Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis - No Spin News - Weekend Edition - April 12, 2025

Episode Date: April 12, 2025

Listen to this week's No Spin News interviews with Dan Abrams, Nicholas Lardy, Ph.D., Cornel West and Doug Schoen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Healthcare just got less painful. got less painful. Welcome to the No Spin News Weekend Edition. Do you know who Ursula von der Levin is? I'd probably say no last name. Leyen. Ursula von der Leyen. She is the commissioner of the EU.

Ursula. Brussels. She announces that the EU wants a zero. Zero for zero tariffs, no tariffs, on either side. Big. As soon as you made the announcement, stock market comes up. Just keep that in mind, okay? So Ursula said, we don't want any of these tariffs now.

We want to do away at all of them. Good, good. Let everybody compete, Ursula, Donald Trump. Now this is, if this happens, okay? And Erso says chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber, plastic, machinery, and cars. No tariffs. Now, it'll be interesting to see how the hate Trump media, this is good for Trump. But caution, okay, this is just verbiage now.

I'm sure there's a lot of other stuff in there. But I'm reporting what I know. It's got another point of view, and this Doug showing you know him. He was very good during the election cycle for us. He's a Democrat political strategist, author of the book, Politics of Life, and he joins us from Miami. All right, my analysis, is it foolish, naive, misleading? What do you think? I think you're basically on the money bill.

We're in the midst of a man-made crisis that could resolve itself shortly or it could resolve itself over time. The dominant sentiment I pick up in the polling we're doing is uncertainty combined with, as you said, correctly, Bill, doubt in the quality and judgment of our administration, not dismissal, but deep, deep uncertainty. But why would they be uncertain if the border has worked, if the Doge thing has uncovered of billions of dollars of wasteful spending, if the DEI stuff is out, which most Americans don't want, why would there be uncertainty about Trump? So far, he's doing pretty well, right? Inflation, Bill. We still haven't had prices come down.

The average guy going to the supermarket hasn't seen a material benefit in the market. his life, and that is his Achilles heel, now as it was Joe Biden. All right, so inflation remains stubborn, although where I live on Long Island, gas is down. It went below three bucks a gallon over the weekend. Eggs are down, 50 percent, you know, because the bird flu thing is subsided. I don't, I'm not in the groceries or all that often, but I'll take your word for it, that across the board, in most parts of the country, you haven't seen a lot of relief. All right. So that the folks, the ones I voted for Trump, are they going to bail now

that their stock and bond portfolio is cratering? Do you believe they are going to bail? The way I see it, Bill, is first to start with where I think I agree and where you're right, the 35 percent who are the MAGA crowd, they're with him come hell or high water. They're going to stay. There's no doubt there. The next 15, 16 percent that gave him his narrow majority in the popular voters, they're asking questions. What's happening to my 401k? Is inflation coming down? Are we in an unstable situation in the Middle East and with Russia and Ukraine? Not that they've turned on Trump, they have it. He's at his highest level of approval ever recorded for him. But there's doubt and the doubt is, I think, been exacerbated by the events of the last couple of days of

last weekend today. That polling is going to go down for him. You know that. Everybody knows. You know, it's not, it's been four days. And the market today, as I say, is up and down and in and out. But the market can come back. I firmly believe that. I mean, people, I can't give financial advice to people. But in my column, I said, you know, if you panic in any part of life, not just here, that's not going to be a positive for you. You got to maintain. And if you believe in what you bought, the companies that you bought, it's not going to be as smooth as a thought, But dumping them now at a low level, you're never going to get it back. But if you hold them...

Don't give financial advice either, but as a life lesson bill, that is very good advice. And Warren Buffett said basically the same thing you said in your talking points memo, which is if you're worried about the markets in your portfolio, don't look. Don't look. I mean, but the frustration is there are a lot of older people and there are, and a lot of people who have got college funds and they're getting hurt and they might need the money. And that's just the vagaries of life. I mean, sometimes it works out and sometimes he does it.

Now, the Democratic Party, your party, should be able to take advantage of this kind of chaos. Any political chaos works for the opposition. But because it has no leader, no one, it can't take advantage of it. Am I wrong? It can only take advantage of it if, as you suggest, I think correctly, Trump's numbers and the Republican numbers come down. If the Republicans are able to keep their majority in both houses. But let's assume that they do come down.

