Transcript

5.15.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
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May the fifteenth of twenty twenty five. Your reader is
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Alice Dayner, and I have the reminder that RADIOI is
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a program for those that have difficulties holding or reading
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printed material. And I am going to start with the
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front page. On the left of the front section of
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the Washington Post. Biden book stirs fresh trauma for Democrats.
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A blame game follows new claims that aids hid the
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president's decline that Naftali Ben, David Dan America and Paul Kane.
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To the right of that at the very top of
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the page, the earths eased on news of pain to
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Trump's base by Jeff Stein, Natalie Allison and David J. Lynch.
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But it says advisers saw a chance to sway president.
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Result was weekend talks partial deal with China. And below
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that is a picture of the President in his usual
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blue suit with a red tire, shaking hands with Almud
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l Shorah, who is the interim president of Syria and
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the former al Qaeda linked rebel, and they're at the
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small royal palace in Riad and the two met for
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more than and half an hour on Wednesday, a day
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after Trump said he would ease sanctions on the country.
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And there those two are shaking. There's a third person
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in the room. I do not know who that is.
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And to the right of that picture of the two
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leaders in Mideast pragmatic approach on display, Trump shows eagerness
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for quick wins deals in talks with region leaders. Below
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the picture, some rioters now aim to turn a profit.
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From January sixth, dozens pardoned in attack on Capitol have
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turned online influences by La Silverman and Drew Harwell. And
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at the very bottom of the front page on the left,
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a century later, families birthright citizenship fight on Norman Wong's
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ancestor won a landmark Supreme Court ruling a new case
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threatens his legacy by David Nakamara. And there's a picture
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of Norman Wang standing before mural in San Francisco's Chinatown
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featuring Wang Kim arc who is at the bottom left
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of the mural his great grandfather. And the ural shows
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Japanese Americans or Chinese Americans, well Chinese because it's Chinatown
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on this wall. And he's in a black puff jacket
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with an orange shirt underneath, and the last article on
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the front page to the right, A scramble for forecasters
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ahead of hurricane season by Scott Dance. First article, Democrats
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rattled again by fresh claims that Biden aids hid his frailty.
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A new book and Biden's public appearances are potential distractions
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as the party seeks to focus on Trump. And there's
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a picture of former President Joe Biden and his wife
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Jill appearing on ABC's The View and Joy Bear is
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to their right by Naftali Bin, David Dan Merika and
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Paul Kin. A growing number of Democrats are publicly second
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guessing their party's handling of the last election, acknowledging that
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President Joe Biden's delayed withdrawal was damaging, and in some
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cases conceding they were too quick to dismiss questions about
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his age mental acuity. The criticism and self criticism comes
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as a new book, Original Sin, President Biden's Decline, its
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cover up, and his disastrous choice to run again by
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Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson blames democrats defeat in large
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part on Biden's aids, who it asserts hid the extent
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of his decline. The former president and his supporters forcefully
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reject that notion, but the renewed questions, along with Biden's
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public comments responding to those claims, are sending shivers through
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a Democratic Party still traumatized by November's loss to Donald Trump.
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Representative Rowe Kanna, Democrat of California, an outspoken supporter of
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Biden before he ended his re election campaign last summer,
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acknowledged in a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday
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that he had been mistaken in backing the former president's reelection.
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In my few interactions at public events, I found him
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coherent and proud of his record. But it is now
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painfully obvious he should not have run. We should have
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had an open primary. We must acknowledge this truth and
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regain trust with the American people, Conna said. Kentucky Governor
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Andy Bashiel, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in twenty twenty eight,
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said in an interview Wednesday that it would have helped
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the party if Biden had ended his re election bid
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earlier than July. In retrospect, if the president was going
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to drop out, dropping out earlier would have given any
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candidate a little more time beas she has said. He
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suggested too that Democrats would have had a better chance
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if their nominee, then President Vice President Kamala Harris, had
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drawn clear distinctions with Biden. It would also have taken
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a campaign willing to break with the president on certain
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issues bis, she has said. The flare up comes at
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a particularly inconvenient time for the Democrats, who believe the
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political tides are beginning to shift their way. After the
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onslaught of Trump's first few months, Democratic leaders are now
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seeking to focus on a Republican spending bill, which they
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say will slash Medicaid, and on the potential economic chaos
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unleashed by Trump's tariffs. Biden, they note, left office four
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months ago, was not the party's candidate in twenty twenty four,
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and you will presumably never run again. Trump, in contrast,
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has only begun a four year term that Democrats say
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is already causing irreparable damage. And there is a picture
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below that of both President Joe Biden and President elect
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Donald Trump ahead of the inauguration on January twentieth in Washington.
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They're walking, oh, I think they're walking to the inauguration,
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and you see in the background former First Lady Laura Bush,
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and you see the back of former President Clinton and
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others around that I don't recognize, but other Democrats contend
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that party leaders should state openly that Biden should never
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have sought re election. Such a confession is needed to
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regain the trust of voters, they say, given that Americans
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retain doubts about the Democratic Party even as a sour
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on Trump. Conna came to Biden's defense in February twenty
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twenty four, after then Special Counsel Robert H. Hurr issued
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a report saying he would not prosecute Biden for mishandling
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classified documents, in part because the jury would see the
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president as a well meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.
