Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / MAGA OR BUST — TRUMP BACKING FLIPS RACES, FRACTURES GOP ESTABLISHMENT

Transcript

MAGA OR BUST — TRUMP BACKING FLIPS RACES, FRACTURES GOP ESTABLISHMENT · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: President Donald Trump's political endorsement may be the single most
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: powerful force in Republican politics today, and the numbers prove
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: that that is absolutely factually correct. In fact, over the
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: last several election cycles, President Trump has transformed endorsements from
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: simple political support into something much bigger, a movement.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Tests.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: In race after race, candidates backed by President Trump have
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: surged in the primaries and defeated establishment opponents. That is
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: now reshaping the Republican Party from the ground up. We
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: see it in Senate races, we see it in gubernatorial races,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: and we've seen it in congressional primaries all across the country.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: And now, once again, Trump's political muscle is front and
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: center and one of the biggest endorsements yet. It all
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: comes from the state of Texas, where the Texas Attorney
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: General Ken Pax got the President's endorsement. Now Trump officially
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: threw his support behind Paxton, and it sent an unmistakable
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: message to the entire Republican establishment. This race is no
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: longer just another Senate primary. It's now a national referendum
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: on who truly represents the America First movement. Now, President
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Trump praised Paxton as a quote true maga warrior, highlighting
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: his record fighting the Biden administration on border security, election
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: integrity laws, and conservative legal battles. The endorsement instantly changed
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: the dynamics of the race because every Republican in Texas
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: now understands exactly what Donald Trump's backing means politically, and
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: for Republican voters, the Trump endorsement also carries incredible credibility
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: because many believe he's been proven right repeatedly about candidates
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: who actually fight once they get into office, and that's
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: become a huge factor inside the GOP primaries. Republican voters
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: increasingly care less about resume politics and local endorsements or
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: how long you've been in office, and a lot more
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: about who they believe will aggressively battle the political establishment
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: in DC instead of becoming a part of it. And
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: Trump has built enormous trusts with the Republican base. The
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: present endorsement machine has become so influential because it's not
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: just about fundraising anymore. It drives media coverage, grassroots enthusiasm,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: even donor energy, volunteer support, and then the most important thing,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: voter turnout, all at once. A Trump endorsement is instantly
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: nationalizes a race as well, and in Texas that really
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: matters because Texas Republicans remain overwhelmingly loyal to President Trump.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: In fact and many arts of state, his endorsement is
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: viewed almost like a seal of approval for conservative authenticity.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: That's why this Packson endorsement is such a political earthquake.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: It immediately put pressure on every major donor, activists, the consultants,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: and elected Republicans to decide where they stand. Are they
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: aligned with Trump and the America First movement or not?
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: And politically speaking, history says betting against President Trump back
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: candidates in the Republican primaries well is increasingly dangerous. And
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: that's now why everyone is talking about Texas. The fact
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: that the President chose to pick a newcomer to Washington
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: and get rid of an establishment Republican in John Cornyn,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: which brings me to the interesting point about the establishment Democrats.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: They were hoping that John Cornyn would stay in office.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: Why because they know that he's not really an ally
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: of the President and the establishment in Washington, d C.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: They were throwing countless dollars to John Cornyn to try
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: to get him to survive one more election cycle because
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: he is the establishment.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: He's one of them.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: They can trade deals and they can work together on
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: things that the American people aren't.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Actually advocating for.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: In fact, it's the complete opposite of the America First
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: policies of the Trump administration.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Kim Paxton said it very clearly when he was on
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Fox News General with Laura Ingram. The MAGA agenda is
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: dead under John Cornyn, and that's why the President endorsed him.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: General Paxton, I don't know about the vegans getting elected
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: in Texas, but like John Thone, the Republicans and the Senate,
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: they're very apparently unhappy about this. Your reaction tonight to
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: where things stand.
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: Well, first of all, I was glad that I got
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: to announce my candidacy against John corn on your show
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: April the eighth of last year, and I'm finishing my
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: campaign pretty much on your show again. And it's been
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: a great fourteen months where I've gotten to speak to
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: the voters and ask them one question. John Cornyn is
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: running for his fifth term for US Senate. Nobody's done
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: that in Texas history. He's been in office since I
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: was in college, and I'm sixty three, and I've asked
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: every voter that I've met, whether it's one or thousands,
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: can you name one great accomplishment of John Cornyn? And
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: the answer has There's never been an answer, and that's
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: part of the problem. He doesn't deliver results for Texas.
