The Ben Mulroney Show - Ben discusses if Politics and religion go hand in hand

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

Guests and Topics on Today's Show -The intersection of Politics and religion with Guest: Reverend Michael Coren, Columnist, Author of 20 Books -‘He’s looking to exact some pain': auto sector warns of repercussions if Trump follows through on tariffs with Guest: Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Calling all sellers, Salesforce is hiring account executives to join us on the cutting edge of technology. Here, innovation isn't a buzzword. It's a way of life. You'll be solving customer challenges faster with agents, winning with purpose, and showing the world what AI was meant to be. Let's create the agent-first future together. Head to salesforce.com slash careers to learn more. Bet MGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA has your back all season long. From tip off to the final buzzer, you're always taken care of

with a sports book born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with Bet MGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player, or your style, there's something every NBA fan will love the best feeling you can only get with Ben MGM and no matter your team, your favorite player or your style, there's something every NBA fan will love about that MGM download

the app today and discover why Ben MGM is your basketball home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with Ben MGM, a sports book worth a slam dunk and authorized gaming partner of speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement

with iGaming Ontario. It occurred to us on the show that there's a little bit of faith-based news to talk about these days. And we decided to package a few stories together and bring on a guest who I think is the best person to discuss these things with. And that is Reverend Michael Corrin. He's a columnist.

He's an author of 20 books. Interestingly, I've read 20 books and most of them are bestsellers. Michael, welcome back. Welcome for the first time to the show, but it's great to talk to you again. It's a real pleasure. Very kind of you indeed.

There probably are more qualified people than me, but I'll take your compliment. Well, I woke up this morning and I was listening to CNN and I heard the plea and it was, I think, a beautiful and eloquent plea by Bishop Mary Ann Edgar Budd, who was presiding over a service for Donald Trump. And she had some, they were pointed remarks,

but I thought she said them in the kindest possible way. Let's listen to what she had to say. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country. We're scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in democratic, Republican, and independent families. Some who fear for their lives.

And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. Now what did you think of that, Reverend? Because Donald Trump was not happy. He made it known on social media afterwards. But, you know, she shot her shot.

She had her opinions. She had the president in front of her. And she said what she needed to say. It's interesting, because I'm speaking to the church, my church in St. Luke's in Burlington. And she's a friend of our church, we have a mission to conjure us and she joined us actually last year. She's not enormously high profile. If you go on what was Twitter, ex, I think she probably has 15,000 followers. I mean she's not, but she is the bishop of Washington and all she did, and I want to emphasize all she did was to speak as a follower of Jesus.

She didn't talk about which party to vote for. She didn't castigate Donald Trump. She simply said, we have to have mercy. You have had mercy from God. You've spoken about that. We have to have mercy on people who are frightened right now. And particularly what she said about immigrants, refugees. I mean, my golly, you don't know, all of us know, wherever we go, go to the hospital,

for example, or wherever, you will find someone there who is a newcomer to our country, and the same applies to the US, often doing the jobs other people don't want to do. And for Donald Trump and some of his people to, to, or more than imply to state that so many people from outside of the US are committing crimes and doing terrible things, we know that's not true. And it's anti-Christian. And JD Vance, the vice president, for him to grimace and to look at his wife, who very graciously would not go along with it, and you can see how upset he was, this is outrageous because he is a devout Roman Catholic. Nothing the bishop said yesterday could not have been said by Pope Francis. If Pope Francis

had sitting there, I think he would have smiled and even clapped his hands. So this is not radical stuff. No, it is radical. Christianity is radical, but it's not party political. It's not partisan. It's pure basic Christianity. And if that offends you, you have to ask yourself, do you really have a faith? Well, I know know, someone on CNN also made the point that if the roles were reversed, and this were Joe Biden at a Catholic church and a Catholic priest said something in support of the rights of the unborn, that would make complete sense as well. I don't think anybody thinks that the bishop in this case was hoping to change Donald Trump's mind. I think she just wanted to go on record. And if they didn't want her there, they should have made plans to have somebody else do the sermon.

