Tuesday on the RealClearPolitics radio show, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Phil Wegmann discuss the latest news breaking from President Trump, including taking a partial ownership stake in Intel, discussing whether he’s going to get into heaven, and trying to fire one of the governors of the Federal Reserve. They also discuss what happened to Antifa — why aren’t they protesting against Trump? Later, RCP’s Anne Welty and Cathi Warren discuss the MAHA movement trying to stop the food stamps program from paying for soda and candy, and JC Sandberg from the American Clean Power Association discusses the Trump administration’s cancellation of a major wind power project. You can listen to the show weeknights at 6:00 p.m. on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel 124 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** The show opened with RCP White House correspondent Phil Wegmann reviewing several questions he got to ask President Trump yesterday, including whether the government taking a 10% stake in Intel is giving “communist” vibes. “Trump is fair game for a tough question. He’s a bit thin-skinned-that’s his reputation-but if you press him on something, he’s willing to defend himself,” Wegmann explained. “His argument was that this was a good deal, too good to pass up. The United States was not at risk of losing anything, and instead, this is going to help Intel, an American company.” Tom Bevan brought up a piece by conservative commentator Daniel McCarthy arguing that the move could be the start of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund: “Plenty of countries around the world-Saudi Arabia, China, and others-have sovereign funds. If America can make billions and billions of dollars and put it into a sovereign fund that could effectively pay for things like our social safety net, we wouldn’t have to raise taxes to do that.” “I guess I’m the last free-market capitalist left in the United States. I don’t think the idea that we should do something because the Saudis do it is persuasive,” Carl Cannon added. *** A little later, at minute 6, the gang discusses another recent comment from President Trump, that he hopes ending the war in Ukraine will help him “get into Heaven.” Has the president had a religious awakening? “Blessed are the peacemakers,” Cannon said. “Trump’s Christianity, influenced by Norman Vincent Peale, isn’t considered sophisticated by theologians. But believing you’re doing the Lord’s work by creating peace-that’s as profound as it gets.” *** Next, starting at minute 12:30, President Trump also announced that he wants to fire Lisa Cook, one of the members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. She says she’s not going anywhere. Where might this power struggle between the president and the Federal Reserve go from here? “The accusation is that she fudged on some mortgage papers. They’re apparently going through the mortgage statements of any Democrat they don’t like,” Cannon explained. “A surprising number of them have.” *** After that, at minute 16, a discussion about the sudden disappearance of Antifa. The biggest protest against Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police has involved a yuppie throwing a sandwich — no Molotov cocktails. “If this were happening during Trump’s first term, the response would be wild,” Wegmann commented. “They’re nowhere to be found. I think Trump has been successful in cracking down on that type of violence.” “Obviously, this is not a long-term solution,” Carl Cannon said about Trump’s surge of feds onto the streets of Washington. “I’m not sure it’s constitutional. I’m not sure it’s wise… But having said that, if it works-if it lowers the violent crime rate significantly-it’s done something important, which is to force the conversation.” *** And then, staring at minute 22, RCP copy editors Cathi Warren and Anne Welty join Carl Cannon for a conversation about food stamps, as some states and the Trump administration consider restricting the program from paying for unhealthy foods. “There’s pushback, amazingly, from the beverage industry and the confectioners’ industry,” Cathi Warren said. “There’s a lot of profit in sodas and snack foods.” “I absolutely support the idea that this Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) should be nutritious,” Anne Welty agreed. “As a taxpayer, if my tax money is being taken from me and redistributed, I want it to go to children in the best way possible. This deserves a revamp. A big thing that separates wealthy children from poor children is that wealthy children’s parents don’t allow them to have excess soda and candy.” “There are going to be sticky areas when it comes to definitions,” Cathi Warren added. “Even trail mix or breakfast bars could be defined as candy in some states. It’s not going to be easy, and there will be unintended consequences. With federal money, there are never easy answers.” *** Finally, at minute 32, JC Sandberg from the American Clean Power Association joins Andrew Walworth to discuss the Trump administration cancelling the massive Revolution Wind Project, a massive complex off the coast of New England that is 80% completed after years of planning and construction. “There were loose reasons given, but those reasons are tough given the long cycles of permitting and construction and the other things that go into this. To have this happen now is really unfortunate,” he explained. “I think people are still deciding what the industry response will be or the project-level response will be. But it’s important to remember this project-over a decade of thinking about it, permitting it, and now building it-has been reviewed at every level. To think there was something that wasn’t reviewed or thought about at a federal, state, or local level, I think is not accurate.” “If I’m watching this project and others, I have to pause and think: do I really want to invest in the U.S. in these long-cycle energy projects? That’s the bigger story here.” *** Don’t miss a single episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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