1 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:08,479 Speaker 1: On this episode of Newtsworld. President Trump marked his first 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: hundred days in office this week, and it's been one 3 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: of the most remarkable one hundred days in any modern 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,080 Speaker 1: American presidency. From securing the border to taking on inflation 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: to challenging unfair tarishs from countries around the globe, President 6 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: Trump has had a monumental impact in a very short 7 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: period of time. Here to discuss the first hundred days, 8 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,919 Speaker 1: I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, doctor Kevin Roberts, 9 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: President of the Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America. Kevin, welcome, 10 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: and thank you for joining me on Newtsworld. 11 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 2: Newt Gingrich, I am not just being polite as a 12 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 2: fellow Southerner when I say it's heartfelt. You are one 13 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 2: of my political heroes and mentors. It is a leisure 14 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 2: to be with you, sir. 15 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: Well, You've been doing an amazing job at Heritage, and 16 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 1: I'm just delighted to have this chance to talk to 17 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: you because I know you have a remarkably broad view 18 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: of everything that goes on with government and that Heritage 19 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: does an astonishing job as one of the great centers 20 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,839 Speaker 1: of conservative thought in America. Let's start with the border 21 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: where I have to confess. Much as I support Trump 22 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: admire him, the achievement on the border crossing is like unbelievable. 23 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: I think the drop last month from one hundred and 24 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: eighty nine thousand under Biden for the same period to 25 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: about eleven thousand under Trump, and it's continued to go down. 26 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: They've dropped from about fifteen thousand illegal entries into ander 27 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: Biden to about one hundred and seventy eight. You've seen 28 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: the collapse in the number of people trying to get 29 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: in because they figured out that they're not going to 30 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: Are you surprised by the scale of change? 31 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 2: Like you, I had very high expts because you and 32 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 2: I both know President Trump. When we know that, especially 33 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 2: this time around, he's assembled what I think is the 34 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 2: greatest cabinet in modern political history. It has the potential 35 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 2: to be the greatest ever. And so with those two dynamics, 36 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 2: our expectations were really high. 37 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 3: As you said, Newt. 38 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 2: And yet particularly when you look at the number of 39 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 2: border crossings that is the minuscule number, now you realize 40 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 2: they're ahead of schedule. And then I started thinking about it, Newt. 41 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 2: One last important point on this, Tom Homan who was 42 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 2: a fellow here at Heritage, a friend to us both 43 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 2: I spoke with recently, and Tom was not surprised at 44 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 2: all because he thought that the combination of the rhetoric 45 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 2: after the election day by him and by the President, 46 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 2: and obviously all of the key figures, including Secretary Nome, 47 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 2: would create this process of deflating the numbers, that is, 48 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 2: people who would be willing to cross the border would 49 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 2: start to decline. But what the precise thing that they've 50 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 2: done a really good job of is at the order 51 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 2: interdicting these people who are crossing illegally. And then finally 52 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 2: they're really gaining some momentum on the interior enforcement, which 53 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 2: of course is where you and I and other normal 54 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 2: Americans just going about our daily lives encounter these illegal aliens. 55 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 2: So hats off to the administration. In fact, they might 56 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 2: even already be victims of their quick success because Americans 57 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 2: are starting to get used to having operational control of 58 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 2: the southern border. 59 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: That's right. The reality is when you solve something, it 60 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: drops off their list. Tim Hammer said something on April 61 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: twenty eighth and a White House briefing that I thought 62 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: was astonishing. He said, last year one hundred and eighty 63 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: four thousand illegal aliens were released into the United States 64 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: under Biden. In the same time period this year, the 65 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: number was nine. Now, to go from one hundred and 66 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: eighty four thousand to nine, I would have thought that 67 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: was technically impossible. 68 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 2: You would think it would be impossible to get the 69 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 2: number that low, and yet it just shows you. As 70 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 2: President Trump said on the media, you know, the corporate 71 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 2: media thought he was just being flipped. You didn't need 72 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 2: really new policies. You needed a new president to enforce 73 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 2: the law in the books. And obviously, as you know 74 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 2: better than anyone, Congress needs to take some action and 75 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 2: they will. But ultimately President Trump has delivered practically immediately 76 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 2: on the single most important part that drove the outcome 77 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 2: of this election, and that was the lawlessness at the 78 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 2: southern border that Americans all across the political spectrum, from 79 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 2: the left to the right thought was absurd. 