The "experts" are still trying to rewrite the narrative on the government response to COVID, and one of President Trump's picks supports the questionable PRO Act. Meanwhile, VP Vance had strong words for the Orwellian language controls in Germany, and DOGE continues to uncover corrupt and wasteful government spending.

The Heartland Institute's Linnea Lueken, Jim Lakely, and Chris Talgo will discuss all of this and more on this episode of the In The Tank podcast.

Carefully constructed narratives and funding related to public health are being re-evaluated by this new administration, bringing sunlight to disinfect a contaminated NIH. Critics of President Trump and DOGE claim that Trump's actions represent a Constitutional crisis, Politico finally admits that Democrats were wrong to claim the economy was great under Biden, and RFK's confirmation process continues amid significant pushback.

The Heartland Institute’s Linnea Lueken, Jim Lakely, and special guest Bonner Cohen, senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, will cover all of this and more on this episode of the In The Tank podcast.

Join us LIVE at 1 p.m. ET and enjoy the live chat!

The Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the status quo continue, causing the right people to worry about their next paychecks. Nations around the world are coming to the negotiation table on subjects no one thought they would, while some very unstable individuals are attempting to incite violence in retaliation against Trump's efforts.

The Heartland Institute’s Linnea Lueken, Jim Lakely, and H. Sterling Burnett dig into these subjects, with a special focus on Elon Musk's DOGE and how a simple funding freeze and a small audit are making the entire deep state panic—while awakening average Americans to the true extent of wasteful government spending through groups like USAID. 

It’s an understatement to say that Donald Trump hit the ground running to start his interrupted second term. The speed and precision with which he has canceled nearly every achievement of the Biden nothing this country has ever seen before. It is simply breathtaking, and happening at such a frenetic pace it is difficult to keep up.

The Heartland Institute’s Linnea Lueken, Jim Lakely, and Chris Talgo will do their best, though. Trump has issued hundreds of executive orders on all sorts of policy areas. On immigration, he closed the border, sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across America to round up and deport criminal illegal aliens, and even suggested he’ll use Gitmo to house them until flights back to their country of origin can be arranged. And he also declared that the federal government will no longer put up with “sanctuary” cities and states harboring illegals.

Trump froze all federal grants to assess whether they are worth continuing or canceling because they are wasteful or harmful to America. He demanded the federal workforce actually show up in the office again, or be fired or resign with severance. He’s frozen all foreign aid to determine its wisdom. Trump has allowed America’s energy sector to go full ahead again, and even fired the alarmist scientific advisory board at the EPA. What have we left out? Who can keep up? We will talk about what is nothing less than the most-transformative first 10 days a president has had in American history.

The Heartland Institute’s Donald Kendal, Jim Lakely, and Chris Talgo present episode 480 of the In The Tank Podcast. At the beginning of his inaugural address, President Donald Trump declared "The golden age of America begins right now." And within hours of this statement, Donald Trump began signing a series of executive orders, taking the first steps toward fulfilling this promise. On this week's episode, the ITT crew is taking a look at these executive orders and the promises made by Trump to help determine if we are back on track to once again achieve greatness in the United States of America.

SHOW NOTES:

TRUMP'S INAUGURATION 

White House - The Inaugural Address

https://www.whitehouse.gov/remarks/2025/01/the-inaugural-address/

DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS

NYT - Trump's Executive Orders: Reversing Biden's Policies and Attacking the 'Deep State'

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/us/politics/trump-executive-orders-list.html

NYT - Trump Signs Orders to Promote Fossil Fuels and End Climate Policies

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/climate/trump-emergency-oil-gas.html

A TIME OF UNITY OR DIVISION?

NBC News - Trump says his inaugural will be about unity. It might be a tough sell
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-inaugural-will-unity-going-tough-sell-rcna183484

PROJECT STARGATE

The Federalist - Trump Announces $500B AI Infrastructure Plan That Could Help Cure Cancer

https://thefederalist.com/2025/01/22/trump-announces-500b-ai-infrastructure-plan-that-could-help-cure-cancer/

OpenAI - Announcing The Stargate Project

https://openai.com/index/announcing-the-stargate-project/

The Heartland Institute’s Linnea Lueken and Jim Lakely are joined by writer and commentator Jon Gabriel​ for episode 479 of the In The Tank Podcast.