Let's assume that a week from now, on the 14th of April, that Trump's approval rating slides to the low 40s, which he could. Yeah. Who's going to step up on the Democratic side? We don't have a leader. Yeah. In a midterm, you can win a midterm.

As your talking point, Mamoy, your word was grisly. I think the results can be grizzly. 2028, we don't have a leader. There's nobody on the horizon agree with the overall assessment. All right, but it's still too early for the midterms. It's 19 months now for the midterms. Right. Right. But the Democrats are running against Trump, not for any ideas. That's for sure.

No, no, no, no. But as you know better than anybody in this country, because you do this for a living and have done it for a long time, I think since U.S. Grant, you've been in the game, okay, that if you tear down a president, that's hard to reverse. So you saw it with Biden. So Biden just got into one mess after another, after another, after another, and people just lost confidence in him. But Trump is a different cat, as Dennis Miller would say. So Trump is defiant. My vision is going to work. Now, six months from now in the fall, if it's still, inflation is still high, prices aren't down. In fact, if they go up and the stock market is still just impossible, then I think Trump will have damaged himself beyond repair. But I think he's got six months. Am I wrong?

I would agree with that, but I would tell you the economy has to improve vis-a-vis inflation and prices. And bottom line, there has to be a relatively quick solution vis-a-vis the tariffs. We just can't go indefinitely with this uncertainty. All right. Last question. I think the tariff thing's going to work out with Europe. I think it'll work out with Canada and Mexico.

But China is a different story. So China seems to be itching for some kind of confrontation. Now, I don't really know why, because the Chinese economy is very shaky. How do you see that? I agree with you. That conflict, if it be limited to China bill, I believe Donald Trump will be supported by the American people en masse if he puts tougher, tougher retaliatory tariffs on the Chinese. If the rest of the world is resolved, then the way you suggest, I think this will have a soft landing and a happy ending.

No, I don't know about happy ending because it's Donald Trump. You know. All right. All right, Doug. Thanks very much. We always enjoy talking. No, Bill, thank you. We'll see you soon.

You're listening to the No Spin News Weekend Edition. Colorado, used to live there, 78 to 80, loved it. Boy, did I like living in Colorado. Traditional State Act then. Now it's radical left. This MailChimp-Forific jingle is brought to you by MailChimp. MailChimp, your marketing with AI and more. Advanced automations to connect to your store.

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Here is what the bill is. Quote, this is from a summation by Fox News. The bills were passed include SB 25-183, which requires taxpayers to fund abortions, H.B. 25, 1309, mandating insurers cover transgender procedures, regardless of age. H.P. 25. 1312 imposes state-manded gender policies on schools, considers it coercive control in child custody cases when a parent does not affirm a child's gender identity. and SB 25-129, which prohibits cooperation without state investigations on transgender procedures

and abortion services. Okay, so that's clearly unconstitutional because of a Hyde Amendment you cannot force people of religious people, non-religion who don't believe in abortion, pay for it. Colorado doesn't care, take an all parental rights away. If you're a parent in Colorado, you have no rights now.

If this is signed by the dopey governor out there, who's a total loon. Okay, and property will be signed. You have no rights. You're 10-year-old going to be, oh, I want to be a girl. And you can't stop it under Colorado law. This is just insane. So the good people of Colorado, and there are many,

you need to get off your skis, you need to get out in the streets, and you need to write this wrong. Throw these people out of office. All right, let's bring in a guy who sees it differently, known him a long time. His name is Cornell West. All right, he is a college professor taught at Harvard, Princeton, and he's now at the Union Theological Seminary. He's got a new book out with another professor, Robert George.

Here's the book. He's reading it last night, Truth Matters, dialogue on fruitful disagreement in an age of division. I guess Professor George is a little more concerned. conservative than Cornel West, but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is more conservative than Dr. West. And he joins us now from New York City. You know, I know this DEI executive order signed by Donald Trump wasn't in play when you, this book was written. I wanted to get your feeling on it. I have no problem with diversity.