80 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: You know, I think that that was one of the 81 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: two great things, along with the economy, that drove people 82 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: to decide that they had to replace Biden and led 83 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 1: them to support President Trump as strongly as they did. 84 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: But there are a number of other pieces of this 85 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 1: whole safety issue, which is, in my mind, you have 86 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: domestic safety from crime, you have safety from the cartels 87 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: and others who want to penetrate our country illegally, and 88 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: then you have national relations in the whole national security issue. 89 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: As Heritage looks at all this, what's your sense of 90 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: how they are doing and whether or not they're moving 91 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: in the right direction. 92 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 2: Well, the bottom line up front is they're one percent 93 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 2: moving in the right direction. And there are a few 94 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 2: reasons for that. The first is they're not committing the 95 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 2: problem of failing to. 96 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 3: See the forest through the trees. 97 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 2: That is to say, it would be very common in 98 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 2: the first days of a presidency, first weeks of a 99 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 2: presidency to home in on one discrete issue and see 100 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 2: some policy progress, some good outcomes in that one discreet part, 101 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 2: but sort of like you know, a really complex engine, 102 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 2: if you get one part of it right, maybe it 103 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 2: affects the running of the rest of it. Instead, I 104 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 2: think because of the experience of the individuals who have 105 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,119 Speaker 2: control of the respective parts of the government, as well 106 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 2: as the wisdom experience, and very importantly the gut instincts 107 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 2: of Donald Trump, which may be the best in the 108 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 2: history of the presidency, they actually have a strategic view 109 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 2: about how all of these discrete parts fit into the 110 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 2: outcome that they want. And because the outcome that they 111 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 2: want ultimately is the restoration of the American dream, the 112 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 2: revitalization of self governance, and that requires Washington to get 113 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 2: the hell out of the way of the everyday, hardworking American. 114 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 2: They're doing really well. In short, what they're doing, I 115 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 2: think in every policy area is connecting the daily tactical 116 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 2: steps that have to be accrued day by day, week 117 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 2: by week, month by month that lead to this strategic objective. 118 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,279 Speaker 2: So at Heritage, where's part of our job, informally on 119 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 2: the outside to take a sort of holistic view of 120 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 2: how all of this is going. 121 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 3: Even accounting for. 122 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 2: Our really high expectations, we believe the administration is surpassing them. 123 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: You played a major role in developing a whole range 124 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: of opportunities and executive orders, and were you surprised at 125 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,240 Speaker 1: the speed of the first hundred days. I think he 126 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: beat Franklin Roosevelt's record for executive orders issued in the 127 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 1: first hundred days and did it across the board. Clearly 128 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: an men's amount of work. Between Heritage and the America 129 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: First policy Institute. This was the richest period of development 130 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: for transition in American history. 131 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 2: I'm so proud of everyone who had anything to do 132 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 2: with the outcomes that we're seeing up to this point. Obviously, 133 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 2: President Trump, Vice President Advance, the Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, 134 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 2: who's doing a remarkable job, the whole cabinet deserve all 135 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 2: of the credit. Right those of us who have the 136 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 2: privilege of helping out on the outside and who do 137 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 2: that in between. Conservative presidencies have this privilege of being 138 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 2: able to cultivate these ideas the specific policy proposals. But 139 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 2: what Heritage and AFPI and one hundred and ten groups 140 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 2: across the conservative movement got right was that the courage 141 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 2: and instincts of Donald Trump, which are unique in modern 142 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 2: American political history, when paired with a set of policy preparations, 143 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 2: personnel recommendations, all of us doing that for the sake 144 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 2: of the country, for any other purpose, would be a 145 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 2: really special recipe. And therefore, when you ask about the 146 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 2: pace of the first hundred days, you and I are 147 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 2: both historians, we both immediately think about what FDR did. 148 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 2: I mentioned to a group of these conservative coalition folks 149 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 2: in the last couple of