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: The mag agenda is dead under John corn He kills
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: it every time, just like the Republican Senate that he's
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: part of. That's what they're doing. They're killing it.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: The latest RCP Politics average has Talerico youre likely opponent,
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: with about a one and a half point edge over you. Now,
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: these are the numbers before the Trump endorsement, but against Cornyn,
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: Taalerico is only up a half percent. I don't know
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: what that means, but a nohenominal. I guess you could
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: say he is performing a little bit better. But again
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: that's before Trump.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: Look, we've had a Republican. We've had Republicans in control
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: since nineteen ninety four, not a single Democrat statewide. I've
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: won three statewides in a row, and I am so
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: convinced that once people know his views on the issues,
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: I don't think there's a place for him to get
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: elected statewide here in Texas. Maybe in California, his views
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: would be accepted. But I cannot imagine that once people
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: hear him talk and know what he believes, that he's
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: going to get elected in Texas.
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: Well, you hear some of the old guard and they're
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: wincing as they say this, and sometimes they're whispering in
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: general Paxton that well, when Trump endorsed you, goodbye Texas.
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: Now I've heard this so many times. I mean, I've
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: been covering politics for eight presidential elections, all these cycles,
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: and they're just hoping and hoping and hoping Texas flips blue.
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: But they're like, well it's gone for Republicans now, wishful thinking.
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: Look, this is a John Cornyan talking point because he
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: doesn't have anything to run on. He doesn't have any accomplishments.
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: His only talking point has been basically that I can't
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: win a general election. There's no proof of that. There's
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: no polling that says exactly. The polls say just the opposite.
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: I either do just as well as John Cornyan or
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: I do better. So once we have the chance to
• 7:20
  Speaker 4: vet this guy, he's not been vetted. There wasn't a
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: SERI really a serious opponent for him in the Democratic primary.
• 7:25
  Speaker 4: Once Tellerrika has been vetted. I am convinced that Texans
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: will reject what he's pushing.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: There's no doubt that Donald Trump has completely shaken up
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: the Senate race in Texas, and Ken Paxson I have
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: no doubt will be the next Republican nominee. But if
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: there's ever been any doubt about who's still in control
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: of the Republican Party and who carries the most political
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: influence in America right now, these endorsements should in that debate.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump is no longer just the leader of the GOP.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: He's literally the center of gravity and conservative politics. His
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: endorsement has become the most value political currency in any
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: Republican primary anywhere in the country. And let's just put
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: that in compare and contrast mode for just a moment.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Take a look at what happened in Georgia this week.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Kamala Harris and Barack Obama both back two candidates for
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: the Georgia Supreme Court, and both of those candidates lost.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: Now that's a stunning reality check for Democrats, because while
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: the left's biggest political names are struggling to move voters,
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump is dominating the Republican political world. It's unlike
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: anything we've really seen in modern political history in this country.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: Republican voters trust Donald Trump. They believe he knows who's
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: going to fight with him to get his agenda done.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: The America First movement is what American voters the Republican
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Party care about. And you look at what Democrats are offering, well,
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: not a whole lot. And that's exactly why even Barack
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Obama and Kamala Harris going back to back to endorse
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: two Kennets in Georgia ended up being such a massive failure.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: That's why these midterms are becoming much more bigger than
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: a normal election cycle as well. They are shaping up
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: to be the national test not only of Trump's dominance
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: over the future direction of the Republican Party, but also
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: American politics itself. And based on what we're seeing right now,
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: those that are predicting a Republican bloodbath come election day
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: later this year, well, they don't seem to be actually
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: looking at the data.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: They don't actually.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Seem to be looking at what's going on in the
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: conservative movement. Donald Trump is still the leader, and he's
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: making a massive change in DC at the same time,
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: whether it's Thomas Massey or John Cornyn. It doesn't really
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: matter if Donald Trump's on the other side of the
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: ballot endorse seeing someone against you, you've got big problems.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: And that is very clear from what we're witnessing right now.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: Take a quick break, it's the Ben Ferguson Show. For
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: anyone that said or thought that President Donald Trump had
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: somehow lost his grip on the Republican Party, well, the
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: last several weeks have been a political wake up call
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: to the quote experts in the media who claim that
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump is somehow not popular across the country, and
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: race after race, Trump endorsed candidates have been winning, and