I think that's the strength of the country. I don't know. That's provable. I have no problem with inclusion. I want every American to have an equal pathway to success. I have a big problem with equity, the favoring certain groups because of gender, skin color, that kind of thing. Am I wrong? Well, I mean, one, I think the important thing, though, brother, and thank you so much for having me on. It's been a long time since we've had a chance to have these conversations that we used to have. But the important thing is just trying to keep a. moral and spiritual compass at the center. So even before we talk about DEI, talking about foreign policy, it seems to me we're at a moment now where we're seeing a kind of expansion

of what I'd called a gangsterizing sensibility, which is push integrity, push honesty, push decency aside. And so empathy becomes an enemy, cruelty becomes a strategy, and truth becomes an afterthought. So Brother Robbie George, and he is a conservative, Catholic, brother who I love very deeply in respect. We talked together for 20 years at Princeton. We

have deep ideological and political disagreements, but he's my brother. And he's in many ways like family. So the question becomes, how do you stay in contact with the humanity of other people that you have deep disagreement in a moment with your culture is being more and more gangsterized? Give me an example of the gangsterism. Give me one very vivid example of the gangsterism. Yeah. Wonderful question. Remember the great Rabbi Heschel said, indifference to evils more insidious than evil itself.

I think there's an indifference to vulnerable people, the people who are on the margins, people who are weak and feeble, there's not attempt to embrace and have a compassion, even when we have disagreements in policy. When you make the point, for example, about the brother who was taken to the El Salvadorian prison, right? And we know that they got it wrong, because every institution is going to be falling in some ways. He's a human being. They definitely got it wrong. And we ought to bring him back. I don't hear that from any of the officials in Washington. They said they're not interested, even though they know that he's there. That's an excellent point. That's an excellent

point. Donald Trump, the president, should have said, we're going to bring him back, as I mentioned. Absolutely. Where's it? All right, let me, let me challenge. Let me, let me, let me challenge it. Maris College. You learned this from William and Winiford. There's got to be some moral sensibilities. I got it. Even in a moment of high-polaristic. And I do not disagree with that. I don't. I think that you have to do the right thing. And the right thing, the right thing is fairly clear to most people. But we live in a country that's divided between the politicians, the ruling class, and the folks. I'll submit to you based on data. because I know you're a big shot Ivy League professor.

Well, I'm union seminary. Union seminary, brother, I know, I know, but I got a Harvard degree. You got no Harvard degree from the Kennedy School. The American- Well-deserved, well-deserved. Well, I don't know about that, but the American people are the most generous people

on earth, all right? We give more money to help poor people, marginalized people than any other population, okay? And our system, both state and local and federal, is loaded, loaded with entitlements for marginalized people so that you, even the poorest in America have air conditioning, computers, refrigerators, cars.

Our poor live better than European middle class. So I don't know whether this tsunami wave that you're portraying of insensitivity really exists. Well, my brother, you know we've got about 1.4 homeless people in the country. Mostly drug addicted. Most of the people who cannot earn a living. They don't have televisions. They're out in the cold. I live in Harlem.

I can see them. I give them money from my pocket. But you know what they're doing with the money. They're buying heroin with them. it and fentanyl with it. Well, some are, but some of them are unemployed and actually some of them. Not many. Well, I don't think you can say that the vast majority are and I spent a lot of time with

it. Well, the stat is between 75 and 80% of homeless people are addicted to substance. That's the stat. Yeah, but that doesn't mean they're not worthy of a certain kind of compassion. No, but you can give them as much money as you want. the money's going for substance. All right? The only time they see a television is when they steal it and sell it.

Come on. But we've got one out of five children who are in poverty, two out of five. Because their parents are substance abusers. Well, no, no, no, no, you know the vast majority of children who are poor don't have parents who are substance abusers. Seventy-five percent of all-working-hard to live in poverty. No, no, no, come on. We're academics here.

75% of all abused and elected children, neglected children, are the sires of addicted adults. 75%. I haven't seen that statistic. If that's the case. Department of Health and Human Services, just go to them and they'll give it. I'd have to see that, though. But for me, whatever their condition, they deserve serious attention because the human beings made an image of God.

They deserve to be treated with dignity. Absolutely. You do agree. You have to isolate them in order to do that. Well, I can understand that, too. But the crucial point is the dignity, because we're living in a time in which is so easy to lose the dignity. So, for example, when we talk about DEI, right? Now, I've never been a big DEI person.

