographics traditionally opposed to him, signaling a shift in political allegiance based on underlying economic discontent.

• Democratic Response: The Democratic Party's inconsistent messaging and critique of Trump’s policies may inadvertently validate his strategies, weakening their own stance and further consolidating Trump’s support base.

• Celebrity Legal Cases and Societal Norms: The discussion on Russell Brand's charges and Jeff Metcalf's handling of personal tragedy underscores broader themes of legal skepticism and the erosion of societal decorum in public discourse.

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Notable Quotes with Attribution and Timestamps

• Michael Knowles [00:45]: "When Trump implemented the tariffs that tanked the market, his public approval rating went up."

• Scott Besant [06:20]: "The tariffs are like medicine... Harsh, but necessary to fix the economic ailments caused by previous administrations."

• Chris D'Aluzio [19:43]: "We need meaningful industrial policies and pro-worker policies."

• Russell Brand [30:43]: "I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist."

• Michael Knowles [31:50]: "For every year that passes between an alleged crime and a formal allegation, skepticism should increase by 5 percentage points."

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Conclusion

Episode 1709 of The Michael Knowles Show provides a comprehensive analysis of the current economic crisis juxtaposed with rising political approval for President Trump. Through detailed discussion and critical examination of both economic policies and societal reactions, Knowles articulates a narrative that challenges mainstream perceptions and underscores the complexities of public sentiment amid financial turmoil.

Transcript

[Michael Knowles]

The stock market is tanking globally. Democrats are taking to the streets. Even some of President Trump's staunchest defenders are turning on his massive tariff policy. Every genius pundit, all the economists and the political analysts, they all agree. The walls are closing in on Trump. He's toast. He blew it. Just look at the economic numbers. Except they're all ignoring one really important number for Trump's and MAGA's political future. When Trump implemented the tariffs that tanked the market, his public approval rating went up. A Michael Knowles is the Michael Knowles Show. Welcome back to the show. Russell Brand, Hollywood celebrity, has been officially charged with rape for a crime that allegedly occurred 25, 26 years ago. We'll get into the details. There's so much more to say. First, though, go to jeremysrazors.com Some razors are made for soy lattes in safe spaces. Jeremy's razors are made for men with a backbone and a beard to tame. Engineered with five stainless steel blades and zero apologies. No lecture, no pandering, just a razor that works. Find out why a quarter million men switched to the politically incorrect razor. For men shave boldly, live freely, help us to afford even more copywriters. Go to jeremysrazors.com today, the market is getting absolutely pummeled. Okay, right off the top, some of you are a little more wild with your investments than others. Me, I'm extremely conservative, which means I miss out on all these great runs of the market. But it also means I'm not sweating bullets when things like this happen. But there is a major, major market correction that has happened. Dow Futures has posted back to back losses of more than 1500 points. The S&P 500 was down 6% on Friday. Nasdaq has entered a bear market. It is rough out there, man. Rough out there in the markets. And yet. Daily Mail, JL Partners just posted a poll. This is a poll of Trump's approval during the tariff week. So Trump announces the tariffs. The market immediately reacts. Everyone on paper is losing a ton of money. Well, not everyone, but a lot of people are losing a ton of money. And yet during that period, President Trump's job approval rating rose 4 points. It went from 49% to 53%. So actually, tariff week, the worst week in recent history for financial markets. That actually was the breaking point for Trump to get over 50%. Now he's at 53. Since March 7, Trump's approval among young voters, young voters 18 to 29, that jumped up 13 points. Well, surely his approval among Democrats or independents, that must have gone down, right? Nope. That actually went up six points. Well, what about some of the most solidly Democrat voters? Like, what about black voters? Sure, I know Trump did fairly well with, with black male voters and. But there's no way he must be getting pummeled with black voters, right? No, it's actually up 17 points in a single week. What about the tariffs? What if you ask people about the tariffs themselves? More people support the tariffs than oppose the tariffs. They're 39% support, 37% oppose. Something like 25%, 24% don't have any idea. In reality, 100% of people have no idea what the tariffs really mean and what all the long term consequences are gonna be. But everyone's pretending like they know what the tariffs are. So anyway, 24% of people are honest. But among the people who have an opinion about the tariffs, more people support the tariffs than oppose the tariffs. The tariffs and the market tanking are political winners for Trump. How do we make sense of this? There is a difference between the chattering class and public perception. There is a difference, in other words, between the media presenting to you what's going on in the world and what's actually going on in the world. And we've known this for a long time. We always talk about the lame stream, left wing drive by stupid legacy establishment media. But even with new media, even with the rise of podcasting and streaming, still there is a chasm. Because virtually everyone I've been listening to has said that the sky is falling in. And I don't mean to downplay it by the way. There are serious, serious risks to this tariff regime, which we'll get to in one moment. I'm just pointing out the chattering class does not at all reflect actual public perception. More people like these tariffs than do not like these tariffs. Most people approve of what Trump is doing right now. Most people don't care at all that this market is way down. Because for most people, this doesn't really mean anything. If they have their money invested in the market at all, even through a 401k or something, they're not going to touch it for a while. It's just numbers on a screen. It'll bounce back. This always happens in the markets. The 50 wealthiest people in the country are getting absolutely destroyed right now. Other than Warren Buffett, I think he's the only one that hasn't posted major losses. Oracle from Omaha really doing an amazing job. But the rest are just getting absolutely pummeled. But guess what? The vast majority of Americans don't care. They don't care if Zuckerberg loses some money. They don't even really care if Elon loses some money. And Elon is a big voice in this administration, though possibly opposed to the tariffs, according to some reports. In fact, even more than some reports, Elon's taking to Twitter to go after some of the pro tariff voices in the Trump administration. Trump, for his point of view is coming and he's saying the tariffs are like medicine. There pain in the market. At some point you're unwilling to tolerate.

