July 28, 2025 • 12 mins
In this Briefing, Jon Decker discusses President Trump's media strategy, focusing on his ability to dominate news cycles. He delves into the implications of Trump's tariff policies, including a potential rebate check for taxpayers. Decker also covers legal ramifications surrounding criminal referrals related to former President Obama, the declining value of the dollar, and trade deal with the European Union. The White House Briefing Room with Jon Decker airs daily on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Monday, July
the twenty eighth. I'm John Decker. One of the goals
of President Trump in his first term was to make
news every day, to lead the newscasts every evening, to
be the top story in the newspaper every day, and
(00:25):
he largely succeeded at just doing that. There were exceptions,
and natural disasters often lead the news, but for the
most part, the President was very successful in his first
term leading the newscasts every day, and I think he's
also successful in his second term doing that as well.
(00:45):
One of the things that the President does often is
take questions from reporters, and he did that on Friday
before leaving for Scotland for this four day trip that
he's taking mostly a personal trip there some business that
he's doing there as well, and we'll get to that
in a moment. One of the things I really enjoy
(01:06):
is when I get to ask questions of the president
and his answers make news, and that was certainly the
case on Friday when I asked the President a number
of questions and his answers made a lot of news.
One question I asked the President had to do with
the President's tariff's policy. The President often talks about how
(01:30):
the United States, through the President's tariff's policy, is taking
in tens of billions of dollars in revenue. And it's
true that is one of the pluses of the President's
tariff's policy. And I wanted to ask the President, and
I did ask the President had he considered using all
(01:52):
of that tariff revenue for a rebate, a rebate of
sorts to the American taxpayer. I asked the President that
question as he was leaving the White House. Let's listen
to the question and the way that the President answered
that question.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
The Resident, all of that coming and ten for billions
of dollars, do you think there's the possibility of a
rebate to the American public in terms of all of
that money, we're thinking about that. Actually, we have so
much money coming in, we're thinking about a little rebate.
But the big thing we want to do is pay
down debt. But we're thinking about a rebate. That's a
(02:31):
very good made a lot of news. We're thinking about
a rebate because we have so much money coming in
from parif that tariff, that a little rebate for people
of a certain income level, it might be very.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Not That answer indeed made a lot of news if
you google Trump tariff freebate. Every outlet covered this story
because the President for the first time was indicating that
perhaps there would be for certain income levels, as he
said in that answer, a tariff rebate check that could
(03:06):
go out to taxpayers, and that certainly would get a
lot of buy in for individuals who are skeptical about
the president's tariff's policy. If they get a check in
the mail and it's l likely signed by Donald J. Trump,
maybe even has his picture on it, they may feel
differently about the President's tariff's policy. We'll just have to
(03:28):
wait and see. I can tell you that, in the
aftermath of the President indicating that he would be open
to this idea of a tariff rebate check going out
to taxpayers, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said he's going
to introduce legislation on that front in the very near future,
certainly when the Senate comes back from its August recess
(03:50):
in September. I also asked the President before he departed
the White House on Friday about something that has been
in the news over the court of the past week,
and that is the criminal referrals that have been sent
over to the Department of Justice by the Director of
National Intelligence, Tulci Gabbert. And one question that I've had
(04:13):
in my mind is how would this impact former President
Barack Obama? After all, in Trump versus the United States,
which is a Supreme Court case that was decided in
July of last year, the Supreme Court ruled in a
six to three decision that former presidents have immunity from
(04:33):
criminal prosecution for their official acts, but not for unofficial acts.
And the decision, while not granting absolute immunity, something the
President and his lawyers had been seeking at this a
Supreme court does establish a presumption of immunity for official actions.
And so with that in mind, I am also a lawyer,
(04:55):
I'm a member of the Supreme Court. Bar I wanted
to ask the President had he thought about that Supreme
Court decision and how it impacts his predecessor, former President
Barack Obama. Let's listen to that question and the answer
that the President gave when I asked the President that question,
how do you think that.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
The Supreme Court ruling.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
That benefited you on presidential immunity would apply to former
President Barack Obama and what you're accusing him of doing.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
It probably helped him a lot. Probably helped him a lot,
the immunity ruling. But it doesn't help the people around
him at all. But it probably helped him a lot.
He's he's done criminal acts, there's no question about him.
But he has immunity and it probably helped him around
(05:46):
O Big Obama ows to be big.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So it seems that as it relates to this immunity decision,
Barack Obama seems safe. But some of the other individuals
who would not be covered by that immunity to decision.
