WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 OK, so you're here with us for this deep dive 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:05.839 because like us, I'm guessing you saw today's 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:09.960 headlines and well, let's just say it was an 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:12.400 interesting batch of news and market analysis. 00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:15.400 Yeah, April 1st, 2025 will definitely be a day 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:18.519 to remember. Date notwithstanding some of this 00:00:18.519 --> 00:00:20.579 stuff raises some pretty serious questions. So 00:00:20.579 --> 00:00:22.300 we figured it's time for a deep dive We've got 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:24.179 to cut through all the noise and try to understand 00:00:24.179 --> 00:00:26.539 what's really going on, you know, exactly I think 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:28.460 what we'll try to do here is pull out the most 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:34.880 important insights for you Perfect so you brought 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:36.899 us a ton of information a really fascinating 00:00:36.899 --> 00:00:39.520 mix of stuff And I think there are two main areas 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:41.340 that we should definitely focus on and that sounds 00:00:41.340 --> 00:00:44.380 good. First. We've got this whole escalating 00:00:44.380 --> 00:00:46.960 situation around classified information and how 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:49.600 it's being handled or not handled within the 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:51.600 White House. Right. And that whole thing seems 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:54.140 to be causing a lot of internal friction, a lot 00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:57.600 of finger pointing and blame going around. Yeah, 00:00:57.820 --> 00:01:00.880 for sure. And then the second thing is all these 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:03.500 unusual financial activities. We're talking about 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:05.680 things linked to some pretty prominent figures, 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:08.459 you know, people in positions of power. And of 00:01:08.459 --> 00:01:09.739 course, we've got to look at how the markets 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:12.049 are reacting to all this. Yeah, because those 00:01:12.049 --> 00:01:14.510 market reactions can tell us a lot about what 00:01:14.510 --> 00:01:16.909 people are really thinking and how much confidence 00:01:16.909 --> 00:01:19.629 they have in the system. So let's jump right 00:01:19.629 --> 00:01:21.689 in, shall we? Let's start with what everyone's 00:01:21.689 --> 00:01:24.609 calling the signal scandal. Oh, yeah, that's 00:01:24.609 --> 00:01:27.709 a juicy one. Electoral vote news reported that 00:01:27.709 --> 00:01:30.209 White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:32.930 came out and just declared the whole matter closed, 00:01:33.489 --> 00:01:35.310 like it's all done and dusted. Well, that's what 00:01:35.310 --> 00:01:37.950 she said. But the reality might be a bit more 00:01:37.950 --> 00:01:40.670 complicated, you know? way more complicated. 00:01:40.750 --> 00:01:43.569 And here's why. The Wall Street Journal is reporting 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:45.650 that this wasn't just, you know, a one -time 00:01:45.650 --> 00:01:48.810 thing with NSA Mike Waltz using Signal for those 00:01:48.810 --> 00:01:51.209 classified conversations. Right. If the Journal 00:01:51.209 --> 00:01:53.590 is right, and they usually are on this kind of 00:01:53.590 --> 00:01:56.250 stuff, it suggests that this was a pattern. A 00:01:56.250 --> 00:01:59.549 habit, even. Exactly. Which, when you think about 00:01:59.549 --> 00:02:02.310 it, raises some very serious security concerns. 00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:04.430 I mean, come on. You'd think the National Security 00:02:04.430 --> 00:02:07.010 Agency would be super careful about secure communication, 00:02:07.129 --> 00:02:09.050 right? You'd think they'd be like, their top 00:02:09.050 --> 00:02:11.389 priority, wouldn't you? Secure communication. 00:02:11.990 --> 00:02:14.389 But this whole thing just highlights how, you 00:02:14.389 --> 00:02:16.610 know, even in the highest levels of government, 00:02:17.069 --> 00:02:19.370 things can slip through the cracks. And here's 00:02:19.370 --> 00:02:21.909 where it gets really interesting, right? Apparently, 00:02:22.229 --> 00:02:26.469 Waltz has some serious enemies within the administration, 00:02:26.669 --> 00:02:29.389 like some really powerful people who want him 00:02:29.389 --> 00:02:33.669 gone. JD Vance is supposedly leading that whole 00:02:33.669 --> 00:02:36.250 charge. Now Vance, he's a fascinating character, 00:02:36.430 --> 00:02:39.650 very ambitious and very strategic. For sure. 00:02:39.889 --> 00:02:41.569 And it seems like their motivations for going 00:02:41.569 --> 00:02:43.830 after Walz are kind of a big spag. There are 00:02:43.830 --> 00:02:46.150 some genuine policy clashes because Walz is like 00:02:46.150 --> 00:02:47.969 what an old school Reaganite or something like 00:02:47.969 --> 00:02:49.949 that? Yeah, that's the term they use, which puts 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:52.969 him at odds with a lot of the current administration's 00:02:52.969 --> 00:02:55.050 foreign policy positions, I guess. Right. So 00:02:55.050 --> 00:02:56.969 there's that ideological difference. But then 00:02:56.969 --> 00:02:58.969 there's also just plain old political maneuvering. 