Well, that's a very good point because she was known, she criticized Donald Trump in the past for the way he treated demonstrators and then going outside the church and holding the Bible. I'm not saying that Donald Trump is the most astute person, but he has people around him who know what they're doing. She has to have been checked. They didn't have to be there. They, her whole family were there.

And what did they expect? Did they expect an Episcopalian and Anglican bishop to say, everything you're doing is fine? I'd like to think she would have said it to a Democrat as well. Look, Barack Obama used drones to kill lots of people in the Middle East. Was that appropriate from a Christian point of view? I don't think it was. Joe Biden, many of his policies were not progressive, criticize him too. The reaction though, not only of Donald Trump, but his people has been outrageous.

For an elected member of Congress to say that the Bishop should be deported and go on social media and see what Trump, so-called Christians are saying about her, the obscenity, the appalling abuse of this woman, merely for saying this is Christian teaching. Forget all the trappings of churches. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind,

and love other people as yourself. That's theppings of churches. Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and love other people as yourself. That's the center of it. I'd like to get your take on this next piece of audio. Is Donald Trump reflecting on the assassination attempt? The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one that I can tell you. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago in a beautiful Pennsylvania field an assassin's bullet ripped through my ear, but I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.

Now Reverend, I don't think there is a person alive who believed that Donald Trump in his first term knew anything about or cared at all for religion. But I've seen the computer renderings of the path of that bullet and how he turned his head at the last moment and it grazed his ear where it otherwise would have gone through his skull. There is an argument to be made that he was in in fact, touched by the hand of God in that moment. What do you think when you hear him say those words? I don't think there is an argument that he was touched by the hand of God.

I'm not qualified to say who is touched by the hand of God. I mean, one of the extraordinary aspects of the Second World War is that Adolf Hitler survived so many assassination attempts, often by just a whisker, by a moment, and but he seemed to keep on escaping. Was he being protected by God? Not the God of love that I know, certainly not. Look, I believe I'm going into a hospital for a very minor procedure next week. I'll pray, but that doesn't mean I assume that God will be, have his hands on me directly to make sure I'm gonna be okay. There are many other people involved. It's too simplistic and too linear to say God did this. People go to war

fighting each other, both armies saying God is with us. That's not how it works. I'm glad Donald Trump survived, but for him to say that this is God's plan and God's plan is for a populist republican president to then do to introduce certain policies that's reducing God to a political beast and that's just a sort of thing that should be condemned what the bishop didn't do but they're condemning for doing it I mean there are so many ironies in this what what Trump and these people are doing is exactly what Christians shouldn't do God is is not a Democrat, not a Republican, not a New Democrat, not a conservative. No, I'm not going to play those games.

And there are wonderful, wise people on all sides of the political debate. But what and you're quite right. What Donald Trump is doing, JD Vance, I think, is a serious believer. There are many people who support Trump who are. But I'm sorry. Forgive me if this sounds bad, but I do not believe for a moment that Donald Trump is a genuine believer. I think he realized there was a political benefit to this some years ago and he ran with it. I don't think Barack Obama is a devout Christian man. Many, Joe Biden took his

faith very seriously. I honestly don't think you can say the same about Donald Trump, not because he's a Republican, because many Republicans have been very faithful. I don't see it in Trump. Yeah, I just wonder, when you have that brush with death, I wonder if it brought him closer to some version of faith. Well, when we have traumatic events and we develop a faith afterwards, and I've seen it many times,

and it is quite wonderful, but it changes the person. Do we see a different Donald Trump since that assassination attempt? I don't see him as being kinder, more loving, more empathetic, more understanding, more tolerant. Reverend Michael Korn, we're going to have to leave it there, but I would love to pick up this conversation at a later date. Thank you so much. Anytime. Thank you. Ben MGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA has your back all season long from tip off to the final buzzer. You're always taken care of with a sports book born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with Ben MGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player, or your style, there's something every NBA fan will love