days that the American people 150 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 2: should be taking a victory lap because, for the first 151 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 2: time in my lifetime, but really the first time since 152 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 2: FDR left office, the Conservative movement as a president who 153 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 2: is willing to move with the vigor and pace that 154 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 2: FDR did for the New Deal, not even Ronald Reagan, 155 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 2: one of our heroes, move with that kind of pace. 156 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 2: And the reason that this is important Newt is that 157 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,559 Speaker 2: so much of this large strategic objective is about scaling 158 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 2: back the worst rotten fruit that came out of the 159 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 2: New Deal, the misnomer the Great Society thirty years later, 160 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 2: and obviously the aggravation of those ridiculous policies under Obama 161 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 2: and Biden. In short, President Trump has to move this 162 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 2: quickly if in fact we have a chance at getting 163 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 2: this Republic back on track. 164 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: I was a big fan of Reagan's I worked with Reagan, 165 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: and what he did with the Soviet Empire was astonishing. 166 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: I mean, a grand strategic defeat without a war. But 167 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: while he moved the country to the right, and he 168 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: relaunched the American economy and he rebuilt a sense of 169 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,840 Speaker 1: American morale, I don't think President Reagan ever saw it 170 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: as plausible that he could take on the entire establishment, 171 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: And of course, in the thirty years since then, the 172 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: system has evolved and gotten much sicker, much more corrupt, 173 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: much bigger. And Trump came along, and I think that 174 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: the four years that he was out of office allowed 175 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 1: him to really think about how bad the system had become. 176 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 1: And ironic from the standpoint of the left having blocked 177 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: him in twenty twenty, they gave him the chance to 178 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: really develop a level of boldness that I think if 179 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 1: he can sustain this, and if he can win the 180 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: twenty twenty sixth election, this will be the fifth great 181 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: change agent presidency after Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and FDR. And frankly, 182 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 1: I don't think I was fully ready for that scale 183 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: of change. And you see it in the economy where 184 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: we shifted from the Biden system, which was creating mostly 185 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: government jobs, were almost no private sector jobs, and all 186 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,959 Speaker 1: of a sudden, with Trump, you have a huge increase 187 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: in private sector jobs. You have jobs in mining and logging, 188 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 1: you have jobs in construction, you have jobs in manufacturing, 189 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:51,560 Speaker 1: and there we gained nine thousand manufacturing jobs, while under 190 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: Biden we were losing six thousand manufacturing jobs every month 191 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:59,200 Speaker 1: from January twenty three to twenty four. I mean, don't 192 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: you think in this sense, so we are right on 193 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: the edge of, potentially, if we can pass the one big, 194 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: beautiful bill on top of all of the investments people 195 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,839 Speaker 1: are announcing, we could really have a Trump boom by 196 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:11,439 Speaker 1: next summer. 197 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 2: We could, and two things, the first a near term 198 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 2: comment and then one much longer term to your point 199 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 2: about Trump being already or on the brink of one 200 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 2: of our five great change agent presidents. The first near 201 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 2: term comment is, if Congress can get the reconciliation bill passed, 202 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 2: hopefully by the beginning of the summer, not let this 203 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 2: slide until September. Is you so rightly observed, given your experience, 204 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,800 Speaker 2: then what I think is likely is that you're going 205 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 2: to see not just an economic recovery from a little 206 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,719 Speaker 2: bit of uncertainty choppiness right now, but an economic boom 207 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 2: just in time for the midterm elections, especially if Trump 208 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 2: is out there, as you have recommended, doing whistle stop 209 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 2: tours and getting Americans to understand that even if he's 210 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 2: not on the ballot, his agenda is on the ballot. 211 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 2: And that leads me directly to the second long term comment. 212 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 2: What I think we're in the first month newt is 213 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 2: a presidency that is going to redirect the trajectory of 214 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,439 Speaker 2: the United States future. And by that I mean it 215 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 2: does a compliment because I think what we have been doing, 216 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 2: even on the right, is managing decline, and we ad 217 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,719 Speaker 2: heritage you know as well have said we lament that 218 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 2: that's reality, but we also don't believe that that decline 219 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 2: is irreversible. And obviously that's what makes Trump tick, is 220 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 2: making America great again, to use his motto. 221 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 3: But all of that to lead to this point. 