A WORLD GONE MAD
A Progressive Liberal News Podcast
Veteran Television, and Radio Broadcaster Jeff Alan Wolf offers his Observations on the issues (many issues) of the week with a fearless liberal bent. His solid delivery, and dry common sense approach sets him apart from other liberals that populate Talk and Commentary Podcasts”
Jeff Does NOT Pull Punches.
He does NOT Make comments that are “SAFE”.
He tells the Truth.
(He Tells It As He Sees It)
He Is Very OPINIONATED!
He says the things Out Loud YOU’RE
already thinking.
Jeff is Unfiltered, Unspun, A little Unhinged, but offers a lot of Common Sense.
This Podcast could make you MAD.
This Podcast could make you SMILE.
Regardless, it WILL make you THINK!
A WORLD GONE MAD
Trump’s Tariff War On ALL Countries!, Angry Democrats Say “Grow A Spine”, Government Shutdown Friday?
The global economic chess game has taken a dramatic turn as President Trump imposes sweeping 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from all countries, triggering immediate retaliation from Canada and the European Union. Within hours of Trump's announcement, both allies launched countermeasures worth billions against American goods, setting the stage for what could become a devastating trade war with far-reaching consequences.
Economic experts are sounding alarm bells. The déjà vu is striking – similar tariffs during Trump's first term increased costs for manufacturers while reducing industrial output by over $3 billion. As Warren Buffett observed, using tariffs resembles "declaring war on another country.”
Americans aren't buying it, according to new CNN polling.
Meanwhile, a government shutdown looms as House Republicans pass a funding bill without Democrats. Creating yet another high-stakes standoff with just days before the deadline.
The political temperature continues rising, with Democrats across rural and urban America demanding their representatives mount stronger opposition to Trump's agenda.
As we navigate these turbulent waters, remember to breathe and focus on what we can control – our health, our peace of mind, and our determination to preserve democratic principles against mounting challenges.
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
There is chaos in the world, can't you see? And we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. Well, this is a world on fire, this is a World Gone Mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe and I give my commentary on national and world news and politics. Have I got news for you? Have I got news for you?
Speaker 1:Trump imposes a sweeping 25% steel and aluminum tariff on Canada and Europe, and they swiftly retaliate. President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States Wednesday, a policy aimed at leveling the playing field for US manufacturing, but a move that threatens to drive up prices on a broad range of consumer and industrial goods for Americans. It's the latest salvo in Trump's multifaceted tariff plan aimed at correcting perceived trade imbalances and reigniting domestic industry, but it risks igniting a global trade war. Now the European Union hit for the first time by higher US tariffs since Trump returned to the White House retaliated within hours with countermeasures on US goods and exports, and later, wednesday, canada announced over $20 billion in retaliatory measures as well. The tariffs on steel and aluminum marked the first time in Trump's second term that a set of tariffs has been applied to all countries.
Speaker 1:Imposing steel and aluminum tariffs poses a risky bet. Although it could give America's steel and aluminum tariffs poses a risky bet. Although it could give America's steel and aluminum industries a boost, it will raise prices on a key ingredient for American manufacturers, which could be passed on to consumers. The cost could outweigh the benefit. That's what happened in Trump's first term. Although Trump's 2018 metals tariffs expanded US production modestly, it sent costs rising for cars, tools and machines and shrank those industries' output by more than $3 billion in 2021, the International Trade Commission found in a 2023 analysis. It could also backfire on the industries it's designed to protect. Trump's tariffs could cost 100,000 American jobs, including 20,000 from the aluminum industry. William Opplinger, ceo of Alcoa, one of the largest US aluminum makers, warned last month.
Speaker 1:Canada announced a series of retaliatory measures on Wednesday morning that are set to take effect on Thursday, which includes the 25% tariffs on $20.1 billion imports of US goods such as steel and aluminum products. Canada also targeted billions of dollars worth of imports from the US of computers, sporting equipment and cast iron products. Like Warren Buffett said, using tariffs is like declaring war on another country. I guess Donny Boy just declared war on every country.