[Scott Besant]

This idea of a Trump put.

[Michael Knowles]

Is there a threshold?

[Scott Besant]

I think your question is so stupid. I think it's a. I don't want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something. And we have such a horrible. We have been treat, treated so badly by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen. They took our businesses, they took our money, they took our jobs. They moved it to Mexico, they moved it to Canada, they moved a lot of it to China. And it's not sustainable. We're not going to do it now. We have hundreds of billions of dollars is pouring into our country on a monthly basis. It's pouring. It's already started because they put tariffs on and eventually it's going to straighten out and our country will be solid and strong.

[Michael Knowles]

The tariffs are like medicine. And so for some people, that medicine is gonna be like taking a little Advil and putting a band aid on the boo boo. And for some people, the medicine is gonna feel like a combination of amputating multiple limbs and maybe having your brain scrambled up too. What was that process called? What was that in the middle of the 20th century? I can't believe the name escapes. They did it to the poor Kennedy girl. Anyway, it's gonna feel a little tougher for some people than others, won't it? I think that message resonates with people and it's gonna resonate with the people politically that Trump has to speak to. And that's not necessarily gonna be multimillionaires who are gonna be pulling their hair out, but the base, the people that are actually the ones that go to the polls and drive the elections, I think they're probably on Trump's side because whatever pain people are feeling with the market downturn now is the kind of pain that a lot of America has been feeling for 30 years. And for those 30 years when the jobs were being outsourced, when the people in the middle of the country who were in the lower middle class to the working class were losing their economic and social position while this was leading to the dissolution of families and deaths of despair and all the rest of it. And while the wealthier classes were cheering this on because it meant that they could get cheaper knickknacks from China, while the lower classes were complaining about this, the upper classes said, oh, well, learn to code, catch up, innovate. What's wrong with you? This is creative destruction. This is great. This is just naturally how the economy develops. Now, of course, it wasn't natural, it wasn't natural for Bill Clinton to welcome China into the World Trade Organization. The policies of free trade, especially in the 1990s, that came about that did, in fact, gut a lot of America. They didn't just fall out of the sky, okay? They were intentional choices by political leaders who weighed the costs and the benefits and decided to move forward. And a lot of the benefits accrued to the upper classes. And a lot of the costs were borne by people in the middle of the country, people in the Rust Belt, people who worked in manufacturing. And that's just a fact, okay? So I don't think you're going to get a lot of sympathy out of that middle America working class base because now wealthy people are feeling some market pain. They're gonna say, hey, where were you when I was feeling pain for 30 years? Scott Besant, the Treasury secretary, explain this very, very well. There's so much more to say. First, though, go to policygenius.com knowles your dreams matter, and so does protecting them. Secure your family's future. With policygenius life insurance, they make finding coverage simple, giving your loved ones a financial safety net to handle debts, expenses, even build wealth over time. With policygenius, you can find life insurance policies that start at just $292 per year for $1 million worth of coverage. Some options are 100% online. Lets you avoid unnecessary medical exams. Their side by side comparison tool shows you quotes from top insurers across America completely free, with no hidden fees. Our licensed experts are with you every step of the way, answering questions, handling paperwork, and advocating for you so you can get the coverage you need and get back to living your life. 40% of people wish they'd gotten life insurance earlier. Get ahead today. Give you and your loved ones peace of mind, knowing they'll be financially protected if something happens to you. 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Police officer, female police officer was very seriously injured there. One of those anarchists is in a federal prison right now. So anyway, I'm coming back tonight. Should be a lot of fun. If you're in Pittsburgh, go check it out. Stay safe, but check it out. Hopefully I'll see you in the venue. And if you're not, if you're just online, go check it out on the YAF YouTube channel. And I think we're gonna try to stream it to my YouTube channel as well. Also subscribe to the Michael Knowles YouTube channel. Smash the subscribe button. Ring the bell. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, please explain how Trump implementing these massive tariffs, completely tanking global markets might not be a terrible thing.