The President's National Security advisor, his CIA director, his former
vice president at the time, Joe Biden, will see what
(06:12):
happens as it relates to the DOJ and this task
force that they have established looking in to the criminal
referral that was sent over to the DOJ by Tulca Gabber.
That's something that will take likely months to figure out
if indeed there are any criminal charges brought against any
(06:32):
officials that worked in the Obama administration as it relates
to the Russia investigation. Lastly, I asked the President a
question that has been on my mind, because I have noticed,
I'm sure you've noticed that the value of the dollar
has declined substantially since the President's taken office. It's down
(06:55):
eleven percent, eleven percent against a variety of including the Euro.
And I asked the President prior to departing whether or
not he's concerned about that. The President begins his answer
by explaining why he believes that a weaker dollar may
(07:16):
be best for America, and then he asked me if
I understood that, And I told the President I did
understand that. I went to Penn just like he did.
I went to Wharton. And that's where the answer that
the President gives to my question picks up. Let's listen
to that right now.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
When we have a strong dollar, one thing happened. It
sounds good, but you don't do any tourism. You can't
sell practice, you can't sell trumps, you can't sell anything.
It is good for inflation, that's about it. And we
have no inflation. We wiped out inflation. But it's an
interesting question. So I will never say I like a
(07:57):
low currency. But you remember the battles I had with
the wand with China and with Japan, Japan being the end,
they always wanted a week currency. They're trying to get
a week currency now. Now it doesn't sound good, but
you make a hell of a lot more money with
a weeker dollar, not a week dollar, but a weeker
dollar than you do with a strong dollar. And the
(08:18):
first thing people that are going to notice it are
the manufacturers of drupts and various other things.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Now, the flip side to the President's argument in terms
of a week dollar versus a strong dollar, there are advantages,
of course to a strong dollar. The former Treasury Secretary
Bob Rubin used to say, a strong dollar is always
in America's interest, and there are some benefits of a
strong dollar consumer see lower prices on foreign products and services.
(08:49):
Lower prices on foreign products and services, as the President
pointed out, keeps inflation low. US consumers benefit anytime they
travel to foreign countries. So you get more value for
your dollar when you're going to Italy or Spain or
wherever it is that you're traveling if the dollar's strong.
(09:10):
And lastly, American investors can purchase foreign stocks and bonds
at lower prices. So those are some of the great
advantages of a strong dollar. But the President raises some
of the advantages that he sees of a weaker dollar,
and that's something obviously that we'll have to continue to
(09:30):
see whether the dollar continues to slide versus other currencies
around the world. So the President certainly made a lot
of news based upon those answers just to my questions
on Friday before leaving for Scotland, and while he's in Scotland,
he made more news. He made more news on Sunday,
and the reason being is because the President and the
(09:53):
European Union reached a trade deal. The President said that
after meeting with the European Commission President, the two sides
reached a deal that would set a baseline tariff of
fifteen percent for European goods, including automobiles, and he said
(10:14):
the EU has agreed as part of that deal to
buy seven hundred and fifty billion dollars of energy products
from the US and also invest an additional six hundred
billion dollars in the US. Now, this deal is very
consequential because the EU, which is a block of twenty
(10:36):
seven countries, represents America's largest trading partner. In fact, the
two sides, the US and the EU, they exchange more
than five billion dollars worth of goods and services every day.
And this deal certainly will come financial markets quite a
(10:57):
bit because it provides some certainty. Well, the financial markets
know what the trade tariff rate will be for the
EU fifteen percent. That's the same baseline tariff rate that
the US reached with Japan just last week. We know
about a nineteen percent trade tariff rate for the Philippines
(11:19):
and Indonesia, and we have that trade tariff deadline of
August the first, that's this coming Friday. We'll see if
any additional trade deals can be reached between the US
and other trading partners around the world. The President made
it a point of saying that this particular deal also
(11:41):
provides some benefits for the European Union and the US.
Both entities have agreed to zero for zero tariffs on
certain strategic products. We're talking about chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain
agriculture products, aircraft and their parts. So that is also
(12:01):
a good deal in terms of providing certainty for both
the United States and the European Union. The President has
another meeting that's taking place today Monday, and that's with
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The UK already has the
lowest tarriffs that have been agreed to. Ten percent is
(12:23):
that tariff rate. But the President is expected during his
meeting with Keir Starmer to iron out some final details
of that UK US agreement, So we'll certainly be paying
attention to that, and I will give you the latest
on that when we meet tomorrow. Thank you so much
(12:44):
for tuning in to this Monday's episode of the White
House Briefing Room with John Decker. I am John Decker.