00:02:59.090 --> 00:03:01.419 You know, they want to embarrass the administration 00:03:01.419 --> 00:03:03.520 and score some points. It's like high stakes 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:05.699 chess, but with national security as the pawns. 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.139 This whole situation really shines a light on 00:03:09.139 --> 00:03:12.099 how personal rivalries and power struggles can 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:15.099 actually undermine national security. It's pretty 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:16.979 worrying when you think about it. Totally agree. 00:03:17.259 --> 00:03:19.740 So they see this as a chance to get Wolfs out 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:22.919 of the picture and replace him with someone who's, 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:25.280 let's say, more aligned with their own views. 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:28.939 Someone more pliable, perhaps. Someone who will 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:30.960 toe the party line no matter what. And all this 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:33.349 leaves Trump in a tough spot. Apparently he's 00:03:33.349 --> 00:03:36.490 really angry with Waltz for all the bad press 00:03:36.490 --> 00:03:39.930 this has generated. Especially because, of all 00:03:39.930 --> 00:03:42.090 people, Jeffrey Goldberg is the one who broke 00:03:42.090 --> 00:03:44.710 the story. Oof, yeah, that can't be sitting well 00:03:44.710 --> 00:03:47.349 with him. Goldberg's not exactly known for being 00:03:47.349 --> 00:03:51.150 a Trump fan. Not at all. And I guess Trump really 00:03:51.150 --> 00:03:53.569 doesn't want to hand the media and especially 00:03:53.569 --> 00:03:57.050 Goldberg what he calls a scalp. Like he doesn't 00:03:57.050 --> 00:03:59.389 want to give them the satisfaction of seeing 00:03:59.389 --> 00:04:02.849 him fire Waltz because of their reporting. It 00:04:02.849 --> 00:04:04.849 all comes down to control, doesn't it? He wants 00:04:04.849 --> 00:04:06.969 to maintain the image that he's in charge, that 00:04:06.969 --> 00:04:09.689 he makes the decisions, not the media. It's classic 00:04:09.689 --> 00:04:13.849 Trump, really. Classic Trump. So right now, Walsh 00:04:13.849 --> 00:04:16.230 is still in his position, but things are definitely 00:04:16.230 --> 00:04:18.850 not looking good for him. He's on thin ice, to 00:04:18.850 --> 00:04:21.110 say the least. You could say that. Most likely, 00:04:21.129 --> 00:04:22.910 he'll stick around for a bit longer, maybe a 00:04:22.910 --> 00:04:25.329 few more months. Just to try and create the illusion 00:04:25.329 --> 00:04:28.110 of stability, I suppose. Exactly. But I think 00:04:28.110 --> 00:04:29.709 we can all see the writing on the wall here. 00:04:30.009 --> 00:04:31.209 He's probably going to be out by the end of the 00:04:31.209 --> 00:04:33.879 year. And, of course, the narrative will be spun 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:35.839 to make it look like it was Trump's decision 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:37.939 all along. Like, it had nothing to do with all 00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:40.339 this reporting and pressure. It's all about appearances, 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:43.439 right? Yeah. But, you know, thinking about all 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.379 this, what do you think is the biggest danger 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:49.420 here? Like, the long -term damage this could 00:04:49.420 --> 00:04:51.680 do to the administration? I think it's the erosion 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:54.600 of trust, both within the administration and 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:57.259 from the public. You know, if sensitive information 00:04:57.259 --> 00:04:59.480 isn't being handled securely and if people are 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.420 constantly trying to undermine each other, it 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:04.480 just creates this atmosphere of suspicion and 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.199 doubt. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:09.439 in their ability to govern effectively, does 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:11.839 it? No, it doesn't. And here's the thing. The 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.550 story doesn't end with waltz. Secretary of Defense 00:05:14.550 --> 00:05:16.389 Pete Hegseth is caught up in this whole mess 00:05:16.389 --> 00:05:19.110 too. Yeah, and his involvement is in some ways 00:05:19.110 --> 00:05:21.569 even more worrying, right? Because he's the one 00:05:21.569 --> 00:05:23.970 who should be setting the example. Absolutely. 