On Friday’s RealClearPolitics podcast, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Phil Wegmann discuss Wegmann’s latest expose about the president’s daily media diet, and a new Wall Street Journal piece raising serious questions about DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and which Cabinet officials could be on the way out. Steve Cortes joins the panel to discuss his new report on the record number of foreign nationals displacing American students at the nation’s top universities. The group also discusses the “EV bubble” bursting in Detroit, and the cultural impact of Disney losing more than $ 170 million on their latest remake of Snow White. The show wraps up with Tom and Carl’s weekly “You Cannot Be Serious?!” roundup of entertaining headlines. You can listen to the show live each day at 11:00 a.m. on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** The show opens with Phil Wegmann’s latest piece investigating the “worst-kept secret in Washington,” that Donald Trump is actually a prolific newspaper reader: “The Ravenous Media Diet of Donald Trump” “Every morning, he sits down with the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He also peruses USA Today and the Financial Times. Fox News is constantly on in the background,” Wegmann reported. “Members of Congress and Cabinet officials regularly send him stories they find interesting. In short: he’s extremely plugged in.” “Trump dismisses criticism of himself, but he doesn’t extend that grace to his team. If someone gets sustained negative coverage that overshadows him, he takes notice. That said, he doesn’t want to hand Democrats or the press a scalp,” Wegmann said. *** In the next segment, around minute 8, the group reviews a new piece in the Wall Street Journal about Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, “A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem’s Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS,” and which Cabinet members might be most at risk to be fired. “How can Noem withstand the beating she’s gotten if the president is really looking at this coverage?” Carl Cannon asked. The more he’s pressured by Democrats or the media, the less likely he is to act, Bevan said. But once that wave passes, she could still be eased out. *** After that, at minute 21, Steve Cortes joins the panel to discuss his new report on record numbers of foreign nationals – especially from China – displacing students at American universities. “We don’t even know exactly, but at least 300,000 Chinese nationals are studying at universities in the United States,” Cortes said. “First, they’re taking opportunities from American young people at these really selective schools. There are a finite number of spots.” “But secondly, regarding China specifically, I think it’s a national security risk,” he said. “People who have this opportunity are generally from families with extremely close ties to the Chinese Communist Party. They’re the elites in China with the ability, money, and initiative to send their children to these elite schools.” “Most of these selective schools are at least 25% international. Some, like Columbia, are closer to half,” he said. “What I think is appalling as a taxpayer is that we Americans fund all of these schools, including the private ones. As a matter of fact, the private ones get more taxpayer money generally than the public universities do.” *** After that, at minute 39, Tom Bevan and Carl Cannon discuss how automakers lost $ 60 billion on electric vehicles, even with massive subsidies and incentives from the Biden administration, and how Disney lost $ 170 million remaking Snow White. Carl Cannon suggested it was their sales strategy, not that people don’t want the product. “They spent all this money on advertising hype, then you couldn’t find one, and then they were far too expensive,” he said. “Tesla made money.” “$ 60 billion is not a hiccup, it’s more like a heart attack,” Bevan added. “We had this rush to EVs, promoting all these cars that were too expensive and not as practical, and we subsidized them. And now we’re back to where we should have been at the beginning: hybrids.” *** Also, 46 minutes into the show, Tom and Carl give their weekly “You Cannot Be Serious?!” roundup of entertaining headlines. *** Don’t miss an episode of the RealClearPolitics radio show – subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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