Trump's Trade War is Worse Than You Think, Jon Stewart vs Elon Musk, Hasan "Uncancelled" & More News
PDS Published 03/04/2025
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It’s finally here: President Donald Trump’s massive tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China that were announced last month have gone into effect.
For Canada and Mexico, this means a sweeping 25% tariffs on many goods, while China got slapped with an additional 10% on top of similar taxes imposed a month ago. []
China wasted no time responding and slapped the US with retaliatory tariffs, took measures against multiple US companies, and filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization.
That WTO lawsuit is actually the second one China has submitted.
The first was back in February when the US initially imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
…but those complaints won’t go anywhere.
That’s because disputes at the organization rely on a three-judge panel that need US approval.
But ever since Trump’s 1st term, the US has refused to appoint new judges and the Biden administration doesn’t seem to have changed direction on this either.
So those suits are effectively dead in the water.
So IF the WTO didn’t side with the US, I wouldn’t be shocked if we just pulled out).
And as far as American companies go, China has added a bunch to its export control list -- meaning they won’t get access to certain Chinese goods no matter what.
And American farmers are possibly the group that’ll feel this the most, cause many of their products are getting slapped with large Chinese tariffs.
Which is a big deal, because China is the biggest market for American agricultural exports.
Now to be clear, this doesn’t mean American farmers will spend more to send goods to China, just like it doesn’t cost Chinese companies more to sell goods to Americans.
But it does mean that Chinese buyers will have to spend more on American agricultural products, dis-insentivizing them from buying products that already operate on razor-thin margins.
(And calling it “razor-thin” is generous, considering that many rely on US government subsidies to even exist). []Tsub
President Trump has a plan for that though, writing on Truth Social:
“To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural products to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external products April 2nd. Have fun!” []
However, this caused a mini panic online, as many thought Trump was trying to say that he was going to tax American farmers who are trying to send their products abroad.
That would essentially be an export duty, which is unconstitutional, as many pointed out.
At the same time, his post could be read as imposing a tariff on agricultural products from outside of the United States, leading to some confusion.
But the retaliation from Canada was similar.
Canadians wanting to import many American goods will need to pay a 25% tariff, with more items being added in 21 days.
And Canadians might really feel the pain, with Immigration Minister Marc Miller warning that up to a million Canadian jobs were at risk and adding:
"We can't replace an economy that is responsible for 80% of our trade overnight and it's going to hurt.”
One industry that will likely get slammed by these tariffs is the automobile industry.
That’s because much of its production spans the US, Canada, and Mexico.
For example, the BBC gave a great outline of just one part: pistons.
Aluminum is sent from Tennessee to Pennsylvania to be turned into rods.
From there, it goes to Canada to be shaped and polished… that means an additional 25% on the cost.
It then goes to Mexico to be turned into pistons.
From there, it goes to Michigan to be added to an engine. But before that, the American importer needs to pay Uncle Sam another 25% tariff.
Speaking of Mexico, as of recording, they just said they expect to respond on Sunday.[]
And the response to the tariffs have been wide-ranging.
Canadian prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a somber speech this morning, saying:
“I want to speak first directly to the American people. We don't want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally. We don't want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically." []
And he’s right about the markets: leading up to the tariffs, essentially all of them have been falling.
The DOW is down with nearly 3% over the past five days, the NASDAQ is pushing 5%, and the S&P 500 is hovering around 3% down.
Canadian stock exchanges are similarly feeling the news.
Trudeau went on to say: @1:28
“They’ve chosen to launch a trade war that will first-and-foremost harm American families. They’ve chosen to sabotage their own agenda that was supposed to usher in a new golden age for the United States.”
One thing Trudeau was particularly upset about was that Trump had justified the tariffs as a response to Canada not doing enough to stop fentanyl being smuggled across the border.
But as Trudeau pointed out, less than 1% of fentanyl comes across the Canadian border.
Not that it matters, as the goalpost has now been moved with Trump also claiming that Canadian banking laws aren’t fair and writing this morning:
“Canada doesn’t allow American Banks to do business in Canada, but their banks flood the American Market. Oh, that seems fair to me, doesn’t it?” []
To which Trudeau said:
"I heard he talked about banking again this morning in a tweet, which doesn't make any sense because 16 banks are currently active in Canada holding about $113b worth of assets in this country, so American banks are alive and well and prospering in Canada. It's an example of not really being able to see what he want ... what he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that'll make it easier to annex us." []
Granted, Canadian regulations for banks are pretty strict, but their law does allow American banks to even operate on the retail side of things.