00:05:24.490 --> 00:05:26.750 The report suggests that a lot of the classified 00:05:26.750 --> 00:05:29.230 info that was discussed on Signal actually came 00:05:29.230 --> 00:05:31.569 from him. And let's not forget he's the Secretary 00:05:31.569 --> 00:05:35.009 of Defense. He has the authority and really the 00:05:35.009 --> 00:05:38.310 responsibility to shut down any insecure communication 00:05:38.310 --> 00:05:40.529 channels immediately. He's supposed to be the 00:05:40.529 --> 00:05:42.850 adult in the room. Yeah. But so far, it doesn't 00:05:42.850 --> 00:05:44.870 seem like he's faced any serious consequences 00:05:44.870 --> 00:05:47.970 for this, at least not yet. But here's the interesting 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:51.069 thing. There are whispers, rumors, that people 00:05:51.069 --> 00:05:52.810 within the Pentagon are getting pretty fed up 00:05:52.810 --> 00:05:54.990 with him. Really? What are they saying? Well, 00:05:55.050 --> 00:05:57.389 it's not just about the signal stuff. Apparently, 00:05:57.610 --> 00:05:59.970 there are concerns about him bringing his wife 00:05:59.970 --> 00:06:02.329 to meetings where, let's just say, she doesn't 00:06:02.329 --> 00:06:04.209 really belong. And then there's also a general 00:06:04.209 --> 00:06:08.589 feeling that he's been How do they put it? De 00:06:08.589 --> 00:06:10.949 -waving. De -waving. That's the term that keeps 00:06:10.949 --> 00:06:14.110 popping up. And I got to say, that kind of behavior 00:06:14.110 --> 00:06:16.569 is really not what you want to see from the top 00:06:16.569 --> 00:06:18.569 brass in the Department of Defense, right? It 00:06:18.569 --> 00:06:22.189 creates this atmosphere of disrespect and unprofessionalism, 00:06:22.370 --> 00:06:24.790 and that can really damage morale and teamwork. 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:27.519 You know, if we connect this back to the situation 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:30.120 with Waltz, it paints a rather unsettling picture 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:33.100 of a pattern of poor judgment and possibly even 00:06:33.100 --> 00:06:36.220 misconduct among high -ranking officials. It 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:38.279 makes you wonder what else is going on behind 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:40.959 closed doors. It definitely does. And according 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:42.819 to those same sources, it's looking more and 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:45.620 more like Hegseth's position might become untenable 00:06:45.620 --> 00:06:48.019 later this year, too. So we could be seeing some 00:06:48.019 --> 00:06:50.279 pretty big personnel shakeups all because of, 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:52.819 what, a messaging app? It's amazing how something 00:06:52.819 --> 00:06:56.480 seemingly so small can have such huge ramifications, 00:06:56.540 --> 00:06:59.040 isn't it? It really exposes the fragility of 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.259 power and how quickly things can change in this 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:03.639 kind of environment. OK, so let's switch gears 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:05.980 now and talk about money and not just any money. 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:08.160 We're talking about what electoral vote news 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:12.819 very bluntly labels outrageous grift. Ooh, outrageous 00:07:12.819 --> 00:07:15.339 grift. That's a strong accusation. It is. But 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:18.160 let's see if it's justified, shall we? First 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:21.240 up, we have the Trump T crypto coin. And this 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:23.500 is where it gets wild. This coin, which basically 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:26.680 has no actual value in the sense that you can't 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:28.339 really use it to buy stuff like you can with 00:07:28.339 --> 00:07:31.000 other cryptocurrencies, well, it managed to generate 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.519 a mind -blowing $14 billion in trading volume. 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:38.360 $14 billion for something with no actual value. 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:40.500 Okay, that's crazy. What does that tell us about 00:07:40.500 --> 00:07:42.100 where we are in the financial world? I mean, 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.500 think about it. Yeah. People are so eager to 00:07:44.500 --> 00:07:46.699 jump on anything remotely connected to Trump 00:07:46.699 --> 00:07:49.019 that they're willing to throw billions of dollars 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:51.300 at a coin that's basically just a digital souvenir. 