Why? Because I believe in truth, justice, and love. That's what I'm willing to live and die for. I'm not willing to die for diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI was an attempt to respond to the fact that for so long black people enslaved for 244 years, nearly 100 years of lynching Jim Crow, Jane Crow, and segregation. And we finally raised the question, how are we going to treat black people fairly and decently in a society where they have not been treated that way? So we started with affirmative action.

We had debates over affirmative action. We must ensure that people are qualified, but when they're qualified, they must not be discriminated against. 100% with you. Why? Because we're concerned about truth. No, 100% with you. But here's where you're making your mistake. You don't, not what our law should be about.

You don't correct historical wrongs by creating contemporary wrongs. Oh, I agree. I agree with that. To apply college admission or job acceptance based on skin color or gender is wrong. Oh, I agree with that. All right. So we're on the same page there for sure. But part of the challenges is still my dear brother, as you know for so long,

when the pool of the qualified was one in which, going back to the history of Harvard, right? It was anti-Cathletes, it was anti-Jewish, was deeply anti-black. It was the was waltz. It was a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant qualified who were chosen. Qualified Irish couldn't get in. Qualified Jews couldn't get, for the most part, couldn't get it. Yeah, quotas for Jews. Qualified black folk could hardly get in.

W.B. the Boy's PhD from Harvey writes a dissertation in German and University of Humboldt in Berlin. He can't think about getting a job in the university. We know that's racist. That's the whole racism, just like he got an anti-Gatholist. and you had anti-U.S. Now you moved to the 60s and we say, oh, now we can expand the pool of the qualified. And we're not talking about the unqualified. And I agree that that should happen. And that's why I was a big factor in President Obama's Brothers Keeper program, because that's the pathway. And here's my last question for you. I want you to think about this question.

I believe that equity, which is now against the law by the executive order of President Trump, creates a culture of dependence and is actually insulting to the people who get hired or accepted in college because of it. It's basically saying to you, you know, you're not good enough to compete. So we're going to get you in here based on something that doesn't have any do with the competition. And I believe that that creates a culture of dependency that Big Brother government, okay, or Big Brother Harvard or Princeton and whoever, we're going to decide that you need a little help. I don't think that's right. Last word. I think that you make a very important point, but the crucial thing is how are we going to make sure that people who have been hated and despised like black folk are treated fairly and justly? Because if you have a history of a country where in the name of marriage, you allow white male mediocrity, and you know there is a history of white.

It happened, sure. The history of white. Absolutely happened. Absolutely happened. Through family connections and legacies and so forth and so on. Where is the fairness? Where is the truth? Where is the compassion?

Well, extra help is what I got when I needed it in biology and geometry. An extra help is fine. but not exclusionary equity policies. The book is Truth Matters. I want everybody, and you know what, you know, it's really worthy. And I'm sorry you left Harvard, by the way. You want to tell us real quick why you left Harvard? Well, we had a major struggle over the issues of the Palestinian struggle

and my connection with what's going on in Gaza. It was all of that. All of that going on. And for me, I believe in lifting every voice. Everybody has a right to be wrong. They have a right to be right. Okay. I can't identify with that doctor because I'm never wrong.

Right. Thanks to come on in. We appreciate it. We'll take it. It's good to see you again. Thank you. This is the No Spin News Weekend Edition. Tires Matter.

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or online or overtime. Now that's a tune. You can pay your own way. Don't just pay, baby. PayPal. Learn more at PayPal.com. Okay, to the media, another, not a victory for the press, but interesting story. As you know, Donald Trump despises the Associated Press, the AP. That's the wire that goes out to the smaller newspapers across the country and the world. And it's been very anti. Trump. I have been on record of saying, look, I understand why the president goes after these media companies. I can tell you that since 1996, when I started the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, the Associated Press has not said one nice thing about me. Not one. David Bouters or TV writer hates me. I think I met him twice, but it was like every cheap shot they could take they took.

So, you know, if I could ban the Associated Press, I probably would, but I'm not the president. So anyway, Judge Trevor McFadden, appointed by Trump, U.S. District Court in D.C., said, look, to the White House, you just can't exile them. Reasoning was a court simply holds that under the First Amendment, the government opens its doors as some journalists, be in the Oval Office or elsewhere, cannot shut doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. Okay, I think that's right. You ought to have a bigger view that you don't like that. Now, they don't have to call on EAP, they don't have to give them special treatment, but you can't banish them.