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: not just winning, but winning big and defeating establishment back opponents, incumbents,
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: crushing challengers, improving once again that the most important and
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: most powerful endorsement in Republican politics is still President Donald J.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: Trump.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: And it's not just in one state that this is happening.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: It's not just in one race. This has become a
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: national trend. Just look at what happened in Indiana, one
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: of the clearest examples yet of Trump's political dominance inside
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: the GOP. Republican lawmakers who crossed Trump on major issues
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: suddenly found themselves facing Trump endorsed challengers, and what happened.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: A majority of those targeted incumbents lost. And this was
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: a simple issue of redistricting in Indiana. Now, the Trump
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: back Kennidt scored major victories in state Senate races, sending
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: a very loud message to Republicans nationwide. If you openly
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: oppose the America First agenda, Republican voters, they're paying attention.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Fox News described as Trump's striking back against Republicans who
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: opposed his agenda, and the results have been overwhelming. One
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: Trump ally said, the lesson from Indiana was this simple.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: President Trump is a single most popular Republican among who's
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: your voters. And the victories didn't just stop this. In
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: recent GOP primaries in Mississippi and in Georgia, Trump celebrated
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: what he called a five wins, zero lost night for
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: his endorsed candidates. Trump backed Republicans rolled through key races,
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: reinforcing the idea that the Republican base still trust Trump
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: more than consultants, more than donors, and certainly more than
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: the establishment Republican insiders. And then you combine this with
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: what happened last night, another major headline. President Trump jumped
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: into the explosive Texas Senate runoff endorsing the Texas Attorney
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: General Keim Paxton over longtime incumbent center John Cornyn. That
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: endorsement shocked much of Washington because establishment Republicans had been
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: pumping money into that race at a number we've never
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: seen in any primary in the country before in a
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: Senate race, and also the Republican establishment had been pushing
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Trump so hard to endorse or support Cornyn instead. Trump
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: back Paxton, calling him a true Maga warrior. That tells
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: you everything you need to know about where the Republican
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Party is right now. The center of gravity is not
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: the old guard, the old establishment. It is not the
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: Massy's of the world. It's not the Mitch McConnell's of
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: the world. It's not the Republican Senator in Louisiana Cassidy
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: who decided to go against Donald Trump and even voted
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: to impeach him. This is different now, and the center
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: of gravity is not the old guys. It's not the
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: donor class, and it's certainly not the consultants who usually
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: pick winners and losers in the Republican Party. The center
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: of gravity is Donald Trump, and even bigger than that,
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: it really is the America First movement. And here's what's
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: really driving Democrats and the anti Trump Republicans crazy. All
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: of these victories are not happening in isolation. They are
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: happening to spite NonStop attacks from legacy media, and despite
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: billions of dollars from the establishment spent trying to stop
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: these Trump aligned candidates, and despite endless predictions that there
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: was Maga fatigue Trump fatigue, that he somehow wasn't popular
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: with voters anymore, Well, all of that was a big lie,
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: and instead Republican primary voters showed up and they doubled down.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: Take a look at Kentucky as another example. Trump back
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: challenger ed Gallerin defeated Congressman Thomas Massey after Trump made
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Massy one of his top political targets. The race became
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: one of the most expensive House primaries in the country,
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: and Trump's candidate won big. Now that matters because it
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: sends another message. Republican voters are increasingly rewarding loyalty to
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: Trump's agenda and pushing Republicans to see that yeah, if
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: you go against Trump, we're going against you, and Trump
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: himself is openly embracing these victories. After early primary wins,
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: Trump celebrate online with a graphic declaring President Trump's endorsement
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: one hundred percent. He publicly touted the undefeated streak of
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: his endorsed candidates and framed the victories as proof that
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: the America First movement remains stronger than ever heading into
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: the midterm elections. Now, this is exactly why Democrats are
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: so nervous about twenty twenty six, because these primaries are
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: clearly showing that Trump is not a former president fading
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: into the background. He is still the defining force in
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: Republican politics, and his endorsement can raise millions overnight, It
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: can dominate the media coverage and completely reshape a race.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: Even major national news outlets are having to admit that
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: these contests are becoming direct tests of Trump's influence, and
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: so far, he keeps winning each and every test. And
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: here's another layer that's very important as well. These victories
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: are helping create a Republican party that looks more unified