Speaker 1:A new CNN poll Americans are negative on Trump's handling of the economy. Americans are not impressed with President Donald Trump's stewardship of the economy, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, putting him underwater on the nation's top issue, even as he sees ratings among the best of his presidential career on other key priorities. As markets slide and investors worry in response to Trump's trade policies, a 56% majority of the public disapproves of his handling of the economy, worse than at any point during his first term in office. By contrast, the 51% who now say they approve of his work on immigration, headlined by stricter enforcement efforts, is seven points higher than at any point during his first term. Americans are closely divided over Trump's performance so far in handling the federal budget and managing the federal government 48% approve on each, with about half disapproving, while giving him lower ratings for his work on health care policy 43%, foreign affairs 42% and tariffs 39%. Trump's overall job approval rating currently stands at 45%, with 54% disapproving, in line with the numbers he saw in March 2017, and matching his highest ratings for his first term in office. Overall, 35% of Americans say things in the country are going well, a rise from 29% in January, reflecting a surge in positive sentiment within the GOP. His ratings remain highly polarized, with Republicans roughly 10 times as likely as Democrats to approve of his job performance.
Speaker 1:There's overwhelming agreement across party lines that Trump's use of presidential power reflects a break from historical precedent. An 86% majority of Americans, including more than three quarters of adults in each party, say that Trump is taking a completely different approach to presidential power in comparison to past presidents, with 49% calling this a bad thing and 37% saying it's a good thing. Just 14% say his approach to his second term has been generally in line with past presidents. Now, just 35% of Americans express a positive view of Musk, with 53% rating him negatively and 11% offering no opinion, making him both better known and more substantially unpopular than Vice President JD Vance, whom 33% of Americans rate favorably and 44% unfavorably, with 23% having no opinion. Roughly 6 in 10 Americans say that Musk is neither the right experience nor the right judgment to make changes to the way the government works. There is uneasiness about Musk even among some of the president's supporters 28% of those who see Trump's changes to the government as necessary. They doubt the tech billionaire has the judgment to carry them out.
Speaker 1:Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans are at odds over January 6th investigation. Republicans are at a standstill over their investigation, re-litigating the January 6th 2021 attack on the US Capitol, with House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republicans leading the effort, disagreeing on how to move forward. Johnson wants Republicans to stop investigating the former January 6th committee, including former GOP Representative Liz Cheney, and narrow its focus, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations. But GOP Representative Barry Loudermilk, who has been tapped to helm the probe, would prefer a broader mandate, a position backed by some officials at the White House. President Donald Trump told Johnson before he took office that he wanted this investigation to be a priority. The tapered scope would also prohibit the investigation from looking at security preparedness leading up to the attack and how to improve security at the US Capitol going forward.
Speaker 1:The sources added these aren't normal times. Frustrated Democrats demand their leaders do more to meet the moment. 73% of Democratic voters in a recent CNN poll says the party's caucus in Congress is doing too little to oppose Trump. In their view, democrat Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and other Washington Democrats are enabling illegal firings across the federal workforce and the erosion of the rule of law. I understand the importance of bipartisanship in normal times, but these aren't normal times, said Robert Lepartito, a 69-year-old retired music librarian from Penn, sport Lepartito, argues the party needs to be more dogmatic and is not sympathetic to the needle that purple state Democrats believe they must thread. It's not just a matter of trying to find consensus when someone is literally dismantling our institutions right before our eyes and turning on our allies. I mean there's no middle ground for that, he said. Another person said if we elected you, then you need to fight. You need to grow a spine and fight for us, said 64-year-old Joyce Medder of Abington Township. Joyce Medder of Abington Township.
Speaker 1:Democrats have begun sounding the alarm over Republican plans to pay for extension of tax cuts by slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending, possibly including cuts to Medicaid. More immediately, the federal government will shut down Friday if Congress doesn't pass funding legislation. Now Democrats are weighing whether they should help pass a GOP-drafted spending measure that they dislike or whether they should demand some concessions in exchange for their support. It's not just progressives who are peeved. Longtime Philadelphia attorney Michelle Flammer describes herself as a centrist. Still she feels compelled to protest her own party because the people she voted for, she says, should feel accountable to her. In my view, our nation's on fire. We are actually in a constitutional crisis right now. The 68-year-old said in an interview on her porch in West Philadelphia she was in disbelief.