Now, the judge did suspend that ruling for five days so another court can. and take a look at it. Join us now is a guy who has a tremendous amount of experience in the media. Not as much as me, but nobody does, because I'm very old. But Dan Abrams, you know him, is at NBC? He's still at ABC as a legal correspondent.

He runs a website called Mediaite, where they write about media every day. He was on News Nation until recently. The guy knows the media. So number one question, is the media, the media, the linear media, corporate media, losing power in America? Absolutely. That's an easy one. The mainstream media, the media that you and I grew up on, has definitely lost influence. It's lost viewers. It's lost its power. It doesn't mean it's powerless.

It's still influential, but just doesn't have anything like the sort of influence that it once had. And by the way, I think that applies to the Associated Press as well. I mean, AP used to, you know this. AP used to be the thing, right? AP sends something out. It goes to everyone everywhere all over the world. Well, now everything goes to everyone all over the world.

That's right. Now, why are they losing power so rapidly? I know there's more competition with the social media, but I believe it has to do with partisan. that people and all the surveys show this. They don't trust the media anymore. It's in business to preach to the choir, tell people what they want to hear. I think that's the main reason for the decline. I think it's a combination. I think it is definitely the medium. It is the fact that people can get information elsewhere. They don't have to turn on NBC. Why wouldn't you turn it on

And if you liked it. Yeah, you might. Yeah. You liked it, but you know, mine. But you might prefer to hear more of what, you know, you want to hear on a daily basis. And I will say that the major loss for the mainstream media has been among conservatives. There is no doubt about that. Well, wait a minute.

There's two networks that are 100% conservative of Fox and Newsmax. Yes, correct. And I think that they, the ABCs and Cs and Cs. CBS's and put aside cable for a moment, right? The broadcast networks, the places that everyone used to get their news from, the folks who are on the right will now very often go to someone like Brett Baer on Fox News to get that quote unquote newscast. Or they'll go to folks like you, by the way, who are on their own, independent,

not beholden to a bigger entity. And they'll say, you know what? I like O'Reilly. What does he have to say about this? I think people now have a lot more choices than they ever had before. And I think that has made a huge difference in these guys used to be the gatekeepers. It was all about if you weren't, you know, you couldn't get someone to cover it. Then the story faded.

Now there's a whole host of opportunities and options to get someone to get a story, your take, whatever it is. out there? I think Trump destroyed the media. And he did it passively, not actively. Obviously, this AP thing was active. He doesn't like them. He doesn't like NBC. In particular, those two. But by hating Trump as much as MSNBC, NBC News, CNN, by hating him, viscerally hating him, to this day, to this moment, fair-minded America is not ideologues. It makes us uneasy. Am I wrong? I think you're right.

I think you're right. Look, I think there is, you know, people use the term Trump derangement syndrome, right? And, you know, either people on the right use it and say it with a sort of a smile and a snicker and people on the left say, oh, there's no such thing. But the truth is, there is such thing. There really is this sense on the part of some. They are so angry at Trump all the time that they just can't do what they're supposed to do. in a remotely objective way.

Now, I will say this, in defense of some of the folks on the left, is that Donald Trump has gone into this Trump two, his second effort here, and has definitely taken more extreme measures and positions than he did in Trump one. And as a result, if you are someone who is object, quote, there's no such thing is objectivity, pure objectivity. Let's call it.

So you're somewhere right-of-center, left-to-center, right? And the guy who's in power is taking positions that are pretty extreme in a lot of ways. You're going to be calling him out. And as a result, you're going to hear more criticism of Trump than you might of another Republican in that role. And the same way, by the way, if you had AOC or Elon Omar, and I'm not saying it they're out. No, I wouldn't be at the same level, though. It wouldn't be at the same level. I think that's fair. I think you're right. It wouldn't be the corporate media tried to re-elect the Biden administration through Kamala Harris.

They tried everything. That 60 Minutes thing is a legitimate thing. They tried to help her. Oh, come on. You think that 60 minutes thing was really a big. I saw that transcript. I saw how they edited it and they did not have to edit it. And they did not have to. We know they edited it. We know they edited it. We know they edited it because they put it out themselves. They admit they edit it. They put it out in two different forms. They had to. They put out one. They put out the other. They didn't have to. They put out one is a tease on Face the Nation. They put out the other on 60 minutes. They were doing it because they just thought, oh, these are two, you know, different ways of getting the same thing. How long did it take for 60 minutes to put that transcript out? That was the mistake. The mistake was not releasing.

