Morning Wire - Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs & RFK Sworn In | 2.14.25

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

Trump announces a major shift in U.S. trade policy, the Senate confirms RFK as more nominees get closer, and DOJ files charges against the state of New York. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Black Rifle Coffee: Get 20% off your first order or Coffee Club subscription with code DAILYWIRE at https://www.blackriflecoffee.com Jeremy’s Razors: Visit https://jeremysrazors.com to get your Precision 5 Razor + Precision 5 Razor Box today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump announces a massive shift to U.S. trade policy with plans to match what other countries charge the U.S. on imports. In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff. And we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley, with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, February 14th, and this is Morning Wire. For 20 years, I've gotten up every morning on my knees and prayed that God would put me in a position where I can end the childhood chronic disease epidemic in this country. On August 23rd, God sent me President Trump. RFK Jr. is sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, becoming Trump's latest pick to cross the finish line. Where do the other nominees stand? And the Trump DOJ files charges against the state of New York and its governor for sabotaging ICE efforts to deport illegal immigrants. violent criminals, gang members, drug traffickers, human smugglers will no longer terrorize the American people.

And that is why we are here today. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Hey guys, producer Brandon here. Black Rifle Coffee helps you wake up each morning feeling dialed in and ready to make the most of your day. And now's your chance to get 20% off your purchase using code DailyWire at black riflecoffee.com. All of their explosive coffees are roasted right here. here in the USA by a veteran-led team of expert roasters, obsessed with crafting the perfect cup of coffee.

Every black rifle purchase gives back to those who serve our nation. Your support makes it possible for Black Rifle Coffee Company to help provide funding, training, and equipment to our nation's military and first responders. Head over to their site now for 20% off your purchase with Code Daily Wire. On Thursday, President Trump laid out his plans for new reciprocal tariffs that will match rates other countries currently charge the U.S. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot-Phillips is here to break down the latest salvo in this brewing trade war. Hey, Cabot. So as promised, Trump rolling out more tariffs yesterday and he definitely delivered. What do we see from the White House? Yeah, the president posted early yesterday on Truth Social, quote, three great weeks,

perhaps the best ever, but today is the big one, reciprocal tariffs. And he was not kidding. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump announced that the U.S. would be revolutionizing our trade policy, implementing customized tariffs for each country we trade with that will be based on the rate they charge us, thus the word reciprocal. And if other countries don't want to lower their tariffs on American goods, Trump says they can bring manufacturing here to the U.S. to avoid them. Here he is elaborating on that decision. I have decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. In almost all cases, they're charging us vastly more than we charge them, but those days are over.

And to his point, the White House released a memo with examples of tariff imbalances from around the world. For example, U.S. tariffs on ethanol imports are 2.5%, but Brazil charges the U.S. 18%. Our tariffs on imported cars are 2.5%, but the European Union charges us 10%. The list goes on. The Trump administration says that on two-thirds of all goods, the United States faces higher tariffs than we charge others. And it's worth noting these tariffs will not go into effect immediately. And that's intentional. Trump is essentially trying to give other countries time to lower their own tariffs and negotiate with the U.S. similar to what we saw with Canada and Mexico last week.

So he's giving them a little runway here before raising costs. What is his rationale for shifting to this particular approach now? Well, there are a few reasons. First, he says the tariffs will increase tax revenue and help offset the federal deficit cutting into the national debt. It's more to remember the U.S. has relatively low tariff rates on imports coming in. of the country. Right now, it's around 2% for industrial goods. That's basically everything except food. And if you zoom out, about half of all imports face no tariffs. Now, for decades, Republicans embraced a free trade approach and said that was a good thing because it kept prices

low for consumers and encouraged other countries to take part in our economy. But President Trump says those low tariffs have encouraged companies to move their manufacturing elsewhere in search of cheaper labor while allowing the U.S. to be taken advantage of. This move is in many ways the culmination of a shift in Republican orthodoxy away from a free trade at all costs mindset. Yeah, major shift in philosophy that's certainly been gaining momentum quickly under Trump. Now, this news all came as Trump sat for important meetings with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi.

