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Chapter 1: Who is Governor Gavin Newsom and what is his view on Trump's tariffs?
I'm joined by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Governor, when you and I last spoke, it was the day after Donald Trump announced his tariffs against the world. You warned everyone how dangerous and harmful it was going to be. Three weeks later, what's your reaction?
Well, I mean, 10X worse than we even feared. And we were pretty sober when we got together the day after, quote unquote, Liberation Day. But we've seen what's happened to the world economy. The coin of the realm is trust and how...
We have eroded trust around the globe, how this is going to take, I think, years and years and years to unwind despite what Donald Trump believes and how the markets are behaving as they zig and zag.
Chapter 2: Why is California suing the Trump administration over tariffs?
And as you know, since then, California, the largest state in our union size of 21 state populations combined, now the fourth largest economy in the world based on IMF figures that just came out, International Monetary Fund figures yesterday. No state has been more impacted by the tariffs economically. And as a consequence, we're the first state to sue the Trump administration.
Chapter 3: What impact have Trump's tariffs had on California's economy?
And we're damn confident that we're going to win that lawsuit. Tell us about that lawsuit, Governor. How important is it? Well, it's critical. I mean, he has no unilateral authority to impose these tariffs. And interestingly, the Koch brothers backed a lawsuit saying exactly the same thing.
So look at the ideological prism here, a big blue state and a progressive governor and some of the most conservative quote unquote leaders in this country representing the same point of view. And you may have seen just in the last 24 hours, 12 states' attorney generals just joined and are also suing the Trump administration, making exactly the same claim. And it's interesting, final point on that,
The Trump administration is trying to change the jurisdiction for our case and our suit, which is just another example of how concerned I think they are. And again, any legal scholar looks at this, it seems pretty black and white. He simply cannot assert the authority he has under this 1977 construct to unilaterally advance tariffs. So we think we are in a very good and solid position.
Since that day that Donald Trump calls Liberation Day, which I think we call Devastation or Liquidation Day, Donald Trump's been sending messages of tariffs on, tariffs off, tariffs on, tariffs off. Then there are these private meetings that are taking place where things are leaked out and that the markets become very volatile.
Chapter 4: How is Trump affecting business confidence with his tariff policies?
What message is Donald Trump sending to the business community with just the volatility he's creating? Well, he's open for business.
Chapter 5: What does Governor Newsom say about the influence of special interests in Trump's tariff decisions?
I mean, free enterprise to crony capitalism overnight. I mean, every single one of those meetings represents sort of a side deal, a special interest of sorts. Some may be nations, others may be companies the size of nations that make political contributions. We saw this in Trump 1.0.
There was an independent analysis done as it relates to the relatively modest tariffs that he imposed in his first term and how he decided to pull some of those tariffs back. And now they were directly connected to contributors. I mean, this is serious stuff. It's happening in just plain sight. And he wants everyone to kneel. and everyone to reach out directly to him. And this is democracy.
This is Donald Trump's version of it. And so it's a very serious moment. And that's why there's a serious of purpose and grateful with these attorney generals in these 12 other states. And I think everybody, not just crying foul, but getting a little bit more strategic. And I appreciate, you know, we're seeing this party's buzzing now. It's come alive at the grassroots.
People are showing up, stepping up. They're not giving into the cynicism and fear. There was some resignation, I would argue, for a while. It felt that way. in some corners right after the election, that's no longer the case. And it's really wonderful to see that energy.
Chapter 6: How is political activism and grassroots response evolving in reaction to Trump’s policies?
You see in the AOC rallies and Bernie rallies, which is just incredible, but also just the enthusiasm that I always feel when we see a guy like Cory Booker stand up for 25 hours or what Chris did down in El Salvador. It's just great to see people being accountable at this moment. And I think states like California have a responsibility. We're now about to
to present our 16th lawsuit against the Trump administration. We need to really start to assert ourselves from a position of strength.
You visited China in October of 2023. You met with Xi Jinping and other leadership in China. So you know how they negotiate, how they respond to threats. Now, Trump imposed a 145% tariff on China. Then China retaliated in kind. They cut rare earth minerals. Trump's been claiming that he's been talking with China, but China's foreign minister today said that's fake news.
There's no discussions taking place until and unless Trump wants to remove the unilateral tariffs. What do you make, Governor, of Trump's negotiations with China?
Well, I saw a meme of Xi reading The Art of the Deal laughing. I think it summed everything up. That was on my feed yesterday. I mean, here's Trump negotiating against himself. And, you know, I want to be careful here because I love my country. I love this nation.
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Chapter 7: What insights did Governor Newsom gain from his visit to China regarding trade negotiations?
But it's just interesting the approach that she has taken, which seems a little bit more steady handed as it relates to his approach on retaliatory tariffs. Now, the impacts of that are outsized in my state. You know, I've got the port of Long Beach with 40 percent of goods move in this country in L.A. and Long Beach come through and they're starting to dry up. That's not a gross exaggeration.
It's modest one drying up. But they're starting to significantly decline in terms of amount of cargo coming in to the states. One of the principal reasons we felt we had standing in a lawsuit. This is the number one manufacturing state in America. It's the number one state in terms of direct foreign investment, two-way trade. We dominate in every category, economic category.
Chapter 8: Why does Governor Newsom criticize Trump's negotiation style with China?
There are no peers in ag and forestry jobs. Across the spectrum, this state is disproportionately impacted. And so I just, I pray. that we can get a deal with China because of its outsized influence. And I'll just argue one simple point as a guy with four young kids, 80% of those toys that are supposed to be coming in the ports right now for the holidays, they come from China.
And so this impact is to me, it's personal,
uh yeah it's a professional responsibility as a fiduciary for the state uh i'm a small business person myself and business is directly impacted so it's it's not an intellectual exercise uh this one is absorbed in every corner of our society democrat republican rural urban these impacts are extraordinary and what he's done is extraordinary and we have to be extraordinarily vigilant and forceful in our response
Governor, California just passed Japan as the fourth largest economy in the world, which, of course, sounds like a big deal. You posted about it. Why is this just an important thing for us to all recognize more broadly, geopolitically?
Well, it's a point of pride. I mean, it's a big blue state with $4.1 trillion a year economic output. We're 14% of the GDP in the United States of America, 50% more than the next big state. But I also want people to understand that this is a donor state. In 2023, Californians contributed $83.1 billion more than we received from the federal government.
And by the way, for your viewers, they may be interested in this. That state, Texas, took $71.1 billion.
more than they provided the federal government california 83 billion contributor taker texas and i say that to make a broader point 71 of the economic output in the united states america blue counties blue metros blue states with lower deaths of despair rates higher wages more productivity greater growth lower death rates as it relates to murder uh
It is a mythology that somehow red states are dominating and blue states are struggling. It's factually untrue. And I think today, as it relates to the illumination from the International Monetary Fund that did the analysis that we highlighted, it's just a proof point of states like California, big blue states all across this country that continue to be the tentpole of the U.S. economy.
You know, Governor, Texas seems to take the Trump approach at the government level, attack the citizens, take away freedoms, ban the books, cut social programs. But California has done the opposite. California has grown because it has invested in good social programs. So you show that that actually leads to growth. Why is investing in good social programs good for business and the economy?
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