OK, so you're here with us for this deep dive
because like us, I'm guessing you saw today's
headlines and well, let's just say it was an
interesting batch of news and market analysis.
Yeah, April 1st, 2025 will definitely be a day
to remember. Date notwithstanding some of this
stuff raises some pretty serious questions. So
we figured it's time for a deep dive We've got
to cut through all the noise and try to understand
what's really going on, you know, exactly I think
what we'll try to do here is pull out the most
important insights for you Perfect so you brought
us a ton of information a really fascinating
mix of stuff And I think there are two main areas
that we should definitely focus on and that sounds
good. First. We've got this whole escalating
situation around classified information and how
it's being handled or not handled within the
White House. Right. And that whole thing seems
to be causing a lot of internal friction, a lot
of finger pointing and blame going around. Yeah,
for sure. And then the second thing is all these
unusual financial activities. We're talking about
things linked to some pretty prominent figures,
you know, people in positions of power. And of
course, we've got to look at how the markets
are reacting to all this. Yeah, because those
market reactions can tell us a lot about what
people are really thinking and how much confidence
they have in the system. So let's jump right
in, shall we? Let's start with what everyone's
calling the signal scandal. Oh, yeah, that's
a juicy one. Electoral vote news reported that
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt
came out and just declared the whole matter closed,
like it's all done and dusted. Well, that's what
she said. But the reality might be a bit more
complicated, you know? way more complicated.
And here's why. The Wall Street Journal is reporting
that this wasn't just, you know, a one -time
thing with NSA Mike Waltz using Signal for those
classified conversations. Right. If the Journal
is right, and they usually are on this kind of
stuff, it suggests that this was a pattern. A
habit, even. Exactly. Which, when you think about
it, raises some very serious security concerns.
I mean, come on. You'd think the National Security
Agency would be super careful about secure communication,
right? You'd think they'd be like, their top
priority, wouldn't you? Secure communication.
But this whole thing just highlights how, you
know, even in the highest levels of government,
things can slip through the cracks. And here's
where it gets really interesting, right? Apparently,
Waltz has some serious enemies within the administration,
like some really powerful people who want him
gone. JD Vance is supposedly leading that whole
charge. Now Vance, he's a fascinating character,
very ambitious and very strategic. For sure.
And it seems like their motivations for going
after Walz are kind of a big spag. There are
some genuine policy clashes because Walz is like
what an old school Reaganite or something like
that? Yeah, that's the term they use, which puts
him at odds with a lot of the current administration's
foreign policy positions, I guess. Right. So
there's that ideological difference. But then
there's also just plain old political maneuvering.
You know, they want to embarrass the administration
and score some points. It's like high stakes
chess, but with national security as the pawns.
This whole situation really shines a light on
how personal rivalries and power struggles can
actually undermine national security. It's pretty
worrying when you think about it. Totally agree.
So they see this as a chance to get Wolfs out
of the picture and replace him with someone who's,
let's say, more aligned with their own views.
Someone more pliable, perhaps. Someone who will
toe the party line no matter what. And all this
leaves Trump in a tough spot. Apparently he's
really angry with Waltz for all the bad press
this has generated. Especially because, of all
people, Jeffrey Goldberg is the one who broke
the story. Oof, yeah, that can't be sitting well
with him. Goldberg's not exactly known for being
a Trump fan. Not at all. And I guess Trump really
doesn't want to hand the media and especially
Goldberg what he calls a scalp. Like he doesn't
want to give them the satisfaction of seeing
him fire Waltz because of their reporting. It
all comes down to control, doesn't it? He wants
to maintain the image that he's in charge, that
he makes the decisions, not the media. It's classic
Trump, really. Classic Trump. So right now, Walsh
is still in his position, but things are definitely
not looking good for him. He's on thin ice, to
say the least. You could say that. Most likely,
he'll stick around for a bit longer, maybe a
few more months. Just to try and create the illusion
of stability, I suppose. Exactly. But I think
we can all see the writing on the wall here.