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Democrats were infuriated by what they saw as an unfair
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shot at Biden, and Conna appeared on CNN to rebut
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the description. I've seen the president twice in the past
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two weeks. I've had a conversation with him. He's completely
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mentally sharp, Conna said. Former Transportation Secretary Buddhajid, who ran
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against Biden in the twenty twenty Democratic primary and then
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served in his cabinet, said in remarks this week that
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the party would likely have been better off off if
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Biden had not run. Maybe right now, with the benefit
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of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that's
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the case. We are also not in a position to
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wallow in hindsight. We've got to get ready for some
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fundamental tests for the future of the country and this party,
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Buddhajidge told a podential who's a poidential president candidate in
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twenty twenty eight, telling reporters last Tuesday, Original Sin includes
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several evocative antidotes, asserting that in June of twenty twenty
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four meeting, Biden did not recognize actor George Clooney, whom
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he had known for years, and that at one point
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Ages discussed whether Biden should use a wheelchair in his
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second term. A spokesperson for Biden's office said the authors
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did not fact check the book with him, that they
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would not respond to individual assertions as they trickle out.
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We continue to await anything that shows where Joe Biden
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had to make a presidential decision, or where national security
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was threatened, or where he was unable to do his job.
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In fact, the evidence points to the opposite. He was
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a very effective president, the spokesperson said. Biden in recent
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days has appeared on BBC News and on ABC's The View,
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offering sharp criticism of Trump's opening stretch and a defense
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of his own record. He also gave a speech last
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month criticizing the president's handling of Social Security. Some Democrats
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fret that such appearances play into Trump's determination to continue
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using Biden as a foil, but Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois,
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the second ranking Senate Democrat, said that with Trump attacking
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him several times a day, it's natural that Biden would
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want to defend his reputation. He is more assertive than
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most former presidents, and that's for sure, said Durbin, who
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announced last month he was not running for re election,
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But he said Durbin said, he is facing criticisms from
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the Trump administration about things that happened and didn't happen
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on his watch that are unprecedented, so I can understand
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his sense of defending his own name and his own reputation.
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Jamie Harrison, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, said
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Democrats now engaged in second guessing are being disloyal for
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political gain. Biden is off the scene now, so there
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are no repercussions for what they now claim is being
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bold Harrison said, was Biden old, Yes, he acknowledged it.
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He was old, but he went through the process. Harrison said,
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had other people gotten in, then it would have been
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very different. But nobody decided to do that. So don't
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get a backbone now after you decided not to get in. Mammy.
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Democratic leaders of brushing off questions about whether they suspected
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that Biden, who turned to eighty two last November, might
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not have been up to the job, saying they are
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focused not on the past but on the future, blocking
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Trump's initiatives and winning the twenty twenty six mid term elections.
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Asked Tuesday at a press conference whether he was being
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forthright about Biden's limitations, Senate Minority Leader Charles Z. Schumer,
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Democrat of New York, did not directly answer. Look, we're
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just looking forward, he said. Dick Harpotelian, former chair of
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the South Carolina Democratic Party and a long time Biden's supporter,
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said he blamed Democrats around the President who put pressure
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on him to get out but did not have a plan.
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I think people realize now that Joe Biden in a
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wheelchair would have been better than what we have right now.
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Said Harpotelian. This is the blame game, and the Democratic
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Party doesn't appear to be waking up. Representative Brad Sherman,
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Democrat of California, said that if Biden's aides put the
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best spin on his abilities, that was not a scandal,
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but their job. Look, what do you expect from Flax
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and Hacks. I've got a press secretary, and I'm sure
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he told you I am the most brilliant, incisive man
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ever to walk the planet. If he didn't tease fired,
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of course, the people who worked for the president said
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he's brilliant, Sherman said. David Aselrod, a long time Democratic
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strategist and close adviser to former President Barack Obama, said
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the loyalty shown by Biden's aides may have been sincere,
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but that did not excuse it. Axelrod said on NPR,
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I think they were motivated by a belief in him,
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by a belief to see him continued. But it was
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an irresponsible decision on his part, and I have to
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say on his family's part. The issue's re emergence makes
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it likely that any Democratic presidential hopeful in twenty twenty
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eight will be challenged on how they viewed Biden in
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twenty twenty four and what they said about it. One
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potential candidate, Illinois Governor JB. Pritske, told to See an
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End that in his meetings with Biden, he saw nothing
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to make him doubt that then president's abilities. I never
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had the experience of anything other than a guy who
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brought to the table a lot of good ideas about
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how to solve problems, he said Tuesday. Joe Biden, who
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appeared with her husband on the view, was even more
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forceful than her husband in defending him against any suggestion
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that his abilities were faltering at the end of his tenure.
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The former First Lady said, the people who wrote those
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books were not in the White House with us. They
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did not see how hard Joe worked every single day.