And the list of American banks currently operating in Canada include some of our biggest: like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, US Bank, JPMorgan, and Northern Trust.
In total, American banks make up half of all foreign bank assets in Canada right now.[]
After this, Trudeau went on to stress that Canada will NEVER be the 51st state while also conceding that the US can certainly hurt the Canadian economy.
He was also confused about the change in US foreign policy:
“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying murderous dictator. Make that make sense.”
""Now I want to speak directly to one specific American: Donald… it's not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.” [] (0:01-0:08; 0:49-1:11)
Trudeau also made it clear that in response to retaliatory tariffs, Canada would be launching a complaint at the WTO that these tariffs violate the Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the US, and Mexico that Trump himself negotiated in his first term.
(But like we talked about earlier, these complaints are dead on arrival).
Elsewhere in Canada we’ve seen local leaders push for a harsher response.
For example, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, wants to cut off energy to the US and is encouraging all the provinces to do the same.[]
On top of that, he wants to block exports of key materials like uranium and potash.
Even within the US we’ve seen a lukewarm response to the tariffs.
Republicans like Rand Paul tweeted out:
“US tariffs inevitably bring Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese tariffs which means higher prices for lumber, steel, aluminum and more expensive homes and cars.”
“Retaliatory tariffs lead to lowered US farm exports, lowered bourbon exports, and less international shipping. Tariffs are taxes and if you tax trade you’ll get less trade and less prosperity.” []
That being said, some are claiming we’re already seeing the tariffs be successful.
Right, companies like Apple announced plans to spend $500 billion within the US across the next few years.
The money will be split between expanding manufacturing as well as training new hires and projects like AppleTV productions.
Then Oracle, OpenAI, and Softbank all announced they were spending $500 billion on a new company called Stargate that would focus on AI infrastructure across the US.
But the latest “win” for those who support tariffs is TSMC -- the Taiwanese chip manufacturer that essentially all advanced computing relies on.
Yesterday, they announced they wanted to spend $100 billion to grow its US manufacturing operations.
This will expand their American manufacturing to four fabrication plants in total that will range from manufacturing chips to assemblies that combine components into advanced systems.
Trump praised the move, saying, “This is a tremendous move by the most powerful company in the world. It’s a matter of economic security, it’s also a matter of national security for us.” @3:36
He also added that it would help TSMC spread their manufacturing out from just Taiwan, where it’s arguably vulnerable to a Chinese attack.
TSMC’s chairman and CEO predicted that these expansions would mean that 40% of the global chip market comes from the US… although such a goal is considered ambitious.
However, it should be noted that TSMC is generally reluctant to open manufacturing centers that produce their most state-of-the-art components outside of Taiwan.[]
News like this has caused people online to praise the Trump tariffs, saying things like:
“To all the people saying tariffs don’t work, here is TSMC saying they are going to invest $100 billion in the US, build 5 new facilities, and create 20,000 American jobs.
Probably just a coincidence.” []
Although to attribute 100% of this situation to tariffs is disingenuous.
And while it’s widely expected that the net results of the tariffs will mean economies across the world will take a hit and prices will skyrocket, we’ll honestly just have to wait and see.
But you can bet that it will be an issue we’ll revisit.
Right, we still need to hear from Mexico on Sunday.
And starting next week, we’re supposed to see tariffs on ALL aluminum and steel -- regardless of where they come from.
Then in April, it’ll be on some agricultural products and foreign cars regardless of their origin.z[]
But we’ll cross those bridges when we get there.
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Turns out that Hasan Piker Twitch ban was only a 24-hour suspension.
Right, that “ban” coming after he said this late last week while reacting to a clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson talking about Medicaid fraud:
Hasan: “If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott, okay?” (0:39-0:45)
With that then festering for several days, many arguing it was an open call to violence against Rick Scott, who’s a U.S. Senator from Florida.
And all of that culminating in a ban yesterday.
But like I mentioned at the top, now, that ban?
Though not before Hasan put out a video on YouTube last night titled: “I got cancelled.”
In it, walking back his language but also still digging into Scott:
“Okay so obviously I shouldn't have used hyperbolic language and there's definitely some ownership that I must take some apologies there. I should not have said Mike Johnson should kill Rick Scott. I should have simply said Mike Johnson should punish Rick Scott perhaps with the you know maximum punishment, whatever that would be for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid for over $1.7 billion.” (2:51-3:15)
And to give some context here, what he’s talking about involves a healthcare company that Scott founded in the 80s, Columbia Healthcare Corporation –
With it later going on to become the largest for-profit healthcare company in the country, with Scott serving as its chief executive.