He's probably going to be out by the end of the
year. And, of course, the narrative will be spun
to make it look like it was Trump's decision
all along. Like, it had nothing to do with all
this reporting and pressure. It's all about appearances,
right? Yeah. But, you know, thinking about all
this, what do you think is the biggest danger
here? Like, the long -term damage this could
do to the administration? I think it's the erosion
of trust, both within the administration and
from the public. You know, if sensitive information
isn't being handled securely and if people are
constantly trying to undermine each other, it
just creates this atmosphere of suspicion and
doubt. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence
in their ability to govern effectively, does
it? No, it doesn't. And here's the thing. The
story doesn't end with waltz. Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth is caught up in this whole mess
too. Yeah, and his involvement is in some ways
even more worrying, right? Because he's the one
who should be setting the example. Absolutely.
The report suggests that a lot of the classified
info that was discussed on Signal actually came
from him. And let's not forget he's the Secretary
of Defense. He has the authority and really the
responsibility to shut down any insecure communication
channels immediately. He's supposed to be the
adult in the room. Yeah. But so far, it doesn't
seem like he's faced any serious consequences
for this, at least not yet. But here's the interesting
thing. There are whispers, rumors, that people
within the Pentagon are getting pretty fed up
with him. Really? What are they saying? Well,
it's not just about the signal stuff. Apparently,
there are concerns about him bringing his wife
to meetings where, let's just say, she doesn't
really belong. And then there's also a general
feeling that he's been How do they put it? De
-waving. De -waving. That's the term that keeps
popping up. And I got to say, that kind of behavior
is really not what you want to see from the top
brass in the Department of Defense, right? It
creates this atmosphere of disrespect and unprofessionalism,
and that can really damage morale and teamwork.
You know, if we connect this back to the situation
with Waltz, it paints a rather unsettling picture
of a pattern of poor judgment and possibly even
misconduct among high -ranking officials. It
makes you wonder what else is going on behind
closed doors. It definitely does. And according
to those same sources, it's looking more and
more like Hegseth's position might become untenable
later this year, too. So we could be seeing some
pretty big personnel shakeups all because of,
what, a messaging app? It's amazing how something
seemingly so small can have such huge ramifications,
isn't it? It really exposes the fragility of
power and how quickly things can change in this
kind of environment. OK, so let's switch gears
now and talk about money and not just any money.
We're talking about what electoral vote news
very bluntly labels outrageous grift. Ooh, outrageous
grift. That's a strong accusation. It is. But
let's see if it's justified, shall we? First
up, we have the Trump T crypto coin. And this
is where it gets wild. This coin, which basically
has no actual value in the sense that you can't
really use it to buy stuff like you can with
other cryptocurrencies, well, it managed to generate
a mind -blowing $14 billion in trading volume.
$14 billion for something with no actual value.
Okay, that's crazy. What does that tell us about
where we are in the financial world? I mean,
think about it. Yeah. People are so eager to
jump on anything remotely connected to Trump
that they're willing to throw billions of dollars
at a coin that's basically just a digital souvenir.
It's like a purely speculative asset driven by
hype and brand association rather than any underlying
fundamentals. This is really taking that whole
meme stock phenomenon to a whole new level. It's
wild. Totally wild. And of course, the Trump
family is right there front and center cashing
in on this whole thing. Of course they are. Through
their controlling interest in the company and
their sweet 75 % cut of the trading fees, they've
likely pocketed around $100 million. Not bad
for a coin with no actual value, right? No, not
bad at all. It's a pretty impressive return on
investment, even if the investment itself is
questionable. But here's where the real story
lies. It's estimated that around four dozen other
insiders, people close to the Trumps, made at
least $10 million each from this whole scheme.
So you've got this small group of people getting
incredibly wealthy while everyone else is left
wondering what just happened. Exactly. And while
those insiders are celebrating, there are about
200 ,000 smaller fish who are now facing huge
losses. Oh, I hadn't heard that number. 200 ,000.
That's a lot of people. And guess what? A lot
of them are diehard Trump supporters, people
who believed in him, who trusted him. And the
report doesn't hold back. It straight up calls
this fleecing his own people and a classic pump
and dump scheme. So the idea is they pumped up
the price by making all sorts of promises and
claims, got people excited, and then dumped it,
leaving those smaller fish holding the bag. It's
a... pretty ruthless tactic. It is. And it preys
on people's emotions, their loyalty, their desire
to be part of something. Yeah. And when you have
someone like Trump with such a devoted following,
it's almost like a recipe for disaster, especially
in the unregulated world of crypto. So what happens
next? Well, Don Jr. and Eric Trump come out and
announce a brand new stable coin. This one's
called USD $1 and it's pegged to the US dollar.