Have a great day and we'll talk soon.
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Monday, July
the twenty eighth. I'm John Decker. One of the goals
of President Trump in his first term was to make
news every day, to lead the newscasts every evening, to
be the top story in the newspaper every day, and
(00:25):
he largely succeeded at just doing that. There were exceptions,
and natural disasters often lead the news, but for the
most part, the President was very successful in his first
term leading the newscasts every day, and I think he's
also successful in his second term doing that as well.
(00:45):
One of the things that the President does often is
take questions from reporters, and he did that on Friday
before leaving for Scotland for this four day trip that
he's taking mostly a personal trip there some business that
he's doing there as well, and we'll get to that
in a moment. One of the things I really enjoy
(01:06):
is when I get to ask questions of the president
and his answers make news, and that was certainly the
case on Friday when I asked the President a number
of questions and his answers made a lot of news.
One question I asked the President had to do with
the President's tariff's policy. The President often talks about how
(01:30):
the United States, through the President's tariff's policy, is taking
in tens of billions of dollars in revenue. And it's
true that is one of the pluses of the President's
tariff's policy. And I wanted to ask the President, and
I did ask the President had he considered using all
(01:52):
of that tariff revenue for a rebate, a rebate of
sorts to the American taxpayer. I asked the President that
question as he was leaving the White House. Let's listen
to the question and the way that the President answered
that question.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
The Resident, all of that coming and ten for billions
of dollars, do you think there's the possibility of a
rebate to the American public in terms of all of
that money, we're thinking about that. Actually, we have so
much money coming in, we're thinking about a little rebate.
But the big thing we want to do is pay
down debt. But we're thinking about a rebate. That's a
(02:31):
very good made a lot of news. We're thinking about
a rebate because we have so much money coming in
from parif that tariff, that a little rebate for people
of a certain income level, it might be very.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Not That answer indeed made a lot of news if
you google Trump tariff freebate. Every outlet covered this story
because the President for the first time was indicating that
perhaps there would be for certain income levels, as he
said in that answer, a tariff rebate check that could
(03:06):
go out to taxpayers, and that certainly would get a
lot of buy in for individuals who are skeptical about
the president's tariff's policy. If they get a check in
the mail and it's l likely signed by Donald J. Trump,
maybe even has his picture on it, they may feel
differently about the President's tariff's policy. We'll just have to
(03:28):
wait and see. I can tell you that, in the
aftermath of the President indicating that he would be open
to this idea of a tariff rebate check going out
to taxpayers, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said he's going
to introduce legislation on that front in the very near future,
certainly when the Senate comes back from its August recess
(03:50):
in September. I also asked the President before he departed
the White House on Friday about something that has been
in the news over the court of the past week,
and that is the criminal referrals that have been sent
over to the Department of Justice by the Director of
National Intelligence, Tulci Gabbert. And one question that I've had
(04:13):
in my mind is how would this impact former President
Barack Obama? After all, in Trump versus the United States,
which is a Supreme Court case that was decided in
July of last year, the Supreme Court ruled in a
six to three decision that former presidents have immunity from
(04:33):
criminal prosecution for their official acts, but not for unofficial acts.
And the decision, while not granting absolute immunity, something the
President and his lawyers had been seeking at this a
Supreme court does establish a presumption of immunity for official actions.
And so with that in mind, I am also a lawyer,
(04:55):
I'm a member of the Supreme Court. Bar I wanted
to ask the President had he thought about that Supreme
Court decision and how it impacts his predecessor, former President
Barack Obama. Let's listen to that question and the answer
that the President gave when I asked the President that question,
how do you think that.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
The Supreme Court ruling.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
That benefited you on presidential immunity would apply to former
President Barack Obama and what you're accusing him of doing.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
It probably helped him a lot. Probably helped him a lot,
the immunity ruling. But it doesn't help the people around
him at all. But it probably helped him a lot.
He's he's done criminal acts, there's no question about him.
But he has immunity and it probably helped him around
(05:46):
O Big Obama ows to be big.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So it seems that as it relates to this immunity decision,
Barack Obama seems safe. But some of the other individuals
who would not be covered by that immunity to decision.
The President's National Security advisor, his CIA director, his former
vice president at the time, Joe Biden, will see what
(06:12):
happens as it relates to the DOJ and this task
force that they have established looking in to the criminal
referral that was sent over to the DOJ by Tulca Gabber.