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:54.720 It's like a purely speculative asset driven by 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:57.839 hype and brand association rather than any underlying 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:00.779 fundamentals. This is really taking that whole 00:08:00.779 --> 00:08:03.639 meme stock phenomenon to a whole new level. It's 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:06.220 wild. Totally wild. And of course, the Trump 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:08.740 family is right there front and center cashing 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:11.230 in on this whole thing. Of course they are. Through 00:08:11.230 --> 00:08:13.069 their controlling interest in the company and 00:08:13.069 --> 00:08:16.689 their sweet 75 % cut of the trading fees, they've 00:08:16.689 --> 00:08:20.250 likely pocketed around $100 million. Not bad 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:23.029 for a coin with no actual value, right? No, not 00:08:23.029 --> 00:08:25.170 bad at all. It's a pretty impressive return on 00:08:25.170 --> 00:08:27.149 investment, even if the investment itself is 00:08:27.149 --> 00:08:29.069 questionable. But here's where the real story 00:08:29.069 --> 00:08:32.490 lies. It's estimated that around four dozen other 00:08:32.490 --> 00:08:35.470 insiders, people close to the Trumps, made at 00:08:35.470 --> 00:08:38.529 least $10 million each from this whole scheme. 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:40.379 So you've got this small group of people getting 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:42.799 incredibly wealthy while everyone else is left 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:45.460 wondering what just happened. Exactly. And while 00:08:45.460 --> 00:08:47.740 those insiders are celebrating, there are about 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:51.659 200 ,000 smaller fish who are now facing huge 00:08:51.659 --> 00:08:54.600 losses. Oh, I hadn't heard that number. 200 ,000. 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:57.679 That's a lot of people. And guess what? A lot 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:00.200 of them are diehard Trump supporters, people 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:02.600 who believed in him, who trusted him. And the 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:04.379 report doesn't hold back. It straight up calls 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:07.379 this fleecing his own people and a classic pump 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:10.190 and dump scheme. So the idea is they pumped up 00:09:10.190 --> 00:09:12.049 the price by making all sorts of promises and 00:09:12.049 --> 00:09:14.470 claims, got people excited, and then dumped it, 00:09:14.629 --> 00:09:17.470 leaving those smaller fish holding the bag. It's 00:09:17.470 --> 00:09:20.629 a... pretty ruthless tactic. It is. And it preys 00:09:20.629 --> 00:09:23.789 on people's emotions, their loyalty, their desire 00:09:23.789 --> 00:09:25.929 to be part of something. Yeah. And when you have 00:09:25.929 --> 00:09:27.950 someone like Trump with such a devoted following, 00:09:28.129 --> 00:09:30.269 it's almost like a recipe for disaster, especially 00:09:30.269 --> 00:09:32.529 in the unregulated world of crypto. So what happens 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:35.210 next? Well, Don Jr. and Eric Trump come out and 00:09:35.210 --> 00:09:37.470 announce a brand new stable coin. This one's 00:09:37.470 --> 00:09:40.429 called USD $1 and it's pegged to the US dollar. 00:09:40.590 --> 00:09:43.710 A stable coin, huh? So in theory, this one should 00:09:43.710 --> 00:09:46.789 actually have real value. That's the idea. They're 00:09:46.789 --> 00:09:48.929 hoping that those folks who lost big on Trump 00:09:48.929 --> 00:09:52.029 will see this as a safer bet, a chance to maybe 00:09:52.029 --> 00:09:54.450 recoup some of their losses or at least get back 00:09:54.450 --> 00:09:56.529 in the game with the Trump -backed asset. It's 00:09:56.529 --> 00:09:58.809 a pretty clever strategy, really. You know, leverage 00:09:58.809 --> 00:10:02.029 that existing trust and loyalty to launch a new 00:10:02.029 --> 00:10:05.289 product even after the previous one imploded. 00:10:05.350 --> 00:10:06.870 It's all about keeping the money flowing, right? 00:10:06.889 --> 00:10:09.820 Always. But the report is quick to point out 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:11.559 all the problems with stable coins in general, 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:14.299 like the fact that they're often poorly regulated 00:10:14.299 --> 00:10:16.519 and there's always the risk that they won't be 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:18.679 able to maintain their peg to the dollar, which 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:21.559 means that people could still lose a lot of money. 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:24.539 And there's this, you know, rather pointed observation 00:10:24.539 --> 00:10:27.720 that maybe just maybe the Republican controlled 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:30.120 Congress might suddenly get interested in regulating 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:32.519 these stable coins now that the Trumps are involved. 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:35.960 The timing of it all is well. Interesting. It's 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:37.659 very interesting, isn't it? Almost makes you 00:10:37.659 --> 00:10:40.139 wonder if personal interests might influence 00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:43.460 legislative priorities. It's a thought. OK, so 00:10:43.460 --> 00:10:46.659 moving on, we have this truly mind blowing proposal 00:10:46.659 --> 00:10:50.620 for a compensation fund for the January 6th rioters. 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:53.639 Wait, what? A compensation fund for the rioters? 