A stable coin, huh? So in theory, this one should
actually have real value. That's the idea. They're
hoping that those folks who lost big on Trump
will see this as a safer bet, a chance to maybe
recoup some of their losses or at least get back
in the game with the Trump -backed asset. It's
a pretty clever strategy, really. You know, leverage
that existing trust and loyalty to launch a new
product even after the previous one imploded.
It's all about keeping the money flowing, right?
Always. But the report is quick to point out
all the problems with stable coins in general,
like the fact that they're often poorly regulated
and there's always the risk that they won't be
able to maintain their peg to the dollar, which
means that people could still lose a lot of money.
And there's this, you know, rather pointed observation
that maybe just maybe the Republican controlled
Congress might suddenly get interested in regulating
these stable coins now that the Trumps are involved.
The timing of it all is well. Interesting. It's
very interesting, isn't it? Almost makes you
wonder if personal interests might influence
legislative priorities. It's a thought. OK, so
moving on, we have this truly mind blowing proposal
for a compensation fund for the January 6th rioters.
Wait, what? A compensation fund for the rioters?
Yeah, you heard that right. Trump actually mentioned
this on Newsmax saying there's talk about setting
up a fund to compensate those who were involved
in the attack on the Capitol. He even brought
up Ashley Babbitt. You know, the woman who was
shot by Capitol police during the riot. So he's
basically saying that these people were treated
unfairly and deserve compensation for their actions.
That's the gist of it, yeah. And he claims that
there's support for this idea within the government.
That's a bold claim. It seems unlikely that Congress
would approve something like that, wouldn't you
say? Using taxpayer money to compensate people
who participated in an attack on the Capitol?
That would be hugely controversial. Hugely. And
the report agrees, saying that it's highly improbable
that Congress would ever go for something like
this. But ever the resourceful entrepreneur,
Trump might consider setting up a private foundation
instead, funded by, you know, wealthy donors
looking for a way to get in his good graces.
It wouldn't be the first time he's used private
funds to achieve his political goals. Exactly.
And here's a detail that really caught my eye.
The report suggests that Trump himself might
actually benefit financially from this compensation
fund. You know, because he keeps saying that
he also suffered as a result of the election.
So the idea is that he could use this fund to,
in a way, compensate himself. It's not explicitly
stated, but it's definitely implied. And you
know what the craziest part is? The report speculates
that the folks who receive money from this fund,
whether it's government -funded or private, might
just turn around and spend it on Trump -branded
merchandise or even those USD -1 stable coins.
So it could create this self -perpetuating cycle
where money flows into Trump -related ventures
no matter what. A circular flow of Trump cash.
It's remarkable, really. It is. OK, I'm ready
for the next one. What else do we have? OK, so
next up... we have the commercialization of the
White House Easter egg roll. The Easter egg roll?
Seriously? You know that tradition where kids
roll eggs on the White House lawn? It's been
going on since 1878. And apparently 25 presidents,
all non -Trump presidents, managed to resist
the urge to sell sponsorships for this event.
That's a pretty long track record of keeping
it, you know, pure and non -commercial. It's
a nice tradition, really. It is. But Team Trump
has decided to shake things up a bit. They've
introduced sponsorship packages with platinum
gold and bronze tiers. Platinum gold bronze sounds
more like a casino than a kids event. It does,
doesn't it? Platinum level will set you back
a cool $200 ,000, gold is $125 ,000, and bronze
is a mere $75 ,000. And what do you get for that?
Well, the details are a bit vague. Something
about branding for a key area or activation.
Branding for key area or activation? That clears
it right up. And as you might expect, there's
no clear explanation of where this money is going
to end up. But I think we can all make a pretty
educated guess, can't we? It wouldn't be surprising
if it somehow found its way back into Trump's
pockets. All right. Last but not least, we have
Paula White and her, shall we say, unique fundraising
approach. Paula White, the televangelist. The
one and only. She's got a video out there offering
what she calls specific supernatural blessings
in exchange for a $1 ,000 donation. Specific
supernatural blessings. What does that even mean?