That was until he was pressured to resign in the 90’s after a massive fraud scandal,
Which – in part – accused the company of overbilling Medicare for services it provided, []
As well as alleging it illegally structured business deals so that Medicare picked up the cost of corporate expenses and provided doctors with kickbacks for patient referrals. []
With the company eventually agreeing to pay $1.7 billion in fines to the government. []
Which at the time, was the largest healthcare fraud settlement in U.S. history.
And while Scott has recently called that scandal “political prosecution,” you had Hasan calling out what he sees as a major hypocrisy in the Republican party and adding:
“I was obviously not asking for people to kill Rick Scott, I think that would be ridiculous. I think that Justice should be served however and justice has not been served against Rick Scott in this case. Justice rarely ever gets served against rich people who exploit others against rich people who defraud the federal government. you get a $10 million care package with 300 million do in stock options for defrauding poor people that absolutely need this medical care.” (15:27-16:01)
But he didn’t stop there.
Hasan also went on to call out Asmongold, who in a video condemning Hasan for his initial comments on Scott, pressured Twitch to take action against “open call[s] to violence:”
“I think asmongold is covering this because he wants twitch to see it. he's done this a couple times in the past and I understand we are ideologically butting heads on Twitch.” (9:49-10:01)
“There's plenty of disagreements there and I think that he's doing this deliberately I will say in an effort to you know shit stir a little bit and to get me banned, which worked.” (10:24-10:32)
And then expanding that conversation to other notable conservatives who condemned him:
“That is my anger. that is my frustration and every single person not asmongold but every single Republican operative online from Tim pool to Libs of Tik Tock to many others know that that is the reality but they also want you to be distracted they don't want you to realize that this is what the Republicans are doing.” (16:22-16:46)
And of course, with Hasan’s quick unbanning, we’ve seen a lot of takes online –
Some celebrating, some calling this par for the course and a reason why you can’t take Twitch seriously.
And then separately, there’s this other controversy now bubbling up with creator CDawgVA, who’s notably a friend of Hasan but has revealed he’s basically banned Hasan from his “Trash Taste” podcast because the political discourse in his comments went out of control the last time Hasan was on.
But I’ll pass all that off to you. Regardless of Hasan’s intentions, did this feel like a call to violence to you?
Did Twitch give him a slap on the wrist when the punishment should have been much bigger?
Or no, do you think a lot of the outrage was overblown?
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Jon Stewart is willing to agree to Elon Musk’s terms for an interview, but will Elon Musk actually follow through?
Right, last week, Elon tweeted that he would be willing to talk to Jon on the Daily Show “if the show airs unedited.”[]
And a lot of people were like, oh, bet?
And The Daily Show account even responded that they would be delighted to have him on.[]
Then last night, Jon took to the desk to say he thought long and hard about the decision, and:
“After thinking about this offer, I thought, hey, that’s actually how the in-studio interviews normally air, is unedited. So sure, we would be delighted. As a matter of fact, let me sweeten or unsweeten the pot. The interview can be 15 minutes, it can be an hour, it can be two hours — whatever. I’ll be honest: I don’t think this network makes any other programming.” (2:31-3:02)
But he then did note there would likely be some obstacles to the situation that Elon himself proposed, right.
Because over the weekend, Elon took some shots at Jon, saying he is “much more a propagandist than it would seem.”[]
And on the same day he tweeted he would do a Daily Show interview, Elon also suggested that Jon was too set in his ways and not bipartisan enough to talk to.[]
So it kind of felt like Elon was trying to leave the party before he even got there.
And to that, Jon said:
“Again, the guy who custom-made his own dark MAGA hat that he wears to opine in the Oval Office with the president who he spent $270 million to elect … thinks I’m just too partisan.” (3:56-4:12)
And then just saying if Elon wants to go on the show, great, if not, fine, but whatever happens should have nothing to do with Elon Musk pretending he has “standards of neutral discourse.”
And this segment made tons of headlines, right, people really grabbing onto the fact that this kind of serves as a formal offer to have Elon on the Daily Show, that the ball is now in Elon’s court to RSVP.
So this got a ton of attention online, and while some seem pro-Elon, a lot are just calling him a coward, assuming he would be too scared to go on the show.[][][][][]
Right, really trying to test to see if it is possible to cyber bully a guy into a TV interview.
And obviously, while it would be interesting to see these two guys sit down and talk, everything else around it would be interesting, too.
Right, Jon’s weekly return to the show resulted in a ratings boost, so there is obviously an increased public interest in what he has to say specifically.