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I think he was a great president. If you look
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at things today, give me Joe Biden any time. The
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second article, white House eased China tariffs after warnings of
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harm to Trump's people. The president has backtracked repeatedly on
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its tariff policies, creating a whiplash with downsides and few
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clear benefits so far. There's a picture of the president
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in that normal blue suit with the same red tie
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in front of a picture of former President Reagan, and
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he is taking questions from reporters at a presidential podium
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with the Presidential seal. After the swearing ceremony for David
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Purdue as US Ambassador to China on May the seventh
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by Jeff Stein, Natalie Allison, and David J. Lynch, some
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of the president's top aides saw an opening. Throughout April,
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President Donald Trump's sky high tariffs on imports from China
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had rippled through the US and global economies, but the
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president was reluctant to move too quickly to lower the
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penalties on Beijing, believing the United States needed to stomach
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some short term economic pain to achieve a major rebalancing
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in trade and that China had more to lose in
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the standoff. By the end of the month, though, a
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growing number of blue collar workers whom Trump saw as
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part of his political base, including long showmen and truckers,
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began warning that tariffs and a near total cessation of
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trade with China were hurting them. Behind the scenes, White
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House Chief of Staff Suzi Wilds, Treasury Secretary Scott Bissett, Biscent,
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and other aides told to Trump that his own voters
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were in danger if the tariffs did not come down,
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According to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke
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on the condition of annie inmity to describe private discussions
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that gave them a path to initiating negotiations with the Chinese,
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which culminated this past week in Geneva. Weekend in Geneva
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with a partial deal to reduce tariffs between the world's
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two biggest economies. One White House official caution however, that
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multiple factors contributed to the trade talks in Switzerland. The
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key argument was that this was the beginning to hurt
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Trump's supporters Trump's people. One person breached on the talk,
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said it gave Suzi a key window. Trump's pullback reflected
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the core tension that has bedeviled the White House as
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he tries tried using tariffs to remake the global economy
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in record time. What he seeks is virtually impossible without
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substantial political and economic blowback, even to constituencies the administration
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aims to protect. That challenge is reflected in the sheer
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number of times the President has adjusted his tariff policies
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at a pace economists says without precedent since the inauguration
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on January twentieth. Trump administration officials have announced new or
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revised tariff policies more than fifty times, according to a
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tally by the President Washington Post. A separate tally by
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Reed Smith, a law firm, has found about fifty five
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such actions. That sentence is in parentheses. Trump has issued
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more than a dozen terror related executive orders, or about
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one per week, aimed at Mexican drugs and migration, another
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aimed at Canada, yet another hitting China, and several that
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modified previously issued executives orders, among others. Some of his
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plans have been strikingly short lived. More than half a
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dozen of the president's tariff announcements, such as duties on
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dairy imports and Columbian trade, didn't last more than a
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week before they were altered. Some didn't last a day.
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In parentheses, the White House says this was because they
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achieved their intended result. Trump has substantially changed tariffs on
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goods from China, Canada, and Mexico at least a half
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dozen times each. He has reversed himself at least three
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times on auto tariffs, on steel and aluminum, and on
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agriculture and energy other sectors are left waiting to see
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how their production lines might be upended. Trump has announced
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but not implemented tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and a range
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of other critical imports. Previously, the most rapid period of
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change for US trade policy was from eighteen o six
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to eighteen twelve, as early American presidents contended with shifting
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alliances with Britain and France. According to Douglas Erwin, an
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economist at Dartmouth College who specializes in economic history. But
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Erwin said that was changing every year. This is changing
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every day this year. A ment of activity is unprecedented, overwhelming.
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The constant reversals reflect the president's attempts to transform US
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trade while simultaneously mitigating the negative consequences of such a transformation.
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Erwin said the reason why the tariffs go up and
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come back down is businesses or markets are pressuring him
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to back off. Irwin said the volatility is just reflecting
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the difficulty of achieving the objectives in a very short
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span of time. That's hard to say what precisely the
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policy commotion has accomplished. The US agreement with China mostly
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removed restrictions imposed by both sides since January in parenthesis. Now,
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though the administration has pointed to a non committal pledge
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by Beijing to curb non tariff barriers to trade. The
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White House also has said it is working on dozens
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of trade deals with countries that it threatened with tariffs
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in early April, but only one with Britain has been announced,
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and critics have said the British offered only token concessions,
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such as a commitment to purshats more US made beef,
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rather than agreeing to anything transformative for the two countries.
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The US runs a trade surplus with Britain already. The
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only special interest guiding President Trump's decision making is the
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best interest of the American people, White House spokesman cushed
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A Sigh said in his statement, the Administration's Geneva agreement
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with China stabilizes at trade relationship while setting the stage
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for a comprehensive trade deal that will pull Americans, put Americans,
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and America first financially. Both the damage and the upside
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of the Trump tariffs have been less dramatic than they
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initially appeared, or any pledged at the outset of his presidency.
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Stock markets have recovered their heavy losses since Trump's April
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second Liberation Day announcement, with investors appearing to believe that
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the president will leave the global trade system largely intact
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when the dust clears. Further tariffs are coming on specific sectors,
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but it is not clear whether Trump will stick by those,
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giving his willingness to walk back other trade measures under pressure.
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Spokespeople for the Treasury Department declined to comment. The White
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House's defenders maintained that the president is in the early
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stages of rebalancing a global trade order that has disadvantaged
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US manufacturers and workers for decades. There are several things
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that even Trump haters have to respect this limited progress.