Well, for a thousand bucks, you can get things
like an angel assigned to you personally, prosperity,
healing, and even divine punishment for your
enemies. Divine punishment for your enemies?
That's a new one. It is, isn't it? And Electoral
Vote News, bless their hearts, they offered a
counter -proposal. Four times as many miracles
for just $500. Gotta love their sense of humor.
It's a pretty good deal if you're into that sort
of thing. OK, so that's a glimpse into the world
of Trump -related finance. Now, let's see how
the market is making sense of all this. We'll
turn to the Horizon Weekly market recap for some
insights. OK, this is where we get to see how
these events are impacting the real economy,
right? Exactly. And the big takeaway here is
that the market does not like tariff uncertainty.
Which makes sense. Tariffs create a lot of unknowns
for businesses. They don't know what their costs
are going to be. They don't know how consumers
will react to price increases. It's all very
destabilizing. And last week, we saw market declines
right after Trump announced those 25 percent
tariffs on the auto sector. According to Piper
Sander, this has pushed overall U .S. tariffs
to their highest level since the 1940s. Since
the 1940s? Wow, that's a significant jump. It
is. And the market is reacting accordingly. The
S &P 500 hasn't been able to regain its 200 -day
moving average, and the report says it's on track
for its worst trading month since September 2022.
Yeah, the 200 -day moving average is a key indicator
that a lot of traders watch. Falling below that
line is not a good sign. It suggests that there
is more downside risk, more potential for further
losses. Right. So we're seeing broad market weakness,
and that's being directly linked to these tariff
-related growth fears. People are worried about
the economy. And it's not just Wall Street. Consumer
business and investor sentiment are all down.
It's like a ripple effect, right? Uncertainty
in one area spreads to other areas, and pretty
soon everyone's nervous. Exactly. And typically,
The non -farm payrolls data that comes out on
Friday would be a big market moving event. But
this week, all eyes are on Liberation Day, April
2nd. Everyone's waiting to see what kind of big
tariff policy announcement Trump is going to
make. So the market is basically holding its
breath, waiting for more clarity on trade policy.
Pretty much. They're hoping for concrete details
and ideally... signal that tariffs will be lowered
because that would be a huge relief for businesses
and investors it would signal a more stable and
predictable trade environment right but if Trump
announces even higher tariffs or if he keeps
everyone guessing well that's likely gonna spook
the markets even more uncertainty is the enemy
of the market So we've covered a lot of ground
here. We've seen internal power struggles, questionable
financial dealings, and market jitters. What
are your main takeaways from all this? Well,
I think it's clear that we're seeing a clash
between political ambitions and economic realities.
The administration seems to be focused on consolidating
power and enriching itself, even if it means
undermining national security and sowing chaos
in the markets. And all this is happening. against
the backdrop of growing economic anxiety. People
are worried about the future, and these actions
are only adding to that uncertainty. And, you
know, what's really striking to me is the sheer
scale of some of these things, like the Tremonti
coin generating $14 billion in trading volume.
That's a huge amount of money flowing into something
with no intrinsic value. And then you have the
proposal to compensate the January 6th rioters.
I mean, that's just mind boggling. And then there's
the commercialization of the Easter egg roll.
It's like nothing is sacred anymore. It does
seem like the pursuit of profit has become the
overriding principle. That's a bit disheartening,
really. It is. We've given you a lot to think
about today. Hopefully this deep dive has helped
you make some sense of this crazy world we're
living in. But before we go, I want to leave
you with one final thought. OK, I'm all ears.
Thinking about all the things we've discussed
today about the events of just this one day,
April 1st. 2025. What does it tell us about the
future? Where are we headed? What kind of world
are we creating? It's a question we all need
to be asking ourselves. Because the choices we
make today will have consequences that ripple
out for years to come. It's not just about the
money or the politics. It's about the kind of
society we want to live in. It's about our values,
our priorities, and our shared future. Thanks
for joining us for this deep dive. And until
next time, keep asking those tough questions.
And stay informed. Absolutely. Stay informed.