about Bet MGM. Download the app today and discover why Bet MGM is your basketball home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with Bet MGM, a sports book worth a slam dunk and authorized gaming partner of the NBA. BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about

your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an In a darkly comedic look at motherhood and society's expectations, Academy Award-nominated Amy Adams stars as a passionate artist who puts her career on hold to stay home with her young son. But her maternal instincts take a wild and surreal turn as she discovers the best, yet fiercest, part of herself. Based on the acclaimed novel, Nightbitch is a thought-provoking and wickedly humorous film from Searchlight Pictures. Stream Nightbitch January 24 only on Disney+. Donald Trump is the news of the day and will be the news of the day for as long as he is in office.

He seems like every time he opens his mouth, he makes news. And so much of it affects us north of the border. He did a lot of work on day one, a lot of work. He signed those 100 executive orders. He it was a flurry, a flurry of work, including massive investments in AI deregulation. According to him on Twitter, he said in total, before the end of my first full business day in Washington and the White House, we've already secured nearly

$3 trillion of new investments in the United States and probably that's going to be six or seven trillion by the end of the week. He's known for exaggerating, but let's have that. Let's say three and a half billion by the end of the first week. That's a lot of investment and investments is zero sum game. Every dollar that goes into the United States, that's a dollar that someone chose not to put into Canada. And so, well, here, why don't we listen to what he had to say. Before the end of my first full business day in Washington, in the White House, we've already

secured nearly $3 trillion of new investments in the United States, and probably that's going to be six or seven by the end of the week. Tremendous amounts of money are coming in for for many things other than even AI. AI seems to be very hot. It seems to be the thing that a lot of smart people are looking at very strongly. Our country will be prospering like never before. I think that's true. Yeah.

I mean, look, he said it better than I did. I could. And like I said, it's a zero sum game. If you have $1 to invest, if you invest it in the United States, that's the dollar that doesn't come here. And so with that as a backdrop, our prime minister was asked, how does he convince businesses

that Canada is still the place to be? How does he make the case that that $1 investment shouldn't go to the states it should come to Canada? Here was his incredible answer. I would suggest that part of Donald Trump's approach does bring in uncertainty whether he's going to move forward on tariffs on their closing trading partners or not. I think businesses look for, and investors look for reliability and predictability, yes. And Canada has demonstrated both through continued deepening of trade ties and prosperity across our border, that Canada remains a strong and stable place to invest because we will always be a robust and successful partner to the US economy.

Well, I'm sold. Take my money, please. Why are you a great place to invest because we're a great place to invest. That circular logic doesn't help bring investment into Canada, Mr. Prime Minister. That was that was a word salad. That was that's all that was meaningless word salad. Hey, come to Canada, we have higher, higher taxes and greater regulation. So you want to build a mine? Well, your grandkids might be able to open it. Good luck. I mean, this is, I'm tired of this. I'm tired of this. The guy

aiming to replace him as the leader of our government, Pierre Poliev, will be joining us a little bit later on the show and we'll hear from him on his thoughts on everything that's going on in Canada and across the border. Including we might ask him about this new Team Canada approach. The government was in Montebello for another cabinet retreat, but this time they brought the prime minister's, I guess he doesn't call it a task force, but this business task force made up of some pretty sizable heavy hitters, including Flavio Volpe, Jean Charest, Wes Hall and Arlene Dickinson. And after they came out of the meeting,

and Arlene Dickinson. And after they came out of the meeting, Arlene Dickinson of Dragon's Den fame, but she's also a wildly successful investor and business woman, she was asked about her former colleague from Dragon's Den, Kevin O'Leary and his overtures to Donald Trump and his constant presence at Mar-a-Lago. She was asked if she thought his presence in Trump's orbit was helpful.