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:55.679 Yeah, you heard that right. Trump actually mentioned 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:58.480 this on Newsmax saying there's talk about setting 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.159 up a fund to compensate those who were involved 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:03.100 in the attack on the Capitol. He even brought 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:05.210 up Ashley Babbitt. You know, the woman who was 00:11:05.210 --> 00:11:07.809 shot by Capitol police during the riot. So he's 00:11:07.809 --> 00:11:09.529 basically saying that these people were treated 00:11:09.529 --> 00:11:12.870 unfairly and deserve compensation for their actions. 00:11:13.070 --> 00:11:15.470 That's the gist of it, yeah. And he claims that 00:11:15.470 --> 00:11:17.570 there's support for this idea within the government. 00:11:18.049 --> 00:11:20.929 That's a bold claim. It seems unlikely that Congress 00:11:20.929 --> 00:11:22.690 would approve something like that, wouldn't you 00:11:22.690 --> 00:11:25.450 say? Using taxpayer money to compensate people 00:11:25.450 --> 00:11:27.529 who participated in an attack on the Capitol? 00:11:28.009 --> 00:11:30.779 That would be hugely controversial. Hugely. And 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:34.159 the report agrees, saying that it's highly improbable 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:36.000 that Congress would ever go for something like 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:39.399 this. But ever the resourceful entrepreneur, 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:42.220 Trump might consider setting up a private foundation 00:11:42.220 --> 00:11:46.159 instead, funded by, you know, wealthy donors 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:48.659 looking for a way to get in his good graces. 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:51.159 It wouldn't be the first time he's used private 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:54.320 funds to achieve his political goals. Exactly. 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:56.340 And here's a detail that really caught my eye. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:58.799 The report suggests that Trump himself might 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:01.820 actually benefit financially from this compensation 00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:04.399 fund. You know, because he keeps saying that 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:06.179 he also suffered as a result of the election. 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:10.139 So the idea is that he could use this fund to, 00:12:10.139 --> 00:12:12.779 in a way, compensate himself. It's not explicitly 00:12:12.779 --> 00:12:15.090 stated, but it's definitely implied. And you 00:12:15.090 --> 00:12:17.769 know what the craziest part is? The report speculates 00:12:17.769 --> 00:12:20.169 that the folks who receive money from this fund, 00:12:20.490 --> 00:12:23.409 whether it's government -funded or private, might 00:12:23.409 --> 00:12:25.750 just turn around and spend it on Trump -branded 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:28.789 merchandise or even those USD -1 stable coins. 00:12:29.110 --> 00:12:31.490 So it could create this self -perpetuating cycle 00:12:31.490 --> 00:12:34.250 where money flows into Trump -related ventures 00:12:34.250 --> 00:12:36.889 no matter what. A circular flow of Trump cash. 00:12:37.110 --> 00:12:39.070 It's remarkable, really. It is. OK, I'm ready 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:40.889 for the next one. What else do we have? OK, so 00:12:40.889 --> 00:12:43.220 next up... we have the commercialization of the 00:12:43.220 --> 00:12:46.440 White House Easter egg roll. The Easter egg roll? 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:48.840 Seriously? You know that tradition where kids 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:50.899 roll eggs on the White House lawn? It's been 00:12:50.899 --> 00:12:54.860 going on since 1878. And apparently 25 presidents, 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:57.879 all non -Trump presidents, managed to resist 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:00.679 the urge to sell sponsorships for this event. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:02.620 That's a pretty long track record of keeping 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:05.539 it, you know, pure and non -commercial. It's 00:13:05.539 --> 00:13:08.539 a nice tradition, really. It is. But Team Trump 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:10.840 has decided to shake things up a bit. They've 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:13.000 introduced sponsorship packages with platinum 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.200 gold and bronze tiers. Platinum gold bronze sounds 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:18.500 more like a casino than a kids event. It does, 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:20.799 doesn't it? Platinum level will set you back 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:26.299 a cool $200 ,000, gold is $125 ,000, and bronze 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:29.419 is a mere $75 ,000. And what do you get for that? 