I mean, it has been such a huge hit that his new run on the show got extended.
The New York Times even writing that his presence on TV was akin to a prescription for the election jitters liberals were facing.
But obviously, people on the other side have their thoughts, right.
So the public responses would be just as interesting, would it move the needle? Would it be as big a TV event as current headlines kind of suggest it would be?
And depending on how it goes, then of course comes questions on how that would impact journalism in the Trump-era.
Because while Jon Stewart is not afraid to call Trump & co out, there are concerns that other media sectors are more likely to give in in some capacity.
So I would just love to know your thoughts on any of this here, and if you think there is any world where an interview like this would ever happen.
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In huge international news, Donald Trump has suspended all US military aid to Ukraine.
Right, the pause reportedly applies to all American military equipment not currently in Ukraine –
Including weapons being transported on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in neighboring Poland.
And with that, it’s unclear exactly how much aid is being affected.
But notably, Biden left nearly nearly $4 billion in military assistance approved by Congress unspent when he left office. []
And of course, Trump hasn’t approved any new aid under his own presidential authority since taking office.
And so you have The New York Times claiming that this decision affects more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition in the pipeline and on order – but just how much more is unclear. []
And with that, you also have the Times noting that the pause applies to the delivery of equipment from Pentagon stockpiles through something called the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative –
Which has until now provided the country with money that had to be used to buy new military hardware directly from American defense companies. []
And with that, as far as how long this pause will be in effect?
Well, according to an anonymous White House official, the decision could be reversed if Zelensky demonstrates a “good-faith effort” to participate in peace talks.
With the official saying:
"President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” []
Of course, as we’ve talked about, there are many who argue Trump’s increasing alignment with the invading, occupying power that is Russia is a greater obstacle to peace than anything else.
Right, going back, he began negotiations with Russia to end the war without including Ukraine or NATO allies.
And since then, he has baselessly blamed Zelensky for the war, called him a dictator, and publicly berated him in the Oval Office.
As well as last night ominously said that the Ukrainian president ‘won’t be around very long’ if he doesn’t make a deal.
Not to mention his administration is also now reportedly drawing up a plan to restore ties with Russia and lift sanctions.
All of this without getting anything out of Russia in exchange.
Which is why you have many who say Vladimir Putin is the clearest winner in all of this – including and perhaps especially this latest decision to pause military aid.
Right, as long as the aid is suspended, he can use the time to advance his position on the ground in Ukraine.
And in fact, he may just decide not to negotiate at all, or if he does, he will be encouraged to ask for even more – including Ukrainian demilitarisation and neutrality.
With one expert arguing that the “nightmare scenario” now is that the U.S. and Russia announce a deal soon, and then tell Ukraine and Europe to “take it or leave it.” []
And adding to that, you have Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying:
"By freezing military aid to Ukraine, President Trump has kicked the door wide open for Putin to escalate his violent aggression against innocent Ukrainians.”[]
And finally, Michael McFaul, Washington’s former ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama, likening the move to an alternative history where the US aligned with Germany in World War II, writing on X:
“That’s [what] this current moment feels like. 3 years into a war between an imperialist dictatorship with autocratic allies and a democracy, Trump just switched sides.” []
And with all that, the big question you have people asking?
Can Ukraine survive without US support and for how long?
Well, to start, military experts do say it will take time for the impact to become clear.
Right, for example, Republicans in Congress held up aid for several months last year, and Ukraine managed to hold on.
But also, notably, by the end, they were running out of artillery shells and air defense interceptors –
With US military leaders warning at the time that further delays might result in Ukraine losing the war.
And of course, there's a reason for that.
Right, while Trump has widely overstated how much American money has been spent in Ukraine, it is true that no single country has come close to providing the amount of aid provided by the US.
But on the other hand, Europe has really been picking up the slack to some extent.
With one expert saying about the pause:
"It's pretty significant, but not nearly as impactful as it would have been earlier in the war because Ukraine is far less dependent on direct U.S. military assistance now.”[]
And with that, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, for example, “Europe as a whole has clearly overtaken the U.S. in terms of Ukraine aid" –
Though, notably, in terms of just military assistance, the US still outspent Europe by a couiple billion. []
But in any case, on top of that, recent estimates reportedly suggest that only 20% of total military hardware supplied to Ukrainian forces is now from the U.S.
55% is home-produced in Ukraine and 25% is from Europe and the rest of the world.
Right, so 20 percent? It may be less than many Americans have been led to believe…but it’s still a lot.