Hi, Arlene. I guess my question is, what are your thoughts on Kevin O'Leary and his advocacy for Canada? I don't know. At Mar-a-Lago, what do you make of him on Fox News and at Mar-a-Lago and mingling with the incoming Trump administration? Do you think it's helpful? I don't know that it's helpful. I don't believe it is. I mean, Kevin O'Leary isn't authorized to speak on behalf of Canadians, and I frankly don't believe he is speaking on behalf of

Canadians with what he's saying. I mean, if he was negotiating on our side, I think that would be, you know, totally fine, but he's not he's negotiating against us. So I don't think it's a helpful solution right now. Look, nature and politics abhor a vacuum. And there has been a vacuum at the of leadership in Ottawa for far too long. This task force is a good idea. It would have been a better idea to assemble it the day after Donald Trump got elected. He got elected in November. It should have been,

this task force should have been meeting as of November. And because there was no task force and because there has been an absence of leadership, people like Kevin O'Leary have took it upon themselves to help themselves and in their own and perhaps help the country. I think there's certain things that Kevin has done that have been quite smart. I think pushing this nonsense notion of an economic union between our two countries makes no sense because the Americans would never relinquish sovereignty on any file monetary, budgetary, anything like that. That it would be a takeover of Canada. In I mean, possibly not in name, but certainly in spirit. We would have to adopt the American dollar.

We would have to get rid of the Bank of Canada. We would have to adopt their passport. You think that they're gonna give away the American passport in favor of some sort of Canadian-American hybrid? That would never happen. It's a fantasy to think of. So what he calls an economic union would be a takeover, an absolute takeover.

There's no other way to look at it. And so I didn't think that was particularly helpful, but there was a Canadian in the room speaking to Donald Trump when the people that we've elected were doing no such thing. And so I think it was helpful to have him there. But now I guess these guys are all over it and hopefully they will be able to speak with one voice.

And I'm not quite sure what their plan is or what their plan of attack is, but people like Wes Hall, people like Arlene Dickinson, people like Jean Charest, people like Flavio Volpe, these are voices that need to be heard. And hopefully there's a plan to get them

in front of Donald Trump or members of his administration so that they can start informing the decisions that he will ultimately make. But until then, these are just pronouncements. And the rubber met the road with Kevin O'Leary. He met the moment and he met the president at Mar-a-Lago and during the inauguration, I believe. So I don't fault him for going there.

I fault the government for not getting there first. I fault Justin at a two hour dinner. And then that was the last we heard of him for weeks. And so I don't think that there's a fault to be laid with Kevin O'Leary. He just picked up the baton that the feds dropped. And the conversation I had with Danielle Smith about the need for pipelines and building pipelines and using this moment

as an opportunity to have a real serious adult conversation about what this country needs. Seems that people are waking up to that conversation when we hear that a BC First Nations leader who is against pipelines has reversed his stance on Northern Gateway. He says, I opposed it, but now is the moment for us to sort of reconsider those positions. I hope more people follow suit. It's time for us to start living up to our potential as a nation. Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney show. All right, well, those tariffs are coming at some point in some way, shape or form. And it looks like the Team Canada approach as well as Team Canada itself is taking shape. Yesterday at a federal cabinet retreat in Montebello, the Prime Minister's task force, if you will, on dealing with

President Trump has come together. There was a big press conference with the leading voices from West Hall to our next guest Flavio Volpe, the automotive the auto parts manufacturers Association President took to the stage to talk about what we can expect and what this process is going to look like Flavio president took to the stage to talk about what we can expect and what this process is going to look like a Flavio Welcome to the Ben Mulroney show. Thanks for having me on Ben.