Thank you. But now that we've seen it, but now that we've seen it, it wasn't that big a deal. It's a typical editing. You and I have edited thousands of pieces. I never would have edited my piece that way. In a million years, I wouldn't have done it. I didn't find that editing to be that disturbing. I didn't find it to be disturbing at all.

I think they absolutely, and then subsequently, every week on 60 Minutes, they just bash Trump. Just bash him. Well, that's true. That's true. I mean, look. Once that happens, and that's the top of the line, 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace, Morley, Say, for Don Hewitt, top of the line. Once that happens, then regular folks go, eh, something wrong with it. Now, I'm going to be on your show tomorrow.

Tell people where they can find that, because I'll do more talk. there, which will be much better for everybody. Where can we find that? You can find it on Sirius XM, on the POTUS channel at 2 o'clock, but also the video of it will be on the Mediite YouTube page, which we are now building out, and part of the build-out is to get Bill O'Reilly. Yeah, well, we're doing the same thing. I'm going to say something about Bill O'Reilly.

I said this to Bill O'Reilly privately. I said this to my team at News Nation privately. There is no one better at broadcasting in the business. the business than Bill O'Reilly. I've said it to my team. So this is no secret, but I believe it. And I'd be wondering, when I was thinking about you talking about the AP, you were saying, they've never said anything good about you. I did wonder what good they could have said about you. But, you know, yeah. Well, they could have said what you just said. Exactly. But it's true. Somehow they missed it. They missed it. All right, Abrams. It's a fact.

We'll rock and roll tomorrow. We appreciate you coming on tonight. Look forward to it. You're listening to the NoSpin News Weekend Edition. Now, I want you to know the truth. We have leverage over China. I believe a deal will get done between Xi and Trump. Not going to be easy, obviously. But they're going to meet face-to-face. I hope it's in June.

I'm hearing in the Gulf. And then let's iron all of this out. We don't need a worldwide economic war. No one needs that. Everyone will get hurt. Rated T for Teen. Each year, thousands of adults lose their shred. It's an epidemic simply known as shred loss,

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Finance and buy your car at your convenience. On Carvana. Financing subject to credit approval. additional terms and conditions may apply. United States getting hurt now. Folks are getting hurt now. China, you'll never hear about them getting hurt. It'll be like COVID.

So the Chinese government said, yeah, yeah, we had a couple of hundred cases of COVID, but that's all. Meanwhile, about 100,000 people died. But you'll never get that. They'll never say it. So this is very intense right now. Very, very intense. I'm rooting for my country.

I'm out rooting for Donald. Trump or the Republican Party. I'm rooting for my country. The trade deals are not fair. Everyone, every honest person knows that. They're not. Let's hope they get better for the USA and that we can de-intensify all of this. That's a memo. Now let's bring in another point of view. Dr. Nicholas Lardy is a professor of international economics, very smart guys. I'm much smarter than I am. That's why I wanted him on program. And where am I going wrong here, doctor?

Well, Bill, you're right. The U.S. does have leverage, but China has some leverage as well. And it's not clear to me that we're going to necessarily win in this contest. China is in a position where if they're exports to the U.S. fall, they can offset that loss of demand by increasing their fiscal expenditure, loosening their monetary policy, it won't be perfect, but they can offset part of the loss of export revenue. But that's your term.

They can't do that long term. They've got 1.5 billion people. And those factories start to turn down. Those people don't have 401ks, doctor. They don't have anything in the bank. That's a communist. They live week to week. They can do it for quite a while.

On the other hand, the United States depends on China for some goods that we can't produce here. and we can't source from other countries. So I think our adjustment may be a little bit more challenging. Give me an example of some of those goods that we can't source from another country. Rare earths is far and away the best example. China has almost a complete monopoly on the refining of rare earths, which are central. And that's why Trump wants to deal with Greenland, right? It will be a decade before you get any rare earths out of Greenland.

Okay, but that's the reason, right? That's part of it, certainly, yes. All right. And let's get back to what you said about 401Ks. Another reason the Chinese are not in such a tough position is their pension system does not depend on the stock market in China. In the U.S., we see a lot of people panicking because their 401Ks are going down in value. They're cutting back on their expenditure. That's a given.

