Transcript of Trade War Escalation & DNC's New Leadership | 2.3.25

Trump follows through on his tariff threats against China, Mexico, and Canada.

Donald Trump told everybody on a campaign trail, he's going to use every tool available to secure this nation, and this is a part of it.

How are the countries responding, and will the new Trade War benefit Americans in the end?

I'm Daily Wire Editor and Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, February third, and this is Morning Wire. The Democratic National Committee elects its next generation of leaders. What did they say about the party's direction after their devastating losses in November?

We had a 20-point shift to the right of our young people. We must show our young people. We give a damn about them, that we support them, and we invest in them.

Elon Musk and Doge are already having a widespread impact on the federal government, cutting billions in spending and wiping out DEI.

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This weekend, Donald Trump officially rolled out steep tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China.

Here to break down the reasoning and fall out is Daily Wire senior editor, Kabbit Phillips. Hey, Kabbit. So Trump has been threatening these tariffs for months. There's been a ton of focus on them from him, but also the press. Now, they're about to be imposed this week. What can you tell us?

Yeah, another big campaign pledge that Trump is following through on. The President has long argued that Mexico and Canada were not doing enough to prevent illegal immigrants and Chinese fentanyl from coming across their borders into the US. He believes that unless they face economic consequences in the form of tariffs, the problem will persist. On Saturday, he made it official. Starting Tuesday, all goods coming from Canada and Mexico will be subject to a 25% tariff with no exceptions, while China will face an additional 10% tariff on top of those already in place. Trump is also eliminating a loophole that had allowed duty-free shipments for products worth less than $800. The White House says that loophole was being used to smuggle in drugs and other illicit material. Here's VP Vance on Fox talking about the announcement.

We still have, thank God, the biggest economy in the entire world, the best people and the best workers. But the message from President Trump to the entire world is very clear.

We are done taken advantage of.

For context, China, Mexico, and Canada account for about 40% of all imports to the US. So the ramifications here will be widespread. White House says the tariffs will remain in place until meaningful progress has been made to curb the flow of drugs and legal immigrants. They also included a retaliation clause that will increase tariffs if those countries respond with tariffs of their own.

It looks like that might come into play here very shortly.

Right. Within hours of Trump's announcement, leaders from Canada, Mexico, and China China, slammed the move, vowing to retaliate with their own tariffs. It was Canada who struck first. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday evening that he would be responding with 25% tariffs on $100 billion worth of US imports like vegetables, furniture, and household appliances.

If President Trump wants to usher in a new golden age for the United States, the better path is to partner with Canada, not to punish us.

Mexico, vowed a looming response of their own that would include tariffs and other measures. Far left President Claudia Scheinbaum went a step further, accusing Trump of slander for saying her government was beholden to criminal organizations like cartels. For their part, China said, Fentanyl is America's problem and promise to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization and implement what they called, Necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests. But we'll have to wait and see if that means tariffs of their own.

What impact do we expect this trade to have on American consumers?

Critics of Trump argue that tariffs are essentially a tax on consumers because businesses will be forced to raise prices on imports rather than eating the costs themselves. It's worth noting, President Trump himself is seemingly preparing the American people for higher prices in the short term. Trump argues, though, that short term price increases might occur, but ultimately will be worth it in the long run because they'll force other countries to comply with demands on fentanyl and immigration and improve American manufacturing. For example, the White House sent out a memo Sunday saying the move would incentivize US consumers to buy American made products, which in turn would incentivize businesses to produce their goods here with American workers.

As you said, Trump following through on his promises here. We'll see if he can, in fact, work out a better deal for Americans. Kevin, thanks for reporting.

Anytime.

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The Democratic National Committee held elections for its new chair and vice chair this weekend, as polls show the party is historically unpopular.

Here to tell us what the DNC election signals about Democrats priorities going forward is Daily Wire Culture Report order, Megan Basham. So Megan, just to start, what was the tone of this DNC meeting?

Well, look, there's been a lot of talk from political analysts about Democrats needing to pivot away from niche identity politics and more toward kitchen table issues inflation. But I have to tell you, there was no indication over the weekend that the party is ready to do that. So this meeting began with a land acknowledgement. And if you're not familiar with that, that just means formally stating that the United States was, quote, built on Indigenous lands. In a moment that went viral for all the wrong reasons, every single finalist for chair blamed Kamala Harris's loss on racism and misogyny.

So I'm going to have a show of hands.

How How many of you believe that racism and misogyny played a role in Vice President Harris's defeat?

Okay, that's good.

You all passed.

So eight candidates on the stage and every hand immediately went up. Then there was a pretty confusing moment where multiple officials attempted to explain the gender aspect of the party's voting bylaws. So the rules attempt to create voting parity between men, women, and non-binary candidates, where you vote twice, but only for different gender candidates or something to that effect. Now, despite those gender equity efforts, at the end of the day, two white men did end up winning. Longtime DNC insider, Ken Martin was elected chair, and young anti-gun activist David Hogg was elected vice chair.

So David Hogg, that's a familiar name. Tell us about these two and what these selections signal.

Well, both reference the working class versus billionaires in their acceptance speeches, but their records are pretty far from those of the Blue Dog Democrats of yesteryear who did hold the loyalties of Union workers and rural blue collar workers. So Martin is a longtime leader of Minnesota Democrats, and he helped shape the party's focus on identity politics. This is what he said at the Muslim Caucus of America just a few years ago.