Well, I have to say I appreciated your words yesterday where you urged everyone to take a beat to take to be calm that we've seen this show before. Was your sentiment echoed in the meetings yesterday? Yeah, I think it's the general sentiment in the meeting. And the meeting was with this candidate, the prime minister's Canada, US Council, together with cabinet. And I think everybody was reminded by Donald Trump on inauguration day, that you got to read the fine print. He didn't say tariffs in his inauguration speech and then later on in the evening you know we're all

surprised with that maybe maybe we'll do 25% maybe we'll do February 1st and what what I said to everybody then and that repeated it yesterday was redefine print. He did an executive order he He instructed his government, his Commerce Department, to come back with reports on Canada on April 1st. So let's not panic every time he muses publicly. Yesterday on the show we had Alberta Premier Daniel Smith who suggested that April 1st was probably what he meant to say, given the fact that he's directed his administration to take certain steps that are going to take a certain amount of time.

Yeah, that's right. And Danielle Smith has certainly been at the front of a lot of these conversations and to some controversy in these parts of the country. But what I said and what that room said yesterday was, look, we're stronger with her and Alberta and the interests of Alberta inside Team Canada and you know, I suggested that like in 1995 in the referendum on Canada, John Charest emerged as, you know, the comming's John Charest emerged as, you know, the calming Captain Canada voice. You know, that Captain Canada may still come out.

We heard Doug Ford give a lot of comfort. And frankly, that could even be Danielle Smith. Well, let's talk about the automotive industry for a moment because it's not like softwood lumber, right? We cut down the tree, we send it across the border, and that's it. In order to make a car, those parts go back and forth across the border a number of times. In a worst case scenario, would those car parts

be subject to a tariff every time they go across the border? Yeah, look, if the tariffs are on incoming Canadian goods, every time that part, that would start off as a casting in the US and that ends up on being machined on this side of the border then going back to go into an engine and that engine comes back in here to a car and then that car goes to for sale in Illinois It would get hit every time it crossed over and then that final vehicle would get hit and so You know you have a scenario here where the president has said

That what he wants to do is take aim at the Canadian auto sector, but we're so completely integrated. Anything that lands in Ontario is going to hit Michigan as it's being assembled. But you know, the pickup trucks that are made by General Motors in Oshawa get sold in Texas. And if it's a $60,000 pickup truck today, it's a $75,000 pickup truck tomorrow. Now, one of the things I appreciate that you said yesterday as well was you said, we know the system, we know the research, we know the facts that are going to be presented to the president. And if we do that, we can sort of reverse engineer it and we'll essentially

understand the conclusions that will be handed to him on the lay of the land as it relates to tariffs. What do you think ultimately the research is going to show him, is going to demonstrate to him? Well, across the country, if you just look at the industry as a whole, the US runs a trade surplus against Canada, except for the oil that they need that gets refined in the states that drive jobs in the states.

In automotive, he'll find that since we resigned the USMCA, yes, we've had a flurry of investment announcements here, but production is down about 30%. So the legislation that he's going to use is a national security legislation. He fit Canadian aluminum and steel into national security threats in 2019 for about 10 months. It's going to be really hard to justify putting a national security tariff on a Ford Motor Company engine. But as you know, Ben, the head of government can take advice, but ultimately makes his or her own decision. So but the very least what I said was, like you said, reverse engineer, let's do the studies that he's going to do.

So we have the math that he has. And, you know, then then we've got to learn the dance. He's a pretty good dancer. somebody here has to keep up. Now, Flavio, the first time he brought up these tariffs, it had very little to do with trade. It had far more to do with border security, drugs and human migration. Was there any talk from the business people asking the government what exactly their plan is

on those files? Yeah, without betraying cabinet confidences, you know, there was a there was a an articulation of a good plan that hits all his points. But you know, one of the conversations in the room was, that was the last time he mentioned borders, he's really sharply changed his rhetoric to he wants to raise tax revenues for his own initiatives. He thinks the best way to do it is to look at the trade surplus, the trade deficit that he's got, and then to tariff it.