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:32.259 Well, the details are a bit vague. Something 00:13:32.259 --> 00:13:35.179 about branding for a key area or activation. 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:38.279 Branding for key area or activation? That clears 00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:40.720 it right up. And as you might expect, there's 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:42.720 no clear explanation of where this money is going 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:45.259 to end up. But I think we can all make a pretty 00:13:45.259 --> 00:13:47.379 educated guess, can't we? It wouldn't be surprising 00:13:47.379 --> 00:13:49.299 if it somehow found its way back into Trump's 00:13:49.299 --> 00:13:51.779 pockets. All right. Last but not least, we have 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:55.059 Paula White and her, shall we say, unique fundraising 00:13:55.059 --> 00:13:57.940 approach. Paula White, the televangelist. The 00:13:57.940 --> 00:14:00.340 one and only. She's got a video out there offering 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:02.860 what she calls specific supernatural blessings 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:06.919 in exchange for a $1 ,000 donation. Specific 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:09.840 supernatural blessings. What does that even mean? 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:12.240 Well, for a thousand bucks, you can get things 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:15.360 like an angel assigned to you personally, prosperity, 00:14:16.059 --> 00:14:18.600 healing, and even divine punishment for your 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:21.299 enemies. Divine punishment for your enemies? 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.460 That's a new one. It is, isn't it? And Electoral 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:26.860 Vote News, bless their hearts, they offered a 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:29.399 counter -proposal. Four times as many miracles 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:32.720 for just $500. Gotta love their sense of humor. 00:14:32.940 --> 00:14:34.879 It's a pretty good deal if you're into that sort 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:37.120 of thing. OK, so that's a glimpse into the world 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:40.759 of Trump -related finance. Now, let's see how 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.220 the market is making sense of all this. We'll 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:45.759 turn to the Horizon Weekly market recap for some 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:48.200 insights. OK, this is where we get to see how 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:50.519 these events are impacting the real economy, 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:53.000 right? Exactly. And the big takeaway here is 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:55.519 that the market does not like tariff uncertainty. 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:58.360 Which makes sense. Tariffs create a lot of unknowns 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:00.500 for businesses. They don't know what their costs 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:02.159 are going to be. They don't know how consumers 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.460 will react to price increases. It's all very 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:08.019 destabilizing. And last week, we saw market declines 00:15:08.019 --> 00:15:10.200 right after Trump announced those 25 percent 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:12.919 tariffs on the auto sector. According to Piper 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:15.700 Sander, this has pushed overall U .S. tariffs 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:18.279 to their highest level since the 1940s. Since 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:21.440 the 1940s? Wow, that's a significant jump. It 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:24.320 is. And the market is reacting accordingly. The 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:26.600 S &P 500 hasn't been able to regain its 200 -day 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:29.519 moving average, and the report says it's on track 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:32.100 for its worst trading month since September 2022. 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:35.299 Yeah, the 200 -day moving average is a key indicator 00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:37.860 that a lot of traders watch. Falling below that 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:40.279 line is not a good sign. It suggests that there 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:42.740 is more downside risk, more potential for further 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:45.279 losses. Right. So we're seeing broad market weakness, 00:15:45.299 --> 00:15:47.980 and that's being directly linked to these tariff 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:50.059 -related growth fears. People are worried about 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:52.360 the economy. And it's not just Wall Street. Consumer 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:54.419 business and investor sentiment are all down. 