This episode of Viewpoint This Sunday detonates two political flashbangs back-to-back: the Supreme Court torpedoing Trump’s global tariffs—and a looming U.S.–Israel strike on Iran that could reshape the Middle East overnight. Host Malcolm Out Loud brings the heat with a rapid-fire, no-filter discussion featuring economic strategist Christian Briggs, as they unpack what the SCOTUS decision really means—and why the fallout could hit the economy, the midterms, and Trump’s entire trade strategy at once.

The core question driving the first half: Was this a “ruling” or just an “opinion”—and who actually has the power to stop the president? Engel goes straight to the Constitution, arguing tariffs are fundamentally taxes and that Congress—not the president—holds the power to impose them. He warns that using emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn’t authorize taxation, and he frames the Court’s decision as a necessary check on executive overreach—regardless of whether tariffs are good policy. Briggs largely agrees on constitutionality, even while insisting Trump’s intent was to restore a level playing field and defend American manufacturing.

Then the conversation gets explosive: refunds. If the tariffs were unconstitutional, Engel argues the government may have effectively “taken” massive sums—raising the question of whether importers (and ultimately consumers) are owed billions back, even though costs may have already been passed down the chain. That’s when the debate turns political: does this ruling help Republicans by easing cost pressure before midterms—or does it hurt them because the tariffs already squeezed younger and lower-income Americans? Briggs argues the damage is real, pointing to GDP pressure, shrinking discretionary income, and price spikes that hit working families hardest.

But the biggest moment isn’t even about tariffs—it’s about the terrifying truth underneath the argument: America’s system is broken. The hosts openly wrestle with a brutal reality—Congress is dysfunctional, the public doesn’t understand constitutional mechanics, and the country now treats SCOTUS like a final kingmaker even though the Court has no enforcement arm. Engel warns that if Americans surrender the “republic” mindset and treat nine justices as rulers, the nation drifts toward oligarchy. Briggs adds that executive power has expanded for decades across administrations, and now Trump is being forced to navigate a system where courts, Congress, and public perception collide.

And just when you think it’s over—Malcolm tees up the next crisis: Iran. Experts warn a strike looks imminent, and that negotiating with Tehran may be equivalent to negotiating with fanatics.

If you want one episode that captures the constitutional collision, economic fallout, and geopolitical fuse all at once—this is it.

President Trump just signaled a major escalation: raising global tariffs from 10% to 15%—right after the Supreme Court moved to strike down his use of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Critics called it a defeat. Trump called the ruling “ridiculous.” And in this fast-moving, high-stakes interview, economist Christian Briggsbreaks down what’s really happening behind the headlines—and why the market may have just revealed the real story.

Briggs explains that the Supreme Court’s decision isn’t necessarily an anti-tariff ruling—it’s a constitutional boundary marker. In other words: it’s not “no tariffs,” it’s “not that way.” He argues the Court is trying to preserve constitutional order by forcing tariff authority back toward Congress or tighter legal frameworks, while still leaving enough room for Trump to pivot immediately. That pivot, Briggs predicts, is coming fast—potentially within days—as Trump and his legal team roll out Plan B, designed to keep tariffs alive through a new method that fits within the Court’s limits.

Then Briggs gets into the economic impact—and this is where the interview gets real. He confirms tariffs have already driven measurable manufacturing behavior: international producers are shifting or expanding operations in the U.S. to avoid the tariff wall, while domestic manufacturing becomes more competitive. Jobs are beginning to return, and the economic “gravity” of supply chains is moving back toward America.

But Briggs doesn’t ignore the downside: consumers have already absorbed an estimated $150 billion in added costs from tariffs. The key question becomes: does short-term pain outweigh long-term gain? Briggs’ answer is blunt—tariffs can sting, especially for the bottom half of earners, but he argues the real payoff comes when wages rise through high-value manufacturing jobs, turning short-term cost pressure into long-term prosperity. His forecast: if reshoring accelerates, the U.S. could see 4–5% GDP growth in 2027 driven by industrial expansion.

The most surprising moment? Investors appeared to like the ruling. Markets bumped upward after the decision because traders interpreted it as clarity—not collapse. In Briggs’ view, investors saw a scenario where tariffs continue, but with tighter legal guardrails, less uncertainty, and a clearer framework.