222 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 2: If you think about the four presidents you mentioned, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, FDR. 223 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 2: They didn't just dominate an era, but to underscore the 224 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 2: point that you're making, they dictated the parameters of politics 225 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:45,679 Speaker 2: for a century and even beyond that. I could make 226 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 2: a case for each of them that they put an 227 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 2: imprint on what America, the American dream, even the identity 228 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:56,679 Speaker 2: of Americans would be. And Trump is doing that because 229 00:12:56,679 --> 00:13:00,120 Speaker 2: he's reminding us of the principles of our founding, which 230 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 2: is that centralized power isn't just expensive and inefficient, it 231 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 2: stands in the way of individual, hardworking Americans. Realizing their 232 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,160 Speaker 2: potential in the ways we put it as Americans realizing 233 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 2: the American dream. I think to sum up here that 234 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 2: if we continue on this pace, and reconciliation gets passed 235 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 2: hopefully by the House by Memorial Day and by the 236 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:28,199 Speaker 2: Senate earlier in the summer, and the Trump cabinet continues 237 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,680 Speaker 2: to do what they're doing, which is remarkable, that we're 238 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,439 Speaker 2: not only going to see success in twenty twenty six 239 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 2: and twenty twenty eight and in the near term. I 240 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 2: think that people who are having this conversation when you 241 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 2: and I are both gone in the year twenty one hundred, 242 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 2: are going to look back and say, the twenty twenties 243 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,680 Speaker 2: was the decade when the United States decided it was 244 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 2: reversing its decline, it was going to stop hating itself, 245 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 2: it was going to tell allies, suppose it, allies in Europe, 246 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,199 Speaker 2: put your money where your mouth is, and then will 247 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 2: be your best friend. And ultimately a majority of Americans 248 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 2: decided that they would wake up and say, this is 249 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,200 Speaker 2: our country again, and the American dream is alive and 250 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:07,880 Speaker 2: well for us, for our kids and for our grandkids. 251 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 2: I know that's what motivates President Trump. 252 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: I had the feeling. In his speech to the Congress, 253 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: he had a section where he talked about merit and 254 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 1: the importance of performance, and I thought that was in 255 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: some ways the most important part of the speech because 256 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: it was a direct repudiation of the sort of diversity, inclusiveness, 257 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: and equity model of the left, which said, you don't 258 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: have to work for it, you don't have to earn it, 259 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: you don't have to desire it. We somehow owe it 260 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: to you, no matter how lazy you are, how incompetent 261 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: you are. The cultural part of trump Ism may in 262 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: the long run be even more important than the changes 263 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: in tax law or the changes in regulation, because it's 264 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: getting America back to being Americans again. I mean, a 265 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: good example is the country's overwhelmingly in favor of the 266 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: work ethic, and the country overwhelmingly favors requiring people who 267 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: get money from the government to work for it. This, 268 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 1: of course, is totally antagonistic to the hard left. I 269 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: think that the country is going to rally to President 270 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 1: Trump on these issues, and as a side effect of that, 271 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 1: because he's offering a very pro free enterprise, very optimistic vision. 272 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: I mean, they've been over five trillion dollars in investments 273 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,840 Speaker 1: announced in the US economy since you took office, think 274 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 1: about the first hundred days, there's already been announced over 275 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: five trillion dollars in various investments. I find that to 276 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: be astonishing. 277 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 2: It is astonishing, and there's some good evidence just as 278 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 2: we sit here that that number has become even larger 279 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,360 Speaker 2: than the amount of investments. And it leads me to 280 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 2: make this observation on top of all of the good 281 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 2: points that you've made newt and it's this, if we 282 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 2: continue on this path of all of these good policies 283 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 2: by the administration and by Congress, and we initiate and 284 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 2: win what is in essence a trade war with China, 285 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 2: we will have prevented, in the same way that Reagan 286 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 2: prevented a hot war with the Soviet Union, a hot 287 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 2: war with China. Because most really smart foreign policy people 288 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 2: before Trump won the election in November of twenty twenty four, 289 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 2: believed that Shi Jinping was probably telling the truth when 290 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 2: he was signaling that by twenty twenty seven China was 291 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 2: going to invade Taiwan. That obviously has some serious consequences 292 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 2: on the United States, but China's ambitions You and I 293 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 2: know full well are beyond Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party 294 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 2: under She wants to dominate the world. As I travel 295 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 2: waiving the Heritage flag