And most notably, that 20 percent? According to at least one expert, is the most lethal and the most important. []
Right, in particular, Ukraine relies on the US for its air defense.
And that’s because only American-made Patriot missile-defense systems are capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles. []
And with all that, there’s two final points.
Right, first, Ukraine isn’t done with the US.
For example, the country’s prime minister responded to the pause in aid by claiming Ukraine’s “military and the government have the capabilities, the tools, let's say, to maintain the situation on the front line.” []
But also thanking the U.S. for its past support and adding that they “will absolutely calmly continue to work with the U.S., Congress, with the Trump administration and with him personally through all available diplomatic channels…”[]
And second, the pause puts even more pressure on European allies to step it up.
Right, notably there, they were reportedly blindsided by the aid freeze.
With a Polish foreign ministry spokesperson claiming the decision was made without any information, or consultation, neither with Nato allies, nor with the Ramstein group –
Which is a group of 57 countries that has coordinated aid to Ukraine during the war. []
And with that, senior British officials were reportedly unaware of the plan as of late last night, even though members of the UK and US cabinet have been speaking frequently on the phone in recent days. []
But despite being left in the dark, the response has been pretty swift.
With the president of the European Commission yesterday announcing plans to increase defense spending that could potentially mobilize as much as 800 billion euros.
There’s also a growing number of officials in Europe and elsewhere calling for frozen Russian assets to be seized to directly compensate Ukraine –
An idea that has been floated for a while but has been gaining more momentum in just the day since the pause on aid.
And to give you some context there, the US, EU, and other allies froze roughly $300 billion owned by Russia’s central bank after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
With the aim being to punish him for his unprovoked attack and to cut off funds he could use to wage war.
And notably, the bulk of the funds — about $250 billion — are in financial institutions outside of the US. []
So it’s something that could actually potentially be done without America being on board.
And it’s something countries nearer to Russia - such as Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – have supported openly.
Countries like France, Belgium, and Germany, however, have resisted the idea in the past.
So we’ll have to see what happens with that, as well as how everything else goes on the European side as far as the effort to build a so-called “coalition of the willing” to secure peace in Ukraine.
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And for your daily dose of good news, this guy saved 15 kids from a burning bus!
Right, this is Dorian Price and he is a bus driver for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City school district in Ohio.
Last week, he was doing the route with no problems - taking 15 kids to the Monticello (Mon-ti-sell-o) Middle School.
When about a mile away from the school, the bus gave out a loud boom - with Dorian saying that’s when he radioed for a replacement bus. []
But then he saw the smoke rolling in and the first few flames - saying,
“I recalled my evacuation training with students and basically told them they needed to get off the bus.” []
And Dorian managed to very quickly get all 15 kids out and 100 feet away from the bus before it was engulfed in flames. [B Roll 0:21-0:28] []
With him saying that once everyone was off the bus, the situation hit him hard and it felt like something from the movie Speed. [B Roll 0:00-0:10]
And a couple of the students spoke with local news outlets after the fire - singing Dorian’s praises and saying -
“The bus just caught on fire, we were all scared. We called our parents. But luckily, the bus driver got us off safe and he already called for uh, a backup bus.” 0:05-0:14
“I remember when I first got on the bus and it smelled like gas. It was smoke coming inside the bus, there was smoke coming outside the bus and it was black. And then that’s when Mr. P told us to get off the bus quickly.” 0:32-0:44
And that girl even called him a hero,
“He was the hero of the bus and we didn’t know what to do so. He saved us.” 1:27-1:32
And she isn’t alone there - just yesterday, during the Cleveland Heights City Council meeting, he was honored and given a special coin by the Ohio Public Safety Director. [B Roll 3:02-3:20]
Who told Dorian that he should be, quote, “so incredibly proud of what you did that day."
And after receiving the coin, Dorian got a little choked up at the podium - saying,
“Y’all gonna make me tear up up here. I wanna say that we have to be proactive with prayer. Because I believe that’s the reason why nobody was harmed in this situation.” 0:43-0:58
Now, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about how this happened.
The fire reportedly started behind one of the rear wheels despite the bus passing an inspection two weeks before. [B Roll 0:00-0:05] []
But, out of an abundance of caution, the superintendent said that the school’s mechanic teams re-inspected every single bus in their fleet.
And the actual cause of this particular incident is still being investigated by the Cleveland Heights Fire Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol.
So while we wait to figure out what causes school buses to burst into flames, we’re going to celebrate this absolute BAMF of a bus driver.
For keeping all those kids calm and safe in a terrifying situation.