Finally, Briggs addresses the political question: does this weaken Trump on the world stage? His answer: not even close.He argues Trump treats setbacks like business obstacles—simply one route that doesn’t work, before finding the route that does. And that mindset, he says, makes Trump look stronger—not weaker—heading into the next round of negotiations.

If you want the clearest breakdown of what this ruling means, what Trump’s next move likely is, and why markets reacted the way they did—this is the episode to watch.

Today’s episode breaks down Christian Briggs' Part Four of his policy paper, "China's Strategic Assault on Dollar Hegemony Through Banking Infrastructure, Critical Mineral Dominance, and the Architecture of De-Dollarization - Part 4". Christian pulls back the curtain on what may be the biggest monetary shift since 1974—and it’s happening right now. Forget headlines about tariffs and trade deals. This episode argues Washington is quietly constructing a “Mineral-Dollar” system designed to defend the U.S. dollar against BRICS, yuan oil trades, and China’s gold accumulation strategy.

The thesis is explosive: the dollar isn’t being replaced—it’s being fortified. If the petrodollar weakens, America wants a second anchor already in place. That second pillar? Critical minerals. Rare earths. Lithium. Silver. Platinum. Cobalt. And eventually—gold.

Through Project Vault, Section 232 tariff authority, and the launch of the Forge mineral trade bloc, the U.S. is building a multilateral pricing regime that could lock 30–50 nations into dollar-denominated mineral trade. Instead of oil forcing global dollar demand, it becomes batteries, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and defense metals doing the job. The strategy mirrors Nixon and Kissinger’s 1974 petrodollar architecture—but adapted for the Silicon Age.

And then comes the bombshell: gold’s exclusion from the 2025 critical minerals list wasn’t a mistake. It was sequencing. Gold doesn’t meet the technical “supply disruption” criteria—but it has already been quietly folded into executive orders expanding the definition of strategic minerals. If gold is formally added, it opens the door to government-set reference pricing and—most controversially—revaluing Fort Knox’s 8,133 tons of gold from $42.22 per ounce to market value.

That move would instantly unlock over $1 trillion in unrealized federal assets.

The episode outlines a five-phase roadmap: lock in the mineral bloc, enforce tariff-backed price floors, expand processing capacity, integrate gold into the framework, and complete the mineral-dollar nexus by 2030. It also warns of accelerants that could compress the timeline—Chinese export embargoes, BRICS gold-backed settlement announcements, or a dollar confidence crisis.

China won’t sit idle. The podcast details how Beijing could respond with rare earth embargoes, yuan-denominated mineral trade, or accelerating gold purchases. But here’s the twist: if the West aggregates its reserves, it may still control more gold—and more infrastructure—than China.

The final message is clear: this isn’t just trade policy. It’s monetary warfare. The mineral dollar system is either America’s next 50-year foundation—or the battlefield where the next financial order is decided.

The only question left: who moves first?

Today’s episode breaks down Christian Briggs' Part One of his policy paper, "China's Strategic Assault on Dollar Hegemony Through Banking Infrastructure, Critical Mineral Dominance, and the Architecture of De-Dollarization - Part 3". We turn the volume up to maximum—and it’s not just about de-dollarization anymore. This episode argues the next global order won’t be decided by speeches or sanctions, but by minerals, supply chains, and quantum supremacy. Whoever controls the metals that power AI, weapons systems, and next-generation computing will control the future—economically, militarily, and technologically.

The episode opens with Venezuela—the “quiet” intervention that instantly rewired the chessboard. China poured $60B+ into Venezuela for gold, resources, and leverage in the Western Hemisphere… but the core lesson is brutal: money doesn’t buy security. A U.S. military operation executed in hours erased two decades of Chinese positioning overnight. That shockwave, the host argues, changes every Latin American calculation going forward: partnering with Beijing doesn’t protect you when U.S. core interests are engaged.

From there, the focus shifts to the true war: strategic commodity control. Coltan and tantalum—used in capacitors that sit inside everything from smartphones to fighter jets—are framed as the hidden backbone of modern defense. If the U.S. controls key coltan flows and builds domestic processing, dependency on Chinese bottlenecks can be reduced over a 5–10 year horizon. But time is the enemy.