And so, you know, I think there's some general worry that the border discussion was an excuse, not a reason. But we seem fully committed to it. Now, you said that we need a Canadian dance partner to keep up with Donald Trump. Now that you've been inside the room, there's a lot of talk outside of the room that we don't have a government with a mandate that we that they've worried about their leadership when they should have their eyes on this prize. You've been in the room, you've listened to the our leaders. Are you confident that we have the dance partner required to keep up with Donald Trump? No, but most of that is a matter of timing. The Prime Minister's gone on March the 9th. There's going to be somebody else for a few months maybe. And then, you know, the President's going to get his

reports on April 1st. We're going to be into this thick negotiating in June. I think it would be helpful for everybody in this country to have a new government with a fresh mandate. All right, well we're going to leave it there, Flavio. Thank you so much. I hope you come back to the show if there are any more updates to share, because this is a matter of great importance to everyone. We appreciate your time. Consider me a regular, Ben. Happy to do it. Hello, dearest listener. In the thick of the winter season, you may be in need of some joie de vivre. Well, look no further, honey, because Sunwing's Best Value Vacays

has your budget-friendly escapes, all the way to five-star luxury. Yes, you heard correctly, budget and luxury, all in one place. So instead of ice scraping and teeth chattering, choose coconut sipping and pool splashing. Oh, and book by February 16th with your local travel advisor or at...

Sunwing.ca And, uh, yeah, book by February 16th with your local travel advisor or as... going on and what that means for you and for Canada. This situation has changed very quickly. Helping make sense of the world when it matters most. Stay in the know. Download the free CBC News app or visit cbcnews.ca. One of the things I love about doing this show is it allows me to explore all sorts of interests that I have, you know, we don't just focus on politics, we focus on the things that matter to us

beyond the political. And yesterday, I was sitting around with my producer, George, and we saw this really fun story about how... I didn't even know this happened. I didn't know that when a president comes in to the office, the Oval Office, they have completely remade that, the Oval Office. They have completely remade that, the Oval Office in that man's image.

They take it down to the studs and they repaint it. And they put up the paintings he wants and the presidential portraits that he wants. And whatever to personalize it for that present, that's what they do. And they do it in a matter of hours. Let's take a listen. In addition to helping to pick out some of these historic furnishings, the new president and first lady also make it known their desires for any interior remodeling.

Whether new rugs, carpets, paint or whatever the case may be, the chief usher ensures the first family's requests are documented and coordinated well before Inauguration Day. However, some of these requests are certainly a tall order to fill. For example, after President Truman took office, he directed the staff to construct a balcony on the South Portico of the White House that has since become a symbolic fixture of the building. Before President Nixon took office, he insisted that the White House construct a one-lane bowling alley in the basement.

However, Nixon was not the only one who wanted to bring his personal touches. Because of President Teddy Roosevelt's love of the outdoors and hunting, he insisted that he be allowed to display his collection of taxidermied animals. While many raised their eyebrows, they couldn't tell the president no, and during his administration, the White House was transformed into a sort of museum of curiosities. It is a fascinating story. And I remember during the first Trump presidency, he gave a tour of the White House, the Oval Office rather,

and the journalist asked him about a button that he had on his desk. And that button was specifically to bring him a Diet Coke whenever he wanted a Diet Coke. And I think that's the one thing I have in common with Donald Trump. I used to drink Diet Coke like it was going out of business. At my peak Diet Coke addiction,

I was drinking 18 Diet Cokes a day. 18, that was when I was doing Canadian Idol. 18 Diet Cokes a day, and that doesn't even count the coffee that I was drinking. 18, I'm down to zero. I have like a Diet Coke when I go to the movies and that's it. But he also brought back the bust of Winston Churchill. And you know, he views himself as somebody who is there to save America. And Winston Churchill did nothing less than saving democracy

in his time. You may not like him, but that's a fact. That's absolutely what he did. And you can take issue with with him if you want. I'm not here to fight about Winston Churchill's legacy. But he saved democracy were it not for him. We'd all be speaking German. And he Donald Trump has been busy at work very busy at work in his first few days, announcing a flurry of executive action. But one of the things that I think stood out yesterday was when the top three tech firms in AI announced that they will create a new company called Stargate to grow artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States. So