[Russell Brand]

I'm not happy with what's going on in the market today, but the distribution of equities across households. The top 10% of Americans own 88% of equities, 88% of the stock market. The next 40% owns 12% of the stock market. The bottom 50 owns has debt, they have credit card bills, they rent their homes, they have auto loans. And we've got to give them some relief. And I was really struck by two different statistics last year. Summer of 2024, Americans took more European vacations than they had in history. Summer of 2024, more Americans were using food banks than they ever have in history. I don't think the bottom 50% of Americans are losers. I think the system hasn't worked for them. I think that they are winners. It's just a bad system. So we are going to fix the system.

[Michael Knowles]

Okay, so much insight in what the Treasury Secretary has said here. Let's just go to the first part though. He says this system is broken. Okay. So he uses the great example of the record number of people going on European vacations, the record number of people using food banks. That's a systemic problem here. Okay. And what it speaks to is a more immediate problem, which is the system, even in its particulars, was unstable. Do you really think the stock market gains of the past year have been sustainable? Do you think they've really reflected sturdy underlying economic realities? I certainly don't. And by the way, I'm not just saying this now to cover for the administration or to try to put a good spin on this policy. I have been very bearish in my personal investments. I have. Not for what I don't have, Scott Besant money, but for what coins I do have lying about. I have not seriously invested in the stock market over the last year because it just feels like it was all about to collapse. And that's Bessen's point. Besson says we were headed for an economic calamity.

[Russell Brand]

Would it have been really fun for me to come in and just keep issuing a lot of debt? And it's almost like a bodybuilder is taking steroids. Outside looks great. You know, you're muscular inside, you're killing your vital organs. That's what was going on here. But it would have been easy to keep pumping up the economy, borrowing a lot of money, creating a lot of government jobs. There was no controversy when we're doing all that. And the. But you were going to end up in a calamity. If you go back and look, you look at the financial crisis in 07 08, economy looked great right up until then. You go back and you look at the end of the dot com bubble and then the whole credit problem, the fraud at WorldCom, Enron, some other companies, economy looked great until it didn't. And I think one of the things that we won't get credit for, but that this administration will have done is avoiding a financial calamity.

