Lemon LIVE at 5 | David Pakman, Brian Tyler Cohen, & Cenk Uygur Take On Trump! - April 16th, 2025
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
They're back. What was it almost a year ago that we did this? It was a show when I first started doing this streaming venture and we called it MAGA's worst nightmare because these are where the guys are still are the guys who are out there fighting the good fight, not just against MAGA, but for. truth and facts and some decency in politics and even in the media. So welcome, everyone. Good evening. Welcome to Lemon Live at 5. This is a very special edition of the show. On April 12th, it was, of 2024, just a little over a year ago, I hosted MAGA's Worth Nightmare, a roundtable conversation. Unfortunately, that conversation did not push Joe Biden and later Kamala Harris over the finish line. And I wanted to bring the panel back to reflect on the past year, the past few months and
and the Trump administration. So my guests tonight are, once again, look who's with me, Brian Tyler Cohen, Cenk Uygur, and Mr. David Pakman. Not in any special order. It's just, you know. Good to see you guys. How are you?
Good seeing you, too. Thanks for having us.
Good, good, good. Let's start with the breaking news. The market is down today significantly after Jerome Powell released a statement today saying the level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated. And the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include a higher inflation and slower growth. That's what Powell said. Now, there had been, you know, hope that the market would sort of regulate itself or whatever. After all of this, a week or two of uncertainty, it looks like they had come to some sort of consensus, but not today after this statement. You are an economics major. Am I right, Mr. David Pakman? That's true. So what do you make of that statement?
Where are we now?
Well, it's basic economics. Jerome Powell agrees with just basic economics. Tariffs are a tax on imports. It does trickle down. We found the real trickle down. It's not you cut taxes for the rich and it is great for everybody. The real trickle down is that the tariffs will filter down to the products that we buy. And the stock market is a futures market in the sense that What Jerome Powell said today doesn't today change the profitability of any company. It's forward looking. And the expectation is he's not going to start doing the rate cut bailouts. And it's going to be what every serious economist has said. Not a big surprise.
Cenk, why doesn't this administration, I guess if you knew that, you'd have a gazillion dollars. Why doesn't this administration agree with just about every economics expert, even former Fed chairs, et cetera? What the hell are they doing? Maybe he doesn't know is the point.
Yeah, I think there's a couple of factors. Number one, Donald Trump has always believed in tariffs. He's been saying it for like 40 years. And why does he say that? He actually blurts out the answer all the time in different speeches, which is that he thinks that in the 1890s, when we had tariffs and no income tax, that it took care of the government. So if you just have enough tariffs, you won't need an income tax. which is hilarious because it's not the 1890s. Our economy is so drastically different, and his simple mind can't grasp that. So in a sense, he's a true believer. There's a second reason why, though, because they needed to say, hey, you know what? The $5 to $5.5 trillion in tax cuts we're about to do for the richest people in the country is
and for corporations are no big deal because we got the gold card, we got the doge cuts, and the tariffs. And you know what the tariffs are going to create? Don't worry, the tariffs are going to create $6 trillion in revenue, so you don't have to worry about those giant tax cuts. So that was part of the point of these tariffs. But Trump bungled it, as he always does, which is he did these nuclear global tariffs, that were just absolutely insane. And since he doesn't listen to any reason there's no brakes in the car, he launched them without, you know, listening to Scott Besson, his own treasury sector or anyone else.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:14–4:55
2
How are Trump’s new tariffs impacting markets and inflation right now?
4:55–8:27
3
Why do economists and commentators say tariffs act like a tax on consumers?
8:27–12:46
4
What reasons explain the administration’s insistence on aggressive tariff policy?
12:46–21:15
5
Could tariffs and economic pain shift Trump’s political support?
21:15–34:47
6
Did third‑party candidates and 2024 strategy change the election outcome?
34:47–48:48