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: around the America First agenda than at any point in years.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Border security, election integrity, trade, national sovereignty, toughness against China,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: fighting the administrative state. These are no longer fringe positions
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: inside the GOP. They are becoming the standard expectation from
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: Republican conservative voters like you and I.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: Candidates understand that now.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: That's why so many Republicans are actively seeking the most
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: important endorsement, Donald Trump. They understand that Republican voters viewed
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: as a seal of approval that the candidate will actually
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: fight for the agenda voters elected Trump to carry out,
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: and the political establishment sees the writing on the wall
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: as well. That's why every Trump endorsement now becomes national
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: news because whether critics like it or not, keep telling
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: the same story. Trump remains a single most influential political
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: figure in the Republican Party. The media, they spent years
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: predicting the collapse of Trump's influence, especially over the last
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: year and a half, and instead what we're watching well
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: is consolidation primary after primary, state after state, victory after victory,
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: and if the last several weeks are any indication, it's
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: pretty clear that Donald Trump's political movement is not slowing down.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: President Donald Trump promised.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: That he was going to go after illegal immigrants, and
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: one way he was going to do it is make
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: it much harder for them to operate when it comes
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: especially to their businesses in the United States of America. Well,
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: President Trump has now made good on that promise and
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: has signed a new executive order that is directing federal
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: banking regulators, as well as the Treasury Department and the
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to tie in their oversight on
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: bank accounts, on bank loans, and financial services connected to
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: people who are in the United States of America illegally. Now,
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: this move could have enormous implications for millions of people
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: and for banks across the country that want to stay
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: in compliance. It also tells a very clear message that
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: the future of immigration enforcement in America is changing now.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: The executive order was titled Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System,
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: and the White House says the goal is actually really simple.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: Stop criminal organizations, illegal labor networks, cartel money laundering operations,
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: and undocumented workers using fake or questionable identities from exploiting
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: the US banking system. Now, this isn't just about immigration.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: The administration is also framing this as a national security issue,
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: a financial crime issue, and a taxpayer protection issue all
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: at the same time. According to White House, gaps in
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: banking oversight have unfortunately allowed drug cartels and human trafficking networks,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: as well as Chinese link money laundering operations and illegal
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: label brokers to move billions of dollars through American financial
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: institutions with limited or no scrutiny. Now, the Executive order
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: specifically sites investigations involving Mexican cartels as well as Chinese
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: laundering operations that allegedly use US based bank accounts to
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: move enormous amounts of illicit money. And now the Trump
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: administration says ignorance is no longer bliss if you're in
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: the banking industry. They say the era of don't ask
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: questions banking is over or you're going to face the consequences. Now,
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: here's what the new directive actually does do. First, the
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: Treasury Department has been ordered to issue formal advisories to
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: issue formal advisories to banks warning them about the administration
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: what they describe as red flags connected to illegal immigration
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: and underground labor operations. Now, those red flags include suspicious
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: payroll activities, employers paying workers off the books, repeated cash
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: withdrawals on a regular basis tied to payroll cycles. Shell companies,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: high in the true owners of the accounts, labor trafficking indicators,
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: and the use of individual tax identification numbers known as itins,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: and situations where lawful immigration status cannot be verified. Now,
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: this has been exploited for quite some time, and they've
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: been set up this way, and Democrats knew it, but
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: they were fine with it, and so were the banks,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: because when you have billions of dollars coming in and
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: out of the system, why would you want to stop it. Well, now,
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: many legal immigrants have used these iti in numbers instead
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: of so security numbers to literally open their bank accounts
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: and file their taxes or even apply for a loan an.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: Itin is issued by the IRS for tax filing purposes,
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: but it is not proof of legal immigration status, and
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: the administration now says banks should view some of those
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: accounts as higher risk and subject them to enhance scrutiny.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: The second thing the order says is this, It directs
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: the regulators to rewrite parts of the Bank Secrecy Act
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: as well as the Know Your Customer rules as the
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: bank describes them. It's basically the same anti money laundering
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: regulations that banks already abide by and already use to