[Michael Knowles]

There it is. And his critics are going to mock him for this, say, oh, yeah, it's an unfalsifiable hypothetical situation. And you're saying that had we not implemented the tariffs and tanked the markets, there would have then been a financial calamity. Yeah. Give me a break. What's your evidence? Well, here's some evidence. Economists had already been predicting a recession, an imminent recession, before Trump got elected. Here's a little bit more evidence. I wasn't heavily investing my money in the stock market and there are a lot of other people just like me who said this just feels fake. I don't really Believe these market highs. It just doesn't seem serious, okay? Even with this major correction, as of Friday at least, we'll see what the markets do today. It's not as though the market returned to 1929 levels here, folks. Even with this major market correction, this huge tanking of the global markets, the US markets return to where they were May 2 of last year, okay? So, you know, wipes out a year of gains. Okay, fine. But, like, come on, man. It's actually not the end of the world, even though it might seem like it is in the moment. What is Trump doing here? What is Scott Besant implying that Trump is doing here is implying that he's pulling Reagan. This is what happened to Reagan in 1981. Reagan is inaugurated, and the economy goes pretty much immediately into recession. And Reagan, it would seem, wanted to get that recession out of the way early. The idea was go through the financial pain. That is going to happen. There is going to be economic pain. So just go through it quickly. You have a recession, 1981 to 1982, and then you can come out the other end of it and be ready for the reelect. And people aren't gonna remember when you're running for president in 1983, 1984, people aren't gonna remember all that financial pain, and you're gonna have mourning in America again. So I think that is a similar thing to what Trump is doing here. The problem is Trump isn't running for another term unless they amend the 22nd amendment and he goes for term three and becomes Donaldus Magnus, the first emperor, followed by Octavian Baron Augustus Trump. And so we'll see. A boy can dream. But probably that's not gonna happen. Which means I've been really rosy and I'm totally, you know, defending the Trump policies in principle. But in practice, we have to have some caution here. The midterm election season is about to start. We're not that far off from the midterm. Midterm election season will be in full swing, in earnest a year from now, and the markets most likely will not have recovered. We very likely could be in a recession, and that will clobber Republicans at the ballot box, almost certainly. It's one thing to have a good week, two good weeks of poll numbers, but if you enter into a very serious recession already with the headwind that the party in the White House loses the midterms, that just almost always happens, then how are you supposed to have an upswing before the midterms? The fear here is that the Trump plan is just too ambitious, or you might phrase it as. The fear here is that the Trump plan just came about too late. We had too many decades of this brittle, fragile financial system, economic system, and that trying to totally overhaul it overnight. The hour was just a little bit too late. Okay? But the problem with Trump's plan is not the plan in principle, okay? And you don't just have to take my word for it. Even the House Democrats agree with that. The House Democrats released a video with some, I don't know, some two bit Democrat Congressman Chris D'Aluzio who was taking advantage. Here is the Democrats opportunity to pummel Trump. The markets are tanking, but listen to how he criticizes Trump.

[Chris D'Aluzio]

Chris D'Aluzio here from Western Pennsylvania, proud son of the Rust Belt. You're wrong. For decades, consensus in Washington on free trade's been a race to the bottom. It's hollowed out our industri, cost us good jobs. The President's tariff announcement though, and his trade strategy has been chaotic. It's been inconsistent. We should not treat our economic allies like Canada the same as trade cheats like Communist China. I do not want to see corporations use the COVID of these tariffs to now price gouge families. Tariffs are a powerful tool. They can be used strategically or they can be misused. They've got to be used in sectors that make sense. They got to be paired with real meaningful industrial policies, pro worker policies. I'm talking about tax incentives to juice American manufacturing, get those supply chains back home to go after corporate price gouging and stock buybacks and better protections for workers to have the freedom to form and join a union. We've got to get a better trade approach in this country and we've got to put workers and American families at.

[Michael Knowles]

The heart of it. Okay? The first craziest thing about that video is the horrible production value. I'm not the one who chopped that video up. That's just the video that the House Democrats posted with all those crazy jump cuts. And it was, aren't these guys supposed to be in bed with Hollywood? Can't they get a little show business? Apparently not. The second craziest thing about that video is that even while the Democrats are taking advantage to pummel Trump, the weakest he's been in many years, and they're gonna slam him over the head as they do that. They're admitting that Trump is right. The whole thesis of that video is Trump is right in principle. In theory, he's totally right. More right than the establishment Republicans and the establishment Democrats. It's just we disagree on the details. That's it. That's the whole thing. That's a terrible position for the Democrats to be in. And it, I think, helps to explain why Trump's approval ratings went up the week of the tariffs. And smart political observers, I don't care. Hopefully the Democrats don't pay attention to this bit of advice because I don't want it to help them. But the Republicans who are listening right now pay attention to that number and pay attention to what the Democrats are doing. The smart Democrats, the clever Democrats are recognizing. Don't go after Trump's policy and principle. Trump's policy in principle is really popular. Maybe don't even really go after it in practice because most voters, at least the plurality, but maybe most voters, they don't care when billionaires portfolios decline. They want and they are demanding, and they have been demanding for decades, a major reform to the whole economic system. Lost civilizations Nephilim Ancient megaliths. In this episode of Michael and I sit down with the rogue archaeologist Tim Alberino to uncover what your history books will not tell you about the ancient past. Check out this teaser.