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Michael Pillsbury and China Hawk, who has advised Trump, said
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the partial deal with Beijing, it's a big deal that
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China acknowledged it would do more to reduce tariff barriers,
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Pillsbury said. Other defenders of the administration's policy say Trump
26:00
is made clear that he will leave in place his
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ten percent universal tariffs on all imports, which would raise
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more than one hundred billion annually, said Wilbur Ross, who
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served as Commerce Secretary during Trump's first term. Trump pulled
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back on more aggressive moves against China because of the
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market turmoil and resistance in Congress. But he's getting offered
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some pretty major concessions because no country can afford an
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all out trade war with US on a protracted basis,
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Ross said. However, China dug in for a more prolonged
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trade war than some ADVERSUS observers expected. Whiteheas pressed Secretary
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Caroline Levitt, reading a statement from Trump, told reporters last
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month that China needs to make a deal with US.
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We don't have to make a deal with them. Yet.
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Beijing didn't back down before Washington did. China's three point
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two trillion dollar in foreign currency reserves helped bolster its
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determination to resist what Chinese Leadershiesi in Ping had labeled
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bullying on the part of the US. Through various official
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and non governmental channels, Beijing sent the White House a
27:24
clear message that it wasn't folding and wouldn't negotiate until
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the most aggressive US tariffs came down. Meanwhile, a steady
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parade of CEOs, including from Walmart and the major automakers,
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delivered stark warnings about an intimate economic costs from the
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embargo on trade with China. It just made sense for
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Trump to blink, given the political and economic cost he faced,
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said Myron Brilliant, his senior counselor for the Strategic Strategy
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farm Albright stone Bridge Group. The pressure is different for
28:04
she even with the weak economy. The concessions of the
28:09
past two weeks may obscure just how much Trump has
28:12
altered US economic relations with other countries. Even after easing
28:17
economic hostilities with China, Trump has raised the average US
28:22
terraff from two point five percent to eighteen percent, the
28:25
highest level since the Smooth Haley tariff rate of the
28:28
nineteen thirties that most economists think exacerbated the Great Depression,
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According to the Budget lab at Yale University, Trump has
28:38
long maintained that these higher tariffs will provide an incentive
28:42
for companies to bring operations on shore and will help
28:47
pay for the GOP tax bill, but some critics say
28:51
these policies are unlikely to achieve that result. A high
28:55
tariff could, in theory, provide an incentive for manufacturers to
28:59
move production to the US, but the administration's constant reversal
29:04
of policies give businesses little confidence that they won't be
29:08
undercut later that undermines the goal of encouraging companies to
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invest heavily in new US facilities. It's been completely insane.
29:20
Michael Strain, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, a
29:24
center right think tank, set of Trump's tariff policies. When
29:29
I step back from the euphoria over easing teriff with China,
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what I see is the tariff rate is five times
29:36
as high as when Trump took office, and we seem
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to have gotten nothing out of it at all. Douglas
29:44
holds Eken, president of the American Action Forum, a center
29:50
right think tank, pointed out that the only formal pact
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so far is more of an outline for a future
29:56
agreement than a traditional trade deal. It's hard to imagine
30:01
that Britain needs to be threatened with major tariffs for
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its leaders to agree to relatively minor concessions, Holtz Eiken said.
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He also said, all we've done is imposed tariffs and
30:16
then unimpose them. We haven't accomplished anything. Honestly, We're going
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to sell some more boeings to the UK. That's the
30:24
only thing. Did we really need the tariffs on the
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world to get that done. Despite the turmoil, Trump has
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continued to defend tariffs and suggested they could again be escalated,
30:38
but it is increasingly difficult to imagine him raising the
30:41
import duties to anywhere near where they were in the
30:44
aftermath of last month's announcement, giving his unwillingness to endure
30:49
sharp market slides and business slowdowns. That may mitigate the
30:55
damage to the US economy, but it also weakens the
30:59
administration hand in negotiations with countries who know Trump's pain threshold.