Tariffs, no doubt, came up there. What took place there? Yeah, the Trump administration views India as a vital partner encountering the rise of China. But the relationship could be strained with these new tariffs. In the past, Trump has referred to them as the, quote, tariff king. and a, quote, very big abuser on trade. On average goods entering India face a 14% tariff. That's one of the highest in the world and more than six times the U.S. rate.

And because the value of Indian exports to the U.S. is twice the amount they import, India could be hit harder than almost any other country by these tariffs. But Trump and Modi appeared to have a productive and friendly conversation. The two shared a giant bear hug in the White House before holding a public press conference where Modi praised Trump saying, quote, we missed you a lot. Trump called him a, quote, great leader. The president reportedly urged Modi to lower tariffs on American imports and increase the amount of American products purchased by India.

He specifically brought up energy and weapons in particular. Here's Trump after their meeting. Starting this year, we'll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We're also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters. In our meeting today, the Prime Minister and I reaffirmed that strong cooperation among the United States, India, Australia, and Japan. And it's crucial really to maintaining peace and prosperity, tranquility, even in the Indo-Pacific. Well, as we find ourselves saying a lot here, never a slow day with Trump. T. Point out. Kevin, thanks for keeping us up to speed. Anytime.

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So Amanda, things are moving along very smoothly for Trump. Even some of his long-shot picks are moving through. So let's start with RFK. He was confirmed yesterday. Tell us about that vote. Right. RFK was confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary with 52 yes votes in the Senate. The vote was basically along party lines, except Republican Mitch McConnell voted no for Kennedy.

In a statement, McConnell cited RFK's position on vaccinations, and he noted that he's a survivor of public. Polio. McConnell has voted against Trump cabinet picks more than any other Republican, a total of three times so far. Now, this confirmation of RFK is really significant, especially given the fact that not a single Democrat voted yes. In August, Kennedy dropped out of the presidential race and really laid into the Democrat Party in a speech announcing his endorsement of President Trump. Kennedy said that the Democrat Party disenfranchised voters and they used Democrat-aligned judges to throw him off ballots and to try to throw Trump another political opponent.

in jail. He said that the party was unrecognizable, and he called Democrats the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big ag, and big money. As we followed here, Democrats flipped in that moment, and instead of using lawfare to keep RFK off presidential ballots, they worked to keep him on ballots in an effort to hurt Trump. Right. Well, RFK brought over a lot of disaffected Democrats as well. Now, another notable confirmation pick up this week was Tulsi Gabbard. A lot of people thought she was a real long shot. did she manage to get through? Right. So out of all of Trump's nominees, aside from Matt Gates, who dropped out very early, Gabbard was seen to have perhaps the toughest road to confirmation.

Gabbard was a former Democrat congresswoman and presidential candidate, and she faced a lot of scrutiny over her past comments supporting former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in a 2017 meeting she took with Syria's then-president Bashar al-Assad. Like RFK, Gabbard picked up 52 yes votes in the Senate along party lines. She picked up all Republican senators except McConnell. and zero Democrats. Now, what nominees are still outstanding at this point? So Linda McMahon, who served in Trump's first administration, she's the president's nominee to lead the Department of Education.

She appeared before the Senate Education Committee on Thursday, just one day after Trump publicly called for the Department of Education to be closed, calling it a, quote, complete con job. McMahon, who was repeatedly interrupted by protesters, she addressed those comments from Trump during the hearing. I am really all for the president's mission, which is to return education to the states. I believe as he does, that the best education is closest to the child and not certainly from Washington, D.C. If the department has downsized, would the states and localities still receive the federal funding, which they currently receive?