The episode then widens the lens: China’s commodity strategy isn’t only minerals—it’s food. With acquisitions like Syngenta and Smithfield, plus global trading expansion through COFCO, China is building leverage across seeds, pork, soybeans, palm oil, sugar, shipping lanes, and ports. The warning is clear: food leverage can be as decisive as energy or rare earths.

Then comes the terrifying scenario planning: if China triggers a full rare-earth cutoff, the episode claims U.S. defense production faces a countdown—six to eighteen months depending on the system. F-35 production, precision munitions, shipbuilding, electronics, clean energy manufacturing—everything cascades. The same applies to industrial production: one cutoff ripples through every sector because supply chains are interconnected and brittle.

The episode also highlights China’s explosive rise in autos—surpassing Japan as the world’s largest vehicle seller—built on EV dominance and vertically integrated battery supply chains. Tariffs may slow the invasion, but they don’t close the competitiveness gap.

Finally, the podcast unveils “legal warfare”: WTO pressure campaigns, anti-suit injunctions, arbitration traps, retaliation lists, and compliance choke points designed to box America in while China stays free. And it ends with the biggest twist of all: Washington may be rebuilding dollar dominance not through oil—but through a new Mineral-Dollar system—Project Vault, mineral price floors, trade blocks, and an NSC-level command structure treating supply chains like a theater of war.

Today’s episode breaks down Christian Briggs' Part Two of his policy paper, "China's Strategic Assault on Dollar Hegemony Through Banking Infrastructure, Critical Mineral Dominance, and the Architecture of De-Dollarization". What we’re witnessing isn’t just economic competition—it’s a coordinated financial war against the United States. According to the breakdown, China, Russia, and the expanding BRICS alliance are executing a decades-long strategy to dismantle dollar dominance and build a parallel global financial system that cuts America out entirely.

The podcast argues that the weaponization of sanctions—especially after the Russia-Ukraine conflict—was the turning point. When the U.S. froze foreign reserves, it sent a signal to the world: your money isn’t safe in dollars. Since then, nations have been racing to protect themselves by abandoning U.S.-controlled systems like SWIFT and moving toward alternative settlement rails.

At the center of this shift? China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and the rapid growth of BRICS as a financial counterweight to the West. Countries that once depended on dollar settlements are now trading in yuan, rubles, and rupees. The episode warns that this isn’t symbolic diplomacy—it’s structural separation.

Then comes the gold bombshell.

Central banks around the world are hoarding gold at record levels. Why? Because gold doesn’t freeze. It doesn’t get sanctioned. It doesn’t require U.S. permission. The host frames this as the clearest signal yet that global leaders are hedging against a weakening dollar.

But it gets even bigger.

The BRICS bloc is reportedly developing a gold-backed settlement mechanism—sometimes referred to as the “Unit”—designed to operate completely outside the dollar system. Combine that with multilateral digital currency platforms like mBridge, and you have the skeleton of an entirely new monetary architecture forming in real time.

Meanwhile, the episode raises alarming questions about U.S. regulatory policy. Why are Chinese banks allegedly linked to financial misconduct still operating under U.S. licenses? Why is Basel III reshaping Western banking rules while Eastern nations aggressively accumulate hard assets?

The conclusion is stark: this isn’t just about trade. It’s about power.

If the dollar loses its reserve dominance, America’s geopolitical leverage shrinks overnight. The podcast leaves listeners with a sobering message—the global financial order is shifting, and whether by strategy or complacency, the United States may already be late to the fight.

Today’s episode breaks down Christian Briggs' Part One of his policy paper, arguing that China is running a two-front campaign aimed at weakening U.S. power: a global banking machine and a chokehold on critical minerals.lays out a blunt warning: China is executing a coordinated, two-pronged operation to collapse American leverage—without firing a shot. The first weapon is finance. The second is resources. And both are aimed straight at dollar dominance, U.S. sovereignty, and national security.