[Russell Brand]

Many of these extraordinary megalithic sites around the world were built in the age before the flood. The ancient Egyptians and the Greeks and.

[Michael Knowles]

The Romans and all the rest of.

[Russell Brand]

Them, they believe that? The very same.

[Michael Knowles]

I don't even know if people are going to believe me when I say this. When you started talking about the aliens and the antimatter, all the lights went off. They have a $4,000 confidence monitor. It, like, fizzed. Like the picture got all crazy.

[Russell Brand]

Maybe somebody's signaling to us to shut up.

[Michael Knowles]

Watch the full episode right now on the Michael Knowles YouTube channel or catch the uncensored ad free version exclusively at Daily Wire. Plus, Democrats are taking advantage. There were massive protests over the weekend. They really were. I'm not being facetious about that. There were big protests in a whole lot of cities all around America. Thousands of people. In Boston, you can see there's a good number of people. They'll swarm. It's like Democrat Mecca, you know, almost like they're swarming the Kaaba or something like that. And it wasn't just Boston, it was all of D.C. all over the country. And okay, you see one frame of a picture, you say, wow, that's a lot of people. However, thousands of people in Boston, one of the most Democrat cities in the country. Thousands is the best. You can get something like 1500 in D.C. d.C. Those numbers are not that impressive. To put that in perspective, that's a fraction of a fraction of the people who show up to one Trump rally. One Trump rally, maybe in the middle of nowhere. I don't think this protest showed what the Democrats wanted it to show. It was highly organized. So, you know, there was big Democrat campaign money going into this. There were some real people. I don't think it was all paid actors or anything. In fact, I personally know some people who showed up to this protest because, as you know, I'm from a liberal place and I've lived in other liberal places and I went to a liberal school. And anyway, I grant that this was a real protest. Numbers don't lie, though. Fifteen hundred, a few thousand, compared to a Trump rally, which could have 20, 30,000, 40,000 people. Just look at the numbers on his approval. The approval rating goes up four points north of 50% now the week of the tariffs. I don't think so. Democrats are going to need to try something else to really gin up popular resentment against Trump. So what are they trying? Bernie Sanders and AOC are teaming up with. Let me check my notes here. Neil Young and Joan Baez for a Stop Oligarchy rally in Los Angeles. This is like a mad lib of mad libs. Actually. This is. You just fill in the blank with all the silliest answers you possibly can. Aoc. Okay, aoc. I get she is a leader of the left wing of the Democrat Party. But if you're talking about the future, the avant garde, how we're really gonna create a great new America tomorrow, do you think of Bernie Sanders? Is Bernie Sanders the future? He's 150 years old. I don't think so. If you really want to excite the Utes, you know, young voters swung for Trump in the last election. Well, how are you gonna swing them back? I know what we're gonna do. We're gonna get a couple of aging rock stars who look like crazy people. Neil Young. Neil Young looks like he always looked like a crazy person. Now that he's old, out of shape, hasn't written a popular song in decades, what is gonna happen? He's gonna keep on rocking in a free world. The young people. There won't be any young people at the rally, but they would be scratching their heads. And where are you gonna hold it? You're gonna hold it in la, the city that just burned to the ground because of Democrat mismanagement, because of politicians blowing it on the basic aspects of government. And we know this for a fact because President Trump warned the Democrat governor of California who wants to run for president now in 2018, that this exact thing would happen if the Democrat governor kept up with the Democrat policies. So they're gonna go in the charred ruins of LA burned to the ground because of Democrats. They're gonna bring a bunch of people who haven't been hip in 50 years. And the nearest to an attractive, exciting person there is going to be Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez. Who else is gonna be there? Neil Young, Joan Baez. Okay. Maggie Rogers, Indigo D'Souza, Jeff Rosenstock, the Red Pears and Raised Gospel Choir. Again, I ask, I thought the Democrats were in bed with Hollywood. This event is taking place in la. That's the best lineup they can get. I haven't heard of any of those people. Nothing. Nothing says avant garde like 150-year-old rockers. The silliest part of all, though, is the title of the rally, Stop Oligarchy. Because whatever Trumpism is, it is not oligarchical. It just. That doesn't ring true, that doesn't ring authentic. You cannot simultaneously attack oligarchy and populism. This is the knock on Trumpism on MAGA is that it's populist and it's unleashing all of the unwashed hordes, you know, the deplorable, irredeemable mob of miscreants to take over our government. These people who lack expertise, who lack sophistication, who are basically like those filthy insurrectionists at the Capitol. That's the argument against Trump, but that's the opposite of an anti oligarchy argument. In fact, when you make the argument against Trump that the Democrats have been making the anti populism argument, you are making an implicit argument for oligarchy because you're saying we actually do want the deep state and the financial elites and these moneyed, powerful, entrenched interests to run our government because the unwashed masses are just unfit to lead. That's the argument they're making. Does anyone seriously think Trump is an oligarch? All the billionaires just lost, like, hundreds of billions of dollars this week and they're furious about it. And the people who don't care or who are happy are the relatively poor people, which is most Americans. You're calling that oligarchy? What on earth are you talking about? That just doesn't. None of this rings true. And so it will be poorly attended and it won't make a lick of difference. Just like the hands off protest this weekend won't make a lick of difference. Trump's number is gonna Keep going up. The economy could get to such a horrible point that it finally starts affecting Trump. It will have nothing to do with Democrat tactics against him. If Democrats do end up winning in the midterms or the next presidential election cycle, it will be in spite of themselves, not because of anything they have done. Now, speaking of celebrities, Russell Brand has been charged with multiple counts of rape. This according to Reuters. British police say they charged actor comedian Russell Brand on Friday with rape and multiple counts of assault in cases relating to four separate women between 1999 and 2005. So the most recent case is from 20 years ago. And this entire series of charges comprises cases between 20 and 26 years ago. Russell Brand denies the allegations.