Yes. Okay. It is not the president's goal to defund the programs, it is only to have it operate more efficiently. If the committee approves McMahon, she'll proceed to a full Senate vote, and right now she is expected to be confirmed. There's also Cash Patel to lead the FBI. Yesterday, he won the approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 12-10 party-line vote. The panel approved Patel's nomination. Next, Patel is headed to the Senate for consideration, and he, too, is expected to be confirmed.

Well, overall, a very anti-establishment cabinet, it's going to be interesting to see how this term goes. Amanda, thanks for reporting. You're welcome. The Department of Justice has filed charges against the state of New York and several top officials over its effort to protect illegal aliens from deportation. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the legal action against New York, hey Tim. So another showdown and effect between Trump and New York. First, what exactly is the DOJ

alleging against the state and these officials? Hey, John, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the charges on Wednesday. The lawsuit names New York State, Governor Kathy Hochel, Attorney General Leticia James, and Mark Schroeder, the head of the New York State Department of motor vehicles. Here's Bondi. This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans, American citizens, and Angel moms, like the mom standing right behind me, who you're going to hear from in a moment. New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today.

The lawsuit centers around New York's Green Light Law that was signed in 2019. The law allows illegal aliens to buy cars. and obtain driver's licenses, it also blocks the New York DMV from passing on most information on licensees to federal authorities. On top of that, the DMV notifies any licensee whose information is requested, that covers any aliens' information requested by ICE. The Justice Department said the Greenlight Law was passed to directly impair the enforcement of federal immigration laws in New York. We've heard responses from some New York officials. What are they saying? Hokel put out a statement Wednesday night that called Bonnie's announcement dramatic.

and smoke and mirrors. The governor said the law has already survived multiple legal challenges and does not expect a different outcome this time. For her part, James called the lawsuit an attempt to weaponize the Department of Justice to intimidate political opponents. Now, the Trump administration has had some problems from within the federal government in deporting aliens related to leaks and other issues. What's the latest there?

Right. ICE has dealt with a constant stream of leaks to the media about its planned raids. Those leaks have either drastically cut the effectiveness of major operations or forced ICE to delay or cancel jobs. This has happened multiple times now in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and it's frustrating officials in the White House. Up till now, the biggest single day for ICE arrest has been 1,100 people, and the average day is, of course, lower than that. If ICE aims to deport, say, a million people in the first year, the daily average would have to be over 2,700. According to recent reports, the current pace has frustrated Trump and other top officials. Right, they set out very ambitious goals on this. We've seen some competing claims about the leaks. Where does the administration think they're coming from?

Well, Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem pointed at the FBI over the weekend. On Sunday, she wrote in a post on X, quote, The FBI is so corrupt we will work with any and every agency to stop leaks and prosecute these crooked, deep state agents to the fullest extent of the law. Borders'ar Tom Homan went on Fox News on Monday, and he agreed with her. Here's some of that. She's correct. Some of the information we're receiving tends to lead toward the FBI. But I talked to Deputy Turner General all this weekend. They've opened up a criminal investigation, and they have promised that not only this person

lose their job and lose their pension, they're going to go to jail. They're going to criminally prosecute. So we're all over it. Homan echoed comments made by Bondi over the weekend. Here was Bondi on Fox News on Sunday. If anyone leaks anything, people don't understand that jeopardizes the lives of our great men and women in law enforcement. And if you leaked it, we will find out who you are and we will come after you. And it's not going to stop our mission.

It's not going to stop the president's mission to make America safe again. We were very clear with the lawsuit that we filed in Chicago that if you don't follow the law, you will be prosecuted by the Department of Justice. The pressure is building. The latest leak was printed in the law. Los Angeles Times last week. The Times reported on a leaked memo that described large-scale ice operations plan in LA that were supposed to take place by the end of the month. Polling shows a majority back Trump's deportation plan. We'll see if they're able to tighten up the process. Tim, thanks for joining us. Good to be on. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back

later this afternoon with more news you need to know.