Part One of the policy paper argues that Chinese state-controlled mega-banks—sitting on $23+ trillion in assets—aren’t “banks” in the Western sense. They’re arms of the CCP, deployed across 40+ countries to bankroll Belt & Road expansion, lock nations into Beijing-controlled debt relationships, and build the plumbing for a post-dollar world through alternative settlement systems. The podcast stresses that China’s banking reach in Latin America and the Caribbean, plus infrastructure positioning near the Panama Canal, isn’t business—it’s strategic encirclement of the Western Hemisphere.

Then comes the chokehold: critical minerals. The episode claims China has monopolized the materials that power everything America needs to function—defense systems, AI hardware, clean energy, advanced manufacturing—with dominance that reaches near-total control in rare-earth processing and permanent magnets. Export controls aren’t “trade policy.” They’re resource warfare, a warning shot that says: We control the inputs. You don’t.

The podcast doesn’t mince words about how we got here: while China declared minerals strategic, restricted foreign involvement, and built industrial capacity, the U.S. allegedly regulated itself into dependence—outsourcing the supply chain to an adversary.

Now Washington is scrambling. The paper frames late-2025/early-2026 moves as a reboot of the 1974 petrodollar playbook—but updated into a “mineral dollar” strategy: build a minerals security bloc (a “minerals NATO”), force alignment, and use commodity control to prop up the dollar as the old system weakens. Even gold’s absence from the critical list is portrayed as intentional sequencing, not an oversight.

Bottom line: China’s checkmate is already on the board. The only question is whether America wakes up before the embargoes—and the dollar shock—hit.

In this high-energy segment, economist and CEO of Hard Asset Management's Christian Briggs joins The Real Story to break down the latest inflation data—and why it’s a massive vindication of President Trump’s economic policies. With inflation falling to 2.4%, core CPI hitting its lowest level since March 2021, and Wall Street experts completely missing the mark, Briggs explains why this isn’t luck—it’s policy. He details how falling energy prices, stabilizing housing costs, private-sector job growth, and a sharp reduction in government payrolls are all working together to reset the economic trajectory. Briggs also looks ahead to 2026, predicting a “multi-term legacy” effect from Trump’s tax and trade policies, including stronger GDP growth, expanded small business momentum, and larger tax refunds that could further stimulate the economy. If you want clear, unapologetic analysis of what these numbers actually mean—and where the U.S. economy could be headed next—Christian Briggs delivers it with precision and confidence.

In part 2 of this explosive episode of On the Record, Christian Briggs takes listeners deep into what he calls the true battle defining the next era of global power: the race for quantum computing supremacy. Forget headlines that focus only on elections, inflation, or tariffs—Briggs argues the real war is unfolding in laboratories, supply chains, and strategic mineral reserves. Whoever wins quantum first, he warns, won’t just lead in technology—they’ll control the future of finance, intelligence, and military dominance.

Briggs breaks down “quantum” in plain terms: computing power so fast it rewrites the rules of encryption, codebreaking, and strategic defense. He lays out why quantum capability could render today’s cybersecurity obsolete—turning encrypted communications into readable data, collapsing the advantage of traditional supercomputing, and supercharging AI into a next-generation weapon system. But here’s the twist: Briggs insists quantum isn’t purely a software story. It’s a materials story—and the U.S. is dangerously behind.

This episode connects the dots between rare earth control, precious metals, and national survival. Briggs argues that gold, silver, and the platinum group metals aren’t just “investments”—they’re the physical backbone of the future economy: AI chips, defense electronics, EV infrastructure, solar scaling, nuclear energy buildout, and the hardware that supports quantum itself. He explains why silver’s industrial demand is exploding, why platinum and palladium are pivotal for next-generation energy, and why gold still matters far beyond jewelry—as a key component in advanced computing reliability and a backstop for emerging digital monetary systems.

Briggs also highlights the geopolitical side: supply chains, processing dominance, export licensing, and the fragility of Western reliance on foreign refining capacity. He frames U.S. moves like strategic reserves and resource repositioning as part of a broader counteroffensive to prevent a scenario where America is forced into economic submission by adversaries controlling the inputs of modern civilization.

Whether you’re an investor, a policy junkie, or just trying to understand what’s coming next, this episode is a hard-hitting wake-up call: the future isn’t just digital—it’s physical. And if the U.S. doesn’t secure the metals that power tomorrow, Briggs warns the nation risks losing far more than markets—it risks losing sovereignty.