[Russell Brand]

Hello. Firstly, thank you for these incredible and overwhelming messages of support. We're very fortunate, in a way, to live in a time where there's so little trust in the British government. We're very fortunate, I suppose, that this is happening at a time where we know that the law has become a kind of weapon to be used against people, institutions and sometimes entire nations that will not accept and tolerate levels of corruption that are unprecedented. I'm speaking particularly to those of you that are watching this in the uk. How do you feel about your legal system right now? How do you feel about some of the high profile cases that are not being pursued and prosecuted? How do you feel that the Southport murders were handled? How do you feel about the government of Keir Starmer? Now, that's just sort of general context. Me, I've always told you guys that when I was young and single, before I had my wife and family, we're just out of shot over there. My beautiful children, I was afraid. I was a fool, man. I was a fool. Before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist.

[Michael Knowles]

Okay, he says he wasn't a rapist. This video does nothing to convince me that he was a rapist or that he wasn't a rapist. I don't know. He might have been a rapist. He might have been. I don't know. I know. He says, I've never been, that I was a drug addict. I was a sex addict. I was completely out of my mind. Well, if you tell me all those things, then you tell me you might have committed a crime. You might have engaged in a kind of blurry. Did they really consent? I don't know. I'm not accusing him of that. I just don't know what I do know is that these allegations are from 20 to 26 years ago. And I will give you the Knowles rule of forensics. Okay? This is what I apply when I'm trying to ascertain if a charge is legitimate or not, if an allegation is legitimate. For every year that passes between an alleged crime and a formal allegation, skepticism should increase by 5 percentage points. That's my rule. Okay? So for every year. So if it's five years, I'm gonna be 25% skeptical. You make it. You say five years ago, so and so committed this terrible action. I'm only hearing about this now. Five years ago. Look, five years isn't a lifetime away, but I'm a little skeptical if you tell me Something happened 10 years ago, but it's really serious and he needs to be prosecuted, especially if he's a public person. Especially if he's saying things I don't like. 10 years ago. I'm about 50% skeptical that this even happened 20 years ago. I am now fully 100% skeptical. This seems to me like Brett Kavanaugh stuff. This seems to me like Donald Trump stuff, where someone starts saying and doing things that people don't like politically. And all of a sudden someone comes up and says, hey, actually, back during the Coolidge administration, this guy used the salad fork for his entree. And so I think we need to give him the electric chair. I just don't. I don't buy. I don't have any explanation as to why these allegations would not have come out earlier. You might say, well, because 20 or 26 years ago, this society was totally prejudiced against women coming forward. Oh, yeah, maybe. What about the Me Too movement? What about Time's Up? When was Time's up in Me Too? That was like five years ago now or more, you tell me. No, during all of that. Forget about it. No, we still couldn't come forward. But now that Russell Brand is a prominent political media figure, he's identified, weirdly enough, on the right. He doesn't really seem like a conservative, but he's on the right, and he's embracing Christianity, at least in some way. And now all of a sudden, he's a rapist and needs to rot in prison. I don't know. I disagree with Russell Brandt that he could not have been such a degenerate that he actually committed that kind of a heinous crime. In theory, I'm sure he could have been. If you delve to the depths of vice and degeneracy, you could commit Just about any crime. But did he? Seriously? 26 years later, we're making the allegations? The Knowles rule of Forensics. 