31:06
The followed also highlighted just how many obstacles there will
31:10
be to implementing Trump's teriff version. In addition to public
31:15
criticism from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the president
31:21
faced defections from other players typically viewed as allies. Struggling manufacturers,
31:28
truckers with plummeting orders, construction firms fearing rising costs. The
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CEOs from major companies made their complaints known to the
31:38
White House. Republican senators closely allied with Trump pushed back heavily,
31:44
and the president's polling numbers took a beating in a
31:46
way that may be unlikely to risk again, said Doug High,
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a GOP strategist who worked for former host Majority leader
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Eric Cant, Republican of a We saw Trump underwater for
32:04
the first time on the economy, and this was why
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Hay said, it hits at something core to his DNA,
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the economy and business that made these tariffs difficult for
32:16
him to maintain. Ard our third article, Trump toss his
32:22
previous taboos in reorientation of Mid East foreign policy. The
32:28
day began with pomp in the Saudi capitol and ended
32:32
in Kutaut, after the US leader was greeted with camels
32:35
and sped to what he said was a prefecto marble palace,
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and again the picture of him shaking hands with Syrian's
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interim president Ahmed al Sharrab by Michael Bernbaum and Matt
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Beiza out of Doha guitar President Donald Trump on Wednesday
32:57
met with Syria's new leader. He asked Tatari mediators to
33:01
help prog broker peace with Aran, and he once again
33:05
declared he would be a fool not to take Gtars
33:09
offered of a luxury jumbo jet for his use. It
33:14
was a day long flurry that laid plain how the
33:17
US leader is reorent in Washington's role in the world
33:21
in a far more transactional direction. One based more on
33:26
quick winds than sweeping declarations of grand strategies. The day
33:32
began with pomp in the Saudi capitol, Riad and ended
33:35
in neighboring Katala, after the US leader was greeted with
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camels and sped to what he said was a perfect
33:42
old marble palace along the way. Trump continued to rewrite
33:47
the US approach to the region as he met with
33:50
Ahmed al Sharah, a former rebel leader once affiliated with
33:55
al Qaedo, who has sought to project a more moderate
33:58
image since capture Damascus in December. It was the latest
34:03
instance of Trump's pragmatic, try everything approach to foreign policy.
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It has led to a blitz of efforts, including free
34:12
the last US hostage held by Hamas, declaring a desire
34:17
to reverse nearly fifty years of simmering tension with Iran,
34:21
and contemplating Guitar's offer of a four hundred million dollar
34:27
luxury Boeing seventy seven forty seven in the service of
34:31
addressing Trump's frustration with the aging Air Force one. Many
34:36
initiatives have uncertain prospects of success, and the potential free
34:41
jet has unsettled even some of Trump's most ardent supporters
34:46
who have questioned whether a foreign power is buying its
34:49
way into the President's heart in the form of luxury.
34:54
Trump hammered back in defense of the seven forty seven
34:57
idea on Wednesday, saying, in a truth so shall post
35:00
that Qatar wants to reward us for a job well done,
35:06
and that only a fool would not accept this gift
35:10
on behalf of our country. Trump's transactional approach to the
35:15
presidency has neatly matched that of the monarchs in the
35:18
Persian golf region, who recognize that Trump is happiest when
35:23
they are doing deals with him, whether business or security
35:27
or gifted. Seven forty seven's guitar. On Wednesday, inked a
35:31
deal to buy what Trump to did as one hundred
35:33
and sixty Boeing jets. There was some uncertainty about the number,
35:38
as the US leader bragged, that's a record. All the
35:43
golfees like dealing with Trump, said Hussein Ibbish, a senior
35:48
Resident SCALA at the Arab's Golf States Institute in Washington.
35:55
It's easy to understand where he's coming from. It's a
35:58
patriarchal structure. He's the big guy and everything centers around him.
36:04
That's how they move too. And there is another picture
36:09
of President Donald Trump meeting with guitars Emir Tamine ben
36:13
Hammad al Thani in Doha on May fourteenth, and they're
36:18
both looking up at something. They're sitting on blue gold
36:23
gilded chairs. In the background an American flag, a large
36:29
plant and the guitar flag. Between them a table with
36:35
roses on it. Monarchs in the region do not distinguish
36:42
between their personal interest and national interest, Ibish said. Trump
36:48
stops on this trip from Saudi Arabia to Qatar to
36:51
Thenited Arab emirates line up neatly as countries where his
36:57
sons have signed business deals in recent weeks. On behalf
37:00
of the Trump organization, the family Business and World Liberty
37:04
Financial of cryptocurrency firm started in September that was co
37:10
founded by Trump's sons and heir, Zach Whitkoff, one of
37:14
the sons of Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff. The
37:19
White House says that Trump is taking a financial hit
37:22
from being president and that he no longer has any
37:25
involvement in his family business. The Guitar may be at
37:28
the forefront and using its largest to turn around its
37:32
status with Trump. For much of his first term, Saudi
37:35
Arabia ate a de facto regional plocade against guitar, isolating
37:40
the country economically over its relationship with Iran, its past
37:45
support for the Muslim Brotherhood, and its funding for the
37:48
Algera newsweat Work, whose reporting has at times upset neighboring governments.
37:56
Back then, Trump largely sympathized with guitars of opponents, though
38:01
his administration worked to end the tensions and use Oha
38:04
as a mediator in talks with Afghanistan's Taliban rebels. The
38:09
blockade ended in January twenty twenty one, shortly before Trump
38:12
left office. Since then, Guitari leaders have doubled down on
38:16
their efforts to be indispensable regional mediators, hosting talks between
38:21
Hamas and Israel and between Russia and Ukraine, among others.
38:27
Trump has been ready to move at greater speed on
38:29
foreign policy in his second term. Freed from the pressures
38:33
of reelection and from the naysaying of advisers who sometimes
38:37
curbed his impulses the first time around, the US leader
38:41
is far more open to trying unorthodox policies such as
38:46
imposing crippling tariffs. On many US allies, then spinning around
38:50
and dialing them back after bond markets were bailed. He
38:54
also has been opened to mixing official work with actions
38:57
that boost his family's business enters, including the Trump coin,
39:03
Mean coin and a Millennia Trump documentary for which Amazon
39:07
has paid forty million dollars. In the case of Syria,
39:13
Trump's approach that was welcome relief to proponents of a
39:17
fresh strategy toward Damascus. They had pushed to end sanctions
39:22
that they said were needlessly damaging a country beginning to
39:26
shake off fourteen years of civil war. The meeting with
39:31
Sharrah went great, Trump told reporters on Air Force One
39:36
during the hour long flight from Saudi Arabia to Qatar.