internationally, the most common thing that 296 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 2: I hear as a worry by international friends is the 297 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 2: success politically and economically of the Belton Road initiative of 298 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 2: China's great infrastructure program Internationally, Now, the infrastructure, the technology 299 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 2: has up to this point been terrible, and you don't 300 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 2: want to be doing business with She and the CCP. 301 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:04,440 Speaker 2: But ultimately, what Trump is doing, using really sophisticated policy 302 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 2: and great leaders like Scott Bessant, is initiating a conflict 303 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,400 Speaker 2: that the Chinese thought the United States no longer had 304 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 2: the spine to initiate. But they discounted even Donald Trump, 305 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,520 Speaker 2: even though they knew how he operated from his first term. 306 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 2: And so what I'm saying in a certain extended way, 307 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 2: even though it's early, is that even beyond the very 308 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,200 Speaker 2: obvious early fruits of this Trump agenda, I think We're 309 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,360 Speaker 2: going to reap some long term benefits from him completely 310 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,639 Speaker 2: upending the status quo, particularly as it relates to what 311 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:38,200 Speaker 2: has been a real cowardice towards China by both the 312 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 2: right and left over the last several years. 313 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: When you look at the Chinese challenge, it clearly makes 314 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:45,919 Speaker 1: us come back and look at ourselves. I mean, we 315 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 1: have to fix our education system if we're going to 316 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:50,959 Speaker 1: compete in the long run with China. We have to 317 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: fix our regulatory system. You know, the Chinese have twenty 318 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: nine thousand miles of high speed rail. We basically have none. 319 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: And our buaqocricy in our union work rules are such 320 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: that it's virtually impossible to imagine how you're going to 321 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,399 Speaker 1: get there without very dramatic change. And so in that sense, 322 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,399 Speaker 1: I think the very act of thinking through what is 323 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,680 Speaker 1: it going to take not just to compete with China, 324 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,439 Speaker 1: but to succeed in making sure that the United States 325 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: remains the leading country in the world, which is very 326 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: important for the projection of freedom. A world in which 327 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: China is dominant is a world in which to tolitarianism 328 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: will spread pretty darn rapidly. One of the projects you've 329 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: been involved in, which I thought was very daring and 330 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: fits this whole cultural change heritage, actually got IBM to 331 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: commit publicly that they were going to uphold viewpoint neutrality 332 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,159 Speaker 1: and move away from race and gender based hiring. I 333 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,040 Speaker 1: mean that is an extraordinary achievement. Can you share with 334 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: us how you did this? 335 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 3: Sure, it's a team effort. 336 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 2: When you work at Heritage, you are able to work 337 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 2: with a lot of smart people. And so our motivation 338 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 2: for doing this is that we believe, at Heritage, having 339 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 2: been a leading public policy organization in the country. I 340 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,120 Speaker 2: think we're the largest conservative think tank in the world, 341 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 2: that we have to update how we do business to 342 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 2: reflect changing politics, to reflect a changing country, which is 343 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 2: to say, we'll always do the academic quality research with 344 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:21,199 Speaker 2: the primary audience being policymakers in Congress and now thirty 345 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,680 Speaker 2: state legislatures. We've added state based work to our suite 346 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 2: of arenas, obviously also the presidential administration. But the point 347 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 2: is that we've spent a lot more time thinking about 348 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 2: other arenas where we could use the credibility we've earned 349 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 2: over our fifty two years of existence and frankly wield 350 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 2: the influence that we have. And I say that without hubris, 351 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 2: but just to say people understand that Heritage has got 352 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 2: some influence and so corporate boardrooms, we believed was one 353 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 2: of those frontiers that we needed to enter using not 354 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 2: just the capital we have to invest, but being able 355 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 2: to assemble the capital of like minded investors, whether they 356 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,200 Speaker 2: be individuals or organszations, and put some pressure on those 357 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 2: corporations to remember their primary objective, which is to earn 358 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 2: a profit, not to implement wokeness, which of course costs 359 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 2: money for the shareholders. 360 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 3: And we are. 361 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 2: Really really happy that the early first fruit of this 362 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 2: partnership with Robbie Starbuck, who's been such a wonderfully effective 363 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 2: activist along these lines, has borne this fruit with sort 364 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,119 Speaker 2: of the quintessentially American company IBM. And so we're not 365 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:31,239 Speaker 2: going anywhere either from the policy arena or now from 366 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:33,879 Speaker 2: corporate boardrooms. You can tell I'm really proud of my 367 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 2: colleagues for affecting this change. But I should say that 368 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 2: a lot of people have tilled the soil, both at 369 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 2: Heritage and outside Heritage over the last several years, and it. 370 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 3: Leads me to this conclusion. I talk often. 