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: fight terrorism financing as well as organized crime, so it's
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: not as if the banks are having to learn something
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: new here. They just can't look the other way or
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: deliberately on purpose not ask questions to keep the money flow. Now,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: the White House wants immigration status and work authorization to
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: potentially become part of the risk analysis that banks use
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: when deciding whether to open accounts, or issue loans or
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: extend credit. Not to be clear, the administration backed away
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: from one of the most aggressive earlier ideas. That was
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: a proposal that would have required banks to collect citizenship
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: documents from every customer. Banking groups, Yeah, I guess what.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: Their lobbyists pushed back hard against the plan. They warned
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: that it could create massive compliance costs and paperwork nightmares.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: But make no mistake, this order still dramatically changes the
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: direction of federal policy towards banking. Banks are now being
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: told they may need to consider immigration status, deportation risk,
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: and employment authorization is part of financial risk assessments. That's
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: something they did not have to do before, which allowed
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: for the massive loophole. And then that leads the third
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: major component of the President's executive Order, the Consumer Financial
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: Protection Bureau. They've been instructed to examine whether lenders should
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: factor possible deportation or loss of wages into the quote
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: ability to repay standards for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards,
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: and other lending products. Think about how significant that is.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump understands that, essentially arguing that if someone is
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: in the country illegally and could be deported at any time,
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: that creates major financial risk for lenders and ultimately for
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: the banking system itself. That's something the banks didn't have
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: to deal with until now, and the White House says
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: extending credit to people who may suddenly lose employment due
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: to immigration enforcement creates what is called a structural ability
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: to repay deficiency.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Supporters of this move in the banking industry say this
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: is long overdue, common sense approach, and they argue that
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: American banks should know who they're doing business with, and
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: they should know if they're doing business with people that
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: are connected to the cartels or human traffickers, or drug
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: trafficking or sex traffickers, or illegal border labor operations, as
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: well as the underground economies that thrive when financial systems
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: ignore immigration fraud as well as identity theft concerns.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: The Treasury secretaries.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: Scott Bessen put it bluntly recently when he was asked
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: about this, saying, quote, how do you know your customer
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: if you don't know if they have illegal or illegal status?
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: And politically, this is exactly the kind of move that
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: Trump advocates, supporters, and voters have been demanding for years.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: Conservatives have argued that illegal immigration is sustained not just
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: by open borders, but access to American jobs, American banking,
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: American loans. It's American housing and the financial system that
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: allows people to establish lives inside this country. On top
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: of all the government aid that illegal immigrants can still
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: get in this country every single day. The Trump administration
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: is now clearly trying to attack the infrastructure directly. Critics,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: they're sounding the alarm. They're terrified. Immigration advocates right, those
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: advocating for illegal immigrants, and of course liberal groups say
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: this could create what they call a mass de banking event,
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: pushing millions of immigrants out of traditional banking system entirely.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: That actually may be the whole point. I don't want
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: illegal immigrants in this country taking advantage of our system
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: and much of the money by the way doesn't stand America.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: It goes back to the country of origin. You may
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: remember just a few years ago the number two stimulus
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: in Mexico's economy was illegal immigrants in America sending money
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: back home. It out paste. Are you ready for this?
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: They're oil exports in Mexico. So is this a big problem?
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: You better believe it. And that's exactly why the President
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: is making this much about his larger Trump strategy on immigration,
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: border enforcement, workplace enforcement, visa policy, tax policy, welfare eligibility,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: and now financial regulation to increase pressure on illegal immigration
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: from every angle. This also leads to more self deportation.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: The message in the White House is unmistakable. If you're
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: in the United States of America legally, this administration does
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: not want you fully participating in the American financial system.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: That is the policy shift that we're witnessing in.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: Real time, and based on the reaction already from the
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: left and many of those in Washington and Wall Street
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: and the immigration advocacy groups, the fight is big and
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: they know just how powerful this move is going to be.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: Don't forget Share this podcast please with your family and
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: your friends wherever they are, and I will see you
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: back here tomorrow