39:40
Sharrah is a young, attractive guy, Trump said, tough guy,
39:45
strong past, very strong past. Fighter. Sharrah has a real
39:52
shot at holding it together. He's a real leader. He
39:56
led the charge and he's amazing, Trump said. In a
40:01
meeting of leaders of the Gulf cop Cooperation Council in
40:05
Riad on Wednesday, Trump noted that his announcement the previous
40:09
evening that said he with reverse sanctions on Syria drew
40:13
in ovation and the largest applause of the night. I've
40:17
seen such progress, Trump said the region. The whole world
40:21
is watching the Middle East. Wednesday's meeting with Shirah stretched
40:26
more than in half an hour, According to the White House,
40:29
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Solomon hosted and Turkish President
40:35
recept t p. Erdowan dialed in via speakerphone. The sanctions
40:40
on Syria that Trump ended Tuesday were intended to squeeze
40:44
the regime of Syrian dictator basharar Ala S'ad, who ruled
40:49
the country with an iron grip for decades before he
40:52
was hosted in December. The sanctions had been left in
40:57
place because of Washington's uncertainty about Show's intentions and to
41:01
push him to remake Syria inclusively, but advocates of a
41:06
policy chain said they were sending the wrong message to
41:09
Damascus and depriving the new leader of the oxygen he
41:13
needed to err out society. Trump ultimately sided with them.
41:18
Trump also handed Iran a choice, warning that he would
41:22
not allow the country to develop a nuclear weapon, but
41:25
also declaring a startling openness to reshaping relations to Turan
41:30
if it makes a deal. I hope you can help
41:34
me with the Iran situation, Trump said Wednesday at an
41:39
opulent state dinner with Guitari leaders, you want me to
41:43
do something that's going to save maybe millions of lives,
41:46
because things like that get started and they get out
41:49
of control. Trump's approach has unsettled leaders who have a
41:54
more ideological approach to global affairs, including Israeli Prime Minister
41:59
Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel sees Iran as a mortal enemy, and
42:04
in Gaza, the Trump country has often prioritized bombing Hamas
42:09
into submission rather than engaging diplomatically to free the remaining
42:14
hostages held by the Palestinian militant group, the Trump administration
42:20
went over Netta Yahu's head and worked directly with the
42:23
Hamas to secure this week's release of the final American hostage,
42:29
Eden Alexander, Eden Alexander. But Trump on Wednesday said that
42:36
Israel should not be worried. This is good for Israel
42:41
having a relationship like I have with these countries, Middle
42:44
Eastern countries, essentially all of them, Trump said, as with
42:50
the Saudis. The Guitaris also rolled out a lavish ceremony
42:54
for Trump's arrival, with an honor god of dozens singing songs,
42:59
some of them mounted on white horses, some on black horses,
43:03
others dancing with swords raised. There were also camels. I
43:09
haven't seen camels like that in a long time, and
43:12
it was some greeting. We appreciate it very much, Trump said.
43:17
Upon arriving at the Maori Daiwan, the administrative offices of
43:22
Katari Emir Tamin ben Hamad Alfani, Trump marveled at the
43:27
storing architecture around him. The job you've done is second
43:32
to none. You look at this, it's so beautiful. As
43:36
a construction person, I'm seeing perfect marble. This is what
43:40
they call perfecto, Trump said. And you see a lavish
43:47
large hall with the guests before a state done at
43:52
the Lasale Palace on Wednesday, and it's got inlaid in
43:56
the floor, large circles and round entryways with sort of
44:03
the middle Eastern inset that looked like sort of rounded
44:12
up sharp buttresses. At a state dinner at Lasal Palace,
44:18
Trump and the Emia stood in a receiving line for
44:20
nearly an hour. Drums and singing could be heard from outside,
44:25
and the smell of incense filled the room. Inside, a
44:28
massive chandelier was suspended over them. A parade of officials
44:35
came to shake hands, including Chris Ruddy, the founder of Newsmax,
44:40
Antonio Gracias, one of Elon Musk's closest friends, and media
44:45
personality Piers Morgan. Musk arrived more than thirty minutes late
44:52
doing a chat and cut to get excuse me. Musk
44:57
arrived more than thirty minutes late doing a chat and
45:00
cut to get toward the front of the line. Stephen Schwartzmann,
45:05
the CEO of Blackstone, also appeared, as did Gianni in Fatino,
45:11
the president of FIFA, which brought the World Cup to
45:15
Qatar in twenty twenty two and awarded it to the
45:18
United States for twenty twenty six. The guitari leader had
45:22
done his homework to appeal to Trump, talking up his
45:26
massive investments in the United States, mentioning the US trade
45:30
surplus with guitar and Sane Katar likes to drill, Baby Drill,
45:35
a Trump campaign slogan. I'm so grateful for the trade
45:39
deficit we have with you because the surplus swings in
45:42
your favor, Tommins said. It's just a perfect evening. Trump
45:48
said earlier Wednesday of Harani Governmental seven forty seven four
45:55
hundred was parked at the ri Eonna Airport on Wednesday
45:58
near the Royal Terminal. It sported the partly extended second
46:02
floor of that model series, which was slightly larger than
46:06
the familiar baby blue and white air Force one that
46:09
idled in a different corner of the airport before Trump's departure.