Speaker 1:When House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wondered at a news conference last month how much power Democrats have in Trump's Washington, I'm trying to figure out what leverage we actually have. What leverage do we have, jeffries asked? Republicans have repeatedly lectured America. They control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It's their government. Jeffries was trying to indicate it was not on Democrats to bail out Speaker Mike Johnson on government spending negotiations, since Republicans are in the majority. His message Democrats would work with Johnson on a bipartisan basis but conservatives must take responsibility for whatever materialized.
Speaker 1:Some Democratic voters received Jeffrey's comment as party leaders prematurely conceding defeat. In the middle 1800s, if you look at Philadelphia, we had 20,000 free black people living in Philadelphia at the time. They were very much engaged in underground railroad activities. How much power do they have? Flammer said. But still these people persevered. It's a matter of persistence, added Flammer. Many Democrats want more from their party. Of persistence, added Flammer. Many Democrats want more from their party. In Clarion, local Democratic organizers are strategizing to find candidates to mount primary challenges against sitting Democrats, they say, are failing them. Their message Fight harder, gum up the works. Throw up every conceivable procedural roadblock, stop confirming Trump's nominees and do a better job messaging to conservatives in rural America about how they too could be harmed by Trump's policies. Aware of the unrest among the party faithful, democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and Jeffries held a national call last week to lay out actions they are taking to address voters' concerns. We have a plan. We understand that we need to execute it with the fierce urgency of now, jeffrey said, as he detailed a roadmap that included using the courts to stall Trump's agenda and a messaging battle to persuade voters so Democrats can recapture the House.
Speaker 1:The raw anger from Democratic voters isn't just concentrated in urban centers. The outrage is palpable in rural America too. In her 30s, bobby Erickson is a funny and feisty cook at an elementary school in Jefferson County, pennsylvania. In the two hours between the time she clocks out and when she gets her son off the bus after school, she volunteers by collecting signatures, organizing rallies and knocking on doors for local Democrats. There's a war being waged in America, in rural Pennsylvania, and we're fighting and we're scrapping every single day to get volunteers, to get Democrats on the ballot, to get votes out. We're scrapping every day, and if they would work half as hard as we do, I would have no complaints. Erickson said the House passed its funding bill ahead of Friday's shutdown deadline and win for Republicans. Shutdown deadline and win for Republicans.
Speaker 1:Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday succeeded in high-stakes House vote to pass President Donald Trump's plan to fund the government into the fall, overcoming far-right opposition as the GOP scrambles to avert a government shutdown. Friday at midnight Now, the 217 to 213 vote total to approve Republican stopgap bill saw just one GOP defection Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky and now amplifies pressure on Senate Democrats to decide whether to back the measure or trigger a spending showdown with Trump and risk a potential shutdown of the government. The House plans to immediately leave Washington, an attempt to stick the Senate with a take-it-or-leave-it bill ahead of the March 14th deadline. But it's not yet clear whether Johnson's show of force will be enough to convince Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to stave off a shutdown. At least eight Senate Democrats would need to vote with the GOP to accept the bill, which includes none of the concessions the party has been demanding to protect Congress's spending powers in the Trump era. And finally, on that note, as of the time I'm recording this episode, which is now late Wednesday night. Senate Democrats are prepared to block the House's GOP spending bill, schumer says.
Speaker 1:Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats have the votes to block the House-passed GOP spending bill. It is his first statement about his party's strategy ahead of the Friday shutdown deadline. Schumer called on Senate Republicans to cut a deal with Democrats on a short-term spending bill instead, while they continue negotiating a full year appropriations. Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans choose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input, any input from congressional Democrats. Because of that, republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House. He said on the floor. The House passed bill would keep the government open until September. Senate Republicans are expected to reject Democrats' attempts to pass their own short-term stopgap bill. So another game of chicken takes place, mano-a-mano, the big pissing contest across the aisles when it comes to funding the government.
Speaker 1:A very, very dangerous time indeed. We all must remember to breathe. Take each day one hour at a time. Control what we can control, which is ourselves, our health, our peace of mind. Send me your comments. Wolfpack listeners, you know how to do it. I'll be back again in two days. This is a world gone mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolf sitting in a room talking to myself. Stay hopeful. There is chaos in the world, can't you see? And we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad, mad, mad, mad. Yeah.
