Interview & Analysis: Texas Floods, Tariffs & BBB w/White House Correspondent Jon Decker

Interview & Analysis: Texas Floods, Tariffs & BBB w/White House Correspondent Jon Decker

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
The news you need to start your day, and the
bomb beach is packed, the treasure Ghost, this is the
Brian mud shown sure enough. And our White House correspondent
John Decker, it has been like NonStop, you know, John.
A lot of times you get around the Independence Day
weekend and there's a little bit of a slowing down
in the news cycle, and you know, kind of that
whole summer not at all. Not only did you have

(00:28):
the one big beautiful bill Act being signed into law
on Independence Day, but the news cycle and the politics
and everything else surrounding it's been NonStop. In addition to
the horrific tragedy in Kerk, Texas that the President will
be going to today.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, the President traveling down to Central Texas today. Put
that on his calendar earlier this week. The President will
travel with the First Lady. I'll also travel with the
Homeland Security Secretary Christino, who has made it a point
that Texas essentially as the lead in terms of providing
UH disaster assistance to those in need. But you know,

(01:04):
FEMA is there too, and you know, I think that
they're likely going to be some oversight hearings, not only
at the federal level here in Washington, but perhaps as
well at the state level in Texas in terms of
the response UH and the warnings that were given ahead
of that disastrous UH, the disastrous catastrophic flooding that took

(01:26):
place a week ago.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
And John, obviously it turned political immediately, and you know,
the President pushing towards you know, cuts in a lot
of the related agencies, including you know, potentially eliminating FEMA
later this year. You you immediately had his political opposition go, hey,
you know, this is the reason that there weren't warnings
in place and you know, maybe a response and everything else.

(01:48):
And the administration counters so far with you know that
there's nothing from the National Weather Service indicated that you know,
they were short staff now is the reason they weren't
able to alert better? Or you had Christy nom arguing
yesterday that nobody on the ground has said that they
their response has been lacking.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
What are you hearing? Well, you know, look, obviously christinoam
wants to defend her department, the Department of Homeland Security,
the agencies that she has oversight over, including the National
Weather Service, and you know, I think that you know
the kind of response that we've seen from her have
been expected. She made some remarks, as you may recall

(02:28):
earlier this week during that Cabinet meeting that took place
at the White House, and she was essentially given the
floor at the top of that meeting. And given that
so much attention is focused on Central Texas, it's just
terrific what we're seeing in terms of the numbers. You know,
it's going to play itself out and to a certain extent,
and you know this, Brian, the news cycle moves show

(02:50):
incredibly quickly that you know, to a certain extent nationally,
this story will diminish in terms of coverage. Obviously, if
you're in this is the story. This is the story,
and rightly so, because of all the deaths associated with
that flooding.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
John, as we talk about some of the other things
in the cycle, obviously, with the president's legislative agenda having
been achieved at least said at this point now he's
turned back to a lot of foreign policy matters, tearifs
back on the table and everything else, and sounds like
August first could end up being a pretty big day.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, that's right. That's the deadline the president has set
for countries to come to the table. And negotiate trade
deal with the US. There have not been many countries
that have done so. In fact, there's only been three
trade deals that have been announced, and they're just frameworks
of deals, UK, China, and Vietnam. But that August first

(03:50):
deadline looms, and should the President has said, should countries
not come to some sort of a deal with the
United States by that date, that's when those higher tariff
rates will go into effect. And the President last night
on social media indicating that tariff rates will jump to
thirty five percent for Canadian goods coming into the US.
So that's an added wrinkle to one of America's largest

(04:12):
trading partners.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, John, I think you illustrated a very important point.
There was doing some work on this earlier this week
in terms of trade deals that have actually been worked out,
and the only one that isn't forced at this point
is the UK trade deal that actually has taken hold.
The China the Vietnam have not actually gone into place yet.
But those three represent eighteen point seven percent of total

(04:34):
trade with the United States, import and export. So you've got,
you know, over eighty one percent of the trade that
we do that is still looming out there, and so
it's quite the game of chicken that seems to be
played right now.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, and I've made this point. I think I've made
it with you, Brian. I think that a lot of
countries around the world are holding off in terms of
making a trade deal simply because this is an issue
of the president's His unilateral power to impose these trade
terriffts is being challenged in the federal courts, and I
think that countries want to see that play itself out.

(05:08):
What's the point they may argue of doing a trade
deal is, at the end of the day, the US
Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, determines that
the President did not have the power in the first
place to impose these unilateral trade terriffts, the reciprocal tariffs
that he announced back on Liberation Day April to second.
So I don't know that for certainty, and obviously we're

(05:32):
talking about a significant number of countries. That may not
be the case with every country out there, because there
are ongoing trade talks involving the United States and the
European Union, they just haven't reached a deal just yet.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
I think that is a really instructive point and some
great insight as well. Really appreciate you taking the time
to share with us.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
John, thanks a lot, Brian, I always appreciate it. Have
a great day and a great weekend and we'll talk
soon