With the certification of Trump’s election victory, the ousting of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada, and other progressive defeats around the world in recent years, could this spell the beginning of the end for global progressives? Are big companies and big tech finally shifting away from a focus on DEI and ESG, and will it stick? The team talks about all of this and more.

Jon Gabriel (@exjon on X) is the author of Sink the Rising Sun, his first novel.

The Heartland Institute’s Donald Kendal, Jim Lakely, and Chris Talgo present episode 477 of the In The Tank Podcast. 2024 was an incredibly important year, filled to the brim with massive stories and events. The ITT crew recaps the year, giving their takes on what was the biggest news of the past 12 months. Also, the ITT crew talks about Heartland's biggest impactful moments of 2024. And last, they will make some bold predictions for what is in store for 2025.

The Heartland Institute’s Donald Kendal, Jim Lakely, Justin Haskins, and Chris Talgo present episode 476 of the In The Tank Podcast. As Donald Trump prepares to take office in 2025, President Joe Biden is riding out his last days in the Oval Office. But instead of just focusing on the orderly transfer of power, Biden seems like he may be trying to sabotage Trump's upcoming term before it can even start. Peculiar foreign policy decisions and increased spending that is contributing to increasing inflation rates is making us wonder if Biden is striving to make life under Trump as hard as possible. Also, the ITT crew talks about Biden's creepy misinformation programs and more.

Is Biden Trying to Sabotage Trump?

Fox News - Biden admin extends $10B Iran sanctions waiver 2 days after Trump election win
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-extends-10b-iran-sanctions-waiver-2-days-after-trump-election-win

Reuters - US Treasury transfers $20 billion in Ukraine loan funds to World Bank facility
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-treasury-disburses-20-billion-ukraine-loan-funds-world-bank-facility-2024-12-10/

AP News - Biden authorizes Ukraine to use US-supplied longer range missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia
https://apnews.com/article/biden-ukraine-long-range-weapons-russia-52d424158182de2044ecc8bfcf011f9c

Inflation is Up Again

CNBC - Annual inflation rate accelerates to 2.7% in November, as expected
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/11/cpi-inflation-november-2024-annual-inflation-rate-accelerates-to-2point7percent-in-november-as-expected.html

Forbes - Rise In November Consumer Inflation Is Not Going To Stop Fed Rate Cuts
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonschenker/2024/12/11/rise-in-november-consumer-inflation-is-not-going-to-stop-fed-rate-cuts/

Biden's Creepy Misinformation Programs

Open The Books - Taxpayer Funded Censorship: How Government is Using Your Tax Dollars to Silence Your Voice
https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/taxpayer-funded-censorship-how-government

Fox News - Biden spent millions on ‘misinformation’ research. The details are even more disturbing than you think
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/biden-white-house-spent-267-million-misinformation-research-details-even-more-disturbing

Zero Hedge - State Department Scrambles To Scuttle $100M Censorship Network Before Trump Takes Office
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/state-department-scrambles-scuttle-100m-censorship-network-trump-takes-office

The Heartland Institute’s Donald Kendal, Jim Lakely, and Chris Talgo present episode 475 of the In The Tank Podcast. There is a lot to talk about this week! Joe Biden pardoned Hunter, President-elect Trump continues to fill his cabinet, and a new analysis of the 2024 election shows that socialist candidates won a vast majority of their races. The ITT crew talks about these topics, the current state of socialism, and speculates whether the Democratic Party will lurch toward "democratic" socialism in the upcoming election cycles.