371 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,160 Speaker 2: I wrote about it in a book that I published 372 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 2: last year about the new Conservative movement. And the claim 373 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 2: that I make is one that you've actually made your 374 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 2: entire career, and that is just because you decide as 375 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 2: a conservative to use different tactics to meet the changing 376 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:04,719 Speaker 2: landscape of the day doesn't mean that you're leaving your 377 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:07,680 Speaker 2: principles aside. In fact, as I think Ronald Reagan would 378 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:09,560 Speaker 2: remind us if he were sitting here and having this 379 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 2: conversation with us, you're actually being smart if you're applying 380 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:17,680 Speaker 2: those principles using some different tactics, and so getting involved 381 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 2: selectively in some of these corporate boardrooms on behalf of 382 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:23,439 Speaker 2: common sense is something that Heritage will continue to do 383 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 2: and we see now as a central part of how 384 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:41,359 Speaker 2: we go about affecting public policy. 385 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,200 Speaker 1: Tell us about your book, Dawn's Early Light, Taking Back 386 00:21:46,359 --> 00:21:47,640 Speaker 1: Washington to Save America. 387 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 2: Ultimately, I was trying to articulate how the conservative movement 388 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 2: could move out of what had been an unintended decade 389 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 2: or so maybe longer, of complacency and complacency, if I 390 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 2: may say, with some good reason, a lot of policy success, 391 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 2: frankly because of a role that you played as speaker 392 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,680 Speaker 2: in the nineteen nineties, success because of Ronald Reagan's success, 393 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,879 Speaker 2: because of Heritage and other conservative groups. But when we 394 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:18,120 Speaker 2: won the Cold War, the really hard earned peace dividend 395 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,679 Speaker 2: actually just became an opportunity for well intentioned conservatives to 396 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 2: sort of celebrate successes of the past. And when I 397 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 2: became President of Heritage three and a half years ago, 398 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 2: I was given the charge by the wonderful board here 399 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 2: in my colleagues to chart a path not just for 400 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 2: this institution, but for the entire Conservative movement, a path 401 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 2: that would be filled with a lot more energy, much 402 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 2: more robust agenda. And so what I talk about in 403 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 2: the book is that just as our founders at the 404 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:51,639 Speaker 2: beginning of the revolution had to work to refound the 405 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 2: country in the Battle of eighteen twelve, from which we get, 406 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 2: of course the phrase dawnt early Light from our national anthem, 407 00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,520 Speaker 2: we're having to do the same thing in the twenty 408 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,639 Speaker 2: first cent which is to say, the new Conservative movement 409 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 2: has the same principles that conservatism has always had, going 410 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 2: back to Burke and even Aristotle, but our tactics need 411 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 2: to be different. We need to be willing to mix 412 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:12,920 Speaker 2: it up a little bit more. We need to be willing, 413 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:15,680 Speaker 2: as Trump and Dvance have shown, to build a coalition 414 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 2: that to working class and multi ethnic. We need to 415 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:21,239 Speaker 2: be willing to tell our allies around the world, if 416 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,160 Speaker 2: you want to continue to be an ally with us, 417 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,399 Speaker 2: you're going to have to pony up the same percentage 418 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,280 Speaker 2: of your GDP as the Americans do. And finally, I 419 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 2: will say, with tremendous credit to jd Vance, who helped 420 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,120 Speaker 2: me understand this during his even before his Senate campaign 421 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 2: when we became friends, you have to look at public 422 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 2: policy not through the lens of Washington or from Wall Street, 423 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 2: but obviously through the lens of everyday hardworking Americans. And 424 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:52,080 Speaker 2: the more conservatives do that, the more we realize that 425 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:57,159 Speaker 2: the three legs of the conservative fusionism stool are mom, dad, 426 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 2: and kids. The more we realize that the most important 427 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 2: institution is the family, The more we realize the most 428 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,040 Speaker 2: important part of the public square is our dinner table. 429 00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 2: The more we realize that local politics are more important 430 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,679 Speaker 2: than Washington because it's there that we build the power 431 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 2: and influence to revitalize federalism, the better off conservatism will be. 432 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 2: And none of these ideas are very few of them 433 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:24,679 Speaker 2: newt as you know well. 434 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 3: Are not original to me. 435 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 2: But what I try to do in the book is 436 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 2: put them together in a way that is sort of 437 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 2: a ten thousand foot view of where we can go 438 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 2: over the next twenty five and even one hundred years 439 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 2: in this country. 