46:14
But barr Rain's seven forty seven four hundred is not
46:18
as big as the longer and larger capacities seven forty
46:22
seven eight that the Katari government wants to gift Trump.
46:29
Article number four of the sixth that's normally on the
46:33
front page of the Washington Post. They stormed the Capitol.
46:38
Now they're selling merch pardoned by President Donald Trump. Many
46:44
January six rioters are working to capitalize on the attention
46:48
through podcast speaking tours and self branded merchandise. And there
46:54
is a picture of Christopher Quagling, who has pardoned for
46:59
his actions. On January sixth, a day after his pardon,
47:03
he opened an execunt calling himself the persecuted Patriot. There's
47:10
a picture of him in a black T shirt with
47:14
on the front persecuted Star Vindicated twenty twenty five stars,
47:19
sixteen hostages, and a picture of a silhouette of him
47:25
in front of the US Capitol. And there is a
47:30
bit underneath something Freedom Tool by Elie Silverman and Drew Harwell.
47:39
A man convicted of beating police officers during the January sixth,
47:44
twenty twenty one US Capital attack, now sells fifty dollars
47:50
JAY six hostages t shirts and is launching a twenty
47:56
two stop nationwide Freedom to Another who calls himself a
48:04
J sixth former felon on X is soliciting donations for
48:09
Personal Freedom Fund to support a cross country r V
48:16
tour with his wife. They want to spread their message
48:20
about what he describes as corrupted legal, law enforcement, and
48:25
prison systems. And the third, who paraded House Speaker Nancy
48:29
Pelosi's lecturn around the Capitol and later told to judge
48:33
his very stupid actions had made a mockery of a
48:38
very intense day, now hawks two hundred dollars. Tory lects
48:43
featuring his barrel silhouette, absolved by President Donald Trump's sweeping
48:49
pardoners and feeling vindicated by his re election. Rioters who
48:54
once laid low in the aftermath of the attack on
48:57
the Capitol or otherwise felt unwelcome on mainstream platforms are
49:02
taking on new identities as online influences. The Washington Post
49:07
identified more than four dozen who now promote themselves online
49:12
as Jay six ers and have worked a profit from
49:15
their connection to the day's chaos, recording podcasts, announcing runs
49:19
for public office, and advertising merchandise lines. Many are finding
49:24
a place on x, which, under billionaire tru advisor Elon Musk,
49:29
has cut back on moderating election disinformation and become the
49:33
mega movement's main online home. Several said in interviews they
49:39
felt free to openly identify as Jays six hostages and
49:44
political prisoners without fear of penalty. The culture has changed,
49:51
said former Proud Boys chairman Henry Henrico Tario, who was
49:55
convicted of sedacious conspiracy for his role in planning the attack.
50:00
He was barred from being in Washington that day after
50:03
being arrested before the riot. Since I left prison, I've
50:07
walked into this multiverse that's cool as s but loot
50:12
look by promoting their businesses as symbols of patriotic resistance,
50:19
they are following the example of Trump, the deal maker
50:22
in Chief, who auctioned all pieces of the suit he
50:25
wore as he became the first former president to have
50:29
his mug shot taken, and image his team has framed
50:33
outside the Oval Office and plastered on T shirts and
50:37
coffee mugs, and there is a picture of it hanging
50:41
on the wall with pictures of former presidents above him,
50:45
and above him is Frank Lendelano Roosevelt. To his left
50:50
Washington and below Thomas Jefferson. In Pennsylvania, the Jays sixth couple,
50:57
Deborah Maymon and Pilip Vogel, who posted videos of themselves
51:03
from the Capitol crypt, routinely advertised Confederate flags and Trump
51:07
plaques from their woodshop, the Patriot Shack, to their audience
51:12
of January six supporters. Maimon, who has one hundred and
51:16
ninety six thousand followers on X, posed in a bikini
51:21
a Trump bikini for the listing of an eight hundred
51:25
dollars American flag. To those that have supported us since
51:30
Jay's six We were only able to start this new
51:33
business venture because of you, Maimon wrote on X, where
51:38
she uses the name American AF We could never thank
51:43
you enough. When Trump granted a blanket pardon to virtually
51:48
all Jay six defendants, nearly sixteen hundred people were convicted
51:53
or were still facing criminal charges related to the attack,
51:57
which resulted in several deaths, assaults against one hundred and
52:01
forty about one hundred and forty officers, and at one
52:04
point five million dollars in damage to the capitol. Some
52:08
defendants had seen their marriages fail and businesses fold after
52:13
their arrest. Certainly they were owed, something, several said in
52:18
interviews for how their lives had unraveled. Trump administration officials
52:24
have voiced support for paying taxpayer funded reparations to the rioters,
52:30
many of whom had been required to pay fines to
52:33
help cover the day's damage. In a Newsmak interview in March,
52:38
Trump said he supported the idea of establishing a fund
52:41
for the pardoned rioters. A lot of people and government
52:45
really liked that that group of people. They were patriots
52:50
as far as I was concerned, Trump said. A reversal
52:55
in fortunes. Mark Middleton said in an interview that he
53:00
wears his participation in the riot as a badge of honor.