Hunter Biden Pardon
 
National Review - Judge on Hunter Biden Tax Case Slams President over Pardon, Says Selective-Prosecution Claim ‘Rewrites History’
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/judge-on-hunter-biden-tax-case-slams-president-over-pardon-says-selective-prosecution-claim-rewrites-history/

POLITICO - Biden White House Is Discussing Preemptive Pardons for Those in Trump’s Crosshairs
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/12/04/biden-white-house-pardons-00192610
 
NYT - Broad Pardon for Hunter Biden Troubles Experts
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/02/us/politics/hunter-biden-pardon-president.html
 
Washington Post - The extraordinary breadth of Hunter Biden's pardon
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/02/hunter-biden-presidential-pardon-comparisons/
 
 
Trump Cabinet Kash's In
 
The Federalist - Media Meltdowns Over Trump’s FBI Pick Prove Kash Patel Is The Perfect Man For The Job
https://thefederalist.com/2024/12/03/media-meltdowns-over-trumps-fbi-pick-prove-kash-patel-is-the-perfect-man-for-the-job/

AP News - Trump’s FBI pick has plans to reshape the bureau. This is what Kash Patel has said he wants to do
https://apnews.com/article/fbi-trump-patel-fisa-russia-2d215ded96ad8a08689b6f7f0b2d49ec

Socialism Watch 2024 Report

Heartland - PRESS RELEASE: Nearly Every Openly Socialist Candidate Won in 2024
https://heartland.org/opinion/press-release-nearly-every-openly-socialist-candidate-won-in-2024/

American Thinker - How did socialists perform in the 2024 election?
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/11/how_did_socialists_perform_in_the_2024_election.html

A Resurgence of "Democratic" Socialism?

The Hill - Cenk Uygur signals optimism after Trump win: MAGA ‘not my mortal enemy’
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5015727-cenk-uygur-donald-trump-optimism-2024-election/

NYT - Would Bernie Have Won?
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-faiz-shakir.html

The Heartland Institute’s Donald Kendal, Jim Lakely, and Chris Talgo present episode 474 of the In The Tank Podcast. As the dust of the election settles, President-elect Donald J. Trump is busy constructing his cabinet. Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Marco Rubio, and many others have been nominated by Trump to fill some of the most important positions in the upcoming administration. How is the ITT crew reacting to some of these picks? Also, Thanksgiving is next week. Will families unite over good food, or will arguments break out while we pass the mashed potatoes?

Legislative Conference

PFLN - Pro-Family Legislative Conference

https://profamily.com/conference/

Everything Has Changed

(video) Jon Jones Trump Dance

https://x.com/robbystarbuck/status/1858108282390343833

(video) Trump Dance montage

https://x.com/browneyegirl400/status/1858822652292395135

Trump's Cabinet: A Dream Team?

CBS News - See the list of Trump Cabinet picks and more White House appointments so far

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-might-be-in-donald-trump-cabinet/

The Federalist - Pete Hegseth Is The Perfect Candidate To Gut The Pentagon’s Bureaucratic Rot

https://thefederalist.com/2024/11/13/pete-hegseth-is-the-perfect-candidate-to-gut-the-pentagons-bureaucratic-rot/

Forbes - What We Know About Elon Musk’s ‘Department Of Government Efficiency’—As Musk Reveals Spending Targets

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/11/20/what-we-know-about-elon-musks-department-of-government-efficiency-as-musk-reveals-spending-targets/

The Federalist - John Bolton Asks Deep State To Deep-Six Trump Nominees Before They Fix Corrupt Intel Agencies

https://thefederalist.com/2024/11/14/john-bolton-asks-deep-state-to-deep-six-trump-nominees-before-they-fix-corrupt-intel-agencies/

Thanksgiving Conversations

HuffPost - My Husband And His Family Voted For Trump — So I'm Canceling Thanksgiving And Christmas

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-voter-family-marriage-holidays_n_67321c1ce4b0231a203b1b80

The Independent - Yale psychiatrist urges LGBTQ+ community to shun Trump-voting family members over the holidays

https://www.the-independent.com/tv/news/psychiatrist-amanda-calhoun-trump-msnbc-thanksgiving-b2644444.html

Fox News - 'Sounds like a cult:' Sociologist rips leftist calls to cut off Trump family members during the holidays

https://www.foxnews.com/media/sounds-like-cult-sociologist-rips-leftist-calls-cut-off-trump-family-members-during-holidays