440 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 3: Donald Trump and JD. 441 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,360 Speaker 2: Vance's election in November, of course, is providential because, as 442 00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 2: we've talked about thus far in this conversation, we're ahead 443 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 2: of schedule when it comes to building this new conservative movement. 444 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:54,160 Speaker 1: I think you have played an extraordinarily important role in 445 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:58,680 Speaker 1: relaunching conservatism with a new dynamism and a new excitement. 446 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: I say this is some who came to Washington in 447 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,280 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventies. It's a great joy to me to 448 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:10,440 Speaker 1: see you modernizing, looking forward, realizing both at the most 449 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: local level and at the global level, that there's a 450 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:16,359 Speaker 1: role for conservatism and that it's vital in that sense. 451 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: I think you're really doing a remarkable job for heritage 452 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: and for the conservative movement. And that's part of why 453 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 1: I was thrilled that you could discuss with us today. 454 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: The first one hundred days the president has had in 455 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:32,400 Speaker 1: the country, said, a remarkable launch. As you look forward 456 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,919 Speaker 1: to the next hundred days, what concerns you the most. 457 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:39,919 Speaker 2: Top of that list is Congress taking too long to 458 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 2: pass reconciliation, not just because it would be bad policy 459 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 2: to wait on the extension of tax cuts and attendant 460 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 2: budget cuts, not cuts to medicaid, but cuts elsewhere to 461 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:54,400 Speaker 2: the point you made at the top of our conversation, 462 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:56,880 Speaker 2: but also because of the context in. 463 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,240 Speaker 3: Which reconciliation exists. 464 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:04,639 Speaker 2: That context right now is being dominated by this rightly intentioned, 465 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:09,240 Speaker 2: largely good tariff regime, one in which tariffs are going 466 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,200 Speaker 2: to be, as I see it, a short term tool 467 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,880 Speaker 2: of state craft in order to isolate the Chinese Communist 468 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,920 Speaker 2: Party and re establish truly fair trade, which of course 469 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:22,560 Speaker 2: is what conservatives believe in. But that has created fairly 470 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:27,040 Speaker 2: or unfairly market uncertainty. But even beyond the market uncertainty, 471 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,480 Speaker 2: it is created because heritage is very much in touch 472 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 2: with main street conservatives before we're in touch with Wall 473 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 2: Street conservatives. Uncertainty by small capital and it's small businesses, 474 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,119 Speaker 2: as you know well, who are the engines of this economy. 475 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 2: And so the longer to get to the punchline here, 476 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 2: the longer Congress takes to introduce more certainty on tax 477 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 2: cuts and on reducing government spending in the near term 478 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 2: and midterm, the longer the market and the media, corporate 479 00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:02,120 Speaker 2: media have to sort of undermine the certainty that they 480 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,399 Speaker 2: have that Trump and his economic agenda are going to 481 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:07,480 Speaker 2: be right for this country. You and I both know 482 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,360 Speaker 2: that that's the case. Trump's economic agenda is a very 483 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 2: important reset that's long overdue. But if Congress fails to 484 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,160 Speaker 2: act soon enough, then I think they're going to miss 485 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,440 Speaker 2: the opportunity, to say the least, to accentuate the momentum 486 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 2: the president has. And if you fast forward a year 487 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 2: from September of this year, if in fact Congress waits 488 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 2: that long to pass reconciliation, then, as you have said 489 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:34,640 Speaker 2: in recent media interviews, the economy will not have the opportunity. 490 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 2: Americans will not have the opportunity to invest the capital 491 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,639 Speaker 2: in the economy for us to see what will be 492 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 2: a Trump economic boom. This is one of the lessons, 493 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,520 Speaker 2: as you no doubt remember that Ronald Reagan took from 494 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 2: early in his presidency in not acting soon enough to 495 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,400 Speaker 2: make the changes so that in nineteen eighty two midterms 496 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 2: there wouldn't be the blood letting. 497 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 3: Politically, that's what we have to avoid because. 498 00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:00,719 Speaker 2: If in fact there is a blue wave election in 499 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 2: twenty twenty six, besides the fact that that would be 500 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,480 Speaker 2: terrible and include a lot of goofy Democrats who are 501 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 2: looney liberals, they're going to impeach Trump. They're going to 502 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:13,479 Speaker 2: decap what is so promising, not just for the next 503 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 2: four years, but as we've talked about in this conversation 504 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,920 Speaker 2: Newt potentially the next century. 