That's something that will take likely months to figure out
if indeed there are any criminal charges brought against any
(06:32):
officials that worked in the Obama administration as it relates
to the Russia investigation. Lastly, I asked the President a
question that has been on my mind, because I have noticed,
I'm sure you've noticed that the value of the dollar
has declined substantially since the President's taken office. It's down
(06:55):
eleven percent, eleven percent against a variety of including the Euro.
And I asked the President prior to departing whether or
not he's concerned about that. The President begins his answer
by explaining why he believes that a weaker dollar may
(07:16):
be best for America, and then he asked me if
I understood that, And I told the President I did
understand that. I went to Penn just like he did.
I went to Wharton. And that's where the answer that
the President gives to my question picks up. Let's listen
to that right now.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
When we have a strong dollar, one thing happened. It
sounds good, but you don't do any tourism. You can't
sell practice, you can't sell trumps, you can't sell anything.
It is good for inflation, that's about it. And we
have no inflation. We wiped out inflation. But it's an
interesting question. So I will never say I like a
(07:57):
low currency. But you remember the battles I had with
the wand with China and with Japan, Japan being the end,
they always wanted a week currency. They're trying to get
a week currency now. Now it doesn't sound good, but
you make a hell of a lot more money with
a weeker dollar, not a week dollar, but a weeker
dollar than you do with a strong dollar. And the
(08:18):
first thing people that are going to notice it are
the manufacturers of drupts and various other things.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Now, the flip side to the President's argument in terms
of a week dollar versus a strong dollar, there are advantages,
of course to a strong dollar. The former Treasury Secretary
Bob Rubin used to say, a strong dollar is always
in America's interest, and there are some benefits of a
strong dollar consumer see lower prices on foreign products and services.
(08:49):
Lower prices on foreign products and services, as the President
pointed out, keeps inflation low. US consumers benefit anytime they
travel to foreign countries. So you get more value for
your dollar when you're going to Italy or Spain or
wherever it is that you're traveling if the dollar's strong.
(09:10):
And lastly, American investors can purchase foreign stocks and bonds
at lower prices. So those are some of the great
advantages of a strong dollar. But the President raises some
of the advantages that he sees of a weaker dollar,
and that's something obviously that we'll have to continue to
(09:30):
see whether the dollar continues to slide versus other currencies
around the world. So the President certainly made a lot
of news based upon those answers just to my questions
on Friday before leaving for Scotland, and while he's in Scotland,
he made more news. He made more news on Sunday,
and the reason being is because the President and the
(09:53):
European Union reached a trade deal. The President said that
after meeting with the European Commission President, the two sides
reached a deal that would set a baseline tariff of
fifteen percent for European goods, including automobiles, and he said
(10:14):
the EU has agreed as part of that deal to
buy seven hundred and fifty billion dollars of energy products
from the US and also invest an additional six hundred
billion dollars in the US. Now, this deal is very
consequential because the EU, which is a block of twenty
(10:36):
seven countries, represents America's largest trading partner. In fact, the
two sides, the US and the EU, they exchange more
than five billion dollars worth of goods and services every day.
And this deal certainly will come financial markets quite a
(10:57):
bit because it provides some certainty. Well, the financial markets
know what the trade tariff rate will be for the
EU fifteen percent. That's the same baseline tariff rate that
the US reached with Japan just last week. We know
about a nineteen percent trade tariff rate for the Philippines
(11:19):
and Indonesia, and we have that trade tariff deadline of
August the first, that's this coming Friday. We'll see if
any additional trade deals can be reached between the US
and other trading partners around the world. The President made
it a point of saying that this particular deal also
(11:41):
provides some benefits for the European Union and the US.
Both entities have agreed to zero for zero tariffs on
certain strategic products. We're talking about chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain
agriculture products, aircraft and their parts. So that is also
(12:01):
a good deal in terms of providing certainty for both
the United States and the European Union. The President has
another meeting that's taking place today Monday, and that's with
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The UK already has the
lowest tarriffs that have been agreed to. Ten percent is
(12:23):
that tariff rate. But the President is expected during his
meeting with Keir Starmer to iron out some final details
of that UK US agreement, So we'll certainly be paying
attention to that, and I will give you the latest
on that when we meet tomorrow. Thank you so much
(12:44):
for tuning in to this Monday's episode of the White
House Briefing Room with John Decker. I am John Decker.
Have a great day and we'll talk soon.
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