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:56.840 It's like a ripple effect, right? Uncertainty 00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:58.740 in one area spreads to other areas, and pretty 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:01.620 soon everyone's nervous. Exactly. And typically, 00:16:01.789 --> 00:16:04.149 The non -farm payrolls data that comes out on 00:16:04.149 --> 00:16:07.210 Friday would be a big market moving event. But 00:16:07.210 --> 00:16:09.950 this week, all eyes are on Liberation Day, April 00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:12.809 2nd. Everyone's waiting to see what kind of big 00:16:12.809 --> 00:16:14.570 tariff policy announcement Trump is going to 00:16:14.570 --> 00:16:16.850 make. So the market is basically holding its 00:16:16.850 --> 00:16:19.330 breath, waiting for more clarity on trade policy. 00:16:19.690 --> 00:16:22.309 Pretty much. They're hoping for concrete details 00:16:22.309 --> 00:16:26.149 and ideally... signal that tariffs will be lowered 00:16:26.149 --> 00:16:28.570 because that would be a huge relief for businesses 00:16:28.570 --> 00:16:31.090 and investors it would signal a more stable and 00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:33.370 predictable trade environment right but if Trump 00:16:33.370 --> 00:16:36.649 announces even higher tariffs or if he keeps 00:16:36.649 --> 00:16:40.169 everyone guessing well that's likely gonna spook 00:16:40.169 --> 00:16:42.710 the markets even more uncertainty is the enemy 00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:45.320 of the market So we've covered a lot of ground 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:48.179 here. We've seen internal power struggles, questionable 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:51.000 financial dealings, and market jitters. What 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:53.340 are your main takeaways from all this? Well, 00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:54.980 I think it's clear that we're seeing a clash 00:16:54.980 --> 00:16:57.940 between political ambitions and economic realities. 00:16:58.539 --> 00:17:01.659 The administration seems to be focused on consolidating 00:17:01.659 --> 00:17:04.339 power and enriching itself, even if it means 00:17:04.339 --> 00:17:06.640 undermining national security and sowing chaos 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:10.329 in the markets. And all this is happening. against 00:17:10.329 --> 00:17:14.190 the backdrop of growing economic anxiety. People 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:16.509 are worried about the future, and these actions 00:17:16.509 --> 00:17:19.150 are only adding to that uncertainty. And, you 00:17:19.150 --> 00:17:21.230 know, what's really striking to me is the sheer 00:17:21.230 --> 00:17:23.170 scale of some of these things, like the Tremonti 00:17:23.170 --> 00:17:26.269 coin generating $14 billion in trading volume. 00:17:26.670 --> 00:17:28.990 That's a huge amount of money flowing into something 00:17:28.990 --> 00:17:31.269 with no intrinsic value. And then you have the 00:17:31.269 --> 00:17:33.730 proposal to compensate the January 6th rioters. 00:17:33.849 --> 00:17:36.569 I mean, that's just mind boggling. And then there's 00:17:36.569 --> 00:17:38.589 the commercialization of the Easter egg roll. 00:17:38.869 --> 00:17:40.809 It's like nothing is sacred anymore. It does 00:17:40.809 --> 00:17:43.710 seem like the pursuit of profit has become the 00:17:43.710 --> 00:17:45.930 overriding principle. That's a bit disheartening, 00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:48.089 really. It is. We've given you a lot to think 00:17:48.089 --> 00:17:50.049 about today. Hopefully this deep dive has helped 00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:52.609 you make some sense of this crazy world we're 00:17:52.609 --> 00:17:54.869 living in. But before we go, I want to leave 00:17:54.869 --> 00:17:56.849 you with one final thought. OK, I'm all ears. 00:17:57.069 --> 00:17:58.430 Thinking about all the things we've discussed 00:17:58.430 --> 00:18:01.569 today about the events of just this one day, 00:18:02.009 --> 00:18:05.819 April 1st. 2025. What does it tell us about the 00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:08.440 future? Where are we headed? What kind of world 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:10.339 are we creating? It's a question we all need 00:18:10.339 --> 00:18:12.839 to be asking ourselves. Because the choices we 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:15.519 make today will have consequences that ripple 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.019 out for years to come. It's not just about the 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:20.220 money or the politics. It's about the kind of 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:22.839 society we want to live in. It's about our values, 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:26.259 our priorities, and our shared future. Thanks 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:28.599 for joining us for this deep dive. And until 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:31.019 next time, keep asking those tough questions. 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:34.200 And stay informed. Absolutely. Stay informed.