If you want, I can also generate 3 thumbnail text options (4–6 words) and a short YouTube description that matches your channel voice.

In part 1 of this explosive episode of On the Record, Christian Briggs takes listeners deep into what he calls the true battle defining the next era of global power: the race for quantum computing supremacy. Forget headlines that focus only on elections, inflation, or tariffs—Briggs argues the real war is unfolding in laboratories, supply chains, and strategic mineral reserves. Whoever wins quantum first, he warns, won’t just lead in technology—they’ll control the future of finance, intelligence, and military dominance.

Briggs breaks down “quantum” in plain terms: computing power so fast it rewrites the rules of encryption, codebreaking, and strategic defense. He lays out why quantum capability could render today’s cybersecurity obsolete—turning encrypted communications into readable data, collapsing the advantage of traditional supercomputing, and supercharging AI into a next-generation weapon system. But here’s the twist: Briggs insists quantum isn’t purely a software story. It’s a materials story—and the U.S. is dangerously behind.

This episode connects the dots between rare earth control, precious metals, and national survival. Briggs argues that gold, silver, and the platinum group metals aren’t just “investments”—they’re the physical backbone of the future economy: AI chips, defense electronics, EV infrastructure, solar scaling, nuclear energy buildout, and the hardware that supports quantum itself. He explains why silver’s industrial demand is exploding, why platinum and palladium are pivotal for next-generation energy, and why gold still matters far beyond jewelry—as a key component in advanced computing reliability and a backstop for emerging digital monetary systems.

Briggs also highlights the geopolitical side: supply chains, processing dominance, export licensing, and the fragility of Western reliance on foreign refining capacity. He frames U.S. moves like strategic reserves and resource repositioning as part of a broader counteroffensive to prevent a scenario where America is forced into economic submission by adversaries controlling the inputs of modern civilization.

Whether you’re an investor, a policy junkie, or just trying to understand what’s coming next, this episode is a hard-hitting wake-up call: the future isn’t just digital—it’s physical. And if the U.S. doesn’t secure the metals that power tomorrow, Briggs warns the nation risks losing far more than markets—it risks losing sovereignty.

If you want, I can also generate 3 thumbnail text options (4–6 words) and a short YouTube description that matches your channel voice.

In this explosive episode of On the Record, Christian Briggs takes listeners deep into what he calls the truebattle defining the next era of global power: the race for quantum computing supremacy. Forget headlines that focus only on elections, inflation, or tariffs—Briggs argues the real war is unfolding in laboratories, supply chains, and strategic mineral reserves. Whoever wins quantum first, he warns, won’t just lead in technology—they’ll control the future of finance, intelligence, and military dominance.

Briggs breaks down “quantum” in plain terms: computing power so fast it rewrites the rules of encryption, codebreaking, and strategic defense. He lays out why quantum capability could render today’s cybersecurity obsolete—turning encrypted communications into readable data, collapsing the advantage of traditional supercomputing, and supercharging AI into a next-generation weapon system. But here’s the twist: Briggs insists quantum isn’t purely a software story. It’s a materials story—and the U.S. is dangerously behind.

This episode connects the dots between rare earth control, precious metals, and national survival. Briggs argues that gold, silver, and the platinum group metals aren’t just “investments”—they’re the physical backbone of the future economy: AI chips, defense electronics, EV infrastructure, solar scaling, nuclear energy buildout, and the hardware that supports quantum itself. He explains why silver’s industrial demand is exploding, why platinum and palladium are pivotal for next-generation energy, and why gold still matters far beyond jewelry—as a key component in advanced computing reliability and a backstop for emerging digital monetary systems.

Briggs also highlights the geopolitical side: supply chains, processing dominance, export licensing, and the fragility of Western reliance on foreign refining capacity. He frames U.S. moves like strategic reserves and resource repositioning as part of a broader counteroffensive to prevent a scenario where America is forced into economic submission by adversaries controlling the inputs of modern civilization.

Whether you’re an investor, a policy junkie, or just trying to understand what’s coming next, this episode is a hard-hitting wake-up call: the future isn’t just digital—it’s physical. And if the U.S. doesn’t secure the metals that power tomorrow, Briggs warns the nation risks losing far more than markets—it risks losing sovereignty.