5 percentage points for every year that goes by without an allegation. Mm, 20 years worth about 100% skepticism. You know, the chat is live right now in the Daily Wire +app and at DailyWire.com, but if you actually want to join the conversation with my producers and people that who still have common sense, you've got to become a Daily Wire plus member. Daily Wire plus members get everything. All of our content, ad free daily shows, hit movies, documentaries and more. Plus exclusive investigative journalism that gives you the whole story, not just the part that fits the narrative. Become a member [e-mail] subscribe or download the Daily Wire + app in the App Store right now. My favorite comment Yesterday is from KellyGirl4996 who says Christians forgive. He can't let this thug ruin his life too. I think this is in response to Jeff Metcalf story we're about to get into right now, actually. But really good comment, really good observation because forgiveness, we forgive because God tells us to. We also forgive for ourselves when something terrible happens to you. Look, you allow people to the prosecutions to continue, you trust in God's justice and everything, but you forgive in part because the man who sets out for vengeance should dig two graves. That's the old proverb, because if you constantly are focusing on avenging old wrongs, it'll ruin your own life. And it's easy to say when someone stole your cupcake in the third grade or when someone smacks you across the face. It's harder when someone really commits very, very grievous sins against you. But at least for your own good, it'll serve you better. So speaking of that crime, there's an ongoing criticism of Jeff Metcalf, the father of Austin Metcalfe. Austin Metcalf, the 17 year old football player with really good grades who had a bright future ahead of him, who was stabbed in the heart by some complete animal at a track meet or football meet. It was football meet, right? It was some kind of sporting event. Oh, it was a track meet, okay. But he was a football star, the kid. And this absolute animal stabs him in the chest because Austin Metcalfe said, get out of my seat. So the murderer, the murder suspect is arrested and the father, Jeff Metcalf, comes out and he says, I forgive him. God's got me. God will deal with this. I forgive him. There's been all this criticism Calling him weak, calling him some insinuating that he's been paid off because the murderer was black, the alleged murderer was black, and the victim was white. So that in order to advance political correctness and wokeness and to quell racial tensions, he was somehow forced to forgive this kid or something. I mean, just crazy stuff. Jason Whitlock, I thought, had a good take on this. He said, if you believe your son is sitting with Jesus and that biblical obedience requires you to deny yourself, then you can understand Jeff Metcalf's effort at grace and mercy, the effort to shame and smear Austin Metcalfe's dad is despicable. Totally agree. Whatever one thinks of Jeff Metcalf's reaction, everyone is going to form his own opinion. Some are going to say it was the perfect reaction, some are going to say it was a terrible reaction. And one can make all sorts of arguments. Whatever one thinks of that reaction, one simply does not criticize the grieving father of a murdered son the week the son was murdered. That used to be common sense. There is such a thing as decorum. Decorum is conservative. I'm not saying we need to be all little prissy fancy playing by the Marquess of Queensbury rules and politics. Certainly not. And if anyone thought that before 2016, Trump knocked that idea right off the table. But in our daily comportment, in the regular social relations that constitute most of our lives, we can have a little class, folks. You know, we can have a little decorum. Why is this coming out? What has changed? Obviously, social media, where everyone thinks not only that he is entitled to his own opinion, but that he is entitled to express it in any venue or any mode that he wishes at any time that he wishes. And that just isn't true. That's not how civilized societies behave anyway. Okay, yes. Does one have a private opinion over how would you react? First of all, you don't know how you would react if this horrible thing happened to you. But everyone has a private opinion. I would do this. I would do this differently. This is