you had Sam Altman from OpenAI, you had SoftBank CEO and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison. They all appeared together to announce this company that Trump called the largest AI infrastructure project in history. The companies will invest $100 billion in the project to start and they have plans to pour up to $500 billion into Stargate in the project to start, and they have plans to pour up to 500 billion into Stargate in the coming years. This will create, according to Trump, 100,000 U.S. jobs. So this is a pure U.S. play. They're not going to offshore these jobs. And what is Stargate going to do? They're going to build the infrastructure and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of AI, including data centers around the country.

And this to me, it's just, I just feel like we're getting left in the dust here because we had Kevin O'Leary on the show who's trying to build a $70 billion AI data center in Northern Alberta. Canada is ideally positioned to be a leader in AI data centers. We have the cold climate, which drops the cost of cooling those things precipitously.

And you can position them very close to northern towns that have all the infrastructure that you would otherwise have to build. You've got the schools, you've got the universities, you've got the running water, you've got the hospitals, you've got everything you need to build. You've got the schools, you've got the universities, you've got the running water, you've got the hospitals, you've got everything you need to build up there. Meanwhile, Kevin O'Leary and Danielle Smith are running around like a chicken with their head cut off because of all the regulatory hoops they've got to jump through. Donald Trump is essentially saying you want to build it, you can build it. They are going to lap us many times over before we get our act together on these

sorts of things. We should be the tip of the sword today, not five years from now. So he's getting he's he's doubling down on AI. And he just recently took to truth social to get tough with Russia. He wrote, I'm not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people and always had a very good relationship with President Putin. And this despite the radical left's Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the second world war losing almost 60 million lives

in the process. All of that being said, I'm going to do Russia whose economy is failing and President Putin a very big favor. Settle down and stop this ridiculous war. It's only going to get worse. If we don't make a quote unquote deal and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United

States and various other participating countries. Let's get this war, which never would have started if I were president over with. We can do it the easy way or the hard way. And the easy way is always better. It's time to quote, make a deal. No more lies should be lost. Look, love him or hate him. Like that's where he's coming from.

So he's gonna tariff the heck out of them because they're in the middle of a war. And he wants to tariff us because I don't know. I don't, I don't know. But this is straight talking Trump. This is one of the things that appeals to a great many people in his base and people who voted for him for the first time. They know where he's coming from. He says what he means and he means what he says. But the past couple of days, well, we also saw a little bit of zany, wacky Trump coming out and that's me putting it mildly.

Let's listen to him talking about the California fires. Lee Hills, now those people have been a lot, I mean, a lot of them are wiped out, believe it or not. You know, they were having restrictions having restrictions Larry you know about this they wanted to restrict you to 38 gallons of water a day that sounds like a lot but it's not when you're a rich person and you like to take a shower 38 38 gallons as it lasts very long and they have all this water and it's really good water up high Northwest, some comes in

from Canada. A nice country, by the way. The long meandering, the threads he pulls at to get from one place to another, I don't know how his brain is wired. I don't know how his brain is wired. And listen, he's gonna make life very busy and very interesting for standup comics and for people like us. And we just have to remember that it's not our job to chase every single thread. Cause if we do, we're gonna tuck ourselves out

by Monday afternoon. We're gonna burn out by Tuesday. And by Wednesday, we're just gonna want to stay in bed. There's so much news that comes out of that guy and we just don't remember not just because just because he says it doesn't make it newsworthy. But there you go. That's a taste of things to come. Home Network is here. I love it. Discover the best shows and your favorite trusted experts all under one roof.

Are you kidding me? Every Thursday, watch heartwarming programs like an all new Extreme Makeover Home Edition at 8. Home Network! We are so lucky to be a part of this. And Honest Renovations, starring Jessica Alba and Lizzie Mathis at 9. Changing these homes, we can change families. There's no place like it.

Home Network, stream on STAC TV.