505 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: I think that's right. I think the twenty twenty sixth 506 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: election is the critical moment because if we can keep 507 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 1: the House and pick up a few seats in the Senate, 508 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:33,200 Speaker 1: President Trump will have an additional wave of momentum which 509 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:35,320 Speaker 1: will lead us I think, to keeping the presidency in 510 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 1: twenty eight But if, on the other hand, because we 511 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: fail to act promptly, we could end up in a 512 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: situation where the economy is not strong enough. And I 513 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,200 Speaker 1: do think it's going to come down to a very 514 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: simple question, do you think it's working, whatever it is 515 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,560 Speaker 1: in your particular list. If you think it's working, we're 516 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:54,960 Speaker 1: going to win. If you think it's not working, we're 517 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: going to lose. It's not complicated, it's just hard. And 518 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: I think in that sense getting this done, and of 519 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: course you know full well and you have considerable ability 520 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 1: to help with this. We have two wings. We have 521 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 1: a very hardline fiscal conservative wing, which is always going 522 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,280 Speaker 1: to explain that we're not cutting enough. And then you 523 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: have very vulnerable moderates who are looking back at their 524 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: district worried about losing any votes because they are among 525 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 1: the most vulnerable people somehow, And here I have enormous 526 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: admiration for Speaker Johnson finding a way to balance those 527 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,880 Speaker 1: two get a package everybody agrees to vote on, and 528 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: doing it in a timely way. And I agree with 529 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,160 Speaker 1: Speaker Johnson that you get it through the House before 530 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:37,600 Speaker 1: Memorial Day, get it through the Senate in June, get 531 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: it signed by the President by the fourth of July. 532 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:42,480 Speaker 1: That's the ticket that'll get us the kind of boom 533 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,600 Speaker 1: that we need, and I think Heritage will play a 534 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: significant role in shaping the environment in which that can happen. 535 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 3: We're certainly trying. 536 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:51,480 Speaker 2: As I mentioned to a friend of mine who's an 537 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,240 Speaker 2: investment capital he lives outside DC. He was asking how 538 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 2: optimistic I was about what you just described according to 539 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:02,000 Speaker 2: that timeline, I would be, and I said, actually, cautiously optimistic. 540 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 2: I would be less optimistic if Speaker Johnson, with whom 541 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 2: I'm very close had not shown over the last eighteen 542 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 2: months and ability in spite of that thin majority to 543 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 2: get good policy done. And if I think about his 544 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:16,800 Speaker 2: ability what seems to be almost all but one of 545 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:20,240 Speaker 2: the House Republicans being willing to row in the same direction, 546 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 2: even accounting for different priorities that they have, and accounting 547 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 2: for the fact that the Senate almost always wants to 548 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 2: move more slowly that because President Trump himself is so 549 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 2: involved directly in this, and with those of us on 550 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 2: the outside at Heritage and Heritage Action really just wasting 551 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,400 Speaker 2: no resources and trying to make sure that we can 552 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 2: be helpful from the outside. I think this will be 553 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,240 Speaker 2: a great independence stay gift to the American people, not 554 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 2: just this year, but for many years to come. If 555 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 2: they get that bill passed, it is all systems go 556 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 2: for us to get that done and to aid these 557 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 2: great leaders on the inside, like Mike Johnson. 558 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 1: I want to thank you. You're doing a great job. 559 00:30:57,720 --> 00:30:59,920 Speaker 1: You have certainly brought a level of energy and drive 560 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 1: and a historic perspective to Heritage, and I know that 561 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,600 Speaker 1: you with your leadership, Heritage is going to continue. They 562 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 1: have an enormous impact. So I want to thank you 563 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:11,960 Speaker 1: for joining me in. I want to tell our listeners 564 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 1: they can learn more about the Heritage Foundation and Heritage 565 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:18,240 Speaker 1: Action from America at Heritage dot Org. Thank you Kevin 566 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:19,080 Speaker 1: very much. 567 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 3: Newt You are terrific. I enjoyed the conversation. God bless you. 568 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 1: Thank you to my guest doctor, Kevin Roberts. You can 569 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,200 Speaker 1: learn more about the Heritage Foundation on our show page 570 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:35,160 Speaker 1: at newtsworld dot com. Newtsworld is produced by Gagishtree sixty 571 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:39,920 Speaker 1: and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Guarnsey Sloan. Our researcher 572 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,360 Speaker 1: is Rachel Peterson. The artwork for the show was created 573 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:47,440 Speaker 1: by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the team at Gingrishtree sixty. 574 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,400 Speaker 1: If you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll go to 575 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,880 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts and both rate us with five stars and 576 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: give us a review so others can learn what it's 577 00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 1: all about. Right now, listeners of Newtsworld concern my three 578 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: free weekly columns at ginglishree sixty dot com slash newsletter. 579 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 1: I'm newt Gannglish. This is Newtsworld.