The world now knows that it has to take President Trump seriously. However, the deranged media is still lost. Trump has solid accomplishments heading toward his 100th day in office, but he needs to tighten his message and get Congress to enshrine some of his policies. Kelly Sadler, the commentary editor for The Washington Times who was a special assistant to President Donald Trump in his first administration joins co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon to discuss Trump, his accomplishments, the media, and who among his top aides are most effective and likely to last. 

00:00 World Takes Trump Seriously 

04:10 Trumps Trade and Comms Strategy 

08:22 Trump Will Always Have Some Chaos 

11:05 Wall Street Journal Soft on China

15:50 Media Even More Trump Deranged?

25:00 Trump May Be Best Media President 

32:00 Naughty and Nice in Trump’s Cabinet

40:00 Who Can Push Back on Trump

Trump Shifts Trade and America's Future (guest Mark DiPlacido)
While the establishment goes nuts, President Trump's decision on tariffs marks the most fundamental turning point in decades--one that promises to set American on the path of long-term revival. So many "experts" have no idea what is going on and what it means. Former Trump administration trade official Mark DiPlacido of American Compass joins co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon to explain why Trump made his decision and what means for the economy and national power, including which sectors will prosper.

00:00 America Wakes Up on Trade

02:00 Trump and the Core of the Issue 

07:00 Americans Losing New Foreign Asset Division

09:50 Chinese Acquiring Assets 

10:20 Domestic Freight Set to Pick Up

14:20 Middle Class Wages

17:40 Dems and Some Republicans Deranged 

24:25 Woke Dems Divorcing Working Class

33:50 Failures of Past Trade Deals

38:10 China Doesn’t Use Tariffs to Screw USA

40:05 “Laces” and Transshipping to Avoid Tariffs 

Japan will fight, but Taiwan must up its game as U.S.-Asia policy changes dramatically. DOGE, Ukraine, and border security have dominated the early frenetic days of the second Trump administriaton. But behind the headlines looms major change in how the USA handles China and the future of Asia and the Pacifc. Trump has held summits with the leaders of Japan and India. China won’t fight conventionally; it will craft a new hybrid war. How hard Taiwan will fight in a China war remains unclear, but Steve Yates, Mark Simon and Chrisitan Whiton argue a changed Japan will fight. Is Trump’s imposition of 20% tariffs on China a warmup to delinkage or prelude to a deal. What does Elbridge Colby’s confirmation hearing to be under secretary of Defense for policy tell us about Trump policy? What can Taiwan do to curtain its growing estrangement from the United States?

00:00 Asia Policy

03:24 Early Trump Moves

07:45 Criticism of Taiwan Warranted

13:40 China Bad at Conventional War 

16:36 Taiwan Can Be Less Bad 

20:05 Taiwan vs MAGA 

24:22 Transvestites Don’t Scare Beijing

35:26 China Uses Race

43:36 Removing China from Panama

Trump took more than a year to raise tariffs in his first term, but slapped China with higher levies just two weeks into Trump II and promised much more. Are we at the beginning of a global trade war or just seeing a more assertive United States? Does Trump want to use tariffs just to extract concessions on matters like immigration, drug cartels, and defense spending? Or does he want to use them to partially supplant the income tax with tariff revenue and eliminate trade deficits? Which countries will pay the most? Co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon discuss these matters with C.J. Mahoney, a deputy U.S. Trade Representative in Trump's first term.

Trump triumphs early in his second term, but decisions on TikTok raise questions. Former Justice Department official and leading legal mind John Yoo outlines the tremendous strides Trump is taking to restore national security and the rule of law, but also pitfalls that may diminish his successes. Topics include TikTok, birthright citizenship, impoundment, presidential power, and whether peace with France was unwise.

Trump’s fills out his team strongly with some controversial choices. Will the Senate confirm them and how will they perform? Trump’s threatened tariffs already working magic plus what we know about his negotiating style. Were the Bobs from “Office Space” prototypes for Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)? Will DOGE succeed? Plus: how the media makes up sources and whether they have learned anything from Trump’s election. Co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon interview Jeff Berkowitz, CEO of Delve and veteran of multiple successful presidential campaigns. 

Timestamps

00:00 Trump transition strong

05:40 Trump’s new team 

10:00 Will the Senate confirm?

15:11 Trump tariffs as negotiating strategy

20:00 Will Elon and Vivek succeed?

26:00 Media's fake news sources

38:10 Left scheming to thwart Trump

40:53 Rubio and running national security

47:20 Disassembling bureaucracies

52:32 Milton (“Office Space”) in the basement

Can Trump change the media? On this episode of Domino Theory, Neil Patel, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tucker Carlson Network and the Co-Founder and Publisher of the Daily Caller speaks with co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon. Topics include the runaway success of the Tucker Carlson Network, whether Trump will dump the hostile White House Correspondents Association and obsolete daily briefing, the impact of big tech censorship on the Daily Caller, the future of media bigs, Elon Musk’s media innovations, and plans for the Tucker Carlson Network. 

On this episode of Domino Theory, co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon speak with Elliott Abrams about human rights in a notional Trump II administration. Abrams was as senior official in the Trump, Bush, and Reagan administrations. How did human rights become a woke progressive crusade, including against our allies, and how can a potentially reelected Trump and his top people bring it back to being a tool of unapologetic national power? We also throw around ideas for negotiating with governments like those of China and Russia, which is necessary, while still pressing human rights. BONUS: How the KGB got the attention of Tehran and its hostage-taking puppets in Lebanon. 

00:00 How human rights went woke

04:00 Where to start de-Carterizing

07:45 Failure of Arab Spring

09:42 Egypt and Saudi governments are legitimate

15:30 High-information electorate’s impact

19:45 Talk to dictators, but raise human rights 

23:55 Americans have gotten wise to Chicoms

29:00 Do democracy orgs still work?

35:50 Why do we allow Iran to threaten assassination?

40:10 Kicking kids of Chinese and Iranian elite out of US schools

44:20 How the KGB dealt with Iranian hostage-takers

We're joined by Garrett Exner from the Hudson Institute, previously a staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz, on this episode of Domino Theory with Christian Whiton and Mark Simon. Topics include Kamala Harris's deteriorating campaign and attempt to turn back the clock to appeasing China. 00:00 State of the presidential race01:40 Dolly steps up to help neglected hurricane victims04:40 What Kamala thinks about China and Taiwan 11:13 Who is telling Kamala what to say15:10 Differences between Trump and Kamala in Asia 17:00 Japan and other allies looking to USA20:15 Will whining Korea actually help the USA in war24:58 Taiwan "arts and crafts club" has no connection to MAGA30:33 China probably not ready for war34:40 Filipinos getting pissed at Chico's43:00 Who will win Congress and can Trump do better on personnel46:30 Kamala can't even do friendly media and coherent policy 

On Domino Theory, Ned Ryun discusses the state of the 2024 presidential election, including turnout efforts and recent Trump advances in swing states, with co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon. Ned also discussed his new book: "American Leviathan: The Birth of the Administrative State and Progressive Authoritarianism."

00:00 Monologue - Trump victory coming into view

06:00 Dems and the unproductive part of the economy

12:18 Voters wising up to unelected bureaucrats 

15:10 Whether media can be improved 

23:00 Ugly history of progressivism 

28:22 Trump got personnel wrong

34:10 Supreme Court opening to help cut administrative sate 

40:54 Innovation at at the state level

43:45 The swamp and conformity 

45:20 Comedians beating journalists

49:10 American Majority and trends that are helping Trump