53:05
A federal jury found him and his wife guilty of
53:08
assaulting offices that day, but an appeals court vacated their convictions.
53:15
The Texas couple became popular among J six rioters after
53:20
they launched American Patriot Relief. The fundraising group pays mortgage
53:24
and grocery bills for families of JAY six defendants and
53:28
raised nearly one hundred and sixty thousand last year. Financial
53:32
documents posted to the website show. In February, Middleton promoted
53:37
a personal Freedom fund on x saying, after four years
53:41
of helping others, we now find ourselves in die need.
53:45
The couple said donor's money would help them travel across
53:48
the United States in a recreational vehicle, educating people about
53:53
what they view as government corruption. While some rioters stayed
53:58
quiet in the aftermath of the attack, deleting social media
54:02
accounts in following lawyers guidance not to speak publicly about
54:06
their cases, many now openly sharing their stories, soliciting donations
54:11
and seeking to build their followings. During their trials, judges
54:16
tried to defend defendants from profiting off their cases by
54:20
ordering them to forfeit thousands of dollars they made through
54:24
fundraising drives that claimed they were political prisoners. Now, Trump's
54:29
pardons have triggered stark reversal in fortunes. Some such as
54:35
Oathkeepers member Jessica Watkins, have pointed online suppointers toward commercial
54:40
endeavors that include self defense classes, wholesale show businesses, and
54:45
Etsy shops. Watkins, who has been posting about restarting her
54:50
life to her twenty six thousand followers since Trump's clemmency
54:55
order freed her from an eight year prison sentence, recently
54:58
said she wanted to offer well exclusive content, such as
55:02
a podcast, impolled her followers on what topics to discuss.
55:08
She has also said she would auction off sketches for
55:10
a fantasy book she wrote while she was in the
55:14
d C Galug of reference to the DC jail complex.
55:19
Many of the rioters who gained viral attention during the
55:22
attack have attempted to transition their notoriety into lasting fame.
55:28
Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man photographed with his feet on
55:33
a desk in Pelosi's office, has nearly thirty thousand X followers,
55:38
and Adam Johnson, who paraded Pelosi's lect turn around the Capitol,
55:42
has more than one hundred thousand. Johnson, who goes by
55:47
the lecturn Guy on X, had previously been constrained by
55:51
an October twenty twenty one plea agreement that borrowed him
55:55
from profiting off of any products bearing his name or
55:58
likeness for five years. After the pardon, Johnson said he
56:02
started an online store selling five dollar magnets, twenty dollar mugs,
56:07
and thirty dollars coolis with his likeness. He estimates that
56:10
he has made a few hundred bucks off store sales,
56:15
in addition to upward a five hundred a month through
56:18
post on x and said he does not see himself
56:21
as an influencer and there is a picture of him
56:25
holding the lectern walking through the capitol. I was at
56:31
one hundred thousand dollars in attorney fees and another five
56:34
thousand in fins, not capable of finding gainful employment because
56:39
of the picture, said Johnson, forty of Saraso to Florida.
56:43
So yes, I am now monetized because of the pardon.
56:47
Jacob Chansley, the Kuanon shaman known for his horned fur
56:52
cap has one hundred and fifty eight thousand followers and
56:55
an online business, Forbidden Truth Academy, that promotes edge occasional courses,
57:02
shamanic consultations, t shirts, gift cards, and a meme coin
57:08
on this day of his pardon, he posted, thank you
57:11
President Trump. Now I'm going to buy some mother vong
57:15
and guns. The message was reposted sixteen thousand times, garnering
57:21
roughly one hundred and thirty six thousand likes and forty
57:24
five forty five hundred replies. Some January six influences said
57:31
their newfound platform is a place to finally voice their rage.
57:35
Jenny Hield deleted her social media accounts in the run
57:38
up to her trial, believing everywhere she turned to become
57:41
too hostile to January sixth defendants like her, a mother
57:45
of two from Pittsburgh, had lost her job and her husband,
57:49
a detective who worked on an FBI task force, after
57:53
she said she followed the crowd into the Capitol rotunda.
57:57
In court, her attorney said she was extremely remorseful, embarrassed,
58:02
and ashamed for participating in the unjustifiable attack on America.
58:07
But after Trump won, she rejoined x, calling herself Jay
58:11
six ser Jenny political prisoner and laying into what she
58:15
called the corrupt regime. And I now have to stop,
58:19
but I thank you for listening to Today's Washington Post.
58:23
On the fifteenth of May for twenty twenty five, and
58:26
please continue listening to any RADIOI items all day long.
58:33
And if you have problems called eight fout nine four
58:37
two two sixty three ninety. Have a good day. Bye,