what's better. This is the problem with our. This is the guy just lost his son. You don't criticize him two days later. You don't. Good grief. Decorum. We've lost a lot of that. And it's really because of social media, because everyone's a big, tough guy behind a keyboard on Twitter or whatever. But it's not even about toughness or gentility or anything like that. It's just how society is supposed to behave. Were you raised right? People Were you raised right? Did your parents raise you right? Well, act like it. Good grief. Now, speaking of crimes, an illegal alien has bragged about being an illegal alien on TV at the aforementioned left wing, hands off protest this weekend. My name is Graza Martinez Rosas. I am an immigrant. I am undocumented, unafraid, queer and unashamed. The way that the Trump administration could go from being an A administration to an A plus administration is if right at that very moment, Tom Homan just rushed the stage and tackled that woman and then arrested her, threw her blindfolded in the back of a military cargo plane and shipped her to El Salvador to be personally interrogated by Nayib Bukele. I'm joking. I'm a quarter joking. The temerity, the audacity to come into our country, to break our laws, enter into our country, violate some of the most basic laws in the country, and to get up on stage, on television, on our publicly funded television channel and say, yeah, I broke all your laws and you're not gonna do anything about it. Now I'm making even more demands. Gimme, gimme, gimme. This is why, that is why Americans are not upset about the tariffs. That is how Trump's approval rating went up when the tariffs were implemented and the market tanked. Because Americans increasingly understand that elites view this country as an economic zone, as a piggy bank, to be just shaken, jumble the whole thing up if we can squeeze out another penny. And social order, law, justice, that's all a joke, who cares? We're just gonna ring this thing for every dollar it's worth. And most Americans here are saying, nah, you know, we want a country, actually, we want social solidarity. A country is not only gdp. Not that these illegal aliens do all that much for gdp, they just allow the elites to pay slave wages. That's really what this comes down to. Trump needs to ramp up the deportations considerably. And I understand it's a difficult thing to do. And they're working on it. They're first going after the face tattooed gangsters. But if you have a country where that lady feels empowered to get up there and say, I'm breaking all your laws, hey, come and get me, you're not gonna do it, then we have a ridiculous looking country. And what's the argument? What's the argument to tolerate that? The best argument the Democrats are making right now, the best argument is that these illegal aliens need to be imported into the country so that they can work for very, very low wages, that Americans won't work for Americans won't do their jobs because Americans won't work for such a low wage. So hold on. Your liberal, bleeding heart, kumbaya humanitarian argument for mass migration is that we need to oppress the poor. No, Americans, they have too much dignity. They're accustomed to too good a lifestyle and too many rights. So we can't pay them the slave wages that we can pay the Guatemalan peasants. That's your argument? Oppression of the poor is one of the four sins that cries out to heaven for vengeance. And the Democrats who are always prattling on about how much they care about the poor, their explicit argument for mass migration is we need to oppress the poor, and the American poor won't let us do it. So we gotta import the Venezuelan poor. Bad look, bad look, guys. But it does help you to understand how we can have the worst days of the stock market since 1987. Okay? We can have what could be the beginning of a global financial collapse, and people will continue to support Trump, will actually support him all the more so. That is how toxic the liberals in this country and elsewhere have made their brand and their ideology. Today is Music Monday. The rest of the show continues now. You do not want to miss it. Become a member. Use code knowlesknowles at checkout for two months free on all annual plans. Bo.