So I have to admit that I have my own white privilege here, but that doesn't prevent me from seeing the phobias that exist throughout our communities, both in Minnesota and frankly, throughout this country.

Then he's also been an enthusiastic supporter of the law fair against Donald Trump that really energized the Republican base while doing very little to win over moderates. It seems like Martin plans to continue with that no Goldsbard style, as he said that his plan is to, take the low road so my candidates can take the high road. You have to say that sounds more like an attack plan than selling voters on what Democrats have to offer. Then we look at David Hogg, Now, he's only 24 years old, and he pitched himself as being able to bring younger voters back to the party. But what he's best known for, gun control, was not actually a top issue for young voters in the last election.

Now, any indication that Democrats are getting re-energized post-election?

To be honest with you, no, not really. A new Quinnipiac poll shows that Trump is experiencing a high watermark in favorability for him after his first couple of weeks in office. But Well, that same polling group is showing a record unfavorability rating for the Democrats. Now, these results just came out last week, and they show that voters are about evenly split on their feelings about the GOP, but Democrats are polling 31 % favorable to 57 % unfavorable. So a stark 26 point deficit there. And that's the lowest rating since Quinnipiac started asking the question back in 2008. And Quinnipiac isn't alone. You gov shows that the Dems' popularity is at its lowest point since January 2017. And meanwhile, a new CNN poll shows that a record low 33 % of Americans view the party favorably. But that tracking only goes back to 2006. As the Washington Post pointed out, if you expand that and include earlier CNN, USA Today, and Gallup polls, these are actually the worst numbers the party has seen since at least 1992, so going back more than 30 years.

You'd I thought that would inspire a change in strategy. Megan, thanks for reporting.

Anytime.

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is not wasting any time cutting down on government waste. Over the weekend, Musk said the newly formed DOGE has already cut billions of dollars in spending, with the goal of a trillion dollars by the end of its first year. It's also gotten involved in eliminating DEI.

Joining us to discuss is investigative reporter, Luke Rosiak, who's reporting on one tech group was in fact shared by Musk over the weekend. Hey, Luke. So lots going on related to Doge that you've been documenting. What's the latest on this brand new department?

Hi, John. So contrary to what people initially expected, Doge is more than just an advisory commission. It's now based in the executive office of the President, repurposing an existing group called the US Digital Service. That means it can have paid government employees. Already, Doge has been mining through spending records and flagging grants it views as wasteful and then working with the Office of management and budget or agencies to stop them. It said it's canceled a billion dollars in DEI contracts so far. It's also focusing on using technology to save money. Then there are grants, especially through USAID, that Musk said are basically slush funds funding international liberal activism.

Musk is really playing a central role here, correct?

Oh, absolutely. Employees from Musk's businesses have taken roles at agencies that serve as the nerve centers of the federal government, specifically the Office of Personnel Management Management or OPM, and the General Services Administration, the GSA. Now, OPM was behind the buyout offer that will pay employees until September if they quit. It's also key to dealing with unions, which are going to be a big impediment to personnel reform. The Biden administration signed a contract with one union literally three days before Trump took office, and Congress's DOGE subcommittee is investigating that. Now, GSA manages real estate procurement and technology for other agencies. Doge said it's already terminated the leases of some government buildings. Musk knows that government employees have a vested interest in keeping the spigots of cash flowing. He said his plan is to outmaneuver them by working harder than they're willing to. Musk aides have literally been living in OPM headquarters.

Now, you broke an original story over the weekend related to GSA. Tell us about that.

Sure. A GSA unit that develops websites for agencies across the government called the Technology Transformation Service had a former Tesla engineer installed at the top. Now, TTS and its major component called 18F is a perfect example of the really hard to eradicate bias that's present in the government. Its ex-logo was a transgender flag. It spent time programming an inclusion bot that would monitor what staff typed and lecture them if they used phrases like nuts, which it said was derogatory.

So bot made to language, please.

Yeah. And this part of this happened, including during the first Trump term. It gets crazier at ETS, its employee handbook said, before speaking at a meeting, employees should describe what they look like so any blind people would know if there was sufficient racial diversity. Now, OPM has ordered employees back to the office, which will have a side effect of encouraging more to accept the buyout. They expect 10% of employees to take it, which would save $100 billion. Now, you can see the changes this group makes through tools that track code, and they've been deleting the inclusion bot, sections of the handbook, a surprising portion portion of their work product that had more to do with employee comfort and left wing virtue signaling than the mission.

Sounds like it. Now, I've got to note that Musk responded to your story, deleted and the nightmare is over. That's what he wrote. Again, his stamp clearly on what's happening here, but is that true? Is this actually over?

He's made incredible progress. For some employees and woke policies, it appears it is over. But to some extent, DEI is the low hanging fruit, and some things are harder to change. We'll see if the return to work orders and the buyout offers are a filtering mechanism that will result in a workforce that can be trusted to implement rather than subvert their chief executive's directive.

Some things are definitely moving fast, but sometimes the devil is in the details, and this might be a stamina game.

I think that's right.

Luke, thanks so much for reporting.

Anytime.

Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.