I mean, there's no free investment in China at all. except for the oligarchs, but you said that they can sustain supporting their own population, again, $1.5 billion for a while. You know, you know that the Chinese deficit now, the deficit spending over there is at a record high. I mean, their whole yuan going to collapse if they can't get out of this trade war with Trump. It's going to collapse. I'm always going to want their money. You know that. They have a, yes, you're right. They do have a current down. but their government debt compared to the debt of the United States is very small. They've got some headroom.

But again, we have an economic machine that generates trillions of dollars. They don't have that. They're dependent on selling stuff to us to Southeast Asia and the EU. Believe me, when I tell you, Doctor, that part of the deal that Trump's going to make with the EU is, yeah, we're going to cut back a little on your China exports, right? And he goes, okay, that's what's going to happen. You know. Maybe.

But all I'm saying is the leverage is not entirely on the U.S. side. No, no, and I agree with that. It's dangerous, ultra dangerous. What about the war machine? Are you worried about the Chinese war machine? Well, they're ramping up their military expenditures, and it's been going on for a decade. Quite frankly, not very much of it is financed by the six or seven hundred billion. we send to China.

They have a, you know, their domestic economy is 12, 13 trillion. So a few hundred billion coming from the United States is not a decisive fact. But if they want to buy tech and stuff like that, they got to buy dollars. The yuan's not going to, people aren't going to sell them stuff for their currency. They can operate within their borders with that. But if they want to go out, they have to pay dollars. They have an industrial complex that produces most of their military equipment. They're not buying a lot of sophisticated military equipment on the international market.

They don't need dollars to build up their military strength. No, I disagree with that 100%, because I know what they're doing with Star Wars and these drones up there and the space stuff and all of those high-tech weapons. They're not self-sufficient in that area. They're a leader in drones. They're a leader in drones, and they're producing them domestically. Yeah, but they need parts to produce it. They need all of that tech to produce. produce it. Now, what about Apple? Apple is going to probably pull out of China. How badly is Apple

going to hurt them? Well, the question I would say is how bad is Apple going to be hurt by Trump's tariffs? Their market in the U.S. is going to collapse when the price of iPhones doubles or triples. All right. I don't disagree with that Apple's going to get hurt, but they're going to find a way to bring down their costs. It's a pretty, genius company. So the scenario that you're portraying is that China has much more advantage and that Trump's foolish to go up against them and should have just left everything alone. Is that what you tell me? No, I'm saying that Trump is overestimating his leverage. He certainly has some leverage. He may prevail in the end. I'm not forecasting that he's going to fail,

but I think he's probably overestimating his leverage. It's a more uncertain outcome, I would say, what you're portraying. Do you think that she wants this confrontation? No, I don't think he does. Do you think he's willing then to deal? Well, his people have said they're willing to come

to a negotiating table, but they're not going to do it if they have to make a whole lot of concessions. So they're going to keep the unfair trade thing in place no matter what? I think we'll make some concessions in a in a balanced negotiation, but I don't think they're going to put themselves in the same position as the 70-some other countries that are begging for a deal.

Even if the economy of China wobbles? Because that's what Trump is hoping for that. Maybe, but their economy has slowed down quite a bit over the last decade, and they're still carrying out. But quality of life is not approved. in our country very much. Well, for most people in China, their incomes are two to three times what they were a decade ago.

Yeah, which was nothing a decade ago. Come on, you know what the incomes are. They live week to week over there. I mean, this is what I mean. If those factories start to slow down, those people are laid off, yeah, you're right, the Chinese government can pump in artificial stuff to keep it going for a little while. But I'll tell you what, they're messing around with that fuse there, whereas the United States' capacity to support its population of $330 million is vastly superior to China. Last word.

Well, I'm not a predictor, but we'll see how this plays out. I think China has a few more strengths than you're giving them credit for. All right. I appreciate that. I'm not saying they'll prevail. I'm not saying they'll prevail. No, I know. We got it.

You think I'm underestimating Trump's advantage here. And you may be right. And we appreciate you coming in, Doctor. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the NoSpin News Weekend Edition. To watch the full episodes of the No Spin News, visit Bill O'Reilly.com and sign up to become a premium or concierge member. That's Bill O'Reilly.com. Sign up and start watching today.

Thank you.